Page 84 of The Plus Ones
“No one will think any less of you just because you have the world’s greatest boyfriend.”
She laughs and covers her face with her hand.
“Now, darlin’. You really shouldn’t be ashamed of having such a handsome, thoughtful, and hilarious boyfriend.”
“You’re killing me,” she mumbles.
“How? By being such an amazing boyfriend? I’m going to keep saying it until it isn’t weird for you that Keaton Bridges is your boyfriend. When do you think that will be?”
“Hmm. 2025 seems like a realistic goal.”
“Aw, baby that’s just foolish. By then you’ll be well on your way to accepting the fact that I’m your amazing husband and the father of your children.”
Manny holds the back door to my car open, and I place Roxy on the ground. She stares at me, mystified, shaking her head and pressing her lips together so tight, I know she’s struggling to stop herself from responding with a snarky comeback. She swallows it down and kisses me on the cheek. “That dimple might kill me first. How have you managed to put up with this guy every day for so many years, Manny?”
“Well, miss,” he says, “he pays me to.”
“That makes sense.”
We make out in the back seat all the way from New Jersey to Brooklyn. In between kisses, I ask her, “You want us to drop you off first?”
“No, I’ll come with you to pick up Jackpot. But then I need to go home.”
“You coming to my place tonight?”
Even as she’s kissing me all over my face, she says, “No way. I need a night to myself. I’m gonna lie on my back and snore it up, and besides, we should take a little break from each other. See how we feel now that we’re off the island.”
“Fuck that. I’m taking you to dinner tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she says without even thinking about it. “But I get to choose where we go.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,Ute, that’s what we’ve been doing all along.”
Manny somehow manages to find a parking spot right in front of the dog hotel. I straighten myself up before stepping out of the car and try to sound casual when I ask Roxy, “You want to wait in the car?”
She smirks. “No. Why would you want me to wait in the car?”
I roll my eyes. “Can you do me a favor and wait in the car while I get him?”
“Because…?”
“Because I would like to give him the opportunity to get excited to see me.”
“Sure. I will giveyouthat opportunity.”
“He does sometimes get happy to see me when I’ve been away for a few days.”
“I have no doubt.”
“This has been the longest period of time I’ve left him here, so it’s important for us to re-establish the bond before—”
“Before he gets excited about bonding with someone he actually likes?”
I shake my head. “You’re mean.”
She pinches my cheek. “I hope he realizes how lucky he is to have such an amazing dog daddy. Maybe you should keep telling him you’re his dog daddy until it doesn’t feel weird to him.”
That’s not a bad idea, actually.
