Delgano: A Dark Contemporary Interracial Romance

“I haven’t buried anyone in months.”

“You are reformed.” She theatrically bowed her head. “I apologize.”

Instead of sprinkled with stars, the sky remained a clear, blue-black palette. The temperature had dropped considerably, but it was comfortably cool, further enhancing the perfect afternoon and evening he’d had thus far.

“Is Brazil anything like this?” she asked.

“Nothing like it,” he said. “Where this place is dry, Brazil is wet. Beaches, rainforests, river basins. Not everywhere’s the same, especially in Rio, where I’m from. In Rio, there’s more of an abundance of city life. But, for the most part, Brazil’s tropical.”

“Tell me about it? Please?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything.”

He reclined as far as the rock would allow and tucked his hands behind his head. “The kind of neighborhood where I grew up is called a favela. It’s like a city built within a city—colorful, lively, lots of alleys and friendly people, but definitely on the poorer side. And they do have their share of crime, but I never felt unsafe. At the end of the day, we were a community. I loved walking through the streets and having everyone wave and say hello to me and my mother. I loved stopping at Mr. Rodrigues’ restaurant because he would always sneak me a Coke, even when my mother said I couldn’t have one. Sometimes, on the way to the bus, we’d stop and stare at a pretty dress on a mannequin at a clothing store.”

He would tell his mother to buy the dress, that it would look beautiful on her, but she would always tell him that she’d buy it “Next time.”

Sayeda lay down facing him, her head propped on her bent arm. “All of your best memories are with your mother,” she said. “Remembering her that way, despite everything else, says a lot about you. I think you helped me answer my question about whether people who’ve done what you’ve done continue to have a heart.”

“Why was it such a concern for you?”

“You could say it’s a…curiosity. Do you think, if you had a child, you could still love them, regardless of what you’ve seen? What you’ve done?”

“Of course,” he said, needing no time to think. “I would care more about whether they could love me because of what I’ve done.”

“Could you leave them behind?”

“I would cut off my arm first, but everyone’s situation is different. Me, I’m borderline obsessed with family. The fortune teller said that I’ll have brothers one day. If that turns out to be true, I worry for them.”

A smile softened her gaze. “Why? You’ll torment them like I torment you?”

“And fight alongside them. A family, Sayeda? Do you know what I would do to feel like I’m part of something like that again?”

“Do you want your own family one day? Like a spouse? Children?”

“That’s a complicated question for reasons I can’t share at the moment.” For him to have children, he had to be able to have sex. The alternative was ejaculating near his partner’s vagina and hoping for the best, or worse—coming in a cup and letting her do it herself. But there was no way he would ever accept a life that pitiful.

“You are something else, Adrían Delgano,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re not what I expected.”

“Just don’t go repeating this conversation to anyone. I’m supposed to be a killer.”

She laughed. “Two words: email blast.”

From his current angle, with the moon behind her, he swore he could see a little bit of her face through the fabric.

And “pretty” didn’t do her justice.

“What if this team project is like that?” she asked. “Like a family or brotherhood?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Did they ask you to take part in my recruitment? To butter me with conversation until I concede to their wishes?”

“Or I just like getting to know you.” She pointed at him with her chin. “Now you have to say something nice about me.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yep. Don’t keep me waiting.”