Page 40 of Santino (The Camboy Network #4)

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SEVEN

HAYDEN

Santino’s version of ramen is just pouring hot water over a bowl of dry noodles, mixing in the seasoning, and letting it sit for a few minutes. I’m going to show him how to really make ramen.

“Is it really ramen if there are so many steps involved?” Santino asks as he washes the bok choy in the sink.

“Of course, it is. It’s basically the same thing. We’re only adding a few extra ingredients.”

Santino eyes the eggs, green onions, and slices of cheese on the counter. “There’s not even any meat.” He pouts.

I laugh, marveling at how foreign it sounds to my ears. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed like this. Like everything is right with the world. “You won’t miss it, I promise.”

Pulling out two pots, I fill them both with water and set them on the stove.

“Is this good?” Santino shows me the bowl of washed bok choy.

“Perfect.” I grab my chef’s knife from the magnetic strip on the wall. “Do you know how to chop green onions?”

Santino eyes the knife warily. “My dad taught me how to carve a turkey?”

I tilt my head. “Not quite the same thing. Come here.” I wave him over to the cutting board set out on the counter. “Give me your hand.”

When he holds it up, I help him wrap it around the knife’s handle.

“A lot of people hold a knife like they’re shaking hands with it.

But actually, your palm should be on top of the knife handle, like this.

” I let go and Santino turns the knife back and forth, getting used to its weight.

I grab the green onions and set them on the chopping board.

“When you’re holding the veggies or meat or whatever you're cutting, you want to curl your fingers so your knuckles stick out.” I reach around him to position his other hand on the green onions. “Then lean the flat part of the blade against your knuckles. That way you won’t chop your fingers off.”

With my arms around Santino and my hands on top of his, we chop the green onions together. It’s a little awkward, but about halfway through, he picks up the feel for it. I lift my hands off and settle them on his hips as he keeps going.

“That’s it. Perfect.”

“This is dope.” He sounds so excited.

“It’s just chopping vegetables, babe,” I plant a kiss by his ear.

He looks over his shoulder at me and steals another kiss from my lips.

I show him how to soft-boil an egg, then dunk it in ice water so it stops cooking. And what order all the ingredients should go into the ramen. He stares slack-jawed when I lay slices of cheese on top of the boiling pot of noodles and soup.

“You can put cheese in ramen?”

“Yup. At least with Korean-style ramen. It might not be as good with other kinds.” Pulling out two bowls, I divvy up the noodles, then drop one peeled egg into each.

We carry it over to the dining table and Santino lets out an indecent groan when he takes his first bite.

“Oh my god, this is so good,” he says around a mouthful of noodles.

I take a bite too and I have to agree. This might be the best bowl of noodles I’ve ever had—because I made it with Santino.

We’ve just finished eating when Santino’s phone starts buzzing. He pulls it out of his pocket and the sated, content expression he’s wearing melts into dread. “It’s my mom.”

Anxiety grips me. He hasn’t spoken to his mom since that day they argued. “Do you want to answer it?”

His gaze flicks up to mine. “I should, right?”

My heart starts racing as wild thoughts flood my mind. She’s going to convince him to go home. She’ll make him see I’m not worth his time. “Do, um, do you want some privacy? I can go…” I start pushing my chair back, but Santino grabs my hand.

“No! Stay. Please.” His grip is tight and his eyes are a little wild with panic.

It’s weird seeing him like this. It’s weird being the one holding his hand rather than him holding mine. He’s always been the strong one between us, but now I have to be strong for him.

Santino answers the call and immediately puts it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Tino? Hold on a sec.”

He glances up at me and whispers. “That's my sister Luisa.”

“Mom, you have to speak to him!” Someone shouts in the background. His mom’s answer is too muffled to make out. “We talked about this, Mom.”

Santino stares at the phone like some kind of monster might jump out of it. I don’t like it. Still holding his hand, I stand and tug him to his feet. We go to the couch and I curl myself around him as we wait for someone to start talking on the other end of the phone.

“Sorry about that, Tino. Here’s Mom.”

There’s a fumbling sound as the phone is handed off, but no one else comes on the line.

Santino and I exchange a look. “Hello?” he asks.

“Mom!” Luisa, I think, hisses in the background.

“Yes?” Santino’s mom finally speaks, sounding as if Santino was the one who called her and not the other way around.

“Uh, hi, Mom.”

“Hello.”

“Um… how are you doing?”

I give him a squeeze and nuzzle the crook of his neck.

“I’m fine.”

“That’s great.” A beat passes and when his mom doesn’t say anything, Santino continues. “I’m doing good too. Thanks for asking.” He rolls his eyes.

“Oh my god, Mom, you agreed to talk to him.” Louisa’s loud enough that we can hear her clearly.

A sharp huff of air blows across the microphone. “Your sisters said I need to talk to you,” she finally says.

“About what?” Santino’s expression grows more and more dour by the second.

“About you leaving me.”

“He’s not leaving you. You know what? Never mind. Give me the phone.” More fumbling sounds before Luisa comes back. “I’m so sorry, Tino. I thought she was going to be reasonable.” She puts so much emphasis on that word that she’s probably saying it as much to Santino’s mom as she was to him.

“That’s okay,” Santino says, but the disappointment in his voice is more than obvious.

“No, Tino, it’s not okay. She’s taking this way too personally when it’s not actually about her.

” Louisa sighs and the sound of voices in the background fades.

“Don’t stress, though, Paola and I are working on her.

She’ll come around. Eventually. So tell me about New York.

Do you have a place to stay? What are you doing there? Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I really like it. I’m working with this um, indie filmmaker and I’ve made a lot of new friends. They’re really great.”

“Look at you, my baby brother, all grown up and being an actor.”

Santino laughs nervously. “Yeah, something like that.”

“When does the movie come out? Where can I watch it?”

“Um…” Santino casts a panicked look in my direction.

I shake my head furiously and mouth “not available.”

“It’s all small indie projects. I don’t actually know where they’ll be available. But I can check?” He crumples his face into a cringe and slumps against me. He wasn’t joking when he said he was a bad liar.

“Cool. Let me know. What else is going on out there?”

Santino turns to look at me before he speaks again. “I, um, I’ve met someone.”

A sharp shriek has us both flinching away from the phone. “You have?! Oh my god, hold on. Paola! Get over here! Okay, tell us everything .”

Santino shoots me an alarmed look, a question in his eyes.

Doubt swirls around inside me. Should he really tell them about us?

What if he changes his mind about me later?

What if he doesn’t want to be with me after all?

Wouldn’t it be better if they never knew?

But if he’s brave enough to talk to his mom, then I need to be brave too.

I nod.

“His name is Hayden,” Santino says, gazing into my eyes, a smile gracing his lips. “And… he’s amazing. He taught me how to cook today.”

Another woman gasps. “And you didn’t burn down the house?” she teases.

“Ha, ha, Paola. No, I didn’t burn down the building.” Santino rolls his eyes, even as he smiles wider.

My earlier anxiety begins to ease as Santino talks with his sisters.

And though the voice is still whispering at the back of my mind, I focus on the warm weight of Santino’s body against mine.

The way he talks slightly differently with his sisters than with anyone else.

The easy banter they all have back and forth.

His sisters sound really nice. And more importantly, they sound supportive.

“So when are you bringing him here to meet us?” Paola asks.

“Oh, uh… I don’t know. We haven’t thought that far yet,” Santino answers.

“When are you clearing your stuff out of your apartment in San Francisco?” Louisa asks.

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far yet,” Santino repeats himself.

I can almost hear his sisters shaking their heads on the other end of the phone.

Louisa sighs. “I can go grab your things the next time I’m up there. Just call your landlord and tell him I’m coming.”

“Really?” Santino double-checks, looking both hopeful and skeptical.

“Yes, really,” Louisa sounds put out, but also fond at the same time. “I have a work meeting next week, so I can swing by on Thursday.”

“Sweet! Thanks, Louisa!”

“Yeah, yeah, just make sure you bring your boyfriend home sooner rather than later, okay?”

“Yes! I will. Promise!” They hang up and Santino turns in my arms. He sort of launches himself at me, but because of the awkward angle, I fall sideways and we land in a tangle of limbs.

“That went okay?” I ask, wanting to make sure that Santino isn’t too upset about his mom.

Santino nods and sighs. “I was hoping my mom would be over it by now, but…” He trails off. I can see just how much it bothers him that his mom isn’t on board. It only lasts for a second, though, before he smiles again. “My sisters are pretty cool, right?”

They are, and even though I still have some doubt niggling at the back of my mind, I find myself smiling. “I’d like to meet them,” I say and I mean it with my whole heart. “I hope they like me.”

“They’re going to love you as much as I do.” He plants a kiss on my lips. “Well, maybe not as much as I do. But close. My dad will too. He’s super chill. And my mom?” He shrugs. “We’ll deal with her when the time comes.”

Just like we’ll deal with everything else. Together. One day at a time.