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“Had fun with Andrew?” Jean Lee piped up.
I glared at the both of them and sat on the edge of the couch. Danny snickered as Philip had to draw two in their Uno game. “I don’t know what kind of fun you’re referring to, but no, we didn’t have fun. Deal me in.”
Yasmine took the deck and dealt me seven cards. “Estábien,manita. You act like someone accused you of stealing.”
“But you might as well,” Jean Lee said. She frowned at her cards. “Your relationship with Andrew is like a gift from God. Bein’ with anyone else can’t compare.”
“How would you know?” I challenged. I put down a blue two—a nice, neutral card. “You’ve never even met Michael. Besides, what does God have to do with my love life? Your God doesn’t care about my love life. He hasn’t until this point, anyway.”
“’Your God’?” Danny repeated. “The fuck does that mean?”
“She doesn’t believe in God,” Yasmine said absentmindedly, studying her cards. “And anyway, God has everything to do with your love life. Trying to keep God out of it is probably why you’re in that shit relationship you’re in now.”
“It’s not a shit relationship,” I said. “Why’s everyone so hard on my fiancé? He’s a great guy.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that. I met him.” Yasmine shrugged. “Doesn’t mean he’s the right guy. And it doesn’t stop you from being in a shit relationship with him.”
“But you and Andrew? That’s that thing damn near everyone’s lookin’ for,” Jean Lee put in. She crowed in triumph as she made Kevin draw four. “Why you waste your time on a man who clearly does nothin’ for you in bed is beyond me.”
“Andrew is not what everyone’s looking for,” I retorted. “At the very least, he’s not what I’m looking for. And I’m not what he’s looking for. He’s always trying to change me, instead of taking me just as I am. And he’s flaky. Also, I haven’t had sex with him,” I said quickly, blushing at the thought of doing…that…with Andrew. “And I’ve haven’t had sex with Michael yet, either.”
“But you’re mighty tempted,” Jean Lee said. “You and Andrew look at each other like nobody else’s in the room. He touches you every chance he gets. And you put up a helluva fight, but anyone in seein’ distance can see that you’ve got a thing for him, too.”
My face was engulfed in flames.
“Can we move on?” Philip interjected. “I’d rather not sit here and gossip like a bunch of females.” Danny nodded his agreement.
“Where is Andrew, anyway?” Jean Lee asked, as if Philip hadn’t even spoken.
“Dunno,” I said, studiously avoiding their eyes. “I’m not his keeper.” I didn’t want to mention that I was trying to outrun my sexual attraction for Andrew. I figured it would completely undermine everything I had just said.
“But you two share a room,” Yasmine said. “Where’d he go?”
“Hennessey showed up at our door,” I muttered. “I’m guessing he went with her. Or they stayed in. Whatever.”
“Who’s Hennessey?” Kevin asked.
“She means Harmony,” Yasmine corrected. She frowned. “And that can’t be right. Harmony lives three states over.”
I shrugged. “It was the same chick he was talking to at your first gig.”
Yasmine raised her eyebrows. “Wow, that’s dedication.”
I sighed. “I agree with the guys. Can we talk about something else?”
Jean Lee looked like she was about to argue, but Yasmine sent her a pointed look. Jean Lee shrugged. “Bet.” She grinned as she looked at her cards. “I’mma need all the concentration I can get anyway.” She threw down a wild card and shouted, “UNO!!”
Andrew didn’t come back to the room until late that night. By that time, I had played and lost several rounds of Uno with the band, showered, chosen my side of the bed, and tossed and turned for twenty minutes. I couldn’t get this weight off of my chest, an anxiety I hadn’t felt since Dante was alive. Dread seeped into the very marrow of my bones, taking up space in my body, inhabiting it like an infection.
As soon as I heard the lock click open, I let out a long sigh. The weight lifted from my chest, though my heart squeezed in a semi-painful way. Strange, I thought.
“I know you’re still awake, Alicia. Don’t pretend you’re sleeping.”
I rolled my eyes in the dark and turned toward Andrew’s phone flashlight. “I wasn’t pretending,” I said.
He tilted his head with a small smile.
“I wasn’t,” I insisted. “I was taking a deep breath.”
