Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
Rafe
It’s sort of like old times. Dinner at the Ramirez house. They invited my parents and me over, and Calliope is here, too, of course. I can’t count the number of times throughout my childhood that we ate over here or they came to our house. The Ramirezes and the Simmonses were lifelong friends, their kids growing closer and closer as each year passed.
Tonight is the first time I’ve seen Mateo and Danielle Ramirez since I returned to Raleigh, though. Although I did see them infrequently over the years when I managed a quick visit to see my parents. They are as warm and welcoming as ever, not seeming to hold any grudges against me for breaking their daughter’s heart eight years ago. Of course, I have no clue exactly what they know about the situation, but if I were a betting man, I’d say they know everything. Calliope is incredibly close to both her mom and dad and I expect they helped her pick up the pieces when I shattered her.
I also expect one of the reasons they might have put that all aside, making me feel welcome in their home right now, is because my dad is dying. Mateo is definitely the type of father that would take me aside and threaten to kick my ass for hurting his daughter, but he’s also a good man. He’s probably acting with some type of restraint, thinking that I’m facing a set of terrible circumstances right now.
Regardless, we have a great time. Danielle makes Mateo’s favorite Puerto Rican dish of arroz con gandules and fried plantains. Growing up, it was one of my favorites, too.
I know I’m not the only one who notices my dad picking at his food, not because he doesn’t like it but because his appetite is at an all-time low. He seems frailer today than he did yesterday and the day before, and I wonder if there will be any good days left.
Still, he puts on a brave face, and there’s a lot of laughter around the table as the rest of us scrape our plates clean.
It’s been three days since Calliope and I reconnected at Podden’s pond, and I’m not ashamed to say that she and I have been doing a whole lot more connecting since. The Cold Fury has been on break until the second round of the playoffs start tomorrow, and we take on the Boston Eagles, and I’ve been splitting my hours between spending time with my dad and hanging with Calliope. While she works at the hospital during the day, I attend team practices and meetings or sit by my dad’s hospital bed as we play cards or watch TV. In the evenings after I eat dinner with my parents, I head over to Calliope’s apartment.
She greets me with open arms, sometimes wearing nothing but some skimpy underwear which I definitely approve of. This is the new Calliope, a woman I’m getting to know all over again. Lingerie wasn’t part of our teenage relationship. That was more about stolen moments when we could get them. But, fuck, I hate thinking about how she learned the art of seducing a man while wearing silk and lace.
I put that out of my mind, which is actually easy because when I’m near her, I’m consumed. To say that sex is different with her is an understatement. Again, it chafes at me hard to know that the things she now knows how to do with her mouth and her body she learned somewhere other than with me. And while Calliope was always forward and adventurous during our young, immature sex life, now she’s openly wanton, and it turns me on more than anything ever has in my life.
Just last night, there was a note on her apartment door when I arrived that said simply: I’m in the bedroom .
What I found in there about had me exploding in my pants.
Let’s just say that Calliope, naked in the middle of her bed, pleasuring herself with a vibrator had me seeing stars. I just stood there, transfixed as she brought herself closer and closer to orgasm. While her eyes were closed as she rolled and gyrated on the bed, that little pink toy between her legs, she knew I was there the entire time. She put on a show for me that drove me fucking nuts, and before I knew it, I was on her.
The toy was flung aside, and my mouth was pressed to her pussy, lapping and sucking at her until she exploded against me with her hands fisted tightly in my hair so she could grind against my face. It was fucking erotic as hell, and when she came down from her high, she looked at me with amazement. “You’ve learned a few things too over the years.”
Fuck if that didn’t rub me raw, too. The fact that we didn’t learn the pleasures of oral sex together.
“So, Rafe,” Mateo says as he picks up his glass of wine and takes a sip. “How does it feel to be playing for the Cold Fury now?”
“Honestly,” I tell him with an easy smile, “it wasn’t a hard adjustment. All the guys on the team are great, and it’s been a seamless transition.”
“You played well in your first games,” he compliments me.
“He should be on the first line,” my dad grumbles, and even though that’s not exactly true, it fills me with a rush of love that my dad has become my most fervent fan. I know he feels like he’s making up for lost time, and I need to let him know how much his words mean to me. But that’s a conversation for later while in private.
Mateo and my dad start talking about the playoffs, while Danielle and my mom discuss planting their spring flowers. They’re both passionate about gardening.
Picking up my wineglass, I sneak a glance across the table at Calliope, who sits directly opposite me beside my mom. Her return look is transparent and makes my blood heat. She’s counting down the minutes until dinner is over, and she and I can be alone together.
“Are you and Calliope back together again?” Mateo asks me, and I’m so startled by the question that I choke on the wine I just took a sip of.
My eyes slam into Mateo’s, and I see the overprotective father I’d been wondering about. I know just how easy he was taking it on me.
His expression is clear, filled with both wonder and suspicion. Will I hurt his little girl again?
I risk a glance at Calliope, and she stares back at me like a deer caught in headlights. We’ve not said a thing to our parents about our sexual affair, although my mom knows full well that I’ve been going to Calliope’s in the evenings. I mean, I couldn’t lie to her when she asked where I was going that first night after Podden’s pond, but she thinks it’s just a newly forming friendship.
At least, I think.
“Papa,” Calliope simpers as she looks at her father, sitting at the head of the table to her left. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
“Because it’s obvious there’s something going on between you two,” Mateo retorts with a knowing look at his daughter.
“You’ve been going over to Calliope’s in the evenings,” my mother points out, and my return glare calls her out for the traitor she is. She merely smiles sweetly back at me.
“And you two haven’t stopped stealing glances at each other all evening,” Danielle remarks with a sly grin.
“And you’ve been in an extraordinarily good mood the last few days,” my dad chimes in.
Calliope ducks her head, hiding an amused smile.
I merely take my napkin and wipe at my lips, stalling for time as I collect my thoughts. I need to tread carefully here, so as not to get any parent’s hopes up that we’re back together in a normal relationship. I don’t want to poke at Mateo’s ire either.
Finally, I say neutrally, “We’ve rekindled our friendship. Calliope has been a great support to me since I returned home.”
I glance around the table. Not one of our parents seem to be buying that lame statement. My dad actually snorts.
“She’s been invaluable in explaining the medical details of Dad’s condition,” I assert, knowing in my heart of hearts that sounds even lamer. But I can’t stop now. “She’s a good friend. A childhood acquaintance. Those ties remained strong throughout the years, and?—”
“We’re friends with benefits now,” Calliope says, and my entire body flushes hot as my eyes snap over to Mateo, prepared for him to spring across the table and lunge at me. His eyes rest heavy and hard upon me, and I flush hotter.
“Calliope Colleen Ramirez,” Danielle exclaims, clearly mortified by her daughter’s outburst.
I turn my gaze slowly to Calliope, giving her a death glare. She reaches out and pats her dad’s arm. “It’s fine, Papa. Your little girl—who is, in fact, a woman now and doesn’t need protecting—knows exactly what she wants. Oh, and Rafe was also telling the truth...we are indeed friends, and I’m here to support him in any way I can.”
God, the way she supported me last night with my balls heavy in her hands?—
I shake my head, clearing those thoughts because I’m apparently way more transparent than I gave myself credit for this evening.
“Well, I for one think it’s lovely that the two of you have”—my mom struggles to find the right words and then brightens—“rekindled your friendship. You two have a lot of years of history between you, and it makes me happy.”
“Me, too,” my dad says with a firm nod. “I’m glad Rafe will have someone to lean on when I’m gone.”
And just like that, the mood turns from awkward and weird to somber. The silence around the table is heavy, thick with a gravity that’s hard to dispel.
But, to my surprise, it’s Mateo who saves the day. Who takes the gentleman’s way out when he could have easily throttled me. He holds up his wine glass. “I propose a toast.”
No one moves for a second, and then slowly, other wine glasses are raised.
Mateo looks straight at me. “Here’s to friendship. Among all of us. To my extended neighborhood family—and in particular, to Calliope and Rafe—may they find exactly what they’re looking for while on this new path.”
I nod at Mateo and reach my glass to the middle of the table, where we all clink in acknowledgment of the toast.
My eyes move to Calliope, her gaze shimmering with mischief as she stares back at me. Well, at least it’s all out in the open now.
I guess there’s that.