Page 14 of Look My Way
“You look exhausted so I think that will be best.” He guides me to the couch and sits down after I do, turning toward me. “What are you in the mood for?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. Whatever you want is fine.”
“Chinese, then? I’ll get you your favorite, orange chicken.”
“Sounds great.” I lean against the cushions, kicking off my shoes.
Daniel plucks his phone from his pocket and uses the online option to place our order while keeping one hand secured tightly on my thigh. Did I look in Zavier’s direction too much? Did I smile too often when responding or acknowledging him?
Daniel lifts his eyes to me. They darken as he tosses his phone onto the coffee table, and he says, “Scoot further back and let me see those feet.” He pats his legs and I do as he says, stretching out my legs. His hands are gentle at first and then grow rougher as he continues to dig his fingers into the grooves of my feet, his face hardening. I don’t know what I did while Xavier was here,but there’s no doubt in my mind now that it was in fact the wrong thing.
Pressing harder, his fingers curl and I bite back a pained groan. He asks for my other foot and I watch the clock on the wall, the hand moving too slowly as I wait for the food to get here. I fight back tears as he pinches my skin, and he hums the same song he always does when he’s overly eager to take care of me in the only way he thinks is best. I was wrong. There are times I capture all his attention, but it’s usually when I want it the least.
Seven
Zavier
I knew whose address it was right away when it was given to me over the phone by a man I immediately didn’t like the moment he looked at me. He had the same wrongness in his eyes my dad had had. He was overly touchy too, in a way that made Liam uncomfortable. I kept my face as neutral as I could, struggling not to step forward and rip the man’s arm from his body when he squeezed Liam tighter.
Liam didn’t have to tell me who Daniel was to him. I already knew. He lives in Felice’s apartment building, across the way from her. They chat whenever they pass each other, grabbing their mail or leaving at the same time. When Daniel told me what he was wanting built, he wasted no time saying who the surprise would be for—his fiancé.
The street and house numbers clawed at my ears when he said them. Yeah, I knew exactly who lived there without giving it asecond thought. I’d had that address playing on repeat in my head ever since learning it—right along with my pretty writer. I call him mine because that’s what he feels like. That’s what he tells me he wants to be when he looks at me and continues to dance around the subject of him being engaged, no matter how much I’ve tried to get the correct answer out of him. If he wanted to stay Daniel’s, he’d parade him around proudly, but instead he wants me to see him as available, so I do.
He kept his sights on me the whole time, too, and I gave him what Daniel didn’t in that photo in his living room, returning the attention he was giving me. I thought I enjoyed how much his eyes would find mine, until they started roaming my body. They went from my bare arms to between my legs, and I almost gave him a better look. There’ll be other days for that, though. He keeps initiating more hang-outs than he realizes.
When I made a joke about him wanting to come over to my house, and how he should wait until the third date, there was a flash of interest in those bright blues. He wanted to explore what I was saying some more, and I wanted to keep going so I could study more of his beautiful reactions.
I roll down my window as I pull up to the side of one of my favorite places to get tamales and menudo when I don’t feel like cooking. It’s this hole-in-the-wall place with peeling paint and a drive-thru, sitting in the middle of a bad neighborhood. It’s how you know the food is going to be good.
“Hola, Zavier.”
“Hola,” I say, smiling at the woman taking my card from my hand.
“Another long workday?”
“You know they are whenever I order this much food.”
She laughs, processing my payment, and seconds later she hands me back my card. As I’m passed my bag of food, Ican smell the savory scent leaking through, and my stomach grumbles.
“Have a good night, and if you have another long day tomorrow, I’ll see you then.” She winks and I huff out a laugh.
“Have a good rest of your day, Rosie, and don’t work too hard.” Rolling my window back up, I drive forward and toss the bag on the passenger seat. Unable to wait until I get home, I park in the closest empty space and pull out my food.
Who am I kidding? I’m not going home anytime soon anyway. After I’m done eating, I’m going to swing by the store to grab some last-minute items for a small job tomorrow, and then I’ll go see if my carino ever figured out where I put his curtains. When he gets wrapped up in his writing, he’s really detached from reality, and that made it easier for me to get in and out without being noticed.
When I’d snuck into his back yard, I was happy to find the back door unlocked, and I looked around before stepping inside. I’d started with the kitchen first and slowly made it to other the rooms when I heard him typing away with his headphones on. He’s really passionate about his work, and I can be that passionate too. He’ll see exactly how much soon enough.
There are no curtains on the windows, and the very few with blinds are open too. As I’m leaning back in my seat, sipping on my drink, Liam moves around in the living room. He fluffs the pillows on the couch and straightens out the coffee table. He’s very particular about where he wants everything. The coasters have to be lined up in a certain way and so do the candles. As he’s refolding the throw blankets, Daniel walks behind him and blocks my view.
Annoyance has me sitting too close to the steering wheel and pressing my teeth tightly together. Why does he have to be everywhere he is? Liam walks into one room and there his doting lover is minutes later, never leaving him alone for too long.
Daniel pulls at his hand, pressing a kiss to his ear, and I lift the binoculars to my face as they both walk around the couch together. Liam is being shoved out of the room, and as he turns to look back, Daniel blows him a kiss and points toward an open room with a dim light on.
My nails dig into the plastic, and I adjust my focus, nose flaring when Daniel snaps his fingers as if talking to a child or a dog. Liam obeys with hesitancy in his steps, and Daniel turns off all the lights. For a minute, I think he’s looking right at me, but then he stands in front of the window and shuts the blinds.
This asshole really is an inconvenience in more ways than one. That’s okay. I’ll make time this week to hide those too. Smiling, I lie back in my seat and listen to the radio while milking the clock. Hours pass before I get out of my car, looking around as I enter the gate leading to the backyard. It’s quiet and dark as I step lightly along the stone path to where Liam’s garden is. He has funny little wooden planter markers in the dirt of each pot.
I bite back a laugh at the one that reads“please don’t die.”
