Page 100 of Digging Up Love
Quentin bit into the plastic and ripped it open. “And he told me I forfeited that right.”
“Bullshit. There’s gotta be a way to fight this.”
“If there is, I can’t see one.” Finally nabbing a piece of cheese, Quentin said, “Maybe if I keep my head down and this all blows over, I’ll escape with my job.”
Hand on his hip, Hector raised the spatula, projecting like a Shakespearean actor onstage. “But this is the find of a lifetime!”
Unamused, Quentin asked, “Another gem from the interview?”
“No, this one came from your girlfriend.”
“Not my girlfriend.”
“Okay, woman friend.”
“No, idiot. I mean we’re not together.”
Hector glanced both ways over his shoulders. “Am I on an episode ofWandaVisionright now? Why are you messing with my head? You brought home a woman last weekend—the first woman since Mercedes—and she’s not even your girlfriend?”
“Anymore.”
His brother whistled, long and low. “Forget the burgers—you need a drink.”
“A drink’s not going to bring Alisha back.” Nothing could, not now. The dig had stolen her privacy. His carelessness had exposed her and her family to humiliation. Whatever hope he’d had of winning her back had evaporated, right along with his standing at work.
Hector snapped his fingers in front of his face, and he realized he’d zoned out. “I said, is she mad because you posterized her love life?”
“What? No. I didn’t even tell her.”
“Um, is she off the grid?”
“No.” Probably wished she were, now.
“Then she knows.”
“Yeah, obviously.” Quentin bit into a second piece of cheese to quell the nauseating churning in his gut. “But that’s not what ended things. We broke up before this whole kiss debacle.”
“And don’t you think she might want to hear from you now?” At his head shake, his brother whistled low. “Wow, you really know how to pick ’em.”
“Hector, I swear—”
“Okay, that was low, even for me. But, Q, she seemed awesome. The girls have been asking about her, and you know they hated Mercedes.”
“They were toddlers when I was with her.”
“Intuitive toddlers. When we watchedTangledthe other day, they pointed at Mother Gothel and said, ‘Look, it’s Tía Cedes!’”
Quentin smothered a laugh. “At least she made an impression.”
“Yeah, a horrible one.” Hector discreetly slid the cheese packet out of reach. “Straight up, Alisha is different. Better. Better for you, obviously.TMZkiss aside.”
“Hector ...”
“All I’m saying is, you should fight for her.”
“I did. And she dumped me.” Dumped herself in the process. Losing the find had stung like salt on the still-raw wound of watching, powerless, as she gave up on him, and herself. His insides were knotted into a giant ball of pain, and he couldn’t even drown his sorrows in work.
“So fight harder!” Hector opened the grill again, and smoke billowed out.
