Page 64 of Until You Came Along

“I don’t see why. Baco and I are friends and we’re going to go out many times. That’s what friends do, they get together and enjoy spending time together, that’s the nice thing about friendship.”

“We’ll talk about that later. Today I’ll pick you up at seven and we’ll go to dinner. Leave your car at the office and we’ll go in mine,” he announced.

“Hermes, first you should ask me if I can do that. I don’t like you telling me things as if they were orders that I have to follow without objection.”

“Do you have something to do?” he asked, unable to hide the ironic tone in his voice.

“I don’t know yet because I often have meetings that run long and I end up leaving later.”

“But I imagine that if we set a dinner date, you’ll have to postpone the work meeting.”

“It depends. There are meetings that are very important and I can’t reject or reschedule them.”

“Okay, we’ll talk later,” he said, defeated.

“Thank you for the flowers, I really liked them,” I thanked him again.

“You’re welcome, I’m glad you like them,” he affirmed, and I thought his voice softened.

“We’ll talk later.”

“Very well, goodbye,” he said goodbye.

What a complicated man!I said to myself.

I put my phone in my purse and left the office heading to the restaurant. When I arrived, Baco was already waiting for me at a table at the back of the place. We greeted each other and immediately the waiter came to take our order. We both ordered pasta.

“Well, tell me what this invitation is about because, as much as I love meeting with you, you don’t usually invite me in the middle of your workday, so I imagine you have something important to tell me and I suspect it has to do with my brother,” he stated, looking at me with interest.

“You’re right, I have something to tell you and it’s related to your brother,” I said, looking at him cautiously. Baco continued looking at me with his elbows resting on the table. “Yesterday we talked and I decided to take a chance with him, we’ll see what happens.”

Baco stared at me and for a few minutes we remained silent. After those minutes, he smiled.

“You and Hermes, who would have thought. I hope everything goes well, but you’re aware that he’s a ‘complex’ person, to put it mildly.”

“Thank you. I understand he’s not easy, just as I understand that he’s distrustful, overbearing, and several other things, but I prefer to take a risk and see what happens rather than being left with the feeling of something that could have been but wasn’t because of my fears.”

“Did he tell you anything about his past?”

“He told me something. I know about the betrayal by his girlfriend with his friend and…”

“He told you that?” he asked, very surprised.

“Yes, he did it so I would understand the reasons why he doesn’t trust anyone and doesn’t believe in love.”

“Hermes doesn’t talk about that with anyone, he’s in denial about that subject and that makes it impossible for us to help him. With that topic, he created invisible barriers that make it impossible to reach him, no matter how many times I try, I never succeed. The fact that he told you says a lot about what he feels for you. I imagine that if he decided to tell you so as not to lose you, it’s because you really are very important to him.”

“I don’t know, Baco. I’d like to be important in his life, but I still have my doubts.”

“I know him better and I assure you that with you he has done things I never thought he would do. I think you’ve achieved what no one else has—making his life waver. My brother’s life was a before and after that episode. Unfortunately, his life was marked and from that moment on he became impenetrable, cold with women, and never had friends again. It’s as if he’s resentful of life and distrusts even his own shadow. You’ll need to arm yourself with a lot of patience,” he advised.

“I’ve noticed that, and not just with his distrust, but with his hellish temper.”

“You said it.”

Our plates arrived and for a few minutes we dedicated ourselves to savoring them.

“Without knowing that you had worked things out, but being clear that you’re not indifferent to him, I told him I was leaving because you had invited me to lunch, and I really enjoyed his undisguised fury. He didn’t grab me by the neck to get details only because he was with his secretary,” he said, smiling.