Happy (12 page)

of his friends or family.”

“Oh.”

“Louie finally gave him an ultimatum, but it didn’t work out so well.”

Peter nodded silently, thinking. No wonder Louie had made such a

fuss about not hiding in the closet. He wondered if the breakup was the

reason for his return home too.

His mother appeared at the table like a magician, brandishing a bowl

of olives and a basket of warm pita, and Demetra finally relinquished her

hold on his hand. She chatted about work as she picked at the food. She was

an executive assistant to a senior partner in a law firm, and her hours were

as crazy as his, or so it seemed lately. They’d hardly spent any time together

this summer, not since before her parents left for their annual trip to Greece.

The whole time she talked, the weight on his chest grew heavier. Peter kept

wondering how he could bring the conversation back around to Louie and

his broken heart.

The annoying electronic dance beat of Demetra’s ring tone interrupted

her monologue. She frowned at the screen, ignored the call, and dropped her

phone back into her oversized handbag.

“You can take that if you want,” Peter urged.

She smiled sweetly. “Nope.”

But Peter could tell the call weighed on her mind. She grew quiet,

downed the remains of her wine in one gulp. Several minutes later, Demetra

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Chris Scully

68

excused herself. “Be right back,” she assured him before heading downstairs

to the restrooms in the basement.

Peter let out the sigh he’d been holding in, forgetting for a brief

second about his audience. He quickly checked if anyone had noticed, but

his mother was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone back to the office.

He pulled out his own phone, intending to send Louie a congratulatory

message, and saw with a lick of pleasure that Louie
had
texted him earlier.

He had just missed it.
Got the apartment
, the message said.

Congrats
, Peter typed. He had barely sent the text before the reply arrived.

Will u help me move?

Of course. Im supposed to be ur boyfriend remember?

Peter stared in horror at the words he’d just sent. What the hell had

possessed him to write that? His heart pounded as he waited for Louie’s

response. It seemed to take an awfully long time.

LOL. Ur the best pretend boyfriend I ever had

The breath he’d been holding whooshed from his lungs.
It’s a date, then.

You wish ;)

“And there it is again,” Annie muttered as she passed his table, the

spray bottle of cleaning fluid dangling from her hand.

“What?” Peter turned around in his seat as she misted the abandoned

table behind them and scrubbed vigorously at a particularly sticky spot.

“That sexy smile. Maybe if you used it on your girlfriend more often,

she wouldn’t be hiding in the bathroom and yelling on the phone?”

Demetra
had
been gone a long time. “Is she okay?”

Annie shrugged. “How would I know?” She set the napkin holder and

condiments back in place, then straightened as she threw him a haughty

look. “Do I look like a snoop? But she sounded pretty upset to me.”

Should he check on her?

“Do you know anyone named Andre?” Annie asked.

“Andre? No. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” Annie waltzed over to another table and repeated her

cleaning routine just as Demetra reemerged and headed back to the table.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glittered, and there was a determined set

to her jaw as she sat down.

“Everything ok—?”

“Do you want to come over tonight after your shift?” she asked

abruptly.

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69

Peter peered at her, his body tensing for unknown reasons. “Um, sure.

I just need to finish up here.”

“No problem. Louie’s been a pest lately. It would be good for him to

see us together.”

He relaxed. They wouldn’t be alone. Louie would be there. That

worrying tingle of anticipation raced up his spine. “Demetra, maybe we

should rethink—”

The flash of panic on Demetra’s face made Peter hesitate. “You’re not

breaking up with me, are you?”

“No, of course not.”

“I know I haven’t been around much.” She smiled at him and took his

hand again. “And I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. Besides, it’s about

time we started getting serious about this, isn’t it?”

Panic tightened his chest.
What the hell did that mean?

Demetra rose and leaned down to kiss him. It was a long kiss—

passionless, but long enough to make Peter uncomfortable. When she

pulled back, she smiled again, but it appeared slightly forced. He felt like

they were both actors in a third-rate play—cast in roles neither was fully

committed to. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

Dumfounded, Peter could only nod and watch as she left the restaurant.

“I think I’m gonna hurl,” Annie said in disgust.

You and me both
, he wanted to say. Worst of all, his mom wasn’t even

around.

Half an hour later, he turned out the lights and drove his mom home.

Friday and Saturday nights they stayed open until midnight during the

summer, but weeknights they closed at eight. He really didn’t want to go

over to Demetra’s place. He was an ass for even thinking that way—a guy

should want to spend time with his girlfriend, right?—but sometimes she

bored him silly.

Demetra was great. She was smart and pretty, and Greek. He was lucky

to have her. But the fact was he regarded her more as a younger sister than

a potential wife. He’d thought she felt the same, but now he wasn’t so sure.

She was too young for him, for one thing. A five-year age difference may

not have seemed like much on the surface, but to him it was a generational

divide. And outside of their families, they really had nothing in common.

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70

But if Louie was there, it would be okay. Suddenly the night didn’t

seem so dreadful. He texted Demetra to say he would shower first, but she

said it didn’t matter and to come on over. When he arrived, still smelling of

the grill, she greeted him with another kiss, right there on the front porch.

She had changed out of her work clothes, and he did a double take when he

noticed how her breasts moved beneath the thin sundress that clung to her

body. Braless, then. Peter felt a surge of uncertainty.

The house seemed quiet and empty as she ushered him inside.

“Where’s Louie?” he whispered, in case the man was close by.

“Oh, he’s out,” she replied. His heart sank. They were alone. Even

though they’d been dating for a few months now, there had always been

other people around: her parents, his parents, her friends.

“I thought this was for his benefit.”

“He’ll show up eventually. Why don’t we watch some TV?” She took

his hand and led him into the living room.

“Uh, sure.”

“Can I get you something to drink?”

For once he didn’t jump at the offer. Although he wished he had when

she announced she wanted to watch last night’s episode of
The Bachelor
.

Peter sat cautiously on the couch. When Demetra walked in front of

the television, he could see clean through the sundress to the dark panties

she wore beneath. He gulped and felt the sweat jump out on his forehead,

more than a little surprised to find himself turned on. He quickly looked

away. “I, uh, was thinking about what you said earlier—about Louie not

having too many friends. I thought I’d see if he wanted to go to a movie this

weekend.”

“Oh.”

Obviously that was not a good idea. “Did you have plans?”

“I thought you and I could do something together for once.”

Peter suppressed his irritation. He wanted to say that she was the one

who kept canceling their plans. It wasn’t his fault they didn’t spend time

together—not entirely anyway. “Okay, sure. What would you like to do?”

“There’s that Caribbean festival downtown this weekend. Some

people from work are going. I thought we could join them.”

He thought it odd that Demetra was suddenly interested in cultural

events when she hadn’t been before, but he supposed he could handle it.

“Yeah, okay.”

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71

“Great. I’ll let them know. Maybe you could even get the night off.”

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, her breasts brushing his arm.

Then she curled up beside him, close but not quite touching, and immediately

became riveted by the latest exploits of some hunky rancher with a heart of

gold and the dozen crazy women vying for his affection.

A few minutes later, a fat tabby cat jumped up on the back of the

couch and draped itself over his shoulder.
This must be Zelda, Louie’s diva

cat.
Peter scratched beneath her chin and was rewarded with a loud purr. He

began to relax and breathe easier. In fact, he actually nodded off, only to jerk

awake when a car door slammed shut outside. It was followed shortly by the

scratch of a key in the lock. “That must be Louie,” Demetra whispered. She

immediately snuggled into his arms and laid her head on his chest. He had

no option but to go with it.

The front door gave a mournful groan as it opened, and then Peter

heard the low murmur of more than one voice in the foyer.

“Oh, you’re here,” Louie exclaimed as he peeked into the living room.

“I thought you were going out tonight, Dee.” His eyes widened when he

saw Peter with Demetra snuggled against him. “Um, Peter. Hi.”

Peter grinned at the sight of Louie dressed in dark slim-fit slacks, a

collared blue shirt, and striped tie. He couldn’t help it. He looked great all

cleaned up. Then another man stepped out from behind Louie, and Peter’s

smile faded.

The newcomer was tall and handsome in a rugged sort of way, with a

well-defined physique and a tousle of blond hair. An awkward silence fell

as they eyed each other.

“I’m Kelly,” Louie’s companion introduced himself.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Louie’s face was slowly turning a bright shade of

pink. Peter felt the same heat creeping up the back of his neck. “This is my

sister and her boyfriend,” Louie explained absently. He looked toward the

stairs and then back at his companion, his face etched with indecision.

“We can go back to my place,” Kelly offered with a nod of his head.

“My roommate won’t mind.”

Louie practically sagged in relief. “Yeah. Let me grab a couple of things.”

Peter couldn’t help staring as Louie ran up the stairs. Kelly hung

back, waiting. He ventured a step or two into the living room. “Ooh,
The

Bachelor
,” he exclaimed. “Oh my God, I couldn’t believe when he—”

“Stop, stop,” Demetra laughed. “Don’t tell me. I haven’t caught up yet.”

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72

“You’re going to freak. I know I did.”

“Does he pick Lenora? Please don’t tell me he picks Lenora.”

Peter snorted. What the hell kind of name was Lenora?

“That crazy bitch?” Kelly crowed, coming to perch on the armrest

next to Demetra. “Oh no. It’s worse than that.”

“What?” Demetra shrieked. “How can it be worse?”

Peter just sat there, blocking out their chatter. His heart was doing

crazy things. Louie had another friend. More than a friend by all indications.

A few seconds later, Louie reappeared, out of breath. “All set,” he

said. Kelly got up to rejoin him. “I’ll, uh, see you guys later.”

“Have fun,” Demetra teased with a wave.

“Oh we will,” Kelly replied. “Nice to meet you,” he added as Louie

hustled him out the door. Peter wanted to strangle the man.

Demetra settled back against him with a satisfied sigh. “That went

well, don’t you think?”

Peter grunted, staring vacantly at the television. It hadn’t gone well at

all. Not for him.

EIGHT

The doorbell rang sometime after nine on Monday night.

Louie, who had been dozing on the couch in front of an unfunny sitcom,

jolted upright at the sound. His heart thundered at the abrupt awakening. He

shook his head to clear the cobwebs and checked his watch.

Had Demetra forgotten her keys again?

Bleary-eyed, he shuffled to the door and peered through the peep hole.

The familiar dome of Peter’s shaved head gleamed beneath the porch light.

His heart rate picked up. He yanked hard on the door handle and it opened

with a jerky groan. “Hi,” Peter said with a tentative smile.

“Hey. Dee’s not home,” Louie blurted. It might have come out a touch

too defensively.

“I, uh, I know,” Peter stammered, seeming ill at ease. “She mentioned

going out with some work friends tonight. But I was on my way home and

saw the light on. I thought… maybe you might want to hang out. I mean, if

you don’t have other plans.”

Louie hesitated. There was a new tension in the air that hadn’t been

there before, and he thought it had to do with last week. So Peter had seen

him with a date. He had needs. He didn’t have anything to be ashamed of.

Hell, Peter had spent most of the weekend with Demetra and you