“Okay.”
He turns to leave, then stops and turns back around. “Oh. Ginny and Maya are pissed that they still haven’t met you. They are threatening to come by with Monopoly tonight. I can tell them to fuckoff.”
“No, actually that might be nice. I could use a break. I will definitely need a break by tonight and a board game might be the perfect distraction from their questions about my personal life. Harder to be nosy if we’re fighting over fakemoney.”
“Good call. Okay.Later.”
I watch him as he opens the back door and heads back into thestorm.
* * *
Mayaand I are kicking Ginny and Silas’s ass at Star Wars Monopoly. I haven’t played any version of this game since Brooklyn and I were little, but Ginny’s family rules were easy enough to pick up. As was her cutthroat spirit for the game. Too bad for her she had no idea what kind of sharks she was dealing with when she sat down at the table with me and her ownwife.
After almost three large pizzas, a bunch of beers and bankrupting Silas twice, I come to the decision that I love Ginny and Maya. Of course Silas, who drives me nuts, would be best friends with one of the coolest interracial lesbian couples I’ve ever met. I don’t regret showering and putting on makeup for them at all. I may have put on the sundress I’d shoved in my bag during my packing frenzy for Silas. Maybe. He seems to like it anyway. Somehow I’ve ended up on his lap and, even though he’s focused on the argument Maya and Ginny are having about how mortgaging one of her ships will not save her from her financial problems, his hand has made itself comfortable on my upperthigh.
I’m having a normal physiology response. I’m in a complicated situation with a man who I am attracted to, a man who really knows how to kiss. It’s makes complete sense for me to bewet.
“Silas, it’s your go,” Ginny says after she hands over a wad of cash toMaya.
“Nope, I’mdone.”
“What do you mean you’re done?” Mayaasks.
“I mean I’m done. You just cleaned me out.” he says tome.
“Baby, wait your turn,” I reply. “You just roll a forty-eight on the next go and the bank can hand you just enough money to get you back in thegame.”
“This is reverse racism, is what this is,” Ginny says, taking a swig from herbeer.
“No, babe it’s reparations,” Mayasays.
“Sure is,” I say laughing. Maya leans forward and high fivesme.
“I’m only half White,” Silas says. “And my White half isn’t even American. I feel like I’m being unjustlypersecuted.”
I almost ask Silas what the other half is, but I save myself from giving away a major clue that I really know nothing about Silas. Or Scott. We stopped at the brown part of Scott’s identity. He’s never told me a single thing about his family or his heritage. Not that it mattered beyond our solidarity in our very white office. Still, in this case, it’s fact I shouldknow.
“Whatever, the Scottish owned slaves. Try again, bruh,” Mayalaughs.
“And speaking of your best half. We FaceTimed with Iolana this morning,” Ginnysays.
“Oh God. You narc’d me out, didn’tyou?”
I don’t have a clue who Iolana is, but I keep that to myself too. Luckily Silas fills in the gap. He leans up and kisses me. “You’re gonna have to talk to my mom at somepoint.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, trying to keep my face neutral. We didn’t talk about meeting parents when we worked this all out. Scott, seriously, never even mentions hisparents.
“Yeah, but not tonight,” Silas says before he turns back to Maya. “You two need to get out of myhouse.”
“Oh shit,” Ginny says as she glances at her smart watch. “It’s late. We have to go,babe.”
“Are you going to come by the cannery tomorrow, Ebie?” Maya asks as shestands.
“Um, sure,” I say, looking atSilas.
“I’ll bring her by. Don’t worry. You can introduce her to the wonderful world of jam and artisanalhoney.”
“I do love honey,” I say as Silas gently moves me off his lap so he canstand.