Chapter 28 Chapter 28 The Phone Call
“What were you guys doing?” asks Tommy as George and I join everyone in the living room.
“Watching a movie!” George says, blushing and completely giving us away. I sit next to him, posting pictures from the past month—him and me at games, on our dates. One of us by Gemma’s pool—I look so hot. The picture Erika took when he patched me up is so cute. George looks over my shoulder and smiles. “Are we official now?” he asks. I just nod and kiss his cheek.
“Sure!!! Watching movies—is that what the kids call it nowadays?” Tommy grins at both of us.
“You better shut up, Tommy! Worry about why we never watch movies anymore!” Anna scowls at him.
“I feel like the kids are talking in code!” their dad laughs.
“Come on, Elena, come help. I have everything ready!” calls George’s mom.
“I hope you fold better than me, or she’ll scold us both,” Anna says. She’s Russian, with green eyes and light brown hair.
Tommy and George don’t look like brothers. Tommy is tan—dark tan—with black hair and brown eyes. Their parents have fair skin and light brown hair. Athena, their mom, has blue eyes; Giannis, their dad, has brown eyes. Tommy is also taller than both George and their dad. They’re a very traditional family—the guys are watching basketball while the women are in the kitchen. Athena has lamb roasting, and lemon potato wedges in the oven. Anna is cutting vegetables for salad.
Athena hands me a bowl of rice and cooked ground pork. Whatever seasoning she used smells amazing. I take a spoonful, place it on a leaf, fold the sides, and roll it. I like mine tight. Then I place them in the Dutch oven. The bottom is lined with leaves and a few lemon slices. There are so many leaves it looks like we’re cooking for an army. Athena heads out of the kitchen.
“She likes you better than me!” Anna laughs.
“No way! You’re her actual daughter-in-law!” I say in Russian.
“Ah, you speak Russian! I love it! None of them do. It’ll be our secret!” she winks.
I’ve just finished lining the bottom of the Dutch oven and started the second layer when I hear my phone going off. It won’t stop—I can’t tell if it’s texts or calls. George grabs my phone. Tommy hollers at him not to touch it.
“It’s fine!” I say. “I have nothing to hide. Who is it?”
“You have a bunch of texts from Mason Jones, Alek Fedorov, and Gemma!” he pauses. “Fedorov and Jones…those are the boxers, right, baby?”
“Umm…yeah.”
Anna smiles wide. “Damn, girl!”
“Alek is calling again!” George says.
“Can you bring me my phone? I’m on a roll and don’t want to wash my hands to take a call.”
I hear George answer and tell Alek to hold on. He comes over and places the phone by my ear; I pinch it between my shoulder and cheek. “Thanks, babe!” He smiles and leaves the kitchen.
“What’s up, Alek? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, gorgeous! Your new guy is short!”
I switch to Russian.
“Is that why you called? After all this time?”
Anna’s eyes widen when I switch languages.
“I see you moved on from my brother. You haven’t called or anything!”
“Alek, Sergey and I agreed not to talk. He moved on, and after months of being heartbroken, I decided to move on too. Sergey seems pretty happy with his new girlfriend anyway. He moved on faster than me.” My voice sharpens—why are you calling me now? He must’ve been stalking my socials.
Then I hear Sergey in the background, talking to his new girlfriend, and my heart cracks again.
“He doesn’t love her!” Alek says.
“Are you seriously calling me while he’s right next to you?”
“Yeah. So what’s so special about this new guy anyway? He’s short!”
“You already said that…” I pause. Do I really want to say this? I glance at Anna and think, fuck it. “I’m not worried about how tall he is. He has a monstrosity between his legs. You want to know his nickname? It’s Tripod!”
Anna bursts into laughter, her face turning red. George, his brother, and their dad all turn to look at us. I grin at George. Alek starts laughing. “You’re making shit up! It’s okay—I’m happy if you’re happy. I was just glad to see you post something.”
I double down—I’m not letting Alek put down my boyfriend. “Fine, don’t believe me. I’ll send you a picture. Don’t get excited—it’s not a nude, but it might as well be!”
Anna looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Hey, George, can you come help me with something?”
He comes running into the kitchen. “Go into my album folder and send Alek the third picture from last.”
George tilts his head at me, then finds the picture and starts laughing, asking why I’m sending it. “I’m defending your honor!” I say. He keeps laughing but does it anyway.
It’s a picture from our Sunday workout last week. He’s shirtless in gray sweatpants, pouring water over his chest. His pants are wet and clinging to him—and he’s hard.
It takes a minute, but Alek gets the picture. I hear Sergey ask who he’s talking to. Alek tells him it’s me, and I guess that’s when he looks.
“Holy motherfucking shit! That’s a goddamn elephant trunk. How does it even fit? You’re fucking tight!” he says, loud enough for Anna to hear.
Then I hear Sergey yell at Alek to get off the phone with me. Another crack in my chest.
“Don’t call me again! He obviously doesn’t want us talking. We’re done—let’s keep it that way!” I say, trying to hold it together.
“Shut up, Sergey! You’re going to make her cry!” Alek snaps.
I can’t do this. It took me too long to climb out of that hole.
“Babe, please come take my phone and hang it up!”
“Why can’t you do it yourself?” Alek asks.
“I’m making stuffed grape leaves with George’s mom!” I pause. He goes quiet. “Goodbye, Alek.”
George takes the phone, hangs it up, and puts it on silent before sliding it into my back pocket.
“Thank you,” I say.
He wipes away a tear I didn’t even realize had fallen.