Durango is a very muscular man, and he does like to wear his T-shirts snug. So, now I’m picturing him wearing all skintight clothes.
“Was she not impressed?”
He licks his lips. “Everything was fine until I bent down to pick up a weight.”
My hand goes to my mouth. “Please tell me you didn’t have gas!”
He frowns. “Honestly, that would have been a lot better. But no. As soon as I bent over, I felt it right away. My pants split in the back.”
A giggle escapes, but I cover my mouth. “Sorry. Continue.”
“Willow was behind me, and she started laughing. Not because of the split but because of my underwear.”
I’ve done laundry for Durango, and his underwear is basic boxer briefs in boring colors. So, why would she laugh? Then it hits me. “Wait, were you wearing your Superman pair?”
Yep, my adult cousin has a couple pairs of Superman underwear in his drawer. He claims they were a gag gift from the guys and he never wears them.
He sighs. “They were the only clean ones I had! I forgot to do laundry, so I just grabbed them. Willow and I aren’t to a place where she’d see them, or so I thought.”
I can’t stop the laughter now, imagining Willow behind this huge hulk of a man when his pants rip and all she sees is Superman.
“It’s not funny.” Durango’s cheeks are red, and his expression is very serious.
I try but can’t stop laughing.
He stands up. “This is what she did too, and it pissed me off.”
I take a deep breath. “Wait, what? What happened after she laughed?”
“I went home. I needed to change anyway, but I was mad, so I went home to cool off. She’s been mad at me ever since.”
I stand up and face him. “And you can’t figure out why she’s mad at you?”
“No! I should be mad at her for making fun of me.”
Durango has always been a serious guy as long as I’ve known him, but he used to have a sense of humor. Something’s changed, and I don’t know why.
“Well, she’s probably mad at you for taking it all so seriously and not laughing at yourself. I didn’t know you that well before I moved here, but I do remember you joking around and laughing a lot.”
He sits back down and stares at the floor.
“You’ve grown much more serious. Are you not able to see the humor in the split? I’m sure she wasn’t making fun of you. Picture this man who is always in control, and then that happens.”
He sighs. “I guess I can see why she might have thought it was funny. And maybe I did overreact, but dammit, I was embarrassed, and now the woman I want thinks I wear kid underwear.”
“Many men wear superhero underwear,” I say. Really, I have no idea, but I’m hoping it helps. “And I have an idea how you fix this.”
He turns to me, hopeful. “How?”
I grab the laptop they left me to use and retake my seat next to him. I couldn’t have my phone as they had to shut that down in case John had any way of tracing it. And I was forbidden to sign into any of my accounts in case John had a way of watching those too. But I did get access to the internet to watch movies. I search and find what I’m looking for. Turning the screen to Durango, his expression falls.
“Seriously? You want me to buy her underwear? Isn’t that presumptuous?”
“You aren’t buying her lingerie, so no. You buy this for her and tell her you two can be partners in crime.”
He groans as he stares at the screen. “I would never say anything that cheesy.”
“Well, I think it will work.”
