Page 30 of All The Way Under
“I didn’t kill people, Saylor, and you said you trusted me.”
“I do now. It’s not like I have a lot of options. But you have to admit, even if you had killed people, they’d still trust you over me.”
He offers the bike to the guard, pushing it toward the man with his eyes aglow, then walks back to me.
“I can’t say, because I didn’t do anything to make them hate me, and you did.” Brody pauses. “What’s your type, then?”
“That conversation was done and over, and you’re bringing it back up. See? It is entertaining and interesting to talk about it, right?”
He picks through the parts on the tarp, examining each piece and part, rolling them in his hand to catalog them.
“You won’t believe me when I say this, but I don’t know. Really, I don’t. I know my exes weren’t my type just because they’re my exes. My sister fell in love with her first boyfriend, and it was game over. She’s married now. I guess I expected the same thing to happen for me, and when it didn’t, I sort of gave up trying…too hard.”
“Someone at your job? A man who has the same talents and hobbies? Someone who likes sailing?”
He’s spitballing, trying to see if anything lands as a response.
“What was your last ex like?”
I raise my brows. “All my exes have cheated on me. I’ve come to expect that as the norm. Archie cheated and lied, but he was charming when he needed to be and had a good job.”
I almost say, a good pedigree, but I stop myself.
“When he broke up with me, he said it was because I wasn’t serious enough about life, because I wanted to do this sail around the world.” I exhale noisily. “That’s how they caught me,you know? I was trying to sail around the world, and my AI system went down. I needed to dock to fix it before I continued on my journey.”
Brody narrows his eyes. “You expect men to cheat on you?”
I’m flustered now that he’s turned the questioning back on me, exposed in a way that I never am.
“They always have, so either that’s what I attract, or that’s how men are, and I’d hate to think it’s ameproblem.”
“I have never and would never cheat on a woman.”
Brody takes out the junk parts and closes the tarp, so the weather doesn’t destroy anything more.
“When I find the right woman, that will be it for me. The men who have cheated on you aren’t men. They don’t deserve your time or energy.”
My stomach flips. “Was that a compliment?”
He shakes his head. “An observation about basic human nature. If humans cheat, they aren’t in love. I’ve seen it a lot with my friends. Some are faithful and some aren’t, and the common denominator with the men who step out on their wives isn’t their wives, it’s them and their own issues. It’s fucked up.”
“You seem to know a lot for someone who doesn’t talk about relationships often,” I counter.
“Here is a compliment. You were right. Talking about this is entertaining. I may learn something about myself,” Brody says, raising his face to the sky. “The rain is about to start. Do we ask them for food before we go back?”
Ravelo waves us over and brings us to the stilted house that has the tables for eating. We eat, and I watch Brody carefully. He seems to be deep in thought and avoiding all eye contact. I correct my first impression of him in my mind. He’s not bad vibes, he’s hard to get to know vibes. After seeing him nearly naked, he’s also hot vibes. He fixes things. He’s educated with a skill set to rival my own. He has blue eyes. Biceps. Abs. A deepvoice. A section of hair right in the center of his forehead that forms in one perfect curl. He is loyal. He has a dimple on one side—the left.
I’m staring, and I only realize it when he turns to look at me. He licks his lips and grins. He knows what he’s doing to me. He has to.
“I have another question,” I blurt.
Brody juts up his chin and bites into a chicken leg.
“Ask it.”
I run my hand through my dirty hair and say, “If we were in the real world and you saw me out on the street, would I be your type on looks alone?”
“Oh, this is a fun game,” Brody replies, rubbing his hands together. “Tell me what you’re wearing in the real world.”
