Page 1449

~~((The 12 Pages of Christmas + Double Monday = Page 3 of 14))~~
‘Uh-huh,’ said Yangéra. ‘How about Anna Casal, then?’

‘I never had sex with Anna,’ said Diego. ‘We were just very close, for a while.’

‘I literally found you in the same bed together.’

‘Yes! We slept in it! As in, actual sleep! No sex! She was going through a rough time, needed a shoulder to cry on, and then fell asleep in my arms!’

‘You were both naked.’

‘The rain soaked through our clothes! And we didn’t have any others to change into that night! AND we kept our underwear on, by the way!’

‘Mmhmm. Hey, do you hear that? It’s the sound of me not believing you.’

‘Look, I don’t need to explain my relationship with Anna to you. She is a special woman, but she and I were simply not meant to be. Someone with a filthy mind like you wouldn’t understand the platonic bond we shared.’

‘Right. What about that one chick I saw all over you a few months ago? Did you ever even learn her name?’

‘That was Bernice, and yes, while she was very forward, she was a foreigner who was only in town for the weekend, so the relationship didn’t last beyond that.’

‘But you did have sex with her, is my point.’

‘No, I didn’t.’ Diego hesitated, not entirely certain he wanted to elaborate. ‘In fact... things got a little awkward when I told her that I didn’t want to take things that far. I instead suggested trying a long-distance relationship first and seeing how things went. Her response was to kick me in the balls.’

That information seemed to give Yangéra pause, perhaps because of how tragically believable it was. ‘...What about that bimbo supermodel you were with just a few weeks back?’

‘She was NOT a bimbo! Her name was Marissa, and she was very nice! I only went to a couple ritzy parties with her as a favor. She was worried her friends would give her a hard time for showing up alone, so I played the role of studly arm candy. And maybe... sorta-kinda pretended to be her boyfriend a little.’

‘...You did all of that for her, yet never slept with her?’

‘She was just coming off of a bad break up and was obviously feeling very vulnerable. I didn’t want to take advantage of her.’

Yangéra allowed a few beats to pass. ‘Nah, I still think you’re full of crap. What about Elena Salamanca?’

At that name, Diego stopped walking and looked at Yangéra.

The reaper stopped as well. And perhaps she realized what she’d done, because she floated closer. ‘Ah--uh--I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to bring her up. I wasn’t--’

Diego’s expressionless face scanned his surroundings. There was a narrow alley to to his right.

He went for it.

As soon as he was out of public view, he found a wall, and he leaned against it while hanging his head forward.

He wasn’t gonna cry. He wasn’t. He definitely was not.