Hector (37 page)

She blinked a couple of times, her head soaking in that deep
resonate voice until she recovered enough to realize he’d just asked her
something. “Oh . . . I’m not sure yet. Drew and I were supposed to go out.”

“Really?
Where to?”

Just then Drew stuck her head in her bedroom and shook her head.
Charlie covered the phone
mic
with her finger.
“What?” she mouthed.

“I’m not feeling so hot after all.” Drew whispered loudly. “I
think I might take some meds and hit the hay early. I’ve got a long day
tomorrow.”

Charlee stared at her then heard Hector’s voice again in her ear.
“
Hello
?”

Nodding quickly at Drew, she focused on Hector again. “I’m sorry.
Drew was just saying something to me.”

“That she’s cancelling whatever plans you two had?”

Charlee was quiet for a second then sat on the bed. “Actually,
yes, how’d you know that?”

She heard him laugh softly. “Wishful thinking, I guess. So now
that your plans are shot, can I pick you up?”

Charlee glanced back up to her doorway, feeling a familiar stir
deep inside her. Drew was gone now, and she was free to say what she wanted to
say so badly. Yes, yes,
yes!
But she
hesitated, gulping instead. “Pick me up?”

“Yeah,” he said in the most casual tone. “I was hoping we could
talk. I’ll behave. I promise.”

She smiled and wished she were brave enough to tell him he didn’t
have to. His voice alone had her envisioning his amazing kisses already. But
that was her heart and her raging hormones talking. Her brain annoyingly
reminded her to be careful. She was having a hard enough time moving forward. This
could be a
major
setback. What could
he possibly want to talk to her about? “I live all the way in Burbank.”

“That’s okay. You’re worth the drive.”

Again she could almost envision him smiling, and it was enough to
set the swarm of butterflies she’d been trying to keep calm loose in her belly.
She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. “What time?”

“Now,” he said immediately. “I can hardly wait.”

That set cannons off inside her now. What did he mean? Wait for
what? “Oh.” The single-syllable word escaped her lips without thought. This was
so unexpected and bizarre, and exciting and frightening all at the same time.

“So you’re good with that?” he asked. “’Cause I’ll leave right
now if you are.”

His voice was so deep—so perfect. She was almost afraid to speak
again, but she had to. Shaking her head, she tried to snap out of the trance he
so easily put her in and gathered her thoughts. What exactly did he have in
mind and should she be excited or worried? She’d just admitted what little
plans she had this Saturday night were cancelled, and as nervous as this made
her, she had to admit she was more than curious to know what he wanted to talk
about. “Um . . . okay. So we’re just going somewhere to talk? I can wear what
I’m wearing now—jeans?”

“Yes. Whatever you’re comfortable in is fine.
Text
me your address, and, Charlee?”

“Yes?”

“Did I mention I can hardly wait?”

Surprised by the laugh that escaped her, she brought her hand to
her mouth. Okay, she didn’t care anymore if he were anxious about talking to
her or stealing another few meaningless kisses. Suddenly she couldn’t wait
either. “The curiosity is killing me now.”

“It won’t be for too long. I promise.”

After hanging up, she didn’t even have to go fetch Drew. Her best
friend was obviously doing what Charlee suspected she’d been doing ever since
she’d stuck her nose in the door at the most opportune moment to tell her that
she was cancelling tonight. She was standing somewhere very nearby, listening
in, and as soon as Charlee said goodbye, she rushed in the room.

“So what happened?”

Charlee smiled at her suspiciously. “I think you already know.”

Drew’s smile flattened. “Why? What did he say?”

“Oh, that’s right. You couldn’t hear
him
.” Charlee smiled big, patting the bedspread right next to her
for Drew to have a seat. “I don’t know what to think, so I’m not going to. He
wants to talk to me, and I have no idea what about, except he said he can
hardly wait.”

Drew’s smile slowly resurfaced. “So why didn’t you just ask him?”

Charlee thought about that for a moment. That seemed so simple.
Why hadn’t she? “I don’t know. I guess I was just too stunned. I didn’t even
think to ask him how he got my number. But he’s on his way now.”

Drew jumped to her feet instantly. “Then what are we waiting for?
Let’s get you ready!” She grabbed
Charlee’s
hand,
tugging her to her feet too.

“He said to dress casually. We’re just going somewhere to talk.”
Charlee might as well have been talking to the wall because Drew was already hauling
her down the hallway toward the bathroom. “And I thought you weren’t feeling
well. You were going to take meds and go to bed.”

Drew turned to her with a telling smirk. Her best friend hadn’t
been sick for days.
“First things first.
It’s time to
get you looking casually gorgeous. I can sleep later.”

Charlee decided for once to kill the stubborn pessimist in her
and just go with it. He could be making excuses to get together with her
because he was just looking to have some fun on a Saturday night, and while her
head reminded
her what
a bad idea that was, her heart
kept saying, “How bad can that be really?”

They got to the restroom, and she stared at the self-conscious
girl in the mirror while Drew searched the cabinets for the straightener and
box of combs and brushes—her “weapons.” The corner of her lips twitched into a
smile. To hell with it! Whatever happened today, she’d enjoy it for what it was
worth. She’d likely regret it later, but for now she could
hardly wait
either.

~*~

It was almost funny how hearing his phone announcing
that he’d arrived at his destination made his stomach turn. Hector parked in
front of the house and turned off the engine, taking a deep breath. As certain
as he’d been earlier that this would be easy, he wasn’t so sure now. What the
hell was he supposed to do? Ask her to be his girlfriend? Did people even do
that anymore? That seemed so high school.

He got out of the truck, muttering under his breath, but as
annoyed as he was with himself for not thinking this through a little further,
it didn’t take from the excitement of knowing Charlee just might be in his arms
very soon. Seeing her at the door took away any misgivings he was beginning to
have about this. She was beautiful, and soon she’d be all his—he hoped.

“Hey,” she said, opening the door and stepping out.

The outfit she wore looked comfortable enough. Like she’d said,
she wore jeans, but they rode low on her hips, and the short, tight, baby-blue
hoodie made the outfit sexier than anything he’d ever seen her in. The shirt
she wore underneath was a tiny bit longer but just barely. If she lifted her
arm even just a little, Hector would get a glimpse of her bare midriff for sure.

Hector smiled, trying not to swallow up every inch of her with
his eyes, but it was difficult. “You look very nice.”

She glanced down at her clothes and shrugged, obviously not
getting what was so nice about it. “You said comfortable.”

“Yeah, I did.” He smiled, tearing his eyes away from the sliver
of milky white skin showing just between her shirt and jeans. “You ready?”

She nodded and walked to the edge of the porch stairs before he
could walk up them. He reached his hand out and she took it. Just like that,
they were holding hands already, and they hadn’t even begun to talk. This might
be easier than he thought.
“You hungry?”
He asked.

To his surprise, she turned to him, eyes wide open, and smiled.
“You like grilled cheese?”

This
excited her? He
laughed. “I guess. We don’t eat too much of that at my place, but I had it in
high school a lot when they served it for breakfast.”

“Oh no, this doesn’t even compare to high-school grilled cheese.
And Drew doesn’t care for it much, so I don’t get to go there as often as I
want.”

“What is it, a grilled cheese restaurant?” He opened the door for
her.

“No.
A food truck.”

He stared at her bright blue eyes for a moment before closing the
door. Walking around the truck, the reality of how different this girl was from
any of the ones he was used to beginning to set in. Taco trucks in East L.A.
were more than abundant. Hell, there was one parked on every corner. And while
the idea of them making grilled cheese wasn’t unheard of, he’d never once seen
anyone order one, much less get this excited about a food-truck grilled cheese.

“So it’s a truck,” he said as he climbed in and turned the
ignition on.

“Yes, well, it’s sort of a specialty truck All they serve is
grilled cheese—a bunch of different kinds. When Drew and I first got here, we
went to see a game show being aired at NBC studios. Her dad gets all kinds of
tickets from his friend. We heard people talking about the food trucks just
outside the studio, so we tried the grilled-cheese truck, and I’ve been hooked
ever since.”

Hector nodded, pulling out into the street. “All right, that
makes more sense.”

“Why? What were you thinking?”

“Never mind,” he said, laughing inwardly.

He wouldn’t tell her he was back to thinking of her as a bit of a
snob who walked up to a taco truck with all kinds of greasy Mexican food on the
menu and ordered a grilled cheese.

When they got there, he was surprised to see the amount of people
standing around the big yellow truck. Obviously he’d been way off. This wasn’t
just any grilled cheese. Once they got to the small park just around the corner
from the truck where Charlee told him she and Drew ate every time they came
here, Hector discovered just
how
off
he’d been. Since he’d never been, he asked Charlee to order for him. Charlee
watched him intently as he took the first bite of his grilled cheese. She
looked so damn cute. If his mouth weren’t full, he’d just go for it and kiss
her.

His thoughts were suddenly on the party going on in his mouth,
and he chewed slowly, savoring all the incredible flavors. Looking down at the
grilled sandwich he’d barely paid any attention to as he bit into it because he
was so into
Charlee’s
excited eyes, he had to know
now. “What’s in this?”

“That’s by far my favorite of theirs,” she said with a very
satisfied smile. “It’s mac and cheese and pulled pork with caramelized onions.
Isn’t it to die for?”

Hector nodded, taking another bite. It really was incredible. If
he weren’t so anxious to talk to her, he would’ve gone back for another when
they were done. He gathered up their trash and walked it over to the nearby
trash can. On his way back to the picnic table, he saw Charlee spray something
in her mouth, and then she turned bright red when she realized he’d seen her.
He couldn’t help laughing. “Why does that embarrass you?”

She shook her head and began putting it back in her purse, but he
reached out her hand. “Let me have some of that.”

Without making eye contact, she handed it to him. He read the
bottle, “Cinnamon
Binaca
. I didn’t know people still
used breath spray.” He sprayed some in his mouth then smacked his lips, sitting
down next to her. “Damn that’s strong.”

He handed it to her, and even though the color was gone from her
face, he asked her again. “So why did that embarrass you?”

Her cheeks tinged but not nearly as much as the first time, and
she shrugged, focusing on the things in her purse. “I just didn’t want you
thinking that . . .”

From the moment he’d seen her at the door of her place, the smile
had been a permanent fixture on his face. With her getting so excited over a
damn grilled cheese and now this, his face was going to start hurting soon. He
touched her hair, leaning in closer to her, and she turned to him. With her
lips inches away from his now, he couldn’t help himself. “You didn’t want me to
think you were getting ready for this?”

Leaning in slowly, wondering if she’d pull away since she
had
said this couldn’t happen anymore,
he was relieved when she didn’t. He pecked her softly, and he was supposed to
stop there, but unlike with other girls, with Charlee he had no self-restraint.
His greedy lips and tongue couldn’t get enough of her, so he parted her lips
with his tongue and went in for more. She allowed him to indulge for a bit longer
before pulling away a bit breathless.

“Hector,” she began then stopped. She seemed almost upset.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly.

“No. Don’t be.” She frowned, shaking her head. “I just wish I
wasn’t so damn . . .”

She stopped, and he waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. Instead,
she looked away.

“So what?” he asked confused.

Turning back to him, she licked her lips, and that’s all it took
to distract him. Then she spoke again. She glanced away, clearly not wanting to
make eye contact when she spoke. “I was going to just go along and enjoy today
and not think about the consequences, but it’s impossible. I can’t.”

Beginning to understand what she was saying, he slipped his hand
in hers. The nerves he felt as he drove to her house today were back in full
swing. “That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Now her big baby blues were staring at him, and if he thought
she’d let him, he’d kiss her again and again. Instead, he focused on what he’d
come here to say to her. “You said it before, and I think it’s what you’re
saying now. You can’t do this because you need more than
just
this.” He squeezed her hand. “I can’t stop thinking about you,
Charlee. I’ve never done anything more than just this. I never needed to, but
now I . . .” He kissed her hand because his lips needed to be on hers, and he
didn’t want to kiss her lips again until he knew she was okay with it. “Now I
need it. I need
you,
and I’ll
probably suck at the relationship thing at first, but if you give me a shot—if
more is what you want and it’s what I need to give you in order to have this,
then you got it—I promise I’ll try real hard to get this right.”