Chapter 8 #2
“Sure thing, little bro.”
“It’s past our bedtime too,” Mom says, “there are sheets and pillows in the storage unit under the sofa, ángel. Do you need me to help you with the bed?”
“No, gracias Mamá, I’ve got it.”
“Before I head up,” Miguel says to Beth, “let me show you how the lock works on the back door.”
She nods and follows him, while the rest of us make our way down the hall. At the bottom of the stairs, I pull Mom and Donovan into another hug.
“Buenas noches, Mamá, Donovan.”
“Buenas noches, mijos. I’m so happy you’re both here.”
She has tears in her eyes as she looks up at us both and I feel a pang in my heart; I’ve missed her so much, I shouldn’t have left it so long.
I messaged Elizabeth after she disappeared upstairs, but it’s still only showing as ‘delivered’, which is pissing me off. Why is she ignoring me?
The back door slides open and closed and I follow the noise, the outdoor lights are on and there’s a figure in the pool. Getting closer to the glass, I see Elizabeth swimming lengths, and knowing she can’t see me, I stand and watch for a while.
She’s wearing a black one-piece swimsuit; her skin glowing in the moonlight and the soft lights coming from the deck. With her hair wet, it’s not its usual vivid red, and it’s even longer without the curls.
Opening the door, I step outside and go to stand at the end of the pool. After finishing the length she’s on, she comes to a stop and looks up at me from the water.
“Elizabeth,” I say.
“Angel… I had no idea that was your name.”
“Yeah, well there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
She lifts herself out of the pool and sits on the edge, grabbing her towel to wrap around her but leaving her legs in the water.
“It’s nice to see you and your mom together, and it’s sweet of you to come and see Donovan too, I know he misses you.”
I chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” she asks.
I move closer, crouching down so I’m next to her and at the same level.
“I’m not here for them, princess.”
“Then why are you here?” she asks.
“I don’t like being told what to do.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question, did someone tell you not to come?”
“Oh, you’re gonna play innocent?” I ask.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, so I think that makes me innocent, yes.”
I smooth away some of the wet strands of hair that are stuck to her face. Leaning in as close as I can, I lower my voice.
“You told me to go and fuck somebody else.”
“What?”
“I told you I wanted to see you this weekend, and you told me to go and fuck somebody else. ”
“Are you serious right now? I told you I was busy, and I didn’t tell you to go and fuck somebody else, I simply informed you that there are girls at the club who want you, and that if you wanted, you could go and fuck one of them. I figured you probably are anyway.”
She thinks I’m fucking other people. There’s a sharp pain in my gut at the realization that she’s probably fucking other people too. That image of her curled up with Donovan on the sofa appears in my head again.
“Are you fucking my brother?” I ask.
“Fuck you!” She stands and takes a step back from me. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Is that a yes?”
“No, that’s not a yes. That’s a ‘we’ve had this conversation before, and I told you there’s nothing going on between us’.”
“I saw you curled up on the sofa together,” I say.
“Oh my god, we’re best friends! We hug, we curl up and watch films together, we’re close. Honestly, our relationship is more like brother and sister. I’m sorry if you can’t handle that but it’s not going to change.”
She refuses to look at me, instead focusing on trying to keep the towel covering her body; none of this has gone as I planned.
“Shit,” I say softly, rubbing my face in my hands. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
She sighs. “What is this really about?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, we’ve spent the last week fucking each other, but we barely talk; the literal definition of casual.
But now you turn up here with all these questions and accusations.
So what is going on, why are you actually here?
And be honest with me, can you do that, just tell me what you’re thinking? ”
With her standing in front of me, soaking wet with her arms wrapped around her, looking at me so openly, I know what it is that I want.
“I don’t wanna fuck anyone else,” I say.
She shrugs. “Okay, so don’t.”
“And I don’t want you to fuck anyone else.”
“You know that makes you sound like a hypocrite, considering that you just told me you don’t like being told what to do.”
“I didn’t mean that, I… I was jealous.”
Fuck, it’s terrifying to admit that to her.
“Jealous of what?”
“Elizabeth, you’ve been all I can think about since we kissed at Donovan’s party. I haven’t even looked at another girl since that night. I was jealous knowing you were probably with other guys.” I step closer and reach for her hand. “I just want it to be us.”
She looks up at me and smiles, looking so incredibly beautiful I can barely breathe.
“Has this all been a really fucked up way of trying to tell me that you want us to be exclusive?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You only want us to fuck each other, no one else. You want us to be exclusive.”
“Yeah,” I say, “yeah, that’s exactly what I want.”
She sighs. “Why didn’t you just say that instead of being all possessive and following me out here?”
“I didn’t know how! I don’t do shit like this.”
“Come here,” she laughs, lifting up on her tiptoes and kissing me.
I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her close to return the kiss, already feeling my body react to her .
“Is that a yes to being exclusive?” I ask, hating to break the kiss but needing to know.
“I want it to be, Diablo. But—”
“Angel,” I interrupt, remembering how my name sounded on her lips.
“What?”
“Call me Angel, when it’s just us?”
She smiles. “Angel, I want it to be a yes, but it’s complicated.”
“I’m not gonna lie, princess, hearing you say my name like that… I’m not gonna be able to concentrate on complicated shit.”
She laughs as I kiss her again.