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“You couldn’t knock?” Matt said out of breath. He pulled out of me and rolled to my side. He covered himself and sat there with a furrowed brow. I could basically feel the heat coming off him.
“I just wanted to handle the transfer before I went to bed.” Leandro clicked through a few things on his phone, then he looked up at us.
I couldn’t believe him. The nerve! Was this what the summer would be like?
Leandro gave us a grin as he put his phone in his pocket. “I’m glad this night went so well.”
MATT
Jourdanne was lovely enough to stay the night on Friday, despite Leandro’s behavior. I was completely embarrassed when he walked in, I could only imagine how she felt. The weekend came and went, and by Tuesday morning, I was a little worried about how Jourdanne was feeling about everything. There was a clause in the contract that said she could back out at any time, but that she’d have to forgo the payments and return anything given to her. I knew that wasn’t what she wanted, but her silence was killing me.
So was Leandro.
He was busy arranging his trip—with Jourdanne—to Geneva. I almost felt sick thinking about how nervous she might be. Leandro would never hurt her, of course. He did like to play games, though.
He was at the desk in the study writing down notes when I walked in. He didn’t bother looking up as I took a seat on the newly upholstered sofa. I thought for a second about why it got redone, but the memory of Leandro and me fucking wasn’t enough to elicit a single emotion. I sighed, then pulled out my phone and sent Jourdanne a text.
How are you doing? I’d like to see you again. Coffee?
I waited to see that the message was delivered, then I put the phone down on the cushion.
“Trouble in paradise?” Leandro grinned as he kept his eyes to the papers.
“No thanks to you.”
My eyes drifted to the window and to the rain that was coming down gently. I set my arm on the back of the sofa and leaned into the cushions. It was a great life that Leandro provided, but that didn’t mean it was full of warmth and tenderness.
“Our flight is Friday morning. We’ll return on Monday.”
I gave a nod.
Leandro sat back in his chair and folded his fingers at his waist. “Do you want to know what the convention is for?”
“Not really.”
The room grew still as all I could hear were the patter of raindrops on the windowpane. Leandro sat forward and got to his feet. I didn’t look at him. Instead, I checked my phone, but she hadn’t replied. Leandro walked slowly over to the sofa and sat beside me.
“Matt.” He was all business. Serious, firm, direct. Leandro placed his hand on my arm and said my name again. “Matt, talk to me.”
I shook my head as I sneered through a laugh. “You don’t listen when I talk.”
I turned and faced him, and he was looking down over his feet. He’d put one arm on the sofa behind me and crossed his leg. He was wearing a dark green buttoned shirt and a pair of brown slacks. Suave as ever, Leandro pulled at my desires, and it only made me angrier at him.
“I want to. I don’t mean to hurt you.”
“I can’t tell anymore.”
Whether he did it on purpose or not, I caught him starting to roll his eyes. For some reason, Leandro just couldn’t understand how I felt, and I was getting sick of it. Why did I have to feel this way when a woman like Jourdanne was willing to give me her attention?
“Listen,” I said. I readied myself to tell him that enough was enough. No more games, it was time to be honest with himself and the public about us. My heart started to race, but Leandro’s phone rang and interrupted me before a single word came out.
“Ciao, Mamma,” Leandro said, and just like that, he was up and pacing. It was his mother, an insistent Italian woman who never took no for an answer. While Leandro rambled on in Italian, I sat back and went through the text Jourdanne had just sent.
No thanks.
I was crushed. She was done with me for sure. The only bit of light I’d had as of late was starting to fade.
Ice cream?
I breathed a sigh of relief.
I’ve had two cups of coffee already.
She ended her text with an upside-down smiley face. I started laughing, and I realized I’d caught Leandro’s eye. We shared a breath there in the still room. Our eyes held to each other intensely as the uncertainty of what the other person was doing sank in. Then we both went back to our phones.
Leandro sounded like he was trying to talk his mother out of doing something, but he wasn’t winning the argument. I replied to Jourdanne saying I’d meet her downtown. In a few more seconds, we were both off our phones and the room fell silent. Even the rain had stopped.
