The time Charlee got to spend alone with Carolina, Hector’s mom, who insisted Charlee call her Caro, wasn’t nearly as nerve-racking as Charlee had expected. She did ask a lot of questions about Charlee’s family, her plans for the future, and, most awkwardly, her feelings for Hector. But all in all, things had gone well. Charlee had decided yesterday, when she agreed to no holding back or guessing games, she would be completely honest about her feelings. And since this would likely get back to him, she kept her response as true and uncomplicated as she could without sounding too sappy.
Trying to keep herself from blushing, she chewed the corner of her lip and smiled at Caro. “Your son is very sweet, and I’m very glad I met him. I like him a lot.”
Apparently that wasn’t enough for Caro. She stared at Charlee with a smirk so mischievous it made Charlee nervous. “What about love? Have you ever been in love, Charlee?”
“All right, Mom,” Hector said, walking in the back door, once again saving Charlee when she’d needed him most. “I should’ve known better than to leave her with you so long.”
“What?” Caro spun around to face him, her hand quickly on her hips. “I’m just making conversation.”
“Yeah, yeah,” He walked up to Charlee, immediately taking her hand in his, and kissed his mom on the forehead, almost as if to mollify her as he whisked Charlee away with him toward the back door. “That’s enough alone time for you two. I have some more friends who want to meet her.”
Charlee smiled at his mom with a look of regret that their conversation had been cut short, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. She’d never been so relieved in her life. If she was really going to stick to the being honest and upfront thing and Hector hadn’t walked in at that moment, she may’ve had to admit the truth. With every kiss, every touch, every deep breath she was forced to take from just being near him, she was falling harder and more profoundly than she ever imagined was possible for Hector already.
This was something she wasn’t ready to admit out loud yet. It was almost embarrassing, but the truth was they’d become official yesterday, and already he’d brought her to meet his mom today. The frightening speed in which this “relationship” was getting serious was coming from both sides. She’d have to keep that in mind as her wary heart feared her feelings for him were light-years ahead of where they should be.
“So did she grill you good?” Hector asked as they stepped out into the yard.
“It wasn’t too bad.” Charlee smiled then laughed at the astounded look on his face. “It wasn’t.” she insisted. “But your timing was, as usual, perfect.”
He slowed down and peered at her now. “Really? You know you’re still gonna have to answer that question eventually.” He stopped, leaning in and kissing her softly. “Only I’ll be the one doing the asking,” lowering his voice to a whisper, he pulled her close to him, “because I really want to know.”
“Get a room!”
Both Charlee and Hector turned to a smug-looking Gio as the rest of the gang laughed. Charlee glanced back at Hector, who wasn’t laughing. “I usually use that one on him and Bianca.” He smirked now. “I’m sure he’s been dying for a chance to use it on me.”
They started toward the patio table where all his friends sat except for Abel and Noah, who were over by the grill. Ironically, seeing the women with Gio at the table, knowing these were the people closest to Hector—the very ones she’d been reading about all this time online and now it appeared she may be joining their group—made her even more nervous than meeting his mom.
After meeting them all, Charlee sat and chatted with the girls who picked both her and Hector’s brain about the U.S. chess team. They all seemed genuinely sweet and very curious about her relationship with Hector.
“Okay, you have to tell us how this happened, because there is no way Hector would be bringing a girl to meet his mom unless he was serious,” Roni said, leaning on her arms against the table as soon as Hector walked away when the guys called him over to the grill.
“Yeah,” Nellie sat back, taking a sip of her beer. “I wasn’t aware either of the Ayala brothers did serious.”
All three women stared at her. Roni and Bianca’s eyes were full of anxious curiosity while Nellie seemed a little on the skeptical side.
As usual, hating to be the center of attention, Charlee felt her face warm. “Well, it was and it wasn’t sudden.” She had to smile at the confusion in their faces.
Explaining quickly and briefly how they’d known each other for over a month now and how things had been a bit complicated, she told them how she, too, hadn’t thought he did the exclusive thing. “In fact, he sort of made that clear early on, and then, I don’t know. He called me yesterday out of the blue and said he wanted to talk to me.”
She gave them a very brief rundown of the agreement they’d come to yesterday then smiled. “And here we are.”
“Well, good for you,” Bianca said. “You stuck to your guns and forced him to give into things your way.” She turned to Roni and Nellie. “For all his talk of never inviting any girls to a friendly gathering or even the Friday Night fights because they might get the wrong idea, I knew he’d give in eventually.”
Charlee wasn’t sure she liked the use of the word forced. Clearly, Hector had made up his own mind. She’d forced nothing on him. But she focused on Bianca’s last statement now. Hector told her about the girl at the fight the night of the keg party, the girl he said had been the only other girl he’d ever even come close to having a relationship with. He’d been concerned that Charlee might not be over Danny—someone that as far as he knew she hadn’t been in touch with in over a year. It never even occurred to her to ask if maybe he still had feelings for this girl. The fight he’d invited her to, after all, had only been a few weeks ago. And according to Bianca, unless he wasn’t concerned about girls jumping to conclusions, he’d never invite any of them to even a fight. Not only had he invited this girl but he had her sit up front with him.
Pushing the thought aside, she concentrated on the conversation, glad that the curiosity had moved from Charlee and Hector to Nellie’s love life.
A few hours later, Charlee said her goodbyes to everyone. The only one she hadn’t said goodbye to was Abel, who was busy on the phone off to the side of the yard. He got off the phone just as Hector and Charlee had begun to walk off toward the side gate.
“I’m in,” Abel announced, walking back toward the group.
“In what?” Hector asked what clearly everyone else was wondering since they were all looking at Abel curiously.
“The cruise,” he held up his phone. “My publicist just okayed it. I’m good to go that week.”
Hector laughed. “Like there were ever any doubt.”
Charlee had no idea what Hector meant by that, but as funny as he thought that was, Abel didn’t laugh. As usual, his expression was unreadable. Ignoring Hector’s comment, he slipped his phone in his pocket. “You guys leaving?”
“Yep,” Hector waved.
“Nice seeing you again, Charlee.”
“It was nice to see you again too.” Charlee responded, still baffled that she’d so easily and so quickly been accepted into this group of people.
Painless and uncomplicated was what Charlee had been shooting for at most when she decided to do this that morning. But meeting his friends and family so quickly and being completely unprepared had far exceeded her expectations. She hadn’t even had Drew to help her plan her strategy to not screw this up, and she’d gotten through it. In fact, after all the curious questions from both his mother and the girls, Charlee had been able to relax and enjoy the rest of the barbeque. And her pasta salad had been a hit.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Hector asked as he climbed into his side of the truck.
She turned to him and lifted her empty salad bowl. “They liked my pasta.”
Hector laughed, lifting her hand that was already entwined with his and kissed it. “That’s what has you smiling so big?”
Charlee shrugged, unable to tone down the smile. “Well, that and everything else. I was so nervous about how this would go, and it turned out great. I really like your friends. They’re so down to earth, and your mom is a sweetheart.”
Pulling out of the driveway, he glanced at her pinching his brows. “You were nervous? I didn’t pick up on that at all.”
“I was a wreck, but I think I’m getting pretty good at disguising my lame fears.”
“No,” Hector shook his head adamantly. “Let’s not start that. No disguising anything. Remember no guessing games. I suck at them.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder, amazed at how quickly this felt so perfect. “Okay,” she said, taking in a very gratifying deep breath.
Thoughts of the girl at the fight with him came to her again. But she’d since decided to leave well enough alone. This day had gone too perfectly, and she didn’t want to sour it up with that kind of talk. Besides, it wasn’t like she were worried about it. Bianca’s comment about Hector not ever inviting any girls to even the fights at the gym had only made her curious as to why he’d invited this girl. Curious—not concerned. But she did make a mental note that if it did begin to bother her she wouldn’t be letting anything stew, not with Hector being so adamant about his no guessing games rule. She actually liked the rule.
Her insides had begun to simmer as they got closer to her place. Knowing she had the house to herself for the entire night and as fast as things were moving already, she wasn’t sure what to expect. As his hand caressed her thigh, her heart began that thumping that had started to become less severe the more comfortable she felt with him. But now here it was pounding away at her chest as he drove into the driveway of Drew’s dad’s home. Switching the ignition off, he turned to her and smiled. “My mom likes you.”
“I like her,” she smiled back, already feeling the comfort easing back by just looking into his smiling eyes, “and your brother. He’s a bit more serious than you are, but he seemed sweet enough and very polite when he did talk to me.”
Hector raised an eyebrow, running his fingers through a strand of her hair. “That reminds me. I still have a lot to catch up with. I don’t even know if you have siblings.”
She leaned into him and kissed him softly. “Well, if you’re not in a hurry, you can come in, and I can tell you about myself.”
The smile he already wore brightened even more. “I’m in no hurry at all.”
“Good,” she pulled away from him and grabbed her salad bowl. “Then come on in.”
Talking she was good with. It’s what might happen after that she was nervous about. But it was a good nervous: the kind that had her insides going crazy already.
They barely made it into the front room when they were already locked in each other’s arms and Hector’s tongue infiltrated every inch of her mouth. He pulled away, sucking in a very deep and dramatic breath. “I’ve been dying to do that all day.”
Removing his arms that held her and taking her hand in his instead, he led her to Drew’s dad’s big fluffy recliner. “There’s definitely more of that to come, but first we talk. It dawned on me when my mom started mentioning some of the things you two talked about today that she knows more about you now than I do.” He sat down on the chair and pulled gently on her hand, patting his lap.
Feeling the excitement bubbling in her again, she sat down across his legs, and he promptly pulled her legs up so they’d hang off the side of the recliner. “You know there’s plenty of room to sit in this house,” she said, smiling.
He smiled then leaned in and kissed her neck softly. “I know, but then I couldn’t do this.” Feeling the shivers race down her body, she tried not to tremble, but it was impossible. “Okay,” he said, rubbing his hand up and down the side of her thigh. “Let’s do this. So how many siblings do you have?”
“One,” she said, trying to relax and not have her body go into spasms every time his fingers grazed her neck while he played with her hair. “He’s older than me and probably what I miss the most about not being home.”
Hector stared at her, suddenly looking very serious. “Really? How old is he?”
“Twenty-five.”
Sitting up, suddenly Hector stared at her, looking a little annoyed. “Shit. I don’t even know how old you are. I’m assuming eighteen-nineteen since Walter said this is your first year in school.”
She nodded. “ Eighteen. You too, right?”
“Nineteen,” he said, looking at her now as if he’d just thought of a bunch of other things he didn’t know. “So that’s a pretty big gap between you and your brother.”
Nodding, she ran her finger across his brow. It was now something that made her feel at ease. She did so slowly, feeling the same way she did when she used to rub her mom’s earlobe as a little girl. It was almost lulling. “Ryan is actually my step-brother, and I didn’t even meet him until my mom married my step-dad when I was nine and he was fourteen. I only ever get to see him once in a while. His mother has always had full custody, so I only saw ever him every other week for a couple of days and then a little longer during the summer and the special holiday arrangements.”
“But he’s twenty-five now. You still only get to see him once in a while?”
The last twenty-four hours had been such a thundering storm of emotions, and Charlee had barely been able to sleep last night, thinking about everything that had happened yesterday. As she continued to run her fingers across his brow, she now felt as if she could easily fall asleep right there on Hector’s lap. “He has Down Syndrome,” she explained, “a severe form of it. So he’s still in the care of his mom. As he got older, my step-dad petitioned less and less to have him over, so I got to see him even less, but I still miss him.”
She didn’t want the conversation getting so heavy, and she knew talking about her step-father could go there, so she kissed Hector before he could ask anymore. Sitting up a little, Hector let his head fall back against the chair, and this time Charlee did the devouring of his mouth. Running her fingers through his soft hair, she kissed him deeper and deeper until she could feel how undeniably aroused he’d become. Feeling him against her thigh, she was tempted to lower her hand and really feel. But her heart felt as terrified as it did excited.
Adjusting herself in his lap so that she could better angle herself and he could hold her even closer, Charlee was done talking. She had no deep dark secrets that needed to be aired out. Her life for the most part was vanilla compared to others. There was nothing about her that would have any effect on their relationship that couldn’t wait until later, but her body didn’t want to wait anymore for this.
When she pulled away to catch her breath after an especially long kiss, Hector moved so that her head fell back, and he cradled it on his arm. He kissed her neck then sucked for a moment, making her squirm. “You sure you wouldn’t rather talk?” He murmured against her neck.
“Yes, I’m sure,” she gasped as she felt him bite down just under her earlobe with a groan.
He worked his way up her jaw again and latched on to her mouth. His big hand moved up and down her thigh just over her leggings. She’d yearned for far too long to feel his hands on her, touching her in places she couldn’t even say out loud. His hand moved up her inner thigh slowly as he sucked her tongue softly then a little more roughly. Creeping slowly, she felt his hand making its way up higher. Her body trembled as she burned for him to touch her there.
She arched her body as his hands reached that hot, aching place, and he stopped kissing her to look at her. Spreading her legs gently, his hand cupped her between her legs, and she wondered if her leggings were wet, because she knew damn well her panties had to be. “You a virgin, Charlotte?” She nodded, biting her lower lip, unable to refrain from continuing to tremble as he moved his hand and began to stroke her between her legs. Her leggings were so thin she was certain he could feel just how hot she was. “Well, then, we gotta take this slow.”
Closing her eyes, she gulped, almost ashamed that she didn’t want to take it slow. She needed him to do more, and as if he sensed it, he stopped stroking her up and down. Instead, he focused on the one place that had her body quivering all over and she turned her face into his shirt. “Don’t hide your face, Charlee. I wanna see it.” She turned her face up to him but let her head fall back, needing to spread her legs as he continued to stroke her in a circular motion right there, right where it was building too quickly, and she began squirming, tempted to hide her face in his shirt again so he wouldn’t see her moan. “That’s it,” he leaned in and kissed her, biting her lower lip as the sensation began to erupt, making her gasp and moan a little louder. “Come, baby,” he moved his arm when she began to moan into his shirt, grabbing a fistful of it.
Feeling how hard he was against her ass only heightened the explosion between her legs. She moaned again and again and squirmed uncontrollably as the waves of pleasure continued. Hector now sucked her neck gently. Charlee began to breathlessly plead for him to stop. She couldn’t take it any longer. The sensation ran clear down to her curling toes as he softened the pressure but continued stroking lightly.
He kissed her, groaning against her lips. “Damn, that was hot.” She lay back on his arm, and the waves of pleasure continued but began to weaken. Her heart still pounded as she lay there breathing hard with eyes closed. “When’s the last time you felt that?” Hector whispered against her lips.
No way was she telling him. Purposely she kept her eyes closed and smiled. “I’m not telling you.”
“What?” He poked her ribs, making her jerk sideways, and her eyes flew open. “Ah,” he smiled wickedly, “you’re ticklish.”
He poked her again, and she jerked instantly, laughing. “Stop!” Curse her ticklish ribs!
“I will,” he said, poking her other side now, and she laughed even more, trying to squirm out of his hold, “as soon as you tell me.”
He tickled her again, and she was laughing so much now she could barely get the words out. “Okay, okay, a few days ago!”
Hector froze, staring at her. As her laughter slowly subsided, she noticed the rigid way he looked at her. She’d just admitted she was a virgin. Surely, he couldn’t be thinking . . . and just a few days ago? She rolled her eyes, sitting up since she’d squirmed herself nearly off his lap. “It was D.I.Y.”
With a pinch of his eyes, he looked and sounded almost annoyed now. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Think about it.” She held his chin with one hand and kissed him. “Please, don’t make me say it.”
He thought about it, and slowly the glare turned into a smile so big she nearly blushed. “You can’t ask for details,” she said, already anticipating his next question.
In the next instant, she was laughing again as he poked her several times in her now-sensitive ribs. “Oh, can’t I?”
“No fair!” she said, rolling off his lap onto the plush carpet.
She tried rolling away and making a run for it, but he came after her and pinned her down, placing his hands over hers against the carpet. He stared at her for a moment as her laughing calmed without saying anything. She stopped laughing completely and just stared at him silently before he said the very thing she was thinking of him. “God, you’re beautiful.”
They stared at each other for a few more silent moments until he brought his body down over hers and kissed her. The kiss was so tender and gentle it made her sigh. It wasn’t at all like the feverish kisses they’d shared just earlier, but it held an intensity she’d only felt from him a few times. Extending the gentle kisses down her chin and onto her neck, he stopped at her ear. “I can hardly believe you’re all mine,” he whispered. She smiled, knowing her inner feminist was probably crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground. But Charlee couldn’t help it. She loved the idea of being his.
Feeling how hard he was again or maybe still, she moved against it, wanting him to rub against her. She was so hot again she could hardly stand it. Obviously picking up on what she wanted, he began to sway his hips slowly, and if he didn’t still have her hands pinned, she actually would have felt brave enough and the absolute need to touch him there.
Without warning, he stopped, and she could feel his pounding heart against her. “But you’re a virgin, and . . .”
He didn’t finish and she froze. Hearing the icy chill of the subtle yet shattering rejection brought back all the insecurities she’d managed to do away with and keep at bay in the past twenty-four hours. Now she was the one wondering what the hell he meant? The new girl she’d been in the last days being around him, the girl who’d actually begun to feel worthy of the affection Hector had given her, was suddenly gone. That girl might’ve had the guts to ask. Instead, she reverted to the old her and cowardly closed her eyes. Bracing herself, she waited silently for him to continue.