American Fairytale (Dreamers)

by Adriana Herrera

  “I’m doing it again. Seems like being selfish had less to do with Nuntius and more to do with me being a clueless pendejo.”

  “Thomas, stop,” Sanjay said angling his head, his eyes trained on me. I knew that expression and it was the one I usually saw at work when he was done letting Heni and I set the trap and he came in for the kill. “You’re not listening. You’re letting your fragility—”

  This got him a whispered “See how he listens to me?” from Priya, and I had to bite my lip not to smile, when he turned around to look at her then said, “Like I’d still be in one piece if I didn’t.”

  “Tom. We are telling you we love you, and that we want to see you happy, for the long run. That means you may need to approach things a little differently. Will you get it right every time?”

  Priya answered that question with a scoff. “None of you will.”

  Sanjay dipped his head, because that man knew how to keep himself in check when it counted.

  I threw my arms up in defeat and leaned against the chair. “Okay. I will try to keep the entitled asshole side of me in check.”

  “If you don’t, I’m sure Priya will get you back in working order,” Heni quipped in a completely serious voice.

  But Priya just laughed him off. “Oh no. I am pretty certain that Camilo has this situation handled.”

  I shook my head at her knowing grin and when I spoke it was the honest truth. “I’d protest, but from where I’m sitting, that sounds about right.”

  Camilo

  “Well I’m certainly glad I dressed up for this,” Ayako whispered as we walked up the street to Tom’s house for his No-Turkey Thanksgiving dinner. Ayako was more than dressed up in a gorgeous green coat, underneath which she was wearing a purple sweater dress that hugged every one of her curves.

  “You look great and you know it, stop shamelessly fishing for compliments.”

  She preened as we got to Tom’s stoop, then hip checked me. “You don’t look too bad yourself. Those pants are fire.”

  I ran a hand over my coat as we made our way up the steps. I did dress up a bit with my very tight burnt orange sweater, some slim trousers and ankle boots. “Tom pays extra attention the tighter my pants are, so I didn’t want to disappoint the host.”

  Ayako just cackled at my shamelessness as we ascended the steps.

  It’d been a couple of weeks since the day of the concert and things were going really well between us. Tom had been on his best behavior and going out of his way to show me he’d learned his lesson after that night, but it wasn’t like I’d tried to stay mad at him or anything.

  Now I was here to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with him and his friends, and I felt nervous, worried they wouldn’t like me. Ayako bumped my hip again, yanking me out of my thoughts.

  “Chicken’s gonna get cold, babe.” She pointed at the doorbell. “I also want to see this place on the inside,” she said eagerly. “You so fancy with your millionaire. Give me the food, so he doesn’t think I’m a total scrub.” She gestured for me to hand over the Jerk Chicken we’d brought as a contribution. Store bought because we were tacky and bad planners.

  I turned away so she couldn’t reach the pan, clicking my tongue. “Stop, you don’t need to show up with chicken, you’re an invited guest.”

  She ignored my protest and leaned to hear what was going on inside the house. “How many people are at this thing? It sounds like a party!” We could hear music and a lot of people talking on the other side of the door.

  “Tom said it would be like thirty or so. Most of the guests are his friends from grad school, so expect geeky snobs from MIT.”

  Ayako just rolled her eyes at my insult. “Right, like the snob you’ve been thirsting after for the last month and a half. You’ve lost all credibility with me when it comes to salty judgmental bullshit.”

  I was about to argue when the door opened and a very handsome, tall and slender man opened the door.

  “Hi, you must be Camilo. I’m Henock.” He looked at Ayako and gave her a subtle, but very appreciative look which she returned in kind. I cleared my throat and looked up at him.

  “Hi, Henock, it’s nice to meet you. This is my friend Ayako.”

  He extended his arms to take the chicken from me, but I shook my head and gestured for Ayako to say hello.

  “Hi.” All of a sudden she was shy.

  “Nice to meet you both, please come in.” He stepped aside to let us into the big study/den room right by the entrance. I hadn’t been in here much since Tom and I usually hung out upstairs when I came over.

  It was a huge room with lots of gorgeous furniture in grays and dark blues. I turned to Ayako and pointed at a huge painting on the far wall. It had to be eight feet by ten and it was an explosion of color. It was a street scene with lots of brown bodies in colorful clothing huddled together, walking along a wide street. It was a little chaotic and vibrant. Blue and white vans, donkeys and motorcycles all fought for space on the road alongside the people in the image. At this time of the day, with the sun rays slashing across the canvas, it seemed to come to life.

  “Isn’t it amazing?” I asked her. Ayako took it in, and nodded as we walked over to it to take a closer look. Henock came up with us, and explained.

  “This is a scene from Addis Ababa. Tom got it a few years ago when he came on a trip home with me. I have one from the same artist at my place.”

  Ayako kept her eyes fixed on it and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”

  Henock beamed at her. “Tom has amazing taste, and he’s always on the lookout for good art when we travel. Well that and the art scene in Addis is pretty spectacular.” He flashed us both with a million dollar smile that I know had to be having an effect on Ayako. “He’s gotten Sanjay and me into buying art as well. We’re going to run out of wall space soon.”

  Ayako twisted her mouth to the side and I could tell she was working hard to keep from teasing him. I should’ve known better than to expect her to bite her tongue. “I don’t know about that, there’s a lot of space here.”

  We all laughed as Henock got us moving again, and introduced us to a few of the people in the room. There had to be about twenty of them, all in their late thirties to early forties, and it was a very mixed crowd. Tom’s friends were a very diverse group of people. After we walked further into the room where there was a huge sideboard laden with food.

  “Servers are coming around with some snacks and the drinks are on the other side.” Henock gestured at a bar area where an actual bartender was mixing drinks for people, and there were servers moving around the room carrying trays laden with food. Ayako and I gave each other a look when we realized we were at a Thanksgiving dinner with an entire serving staff. “They’ll bring out the meal at around four. Tom is upstairs right now. I’ll go let him know you’re here.”

  He extended his hand to take the container Ayako was now holding. “Is this your dinner offering?” he asked, giving her a cheeky smile. He really was handsome. His eyes were huge and soulful with thick and incredibly long eyelashes. He had a thin face with sharp features, and a smile which would be very hard to resist. Ayako looked like she was liking all of it.

  I cleared my throat, trying to break the eye-fucking happening between those two, when I saw Tom.

  God, he looked so good, and the smile on his face when he saw me was like the sun. I ran my eyes over him as he made his way toward us. Repressing sighs was a real struggle when Tom was around. He was wearing another one of his cashmere sweaters, this one in a forest green. He had on jeans that looked amazing on his long legs and Ferragamo loafers.

  When I got to his face our eyes locked and I felt that mildly sickening dip in my belly that only happened when Tom was close.

  “Hey, you’re here,” he said, gathering me in his strong arms. Before I could respond he gave me a scorching kiss.

  “Hi.” I knew I sou
nded breathless, but who could blame me?

  He squeezed me tight again, then turned around to give Ayako a hug and kiss combo. “Ayako, thanks for coming. It’s good to see you again.”

  “Thank you for letting me come to your fancy party. I approve of everything happening here right now.”

  Tom chuckled at her giddy expression. “You’re most welcome.”

  He looked at Henock then at me. “I see you’ve met the third member of our trio.”

  “I have.”

  Henock smiled at me and then lifted his arms, which were full of chicken. “We’ve been getting acquainted, and I have some questions for Camilo. I want to hear how it’s been for him putting up with you all these weeks. Poor man,” he teased. “First I’m going to go put this upstairs. Ayako, you want to come up to put away your coat and bag?”

  She nodded with a little more enthusiasm than was warranted for what he’d suggested and hurried behind him. I called after her, “Hey, speedy! Could you take my damn coat too since you’re already going up there?” She stopped and extended her arm without looking back. I shrugged it off and passed it to her before she walked away.

  Tom and I stood there watching them leave. “How loose is Henock? Because this could end with people fucking in your coat closet,” I asked completely serious.

  Tom barked out a laugh. “He’s pretty loose, and it wouldn’t be the first time people have gotten up to something at this party. As a matter of fact,” he said putting his arms around my waist and his mouth right up to my ear. “I could go and show you that thing in my room.”

  The only thing I could think of was his dick, and at the moment, seeing it sounded like a great idea. Tom nuzzled my neck and I put my arms around his. I wasn’t about PDA all the time, but I wasn’t against it either. And hey, it was his house. If he wanted to get handsy while the place was full of people, I was totally here for it.

  We pulled apart and he whispered in my ear again. “I don’t know what it is, but when I’m with you I just can’t stop touching.” I playfully tugged on his ear and tried for some humor before I went up in flames from everything he was making me feel.

  “Duh, because I’m irresistible, that’s why.”

  His chuckle was completely dirty and this time he put his mouth so close to my ear his lips brushed my skin as he talked. “You have no idea how bad I want to drag you to my room right now.”

  I was a little breathless and about to suggest we go for it, when I heard some people walking up to us. A man’s voice I didn’t recognize came from somewhere next to us.

  “Wow, you weren’t kidding.”

  We pulled apart and found Priya smiling at us while she rocked a tiny baby in her arms. Next to her were two men I hadn’t seen before.

  Tom smiled at the trio and waved his hand between us as if he was about to make introductions. But before he had a chance to say anything the man who’d spoken earlier extended his hand to me.

  “Nice to meet you, Camilo, I’m Teevrat. I’d heard about your magical powers, but this is beyond what even I could imagine.”

  I shook his hand and smiled, bemused. Teevrat was shorter than me and had lovely dark brown eyes. The man he was holding hands with was slightly taller and very blond.

  “Nice to meet you, Teevrat. I’m not certain which one of my magical powers you’re referring to, but I’m sure you’re right.”

  They all laughed and Teevrat wagged his finger at Tom. “Tom, I didn’t even know you were aware hugging and kissing was allowed in public.”

  Tom blushed but didn’t say anything. Just grabbed my hand looking happy as hell.

  Interesting, so Tom wasn’t usually like this with past lovers. I would need to digest that piece of information later, for now I turned my attention to the baby and Priya. She had her dressed up in an outfit in fall colors and she had tiny diamond studs in her ears. Priya was looking majestic with her long black hair falling around her shoulders, wearing a yellow and burgundy long sleeve maxi dress that looked striking against her dark brown skin.

  “Priya, you look amazing and this little person is adorable.”

  She preened in that way only a new mother could. “Thank you.” She turned the baby so I could see her better. “This is Kalyani, she’s been pretty mellow so far. I’m not sure if I want to do this a second time though.” We all laughed at her flustered expression.

  After a second Priya pointed at Teevrat and the guy who hadn’t said a word yet.

  “Teevrat is my best friend from undergrad and the very quiet man with him is Marc. They’re one of our No-Turkey Thanksgiving success stories. They met at the very first one.”

  Marc extended his hand to me, while Tom explained. “Marc was our classmate at MIT.”

  “I’m Austrian, so was one of the lucky few who got invited to the first No-Turkey day.” He extended his hand to Teevrat who gripped it tight. The way they looked at each other made me ache. I wanted that, someone that would look at me like I was the only one in the room, even after years and years together.

  Tom tightened his arm around my waist and I glanced up to find him looking at me in a way that made my maudlin thoughts evaporate. I had someone that was looking at me like that right now, and I needed to let myself enjoy it.

  “This party is notorious for getting people together,” he told me proudly.

  “Sounds like this potluck is quite the scene.”

  Priya smiled mischievously. “Oh it’s the salsa dancing afterwards when things usually get interesting.”

  “Salsa dancing?” I swiveled my head and stared at Tom.

  He winked, obviously proud of himself for keeping me on my toes. “Oh did I forget to mention? After people sleep off the food we usually put music on and dance a bit.”

  Priya and Teevrat protested in unison. “A bit?”

  “It’s a major part of the event,” Priya explained. “It started with Tom and Enrique, over there.” She pointed at a Latinx looking guy at the other end of the room. “Trying to teach us all salsa and merengue.”

  I turned to Tom again and smiled. “So am I finally going to get a chance to dance with you since my mom got you all to herself last time?”

  The way he ran his eyes up and down my body made it feel like the temperature in the room went up by twenty degrees.

  “I’m dancing with you all night, mi amor.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Camilo

  Once again Tom managed to make something that should have been regular, like Thanksgiving dinner, and made it a totally special and moving experience. When the food was finally brought out, it was like having dinner at the UN. There were dishes from all over the world either catered by different restaurants around the city or contributed by the guests. Everyone chatted about what they brought and shared memories about eating it with their families back home. It was a beautiful way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

  Almost everyone in the room had either been born somewhere else or were the children of immigrants. It felt really special to be celebrating the most American of holidays hearing about different cultures and taking time to be thankful for the lives we had made here in the States. Ayako and I spent the meal exchanging looks as people offered their stories. Right now she was on the other side of the room talking to Priya, while picking desserts from the vast array set out on a table.

  I was sitting on one of the sofas waiting for Tom who had offered to get some for us to share. I tried not to look too ridiculous as I stared at him, a plate full of desserts in one hand and two forks in the other. I smiled and patted the spot next to me on the couch. “Are you letting me have any of that?”

  He sat down and pecked me on the cheek before handing me one of the forks.

  “Of course. Here.” He pressed closer and moved the plate so it was right between us. “Which one do you want to try first?”

  Everything on th
e plate looked delicious and delicate. There was a cake I recognized from Lady M’s. It was layered chocolate cake with a hazelnut filling.

  I pointed to it with my fork. “That one.”

  He immediately cut a piece of it, and lifted it up to my mouth. “May I?”

  As I chewed I cut a piece of cake and offered it to him.

  Tom kissed my temple and then accepted a bite of the cake from me.

  “Mmm that’s pretty good,” he said appreciatively, and because my mind was in the gutter all the time when I was with Tom, I immediately thought of the last time I’d heard him moaning like that.

  “You’re looking flustered, mi amor.”

  “Don’t even think about it. I am not acting all skanky and letting you have your way with me with the house full of people.”

  He actually pouted. “But you were up for it before. We have time before the dancing, no one will even notice we’re gone.”

  My clothes were going to burn right off my body if he kept looking at me like that. “Stop it, Tom,” I pleaded. “That was before I actually met your friends, and was practically in tears with that speech Marc gave before we ate.”

  I sighed, putting the plate on the table, as he looked at me intently. I didn’t even know where I was going with this. “I just don’t want to ruin tonight.”

  He immediately got closer and put his arms around me. “That’s impossible.”

  “You just say that because you want me to put out later.”

  Without answering he pressed a kiss to my mouth, his tongue curling into mine making me want to shove the damn cake plate out of the way and let him fuck me right here. When he pulled away that dirty grin of his made an appearance. “I think that part of the evening has been secured.”

  “Smug toppy bastard.” My attempt to sound put off failed miserably.

  “You know you like it.” There it was again, that thing that Tom did where he made me feel that being exactly me, would never ever be anything other than perfect.