“Not here,” she said, “let’s go to our place.”
He peered at her for a second then turned on the car. It took everything in him not to drive recklessly, but he did go over the limit most of the way anyway.
As soon as he parked, he turned the car off and leaned against his door to face her. She still had that giddy smile, which made him smile with her. “What is it?” He tried hiding his impatience.
She took her seatbelt off and turned to face him. “Okay, remember the day I left early to go have dinner for my uncle’s birthday?”
Angel nodded. “Yeah?”
“I lied.”
Angel’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Okay? Why?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I went to a clinic.”
He stared at her, clueless.
“I got on the pill.”
Angel still didn’t get it.
“Birth control!” she blurted out.
Angel’s eyes widened. He felt like an idiot. His lips slowly curled up into a smile. “So, does that mean . . .?”
“Yes.” She leaned over to kiss him. “I’m ready.”
Angel couldn’t get the stupid smile off his face. Just the thought had him rock hard. He wanted to take her right there. But he had to control himself. He wanted her first time—their first time together—to be special.
He grazed his lips across hers, feeling a tenderness inside him that almost scared him. He held her face in his hands. He could hardly believe that soon she would be his—completely.
His hands were all over her again. He wasn’t sure what would’ve been better, to hear her say she was staying or this.
How was she able to keep something this big from him for so long? That must’ve been three or four weeks ago. “How long have you been on the pill?”
“Almost three weeks.” He remembered the day she told him about her uncle’s birthday dinner. She’d looked him right in the face, and he hadn’t caught even an ounce of insincerity. Even when he’d talked to her that evening and asked how the dinner had gone, she’d told him all about it without a flinch. He smirked.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re good. I had no clue.”
Sarah laughed. “I could tell. Even after I told you, you looked lost.”
He kissed her again then met her eyes, raising an eyebrow. “Since when did you get so good at keeping things from me?”
She stiffened, and he thought he saw her expression change. Then she smiled. “I just wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you did a hell of a job. So, why now?”
Her coy expression made him hotter. “I thought maybe we could take advantage of the long weekend.”
He stared at her soft pink lips, his own mouth slightly parted. The words still danced in his head. She wanted it all weekend? Not just any weekend, a four-day weekend. His mind spun into overdrive. The things he’d do to her. All the ways he’d take her. Then his thoughts came to a screeching halt—the restaurant. Although he loved the way she was thinking, Sarah’s timing couldn’t have been worse. He tightened his lips and thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“This weekend is gonna be a busy one for us at the restaurant.”
“That’s okay. We can wait until next week then.”
Was she insane? “No way. Trust me. I’ll think of something.”
With the wheels spinning out of control in his head, he was already getting an idea.
***
It was only seven in the evening, a little early for Sarah to be home already. But it was a school night, and she had a paper she absolutely had to turn in before the end of the week. Since this was Thanksgiving week, the end of the week would be sneaking up real fast.
She thought she heard Valerie get home and stopped to listen. She hadn’t expected her home until much later. She was out with Alex and usually got home pretty late, even if it was a school night.
It turned out Sarah had been right about Alex. He had been pissed about Valerie having hung out with Romero—very pissed—at first telling her off, then calling her back when he’d calmed down, saying he’d never been jealous in his life and hadn’t known how to handle it.
With that said, Valerie had allowed herself to continue to go out with him, even at the risk of getting hurt. They’d been going out at least twice a week since. From what Valerie had told her, Alex was a lot like Angel when it came to being possessive. Only there was one big difference. There had been absolutely no mention of being exclusive.
Angel hadn’t been able to believe that Alex was so mad at first but had no choice but to believe it when Alex had let Romero know in no uncertain terms that Valerie was off limits.
Sarah got up to see if it was Valerie she’d heard, partly out of curiosity, and partly because she was sick of working on her paper.
When she walked in the room, she saw Valerie sitting on her bed going through her phone. She looked up, and Sarah could see she’d been crying. Her eyes were all puffy, and her nose was bright red. One side of her mouth went up in a sad attempt to smile; then she shook her head and wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sarah walked over and sat next to her.
Valerie leaned over and put her head on Sarah’s shoulder. “I’m done with Alex.”
“Why? What happened?” Sarah rubbed Valerie’s back.
Valerie wiped her face with the tissue she had in her hand. “I just can’t deal with it anymore. I was stupid to think that just ’cause he’d admitted to being jealous and that he’d never been so before, it might mean something. Here I’m the one always preaching about guys being territorial. Well, hello! That’s all it was. He doesn’t give a shit about me.”
Sarah patted Valerie’s knee, not knowing what to say. “Did something happen tonight?”
Valerie nodded. “Well, nothing that hasn’t happened before though. I hadn’t told you because I feel stupid. But every time I’m with him, his phone is constantly ringing, and he always sends it to voicemail. I never really say anything except maybe give him the look ’cause I know it’s all girls. He always just laughs and says, ‘What? I have lots of friends.’ Oh, but God forbid my phone ring and I not answer it. He always wants to know why and if it’s a guy.” She stopped to blow her nose.
“Anyway,” she continued, “his phone rang tonight like five freakin’ times in less than fifteen minutes. So, I told him to just answer it already. At first, he didn’t want to, but he knew I was getting pissed, so he did, and sure enough, it was a girl. You should’ve seen the big smile on his face and the way he talked to her. It just made me sick. He hung up when he saw the look on my face, and I told him to bring me home. You know what he says?”
Sarah shook her head.
“You’re the one that told me to answer it!” Valerie used the stupidest guy voice she could make.
Sarah had to fight the urge to smile and felt guilty when she saw Valerie wipe another tear away. “So you told him you’re not gonna see him anymore?”
“Yeah, I told him I couldn’t deal with him anymore. He said I was being silly, but when I asked if he’d be okay with me sleeping with someone else, he shut up real quick. Then he turned it around, accusing me of having someone else I want to sleep with and saying that’s why I was breaking things off.”
“No way,” Sarah said. “What did you tell him?”
“To go to hell and I asked him how it could be that there was anything for me to break off when he was obviously still seeing other girls. He didn’t say anything. All the way home, though, he kept trying to convince me that I was overreacting and that he did care about me, only right now, with school and his football schedule, he can’t commit to anything. He said he still wanted to see me, but I refused. I’m done with him. It hurts too much.” Her eyes welled up again.
“I did tell him though before I got here that there were no hard feelings in case I ran into him, being that you and Angel are together and all. I don’t want things to be awkward.�
�� She leaned against Sarah again.
Sarah rubbed her back again, feeling terrible and partly responsible. She was the one who kept telling Valerie that there was a definite connection. But she really thought there was. She saw it in Alex’s eyes when they were together. Angel had tried to warn her Alex was a heartbreaker. She should’ve listened and warned Valerie, instead of egging her on.
Chapter 16
Thanksgiving felt different this year. From the moment Angel woke up, he was all nerves. Sarah would be spending the day with his family; then he’d take her back to her aunt’s for dinner there.
It’d worked out perfect because his family’s Thanksgivings were always more of a brunch with everything meticulously laid out by one in the afternoon at the latest, buffet style in the kitchen.
He was worried about Sarah. He knew this would be her first Thanksgiving without her mom. The only time she’d mentioned the holiday at all was a few days ago and only to ask him to please not be hurt that she wasn’t inviting him to dinner at her aunt’s. She wasn’t looking forward to being with a bunch of family members she’d never met, and she thought having him there might make her even more nervous.
He did want to be there to protect her from any unpleasantness, but he respected her wishes and agreed.
Angel had big plans for this evening. Depending only on if she was up to it, he wanted tonight to be the night. Tonight would be a night Sarah would never forget.
While most boys his age were still dreaming about getting laid, Angel already had a good share of experience. From the time he was fifteen, the girls had made it just too easy for him. But Angel had always been extremely careful, even passing politely the first several times girls had literally offered themselves to him. Thanks to his older brother Sal’s lecturing, he’d been deathly afraid of disease and knocking someone up.
Eventually though, it’d become too much of a temptation, and he’d given in. But in the beginning, Sal’s words would ring in his head, rattling him every time just as he was about to do the deed. “Think with your head, not your dick. ALWAYS use a condom, no means no, and don’t go sleeping with everything that moves unless you want to end up with something you can’t get rid of, like a disease or a baby. Remember condoms aren’t 100% effective.” And the most endearing of all: “don’t be stupid.”
That was the main reason why he’d end up with Dana so often after parties and dances. The idea of switching partners so often made him nervous, but nothing compared to the nerves he was feeling now. Ever since Sarah had told him she was ready, he’d felt on the edge. Even with the experience he had, he knew this would be a first for him too. This was Sarah. Just being around her made him feel things he couldn’t even begin to describe. And now he was going to be making love to her. Not once had he slept with someone he cared about. And saying he cared about Sarah was an understatement.
He eyed the front door of her aunt’s house, turning off the engine. The keys weren’t even out of the ignition when he saw her rush down the front stairs and toward the car.
Angel had told her not to worry about dressing up. Thanksgivings at his house were anything but formal. Even in jeans and a sweater, she looked amazing.
The moment she stepped in the car and he touched her hand, he felt a tenderness that swelled his heart. There was something more beautiful about her than usual, and he loved the way her delicate scent always filled his car. She leaned toward him and brushed her lips against his, pausing to gaze in his eyes for a moment, then smiled.
He always felt like an untamed animal around Sarah, but lately it was different. She was all he ever thought about now, and any time away from her felt too long. Angel closed his eyes and kissed her. Then the words came out without warning. “I love you, Sarah.”
His eyes flew open, and he pulled back to see her expression. Sarah’s eyes were as wide as his felt. They were both stunned. But he knew he meant it. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against hers. As absurd as it sounded, he thought he felt it from the moment he kissed her that first night. But now he was certain. There were no two ways around it. He’d fallen for her hard.
He searched her eyes for what she might be thinking. Then she smiled really big and hugged him hard. “That means so much to me.”
Not exactly the words he’d hoped to hear, but he held her tight anyway. Saying it felt right, and that was all that mattered.
*
Brunch at his house went well with other members of his family meeting Sarah for the first time, including his oldest brother Sal. She was such a natural, and everyone seemed to like her immediately. He’d hardly been able to keep his eyes off her the whole time. He took her home as soon as they were done eating, so she could get her dinner at home over as soon as possible.
When he got back from dropping her off, Eric was in the kitchen, sitting at the bar with a plateful of food, and Sofia was warming something up in the microwave.
“Thought you were spending the day with your dad?” Angel asked as he walked to the fridge.
Eric spoke with a mouthful of food. “Already ate with him.”
Angel looked down at Eric’s abundant plate. “You’re kidding, right?”
Eric didn’t flinch. “Nope. He’s watching some boring ass golf highlights DVD, so I thought I’d come over and see what you guys were up to.”
As if he couldn’t imagine. But Angel didn’t mind. He felt bad for Eric. Since it was only him and his dad and neither cooked, he rarely got a home-cooked meal. That’s why he was over so much in the Moreno kitchen. As far as Angel was concerned, both Eric and Romero were like family.
Sofia pulled a plate with sliced apple pie on it from the microwave. She added a big spoonful of vanilla ice cream to the top.
“Looks good, Sofie.” Angel eyed the pie as he pulled an energy drink out of the fridge.
“Not for you.” She took the plate and set it in front of Eric.
Eric grinned at Angel. “Thank you, Sof.”
“You’re a fat ass. You really gonna eat all that?” Angel leaned against the sink.
“Shit, I’m gonna go get me some more of your mom’s kick-ass mashed potatoes,” Eric said, putting another spoonful in his mouth.
“I made those.” Sofia beamed.
“Sarah liked them too.” Angel smiled at Sofia. “You’re getting better every year, Sofie.”
Sal walked in the kitchen. “Getting better at what?”
“Everything,” Eric said.
The comment threw Angel, and he thought he saw Eric and Sofia exchange a glance. Both Sal and Angel stared at him. Eric finished chewing and cleared his throat. “I mean . . . I heard Sarah say Sofie is getting pretty fast in track.” He looked at Sal. “But Angel was talking about her cooking.”
Sal turned to Sofia with a big smile. “That’s my baby sis.”
Sofia started putting dishes in the dishwasher. “Not a baby, Sal.”
Sal turned his attention to Angel. “So, I guess everyone is growing up around here. You brought a girl home to Mom and Pop, Angel? Really?”
“He’s got it bad.” Eric grinned.
Unamused, Angel shot him a look. “What’s the big deal?”
He took a swig of his drink and hoped someone would change the subject. But he had a bad feeling. He saw it in Sal’s face. He walked in the kitchen with a purpose. Sal pulled a chair from the breakfast table and straddled it.
“So how long?” Sal asked.
Sofia answered for him, “Three months and a few weeks.”
That surprised Angel. He wasn’t even sure how long it’d been. He knew it’d been a few months. “How do you know?”
Her expression teased him. “Sarah and I talk about a lot of things.” She glanced at Eric and then back at Angel. “She just mentioned it the other day.”
“Wow,” Sal said. “So tell me about it. What made you decide you wanted to be a one-woman man?”
Knowing Sal wouldn’t let up until h
e knew everything, Angel decided to just give him a brief rundown of the whole thing.
Very brief.
Sal looked settled in for a full detailed account, but that wasn’t going to happen. Angel did his best to sound bored.
“I met her in school. She was the new girl this year, didn’t really know anyone.” Angel shrugged for good measure. “I thought she was cool, so we hung out, introduced her to the guys and Sofie, and I’ve been hanging with her since. No big deal.”
He wondered if anyone was buying it. Everyone had seen him tonight. Hell, he’d never made an effort to hide his affection for Sarah before. But tonight was different. Telling her he loved her had done something to him. He couldn’t figure it out. All he knew was that every time he kissed her, touched her, or even looked into her eyes, it ignited something in him.
Sal looked satisfied. “She seemed nice enough.”
“She is really nice,” Sofia agreed. “I like her a lot.”
Eric groaned. “Oh, I ate too much. Sofie, why’d you feed me so much?”
Glad they were off the subject, Angel took advantage. “Good, that’s what you get. So, we working out tomorrow?”
Eric sat back in his chair with his hands on his stomach. The pained look on his face made Angel laugh.
Without missing a beat, Sofia put a cup of fizzing water in front of Eric. “Here, drink this.”
Angel and Sal looked at Sofia. “What? That’s what Dad drinks when he eats too much.”
Eric did as he was told and downed half the concoction, stopping with a face of pure revulsion. “What was that?”
“Seltzer water,” Sofia said. “Drink it all.”
It amused Angel how Sofia was really turning into a mother hen lately. He enjoyed her irritation when he called her his baby sister, but he’d be damned if he’d ever stop calling her that.
His phone rang, and when he saw it was Sarah, it immediately worried him. She hadn’t been at her aunt’s very long. He flipped it open. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m ready.” She sounded fine.
“How’d it go?”
“Everything went good. I was still full from your place, so I just had dessert. Come get me. I’ll tell you all about it.”
[Moreno Brothers 01.0] Forever Mine Page 15
