“No, do you?”
“Nope.” It was a strange irritation and he tried to shake it.
Before they got their seats they stood in line to buy beer. The place was so crowded they stood inches away from each other. At one point, his body was up against hers and her hair brushed against his chin. He pulled a few strands of it away from her face and she looked up at him. One look at her lips and he was done. Fuck this. He leaned in and kissed her, softly at first, not sure what to expect, but she parted her lips and he went for it, kissing her deep. Trying not to get too carried away in this crowded place, he pulled away, taking a much needed breath but brought his arm around her small waist. She seemed a bit startled but didn’t pull away.
They stood in line for a few more minutes. It amazed him what just rubbing her back and playing with her hair did to him. She shivered when he ran a finger down her spine. “You cold?” he smiled.
“No,” she smiled back and to his surprise, she didn’t blush.
He tipped her chin and kissed her again. He had no idea what was happening here, but he was going with it, keeping it short because they were next in line. They got their beers and walked to their seats.
“Why’d we get four?” she asked as they sat down double fisted with beers.
“You wanna stand in that line again?”
She surprised him again with a grin. “It was fun.”
Damn. As soon as their beers were in the cup holders and they both had a free hand, he took hers in his. The entire time, all he could think about was kissing her again.
They were on their way to the restrooms for the second time, when he pulled her to him and kissed her again, this time longer than he had all night. It surprised him she was so willing. All that talk about her sister and the high-ranking bullshit, he thought maybe she’d be apprehensive. She still hadn’t even asked him about his job, though he got the distinct feeling she was avoiding the subject.
When he finally pulled his lips away from her, he stared into her eyes. They seemed to plead. “What?”
“I really have to go.”
Romero laughed. “Oh yeah.” They walked the rest of the way and split up. Like the first few times they’d gone in, he was out before she was. He stood outside the restrooms, watching the game. The Padres were down by two but had two men on and their big hitter at bat. He ripped one out of the park and the place went wild. Even Romero put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. He was still clapping when he turned around to see if Isabel had come out yet. She had, and she was walking toward him. Damn she looked good. She smiled, asking, “What did I miss?”
“Home run,” he said, pulling her to him. “Padres scored three, so we’re up now.”
Isabel pouted. “I can’t believe I missed it.”
He kissed her again. He’d never felt such an urge to kiss a girl. Sexual urges were one thing. That, he understood, but this was just kissing and he couldn’t get enough. Through the years he’d had his share of good kissers. Hell, he’d been praised about it plenty of times, but with Isabel it wasn’t even about that. She was a good enough kisser but it was more about her taste, her mouth. Her. With every kiss, gentle as it may be his body wanted more.
Everyone applauded, drunks and rowdy fans hollered and whistled as the inning ended. Romero and Isabel made their way back to their seats. Just as they sat, her phone rang and she answered. Romero slipped his hand in her free one. “Hey, Art.”
Romero turned to see her smiling face.
“I’m at a Padres game right now. Yeah, of course they’re winning.” She glanced at Romero with an even bigger smile.
He didn’t smile back—he couldn’t. He stared at her so hard, she glanced away.
“Tomorrow? Yeah, I’d love that. I know I miss you so much, too.”
Romero dropped her hand and she glanced at him again. A heat, different from any he’d ever felt, flooded his insides. She brought her hand to her ear as the crowd started cheering again. “I can’t hear you, Art. I’ll call you when I get home.” She hung up.
“Who’s Art?”
“My brother.” Romero literally felt the heat drain away. “He lives in Los Angeles and I haven’t seen him in a while, but he’s coming down tomorrow. We’re gonna do brunch.”
He’d hardly listened to anything after the first two words, instead he slipped his hand back in hers and leaned in to kiss her. “That’s fucking great.” He smiled, against her lips.
***
Before the evening even started, Isabel had prepared herself mentally that this was going to be different. Romero was different. But in no way was she prepared for his kisses. She’d never been kissed like that. Not in all the time she’d been with Jacob in high school, not any of the guys she dated in college.
From the moment she’d met him at the wedding shower, she got that he didn’t hold anything back. He said whatever was on his mind, no holds barred. He’d certainly reconfirmed that last night and tonight. That’s what made her wonder if he was like this with every girl he went out with. Was this just a date or was this the beginning of something? Did she even want it to be something? How could it possibly work between them? They were completely different.
“Something wrong?”
She didn’t even realize she’d been spaced out on the ride home. She turned away from the window and faced Romero. “No.”
“You got real quiet all of sudden.”
“I just have a busy day tomorrow.”
The light turned green and Romero continued driving. “What else are you doing besides seeing your brother?”
“I have all those papers to grade. Then I was going to go to the show in the evening but I don’t think that’s gonna happen now.” Even though she’d stopped seeing Lawrence a while back, they remained friends and still got together to see a movie every now and then. He shared her love for reading, and they often swapped books.
“The show, huh? With Valerie?”
She nodded—no need to get into details. “But like I said, I highly doubt that’s gonna happen now. It’s okay though, I can go another time. I haven’t seen Art in too long. I’m really looking forward to seeing him.”
“Is he anything like your sister?”
Isabel noticed the way his features hardened when he asked that. She was really beginning to regret ever mentioning her sister’s attitude about the guys she dated, especially after the way things had gone tonight. “No, not at all. He rarely even asks about my personal life.”
When they got to her apartment building, he got out and came around the car to meet her, kissing her as soon as he was close enough. Not once the entire night had he asked her how she felt about him kissing her. He just did it, and not once had she protested. It was so unlike her to let things move this fast but she was powerless to stop it. She didn’t want to stop it.
He paused for a moment, leaning his forehead against hers, his breathing labored, but said nothing. Isabel brought her hand up to his hard chest, as if to bring the moment to an end, but when her eyes met his, she moved her hand further up around his neck and he kissed her again, pushing her gently against the car. His tongue was like magic and feeling his big hard body against her worked her into a frenzy. Insanity. How could a kiss make her so crazy? She finally pulled her lips away from him, catching her breath.
“Wow,” she said, breathlessly. “We gotta stop.”
“Why?” His expression went very serious.
“Because I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
His eyebrows pinched. “And what idea would that be?”
“That I do this.” She moved a little, hoping he’d pull his body away but he didn’t. “This isn’t like me. This was just supposed to be a night out at a ballgame. Not a…”
He finally pulled his body away from her. “Not a what?”
“Not a date. Even on a date I don’t—“
“I was on a date.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “And you do this on all your dates?”
&nbs
p; He thought about it for a moment then smiled. “Can’t say I’ve been on many dates.” She rolled her eyes. “What? It’s the truth. Ask Valerie. I’ve never been the dating type.”
That she believed. “And suddenly you are?” She crossed her arms in front of her, eyeing him.
“Well, if it’s anything like tonight. Sure, I’m down if you are.”
Isabel pushed herself away from the car and started toward her apartment. He slipped his hand in hers and walked with her, stepping in front of her just as they reached her door. “When do we get to hang out again?”
Hang out? She eyed his lips, knowing that in moments they’d be on hers again and she could hardly wait. “Next week?”
“Next week?” His voice went up an octave and his eyes widened at her apparently offensive suggestion.
She laughed. “Well, tomorrow’s out of the question. I’ll be busy all day.”
“What about during the week?”
“I work.”
“Not all day. You’re a teacher. You’re out by what, two or three?”
“Three thirty.”
He smiled. “Perfect. I’ll pick you up at four on Monday.”
Before she could protest, his lips were on hers and she gave in to his kiss completely.
***
Isabel hung out with Romero almost every night for the next three weeks with the exception of a few times when she had dinner with her mom and sister Pat. They’d finally talked about his security firm. She was actually very impressed. He hadn’t gone to college, but he’d mentioned at least half a dozen certifications he had mostly from online courses or state exams he had to pass, and he had an intricate knowledge of every piece of equipment used in his business. Some of it looked very complicated, not to mention his expertise in countless security softwares, including some he said he wasn’t supposed to know so well.
She saw the excitement in his eyes when he spoke of his business. He’d hired a few more employees in the last two weeks alone and was actively searching for more. It kept him busy, too. Some of the nights they’d hung out for only about an hour before he had to leave.
The kisses were getting heavier but Isabel was hesitant to take it any further. She still didn’t know what his intentions were. As up front as he was, he still hadn’t mentioned how he characterized their relationship. The comments he made were about having fun with her, and enjoying their time together. None of that said exclusive relationship to her. She could do the friendship thing if they stuck to just kissing. She’d never once had what some of her friends in college referred to as friends with benefits. And after seeing how painful it was for Valerie to carry on her non-exclusive relationship with Alex, it made her nervous to think about getting involved in something similar. Though she had to admit, just from his kisses, she knew sleeping with Romero would be an exciting first for her. That alone was making it harder and harder for her to resist trying the friends with benefits thing for once.
At the same time, thinking about an exclusive relationship with him made her even more nervous. How could he possibly fit into her world?
They’d gone to the show once before, but this time they hardly saw any of the movie. She felt like a teenager in the back row of the theatre, getting felt up. Every time she hesitated, feeling like they were going too far, he backed off, but each time she went back for more and they continued where they’d left off.
His hand made its way between her legs but over her jeans. Still, even through the thick material, he knew exactly where and how to rub to make her tremble. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered against her mouth.
“And go where?”
“My place.”
Her instincts said no, but before she could respond, his tongue was in her mouth again. If his kisses alone could drive her insane, she wondered what else he could make her feel. “Okay,” she whispered and he stopped and stared at her.
“Yeah?”
She smiled and nodded.
“Let’s go.” He stood up and took her by the hand.
She followed him out. As soon as they were out of the theatre in the cool parking lot, he stopped in front of her and cradled her face. “Will you stay the night?” She stared at him surprised by his request. “Please?”
But her own response surprised her even more. “I have to pick up some things at my place first.”
He smiled and kissed her unlike he’d kissed her all night. They were soft gentle kisses and the way he stopped and stared at her in between made her melt.
They stopped by her apartment and she threw a change of clothes and some toiletries into a bag. Valerie was busy trying to get something on her keychain as she walked by, hoping her roommate wouldn’t notice the bag in her hand.
They were just outside her apartment when she got a text from Valerie.
Was that an overnight bag you were carrying?
Isabel smiled and texted back. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this.
Maybe
The next text came when she was in the car.
Isabel you whore!
Isabel laughed then covered her mouth when she realized Romero was staring at her.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” she said, as she texted back with a big smile.
Friends with benefits =)
Romero was still staring at her. He hadn’t even started the car.
“Just a silly text,” she said, not about to tell him what it said.
He lifted an eyebrow and started the car.
CHAPTER 7
Just Friends
The studio apartment Romero rented was small but it was good enough for him. It beat living with his uncles. Sure, he missed the noise sometimes, and he still spent more time over there than he did at his own place, but he loved having his own space, especially at times like this. Even though his uncles had told him long ago he could bring girls home, some of the freaky things he did with them would’ve been too much, even behind his closed bedroom door.
He’d had plenty of girls over since he’d moved out years ago, but only a handful of them had ever spent the night. Those had only been because he’d been too wasted to drive them home. The awkward, sober morning after was always the pits, so he avoided it at all costs. When it did happen, he couldn’t get them out of there fast enough the next morning.
They walked in and he watched as her eyes pored over everything. Everything included a bed, his one nightstand, a sofa, the plasma T.V. on the wall and a few boxes on the floor. “Did you just move in?”
Romero laughed. “No, I’ve been here two years.” As usual, her eyes said it all. “I don’t need much. Besides, I’m hardly ever home.”
He walked to the kitchen, still holding her hand. He frowned when he opened the fridge. There wasn’t a whole lot to choose from. “I can order a pizza if you’re hungry.”
“I’m not.” She still held her bag in her hand.
“Did you bring enough stuff for the whole weekend?” He took the bag out of her hand and placed it on the floor.
“No.” Her face flushed. Damn, that would never get old. “Just something to change into in the morning.”
He leaned in, kissing her softly as he caressed her face with his hands. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
He’d told girls they were hot plenty of times, but he couldn’t remember ever using the word beautiful. There was no other word to describe Isabel, except maybe adorable with all her different expressions. Right now, right here, so close to making her his, she was blushing in his hands, utterly beautiful.
She brought her hand around his neck and kissed him back with the same eagerness as she always had. He’d been blown away by her willingness from the very beginning. He was so sure she’d be more hesitant. Instead, here she was practically swallowing his tongue. He moaned, picking her up and setting her on his kitchen counter. She never once unwrapped her arms from around his neck and continued kissing him even as he nudged her legs open and pulled her to
the edge of the counter.
With her neck at eye level now, he dove in, kissing the soft skin just under her earlobe. He sucked the small gold stud on her ear, feeling her tremble just like she had at the theatre, just like she had every time in the past three weeks when he kissed her neck and wanted so fucking bad to do more. He could hardly contain himself now, and he didn’t even have to.
“Izzy,” he whispered in her ear.
“Umm?”
“I want you, baby.”
“I want you too,” she said immediately.
That was all he needed to hear. He lifted her off the counter and walked the few steps to his bed in his front room. He set her down then lifted her knit blouse over her head. Her black lacy bra barely held in her soft, pale breasts. She scooted back and unzipped her jeans. There’d been many women in his bed and he’d watched them do the very thing she was doing now, yet he didn’t remember ever feeling like this. His heart hammered away. Sex had never been emotional to him. The only feelings he ever had during sex, was insatiable hunger—if that even counted as a feeling.
All he did now was watch, and he could barely catch his breath. He worked the buttons on his own jeans and slipped them off. As he watched her slide her pants down his body went through the usual emotion he felt just before he was getting ready to satisfy his hunger, but something new accompanied it. Normally, he didn’t think past the act itself.
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