Page 30 of Embriagado

I would have said the air around us was so thick you could cut it with a knife, only it wasn’t. We weren’t involved enough with one another for me to care that much, at least, not anymore. To begin with, our relationship—if you could even call it that—was a mistake. We were a bad fit, which resulted in too much heartache on his behalf. I often fucked up, and he always forgave, even when he shouldn’t have. Refusing to admit we were wrong for each other, he stuck to me like his life depended on it. And don’t get me wrong, there were nights I thought I loved him, too, but the feeling always went away at dawn.

“I came to see you, you know?”

Ah, damn it.

“Three times. I came there three times, and not once did you agree to meet me.”

Biting my tongue, I tried swallowing down the rage that slowly simmered inside me. The last thing I wanted was to think back on those damn days, and yet, Gabriel just waltzed in here and began speaking like he knew shit. It was one thing if I still wanted him, but now, I couldn’t care less.

“Why did you refuse⁠—”

The sudden sound of my phone ringing was like a lifeline, and I reached to grab it before Gabriel could slip in another word. Seeing it was work, I quickly picked up.

“Hey,” I said to Taylor, one of the girls working with me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gabriel shifting uncomfortably and hoped he’d give up and leave.

“Santiago, hey. Sorry for calling so late, but there was an emergency, and one of the guys on the night shift didn’t show up. Any chance you could come here at the last minute?”

I wanted a way out of this situation with Gabriel, but not enough to pull an overnight.

“I just came back from my shift⁠—”

“They pay double at night.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

She thanked me, then hung up.

Gabriel’s eyes immediately found mine the second I put the phone down.

“Work?” he asked, and I nodded.

“Yeah, and as you can see—” I glanced down at my half-naked body. “—I need to get ready, so…”

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Cool,” I replied and watched him go back to the door. His head was down, and his shoulders slumped. I was probably a bit too mean, but maybe it would make him get the message for a change. To be honest, I never understood how he could still want me after all the shit I caused him, but I guess some people were so poisoned by love they got blinded.

8

SANTIAGO

Gabriel

I know you’ll probably say no, but what about Cubanos for lunch? We can go to that food truck you like.

Fucker.

In the three months since I got out, he was radio silent, and all of a sudden, he was so eager to meet. What the fuck was wrong with him? What did we even have to meet for? We were broken up even before I went to prison—long before that. Sure, we might have fucked a few times while we were on a break, but that was just sex. Good sex, but nothing mind-blowing that was worth going back for another round. Right?

I slumped back in my chair, the same chair I’d sat in for the last eight or so hours, guarding the damn parking lot, then glanced back at my phone. Should I meet him just to get laid? Nah, that sounded stupid even to me, but then again, he did look good yesterday⁠—

“Morning, Santi.”

Looking up from the screen, I saw Imani walking toward me. She probably had the morning shift.

“Hey,” I said, putting down my phone.