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Who would have thought that I’d get closure in such a short period of time?
I make a mental note to divulge this surprising news to Nino. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t intend to allow Alex to make a pass at me or become best buds. I accept his olive branch, though.
“Be well.”
CHAPTER24
BELIEVE
Nino
Today’s my birthday. My thirtieth. Ash decided thatweshould hostourfirst full-fledged dinner party. God knows I deserve to unwind after my trip to Paris.
Don’t get me wrong! Despite the freezing cold weather, the snow gave my pictures a special glow, and the photo shoot at the Père Lachaise cemetery was a blast. Who would have thought that a bunch of dead celebrities would be better company than the Ice Cream Man who dared to call me son?
As much as I wanted to erase the encounter from my memory, it wouldn’t stop replaying inside my head.How could I have handled things differently? What should I have said to him? Why didn’t I slap the smug smile off of his fucking face?
See! I’m still pissed that he ruined my evening after ruining my childhood. Thankfully, I reined in my emotions when I reluctantly told Ash about it… Well, I made up my mind after Garcia cornered me the next day and stressed how important it was to share this with him; no secrets. Hence, I revealed the basics in a game of Twenty Questions that started with, “Do you want to guess who I ran into in Paris?”
So, I deserve a massive party for my bravery.
Halloween was a fun party. Thanksgiving was a family affair. Tonight marks another milestone, a moment to share withmynew set of friends.
I wish Garcia was here, though. I Skyped with her earlier, right after I talked to my mom, who I’ll see for Christmas in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, Ash doesn’t have enough days off to join me, but he urged me to go. He’ll stay with his relatives, right after his twenty-sixth birthday party. What my boyfriend doesn’t know, though, is that when our schedules allow it, I’ll be gifting him a plane ticket to Paris. Hopefully soon!
For now, I intend to make the best of this party. What matters is that we’re official and I couldn’t be happier!
Because he’s the sweetest, Ash spent ample time cookingaccras de morueand a Colombo. He even made his own spice blend for the main dish and also baked a specialty Martinican dessert.
“It’s delicious, babe.” My hand covers Ash’s, my thumb grazing his knuckles. Rubbing the back of his neck, he squirms in his seat to my left. I want nothing more than to maul his appetizing body and increase his sudden blush tenfold. Frustrated because I can’t act on it, I punish the corner of my lower lip instead.
Our closest friends are gathered aroundoursmall round table, and we’ll meet the rest of the usual suspects for round two later.
Aside from Tom, his girlfriend, Eve, Audrey—Eve’s long-time best friend and now business partner who’s the epitome of hippie chic—and redhead twins, Seth and Sebastian—Tom and Ash’s former neighbors—we have a special guest tonight: Michael Clayton, one of Ash’s best friends who’s a criminal lawyer from the East Coast. He’s sitting across from my man.
How Ash and his friend got acquainted has the whole party in an uproar.
“Michael was sooo desperate to keep me at his beck and call because I’m such an, air quote please, ‘genius stylist,’ his words, not mine.”
“You wish, Ashton Cooper!” Michael retorts, chortling.
“Ohhh… So I’m making this up?” Ash teases his friend. “Didn’t you ask my boss to only see me for appointments?”
“Yeah, yeah, I did. The wardrobe makeover got me tons of compliments, so I had to do something. As sad as it is, looking the part is crucial when meeting a new client or defending a client.” He shrugs, depleted. “Anyway, your cooking skills were the true motivation for our friendship.” He chuckles and takes a sip of his California Zinfandel. “And they’ve improved since you fled The Big Apple…and tonight’s dinner proves that my version is correct. I rest my case.”
We all laugh at his statement. The Manhattanite’s a pretty cool guy and not how I pictured a lawyer. These two couldn’t be more different on the outside, and yet Michael’s endless questions about fashion and Ash’s line of work throughout dinner attests to how much he cares about his friend. “How many times have I told you to call me Mike? If you must know, only my parents call me Michael and I don’t like it.”
“Why not?”
“Well, it always reminds me of my dad’s condescending tone.” Mike gives us a brief overview of his relationship with his dad in an attempt to sway Ash to use the shortened version of his name. Their interactions sound as joyful as the ones I’ve had with my own father, when I still had them, of course! I admire that he manages to keep his tone matter-of-fact when mine remains resentful. “And he’s a homophobe to boot.” Oh, wow! That’s the icing on theblanc manger cocothat Eve is serving while clearing her throat at Mike’s comment; she doesn’t understand hate and discrimination.
“Dig in, everyone.” They all do, moaning as they taste the homemade dessert. For some reason, watching Ash interact with his friends turns me on.
After refilling everyone’s glasses with wine or water, I catch myself smiling, and my heart swells with pride. I tilt my head to the left and deposit a lingering kiss on Ash’s temple.
“Well, Ash, I can’t decide if I’m more impressed with your cooking or fashion skills,” Eve eventually says.
Staring at Ash, Mike emphasizes in a muffled, almost embarrassed, voice that somehow doesn’t fit him, “And to think that I don’t benefit from either now that you’ve relocated. I’ve missed you, man.”
