Page 133 of Wishing for La Luna
“Yeah, you’re my bro. I want you to get your girl.”
* * *
Luna
South Beach, Florida
The sky is blue like the water, and the temperature is a beautiful eighty degrees in South Beach. We escaped the crisp New York winter to come to Florida, where the sun is kissing all over my skin, but Sel is raging like a category-three hurricane in August.
“The fucking nerve. He’s over here letting Rio talk him into shit like a little boy. I cannot fucking believe Tito.” She breathes hard, puffing out her cheeks as she releases. “I’m so hot right now.”
“They’re family. You and I do shit like that for each other. How many times have you told me what Rio is doing during the tour?”
“You’re not wrong, but I’m still pissed off. At least we know how to play the game. You don’t gotoxicawhen I tell you things.”
“Apparently, I only gotoxicawhen I see shit on my screen. That’s why I blocked him, so I’m not tempted to blast him or flip out when all he is doing, is his job.” My skin still heats up thinking about the lap dance he gave that chick in Brazil the other day.
“Yeah, but Rio crashes out every time a man is near you. But you want the truth?”
I roll my eyes at her. “When are you ever not fully truthful?”
She looks away to the water. “When I act like I’m okay that the two of you are not together. As much as I give him shit, I love what you guys had. He loves you so hard. He’s different with you too. There’s so much pain in his eyes when your name gets mentioned. Tito was so afraid that he would go back to his old ways in the first few weeks after...”
My heart sinks. “He didn’t, though. As mad as I am, I’m proud of him for that. It’s easy to give in to the anger.” I shake my head. “It wouldn’t work between us. Sometimes I think it’s bad for you when a relationship is that intense. When you love…” I trail off.
Sel has tears in her eyes, which she wipes quickly.
My throat clogs, and I try to swallow, but I can’t. My eyes well up, but I finally find my breath. “I love him too much…like, it’s not normal. When someone consumes your every thought…it’s going to be a disaster. I dream about him, and when I’m awake, I’m constantly reliving every moment of our time together. I’ve been secretly happy he pissed me off. It’s pushing me to do other shit. I have to get him out of my head and my heart.”
“How are you going to do that, Luna? He’s going to keep coming after you. He has to. He loves you too much, too.”
“I’m going to give Gio a real chance. If not him, I’m going for the next guy. I’m going to date and have a chilly and cheeky winter.”
She sniffles. “Damn it, Luna. You wait until I’m basically cuffed up to Tito to do this? And you coined it too. Ugh.” She curls her lip at me. “Do you know how fun that could have been if the twoprimaswent on the prowl together?”
I laugh. “Girl, you couldn’t even if you tried. Tito got you hooked.”
She chuckles. “Yeah, he does. It’s really good with him. He takes care of me, and even though I black out constantly, I don’t scare him.”
My heart goes out because I’ve never seen her like this—vulnerable and girly for a man. “I love this for you. He’s a good guy.”
“Thanks, sis. But let me tell you something. I want all the fucking details. I want to live thischill and cheeky winteralong with you. I want photos on the gram, because you gotta let them worship that body.” She stands. “As a matter of fact, let me take a photo for the gram. We can do a countdown to see how long it takes until Rio puts a heart on it.”
We both laugh as she snaps a few photos and then posts them in collab mode.
“Your turn,” I say. “Take that tank top off. Let’s drive Tito crazy.”
“No, no, no.” She plops back on her towel. “I’m on my period, and I’m bloated as fuck. No way I’m putting this belly on the gram.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re crazy. Your body is hot, and…” I drift off because one word echoes in my ear.
Period.
I haven’t had my period in a while. I grab my phone and go to my tracker, and there, in pink hearts, is the last time I had it…almost six weeks ago. My heart drops.
It was supposed to come right after Mami’s wedding.
“What is it?”
