Page 99 of The Moon Also Rises
“Work hard? I should hope you do. You’re lucky to have that job!” his mother says and she is rewarded by her daughters’ laughter.
“I meant, I don’t try to get on your nerves,” Rami says to me while waving a hand at his giggling sisters. “It just… happens.”
“And yet you’re so very successful at it.” I purse my lips at him and watch as Rami’s face flickers from annoyed to amused.
“Well, Jake likes to annoy his assistant.” Rami turns to his mother and sisters, sounding like a scorned child.
“I do indeed,” I say proudly. “Sharon is a wonderful butch lesbian who keeps my life from descending into utter chaos. The least I can do is communicate my gratitude for her in her love languages which are derision and degradation. And she does exactly the same to me, because they are also my love languages.” I deliberately avoid Rami’s gaze when I say this.
Rami’s mother chuckles, her whole body moving slightly. “It sounds like you both have a lot of fun at work.” She looks at Rami. “I’m very happy to hear this.”
“And for the record, Rami does work hard,” I add. “And he has been very accommodating to my need for space sometimes. Sharing an office has been a bit challenging at times, but I take most of the blame for that.”
Rami blinks at me before his smile grows. “It’s been a learning curve for us both, Jake.”
“Well, you do bring me coffee every morning. That does make it somewhat less sufferable having you around.”
Rami arches an eyebrow, and is he trying to impersonate one of my typical pouts back at me? I squint as if to scrutinise it but we both end up laughing at our expressions and I then pull my glare away, only to see Rami’s mum watching us, closely.
“Who’s ready for dessert?” Radia pushes up to stand in such a hurried way it makes me wonder what she knows about Rami and myself. “Roxie, help me clear the plates.”
Roxie groans. “Do I have to?”
“It’s fine, I’ll do it.” Rami stands up too.
Raina has the final say as she stands and reaches for two dishes on the table. “No, you helped cook. You sit and talk with your guest. The girls are happy to help me.” She walks out of the room.
“I wouldn’t say that,” grumbles Roxie, not moving.
“Happy is a stretch,” Radia says with a wink at me as she reaches for my plate. She quickly glances to check her mother has left the room already. “Come on, Rox. Let’s leave Rami and his boyfriend alone for a minute.”
“Radia, Jake is not my—” Rami begins.
“Ssshhh, Mom might hear!” Radia sticks out her tongue before walking away.
“Are you really boyfriends?” Roxie asks looking from me to Rami and back again. I can’t quite read her open-mouthed expression but I’m going to choose it’s excited rather than horrified. I’m also choosing to ignore the way my stomach flips every time the word ‘boyfriend’ is said.
“We are not boyfriends,” Rami says, not exactly holding his sister’s eye contact but still leaning towards her. “We are friends, and we work together.”
“Do you not want to be Jake’s boyfriend?” Roxie asks and heat climbs up my neck and cheeks. If Rami is having anything close to the same reaction, he doesn’t show it.
“Jake would be a brilliant boyfriend,” his voice stays calm and he still doesn’t look away from his sister. “But it’s up to Jake who his boyfriend is, isn’t it?”
I pray silently that Roxie doesn’t direct the same question at me and for once my prayers are answered. With a quick shrug, she stands and collects a handful of remaining plates and then leaves the room.
“Roxana sometimes doesn’t have a filter,” Rami says finally looking at me again. “And Radia too, it seems. Sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable.”
Hot? Flustered? Intrigued? Restless? That’s what the boyfriend comments made me feel. I wouldn’t say any of it was uncomfortable though.
I wave away his apology. “No big deal. You have a lovely family, Rami.”
He looks down, smiling. “I know. I’m very lucky.”
Because of the angle of his head, I can’t see if that smile reaches his eyes or if it’s a sad as his voice sounds.
“You know you’re not so bad yourself, right? I know I tease you and stuff, but you’re a good guy, Rami.”
The way Rami’s head snaps up, his eyes blown wide and his mouth slightly open is a shock to me. Surely, he knows he’s one of the good guys. A good guy who travels hours every Sunday to see their family. A good guy who goes out of his way to make my life easier whether it’s taking his calls out of the office or traipsing across half of Southwest England to go to a wedding as my fake boyfriend. A good guy who buys me and Sharon coffee every single morning. A good guy who didn’t humiliate me for my weird sexual preferences. A good guy who maybe, possibly even enjoyed them himself as he indulged them.
