Page 61 of The Road Sometimes Taken

“Look!” I shout, pointing at the people dancing on top of a party bus in the middle of Broadway Street. The lights from the buildings form a beautiful picture and from up here, we’re getting the best view. I grip the edge of the seat and laugh as we make a quick turn and get a tilted view of the city. I lean closer to the window, straining to get a better look.

“Look at this view!” I shout again. When I turn around to see if Manny is watching, I find him looking at me. “Stop looking at me, you weirdo, and look at the city.”

“I have the best seat and view in the house, Carita,” he says, and I hear the pilot chuckle. I forgot he can hear us too but Manny clearly doesn’t care. I roll my eyes and look back out.

We’re approaching our descent after viewing the city for the past twenty minutes, there’s nothing to clear your mind more than feeling small. Seeing the city buzzing below you, full of people, buildings, and cars will do that to you. What an instant serotonin boost. We finally make it to the ground, Manny reaches over and unbuckles me. After stepping out he proceeds to hold the door open for me and helps me to step out.

The night air is different, or maybe I’m different. A crying session, a reassuring moment, and then a helicopter ride? Who am I? Actually, who is this man and where has he been hiding? We walk hand in hand out of the driveway, until we reach the vehicle that dropped us off.

“Manny, I hope you’re paying this man well.”

“Which man?”

“The driver.” I mention it because he has been at our beck and call for the past two days and I don’t know if that’s normal.

“I do, sunshine, don’t you worry.” He opens the door for me and grabs my hand as he slides into the seat beside me. He holds my hand in his and never lets go the entire ride. We get to the house and after walking up to the entrance, I see a giant bag that looks like takeout by the door. Manny grabs it and we walk inside.

“You hungry?” he asks, taunting me with the bag .

“What do you have in there, Manuel?” I ask and he gives me a mischievous smile before pulling out a wrapper the size of a burger.

I fucking love burgers and fries. They’re my top-tier choiceevery time, and the only thing to make it better would be—I don’t finish my thought when I gasp, loudly shouting, “Gimme!” because this man not only has a burger in his hand, he has a mayo packet and this is exactly what dreams are made of.

I squeal and grab the food from him, walking to the couch and plopping down. He follows me, cackling and sitting on the opposite end. I try to take my shoes off but he stops me and says, “Let me.” He takes my shoes and socks off, putting them down and keeping my feet on his lap. He pulls one of my toes and I gasp in surprise. He smiles, doing the same with the rest of them.

He must know. “How do you know?”

“How do I know what? That you like your toes popped? One time in the Dominican, our parents paid for that group of masseuses to come give us massages by the water, do you remember that?”

Barely. Forever ago all of us took a family vacation to the Zabana’s beach house in the Dominican Republic. That family knows how to splurge. And one of the things we got there were massages by the beach. “Yeah,” I reply.

“You kept asking how to say 'toes' and getting all tangled up about why 'toes' and 'fingers' are the same in Spanish. It cracked me up. But long story short, all you really wanted was for that girl to pull your toes. I remember how much you liked that, so I thought it might still be a thing.”

“You remember that?” My voice catches, warmth washing over me.

“I remember it all, Cara.” Manny meets my gaze, and for a moment, the world around us fades. I can see the memories flicker in his eyes—the laughter, the little moments that made up our shared history. It’s like he’s holding onto every silly, tender detail, and it makes my heart sodamn happy.

He grabs my other foot and does the same as I unwrap my burger and my fries, adding a dollop of mayo on the wrapper so I can dip my fries. I’m a happy camper, eating all the greasy food and enjoying the company. I start thinking about how our arrangement is coming to an end and how I don’t want it to end. It also hits me that Manny hasn’t worked, or at least I haven’t seen him work in the past few days.

“How’s work?” I ask, chewing the last of my burger before scrunching the wrapper and tossing it in the bag.

“I wouldn’t know,” he replies, taking a bite of his wrap. I fucking knew he wouldn’t eat a burger because even though I have the habits of a toddler, he doesn’t. “Last time I talked to Gus, they were doing fine and I asked to be kept in the dark since the whole Virgil debacle.”

“That’s a first,” I say.

“Yes, for the first time in my life, I’m actually taking a break, and it feels amazing, Cara. I don’t know if I would’ve done it without you, so thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything. If anything, I’m the one who should be thanking you.” I glance at him, the warmth of gratitude blooming in my chest. “You’ve driven me around, kept me fed and entertained, and even played therapist. You’re a good friend, Manny. I’m lucky to have you.”

He swallows hard and if I didn’t know better I would think that the wordfriendaffected him just as much as it felt odd coming from my mouth.He’s more than a friendflashes through my mind in bold neon signs but instead of Manny saying something about it, he gives me a playful smile. I guess that glimpse and short moment was a lapse in judgment. Maybe I wanted to see that.

“My goal is to keep you relaxed too,” he says playfully as he winks at me. My cheeks heat up, a rush of warmth spreading through me as I glance away, trying to hide my smile. Why do Ikeep hiding from him when I know damn well that all I want right now are his hands on me.

“Oh yeah? Do you have something in mind? I’m pretty tense all of a sudden,” I say as I lay the rest of my food on the table and sit on my knees next to him.

He does the same with his food but instead of setting everything aside, he grabs the styrofoam cup from the bag and removes the lid.

“I have a few things in mind,” he replies as he keeps his eyes on me and my whole body becomes alive with awareness. Awareness about everything.?

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