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“Seltzer water,” Sofia said. “Drink it all.”
Angel was amused by how Sofia was really turning into a mother hen lately. He enjoyed her irritation when he called her his baby sister, but he was 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 pretty full from your place, so I just had desert. Come get me. I’ll tell you all about it.”
Just thinking of seeing her again made him smile. “Okay, I’ll be there in a few.”
“Angel.” She whispered.
“Yeah?”
“I said, I’m ready.”
It took a moment for it to register. But when it did, he felt his heart speed up and a stir in his pants. Damn, she drove him crazy. “I’m on my way.”
Angel didn’t realize until he hung up, but Sal had been watching him the whole time.
“You bringing her back here?”
Angel flashed him a fat smile. “Nope.”
“Yeah, well, just remember. Don’t be stupid.”
With a wink, Angel grabbed his keys and was off.
*
Aunt Norma had made it sound like there would be a lot of her mom’s relatives there. If Sarah had known how things were going to work out, she would have had Angel over.
She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him saying he loved her the whole day. She’d wanted so badly to tell him she loved him, too, but how could she? How could she sit there and tell him she loved him when she would be leaving him soon and he knew perfectly well it was by choice? She just couldn’t do it. As much as hearing him say he loved her had been music to her ears, she almost wished he hadn’t. It only made the guilt that much harder to bear.
“So, what happened?” They drove out of her aunt’s driveway. Angel put his hand on her lap and she wrapped both her hands around it.
She took a deep breath “First of all, all that worrying was for nothing. Most of the relatives who showed up were from my uncle’s side and the few that did show up from my mom’s were very distant relatives. Apparently all their closer family members still live in Arizona. No one really seemed interested.
“My aunt had to literally remind them that she had a sister. The adults ate in the dining room while…” she lifted her fingers to quote. “…us kids ate in the kitchen. It was actually kind of boring.”
She left out the part about her step-uncle’s nephews flirting outrageously with her. It had amazed her that both were the same age as Angel, and yet compared to him they were such immature goofballs.
Angel smiled. “Well, that’s good. I was kind of worried when you called so early. I thought maybe something happened.”
She leaned against him. “No, I just couldn’t wait to be with you again.”
He squeezed her hand.
At first when they drove up the alley to the back entrance of the restaurant Sarah wasn’t even sure where they were. She glanced around a little confused.
When they got inside she smiled. What could he have in mind? Surely he didn’t plan on making use of one of the booths, did he? They walked down a short hallway and through the small cluttered office. They went through another door that led to what looked like a break room.
She knew about it but had never actually been in there. There was a counter with a microwave, a toaster, and a refrigerator against the wall, with cabinets above it. A table in the middle of the room and a small sofa next to the table facing a T.V. that was in the corner.
Then she saw it at the end of the room. A bed, it was a small twin bed, with a dark bedspread nothing fancy, but it would do. She felt her heart speed up a little.
Angel strolled over to the fridge, opened it up and pulled out a jug of wine.
Sarah grinned. “Hey, my precious!”
“I thought maybe you’d want to unwind a little first.”
Were her nerves that transparent? He poured her a cup then went back to the fridge and grabbed a beer for himself. She chewed her lip when he tugged her by the hand toward the bed. She sat down feeling the swarm in her stomach go wild. She took a big sip of her wine as she watched him go back toward the counter. He opened cabinet above it, and took a small white plastic bag out. Then he came back and sat next to her.
He smiled and took a deep breath. “I want you to know, that even though you’re going to be leaving, I still want us to be together.”
Her eyes glistened. She’d thought about that so many times but dared not ask. It was way too much to ask of him. After all, it was her choice to go back. How could she possibly have the nerve to suggest it?
Angel pulled a small box out of the bag, and handed it to her. Before she could open it, he put his hand over hers.
“Sarah this isn’t gonna be easy, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I don’t care if I have to drive out there every weekend. Just ‘cause we’re so far doesn’t mean I plan on being a part time boyfriend. Do you understand what I’m saying? I want everything exactly like it is now. I won’t share you.”
Sarah closed her eyes for a moment, feeling a myriad of emotions. Guilt being the strongest of all. She forced a smile, and nodded. “Of course.”
He kissed her and took his hand off hers so she’d open the box. She did and pulled out a silver charm bracelet. “It’s beautiful.” She examined the different charms. “Did you pick these out?”
