“Come on, then,” I tell her, tipping my head across the parking lot to where I left my car. “I’ll take you home.” I’m fifteen and only recently got my permit so I’m not supposed to have anyone aside from family with me, but the chances of being pulled over are slim. I’m glad I told Adrian to go ahead without me so I won’t have to explain to him or anyone else why I gave Leticia Castro a ride home in my car.
I start walking but again, Leticia isn’t moving.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she stammers.
“Lie.”
She bristles. “I’m not lying.”
Huffing out a breath I fold my arms over my chest. “Yes. You are. Come out with it already. Why don’t you want me to give you a ride home?”
Her eyes narrow, and for a brief moment I see a flash of her temper before she douses it. Huh. I like it. Maybe she’s not so meek after all. There’s fire burning inside her gaze now that I’m looking for it, she just needs someone to stoke the flames.
“Why did you help me back there?” She waves her hand at the gymnasium doors.
Valid question. But it’s one I’m not quite sure how to answer. “Why wouldn’t I?” I ask instead.
She unfolds her arms before tucking her dark brown hair behind her ears. “We’re enemies,” she hedges.
I quirk a brow. “Are we?”
We belong to rival families, that much is certain. But I never decided to make Leticia Castro my enemy. I take another step closer, curious to see how she’ll respond if she truly believes me to be her enemy.
Nostrils flaring, she holds her ground, chin tilting up as her dark brown eyes bore into mine. Determination tightens her lips, and her small hands ball into fists at her sides.
“Our families hate each other.”
“I know.” Where is she going with this?
“I guess, I’m just not sure why you stepped in to help when anyone else in your shoes would have looked the other way. Especially in your position. Our families are enemies and—” There she goes using that word again.
“Do you want to be my enemy?” I cut her off, letting her hear the edge in my voice, because I’ll only ask her this question once, and there will be no going back after she makes her decision.
Leticia shrinks back at my question. “What?”
“I said, do you want to be my enemy?”
She bites her bottom lip.
I intimidate her, yet she doesn’t cower under the weight of my stare like I expect her to. Instead, she straightens her spine, and this time it’s she who takes a step closer.
“No,” she says, her voice firm.
Good. My smile spreads. Not so weak after all.
“No, what?” I’m being an asshole, but I can’t help it. “Spell it out.”
“I don’t want to be your enemy. But our—“
Tsk. Tsk.She just had to throw thebutin there.
“I don’t give a shit about that. You make the decision. We’re enemies or we’re not. What will it be?” My jaw tightens as the seconds tick past in tension filled silence while I await her response. I don’t know why I allow her the choice. When have I ever given anyone else the power?
But there’s something about her …
She has to decide what we are to one another, because there is a part of me, one I need to ignore, that wants more from her than she’s willing to give. But if she labels us enemies, I can walk away.
