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“Come with me,” I whispered, and led her to the garage. We settled inside my Dad’s car before I turned toward her. “What are you doing here? If either of our parents caught us—”
“They won’t, and I don’t care. I couldn’t let you leave tomorrow without talking to you and giving you something.” She shifted to face me, too. My eyes traveled from her knees sticking out from under the red flowery sundress. With tiny buttons up the front from hem to chest, she looked—adorably sexy.
I cleared my throat. “What is it then?”
She shook her head, her hair waving down around her shoulders. It wasn’t often she let her hair down, and tonight, if she was the last woman I saw before boot camp, she was everything I needed. The vision of her like this staying in my memory wouldn’t bother me at all.
“I’ve been going over and over everything that happened at the party and afterward that night. I don’t know what got into me. The new group of girls I hung around with always pressured me to have my first kiss or to have sex . . .”
“You never cared about being popular and keeping up with the other girls before. Why start now?”
She swiped a hand across her forehead. “Like I said, I don’t know. But now I realize that wasn’t me. I can’t believe I almost lost my virginity to Chad. What was I thinking?”
I chuckled. “It’s a good thing I was there to stop you then.” I was relieved to hear her say these things. It wasn’t like I needed appreciation from her. I simply needed to know she’d returned to the Mia I knew, the one who was a good girl and didn’t try to be like the others.
“And that’s why I’m here. You protected me, Teddy. I didn’t appreciate it then, but I do now. So I couldn’t let you leave tomorrow without saying thank you. And to give you this.” She reached up and removed a gold necklace from around her neck. For a few years, I’d seen her wear it, and she never took it off. “My abuela gave me this medal before she passed away. Grandma said St. Christopher would always protect me. And now, I want you to have it.”
“What?” I pushed her hands back to her side. “No, Mia, I can’t take that. You keep it. It’ll keep on watching over you.”
“But don’t you see, it did, because you showed up and protected me from making a horrible mistake with Chad. And now you’re going off to be in the Navy, serving your country, doing God knows what somewhere in the world. Who will protect you? I won’t leave here without you taking this. Please, Teddy, for me, wear it. St. Christopher will watch over you, and I’ll sleep better at night knowing he does.”
She reached over and placed the necklace over my head. I felt the cold gold medal land against my breastbone. I peered down at it, and thought about our cultures, both believing in their saints. What could I do but accept this gift she was giving me? “Thanks. I’ll wear it for you. But Mia, promise me you’ll just keep on being yourself. You don’t need to be like those other girls. You’re perfect as you are, really.”
“I am?” She locked eyes with me then and holy hell, the air shifted between us. Like the way her lips released mine after taking the lime from me during the body shot, I was stunned.
“Y-yeah. And about virginity, honestly, sex isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Wait until you really like or love someone and they like or love you back. Then it’ll mean something and be special.”
“Well, there is someone I like, a lot, maybe love.” She continued to stare into my eyes.
“Oh, no, not me. I mean, I like you a lot as well, but you’re Cruz’s sister. I couldn’t . . . no, wait for the right time, and the right guy will come along.”
“Maybe you are that guy.” Her hand reached over and landed on my knee. The electricity passing through my body from her touch shocked the hell out of me. If she were any other girl, right now, I’d have her on my lap doing things to her. Shit.
“No, I’m not. And I could never be good enough for you.”
“Yes, you are. Shut up and kiss me, Teddy. You’re leaving tomorrow and we may never see each other again. Who knows? Besides, I’d like to forget Chad Buckingham ever touched me and the only way I could do that is to feel you touching and kissing me instead.”
One hundred percent. I wanted to make her forget the feel of Chad all over her. My eyes finally tore away, but not far, just to her lips. Her perfect full lips, glossed in the center, the berry scent of her lip gloss reaching my nose. Before I knew what was happening, we locked in an embrace, kissing and making out in the car.
No, I didn’t take Mia’s virginity that night, although it was tempting, and I regretted it now. But she gave me plenty to think about during the lonely nights at bootcamp. And it was a couple of years before I had other girlfriends help me erase the memory of her.
Until now. I stood in the shower, letting the hot water pelt my muscles, jacking off to fantasies of Mia, now my professor. We were adults with a past intertwined together and with an obvious attraction to each other.
I stroked faster, tightening my fist around my length, until finally reaching the edge of my explosion, knowing full well we could do nothing about this situation. And maybe it was the taboo nature of it that fed my wild beast as I shot my load, painting the wall of the shower and filling my heart with an excitement that hadn’t been there in a long, long time.
But I’d be a shit if I let things get any further, and disappointed in myself if she lost her job over dating me. So if avoiding her was the answer, then so be it. Somehow, someway, I should try to stay away, stop walking her to her car, stop the tutoring. It was the only answer, but I didn’t think I could stay away from her if I tried.
8
MIA
Valentine’s Day was the one day a year I liked to keep low-key, but my parents didn’t help in that matter. This morning, I received an early wake-up call, exactly like every year as far back as I could remember on any holiday.
“Good morning, Bebita. Rise and shine and remember to come over before you head to work to get your Valentines.”
“Mama, I’m not a baby girl anymore, and I don’t need a Valentine’s gift,” I groaned into the phone and threw my arm over my eyes, wishing I could have another hour of sleep.
“Sweetheart, you will always be mine and your Papa’s baby girl. As for the gifts, I will not stop until you have a man of your own that spoils you with them. Come over even earlier and I’ll make you some migas to go with the fresh salsa that Papa just finished making.”
