Before she could get out another word, he said, “Lucina, the bottom line is this: I choose you today, I’ll choose you tomorrow, and I’ll choose you again next week. In fact, I chose you the first time I ever laid eyes on you. And during all of this time that I’ve been around you, that still hasn’t changed. Did you read that from me when you first saw me out on the sidewalk? Be honest about it.”

She shook it off and told him, “That’s only because you haven’t had me, Ivan. But what about the girls you’ve been with? How come they’re not here?”

It was a good question. But Ivan answered her with poise. “Because they’re not you. They’re not what I want.” He said, “But you, you’re a long-term investment, Lucina. I wanna put you in my retirement fund,” and he broke into a smile.

Lucina heard that and chuckled. She couldn’t help herself. It was corny but clever. A retirement fund meant old age. And she couldn’t see Ivan retiring anytime soon. He loved to hustle too much, a long-term addiction that matched her own fetish for hustling.

Ivan told her, “That’s a good money deal right there. I only love my mother like that.”

When he said that, he stopped smiling. He was dead serious.

Lucina looked into his eyes and read his sincerity. She had heard Ivan talk about his late mother before in his interviews. He held her memory in high regard. His mother had been a strong inspiration for him, as much as Lucina’s mother had been an inspiration for her. Ivan even made her think about her mother back home in Brazil, where she refused to leave. She loved it there too much. So Lucina continued to send her love and money to her family back home.

After Ivan had opened up a soft spot in her armor, Lucina became silent while thinking about their possibilities.

We are so much alike, she told herself. I’ve known that ever since that first night. I could see it in his eyes as soon as I looked at him. So how long can I continue to run away from him? she asked. And he’s right. I did feel this that first night. But it was only a possibility then. Now it is a reality.

Ivan seized the moment and walked over toward her in her silence. He continued to have an urge to hold her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her body and feel her heartbeat against his chest.

Lucina had not trusted the naked intentions of a man in years. Yet it was time now, and it had been time for a long time between them. So she took a step toward Ivan as he closed the gap. And she waited there, hoping he would be able to read her body language.