Chapter 13 When He Loved Me
THIRTEEN
When He Loved Me
Nestled in the Catskill Mountains of New York was a place the girls and I liked to escape to when the city overwhelmed us.
So, when Bruno mentioned taking a quick weekend trip, Stone Peak Lodge was my recommendation.
The lodge offered cabins in the woods, an attached restaurant, and a view of snow-covered mountains perfect for skiing.
After a quick check with the weatherman, I thought nothing could go wrong, but as we drove up the mountain in the rain, I sighed.
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I wouldn't say them.
There was no fucking snow, and now the weather app promised nothing but rain for days.
Why were the majority of weather broadcasters men?
Maybe lying came standard with the job description.
"Who cares. There's plenty of other things we can do. I didn't plan to leave the room anyway," Bruno said.
He was never the sort to get angry, so I wasn't surprised he took the ruined weekend so well. However, when he wrapped an arm around me and we entered the wooden doors of the lodge, my hatred for weathermen seemed unimportant.
There in Bruno's arms I could admit that not all men were unreliable; yes, they weren't perfect, but neither was I.
"You're right. We came to rekindle our relationship. We don't need snow. We're so hot, we'd probably melt it."
Bruno agreed, with a pat on my ass, and when we finally walked into our room and saw the king-size bed, we wasted no time messing it up.
Afterward, it felt like all the energy had drained out of me, partly from Bruno and also because I'd skipped lunch.
Sex was one thing, but hunger made my stomach do bigger flips. During the drive I planned to eat as soon as we arrived, but after that pat on my ass, the hunger faded. Now, it was back with a vengeance.
I stood quietly and headed over to the kitchen.
When we booked the room, we asked the lodge to have it stocked with bread, eggs, milk, and a few other basics.
I spied the box of pancake mix, and the idea of making Bruno a homemade meal tickled me.
I never wasted time in a kitchen before, but this time around with him I wanted to try.
Yes, pancakes weren't steak or lamb chops, but it was a start.
Minutes later he moved toward me. I glanced up and back at the bowl, where the batter looked lumpier than it should be. Bruno laughed when he reached my side and leaned against the counter.
"Are you laughing at me? When I'm trying to be nice and feed you?"
Crossing his arms, he squinted, then spoke. "You sure you're not still angry and trying to kill me again?"
After rolling my eyes, I tried to defend myself. "I probably just put too much pancake mix in the bowl. It was a simple mistake."
Bruno came closer. When he peered into the bowl with an expression of disinterest, I gave up. "Let's just order room service. It's too late in the day for pancakes anyway."
"You have many skills. Especially over there," he pointed to the bed, "but the kitchen isn't your strong point."
Before I had a chance to defend myself, he dipped a finger into the batter and tapped it on the tip of my nose. Without a moment's hesitation, I smeared a streak across his cheek.
Bruno blinked, caught off guard for a moment, then chuckled and moved in to close the last bit of distance between us.
Our hips bumped as we struggled for control of the bowl.
Laughing, we clumsily knocked it to the ground, but the mess wasn't important.
Bruno reached out and grabbed my waist, and I didn't pull away.
There was something in the way he looked at me then, eyes soft and his mouth curved in that relaxed smile of his, that made every simple act, even ruining our meal, feel like something more. Something easy. Something like love.
We left the mess in the kitchen and cleaned ourselves up. Then we headed downstairs to grab a bite at Avalanche, the restaurant attached to Stone Peak. Across from Bruno, I sat eating a delicious burger when he stared at me.
"What? Do I have ketchup on my face?"
"If you did, it wouldn't matter."
I frowned. What did that mean? Did I? What was he looking at? I lifted my hand and wiped it just in case but felt nothing.
"You're beautiful, Alex."
I looked down at my plate, cheeks warming as his words sank in, and though I tried to hide my smile behind my wine glass, I knew he saw it.
Jesus, he didn't make it easy, but I tried to deflect. "You're not so bad looking yourself."
Bruno chuckled. I meant it, even with the large glass windows that gave me a great view of the mountains, he was still the best-looking thing in the restaurant.
"When we finish eating, why don't we beautiful people go enjoy a game of pool?" Bruno said.
We played pool constantly in college. It had been a year since our last game together, yet I was certain we would fall back into rhythm as easily as we did with everything else.
"You're on."
The score was closer than expected.
"I see you've been practicing," I said, curious for an explanation.
As he rubbed chalk on his cue, Bruno merely winked and leaned over the pool table with annoying confidence, one hand steady, the other guiding the cue like he had all day to play.
I watched the ball sink into the pocket with a clean, smug click.
I rolled my eyes; this wasn't going to be a cakewalk after all.
Bruno used to miss half his shots. Had he been practicing the whole time we were apart?
"Your turn."
"I know it's my turn," I snapped and grabbed my cue.
He might've improved, but I didn't get worse, so victory could still be mine. Wasting no time, I knocked two balls into a pocket.
"Oh. You still have that trick shot," Bruno said, with an unimpressed expression.
"Don't pretend you aren't amazed."
"I'm always amazed by your skills."
His words had a sensual tone, but I ignored them. I refused to be distracted.
For a while we went back and forth; it was close, but the next shot could help me win, then we could check out the lodge's other amenities.
"Let's wrap this up," I said, then leaned over the pool table, hips steady and cue in hand, ready to sink the shot.
"Alex, I love you."
Yanking my head up, I stared at him. This wasn't something I didn't know, but getting used to the words on Bruno's lips would take me a while.
My heart pounded so hard I could barely breathe, and as the tears welled up, all I could think was that something in me had been waiting for those words all along.
After losing to Bruno at pool, I hung my head in shame and suggested we grab some wine and appetizers, while sitting near the fireplace. The rain had taken a break, and he liked my suggestion.
"Remember, you said loser buys," Bruno reminded me, and I clenched my fist.
"It was close. You only won because you chose to tell me you loved me while I was shooting," I muttered. It wasn't fair, and my chest was still buzzing from the words.
Bruno chuckled. "I don't see why. It wasn't a secret. I've never pretended to stop loving you."
He was right, like always, and it annoyed me, just like his victorious smile did, especially when I was the one who taught his ass to play pool back in college. "I want a rematch."
Bruno laughed, low and playful, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes even as a smile tugged at my lips.
After ordering wine and appetizers, I joined him by the fire. We sat on an oversized chair, watching the flames.
Our last morning at Stone Peak, I stood barefoot by the sliding door, tempted by the balcony. It was snowing.
Now.
Hours before we were about to check out.
Wearing Bruno's oversized shirt, I held my warm coffee mug. It was beautiful outside, and my resolve was breaking.
"Maybe we should stay an extra day."
Behind me Bruno stopped typing on his laptop. I turned to see what he thought about my suggestion.
"Why, isn't it snowing in the city too?"
"I know, but we missed out, and I wanted us to experience it all together."
"Baby, we can come back next weekend. We have forever. Plus, don't you have breakfast with your girls tomorrow morning?"
Shit! I forgot. Already I could hear the teasing from those three bitches. "So you get a man and forget your girlfriends."
It wasn't worth it. Plus, Bruno was right, the lodge was a few hours away from the city.
We'd be back to cross the mountain off my list. From his place on the couch, Bruno watched me like I was something rare, but he didn't say anything, just smiled a soft and knowing smile.
And in that quiet, I knew I'd made the right decision to let him back in my life.
I'd never been happier.
An hour later, we started the two-hour drive home. Bruno drove with one hand on the wheel and the other wrapped around mine, our fingers laced together as I watched the snow-covered trees outside my window.
Interrupting our moment, my phone rang. Annoyed, I reached for it and sighed. When I spotted Madre's name on the screen, I looked at Bruno, who gestured with his head that I answer, so I did.
"Hi."
"Are you busy? Is this a bad time?" she asked.
Wow. Never before had my mother asked. Normally, she waited for me to answer and started to ramble. Turning to Bruno, who lifted my hand to his lips, I took a deep breath and answered truthfully, "No. I can talk. Is everything OK?"
"Yes. Just checking in on you."
I heard a loneliness in my mother's voice for the first time. I felt like I was her only friend. Whether it was healthy or not, the reason she called me countless times was because she missed me, her confidant, the person she cried to.
"Padre giving you trouble?"
Mother giggled. "No. The Good Lord has fixed him."
"Huh? How?"
I could hear the glee in her voice when she answered. "Tomás had a checkup after complaining about chest pain."
"What? Is he OK?" I was eager to know; just then the idea there could actually be a funeral and he wouldn't want me to attend troubled me.
Bruno tightened his hand on mine. "Is something wrong?"
I looked at him but had no answers to give.
"Calm down, he's fine. What I'm trying to explain is, because of the chest pain, the doctors put him on nitroglycerin, and more tests discovered Tomás has low blood pressure. That, with the medication he already takes for his prostate issue, means his beloved Viagra is off limits."
After her words sank in that Padre would be just fine, I chuckled. "So, you're celebrating that medical intervention will make him keep his promise of being faithful?"
"The Lord works in mysterious ways."
I sighed. Father was basically neutered, and leave it to Mother to turn nitroglycerin into a divine gift. My crazy family deserved their own reality show.
"Madre, you think God gave Padre chest pains and a prostate issue all to keep your marriage together?"
"What?" Bruno said beside me, but I shook my head.
"I'll tell you later."
"Who is that?" Mother asked, and briefly I thought of doing what I've always done, telling her nothing, but the words were out before I knew it.
"Bruno. We're heading home."
Silence.
"God is working for you too."
God? I wasn't even a believer, but my mother ignored me telling her I was an atheist. That woman had a skill at forgetting things that made her uncomfortable.
"Tell Bruno I said hi, and maybe you guys can come visit for Viernes Santo (Good Friday)."
Me in church next to Padre probably praying for his beloved Viagra. No thanks. But then I remembered Bruno was a fairly religious man, and he often visited his family back home.
"I'll ask him and let you know."
"He won't say no. Bruno is a good man…nothing like your father…he's the sort I naively wish every day Tomás could be."
My throat tightened as I processed her words, all of them hitting deeper than I expected, and for a moment, I couldn't speak at all. Then, the line went silent, and I realized Madre hung up, leaving me alone with everything she'd just made me feel.
"Are you OK?" Bruno asked next to me when his eyes should be on the road ahead.
Quickly, I assured him so he could look ahead. "Never better."