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Three: Not on My Watch
Xochitl
Surprised, and almost annoyed, by her instantly altered heartbeat, Xochitl took a deep breath and attempted to accept and thank him for the compliment without getting all ridiculously flushed about it. Her face warming so instantly, and the swarm of butterflies in her belly going absolutely nuts, was beyond annoying. It was just a compliment for crying out loud. “Thank you. I don’t get all done up too often. Hardly ever even wear makeup.”
“I noticed.”
She tilted her head even as she chided her heart for pounding even harder.Why? Because he noticed she didn’t wear makeup? Seriously? Still, she had to ask. “You have?”
“Yep.” He nodded sitting back in his chair. “Noticed it the first day I met you and then all the handful of times I saw you since. Not that you need it. It’s refreshing that you could look so good without it. But you glam up real good too.” He gazed deep into her eyes once again, like he did so often when he spoke to her. “It’sbreathtaking.”
Her already heated face got even hotter, and she pressed her lips together. Because it obviously had him smiling about it, so she lifted a brow. “Now I know what your sisters were talking about when they told me about you and your brother.” Lex chuckled glancing away then back at her. “Whatever they’ve told you, I can guarantee you has been highly exaggerated.”
“Nothing too bad. Just that you two are smooth sweet talkers and you flirt with all their friends.”
“You see, that’s an exaggeration.” He pointed at her. “Notalltheir friends. Just the special ones, and this isn’t flirting. I was just stating the truth.”
The fact that he didn’t deny being smooth wasn’t missed. Reminding herself this was still a just turned eighteen-year-old guy, she was determined not to give him the upper hand. Lifting a brow again, she smirked playfully. “I said it wasn’t a bad thing.” It was exasperating that clearly, he’d lumped her in with all the other girls he was used to dealing with—insecure and easily rattled. Because he looked almost stunned that hehadn’t. Then those damn dimples made an appearance again. “It’s not?” “Of course not.” She shrugged smiling as casually as she could play it off. “What girl doesn’t like being complimented? Especially by a good-looking guy?” She smirked playfully again but she’d make sure he knew she wasn’t falling so easily for what she’d been so duly warned about. “Curious how many of the others you’ve said the same thing to today.” He shook his head immediately and his brow arched in what looked like annoyance. “Okay, first of all, I’m related to most of the other girls wearing this dress here today. It’d be some weird redneck shit for me to be telling them they’rebreathtaking. Second, and I swear on my mom, it’s one of the first things I thought today when you walked into my house, even the ones who I’m not related to, can’t touch the way you’re working that dress.”Really? Just like that, she was back to staring at him wide eyed, fighting the temptation to fall for his smooth words. “Well,” she went heads with him looking straight in those intense eyes. “I’ve never even tried toworkanything I’ve ever worn. But thank you if you think I am.”
“Are you kidding me?” He sat up straighter. “With your killer curves?”
Running a hand over her thighs, Xochitl took a deep breath feeling her heart speed up—again. For years, her weight wasnotsomething she ever looked forward to discussing. Especially with guys. But ever since she’d learned to embrace her curves, she’d gotten over the only real insecurity she’d ever dealt with in her life. She’d be damned if she was going back to that now. “I’ve never been one to flaunt my assets, Lex. Not my thing.”
“Well, maybe it should be.” The way his eyes glanced over herassets, unabashedly wasn’t lost on her. But she’d been the one that brought attention back to them, so she wouldn’t be petty and make a thing of it, like she might normally. Still, she was anxious to move away from this subject already, only she didn’t want him thinking it was because it made her uncomfortable in any way. She just didn’t want to give him the invitation to further examine her so intently, and it might have her snapping at him.
Despite what she knew about him already, and his dropping compliment after compliment, shedidenjoy talking to him. So, she tried not to be too obvious about it. Instead, she glanced out to where Vannah stood hand in hand with her husband and changed the subject. “I still can’t believe your sister’s married.”
“Youcan’t believe it?” Lex turned to Vannah and Byron shaking his head. “I think it’s fuckinginsane.” He turned to Xochitl and touched his chest with his open hand. “I mean don’t get me wrong. Unlike my sister who left the house last year adamant that she wouldn’t even be getting into any type of relationships.” He shook his head with the oddest cross between a smirk and a frown. “Which is crazy because here we are less than a year later at herwedding.Anyway, I’m all for a good time, if the right girl comes along, that I can fit into my schedule.” He paused to stare in her eyes and glance down at her lips, making it a struggle to continue to not let him rattle her. “But marriage at this age? That’s just nuts. No way will I be ready for any kind of serious commitment for atleastanother ten years. Even that seems too soon. I got way too much stuff on my to-do list before this kind of forever shit.”
Glancing back and Vannah and Byron who looked so hopelessly in love, she shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know.” She turned back to Lex. “Sometimes you just meet the one when you least expect it. It’s what happened to them, and I think it’s incredibly romantic. I’ve no doubt they’ll be as nauseatingly happy as they are now forever.” She took a deep breath as she glanced back at the dreamy eyed couple on the dance floor.
“That’s right.” His eyes went all big and surprised. “You’re all about love happening the romantic old-fashioned way.” She peered at him because it was something she’d often said only she couldn’t remember ever saying it to him. They’d never had this kind of conversation.
As if reading her mind, he went on. “Overheard you telling my sisters once.” Confused because, while it didn’t surprise her that she’d shared her thoughts on this with his sisters, her mind raced to think of when and where he’d been when she had. “Last year, when you drove down here with them, the day Vannah and Byron announced they were getting married.” As soon as he said it, she was floored, because she remembered now. But it surprised her thathewould because he hadn’t even been part of the conversation. If memory served her right, he hadn’t even been in the room when she’d said it. But before she could comment, he added something else. “That’s another thing you have in common with Jasmine.”
Trying not to frown because she shouldn’t care—and shedidn’t—but she had to ask anyway. Only because she was curious about which one of his many, he was comparing her to. “Who’s Jasmine?”
“Princess Jasmine, fromAladdin,” he said as if she should’ve known that. “That day I first met you those big hazel eyes of yours and your long dark hair.” He touched a strand of her hair making her shiver as he gazed into her eyes. “You reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t figure out who, and it finally came to me.” He smiled beautifully making her breath catch before going on. “That movie was about her wanting to find her own suitor not one her dad found for her, because she believed in finding her true loveorganically, like you said you’re hoping you will that day.” Xochitl peered at him stunned. “Why?Howdo you remember the details of a conversation I had with someone else almost a year ago?” Lex shrugged glancing away for a moment. “Good memory.” Turning back their eyes met again. “And some things just stay with me, I guess.” She was caught in his eyes for a moment until he spoke again. “Anyway, kind of ironic how much you and the princess have in common, uh? The beautiful big eyes.” His smile coupled with the compliment once again took her breath away. “Her tenacity about the love thing just hit me right now, but I’d already had you pegged as a little uh . . . feisty based on what my sister had commented about you. Then you went and touché’d my ass the very first time I met you. In fact.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started tapping away at the screen. Xochitl didn’t get the touché reference, but she figured he was just being facetious. She didn’t bother to argue the feisty part because he didn’t even know the half of it. Feisty was almost a compliment for as impatient as she was when it came to dealing with annoyingpeople.
“See here.” He pointed at the screen with her contact info. She watched as he edited it and typed in,AKA Princess Jazzy, after her name then hit save. “Jazzy sounds a little spunkier than Jasmine. Right, Princess?”
Gulping but determined to stay composed after hearing him call her that, she nodded and glanced back to the dance floor where Vannah and Byron were still lost in their dancing. “Well, unlike most girls.” She tried not to roll her eyes despite secretly and verysurprisinglyloving the fact that he’d just referred to her as princess. “I’ve never been a fan of Disney princesses. I had more Star Wars toys and posters up on my walls than I ever did any Disney stuff. That was probably because I’ve always been such a fan of my brother and everything he was into. But it’s true. I think finding love the organic way is the most romantic way to go. It’s why I think no matter how young Vannah is, theirs is true love and I’m sure they’ll be in love forever.”
“Eh, I hope so.” As if done with this topic, he quickly moved on to the next. “Wanna hear some scandalous gossip?” Before she could respond he added. “But you can’t post this on your gossip column.”
Xochitl stared at him in obvious but playful annoyance. “I told you it’s not a gossip column.”
He smirked rolling his eyes. “Okay, but seriously you can’t even tell my sisters. Mostly Vannah, but my mom says they keep nothing from each other so telling Nena might as well be telling Vannah.”
Her interest was instantly piqued. “Really? What is it?”
“So, get this. Byron’s brother before he became the heavy weight champBeast, had a shady past.” Xochitl nodded because she already knew this. It was public knowledge. The guy had even done interviews where he admitted he wasn’t proud of his past indiscretions with the law. But he’d since redeemed himself. He wasn’t just a family man now. He’d since become a philanthropist of sorts. Even traveled the country now speaking at youth detention centers and such.
Lex glanced around the room and went on, but not before lowering his voice to a near whisper. “Apparently, way back before my Uncle Angel and Aunt Sarah were even married, Beast reached out to my aunt online posing as her long-lost brother. One she didn’t know she had. She and my uncle had been together for a few years already but not married yet. Since she’s an only child, she got all excited about finding out she had a sibling and went back and forth with the dude, even met and hung out with him. Long story short. It was a con. Beast was just hired to try to get some info out of her and it should’ve ended when she had nothing to give him, but he kept it going because I guess he got infatuated with her or something. Nearly broke my aunt and uncle up because once the jig was up, and she still met up with him, my uncle thought maybe she was into him too.”
Xochitl’s jaw dropped. “No way.” She glanced around more interested in taking in Vannah’s new brother-in-law than she’d ever been before, then turned back to Lex curiously. “And why can’t Vannah know?”
“Because it’s been so long and up until tonight when Uncle Manny opened his big mouth about it, Uncle Angel hadn’t even made the connection.” Lex explained as Xochitl hung on his every word. “Vannah, and I’m fairly sure her new husband Byron, don’t even know. This happened long before Byron even knew hehada brother.IfBeast’s even made the connection that Aunt Sarah is the same girl this happened with so long ago, he hasn’t told Byron. My mom thinks it’s pointless to make things awkward for them now that the conjoined families will likely have to spend time together every now and again. It’s something that happened decades ago.” Lex chuckled shaking his head. “Reason Manny even brought it up is because while Uncle Romero’s said he has the memory of a fucking elephant, even he was surprised he hadn’t made the connection until all this wedding stuff happened. He talked about Uncle Angel being a dramatic teen then. He goofed on him for getting drunk and having gone over to Uncle Romero’s and wailing break up songs.” Xochitl smiled big absorbing this juicy ass gossip that she couldn’t even share with her bestie, when her eyes met with Lex’s suddenly not so playful eyes as he cleared his throat glancing around for a moment without saying anything. “I take it your parents weren’t able to make it to the wedding then?” He glanced away. “Or is that guy you were dancing with your dad?”
