Free TooHottoTouch by Samantha Cayto Page B

back to the sink and flipped on the water.
    Instead of leaving, Zorba the Creep leaned against the
counter and folded his arms. “It’ll never work, the two of you.”
    Sean wanted to respond by pointing out it had worked just
fine for the last few weeks. He and Zoë were up to spending at least three
nights a week together, sliding into bed for mind-blowing sex even when they
were too tired to go out. It was certainly working better than any relationship
he’d ever had. Being with Zoë was easy and fun. He felt relaxed and happy. The
nightmares were coming farther apart and whenever he woke up, shaking and
sweating with visions of his past clutching him by the throat, she was there to
sooth him back to sleep. As far as he was concerned, things were working damn
near perfectly. Of course he couldn’t voice all of this to her ex. Still, the
guy stood there waiting for a response.
    With an inner sigh, Sean shut the water off again and faced
his unwanted guest. “Because I’m too young for her,” he said with a roll of his
eyes.
    Polanarkis shrugged. “Nah, that’s not the problem. Frankly I
tip my hat to her. Bagging a younger guy is no mean feat. And as an added
bonus, it may give the kids something to nag her about instead of me.”
    Sean ground his teeth in an effort not to slug the smug look
off the man’s face. He didn’t like the way Zoë’s ex talked about her but Sean
knew she wouldn’t like his hitting him either.
    “No, the real problem is you’re not Greek enough for her.”
    “I’m not Greek at all,” Sean retorted, not sure what the
point of the observation was.
    “Exactly. See, being Greek is major for Zoë. She lives and
works it 24/7.” He spread his arms out. “Just look at this place. How Greek can
you get, running a diner with everything from avgolemono soup to baklava?” He
pushed away from the counter and paced. “Even when we could afford it, she
wouldn’t move out of her grandmother’s house.”
    “ Yiayia ,” Sean corrected automatically.
    “Again, my point exactly,” Polanarkis stopped and pointed at
him meaningfully. “She sent the kids to Greek school and made them speak Greek
at home. Fish on Wednesdays and Fridays, lamb on Sunday. Endless family events
and you’ll never see so many black dresses outside of a funeral.” The man
stopped and shook his head. “I’m full-blooded, second-generation Greek-American
and I wasn’t Greek enough for her. Sorry, kid, but you don’t stand a chance.”
    Before Sean could even formulate a reply, they both jumped
at a harsh “Peter” uttered by the doorway. He turned to see the object of their
discussion standing there with hands on hips, fire flashing from her eyes. He
had never seen an angry Zoë and was grateful her ire wasn’t directed at him.
Her gaze pinned her ex to his spot. Some of the slick confidence fell away from
Peter’s face.
    “Hey, babe, I was just meeting your ah, new dishwasher.”
    There was a pause before Zoë let loose a torrent of Greek
that made Peter blanch. Not knowing more than a few words related to food and
family relationships, Sean stood transfixed. Although he had no idea what she
was saying, he had a good feeling that his lovely older girlfriend was laying
her ex out in a brand of Greek that wasn’t heard in polite circles.
    All Peter could manage was to stand there and take it. She paused
and he took a breath to respond, but was overridden when she started up again.
It wasn’t just her mouth that moved at the speed of light. Her hands waved and
jerked and sliced through the air. This was what Hera must have looked like
when she found out Zeus had fucked another human woman. If Zoë had been aiming
all of that at Sean, he would have pissed his pants.
    Finally the storm passed. Polanarkis mumbled a few words in
response, threw Sean a meek smile and raced out of the room. Quiet descended, the
only sound the faint murmur of people out in the kitchen and the clinking of
pots and pans. Zoë’s