No one is here but us.
The world is ours.
But, right now, there isn’t an our. There’s her and me and a million walls between us.
“I want to explain this to you,” I say.
“You don’t have to.” She grabs a chicken taco and brings it to her lips. “I understand.”
“You don’t.”
“You walked in on your girlfriend fucking another guy in your bed. Of course you’re gonna feel weird about the bed.” She picks up a lime, squeezes it over her taco, does it again. “I’m sure you’re more tired of thinking about her than I am.”
“Yeah.”
“So let’s eat.”
She doesn’t want to talk about this.
But I’ve only got two ways to convince her. And it’s not like things are gonna go different if I take her back to my bed a second time.
I can fuck her in my bed. I don’t have any problem getting hard.
But there’s no way I’m fucking Leighton with that image in my head.
And there’s no way to erase it.
Leighton groans as she licks salsa from her fingers. “Perfect. Right?”
I take my first bite. Soft tortilla. Tender chicken. Tangy salsa. Just enough cilantro. “It is.”
“If you don’t eat faster, I’ll finish yours.”
“You can.”
She shakes her head. “The whole point of this is teaching you how to enjoy Mexican cuisine.”
“So I can pick up takeout when you’re busy?”
“Well, if you insist.” She grabs a steak taco. Bites off half. Chews. Swallows. “But I doubt you’ll give up
the chance to cook me dinner.”
“You don’t think I’ll get over it?”
“Not with how obsessed you are.”
“You don’t worry I’ll stop wanting to take care of you?”
She licks cilantro from her finger. “No. I…” Her eyes go to the ground. “I worry you’re going to get to the wedding, see her walking down the aisle, and snap. Do a Dustin Hoffman.”
“Huh?”
“The Graduate. He’s lusting after the girl next door all summer. While he’s sleeping with her mom. He shows up at her wedding and whisks her away. Then they get on a bus.”
Oh. That movie. “And the camera stays on them. It goes from romantic to awkward. They realize they made a mistake.”
“You know it?”