“Kasey!” Aaron groans.
“What? It’s not a bad thing. He’d still be cute if he looked like her too.” She rolls her eyes and then turns her attention to Monique, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I’m Kasey, by the way. You must be Dominique’s sister?”
“In the flesh. I’m Monique, and I must say, I’m kind of obsessed with you. You have to tell me what it is that you do to my brother that gets him so worked up damn near every day. I need some pointers.” Allie and I laugh, but Aaron has a pinched expression on his face I can’t quit read, though he doesn’t comment. I don’t know Kasey or Dominique very well, but even an idiot can see there’s something going on there. Whenever they’re in the same room together it’s like everyone else has to brace themselves for the oncoming explosion. I can’t tell if it’s hatred that fuels their responses or if they’re secretly into each other. Either way, Dominique and Kasey in the same space for more than a few minutes is a recipe for disaster.
The girls head to the sofa just as my mom walks into the room, setting her purse and keys on a nearby hook.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had a few errands to run.” She tells me, pulling Luis from my arms. She rubs his back and makes small shushing sounds when he squirms, and in no time he’s back to being fast asleep. “We’ll be upstairs, but you kids have fun.” She waves to my new friends, exhaustion tugging on her features. She’d normally stop and chat for a few minutes, but I know she’s been working late. Helping Miguel with some of his work at his office after she gets off from a full day of work herself.
“Thank you,” I mouth and watch as she heads upstairs.
“Where’s the baby going?” Allie whines, a mock pout on her lips. “I wanted to hold him.”
“Why, with the way you and Roman fuck like rabbits every chance you get you’ll probably have one of your own soon enough,” Kasey remarks.
Allie smacks her arm, but there’s a smile on her face that tells me she doesn’t hate the idea.
“Sorry. Come over earlier next time and you can hold him. Promise.” I tell her, secretly thrilled that not only do they seem completely fine with the fact I have a child, but genuinely interested in him too.
“Urgh, fine. But if he wakes up, I call dibs on baby snuggles. He’s so freaking cute.”
My heart warms and I hesitantly ask the one question that’s been on my mind since we made plans to get together. “So … you don’t care that I have a kid?” I didn’t make many friends in Richland. I wasn’t there very long. But what friends I did make when we first moved didn’t last long after having Luis. They always wanted me to leave him with my mom. They though it was inconvenient for him to be around even if all we were doing was homework or going to the mall. It was disheartening to say the least. And it’s not like he caused problems. He was a newborn at the time. All he did was eat, sleep, and poop.
“Why would we?” Kasey asks. “He’s cute. He’s yours. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“You seriously have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. I was so nervous to tell you guys.”
Monique gives me an I told you so look just as Aaron steps forward and places a hand on my lower back. “He’s a cute kid. And no one who matters is going to treat you any different for having him.”
“Aww,” Allie coos. “See. This is why we like having you around.”
He snorts. “And here I thought it was for my good looks.”
“Gross.” Kasey retorts.
Aaron rolls his eyes. “Whatever, baby sis.” He turns back to me with a shrug. “Having a baby isn’t anything to be ashamed of, and friends don’t turn their backs on one another for things they can’t control.” His jaw clenches at the last bit, his expression stony before he wipes it away and drops his hand, moving to sit beside Allie.
I give him a grateful smile. “Thanks, you guys. All of you. Really.”
“Don’t let that cute baby smile fool you, though,” Monique says. “He can be a little devil when he wants to be.” My heart shutters in my chest at her choice of words, but thankfully no one seems to notice. Or at least I don’t think anyone does. But then Kasey asks, “So what is going on with you and Emilio?” And I freeze like a deer caught in headlights.
My eyes flick to Monique’s, who’s sporting a confused expression because I’m a terrible friend and still haven’t told her who exactly Luis’s father is or that I hooked up with him in a classroom after lunch.
“Yeah. Did you guys really have a thing before? I didn’t realize you knew each other.” Allie adds.
“Really well, too,” Aaron interjects. “Pretty sure Emilio wasn’t lying about that orgasm he gave you based on your face when he announced it to the entire class.”
My cheeks heat and once again my gaze finds Monique’s. Her eyes widen, sudden understanding dawning, and I implore her with my eyes not to say anything.
“Orgasm? You and—” she barely stops herself from blurting out you and Luis’s father, but thankfully manages to catch her herself. “You and Emilio Chavez fucked?” she says instead, knowing exactly who he is with him being one of Dominique’s best friends. “When? I’m your best friend. How did I not know about this? And eww… Emilio is one of Dominique’s best friends. He’s like an older brother to me.” She visible shivers.
I bury my head in my hands. “Can we please not make this a thing, and we didn’t have sex. There was no …” I shake my head. “Just no. Let’s pretend nothing ever happened. Okay? Okay. Glad we cleared that up.”
Allie snorts. “You may not have boned but he gave you an O during school hours.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I can’t judge. Roman’s caught me off guard a time or two too.” A sly smile curls her lips. “But Emilio doesn’t usually hook up on campus, and he’s staying tight-lipped about the whole thing, which is unusual for him. It’s driving me insane. So hard no. We are definitely not dropping it. I want all the details!”
Kasey snorts. “You mean because he usually brags about his conquests from the rooftops after spending the night at their place?”
My stomach drops, and Allie throws a sofa pillow at her. “He does not. He just…” She huffs and shakes her head. “Emilio is a great guy. A little bit of a man whore but a great guy.”
Now it’s Aaron who snorts though he raises both hands in surrender when Allie glares his way. “I wasn’t disagreeing with the great guy part,” he rushes to say. “Only the part about being a little bit of a man whore.”
“Ignore him. The guys had a falling out and he’s still a little salty. Emilio isn’t that bad.”
The face Kasey makes says she disagrees. “Right! He’s so great that he fooled around with Bibiana and has been all over every senior and junior girl since.”
I swallow hard, hating that she’s right.
“Please tell me you’re smart enough not to get involved with him as anything more than whatever it is you two are now? If you wanna fool around with him, have at it. Do the dirty. Just … don’t get attached,” she warns.
“It’s really not a thing. I made a stupid mistake. One I don’t plan on repeating. Let’s…talk about something else. Anything else.”
“No way,” Allie says. “There was mention that you guys hooked up before you moved. Is that true? Come on, please. Emilio is being so tight-lipped about it and getting anything out of Roman on the subject is like pulling teeth. I need the juicy details. I promise after you tell me everything, I won’t bug you again.”
“Way to sweeten the deal,” Monique chimes in. “But I’m with Allie. Give us all the details.” So not helping.
At the mention of our hookup, Aaron gives me a considering look. One that has me fidgeting in my seat.
“There isn’t much to tell. We hooked up one time.”
“Before you moved, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve lived in Sun Valley my whole life, so,” I shrug. “We were bound to run into each other, but it was no big deal. Really. One hookup. That was it.”
“Was it good?” Kasey asks
. “I’ve always wondered why chicks throw themselves at him. I’m assuming he’s at least decent in the sack. Is that why you fell for his act and fooled around at school with him?”
“Really?” Aaron admonishes his sister.
“What? It’s a valid question.”
I scrub my hands over my face. “It was fine. Good. But like I said, it was a one-time thing.”
“So, the classroom was—”
“A mistake. And not sex. He just…” I look away and swallow.
“Aw, you like him!” Allie sing-songs and now it’s me throwing a pillow at her.
“I’m getting food.” I jump to my feet and rush off to grab some coxinha I made earlier. They’re these little deep-fried balls of heaven filled with shredded chicken that my mom used to make for my dad. She doesn’t make them anymore, but I still do from time to time, and hopefully with food in their mouths they’ll drop the Emilio stuff, and we can get on with our night.
“Oh, what are these?” Kasey asks, popping one into her mouth when I return. She closes her eyes and moans. “Oh my god,” she says around a mouthful because really, coxinha aren’t small enough to be eaten in just one bite. “Soooo good.”
I laugh as I grab one of my own. “Thanks. I figured since I dropped the baby bomb on you, I’d feed you. You know, in case having a kid was a deal breaker or something, I would bribe you with my culinary ways.”
“You can drop as many bombs as you’d like,” she says, eating another. “As long as you make these, I swear I will never care or hold anything against you.”
“Deal.”
We watch Five Feet Apart, which has all of us girls teary-eyed by the end and then take pity on Aaron and put on Enola Holmes. It’s still probably not his cup of tea, but he doesn’t complain, which I give him props for. I’m sure hanging out with four girls, one of which being your little sister, is probably not the highlight of his week, but he takes it all in stride and he seems pretty close with Allie so what do I know? Maybe this is how he likes to spend his Friday nights.
“I’m going to make some popcorn,” I say hopping up from my seat and heading to the kitchen when it gets to the part when her brothers show up. I’ve watched this movie at least a dozen times and know the script almost by heart.
“I’ll help you,” Aaron says, getting up to follow.
“She totally needs help,” Kasey mocks, and he throws a pillow at her, not bothering to respond.
“Did you want a drink or anything?” I ask once we’re in the kitchen. I toss a bag of popcorn in the microwave and then grab two glasses from the cupboard, filling them both with water and handing one to Aaron as we wait for the popcorn to pop.
“Thanks.” He accepts the glass and then leans against the kitchen island, a serious look on his face. “So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
He rubs the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Is he gearing up to ask me out or something? No. That can’t be right. Aaron hasn’t shown even a hint of interest in me as anything more than a friend, and even that is still up for debate. Right now, he’s tolerating me because of Allie, just like the rest of the Devils. So, I have no idea why he’s acting so nervous all of a sudden.
“You said Luis is nine months old, right?”
I nod, not really sure where he’s going with this.
“And you hooked up with Emilio two summers ago?”
My body goes on high alert. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I nod again. What else am I supposed to do?
“Kasey’s right. He doesn’t really look anything like you.”
I frown. “Uh, okay.”
“But he looks a hell of a lot like Emilio especially if you’ve seen his baby pictures like I have.”
My mouth drops open. The microwave dings and I turn to retrieve the bag. “I don’t know what you’re—”
He doesn’t give me the chance to finish. “I’ve known Emilio almost my entire life. I’ve seen the pictures of him that decorate his walls. The timeline adds up. You moved eighteen months ago. You hooked up with Emilio before you left. Tell me I’m wrong.”
My back is still to him as I squeeze my eyes closed. This isn’t how anyone was supposed to find out. What if he tells Emilio? What if—
“You need to tell him. He’d want to know. He’ll want to be a part of that little boy’s life.”
I fist my shaking hands and force myself to turn around and face him, exposing myself in a way I haven’t had to do before. “And what if he doesn’t?” I ask, voicing my biggest fear. The thing that keeps me up at night when my mind refuses to go quiet. “What if he doesn’t want the responsibility of a child? Aaron—” I force myself to slow down and take a deep breath. “We had a one-night stand. It was never supposed to lead to anything more. He didn’t sign up for this.” I wave my hands around me.
“Neither did you,” his words are softly spoken, not a hint of anger or judgement in them. “Bibiana, I can’t imagine being a single mom in high school is easy.”
I shake my head because no, it isn’t.
“You didn’t sign up for this either, but would you change it? Would you give him up?”
I vehemently shake my head. “Never. I love him. Luis is everything to me.”
Aaron nods as though he understands, but his next words stab into my chest like a knife. “Don’t you think Emilio deserves to love him too?”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes and I hastily wipe them away. “I was going to tell him. I am going to tell him.” I suck in a breath. “There just is never a good time and whenever I try and get him alone or have an actual conversation with him—”
“He defaults into putting the moves on you?” Aaron says with a sad smile. I don’t bother correcting him because no, Emilio isn’t interested in me anymore. It’s every other girl with a set of tits that he’s chasing after. “I can see how that might be a problem but…” he hesitates then exhales a loud sigh, “you need to tell him. Soon. The longer you wait, the worse it’ll be. You’ve already waited a year in a half.”
Not on purpose. “I didn’t know who he was.” He must think I’m such a horrible person right now. “We didn’t exchange information. Not even names. I had no way of letting him know I was pregnant after the fact,” I rush to explain. I don’t want him thinking I kept Emilio from his son intentionally. That was never the objective here.
“But you knew the first day you came to Sun Valley High?” he hedges.
I nod. “Yeah. I recognized him right away.”
He considers me, tapping his forefinger against his chin. “It’s been a week. I’ll give you one more to find a way to tell him. It would be better if it came from you. But if you can’t do it, I have to tell him. He deserves to know.”
I swallow hard and open my mouth to ask for more time, but the front door opens and in walks Miguel, pulling both of our attentions his way.
“Hey, Bibi. Your mom upstairs?” Miguel asks as soon as he sees me. “Oh. I didn’t realize you had a friend here.” He scowls as he takes Aaron in. “Is Jae here too?” he adds, and there’s an edge in his voice. I stop myself from rolling my eyes, because of course he would see Aaron and assume he’s Jae’s competition. It doesn’t matter that I’ve told Jae and Miguel, and my mom for that matter, that I am not interested in dating anyone.
I just want to focus on graduating. Is that too much to ask?
“Who’s Jae?” Aaron asks, taking Miguel’s bait. Urgh.
“He’s Bibi’s—”
“Friend.” I cut him off. “We’re friends and no, he’s not here. I haven’t seen him since this morning.” And only because he still insists on driving me to school every day. “And yes, Mom’s upstairs with Luis. She went to bed early. She looked beat.”
Miguel nods and grabs a beer from the fridge. “Yeah, she’s been helping me with some of the accounting at work,” he says as he cracks open the bottle and downs half its contents in one pull. Voices can be heard from the living room, an
d Miguel cocks his head, pointing his beer toward the hallway. “Who else is here?”
“A few friends. We’re just hanging out. Watching movies.”
“Sleepover?” he asks, a glint in his eyes that puts me on edge. He’s been weird lately. I mean, he’s always been a little weird but weirder than usual. Miguel’s never been anything but nice to me. Sometimes overly nice and I usually just brush it aside. But right now, Miguel has a distinct creeper factor that is making me uncomfortable.
Just then all three girls come into the room. “Hey, what’s taking so long?” Monique asks with a bounce to her step.
“Yeah, I was starting to wonder if you were making out with my brother,” Kasey jokes, flicking her gaze between us before settling on Miguel. “But I can see that’s not the case. Did you make the popcorn?”
“Here, let me help you out with that.” Miguel says, taking the bag of popcorn from the counter and pouring it into a bowl. “What are you girls going to be up to tonight? Hopefully not getting into trouble,” he says it with a smirk, and again the creep-o-meter jumps up.
No one answers him. Monique and Kasey are both giving him polite but wary smiles, meanwhile Allie’s gone pale as a ghost.
“Are you okay?” I ask her but she doesn’t look at me. Her eyes are trained on Miguel, her chest rising and falling at a rapid clip.
He turns his attention to her and recognition sparks. “Well, fuck me.”
Nine
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Dominique asks in the locker room. We just wrapped up practice and I’m sore as fuck. I drop my football helmet and pads beside my locker as I peel my sweat-soaked shirt over my head, rubbing my stomach in the process. I’m fucking starving.
“Nothing, man. I’m good.”
“Liar,” Roman says as he comes in the room and drops his gear beside mine.
“What’s going on with you and Allie’s new friend?” he asks. “Because whatever is eating at you, it has to do with her.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing’s eating at me. I’m good.”
Savage Devil: A Secret Baby, High School Bully Romance (Devils of Sun Valley High Book 2) Page 7
