‘And no proper sense of style,’ supplies Miguel. ‘Awful shoes.’
‘Sloppy drunk,’ adds Todd.
Miguel nods theatrically. ‘I heard she cheated her way into university.’
‘Bullied a girl at school,’ says Todd.
‘There’s a Reddit thread about how she kicks cats,’ smiles Miguel, and by now CJ is grinning stupidly, nodding along at their silliness like yeah, yeah, OK, this isalmosta good apology.
‘And kids,’ says Todd.
‘Awful woman.’
‘Vile.’
‘I’m personally surprised they let her in the country.’
CJ stands up to clear their plates. Cutlery clattering as she stacks them, she says, ‘I’m glad you boys finally understand the issue. Thank you.’
She busies herself with scraping leftovers into the trash, rinsing plates and stacking the dishwasher, before pulling out tiny little saucer-like bowls Miguel and Todd bought her two birthdays ago, specifically sized for a single scoop of after-dinner ice cream.
‘Maybe I should just let them get on with it,’ she says, once she’s had a beat to think about how crazy she actuallymust sound, no matter how kind Todd and Miguel have ultimately decided to be.
Miguel and Todd exchange a look.
‘I saw that,’ CJ says, waving a spoon between them.
‘It’s just weird,’ Miguel says, taking his dessert. ‘Nothing ever gets you mad like this. Like, why her? Why this? There’s got to be a deeper reason.’
‘Some people just make great enemies, don’t you think?’
‘That’s true, to be fair,’ says Todd. ‘I had a nemesis in high school, and then again in college. A guy on the team everyone adored and who acted all larger than life and fabulous, but I could see through it, somehow, knew it was all an act, and it got me so pissed nobody else saw what I did.’
‘So you just hated him from afar?’ Miguel asks, genuinely intrigued.
‘Until we got drunk in senior year and I blew him after we lost a big game. The ice kind of thawed after that.’
‘Understandably so,’ laughs Miguel. ‘So, CJ, apparently it’s blow jobs for everyone. How fun!’
After dessert is cleared and Jorge is sound asleep, Miguel puts on a crime series the trio have been bingeing on. Miguel and Todd take up their usual spot in the corner part of the L-shaped sofa, and CJ gets the oversized armchair. She cradles her phone beside her, umming and ahhing over texting Luis – but she doesn’t know what she’d say. Half of her wants to booty-call him, because it turns out jealousy can be quite a potent aphrodisiac, and as she thinks about the way his arm languidly fell over Ash’s bare shoulders today, she feels adesire for him so deep one could almost, if one were a poetic dickhead, call ityearning.She suspects, though, that he’s with Ash tonight – they sat together on the coach ride back to CoLab, disembarked from the bus together, and then flopped down on one of the CoLab sofas so closely entwined he may as well already have been inside her. Maybe she’ll text Gustavo, although the past couple of times they’ve got together CJ hasn’t been feeling it. Hmmmm. If she had fewer scruples she could call South African Jonno, one of the lads, but she’s made it a personal pledge never to do what Luis does and mix business with pleasure – she won’t cross that line, and it’s mostly because of Luis’s grandparents. They wouldn’t like it, and she would hate to disappoint them or let them down. Luis’s behaviour gets excused because he’s a man, anyway – as a woman CJ wouldn’t experience anyone turning a blind eye, she’d simply be judged. CJ hasn’t had much experience of what good family is like, but Rodrigo and Maria mean the world to her, and keeping CoLab in shipshape condition is an act of devotion for her, she owes it to them. Urgh. Is this what people mean when they say you have to sit with your feelings? How depressing.
‘Do you guys mind if I go take a walk?’ CJ asks, in between episodes. ‘I’m feeling antsy.’
Todd yawns, and Miguel shakes his head. ‘Go for it. Apparently, we’re not about to head out to any raves.’ He gestures to Todd with a gentle roll of the eyes.
‘Thanks,’ CJ says. ‘Don’t wait up.’
12
Ash
Luis Santos makes love like he’s been deprived of human touch for five hundred years because of a glitch in the space-time continuum that means he’s been far away in another galaxy without ageing and now he’s finally returned to earth he wants to rediscover all the things he thought he might never experience again, like, for example, the ticklish space behind your ear, the sensitive bit on your collarbone, each nipple with a lick and a suck, your stomach, your thighs, how deep he can bury himself inside you. It’s a vibe.
Ash is never the chosen one. Her relationship history speaks to that: she’s the one before the one, the one men date before they marry somebody else. Her casual dating life has never stuck, never got off the ground, and nobody can figure out why – she’s cute, she’s fun, she’s smart and capable and loving, and men leave her. But with Luis, something is different. It was obvious last night and it is evident now. He’s attentive with her, gentle but primal, his full focus is Ash. Today has been the greatest aphrodisiac she’s ever known, CJ furiously eyeing them from afar as Luis wrapped his armaround her, whispered silly nothings to her, shone his light on her and only her. It’s all Ash has ever wanted: to be chosen. Today felt special and good. It felt like what she deserves. And now, post-coital and sweaty in her bed, Luis rubbing her feet as they catch their breath … well. It’s heaven. It’s actually heaven.
‘This is nice,’ Ash says, dreamily, closing her eyes in the moonlight and relishing the focused touch of Luis’s hands on her. ‘Mmmmm.’
‘You have good feet,’ Luis tells her. ‘You could make a lot of money with these feet.’
