Page 52 of Puppy on a Leash

“For the record, I don’t understand why you’re here, and I’m still questioning if you’re having a weird stroke.”

I snorted. He’d made his confusion clear over text earlier. “Pretty sure a stroke doesn’t last an entire week.”

Let’s face it, if this was all due to some medical condition, it hadn’t started when I texted Abel and Sergio yesterday. Itstarted when I hadn’t kicked Jaime out the second he barged in unannounced with demands he had no business making.

“Okaaaay.” Sergio led the way to the first room in their new house. Abel stood at the kitchen counter, prepping something that looked suspiciously like chocolate milk. “So what’s this about?”

I sighed. That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?

“Can we sit down?”

Sergio watched me for a second. It was eerie, how open he was about it. Eventually, though, he nodded and hopped on one of the stools by the kitchen island.

I followed suit, choosing one opposite of him. I sighed. No one would say I was used to public speaking with how nervous I was about this. There was not a single fiber in my being that genuinely wanted to be here.

It had been a long time coming, though.

It was the right thing to do, too.

“I’m running a workshop next week,” I said.

It wasnotwhat this was all about, but it was as good a starting point as any.

“Uh, I mean, yeah?” Sergio scratched his eyebrow. Abel sat down next to him and slid the cup of chocolate milk his way while downing a glass of water. “I’m not volunteering for that.”

I blinked.

“I was not going to propose you did.” However, it gave me a better opening. Kind of. “I was planning to ask Jaime.”

Sergio paused, using the cup of chocolate milk to hide his mouth. Not that he was much better than Jaime at keeping what he was thinking or feeling from showing all over his face. The main difference was that Jaime tried to hide it with snark and a sharp tongue.

In Sergio’s case, hiding his mouth didn’t take away from the way he was scrunching up his nose. “Okay. Congrats? I think.”

All right, this was not working or going anywhere. I licked my lips as I leaned back. “I should’ve had this talk with you years ago. Definitely after everything blew up last year.”

“About Jaime?” Sergio frowned. “I don’t know what’s gotten into the two of you, but, like, I’m not going to tell you who you can or can’t fuck.”

“The two of us?”

I knew that talking with Sergio meant preparing oneself to be sidetracked with every topic under the sun he could think of. I thought I’d come prepared.

Clearly, I had not.

“Jaime came by, too.” Sergio huffed. “The day after he went to your place? I think. Didn’t make sense then, either, but at least he brought gifts. Just saying.”

I frowned. Jaime had mentioned talking to Sergio, but he hadn’t mentioned gifts. I caught the half-exasperated, half-fond look Abel gave Sergio, though. As far as I was concerned, it meant that follow-up questions were not worth the hassle.

“I’m not here to ask you for permission to do whatever it is I’m doing with Jaime.”

I steeled myself for the emotion that would cross Sergio’s face.

For the anger.

Of course, anger was nowhere to be seen. Shock, maybe. More confusion, definitely.

I sighed. “As I said, I should’ve come here a long time ago. To explain. And apologize. And clear the air.”

“I’m good.”

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