Taming Romeo Read Online Free Page B

while Choco looks nervously between me and Genie who is sitting at the far end of the table, her face marred with a huge pout. Even my youngest brother, Brian, the one with the normal name, has torn himself away from his video games to watch the amusement.
    Papa, of course, clears his throat. “Evie, it is disappointing to come across you consorting with a man on our own driveway.”
    “Oh, please. Don’t use such stiff language.” I plop my foot onto the chair. “Would you rather I took him to my bedroom?”
    “Evie!” Mama snaps. “Your brother’s listening. Brian, get ready for school.”
    “Brian’s sixteen, I’m sure he knows the score.” I’m unrepentant. If they want to rag on me for kissing a guy, they should know I’m not going to listen.
    Papa seems to stall, but Genie gives him a wide-eyed appeal, as if there’s more to say. Fine. I get that she’s jealous of me for having gone to the senior prom with Carlos while she isn’t allowed to attend any event unchaperoned due to my bad example. But this doesn’t call for a public flogging.
    Mama gamely takes the baton. “We know you’re distressed from your broken relationship, although we tried to tell you about the milk.”
    “Yeah, yeah, why buy the milk.” I roll my hands, then scoop a mouthful of rice. I lived with Eric. I played wife. Despite my busy schedule, I cooked his meals and kept our apartment clean, and yes, I slept with him. Shocking for the twenty-first century.
    Genie glares at me, her nostrils flaring as if she smells a stench. Maybe it’s her body odor, because I’m fresh from the shower.
    Papa sighs and taps the table for my attention. “It’s not your fault. Nobody told you.”
    He looks at Choco as if she should step in.
    She mimes, “Oh, no,” shaking her head, then puts her arm around Genie who acts like the hurt party.
    “Told me what? About the benefit concert he’s putting on at the restaurant?”
    They gape at me with their mouths open. Uh, guess that wasn’t the big news.
    “Then what?” I appeal to Choco. She knows everything.
    Genie lets out a small yelp, a stricken look on her face. “How could you, Evie?”
    Oh, I get it now! I slap my forehead. Brian’s smirk confirms it. Genie has a crush on Romeo and somehow, my family thinks he’s her intended. How wrong could they be? Had nobody peeked into the parking lot and seen him with Blondie? Vegan Blondie, to be exact.
    Mama comes to the rescue and pulls her chair close to me. She takes my hand and does the smoothing of my knuckles thing she does to comfort me. “Tita Elena has asked our permission for Romeo to court Genie and we granted it.”
    My first thought slams my brain out of the partially eaten tapsilog fog: Romeo is courting Genie? That’s impossible. He always thought her a brat.
    Second one rolls over the first: They’re accusing me of stealing my sister’s boyfriend.
    Third: Only Choco knows the truth, and she’s not coming to my defense.
    Indeed Choco avoids my gaze, but I’m not letting her off. “Choco, tell them Romeo’s my friend first.”
    Genie wipes a tear, or a fake one, and gives me the woe is me, you hurt me look before pawing Choco like a kitty wanting to be picked up.
    “I’m not taking sides between you two.” Choco scrambles from the table, all five-feet of her tiny self. “Come on, Brian, show’s over.”
    I gape at my parents. “Honestly, this is a big misunderstanding. I was out jogging and fell into a ditch. Look, my knee’s scraped, and see here, my palm is too. Romeo happened to drive by and gave me a ride. My side was already hurting and I caught a cramp in my calf. So, being the good guy he is, he naturally brought me home and when I got off the bike, I wanted to say thank you and…”
    No one’s listening. Like a summer thunderstorm, the family intervention blew in and blew away.
    Mama pushes from the table. “Eat, Evie. Romeo invited us to the movie set to watch a shoot.”
    “I’m not hungry, and