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Gordo nearly ran into her as she stalled at the entrance of the restaurant, and he walked in. “Hey,” she said with a hopeful smile. “You seen Lex by chance?”
His eyes went wide as he turned back toward the door but shook his head. “Uh . . . no. Not sure where he went.”
She shrugged smiling big despite the disappointment. Probably for the best. After the night they’d had, no telling how long it’d take them to say goodnight and shereallyhad to get going. Inhaling deeply just thinking about it, she nodded at Gordo. “Can you just tell him I said goodnight. I have to drive back to LA now.” He nodded but didn’t say anything more and she walked out. Pacing briskly through the parking lot, she didn’t even bother trying tone down the big goofy smile she wore. She was still in a very much dreamlike daze as thoughts of tonight and how it felt to be in Lex’s arms, remembering his sweet words, all wafted through her head. If it weren’t because there were still people around and exiting the restaurant, she might just break into song and do a little princess like dance, right there in the parking lot. Somethingsounlike her. Just like all the other unlike her, things Lex made her feel. Just as she reached her car, she turned curiously to the giggling and hushed voices at the far end of the parking lot.
She almost didn’t, but then she had to do a double take when she realized it was Lex and Angela leaning against a car in that darkened corner of the parking lot. Of course, she’d turn just in time to see Angela lean in and peck him, as he brought his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. Just like he’d pulled Xochitl to him on the dance floor and her dumb ass had interpreted itentirelywrong. Xochitl didn’t even realize she’d frozen until he turned to her, and their eyes locked. Snapping out of it, and feeling like acompleteidiot, she rushed to get into her car despite hearing him call out to her. Infuriated with herself, for ridiculously having silently begun to practice the speech she’d give Vannah about her exciting new relationship with Lex, she brushed surprising angry andmortifiedtears away. She felt beyond stupid now as she drove off in the opposite direction because she refused to even look at him—them—now.
Sending his calls to voicemail, she raced away, chastising herself for having let her guard down and beingsoeasily taken. She’d been warned—thoroughlywarned by his own sisters, no less—and she still fell for his shit. She was only eternally grateful now that nothing more than tonight’s thrilling, yet baseless heart throbbing moments had come of it. God knows how much more would’ve happened if she didn’t have that internship tomorrow and she’d spent the night at his parents or worse, gotten a room nearby tonight. Had she not been witness to his jumping from one sister’s friend to another—only the special ones—she might’ve been stupid enough to be smooth talked into letting him come back to her room with her. “Jesus Christ!” she muttered under her breath as she jumped onto the highway and squeezed the steering wheel. Even the two words she hissed had her remembering the way he’d looked at her when he’d said them to her, and heclaimedto be so taken by her eyes. Glancing in the rearview mirror she swatted away the last infuriating tear she’d allow over this nightever. “What does mom always say?” she muttered to herself as she drove along ignoring the utter disappointment because she’dreallybegun to get her hopes up. “No regrets only lessons learned.” Frowning, she shook her head. “So, what did we learn tonight? That I should’ve stuck with the gut feeling I got when I first met the guy. And that smooth is smooth, no matter what age. God damn it!”
She banged her steering wheel still reeling from how easily she’d been sucked in by all his sweet words. “Beautiful princess,” she muttered. “Bullshit!”
Xochitl had to wonder what Princess the smooth jerk had likened Angela to. She’d now decided being smooth was a gift. A gift some people were just born with. A calling that just couldn’t and wouldn’t be quelled. Like Romeo and even Nena’s talent for dancing, or the born writers who just have to get it all down before the words suffocate them. Gifts you’re born with are recognized early on in life. It’s why Vannah even said her brothers had been pulling this kind of shit on her friends since middle school. Despite them being younger than her friends, they’d still had the ability to and basked in the fun of making their friends squirm very early on and they’downedit. By the time she got home, her phone had rung and dinged many times with calls and texts she was sure were from Mr. Smooth. Except to send the calls to voicemail, but she’d refused to even glance at her phone. Once inside her dorm, she gave into the temptation of reading at least one of his texts. She clicked on the very first one he’d sent almost two hours ago after he’d likely given up on trying to call her.
Not sure what you think you saw. . .
“Oh, hell no!” She deleted it immediately before reading the rest. “What IthinkI saw? I know what I fucking saw, you giant asshole.Uugh!”
Unbelievable! He was still laying on the smooth-talkingbullshit. Without bothering to read the rest of his texts she deleted them all in one shot and put together the only text he’d be getting from herever.
You said you’d delete my number after the wedding if I wanted you to. DELETE IT.
She hit send before adding what else she was tempted to say. That he could go to hell while he was at it. Because that would imply that she cared and she shouldn’t, damn it. “Done!”
The sweet-talking man whore-in-the-making could just go assuage hiscallingwith someone else. She’d never be such a naïve idiot again!
