Abel
We drive far out of town today, almost three hours from the motel. We’re somewhere in Connecticut when I see a sign for a mall and take the exit.
Thank fuck.
“You feel like shopping?” Rose asks.
I didn’t know if she was awake or not, she’d been so quiet.
“I feel like seeing you in something nice. Something new.” I hadn’t told her the plan for today. I just needed to get us the fuck out of the state of New York and out of that damn motel room. I wanted to remind Rose that she was fucking free . We could do whatever the hell we wanted. We didn’t have to stay in that godforsaken town now that her mother is dead.
Las problemas siguen ahí, mine would say, sitting in the backseat while trying to light a cigarette between her dry, stubby fingers. I swear I can hear the flicking of the lighter.
I fight the urge to check the backseat, just to see if the heat on my neck is from her disapproving glare. I roll my eyes at the thought before looking over at Rose, whose eyes are taking in our surroundings now that we’re around something other than trees.
I want to open my mouth and tell this girl what I’m thinking but there’s the nagging feeling that I have no right to tell her what to do. After all, we’re fucking wanted. At least, we should be, but we watch the news every day, and every day we hear nada .
?Que carajo?
We’re still pressing our luck.
We should be fucking running.
I don’t know what game Dr. Brown is playing at but it doesn’t make sense.
And something is telling me something’s off about Rose, too. She hasn’t made a move to leave. I know it’s only the day after, but we haven’t talked about what’s next. Rose is smarter than I am, but I know more about surviving. And staying here is just fucking dumb. We’re gonna get caught.
I park the car far away from the others and turn it off. When I face Rose, she’s already looking at me, and her jacket is open enough that I can see the outline of her nipples against her shirt.
It’s like she doesn’t believe in bras. Or maybe she just wants to drive me out of my fucking brain.
I reach up, slowly, slow enough that she can stop me if she wants.
But she doesn’t.
Not when I circle the outside of her soft nipple, watching as it hardens for me, because of me.
Not when I cradle her perky breast in my palm. Not even when I run my thumb over the hardened peak, the side of my lips lifting at the way hers part and her hips buck a little in her seat.
“I never knew it could feel like this,” she whispers.
“Like what, espinita ?”
She nearly purrs, “Like my body’s on fire and you lit the match.”
Her hands reach out to grab my arms and I draw her closer, one hand still stroking her nipple, the other on her jaw.
Tongues tasting, teeth scraping, bodies aching for more.
I jump away from her when I feel her hand on my dick.
Her eyes are closed for a moment and I want to remember what she looks like right now. I want to remember the power I have over her, that she could forget herself and follow what her body wants. That she could do something so fucking bold and unapologetic.
“Do you not want me?” she asks as she leans back, her head against the glass of the passenger window.
And I have a newfound weakness: sunlight and blue eyes. The way hers sparkle with curiosity makes me want to place her hand back on my dick so she knows without a doubt that I want her.
My hand reaches for hers without thought, and instead, I press kisses to her fingertips. “You know better than that, Rose.”
“Why did we stop?” She leans forward and her breasts sway ever so slightly with the movement.
“Because you deserve better than a quickie in the car.” I reach for the door but pause and smirk before opening it. “For our first time, anyway.”
She follows me out and I wonder if it’s a good idea for us to be out in public. I wonder if anyone will recognize us. I wonder if Rose can handle people. And I wonder if today will be the day that our faces are plastered on every television screen.
I even wonder how much longer we can live a life like this, all fucked up and feeling followed. The moment I decided to take responsibility for Rose’s life, my dreams burned to the goddamn ground.
But when her hand reaches for mine, I take it without hesitation.
Because I’ve never had someone so invested in me. I’ve never had someone look at me the way she does, like the world won’t continue without me in it.
“It’s your fault,” she tells me as we head for the mall entrance.
“What is?”
“The inappropriate touching.”
I grin as I look at her, but she doesn’t give me the satisfaction of her stare.
“You created a monster,” she says.
I want to tell her that the monsters in both of us had nothing to do with the other, but I choose to be light-hearted instead. “Nothing was inappropriate about what you did.” I pull her in front of me as I grab the door and guide her inside. “Besides, I’m the only monster around when you’re naked, Rose.”
I don’t see her reaction, and while we walk, she’s quiet. People don’t pay us any attention, and I keep her close, hoping she doesn’t get set off by anything.
“Would you like to see a movie?” I ask after we’ve passed by an entire floor of stores, none of them catching Rose’s interest.
She nods, her eyes everywhere but on me.
“Let’s see what’s playing,” I say. I relax a little as we head to the top floor, knowing that at least while we’re seated in the theater, I won’t have to worry about what trouble we could get into.
Rose doesn’t care what movie we see as she leaves me to head to the concession stand. I’m so focused on her, that I don’t realize I’m holding the line up until someone behind me clears her throat.
“Sorry about that,” I mutter, and I turn for a moment to offer a quick smile to the person behind me.
She’s standing next to another girl and her long brown hair is shining even under the dim lights of the theater lobby.
“No problem,” she quips, a smile on her face as she looks me up and down before settling on confident eye contact. “No problem at all.”
After I have two tickets to some random movie that starts in the next ten minutes, I hear her speak again.
“A rare breed, seeing a chick flick on your own. Takes a certain kind of man.”
Her friend walks up, past me, no doubt to buy tickets, too. But the brunette stands where she is to talk to me, not caring that she’s now holding up the line.
Another small smile and I hold up my two tickets. “Nah, I’m here with my girlfriend.” But I’ve always enjoyed chick flicks, romcoms, whatever you want to call them.
“Lucky her,” she says, her smile slow and lingering, and finally follows her friend.
When I turn to find Rose, she’s standing a few feet away, popcorn and a drink in her hands. Her eyes flicker back and forth between me and the brunette.
She doesn’t look angry. She doesn’t look like she’s going to lash out.
But I’m still cautious as I approach. “Got our tickets, mi espinita linda .” I drop a quick kiss on her forehead, just in case.
She’s quiet as we head into the theater. A few minutes later, I hear voices, just as the lights start to dim. The girl from the lobby sits a few rows away from of us, and they laugh about something.
I try to read Rose’s body language, but she’s sitting next to me, gathering a few pieces of popcorn before daintily placing them in her mouth.
Not like me, stuffing as many as I can into this fucking face of mine.
She shoots me a glance as I’m chewing, and there’s a hint of a smile on her face.
And I think that Dr. Brown would be so fucking proud of us.
The movie begins just as she relaxes into my arms.