Page 61 of Fool Me Twice

Sebastián grabbed my hand and led me from his bedroom. “We can also play video games in the car.”

He proceeded to tell me about his newest racing game, but I could only half pay attention. Rodrigo stood at the front door, a tight T-shirt hugging his chest and his hair slicked back. Immediately, my pulse increased.

“Ready to go?” He looked up at us, an easy smile on his face.

“Sure thing.” I nodded and smiled as well, wondering whether his grin was just as fake as mine.

The last few days had been tense, both at home and at work. I knew I’d made the right decision not pursuing things with Rodrigo, but that knowledge did nothing to quell my ache for him.

Even just being in the same room with him was painful. He was like a tonic that my body craved.

“Melba is in the car.” Rodrigo ruffled Sebastián’s hair as the boy walked by.

I started to head out the door too, but I dropped my phone. “Oh.”

“I have it,” Rodrigo said.

We bent at the same time to pick it up and ended up knocking heads.

“Sorry.” Rodrigo reached a hand out to me, right as I reached a hand out to him.

“No, I’m sorry,” I said. I bent again to pick up the phone—but so did he.

I paused. Rodrigo paused. Then finally he went, retrieved my phone, and handed it over.

“Well, that was complicated,” I said.

“It didn’t have to be.” His gaze lingered on me, and I got the distinct feeling he wasn’t just talking about my phone.

“Rodrigo…”

“Yes?”

I glanced at the driveway, where Melba and Sebastián were already in the car, out of earshot. Taking a breath, I prepared myself to say… what?

Truly, what was left to say? Things still didn’t feel right between me and Rodrigo, but our conversation in the backyard had gone about as well as I could expect it to.

What more was I waiting for? For him to take me in his arms and tell me that all my worries didn’t matter, that he would be the man I wanted and needed until the end of our days?

Yes. That was exactly what I wanted. If anything, though, I was practical. I’d never held my breath waiting for a knight on a white horse.

So I redirected. “Thank you for inviting me along today.”

“It’s my pleasure. Ready?”

“Sure.”

The drive up the coast was a nice one, and Sebastián ended up not needing his book after all. The four of us played car games and listened to a trivia podcast, and by the time we reached Melba’s town several hours later it felt as if only a few minutes had gone by.

There were the cursory introductions at Melba’s great-niece’s house, where we met no less than fifteen relatives. Lunch was shoved at us, and we ate in the sunny garden while everyone talked about town events and politics.

For the first time in my life, I found I could keep up. My Brazilian Portuguese wasn’t perfect, but I never lost track of the conversation or misheard anything important.

At one point, I spotted Rodrigo watching me, a slight smile on. When I looked back at him he scooted closer to whisper in English.

“Your Portuguese is amazing.”

“Finally,” I whispered back. “It’s been long enough.”

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