Page 91 of A Dish Best Served Hot

Great. He’d thought he’d successfully hidden that from everyone. Then again, barking orders at people and dragging Lola out like there was a fire probably hadn’t been as subtle as it felt at the time.

“This is obviously triggering for him,” said his unnamed coach.

“What do we do with him? Take him to the hospital or something?” That was Avery, who was still audibly upset.

Saint shook his head. He didn’t need the hospital. He just needed a moment to get his shit together.

“He doesn’t want that,” Lola said. “I think he just wants a second.”

Saint squeezed her hand in thanks.

“Either way he should stay back,” his coach decreed. “The last thing he needs to do is stress out at a protest.”

A round of assent echoed around him. He wasn’t offended. He agreed wholeheartedly. He had no business going to the protest in his condition. He rolled his head to look at Lola. He said the only words he could think at the moment. “I need you.”

Lola’s brow furrowed. “Of course. I’m right here next to you.” She lifted their entwined hands and kissed the back of his. “I’ve got you.”

She didn’t get it.

He tried again. “Stay here. With me.”

“What?”

“Don’t go to the protest. I need you to stay with me.”

In the long pause that followed, their audience looked around awkwardly. Suddenly, they all got busy doing stuff in other areas of the apartment and talking loudly as if to fill the silence.

Saint heard Mariana say something about the guilt for the Raven Realty project getting to him. A distant part of his consciousness reminded him that he didn’t want his cousins knowing about that, but the majority of his attention was on Lola.

Lola, who just stared at him as if he’d turned into a slimy worm right in front of her. “You want me to skip the protest I helped organize.”

It was a statement not a question, but he felt compelled to answer anyway. “I have a bad feeling about this and I tried to ignore it, but I can’t.”

“Saint, that’s the anxiety messing with you. Everything will be fine.”

She didn’t get it. She didn’t understand. This was a bad idea. It was going to ruin everything. He couldn’t explain how, but it was. He just knew it. “Please,” he murmured. “Please don’t go. Stay here.”

Lola looked at him, indecision on her face.

“Please,” he whispered a final time.

Her face changed from hesitancy to certainty. Then guilt and remorse. “I can’t,” she whispered back. “I want to, but I can’t. I have to be there.” She sounded like she was trying desperately to convince them both.

Saint did the only thing he could do at that point. He nodded his head and let her go.

22

“Stop kicking the back of my seat,” Benny growled.

“Then move your seat up,” Papo retorted with another push on the back of Benny’s seat. “And roll up your window. I already told you that I’m cold.”

“You two need to cut it out,” Lola said. “I swear, I will pull this car over and you two will get out and walk.”

“He started it,” Benny said from the passenger seat beside her.

“I did not,” Papo argued. “You did when you put glitter in my dentures case. For two days I looked like a rapper who’s too poor to afford real gold teeth.”

Lola watched in the rearview mirror as Papo flashed his teeth. She didn’t want to be the one to tell him that he still had a bit of gold and silver glitter in the spaces between his teeth. She could only imagine how bad it had been a few days ago. She bit her inner lip to keep from smiling. She had to admit, her grandpa was holding his own. She was impressed. He never seemed like the type.

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