Chapter 48: | catching feels-1

Nine Weeks Ago Friday Night Hundreds of thousands of dollars richer, Phoenix and I float right out of the casino. We're untouchable. For the moment. We find our way to the balcony. Yuna's "Crush" featuring Usher, plays in the background, giving off a chill vibe. It's balmy and breezy. Land is far away. I still see the skyline but it's getting smaller and smaller. The night hangs over us like a black cloak, blending in with the water. It's so dark, I can't tell where the sky ends, and the water begins. It's spectacular. The world looks new to my eyes. "I didn't know it could get this good." "Gets even sweeter when you close million-dollar deals." "After this, I think I could close a few deals like that. Easy as pie." Phoenix laughs at my naivety. "There's the bar." I point across the deck. "C'mon. Let's get a drink." "Bottled water for me." Phoenix waits for the bartender then orders a water and a vodka tonic with lime. "So, now you're drinking my drink?" I ask with one eyebrow raised. He takes a sip. "It's not bad but I would think a little college girl like you would like something a little fruitier?" "I'm a graduate now, remember? It's been months since I walked across that stage and embarrassed myself." I shake my head as I lean on the railing. "Embarrassed yourself? How?" he inquires curiously. "You won't believe me when I tell you. You actually had something to do with it." I laugh. "Me? How?" his high-pitched voice is laughable. "Remember when we first met, we talked about Scarface?" "Yeah, so?" He pushes off the railing and turns to face me. Still embarrassed by that moment, I let it slip out under my breath. "Well I used a line, actually a couple of lines from the movie when I accepted my diploma. I did it in front of everyone too, at least two or three thousand people." "You did what?" His eyes are wide with amusement. My cheeks grow even hotter as I think about it. I clear my throat and slow down. "When I got on stage, I literally snatched the mic from the announcer and in a Cuban accent, I said, 'I want what's coming to me.' I put the mic to the guy's lips. He looked at me confused and asked, 'What's coming to you?' so I told him, 'The world, Chico, and everything in it.' It felt like a mic-drop moment, so I did it." "Did what?" "I dropped the mic. Like a gangster. Everybody lost it. The crowd busted out laughing." "What?" Phoenix is dying with laughter. He looks at me sideways, as if he doesn't quite believe me. "You're crazy, you know that?" "I don't know where it came from. It wasn't planned or anything. It just came out." A cascade of giggles escape, against my will. "It was over the top, I know but listen, everybody was at Friday night flicks, so they knew exactly what I was talking about. I don't know what came over me." Wild, unhinged laughter leaps from my throat. I dab my eyes to keep from ruining my makeup. "I can see you now. At this serious, stuffy event." I turn to face him. "Right! Everyone is a corpse, you know, all stiff and stuck up. I hear nothing but the occasional ha-ha. You know, that empty, haughty, polite laughter?" "Then out comes a girl, not a guy — with that line! Talking and standing like you were. Like a gangster, as you say. Aww, Ari. You're a bold one." Phoenix catches his breath. The urge to kiss him seizes me. Our lips touch and lock in the softest, sexiest kiss ever. My body heats up quickly. Before I know it, I'm caressing the back of his head and neck. The softness of his lips on my lips and the rough, wetness of his tongue on my tongue pulls me in. My whole body responds to his touch as he strokes my waist and behind. Damn. Chills run up my arms. I pull away. Suddenly, I'm self-conscious about my aggressiveness. I smile, coyly and try returning to our conversation. "So, what about you? Where did you graduate?" He stares back, his eyes beckon me to come closer. "I didn't," he says matter-of-factly. "You didn't? But you run that ridiculously successful real estate firm downtown?" "Yeah and all without a college degree." He nods his head. "Get out! How did you learn everything?" "Life. I started out in construction." He takes a sip of his drink. "My stepdad, Frank, put me on. He taught me everything about houses. How to fix them. How to build them." He leans forward on the railing to look at the water. "Get out! I mean you do have the body of a construction worker . . . ." My mind drifts to the night of the picnic. He chuckles. "Believe it or not, Frank and I hated each other in the beginning. When my mom and dad divorced, it took a real toll on me. I didn't always shine so bright," he jokes. I smile at his vanity but it's hard to imagine a time when he wasn't winning. "I came this close to spending time in juvie as a kid." "Juvie?" I ask, not clear on what he's saying. "Yeah, juvenile detention." "Wow." "Crazy I know. I hated everything and everybody. Got into a lot of trouble. Lost my way but Frank, he's a good man." He stares at the water, contemplating. "I saw that once I accepted the fact that my mom and dad weren't getting back together. Divorce can tear a kid apart. I got lucky with Frank." Something in me wants to protect him. To save him from the pain of his past. It aches to watch him like this. He seems childlike standing there in the moonlight right now.