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“Shut up.”
He often jokes about the incident with Monica, which, years later, got much easier to discuss.
“You don’t even have to do much, buddy. Just get it out and show—”
“Dude!” He knows how to wind me up.
“Come to think about it, you’ll probably rip her apart with that thing. Not all women like big guys.”
I curse under my breath, but Roey’s enjoying this too much. “Lucy will paint all over it. It’s art.”
“Torres, knock it off!” I’m so ready to strangle him.
“Hey, does she only do paintings?”
I’m glad we’re changing the topic. “Think so. Why?”
“Maybe she does casting. She could totally take your Moby-Dick—”
“I hate you,” I blurt out.
He roars with laughter but quickly agrees to come over to the bar in Williamsburg Lu invited us to.
And I feel like I’m going to the most important meeting of my life.
A good impression is the key, so I open my closet.
I have several outfits for different occasions. An expensive black suit and several dress shirts that I barely ever wear except for meetings with important clients. Casual button-ups, mostly black. Hoodies, black. Jeans. Sweatpants. Dress shoes, HeyDudes, sneakers and Converses, and a pair of work boots for dirty jobs.
Shit. There’s nothing in this closet to impress Lu. For once, I wish I had some swanky clothes.
So, black it is, a long-sleeved cashmere sweater and jeans. Tito will approve.
I stand in front of the mirror, fixing my hair with gel and failing. It’s growing out of the crew-cut style, and I don’t know how to handle it. I’ve always had a buzz cut. Property of the state doesn’t have many choices or say in what they want to do. Neither do servicemen.
I’m nervous. More nervous than in the first weeks in the army. I almost didn’t make it back then. After years in a group home and bullying, I wanted to be a Superman, that quiet guy who doesn’t stick out but can kick everyone’s ass.
Well, the first month in boot camp almost killed me.
But don’t underestimate the kid who always wanted to prove his worth. It took me four years of service to get to where I am. Another year to have more money in my bank account than most guys my age who went to college and have great careers. Thanks to Roey and… yeah, my “sales” job.
The self-imposed celibacy, as Roey calls it? Well, it’s another mountain to conquer. I’ll get to it. I’m not worried. I am patient. I’m an observer. I’m a good learner. With Lu? I feel like all those years of tempering myself were meant to conquer the girl of my dreams.
So here I come.
17
JACE
The bar is packed.The noise drowns the loud beating of my heart as I push my way through the large crowded space of tall bar tables with stools, armchairs around coffee tables, and bookcases.
I’ve never been to a bar that looks like the living room of a Gothic mansion. But this is Williamsburg, a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood. Every place here tries to top the neighbors and the overpriced rivals in Manhattan.
I’m diligently wearing my glasses. I don’t know how you get used to the damn things. Despite the fake lenses, the world feels warped, and the awkward frame keeps sliding down my nose, irritating the shit out of me. But Roey insists that they make me look more trustworthy. So I keep wearing them.
I spot Lu and her friends at one of the bar tables, and my heart flutters madly just at the sight of her. She’s wearing a jeweled jacket and dress shorts that match her red stilettos. Fashionable, as always.
“Hey, stranger!” she exclaims and greets me with a big hug and a kiss on my cheek like I’m her close friend.
