“We should go say hi.”
Puta! Hell fucking no. My girl might have a titanium backbone and could handle anything, but she’s skittish with me. I’m not suretwode la Peñas gatecrashing her girl time is the best idea.
“She doesknowshe’s your girlfriend, right?” She heaves out a sigh. “Ares, please tell me you’re not stalking some poor, unsuspecting college kid. I swear, I’ll—”
I hold up a hand to stop her. “She knows. Jesús. You know I’d never…”
Her expression turns serious and she nods. “I know. That was a shitty thing to say, I’m sorry. I’m just… stunned. I can’t believe my baby brother is finally in a relationship. This is your first, like, ever, right?”
I rub the back of my neck, praying for an alien invasion to stop this awkward fucking inquisition.
“Point her out to me.” Athena slides her arm around my shoulders and turns me toward the window. “Come on. Show me who you’re dating. If she’s really real, I mean.”
“You really don’t think I could have a girlfriend?” I don’t like this feeling. I’m confident—everything I do in life is something I can thrive at or accomplish. But this, this is new territory, and having my sister laugh out loud in my fucking face when I tell her I’m in a new relationship, well, that’s… shit.
“I’m sorry.” She jabs at my ribs. “This is going to provide a lot of opportunities for me to make fun of you. Let me have my fun. I know it’s a big deal, though.”
“It is. And I’m pretty scared of fucking it all up, too. So, if you could dial back the shock and giggles for a hot minute, that’d be great.”
She squeezes my shoulders. “You’re really into her, aren’t you?”
My silence is her answer.
“You have to be. You’re leaving her treats on her car after a shitty game, for fuck’s sake.” She follows my line of sight into the coffee shop. I want to ask her how she knows we had a game. She hates hockey, and as far as I know, she doesn’t follow our progress either. But she’s already honing in on her target.
“The red head?”
I shake my head. Tori is definitely not my girl. Though, if I fuck up with Eloise, she’s going to rip my balls off before my sister can even sharpen her knives. “Pink. The pixie.”
She chuckles, her laugh vibrating through my ribs, easing some of my tension. “She’s fucking adorable. Does she fit in your pocket?”
That makes me smile. “Tesoro.”
Athena clutches her chest with both hands and says “aw” really loudly, stretching it out, and now I’m praying for an earthquake to come with the aliens. Athena’s stare burns into the side of my face while I keep my eyes forward on Eloise.
“¿Cuál es su nombre?”
“Eloise.”
“And she agreed to be your girlfriend? She’s not a call girl? You’re not bribing her or catfishing her?”
Now, I’m pissed off. She’s poking fun, but this is a sensitive spot for me and it’s really damn uncomfortable. I bite my lip for a beat before I hiss out a slow breath. “She’s my girlfriend, Hen. Of her own free will, no monthly fee, no mail order, not a transaction in sight, she said yes.” Okay, that even sounds farfetched to me. I can kinda see why she thinks I might have paid Eloise for a date. Not that I’ll ever tell her that.
Athena falls silent for a minute as we both watch Eloise walk to the counter to get another round of drinks. “Hot chocolate.” She looks at the car. “¡Ay! Hermanito,you are a romantic. It’s her favorite,sí?”
I nod. “I’ve been leaving them for her on her car and at the gym. She doesn’t know they’re from me.”
“Have you taken her on a date?”
“I’m not a complete dumbass, Hen. I took her for pie. Iwasgoing to take her for a hot air balloon ride, but she’s wary about… y’know.”
“The fact our father is one of the richest men in the country?”
“Yeah, that.”
The door to Bitches Brew opens and a throng of students comes out onto the street. The door is slow to close. My willpower is faltering. I want to kiss her, to taste her, to hold her. Movement is threatening to burst into my feet and make me charge through the door.
Athena whistles next to me. “You really have got it bad,hermanito. I’m very happy for you, though, and I look forward to meeting her.” She plants a huge kiss on my cheek.
