Page 33 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“There’s something I need to talk to you about regarding today’s lunch,” I said to Thomas.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, scanning my face for answers.
“Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry. I just wanted to talk to you about my experience meeting Juan Pablo. Nina’s boyfriend.”
“Ok, I’m listening,” he replied, reaching out for my hand.
“Look, I’ve only met him once, but he acted super weird that day. He’s a yoga instructor and owns a studio and everything. It just happens that he, well”—I was having trouble finding the right words to describe him—“has a certain … gift, of sorts?”
“What kind of gift? Like a medium?” Thomas lowered his thick, dark brows.
“I don’t know what to call it, but he claims to listen to certainmessagesand information about people he interacts with. Things got really weird the day I met him. He looked at me and said some kind of—rhyme or riddle. He then mentioned my mother, but I excused myself and left.”
“He dared mention your mother?” He looked disgusted by the fact.
“I didn’t hear what he was about to say, but it really freaked me out.Hefreaks me out, and I’m not telling you this to make you feel the same way that I do about him. I just wanted to warn you, so if he tries anything like this today, you’ll be prepared because I wasn’t.”
“I mean, you know he’s full of shit, right?” Thomas challenged the idea, trying to dismiss it altogether.
“It’s definitely hard for me to believe him, yes,” I admitted.
We were ten minutes early and the first to arrive at the restaurant. Thomas and I sat down to wait for the others to arrive. Caleb stopped his silly practice of standing beside us whenever we went out to a restaurant. He gave up. He saw how Thomas treated me. I didn’t need to be protected from my boyfriend.
Thomas grabbed my hand and said, “I know my schedule has been a bit complicated, and it’s been hard for me to juggle everything. I’m so sorry about that, but—I’ll be leaving in two weeks for a regatta in Canada.” His mouth twisted to the side. I couldn’t tell if he felt guilty about going, but I knew for sure he loved regattas. What’s the point in busting your ass the whole year training if you can’t compete?
“How many days will you be away?” I asked with an exaggerated sad face. He smiled at my reaction.
“I leave on the 17th and will be back by the 22nd of June.” He paused for a few seconds and rubbed my back. “We weren’t sure if we were going, but our coach confirmed to us a few hours ago that it’s official. That’s why I didn’t mention it before. I’m so sorry.”
I knew he loved the sport, and I knew he would have a great time, so there was no reason for him to feel guilty about leaving. Besides, it was only going to be for a few days. And I didn’t mind. “You know I’ll miss you. Thank you for letting me know.” I cupped his cheek with my hand and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“Anyway, I heard back from Parsons,” I said with a grin. “I’m officially enrolled in the three-week Summer Photography Program. It’s from July 6th to the 24th. I’m so excited!”
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you. I’m sure you’re going to love it,” he cheered with genuine excitement.
“The program will include analog photography, which you know I’ve been curious about, so I’m looking forward to it too.” I nodded and pressed my lips together into an upturned smile. Since I arrived in New York, I felt like I hadn’t been doing much aside from exercising. I needed to start doing something productive.
“That means … we need to go camera shopping,” he said, raising both of his eyebrows a few times.
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Is this the perfume I gave you?” He lowered his face to my neck and slowly inhaled, which made my body tingle all-around.
“It is.”
“Well, it’s delicious on you,” he whispered to my lips, kissing them. It was one of his slow kisses that I loved, and neither of us was willing to pull away from it. I wasn’t the biggest PDA fan, but Thomas always made me feel like there was no one else in the room but the two of us.
“Ex-cuse-me!” CJ laughed, clapping his hands with every syllable. Thomas and I winced, and our lips unlocked automatically. Apparently, he arrived seconds after we started kissing. I looked up at CJ and laughed.
Thomas didn’t seem too pleased about being interrupted, but I gave him a bouncy peck on his lips to cheer him up. Thomas knew all about CJ’s bubbly personality. I made sure to fill him in on that too.
“CJ, this is Thomas, Thomas, CJ,” I introduced them.
“So glad to finally meet you, CJ. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Likewise.” They shook hands, and I caught CJ scanning Thomas with a raised eyebrow as Thomas took a seat. I wasn’t surprised about that either.
Juan Pablo and Nina arrived. He was wearing a pair of baggy, low-seam colorful pants with a simple white t-shirt, a bunch of necklaces, and nude sandals. His long waves were made up in a high bun this time. Nina looked gorgeous. She wore a lovely floral print summer dress with her hair down.
