Chapter 9 #2
Her eyes drift to my lips, but then she presses a hand to her forehead and tilts her head down as if she’s blushing.
Except, she’s not. She’s flustered but not blushing.
Disappointment settles in my belly anyway. She didn’t want it as much as I did. I lean in to ask, but Esme tugs at her hand, whispers something in her ear, and they both spring to their feet.
Luna turns to me. “I’ll be back.” Her gaze lingers on my face for a breath. Then, she shakes her head, pivots, and follows Esme.
I’m left to stare after her even as Tito asks if I’m enjoying the game.
It occurs to me I haven’t paid him any mind this whole time.
Now, his voice is faint because my ears are still ringing with Luna’s little gasp, the surprise at our almost kiss.
My eyes are filled with that bombastic body covered in innocent pink because there’s nothing pure in that.
That body is not made for purity. It was made for perreo and worshiping—with my tongue and definitely with my dick, which I’ll probably never get to do. So dejate de eso.
Before she disappears into the crowd, she looks back and shoots me a smile over her shoulder. I can’t help but return it like teenage Rio used to with my noviecita en la escuela.
“Rio, get up and follow them. Wait outside the bathroom, and then you’ll both walk out together but take separate cars. When you get home, post the messages I’m going to send you. Good job, kids.”
I almost shake my head but do as she says. When Luna comes out of the bathroom with Esme, her smile is nervous, almost sheepish. But as we walk to the car, I don’t get the chance to ask her because Esme and Ty are there, and so is Tito, flanking and ushering us out.
When I open the door to the car, I’m close enough to ask.
I open my mouth, but there are flashes of light and people screaming my name.
She leans in and presses her lips to my cheek.
Without a word, she gets inside the SUV.
On my ride back to my place, I still feel her lips on my skin.
This shit just got weird and complicated.
But fun.
On the way home, the text messages start coming in. The first one is from Niko.
Niko
You and Luna? Shit. Te lo tenías callaito. Congrats, my boy! She bad.
The DJ from a popular radio station contacts me.
SensacionLive
Something’s obviously going on. Let me know when you’re ready to talk.
Zao
Pero por poco te la comes ahí mismo, Manin.
He’s not wrong. Yo le hubiera comido esa boca, if she had let me. And I still want to. So fucking bad.
That’s why this is not fun. This chick is crazy and she hates me.
She’s playing a role too freaking well. We both are.
My body doesn’t know it, though. Neither does my brain.
It keeps replaying every moment of tonight over and over.
It keeps begging me to ask questions. Was it all an act? What if it was? What if it wasn’t?
I pull up her name on my phone, start typing a “Hi,” but hit backspace and exit. No, this is what it is, and I’m not going to push that. I’m going home to sleep.
On the radio, the Niko block is on fire. They’re playing his third album, the one where he experimented with sounds that normally don’t go with reggaeton. The track I’m listening to, ‘Biología,’ is a chill, lo-fi type of song with soft lyrics. As the song plays, new lyrics sprout in my head.
I wish I didn’t get in my head
Me convierto en cientifico and dissect
Every look, every breath
Under the microscope in my brain
This should be simple
Tas soltera y yo I’m also single
We should let our bodies mingle
But we’re not normales
We act like breeds of different animales
Si fueramos planetas
Yo sería Venus y tu fueras Marte.
Are we going to keep circling the wagon
Or move on to the good parte?
I jot them down quick to make sure I remember. Hmm…I think they’re kind of fire. I switch to my messages app to message Niko.
Me
Listening to Biología. You got a remix in the future?
He responds almost immediately.
Niko
What are you thinking?
I copy the lyrics I just wrote and shoot them his way.
Niko
Uff.
Hitting up Vampiro. Stay tuned.
And that’s how I find myself wide awake at three in the morning.
Sleep won’t come. No drugs, not even a painkiller.
Dulling the pain never makes it better in the long run.
So, I’m sitting in the dark with this hole in my stomach, but my thoughts are on Luna’s smile and her parted lips.
My mind is stuck on replay, watching her walk in her pink dress and sneakers, looking beautiful, earthy, and thick.
I know sleep won’t come tonight. So, I flip the night light, grab my notepad and pen, and pour out my thoughts.
No queria verte así
I don’t even dare to fantasize
But it only took a touch
A turn of your head, widening of your eyes
A smile that reached and grabbed me by the throat
I can’t swallow
I can’t breathe
Solo quiero una cosa
The taste of your lips
Mami, sueno con desnudarte
Con morder to cuello
Y los senos chuparte
Perderme en el valle entre tus piernas
But in this moment, it can wait
Cause I have something else on my mind.
Nada mas te quiero besar
Sentir tu aliento mingle with mine
Don’t lean into me if that’s not what you want
If you don’t open your mouth, me puedo controlar
Pero apretaste mi mano
And parted your lips
That little catch in your throat
Demanded my kiss
The world filtered through, like always
Y me quede con las ganas
De probar el sabor de tu boca
Y saciar el deseo que me azota
Until the next chapter
Espero que estes ready
Because you can’t put the genie back in the bottle.
Es Rio
The lyrics make me shake my head. I call her crazy for the way she’s always acted toward me. But I’m the one reading a million things into an almost kiss. She’s probably long asleep, and I’m writing about her.
Si ella es loca, what does this make me? A fucking mad man.