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“‘Course you wouldn’t.” Again, I couldn’t get a read on his tone.
“What is that supposed to mean?” But, I was apparently insulted by something that shouldn’t have been an insult.
He shrugged and leant back on his hands. “Only that I imagine you have far better taste than to fuck just whatever comes along.”
“You know, Lombardi… Coming from you, I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
He raked his hand through his hair. “No, me either.”
I laughed at that. I couldn’t not. We caught each other’s eye and he looked slightly less dour than usual. When I finally stopped, I looked at him for a moment.
I was torn between finding a polite way out of sitting on the lakeshore with Roman and finding out what catalyst completely broke his usual patterns.
“What do you mean your house is loud?” I heard myself ask.
He sighed and helped himself to lying down on my blanket. “You remember my sister?”
I nodded and after a few moments lay next to him. “Yeah, she was nice as far as I recall.”
He chuckled, but it was humourless. “Yeah, about as nice as syphilis.”
“Well, you’d know.”
He snorted. “Right, either way. So you remember she was pregnant before she left?”
I thought back, trying to remember what Paris had been like before she’d left – yep, Roman and Paris, how would you be? – but there wasn’t a huge amount there.
“Maybe?” I shrugged.
“Yeah, well she was. Had a little girl. That little girl, as sweet as she is, was dropped on Mum’s doorstep a few weeks ago. Paris decided she wanted to travel and her daughter starting school was the perfect time to unload her and do just that. We moved, my sister pissed off, and now that little girl lives with us. So, I’m here in lieu of playing uncle.”
I wondered if this niece was the other ‘kid’ Mum had referred to the day they moved in. I certainly hadn’t seen any evidence of Paris… Not that I could remember seeing a little girl either. Maybe she was a very recent addition?
“Oh, do girls’ panties not drop like they used to, the idea of a little girl hanging around you?” I teased. Although, I had to say, the idea of a little girl traipsing after Roman actually made him slightly more appealing to me.
He laughed, but it was humourless. “Very funny. Excuse me if I don’t feel like dropping trou with the knowledge of what it leads to following me around the house incessantly.”
I was trying to ignore that incessant niggling in my mind that Roman wasn’t the guy I’d thought he was after that statement. So, I settled for teasing him.
“Oh, has Roman suddenly got a conscience?”
“You’re cute like this, you know?” His voice was full of sarcasm.
I snorted very unattractively. “Sorry. But, I see you dealing with your problems in one of two ways. You fuck or you drink. I really don’t see a third option.”
“Firstly, I have never heard you say ‘fuck’ before. And secondly, you’re looking at that third option right now.”
“Yeah,” I snorted. “Because you’re totally not dreaming of getting in my pants.”
“Oh, I never said that. Any man with eyes is dreaming about getting inyourpants, Barlow,” he answered, completely matter-of-fact. “And, any guy who tells you otherwise is full of shit. Your precious Carter included. But, it is a massive dampener to the inspiration when you keep remembering that sex leads to pregnancy. I came here with nothing but peace and quiet on my mind. I didn’t even know you were here.”
The sincerity with which he said that hit me like a sledgehammer and I didn’t know what to address first. Maybe he wasn’t so unaffected after all.
“I can…go…?” I offered softly.
He shifted so his head was right next to mine. “Nah, I don’t mind my peace and quiet being invaded by you.” He paused. “You’re like…peace personified.”
“Isn’t that just another way of saying I’m boring?”
