CHAPTER 6 #3
“Shadows?” Zara asks as we slide into the soft, velvety booth.
“That’s what he calls Silvio and Franco,” I whisper to Zara, and she bursts out laughing.
“Anything to drink? I didn’t order that yet,” Damián asks, stopping next to me and leaning his beautiful hands on the edge of the table.
“I’ll have anything with coffee, thanks,” Zara says.
“And you, nene?”
“Anything sweet, like a milkshake.”
Damián nods and turns to step away, but I stop him, my hand moving fast to catch his wrist.
Oh my God… don’t think Oliver, just do.
And I do.
While staying seated in the booth, I tug Damián’s wrist, pulling him back down toward me.
“Need something els—”
I crush my lips to his, fulfilling my promise to Zara, but in my dumbness, I forget one crucial fact I should’ve learned by now… Damián Soto does not do pecks.
Before I can pull back, Damián’s arm curls around my waist.
He lifts me slightly off the seat of the booth, hauling me against his chest, and deepens the kiss. He slides his tongue past my parted lips, tasting me as if I were his dessert, and completely uncaring of who sees us.
My hands fist around his shirt as I do my best not to moan at how good this feels.
Then, still kissing me breathless, he lowers my body back down onto the seat and pulls away with a beautiful grin.
“Perfect. I’ll be back.”
And then, he just walks away as if nothing happened. I blush and turn mortified to Zara, and find her staring at me, her green eyes wide and her mouth literally hanging open in shock.
“What the…” she mumbles, unable to finish her sentence.
“What? You said you wanted to see a kiss… so…”
“Is that how you guys kiss?!” she gasps, her hands covering her mouth.
“…Sort of. Why?”
“Why?! You just turned on everyone in the bakery. Probably in all freaking NY,” she says as she fans herself with her hand. “Well, everyone except the man at the counter. He looks like he hates you.”
I look around the shop, and sure enough, almost everyone is either blushing, giggling, or darting glances between Damián and me.
Everyone except the barista Damián is currently talking to at the counter.
That man is practically burning holes through my forehead with his eyes.
“Oh, my God, you’re right,” I whisper, leaning back into the safety of the booth. “He looks like he wants to slide mercury into my tea… He probably already has.”
“Forget about pissy-glasses,” Zara snorts, waving a dismissive hand before leaning across the table. “What the hell, Ollie? I thought this was supposed to be… you know…” she lowers her voice. “…fake.”
“It is.”
“My left tit it is… That,” she points her finger at the empty space where Damián had just been standing, “was not fake.”
“But it is,” I insist.
“Look, I know you are new to this, Mr. Virgitron, but you can’t fake chemistry. Not like that.”
“Okay, we are physically compatible. But that’s all.”
“Ollie—”
Oh, God no… I love her for always telling me everything she thinks and for protecting me, but not now.
“Zara. Stop, please.”
She stares at me… “He doesn’t know?”
“No,” I hiss, leaning in closer and whisper. “He doesn’t know I am a virgin, and I am not going to tell him because I don’t want him to stop doing things like that. So drop it.”
“No, Ollie…” Zara slides her hand across the table and takes mine. “I meant he doesn’t know you like him.”
“Oh…” I look down at the table. “…No.”
“You need to stop this.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You can’t play little house for months with a man who is guaranteed to break your heart.”
“We both know I’ve survived worse…” I squeeze her hand and smile. “Besides, I don’t care how much it hurts when it ends; I can’t back out now. Too many lives depend on us finishing this… thing.”
“So, what are you gonna do?”
“Are you kidding? I’m going to climb him like a tree and enjoy every single second I have with that sex God while it lasts.”
“You are an idiot,” she laughs.
“Shut up, I am a genius. Besides, everyone goes through heartbreak, and let’s be real, almost no one gets to end up with their first love anyway,” I say, checking if Damián is still far from earshot… He is.
“And unlike the rest of the world, Z, I get to save innocent lives in the process, and in the meantime, I get to hold onto a man like Damián. … So yeah, if you ask me, I see this as an absolute win-win!”
Zara shakes her head, laughing. “A freaking win-win it is.”
“So… now that we’ve agreed and you won’t freak out or worry about my feelings, what do you think? Do you like him?”
“I haven’t even talked to him yet.”
“And?” I laugh. “When have you ever needed more than two minutes to have an opinion on someone you just met?”
She presses her lips in a thin line and shrugs. “Mmmm…”
“Z! Come on, this is important—”
“Omg, he is fucking delicious, ok? Delicious, has manners, already got our food, kisses like a sex god, and is making my bestie experience a life that’s not just death and pain, so yeah. I adore him. He is incredible.”
“Wow… all that?”
“Yes, so now let’s find a Cuban binding potion or some Russian spell to make that man stay,” she says, and I can’t help it.
I burst out laughing.