Page 66 of Run to Me

My tongue swipes across my lips, seeking the phantom taste of Maisy. What I wouldn’t give to watch her fall apart in front of me, because of me. Cutting her off mid-orgasm was a great sacrifice, but she needs to be taught a lesson. I’m not a toy, and this thing between us is not a game.

After a few minutes of quiet meditation, Javi’s soothing tone breaks the silence. “Trevor, what color is your mind?”

“White,” Trevor answers in his monotone.

“And how does it feel?” Javi stretches his words out like he’s singing.

“Soft. Fluffy. Warm,” Trevor replies, his bland voice equally musical somehow.

Brody snickers, and I crack an eye open to find Trevor staring the trees, already bored with this exercise as he plays along.

“And what do you smell?” Javi asks. He’s unaware that we’re on the verge of ruining his concentrated effort to help us find inner peace.

“Salt.” Trevor pauses for effect. “And lard.”

A beat or two passes, and now I’m fighting the urge to laugh.

“Trevor?” Javi asks.

“Hm?”

“Are you describing my abuela’s tortillas?”

Trevor doesn’t break, his tone remaining dead serious. “This is a dream circle. I often dream about Abuelita Rosa’s homemade tortillas.”

Javi sighs heavily in defeat while the rest of us burst into laughter. He says, “If you can’t take this serious⁠—”

“What the fuck is this?” All heads snap to the gate where Jake stands with an open mouth and big eyes. He takes in the sight of five men sitting cross-legged on rubber mats. “Are y’all doing yoga?”

“It’s a dream circle,” Javi answers coolly.

Jake plucks his bottom lip and studies each of us, then zeroes in on Rock as his target. “Rock? Buddy? I think I saw the last of your dignity standing on the corner with a ‘will work for nuts’ sign.”

Rock huffs like a red dragon. “Fuck off, Jake. You’re just mad because you weren’t invited.”

“Why would I want to be invited to a hands-free circle jerk?”

“And this is why we didn’t invite you,” Brody says. “You’re judgy.”

“Judgy? Are you a teenage girl now?”

We mumble like-minded opinions about Jake proving our point with that statement.

“It’s not fucking yoga,” Rock insists. “It’s a damn dream circle.”

Jake spreads his arms wide, silently asking, and that makes it better? He waves a finger between Rock and Brody. “I can’t be friends with y’all anymore. This is too much. I have to draw the line somewhere.”

“Who shat in your cereal this morning?” Brody asks.

“Shat?” He throws up his hands and paces. “I’m done. I’m so fucking done.”

Knowing I need to put an end to their nonsense before they start wrestling in my yard, I rise to my feet. “Why are you here, Jake?”

My brother may be an early riser, but last night was his wedding night. He should be getting ready for his honeymoon since he leaves later today. The only reason the rest of us are out here this morning is because Javi’s been begging us to sample his life coaching skills.

Hands on his hips, Jake aims his accusing tone at me. “I came to find out why you disappeared at my wedding. With Maisy.”

The other guys scramble to their feet…everyone except for Javi.