A Magnetic Couple Dilemma (Unfinished Liaisons Series) (5 page)

When Javier entered the living room,
he noticed Raul's expression and tried to go back, but Raul stopped him.
"Javier, it's okay, we're arguing about some crazy person we all
know."

Javier noticed that Esteban had
changed his clothing for a navy shirt and pair of black pants. He appeared
younger, less severe looking, and Javier had to fix his gaze onto something
else, before the two men noticed how interesting he found Esteban's
lean
sculpted muscles framed in the new clothes. He distracted himself by looking
out the
panoramic windows that made up a whole wall of
the room, showcasing the Manhattan skyline.

"I'm sorry, if I interrupted
something."

Esteban waved a hand. "No, you
didn't. Take a seat, and listen to this craziness." Esteban waited until
Javier sat down before continuing. "Raul and Diego decided to become
friends, and to celebrate, Raul shared one of his girlfriends with Diego."

Javier couldn't believe his ears.
"He has more than one?"

Raul reacted freshly. "Of
course! Why should a man have only one?"

Javier was surprised by the saucy
comment, but simply said, "I see. Did she agree to be with Diego
too?"

Javier knew he sounded naive asking
such questions, but he honestly was curious.

"Sure, you can't force a woman
to do that. I mean, you can, but it wouldn't be the right thing to do."

"And what is the problem
now?"

Esteban answered that one. "They
are enemies again because she prefers Diego and is pregnant with his
baby."

Raul stared at Esteban.

"It could be my baby."

"What's your version of the
events, Raul?"

Raul dropped his shoes on the floor
and hunkered down on the couch like a rebellious teenager. "Just what I
said, man. I got Diego some pussy and he liked it so much that he got
crazy."

Javier spoke before he could stop
himself. "Really? I thought he was gay."

Esteban's expression equaled a
prosecutor in front of the jury. "He is gay, Javier. And in all the years
I've known him, which is all my life, I never heard of him liking any girl. I
bet Raul did something else to get Diego in this mess. Raul, what did you use?
Alcohol, drugs?"

"Javier is going to think I'm
some kind of thug."

"When it comes to Diego, you
have no qualms at all. To be fair Javier, Diego has done bad things to Raul,
too."

Javier
mumbled more for himself
than the others.
"Oh, they are really
enemies."

Esteban remarked without taking his
eyes from Raul, "Worse, because they shared the affection of many people
who don't know what to do when they are at war. Anyway, this time there is an
innocent involved. And I'm not talking only about the mother."

Raul got up and started pacing around
a few feet. "It's my baby too. I mean that thing could be mine too."

Esteban stood in front of Raul
stopping his errant movements, and his voice came out as tough as Javier had
ever heard it.

"You're calling the baby thing,
so killing him would not hurt, eh?"

Javier also stood. "Who is
killing who?"

Javier had lost track of the
argument, these two were at each other's throats, and Esteban was red to his
ears when he said, "Raul wants the mother to have an abortion."

"Oh." Javier thought that
even if he was pro-life, he understood there were times people had to make
choices, but still the idea of a baby never being born affected him.

Esteban wiggled a finger in front of
Raul's face. "Wait a second. How did she
get
pregnant? Don't tell me you were so irresponsible to have sex without
protection, and forced Diego to do the same thing."

"I didn't force him! And the
first time we used protection."

"The first time! So you guys did
it more than once?"

Outraged, Esteban stared at his
brother in shock, and Raul offered his most innocent expression, if he ever had
one.

"I told you, he liked it."

"Raul, how are you so
sure?"

"When they did it, I was there.
I witnessed it."

"You were in the same
room?"

"Yes. You don't share your
girlfriend with some guy and leave them alone. Of course, you know nothing of
these things, Esteban."

"And I'm not sure I want to know
the details of this incident. Javier, maybe you shouldn't listen to this either."

"Why not? Because it's
personal?" Javier asked.

"No. Because of the level of
sexual deviancy involved," Esteban stated.

Javier found that funny. "Come
on, Esteban, I've probably had more sex in my life than you."

Raul laughed at that for a few seconds.
"Everybody we know has had more sex than Esteban. My poor brother is a
virgin."

Esteban froze and Javier thought he
should not have made that comment at all.

"I'm sorry, Esteban, I didn't
mean to say it like that."

"It's okay. One is not supposed to
be sexually active while being a celibate priest."

Javier went back to the sofa and kept
his eyes on his interlaced fingers over his lap; he didn't want to risk
glancing at Esteban's face, because his voice clearly announced how angry he
was.

"Jesus! Raul, how could you do
such a thing? What I don't understand is why Diego agreed?"

"Well, it's simple. He tried it,
he liked it, and now, he wants to keep the girl with baby and all."

"No, that can't be true,"
argued Esteban.

"It is, and the problem is I shared
my favorite girlfriend, the one I still like. And now she's pregnant and
telling everybody it's Diego's baby."

"You messed up big this
time," Esteban told him.

"It's probably my baby, not his.
Esteban, I already have too many children, she's not having another."

"Are you telling me to my face
that you want her to have an abortion?" Esteban asked Raul in
astonishment.

"Esteban, the girl won't be a
good mother, and I can't have more kids."

"It could also be Diego's baby,
no wonder he's so mad at you, and he didn't want to talk with me thinking I was
going to bring up this issue. Life is precious, Raul," Esteban said
vehemently.

"Yes, easy to say when you're
not paying child support plus alimony," Raul accused.

"Well, you should have thought
before acting, you know."

Raul defended himself. "I did, I
always use protection, that day was an exception."

"That day could end up being a
disaster. Your penchant for young women is a disgrace, Raul."

"Much better than having it for men, don't you
think?" Raul said snidely.

"What are you saying?"

Raul held his hands up as if to say,
I give up. "You know what, Esteban, you shouldn't get involved in our
problems. Diego and I will sort this one out."

There was a silence and Javier looked
up, Esteban had walked away from Raul and stood in front of the panoramic
windows for a few seconds before he turned around resolute, and told Javier,
"Get your stuff, we're out of here."

Surprised, Javier stood, but before
he could move, Raul walked up to where Esteban was and said, "I'm sorry
for yelling at you, but this is the most difficult thing I have ever gone
through, not even my divorce was this complicated."

"Why? Because you're going to be
a father again? I see no complication there, besides, it could be the baby girl
you've always wanted. Do you still want to kill her?"

"All right, I won't talk about
abortion anymore," Raul conceded.

"Good. And you're going to find
a way to work things out with Diego too."

"Ah, that doesn't depend on me,
you know how he is."

"I'll talk with him, and you
guys better come up with a good explanation why the both of you are having the
same baby."

Raul shook his head. "That
sounds wrong Esteban."

"Wrong is what Mom will say if
she hears this story."

"Oh, no, you can't let Diego tell
her until we know who the father is."

"Okay, but you better start
apologizing to the baby's mother," Esteban informed him.

"I've never been good at
that," Raul admitted, and Esteban smiled."Then it's never too late to
learn."

"Fine, I'll send her some
flowers with a card. Now, I better get ready, I'm going to be late."

Raul headed for the hall and from
there he turned around and asked Esteban, "Can you do some coffee for me
while I take a shower please?"

For a second Javier thought Esteban
was going to refuse, but he walked to the kitchen. Javier followed him
silently, and watched while Esteban looked around the room checking where
things were.

"Javier, are you hungry? I'm
going to cook some pasta."

"You know how to cook?"

"Yes, the essential stuff."

Javier wanted to tell him something,
but wasn't sure if it was another wrong comment. After a while, Esteban looked
back at him and asked, "What is it?"

"Esteban, I have a theory about
why Diego got involved in that whole mess."

"You know why?" Esteban was
curious.

"Well, not exactly why, but I
think I know the reason he was able to perform with that girl."

"I'm listening." Esteban
said encouragingly.

Javier lowered his voice.

"Because Raul was in the room,
probably in the same bed?"

Esteban looked at him in
astonishment. "Do you think?"

"Uh-huh," Javier affirmed.

"I can't believe what sex does
to people, it's amazing how far some would go for pleasure." Esteban shook
his head in amazement.

"Well, maybe you should try it
so you can sympathize."

Again, Javier regretted talking, but
there was something in Esteban that urged him to be daring. When Esteban
ignored the comment and turned around to set the coffeemaker, Javier wished he
were not HIV positive, so he could seduce him. He smiled at that thought, because
he'd always been seduced. He'd never taken the initiative with anyone. Maybe
with someone with limited experience he wouldn't mind.

"How virgin are you?"
Javier boldly asked.

Esteban set the coffee can on the
counter with extra strength and turned around. When Javier saw Esteban's mouth
drop half open in shock, he decided not to back down, no matter what. There
were so many things they could do without putting him at risk.

"What are you asking,
Javier?"

Before he could answer, Raul entered
the kitchen, and asked, "Esteban, did you call Mom?"

"No. I forgot, I'm calling her
right now." Then Esteban
squinted
at Javier
and shook his head before heading for the living room. Raul served himself
coffee after offering Javier some, which he turned down.

Raul sipped a few times, and standing
next to Javier whispered, "You like Esteban, right?"

"Yes, he has been very kind to
me."

"Maybe you can return the favor.
He will be back to the church in a few days if something dramatic doesn't
happen," Raul confided.

"How do you know?"

"This is the third time he has
tried to quit. The only thing that could prevent him from going back to his
sanctity is a carnal sin that he wished to repeat often."

Javier faced him, ignoring how
seductive he looked with his wet hair and wrapped in a bathrobe.

"And why are you telling me
this?" Javier
demanded
.

Raul smiled and the way he looked him
up and down confirmed his suspicion that poor Diego didn't stand a chance if
this person was in seducing mode. Esteban had no idea of who his brother really
was.

"My bedroom is the one across
from yours, I have condoms in the nightstand drawer, and I won't be back until
the morning. Make him sin, badly." He
drawled
the last words.

Openmouthed, Javier watched Raul
walking away while the words carnal sin flashed in his mind in red neon lights.

****

After Raul left, Esteban and Javier had dinner in an
enervating silence. Later on, Esteban refused his help to clean the kitchen and
suggested Javier take some time for himself because he also needed a break.
Javier found the room Raul assigned to him really nice, and in that moment, a
real shelter.

Feeling like a kid sent to his room, Javier wondered if
following Esteban around was right, maybe he was imposing, but he didn't want
to go back to his parents, and he liked being with Esteban. There were so many
things he wanted to talk with him about. In that moment, he recalled Esteban's
expression looking at the picture of the kids, it had been tender, but it
changed when Raul asked if he wanted his own. So, Esteban didn't want any kids,
or didn't plan to father any.