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“No salad?” I ask and he chuffs a bit.
“Nah, no thanks. Don’t like vegetables.”
My brows rise at that, and I scoff. “Well, good fucking thing I got a combination. At least there are some veggies on that. You need something good in you after all.”
He eyes it and then shrugs. “Guess you’re right. Should pick them all off.”
“Like hell you are, old man.”
He beams at that and then makes a show of pulling a green pepper off and tossing it to the dogs. They all look at him like he’s a god, and I place a hand on my hip and arch an eyebrow at him.
“You have been warned….”
“Warned about what?”
“Giving those mutts expectations. I was told not to feed them food from the table and here you are, breaking all the rules.”
He shrugs and does it again. “I’m a rule breaker.”
I can’t help but laugh at that, the two of us smiling at each other as we settle onto the couch.
We prop ourselves up on opposite ends, the dogs following Tomas and drooling all over him for another scrap. Well, better him than me. I’d rather not be covered in dog goo. Especially now that I’ve seen where those doggy tongues go. Butts, penises…
Hm, well, I shouldn’t be one to judge.
“So, Tomas Vela, my new friend, what do you want to watch?” I ask, flipping through the slew of movies up on the screen. “Action, horror, romance?”
I waggle my eyebrows at that and turn my gaze only to see Tomas texting on his phone. He looks serious, his brows bunched in concentration. Seems something’s wrong, and I’m not sure I have the right to ask him much about it. I barely know the guy.
“You okay?” I ask, and he shrugs, not meeting my stare.
“I uh…forgot my friends were headed over to my place this evening…ummm…”
“Well, how many of them are there? I have enough pizza if they want to join us…” I let my words hang in the air and then add, “If they’re not assholes, that is. Because I’m not in the mood to deal with those today.”
He sets his phone down and shakes his head. “Not that I know of, but fuck, I’ve never hung out with someone…like you. So, I don’t know how they’ll react when you meet…if you meet.”
I glance down at my clothes and feel something yucky move through me—something a lot like shame.
I hate that. I felt it far too often growing up and never want to go there again, if possible.
“Oh, is that so? Want me to go change?”
I don’t usually ask this—wouldn’t usually change for someone, especially someone I barely know—but if I can avoid conflict, then I will. And if it makes Tomas’s life easier, then I can tone it down. Maybe put on a baggier shirt or maybe some athletic shorts that hang down to my knees.
Ridiculous and atrocious, but I can do it. I will, if he needs me to.
“No, fuck no. You be you. Don’t change for anyone. I’ll just tell them I’m busy.”
“Are you sure?”
He nods and then takes a bite of his pizza. “Yeah, I’ll tell them I’m at the neighbor’s and to fuck off…”
I nod, turning my gaze back to the TV, chomping slowly on my slice, and picking at my salad, that uncomfortable feeling dissipating slightly. At least he didn’t ask me to change into something new. I would have done it, but it would have been a secret tick against him.
We decide on an action film, which is fine by me because I do love explosions, but thirty minutes into it there’s a rough knock on the door. Through the banter coming from the speakers, I can hear loud, gruff voices out on the porch.
“Shit,” Tomas mutters as I eye him.
