Just Another Liar

Chapter 16: Aurelio

"Hand me the eggs, please," Milo asked. I grabbed the carton from the refrigerator and handed it to him. Our hands grazed past each other's and he looked up with a smile. Deandre stood at the stove using a fork to turn over bacon. He was humming Conjunto Primavera's "Necesito Decirte", that we used to listen to when we would meet growing up. His maid would play it while dusting during the late nineties. We started off hating it, but the longer we heard it, the more we liked it. I walked up behind Milo and kissed his neck that had many hickies along with shoulders.

We had been in a sex cacoon for nineteen days. It reminded me of seeing the love my grandparents shared for the first time since my mom shipped off to Tennessee.

They would wake up bright and early every morning and prepare breakfast for the house of eight. Jazz music was always playing in the background and the smell of eggs would act as an alarm for the whole house. The first morning it all seemed so strange. My grandfather was guiding my grandmother in a dance in the middle of the kitchen without a care in the world.

"Don't start," Milo said, stepping to the side. He pointed a fork at me like it was a knife, getting me to laugh. He rolled his eyes and started beating the egg whites and yolks until they were a homogenous yellow mixture. I was to make fresh orange juice, Deandre's favorite drink. It only took a second and I would pour champagne into the mixture when the rest of the food finished cooking.

I went to his couch and turned on the TV. The local news popped up showing a swarthy man with salt and pepper hair talking to reporters. He looked like he came from money and spoke in a way people did when they had only known a life surrounded by people of wealth.

"We have to stop the influx of crime in our communities. I am sick and tired of these miscreants thinking it's okay to do as they please. I have served this country and community as the director of the FBI and plan to build on what I have done as your senator."

"A vote for Michael Scala is a vote for my new crime bill. The Britomartis Act, that could see crime rates slashed in half. We can accomplish this by increasing the power and autonomy of our criminal justice systems in the district. Please visit my website and social media for more information." The whole time he spoke he had a big fake smile and dead eyes. His jaw jutted upward and out so he was looking down at everyone else.

"What an asshole," Deandre snickered. He turned back to the bacon, not impressed by the wealthy man. Deandre had seen true men of power and this Scala was not one of them, so he gave him the amount of attention he deserved.

"Turn to something good," Milo said. He looked at the man with a familiarity. I chalked that up to him probably seeing the man on the news before. I turned to some show about house auctions and reached for my cup of coffee that I placed on the table before making the orange juice.

The mug was lukewarm, and the coffee was not as good as the first sip, but I kept drinking. I wanted to say that I was having another good day like the last handful had been, but something in my gut was screaming at me. Normally I knew how to react to the feeling; pack all my shit and run. But, there was no obvious danger today, so I should have been relaxing without a care in the world.

Milo walked over with a plate for me, "You've been quiet for a while." He sat next to me and kicked his feet up on my lap. Deandre walked over and handed me a mimosa that I downed happily. I wouldn't even feel it since my tolerance was so high, but I welcomed the slight warmth.

"Baby, you didn't answer me," Milo whined. I looked over at him and saw that as I guessed he was being sarcastic.

"Sorry, I'm just a little tired today I guess."

Milo took the answer and began eating. I took a bite of the eggs he seasoned perfectly and thanked them both for making the meal. We watched tv saying how we would have designed the houses. Milo took part, but not at the same level since he had never designed a house from the ground up.