Page 58 of Malliko
Malliko:How are you feeling?
I stared at the message.
“What did he say?” Carmen asked with eagerness in her voice.
“He asked how I’m feeling.”
“What is that supposed to mean? I’m confused. Why would he write that if she confronted him about his infidelity? Wouldn’t the normal text be an apology or maybe annoyance that you told her?”
“I don’t know, Carmen. I get the feeling that maybe he doesn’t know that I met her. Or maybe he’s concerned about my reaction to finding out that that I ran into Tania.”
“Tell him what a liar he is and then block him.”
The thought of blocking Malliko made sense and if the roles were reversed then maybe I would have told Carmen to do the same.
“Maybe I should call him and talk to him about what happened. You know, get some answers.”
Carmen did that thing where she smacked her tongue and muttered, “Argh,chica.” Without seeing her, I knew she was rolling her eyes and theatrically placing a hand to her forehead. “If you talk to him, he’s going to make you believe more of his lies. I know it’s hard to hear the truth, but let’s sum up the evidence, shall we? He told you he was engaged and showed you a picture of his fiancée the first day you met him, yes?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“Si, and then he told you her name was Tania.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“And that she lived far away in Europe somewhere, right?”
“Yes, that’s what he said.”
“Exactly. So, for you to meet her in his building is solid proof that he’s lying. She’s not in Europe and she told you to your face that they’re not in an open relationship. That’s a double lie.”
“Yes, but…” I wanted to grab onto something, but Carmen was right. “He just seemed so amazing.”
“He’s not amazing. He’s a horny liar who wanted variety in his sex life and then you came along.”
Returning to my living room, I curled my legs under me on the sofa. “It sounds so crude when you say it like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
Looking at his text I wanted to write something back, but Carmen was right. What would be the point? I had always known that Malliko and I didn’t have a future together and now that I had met Tania, didn’t I owe her to leave her fiancé alone?”
With a heavy sigh and a knot in my chest, I blocked Malliko’s number. “There. I did it. It’s done.”
“You blocked him?”
“Yes.”
“Good for you. Let the two of them work out their relationship. You don’t need that kind of drama in your life.”
“I need a glass of wine,” I muttered. “Thank you for listening to me rambling and whining. I’m sorry that I’m always such a mess.”
“You’re not. Did you think dating again would be easy? You’re going to kiss a few frogs, but at least you’re trying.”
“I didn’t get a kiss from him. At least not on my lips. Or, yes, I mean just the wrong lips.”
Carmen chuckled.
“Not that it matters where he kissed me, I’m just saying that we cuddled, and he gave me oral sex. That’s all. He has never asked me to do anything for him.”
