“Sydney Matthews?” my sister spits out, which makes Sydney chuckle. She’s either extremely nervous or she’s making the most out of this situation.
“You can just call me Sydney. No need for last names.” She winks and then looks at Andre. “Hi, Andre. Nice seeing you outside of the gym.”
“Uh, yeah. Nice to see you too.”
“Well, come in guys. Javi and I were just sharing some Chinese food.” She steps away from the door so they can squeeze inside and then shuts it behind them.
“You two were sharing food?” Selena points back and forth between us with a finger.
“Uh, yeah,” I chime in. “We were, uh …”
“Celebrating the self-defense class being over,” Sydney continues, smiling brightly. “I brought food over from Dingxiang’s since I know it’s Javi’s favorite as a thank you for being such a knowledgeable instructor. I really loved the class.”
“Are you two … friends?” my sister questions, her eyebrows still inching close to her hairline.
“Yup. Good friends,” Sydney replies with a smirk on her face. “Seems Javi just needed someone to wear him down a bit. I knew behind this broody, asshole exterior was really a nice guy.”
Andre starts laughing as Selena’s eyes widen at me.
“Selena, I actually wanted to ask you something. I heard you own the salon over on Madison?”
“Yeah,” she says with a nod, directing her attention back on Sydney.
“Well, my previous hairstylist moved away and I’m in desperate need of a color and cut. Any chance I can get an appointment with you or someone at your salon?”
Selena grins and then bobs her head up and down again slowly, as if she’s soaking in Sydney’s presence and politeness right now. “Sure. We can make that happen. I have some availability next week, I believe.”
“Perfect.” Sydney sighs dramatically. “I’ll call the salon tomorrow to book something.”
“Sounds good.”
She turns to me now and rests her hand on my upper arm. “Thanks for celebrating with me, Javi.” She winks again and smiles knowingly at me, concealing it from my sister and Andre. “We’ll talk soon.” Turning to wave at Andre and Selena, she bids them goodbye as well. “Nice to see you two. Have a good night.”
“Bye, Sydney,” Andre calls out as she walks through the door and shuts it behind her.
I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and then turn toward the two of them before opening my eyelids and accepting the inquisition I know is coming.
“Sydney. Fucking. Matthews!” my sister shouts loud enough for the next door neighbor to hear.
“Jesus Christ, Selena. Calm the fuck down,” I growl, moving on my feet back to the kitchen to start putting away the food. “We were just eating.”
“Each other?” Andre interjects and then cackles.
“She was wearing a trench coat, Javi. In the middle of June. I’m not stupid, ass wipe.”
I close my eyes and blow out a sharp breath.
“And that car,” she says before looking back toward the yard. “That car has been here a lot lately. I just thought you had a lady friend over, but … it was her, wasn’t it? Are you fucking Sydney Matthews?” Her hands are on her hips with one of her eyebrows raised, and the red of her headband brings out the fire in her eyes.
I shoot my gaze over to her and then cross my arms over my chest. To hell with it. I’m a grown ass man, and I can fuck anyone I want.
“What if I am?”
Selena’s jaw drops and then she smacks her hand to her forehead. “You have lost your damn mind, Javi. Didn’t we tell you to be careful with her? Getting involved with her is just going to …”
“It’s just sex.” I cut her off, moving back to closing the tabs on the boxes of food and then placing them in the fridge. Even as the words left my mouth, they soured my taste buds. Sydney arriving here earlier was a welcome surprise. Don’t get me wrong, the blow job was definitely worth the interruption to my evening, but just seeing her and getting to hear her voice made my night turn around.
“Really? Because last I checked, fuck buddies don’t bring over meals to thank them for self-defense classes.”
Anger floods my veins as my sister continues to ridicule my time with Sydney. I don’t want to hear anymore, so I point a finger in her direction and then raise my voice. “Why does this matter to you, Selena? Why do you care who I’m fucking? I’m a grown ass man, and not that it’s any of your business, but she came on to me!”
Selena’s hands drop to her sides as her mouth parts. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why is that so hard to believe?”
“It’s … it’s not. I just …” She swallows while shaking her head and then moves closer to me. Andre has rested his ass on the back of my couch, watching the argument unfold between us like he normally does. He’s been around long enough to know when not to intervene when we’re screaming at each other.
“I’m a big boy, Selena. I can handle it.”
She brings her palm up to my cheek and stares at me with that loving gaze that tells me she’s done being mad. “I know. I just … I just don’t think this is a good idea. Her family, her job …”
“It doesn’t matter because it’s just physical.” My voice cracks at the end, causing Andre to chime in.
“I don’t know, Javi. I’ve been watching you two at the gym and even just now. I see something else. And babe, maybe that’s not a bad thing,” he adds, turning his sight to my sister.
“I don’t want her to hurt him. He’s been through enough …”
“You don’t even know her, Selena,” I add, defending Sydney for once because now that I have gotten to know her, I don’t see a vindictive bone in her body. I see a woman who’s been locked in a cage created by expectations put on her throughout her entire life. I see
