Her face got even brighter red, and it was refreshing to see someone he’d thought so unruffled and composed blush like a schoolgirl for once. “Well, no, but soon.” She appeared to gather herself and lifted her chin a little. “I just don’t do that, and . . .” She stopped and looked at him with that same adorably confused expression as earlier. “What are you asking me to do?”
Felix let go of her hand and brought his hands up to cup her face, kissing her softly again because he just couldn’t resist anymore. “I’m asking you to give me a chance,” he said between kisses.
“A chance for what?” she whispered but kissed him back as eagerly as he’d begun to kiss her.
“To prove to you that I want more,” he said, kissing her deeper than he had that whole time then stopped to take a breath—calm himself—or he’d be stuck in the stairwell for a while nursing the biggest hard-on he’d had in a long time. “I know what you’re thinking.” He stared at her, feeling a sudden fear in his heart. “Up until earlier today, I wasn’t even sure what I wanted, but I can tell you one thing with all certainty. I don’t just want to sleep with you. We can hold off on that for as long as you want. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just give me a chance”—he kissed her again, softly this time—“please.”
She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. “I’ll need time,” she whispered. “If I do this, I really have to think it over. I’m just—”
“Take all the time you need,” he said, licking her bottom lip. “I told you. I’ll do whatever it takes, and if that means waiting, so be it.” Backing her up slowly until she was against the wall, he leaned his body against her and unleashed the need that had been mounting all week. He devoured every inch of her mouth. Never had kissing someone felt so damn intoxicating. Already he knew he could easily get addicted to this.
She kissed him back just as impassioned. It lessened the fear he was still feeling in his gut that he was in this alone. But it didn’t completely eliminate it. She hadn’t agreed to anything yet. And there was still the galling fact that up until just a little while ago, when that asshole showed up, she was actually considering possibly getting back together with him. That could mean she still had feelings for him. It could also mean he was part of the reason for her hesitation.
“Felix,” she whispered breathlessly, making a weak attempt to push him away.
Felix couldn’t get enough of her mouth now. The more he tasted it, the more he wanted.
“Felix,” she whispered again. “This isn’t waiting.”
He kissed her one last time with a guilty smirk and pulled away to look at her, but her eyes were still closed as she attempted to calm her own breathing.
“Oops.” He grinned. “Got a little carried away there.”
“You’re gonna have to be patient with me.” She licked her lips, her eyes still tightly closed.
He kissed the lid of one of her eyes softly. “It’ll be tough,” he said, kissing the other lid next, “but I’m up for the challenge.” Her eyes flew open and her entire body tensed. “What?” he asked, searching her eyes.
The change in her mood was so erratic, as he’d seen her do before, but this time he didn’t like it. He’d obviously said something wrong. She moved away from the wall and him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, slipping his hand in hers because he was afraid she might actually walk away.
“Nothing,” she said, quickly shaking her head, but it was completely unconvincing.
How could she go from looking as if she were still savoring the taste of his mouth on her lips one second to this? She shook her head again but was doing something so unlike her—avoiding looking him in the eyes.
Felix touched her chin gently, turning it to him. “Look at me.” She did and he gazed deep into those troubled eyes. “Tell me. What is it?”
Their eyes met for a fleeting moment; then she looked up. Finally they were back on his but not before she exhaled. “One of the things Grayson said to me just now was . . .” She shook her head abruptly. “Never mind. I don’t know why I’m putting any weight on anything he says about you. He doesn’t know you.”
“About me?” Felix furrowed his brows, feeling that instant ignition inside him.
She was right. What did that fucker know about him? But he was curious now. What had he said to her that would ruin the moment like it had? And what set her off? Felix wanted to make sure that never happened again.
He peered at her curiously. “What did he say?”
There was no hiding the frustration in her eyes. She was upset with herself now for having brought it up in the first place, but Felix still wanted to know.
“Just tell me. I promise there’s not a single disparaging rumor that hasn’t already been said about me.” He smiled, making sure she kept her eyes on his. “I’m just curious.”
She fidgeted for a moment then shrugged. “My class is waiting, Felix. I’m so late now.” Felix lifted a stubborn brow, refusing to let her off the hook. He had to know now. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “He said he was certain I was nothing more than a challenge to you.”
He felt his eyes open as wide as hers had earlier. The bell to the start of one of his fights may as well have been going off like a clamoring alarm because that’s how bad he suddenly felt like taking a hard swing at someone. Then it hit him.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said quickly, “when I said I was up for the challenge. I just meant I’d do anything you ask but not for the reason that asshole wants you to think. Look. I’ll be honest with you. Up until just moments ago, when I asked you to give me a chance, I hadn’t even thought about what I’d do if you did. This will be challenge. But the challenge will be to prove to you that I want more than what you’re thinking. I’ve only ever even tried the relationship thing once before and . . .” He pressed his lips together for a moment, hating that he had to get into this right now, but he wanted to make sure she understood this. “Well, I guess everybody knows I blew that one. Trust me. I can understand why you’d be hesitant, but I will promise you this. That disastrous relationship I had with Bianca wasn’t all for nothing. I did learn a few things from it, and I promise you if you give us a chance I won’t be making the same mistakes again.”
She stared at him for a few agonizing long silent moments. “Us,” she whispered, her eyes displaying the tiniest bit of excitement.
He nodded, feeling exhilaration he never would’ve imagined feeling. But she lifted a brow quickly, her excitement turning into a warning look. “I need time, Felix.”
“You got it,” he said immediately but pulled her to him anyway.
He almost let it slip—the question on the tip of his tongue. What about Grayson? Would she still be considering him too? Then he thought better of it. It was definitely something he’d be addressing, but this was too soon. He’d give her time to let this sink in first before he started making what he knew would sound more like a demand than a simple question.
“So is this a secret?” he asked instead. “Or can I still do this?”
He pecked her softly again, only this time he traced her lips with tongue slowly, feeling her entire body shiver in response. He was about to devour her mouth like he had earlier, when she flattened her hand against his chest, exhaling slowly. “I doubt I’ll be able keep you from doing that.”
“Just say the word,” he said, wanting to assure her he’d never force anything on her.
Her laughter surprised him. “Yeah, well therein lies the problem. My will to just say the word may not be strong enough to fight the urge to just give in.”
He smiled, loosening his hold around her waist. “I’ll try to behave,” he whispered, pecking her one last time.
“As for keeping anything a secret,” she said, squeezing his hand. “That’s entirely up to you. You’re the one on blast all the time. If the press sees us doing anything like . . .” She smiled timidly.
“Like this?” he said, taking advantage of the moment to feed his now insatiable cravin
g for her, and kissed her just under her ear. “Or this?” he whispered against her neck, licking it softly because he loved feeling her shiver like she was doing already.
Giggling nervously and a bit breathlessly, she pulled away. “Or just this,” she said, lifting their enlaced fingers. “You know it’ll be all over the tabloids.”
“In case you haven’t picked up on this yet, I’ve never given a shit what the tabloids have to say about me.” He winced playfully. “Kind of why my last publicist bowed out of his job.”
She lifted a brow, and he was relieved that her mood had now taken a positive turn because she, too, smirked playfully. “I heard you fired him.”
Felix shrugged. “Minor details. My point is I don’t care what they say if they see us together; I just don’t want you feeling uncomfortable. So for the sake of them not turning your life into a circus just yet, maybe we should keep this under the radar—for now.” He gave her a warning look. “Because once you decide”—he squeezed her hand—“if you do give me a chance and you’re in this all the way, then I want everyone to know, especially Grayson.”
Oh yeah. He knew there’d be no way he’d hold off too long without at least mentioning it. Given her playful mood just moments ago, he expected her to laugh, at the very least smile; instead that seemed to wipe the playfulness from her eyes.
“You’re right,” she agreed too quickly and too seriously. “It probably is best if we’re as discreet as possible.”
She smiled, bringing an end to their fateful time in that stairwell. They started up the stairs to the door at the second floor hand in hand, but once they reached the top, she dropped his hand. Before she could open the door, Felix reached for her hand again and tugged at it. She turned back and he kissed her one last time—deeply. “I’ll be dying to be alone with you again,” he whispered against her lips.
The relief was instant. Seeing the twinkle in her eyes chased away the concern in them, making Felix feel a little better. But something gnawed at him even more now. She hadn’t even tried to mask the fact that the mere mention of making sure Grayson knew about them had changed her mood considerably.
That Grayson discussion he thought could wait was going to happen a lot sooner now. The need to know exactly what her feelings were for the prick had just spiked tenfold. He’d get to it the very next time he got her alone again.
~*~
Ella
As late as Ella already was, she knew Carmen could handle the one o’clock class alone for a little longer. She headed straight to the ladies’ room, her heart hammering in her chest. This wasn’t really happening, was it? Felix Sanchez was asking her to consider a relationship with him? Everyone had noticed and mentioned Felix’s interest in her, even Grayson. Now Felix himself was declaring his feelings for her—feelings he couldn’t even explain. All Ella could think was why her?
The moment she closed the door to the bathroom stall, her mom’s words came to her.
La suerte de la fea, la bonita la desea.
Ella hadn’t thought of the saying in years. Ironically, Carmen, who’d taken offense to the saying when Ella had first translated it to her years ago, had been the one to bring it up just last week. Technically, the saying translated as “the fate of the ugly girl, the pretty girl desires.” But that’s not how her mom had meant it when she’d used the saying to point something out to Ella.
She’d never considered herself ugly, nor had she ever been insecure about her looks, but she hardly considered herself to be stunning, and she liked things that way at that age. Though she admitted even now she preferred blending in rather than standing out. Ella hadn’t even worn makeup at fifteen, and she hadn’t plucked her brows nor did she possess the talent to do fancy things to her hair like some of other girly-girls in high school. They obviously spent hours on their looks while Ella spent most of her time around her brother and her also non-girly-girlfriend Carmen, mastering their skateboarding skills and running amuck at the park.
So when boys—cute boys—began to show an interest in her, she was at a loss. The other prettier girly-girls made no secret that they were just as much at a loss as she was. Her mother’s theory was that she appealed to boys for more than just her looks. There wasn’t a snooty or difficult bone in her body. More than anything she was easy to talk to, and boys, no matter how cute and experienced she might think them, appreciated that.
Her mother often raved about being the luckiest mom on earth to have had a daughter who hadn’t gone through those awful teen years. Of course, her mom was likely biased, but she did tell Ella she had one of the most pleasant and likeable personalities of anyone she’d ever known. One thing her mother always said she was sure of was that Ella had gotten one of her best qualities from her late grandmother—her dad’s mom, the woman her mother called the personification of grace under fire.
Maybe it was the power of thought because Ella had always believed it. In hindsight, it was probably why she’d never had an insecure bone in her body either, not when it came to boys or going after what she wanted in life.
“You already have so much more to offer than any of those girls,” her mother had said. “Just wait. One day when you get older and learn the only tricks those empty-headed girls have—the makeup, the hair, and the pretty clothes—none of them will stand a chance. The boys already see the difference now. Just imagine then.”
It was a point that had once again been brought to her attention by Carmen just a week ago when Ella had insisted Carmen was crazy for thinking Felix might be interested in Ella. “He could have any and as many girls as he wants,” Ella had argued. “Probably at the same time too.” She laughed. “What in the world could he want with me?”
It seemed her mom was once again right. But was she? There was still Grayson’s theory, and Felix pointing out that he was up for the challenge couldn’t have been just an eerie coincidence, could it? Though Ella had to admit his explanation had been quite a sincere one.
At the same time, Ella was trying to be smarter than to let someone like Grayson get in her head. So far it was working. She’d decided to give Felix the opportunity to prove himself, but there was something else now that worried her.
“Mommy,” she whispered, eyes tightly shut. “I’m not ashamed of Daddy. You know this. But what if this doesn’t work out? It wouldn’t be a quiet breakup like with Grayson.”
It’d be so much more painful.
Ella fisted the fabric of her blouse against her chest. She couldn’t even bring herself to say it aloud here just between her and her mother. Knowing her mother, Ella assumed she already knew what Ella feared. Already she could tell that, if she let herself give into Felix, she’d be falling for him hard. Harder than she’d ever fallen for anyone. What if she was wrong about his sincerity?
Ella was good about putting on a facade—grace under fire. It was what she’d done most of her life. When she was scared or sad or nervous, she’d somehow summon the strength to not be defeated by any of those emotions. Just as she had from the moment she’d met Felix, she’d managed to not turn into a puddle at his feet all this time from just hearing his voice then seeing those amazing eyes gaze deeply into hers. But now she’d been treated to his kisses, had his hard body pressed against hers, and felt what he was feeling for her in his touch—the very thing he said he couldn’t begin to explain. If she gave into it, she’d be a goner. Ella didn’t know if she had the strength to get past the potential heartache. She felt it already. Felix had the power to break her.
“What about Daddy?” she whispered. “What if I break and it makes him worse?”
“Ella?” Carmen’s worried voice called out, startling her out of her thoughts. “Are you in here?”
Her eyes shot open, and she flushed the toilet with her foot. “Yeah,” she said. “I’ll be right out.”
“Oh, thank God.” She heard Carmen exhale. “I started jumping to all these conclusions.”
Ella walked out of stall and smiled at Carmen. “Why? Because I
’m late? I know I should’ve texted or called.”
“No, that’s fine.” Her friend quickly went into one of her excited blithering rambles. “It’s just that someone said he’d seen you get in a cop car outside and leave, which I assumed was Grayson’s, but then someone else said she’d seen the cop car speed away with the lights on and you in it. Then just now I overheard someone say he’d nearly been knocked over by Felix rushing through the gym like a madman, and then Drew comes in looking for you, saying you left with Felix and she was dying to know what happened. I was like what in the world? I don’t think you’ve ever just not shown up to class with at least getting a text into someone. So you know me. I was having all these crazy thoughts.” She took a quick breath, making Ella laugh. “I’m serious. I was like did something happen to her dad or maybe Grayson saw you with Felix and pulled one of his asshole stunts tricking you to get in the car with him so he can whisk you away or—”
“He didn’t trick me,” Ella said, lowering her voice then looking around to make sure they were the only ones in the ladies’ room.
“What?” Incredibly, Carmen’s eyes went even more animated than they’d been that whole time. “He saw you with—” Ella nodded, putting her finger over her mouth. “And he—”
“I got in willingly,” Ella explained. “But, yeah, it was pretty much what you said happened. C’mon. Let’s get back to the class. Who’s running it right now?” Ella asked, suddenly getting her priorities back on track.
“Sonia’s here,” Carmen said quickly as they walked out of the ladies’ room. “So what happened? Why was Felix—?”
“Shhh!” Ella said, looking around. “Don’t say his name.
“Okay, okay,” Carmen whispered loudly. “So why was he running through the gym like madman?”
“I don’t know,” Ella said, her heart swelling suddenly at the thought that Felix was that concerned for her; then she remembered the fire in his eyes when he’d seen her tears. “Maybe it’s when he saw me come in through the back and go up the stairwell. He caught me halfway up and we talked.”
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