Chapter Five
Javier Lorenzo
I answered the call, ready to follow her instructions, but without even thinking about it, I started saying something entirely different-something she hadn’t expected me to say. And now that I think of it, I had not expected it either.
“I am sorry to say this, but look, man, if you have chosen another woman, then you shouldn’t still be bothering your ex-girlfriend, you asshole!” The caller was quiet; I didn’t know what I had been expecting, but it was definitely not silence. He had obviously expected to hear Lula’s voice, and was probably wondering who the hell I was. He cleared his throat and though it took him a while, it finally occurred to him who I might be.
He had used another number to call hoping he’d be able to apologize to Lula. Now that another man was in the picture, his plan was no longer going to be easily executed and that infuriated him.
I didn’t know what to do, so I just put the phone on loudspeaker so she could hear what he had to say as well. He angrily asked where we were and whether we had been together all night and had sex. That took me by surprise, How? Why? Where was this question even coming from? I inhaled sharply. One thing was sure though, I couldn’t continue to drive while still having this conversation. I didn’t want to have an accident for any reason whatsoever. “Yo! Answer me, will you? Or you are silent now because it’s true?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
Before I got the chance to speak or respond with something to calm him down, Lula spoke up, saying, “Yes, we did, Carlos; we have been together all night, and don’t even think of guilt-tripping me because you and I know you’ve been with my best friend, so it’s only fair that I spend the night with someone new.” I was shocked by her outburst. Why did she do that without my permission? I was flushed.
She just admitted that we had sex when we didn’t. Gosh, I didn’t know if I should be happy or upset because yes, I was developing feelings for her but claiming we had spent the night together having sex was just wrong. Why would you go around telling people something so intimate? I kept my opinion to myself, deciding to tell her about it once the call ended. But then again, I couldn’t blame her; this was her ex-boyfriend, who cheated on her with her best friend. I expected that she must still have been very hurt about it. That must be why she looked very upset, but still, that doesn’t give her the right to just tell her ex we had sex when we didn’t.
“Oh my goodness Lula, you fucking hoe! How could you?! And here I was beating myself up because you weren’t picking up my calls. Not knowing you were out there being a total bitch! Where are you, Lula? Tell me where the fuck you are!” I closed my eyes and hung up on him. That was too much and a little frightening, even for me.
It took a while, but the tension finally died down, and the ride was quiet. Well, for now it was quiet, but it wasn’t going to remain quiet for long. I had so many questions I wanted to ask and so many answers I needed to hear, and the foremost one on my mind was the one I immediately asked her. “Why did you lie to your ex-boyfriend?” She didn’t respond; she didn’t even look at me; she just kept quiet, looking out the window.
“I am sure if you both speak calmly to each other, you might be able to reconcile with each other.” I said. She heaved a sigh before looking at me and saying, “I hear you, but I will never forgive the two of them. They both betrayed me, Javier. You should at least know what that feels like,” she said. I smiled at her, feeling sorry for her. I had been there twice, actually, and I had handled it terribly on both occasions.
After a while, she began chuckling. And I looked at her, wondering what was going on. One minute she was upset; the next she was laughing. This woman is a mystery, I thought to myself. What could be her reason for chuckling now? “Pray tell me, what’s with the chuckle?” She looked at me and smiled before looking away. “Your face,” she mumbled.
“What? What is wrong with my face?” I asked, and she just laughed out loud some more. When she had sobered up a bit, she responded, “It’s your face, actually your facial expression throughout the conversation; it’s something.” I raised a brown eyebrow at her, and she just cleared her throat. I leaned in and calmly reminded her, “You know that we didn’t spend the night together; we weren’t intimate last night.”
She smiled deviously at that, making me lean back a little and keep my eyes on the road. “Maybe we didn’t but we could tonight.” We had already entered the western region, and it was still just the two of us in the car. I spoke up again, reminding her, “Well we hadn’t done it when your ex-boyfriend assumed we had but your response only confirmed his false assumption.”
She looked at me suggestively, her eyes fluttering at me, as she said, “Maybe we could do it in the future since we are both single and there is unlimited potential.” I began choking on air. Gosh, this woman hadn’t even touched me-well, not in the way that I wanted to be touched-and she was already driving me crazy. After I had cleared my throat, she also said
“You know now that we are on the topic. I also want to do something, something that most couples do, and perhaps it would make a sweet revenge against my ex.” My breathing became labored at this point because things were starting to take a dramatic turn. I stole a glance at her and immediately fell for her all over again. Her eyes showed jealousy and a hidden desire I couldn’t put my finger on.
I was sure Lula didn’t think her charm was inferior to her best friend’s, but she felt disgusted that her best friend had stolen her ex away from her. I could see it all beneath the jealousy and desire in her eyes. I knew she needed a man who was better than her ex to prove to her that she still had some charm. Ad though I hadn’t seen her ex, I figured I was better than him.
It was dark already, and suddenly Lula turned to me and suggested, “You know, we could have a one-night stand or sleep together for the rest of the journey.” As she spoke, the atmosphere in the car suddenly became heated. Throughout this trip I had seen Lula as a very beautiful woman and had felt her strong sexual presence, but her question now-a one-night stand for the rest of the trip- was threatening to tip me over the edge. Now I was in a pickle.