Page 197 of Requiem for Love

There wasn’t a chance in hell.

“From what I understand, the final count is Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Omega,” Joel said.

Adrían folded his arms across his chest. “It all makes me uneasy. You think I would be used to this. In Rio, there was violence all the time. In my favela, we didn’t listen to the government. We didn’t listen to the police. They weren’t the ones we saw patrolling the streets with guns.”

“Favelas are like neighborhoods, right?”

“Yes. Poor, but not without love. Not without community. With my mother and with my friends, I was content. If someone was gunned down in the street,” Adrían shrugged, “we would say it was their fault. Called it law and order. Called it justified.”

“Until it was your mother.”

“How’d you know?”

“How did she die? Your mother.”

“For saying no. For believing her body was her own. They left her in the streets. I saw it happen from my school window. After that, I don’t remember much. I didn’t for a while. Everything inside me died with her.”

Theo tossed a beanbag clear into a cornhole opening. Around him, his friends cheered, and even from across the field, Joel spotted the red tint to his caramel complexion and shy grin.

“Are the rumors about you true?” he asked.

“Some are true. Some are not.” Adrían circled a hand in the air. “I did despise humanity, stayed away from it. Then, I saw someone’s heart for the first time in my life.”

“Eesh.”

Though it didn’t last long, a broad smile pushed Adrían’s cheekbones higher on his face. “For her to love you the way she does told me a lot about you. At first, I thought you were some asshole who wouldn’t think twice about leaving her if things got bad. A woman like Ayesha, you die for. Until I met her, loneliness, for me, was a security blanket. So, and I know it might not be what you want to hear, especially coming from me, I’m grateful to you.”

Joel stretched the muscles in his neck.

“You had the urge to say ‘thank you’ but then swallowed it, didn’t you? I can see you trying not to choke.”

Despite himself, he smiled. “Whatever, man. I’m conflicted. I appreciate your respect for Ayesha. She’s the love of my life, and you devoted yourself to helping her, which, in turn, helped my family. Still, the primitive male in me…flexes.”

Adrían laughed.

Tiare stirred.

Joel repositioned the hoodie on her head. “Why do you feel uneasy?” he asked.

Again, Adrían shrugged. “Don’t know. Every morning I wake up, I get this feeling like I’m looking at the last of my sunrises.”

A lull fell between them.

Tiare released a small cry before settling back to sleep, and Joel checked his watch. Her next feeding was coming up soon.

“I’ve been thinking about trying to meet someone new,” Adrían said. “Larke’s sister, Wren? She’s…yeah, she’s definitely my type.”

“Well, Dez keeps saying Thanasis is ‘weird’ about her, but he won’t elaborate on what that means. Because it’s Thanasis, I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.” Joel patted him on the shoulder. “But who knows? Ayesha’s father was married when he met her mother. Rumor is, she has a sister out there somewhere.”

“With my luck, she’ll be happily married.”

“If it’ll get you to stop drooling over my wife, I’ll help you break up the marriage.”

Adrían burst out laughing.

Tiare’s eyes fluttered open.

“Well,” Joel removed her from the carrier and planted several kisses on her cheek before holding her against him, “I’m gonna go feed this adorable monster.”

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