AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I miss you
I’m sorry
Can we please talk?
I hit Send. And wait.
CHAPTER 31
MAX
As I drive over to Luz’s parents, I’m determined to grovel if I have to. I practice a speech in my head that will hopefully lead to the desired conclusion of staying together, no matter what.
My body vibrates with nervous energy because I’m not quite sure if that’s what she wants. If she doesn’t, I’ll respect it. I’ll always respect her above any of my wishes. But I will also be absolutely destroyed. We can’t always get what we want, right? And the hardest part is dealing with the aftermath.
Of course, every stoplight on the way is red. My watch beeps a couple of times, marking a too-high heart rate. It happens every time I imagine Tinker Bell saying that she can’t see us working out under these circumstances.
In one of those scenarios, she throws my old words back at me, and I picture her saying, “I’m married to hockey, you know? That’s what I came to St. Cloud for.”
I glance at the enormous Tupperware full of Mom’s tiramisu. I’m not above using it for bribery. The problem is that Luz didn’t get to try it before, so she doesn’t really know what she’d be missing out on if she sends me packing.
When I finally park in front of the right address, I have to take several bracing breaths before getting out of the vehicle.
The little suburban house appears cozy and welcoming. My feet freeze on the asphalt as I stare up at it. Somewhere inside is the girl I like. Somewhere inside, we’ll have a conversation that, not to be a melodramatic drama king, is going to change the game.
I run a hand through my hair. The longer I stand here, the longer I prolong my own torture. The air is so cold I can see my own breath as I walk around the car. On the way toward the front door, the perspective makes the little house loom over me.
I’m halfway up the front lawn when the door bursts open, and there she is. Luz stops on the porch for just a moment, as if to make sure it really is me. Without a word, she launches into a sprint. And nothing in her expression hints that she’s considering stopping.
“Uhh… Luz?”
Just like the day we met, she jumps at me, except this time it’s not to wrestle a foam roller from me. Air comes out of my lungs in a grunt as I catch her. My whole attention fixates on not letting her fall. I don’t think too much about hand placement, but this time, she doesn’t care. Luz wraps her limbs around me and kisses me.
Well, this is going better than I expected.
I close my eyes and leave her in charge. One of her hands holds the back of my head, fingers laced with my hair. The subtlety of this kiss is minus one hundred, because not a second after her lips touch mine, she coerces them open. Feeling the urgency behind the kiss tears a moan from my chest. Luz’s thighs cinch tighter around my waist as she braces to shift her angle.
Luz makes a sound like she can’t get enough. Every cell in my body feels like it’s been dipped in lava, even though the day is cold as ice. I grab her tighter, trying to pull her closer. But there are too many layers of clothing between us, and that’s probably a good thing—we’re in front of her house, after all.
Wait, are my hands on her butt?
It takes superhuman effort to pull away from her lips. Stars dance in my vision with the effort to keep myself in check.
“Luz.” My voice comes out like gravel. “Uh, we’re in public.”
Her eyes are half-mast as she stares down at me. She runs a hand through my hair, the other one down the side of my face, observing my features as if making sure this is real life and not a fantasy.
“Shame,” she mutters. Leaning down, she places a small peck on my lips again.
My grip falters. Tinker Bell starts laughing. She slides her legs down one at a time until she’s on her feet. Looking up at me with sparks in her eyes, she wraps her arms around my waist under my coat. And of course, this is when I notice her entire family is on the porch, staring wide-eyed at us.
“You’re killing me,” I say in a tiny, squeaky voice.
She rests her chin on my chest. “They’re all watching, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. Does your dad own a gun? He looks like he wants one to appear in his hand right now.”
She bites her lips, but her shoulders shake with obvious amusement. Without looking away from me, she tells them something in Spanish that reluctantly gets all four of them filing back into the house. I only catch the tail words—por favor, which is as far as my Spanish skills go.
