Stepbrother Dearest(75)

“Yes. I already told her about you. She didn’t take it well at first, but I explained to her how much I love you and that she needs to accept it. She will, Greta. And if she doesn’t, it wouldn’t matter anymore.”

“I hope so. ”

“I needed to find another job because I quit the youth center after I ended things with Chelsea. So, actually, one of the things I did over the past few days was interview at a school here in the city last Friday. They offered me a guidance counselor position.”

“Are you kidding?”

“No.”

“Elec, that’s the best news!”

He picked up the ice cream and started eating it again. “I’ll need a place to stay, though. Do you know a girl who needs a roommate?”

“Actually, Sully’s been looking.”

He fed me a spoonful. “I’m talking about another girl. I was kind of thinking of moving in with this beautiful little nymph I know who likes her * licked.”

“Oh…she might be interested.”

“Good, because I wasn’t planning on taking no for an answer.” He kissed me with his mouth full of Cherry Garcia ice cream. “Hey…you never explained to me what it is you actually do for a living. You say it’s an administrative position, but what does the company do exactly? Or are you really an FBI agent or something?”

Oh boy. I was surprised it took this long before I had to fess up. There was a reason I never went into it.


“It’s not quite administrative, and you have the agent part right. There’s a reason I’ve been kind of hesitant to tell you. I felt really guilty when we were apart because I wished I could have helped you, actually.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’m a literary agent, Elec.”

He put the carton down on the end table. “Say what?”

“I represent authors, and I think I could actually help get some of your work published, particularly Lucky and the Lad. I work closely with a major publishing house’s young adult imprint, and I think we should submit it to them.”

“Are you f*cking shitting me?”

“I’m dead serious.”

“How did you get into that?”

“Actually, I fell into it. I was looking for a job out of college, started as an intern and worked my way up to an agent position. I’m newer, so my clientele is still growing.”

“Please tell me I’m gonna have to sleep with you to get ahead in my writing career.”

“That’s definitely part of the deal.”

“Wow, in all seriousness, I’m so proud of you.”

“You have no idea how guilty I’ve felt this past year when I’d see writers not nearly as talented as you getting deals and having success. I didn’t know how to contact you or if you’d even want to pursue anything because I knew how private you were about your writing.”

“You know I would never expect special treatment. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Your writing blew me away long before this career. I believe in you. We’ll work together. If nothing comes of it, then at least we tried.”

“If nothing comes of it, I’m still the luckiest man in the world.” He whispered to himself, still thinking of my admission. “That’s wild.”

I got up to straddle him and brushed my finger over his side. “Speaking of lucky, I noticed this new tattoo right here.”

He started to tickle me. “Oh, you did, did you?”

It was a small Lucky Charms cereal box with the words Get Cereal above it.

How cute but bizarre.

Even though it went along with the Irish theme of all the other tats, it made me chuckle. “What’s the significance of this?”

“Honestly? I just got this recently. It reminds me of you and the horseshoe up your ass. Also, you’re my lucky charm. More than once in my life, you turned something miserable into something magical for me. He pulled me into a deep kiss then said, “And if you scramble the letters of Get Cereal, you get our names.”

Get Cereal=ElecGreta

Oh my God. I loved him.

“That’s my favorite anagram you’ve ever come up with.”

“It was either that or Rectal Gee, which made no sense. Then I would have had to get an ass tattooed on my side. That wouldn’t have worked.”



***



A few months later, it was Christmas in New York. This was my favorite time of year with all of the lights and decorations adorning the city. This Christmas was like no other because Elec and I were experiencing it together in love for the first time.

We’d be going out to San Francisco to spend the actual holiday with Pilar. Per Elec’s suggestion, he had me speak to her on the phone to take some of the edge off. She was surprisingly cordial to me, and it made me feel a lot better about the trip. Things would never be perfect between us, and I was sure she would have preferred him ending up with Chelsea. At least, though, with Randy gone and through the passage of time, she was able to accept me.

A few days before we were set to fly out west, Elec and I were invited to a Christmas party at Sully’s.

Sully’s apartment was very classic New York, lots of dark wood crown molding and a hefty built-in bookshelf lined from top to bottom with books ranging from erotica to military history. She’d gone all out, hanging plastic mistletoe and white lights all throughout the apartment. There was even a gold banner that read, Eat, Drink and Be Mary. She also set out a table of spiked eggnog and assorted appetizers. Elec and I were feeling pretty good after a few mugs of the eggnog.