Resplendent (7 page)

“Want to go somewhere with me?” I whispered in her ear.

She turned her head slightly but didn’t look at me. “Where?”

“Somewhere close,” I answered and placed my hand on her back. Touching her made me feel a magnetic pull and I never wanted to let go. She glanced around the group and toward the parking lot. “What about Carmin?” she asked.

“She left with Adam.”

She finally turned around and stared at me, surprised. “How do you feel about that?”

Huh?
Adam was a player, but Carmin didn’t seem to have a problem with him.

I shrugged. “He’s cool.”

I held out my hand, and saw the shift of hesitation in her eyes when she glanced down at my open palm. I placed my hand down when she turned to face Christian.
Fuck, was she turning me down—again?

“I’m going to be leaving now, but it was nice meeting you.” She grabbed Christian’s arm and smiled at him.

Christian looked past her shoulder and we made eye contact. I lifted my head in a challenge.
And what?
Fucker.

He took her hand off his arm and kissed it. “Nice meeting you too, beautiful.” I fisted my palm and mentally counted to five. We needed to be out of here in seconds or I’d flip my shit.

He smiled at her and she gave him a little wave before walking back to me. We headed for my car and I held the door open for her. My chest tightened at the thought that she could have gotten into another guy’s car tonight instead of mine.

We were silent but it worked out because I knew the perfect spot to talk. It was practically down the street so we didn’t have much time for conversation on the drive there anyway. I pulled up to the parking lot and found an empty spot. Luckily it wasn’t full, but I could see a few people walking the little trail, either by themselves or with a dog.

“I’ve never been here,” she said as she got out of the car. I smiled. Not a lot of people came here.

“David T. Kennedy Park. My grandmother would bring us here all the time when we were younger.”

I walked around the car and reached for her hand. This time she took it, and I led her to a walking trail.

The park isn’t large, but since it borders Biscayne Bay it’s nice enough. We walked up to the rocks on the water. I took in a deep breath of the salty air.

“So...” I said, looking at the water and the moon’s reflection on the tiny ripples.

I could see from the corner of my eye that she turned her head toward me. “So...” she mimicked.

I guess there was no way to go about it other than straight to the point. No dicking around.

“You told me you couldn’t date.” I stopped looking at the water and turned so I was right in front of her. I wanted to see her face. She looked down and to the right, something I’d seen her do before when she was uncomfortable.

“I did,” she answered.

“Yet, my friend Robert from the team saw you at the movies with some dude.”

She didn’t say a word so I left it alone. Her silence screamed her answer. She
could
date. She just didn’t want to date
me.
Whatever. That was fine by me. I let go of her hand and looked behind her, noticing a golden retriever sniffing around while his owner tugged on the leash.

“I’m sorry I told you I couldn’t date,” she said softly. Her words got lost in the breeze.

I shrugged. “Don’t be.”

I tried not to say it with attitude, but I was a little annoyed. I thought she had sent me signals that she was interested in me. I guess I was wrong.

“Can we sit down?” she asked, pointing to a bench that overlooked the water.

I nodded and my instinct was to grab her hand, but I put them in my pockets instead.

She plopped her purse down on the seat and it fell over the edge. A pile of her stuff spilled out and I kneeled down to help her pick it up. Why did women carry so much shit anyway? Did she really need
two
lipsticks? I picked up a round pink case before she snatched it out of my hands and shoved it in her purse, her eyes cast down.
Wait a minute.

“What’s that?” I asked, with a jerk of my head to her purse.

“What’s what?” She still didn’t give me eye contact and was now fumbling with her fingers.

I held onto her wrist so she could stop her fidgeting. “Is that birth control?”

She pulled away from my grasp and zipped up her purse, getting up and placing it carefully back on the bench.

“So?” Even in the dark I could tell she was blushing.

I wanted answers and I wanted them
now
.

When she turned around to sit, I grabbed her by the waist. We weren’t done yet.

“Who are you sleeping with, Peach? The guy from the movies?” Blood rushed to my face.

She turned around with wide eyes and placed her hands on my chest. “God, no one! I’m not sleeping with anyone!”

“What else do you need fucking pills for, Savannah?” I scowled.

“My irregular periods!” She pushed me, or rather, pushed herself
off
of me. “There?
You happy
?” She turned her body and picked up her purse, placing it on her lap before crossing her arms over her chest.

It was like a balloon deflated in my chest and I let out a breath of air.
Oh.

I pulled up the bottom of my shirt to wipe the beads of sweat that had formed on my face. It was hot in June, even at night. When I looked down at her, she wouldn’t meet my eyes and her right leg was shaking. I shook my head and rubbed my hands on my shorts.
Me and my big mouth
.

“So you’re not having sex?” I glanced at her and she just lifted her chin, avoiding eye contact.

I exhaled and sat down beside her, resting my arms on my legs, and my hands formed a temple.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” I said quietly and rubbed my fingertips together.

After a few seconds of silence, she cleared her throat. “It’s not that I can’t date…”

I scoffed.

She gave me a pointed stare.

I clenched my jaw and looked at the water again.

“I just wasn’t sure of my feelings after that night at your house, and I thought it was best if I backed off a little.”

That made absolutely no damn sense to me.

“What kind of feelings?” I asked.

She took in a deep breath. “Attraction, the flurries in my stomach...” She moved her hair from behind her with one hand and laid it on the front of her body. “…Every time we’re together.”

That caught my attention, and I twisted my body so I could see her better. Her eyes filled with all the things she was saying. I wasn’t going to waste any time. I raised my eyebrow and leaned in. “
Every
time?” I wanted to confirm what she was saying and make sure that there was no confusion. The slight shift in her eyes gave me my answer.

I softly placed my lips to hers, and she stayed absolutely still but didn’t pull back either. I brought my hand behind her head and sucked on her lower lip. She closed her eyes so I did the same and her lips parted. I greedily slid my tongue inside to play with hers. She was delicious. She let out a soft moan, different than the one I’d heard earlier that night, but it turned me on even more. Her head leaned back against my hand, and I grabbed strands of her hair while my other hand caressed her neck and jaw. I had complete control of her, and it felt amazing. Until it didn’t.

She pushed me back a bit, and we both took in a few breaths. I was ready for round two.

“Dre, I just...” She grabbed my hand in hers and looked everywhere but my eyes.

I moved her head to face me with my index finger, trailing it along her bottom lip before letting my hand fall.

“It’s just that Carmin...”

Carmin? I was getting really tired of that name.

“Peach, spit it out,” I said, irritated.

“She likes you, okay? I can’t date you … not because it’s YOU but because she’s into you.”

What the fuck? Peach wouldn’t go any further because some chick was into me? A chick that had just left with another dude? There was something seriously wrong with this picture.

“She left with Adam,” I reminded her. We both knew it. She also had to know that Carmin might hook up or be hooking up with Adam right now and we were here wasting time!

“She left with him to make you jealous,” Peach answered.

She was serious. I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I laughed so hard my head rolled back and all.

She looked at me wide-eyed and smacked me in the arm. “Why are you laughing?”

I placed my hand on my stomach and tried to control my laughter.

“I’m sorry, but there is no way in HELL that something is going to happen between me and her,” I answered and let out another chuckle, running my fingers along my jaw.

“She doesn’t see it that way. She wanted to come today to talk to you about it.”

If that was true her strategy sucked because Carmin had only said two words to me tonight, and I’m pretty sure they were
hi
and
bye
.

“Come on, Peach, she doesn’t care about us. She’ll be fine.” I placed my palm on her leg and smiled at her.

She glared at me. “She’s still pissed because you stopped being interested in her as soon as we met that night at the party. You put her in the friend zone and us flirting doesn’t help!” It was clear just how upset she was when she got up and started walking away.

I followed closely and grabbed her arm. “Hey, don’t run off. I didn’t mean to laugh. I didn’t know about all that.”

She kept walking but slowed down her pace. “It’s fine. I just don’t want to make things worse.” She placed her hands in her back pockets and shrugged. “Maybe she
is
into Adam, but who knows with Carmin. She is completely unpredictable.”

She kicked a pebble with her shoe and I realized the mood had turned sour. I grabbed her arm and pulled it out of her pocket so I could lace my fingers with hers in an effort to try and calm her down.

“All right, all right, I don’t want you caught up in any drama.”

She sighed and turned to me, grabbing both of my hands in hers. “My parents died in a car accident four years ago,” her voice cracked, and I rubbed my thumb against her palm to soothe her. “Lola, my godmother, is Carmin’s mom and took me in when I had nowhere else to go. I have no other family. Carmin had to share her room with me. I went to her school, and she introduced me to all her friends. She was with me during and after the funeral. Lola’s world revolved around Carmin, and then suddenly, there was another girl in the picture, another sibling. I just can’t keep taking stuff away from her.” Her eyes lifted to mine, showing me a glimpse of her loss. “No matter how badly I want to,” she finished quietly.

I pulled her toward me and rubbed her back as we held each other.

“Can we still be friends?” she said, her voice muffled against my chest.

Well that’s one F word I didn’t want to hear.

I nodded. “Sure.” Because I’d rather have that than nothing at all.

We walked hand in hand (friends hold hands, right?) back to the car, and I started the engine. Before putting the car in reverse, I looked over at her again. I ran my fingers down her cheek and held her gaze. “Friends,” I said. A tiny smile curved across the lips I’d just tasted and would never forget.
Fuck.

As soon as I heard the sound of my phone ringing from my room, I ran out of the bathroom. I had programmed that ringtone on my new cell phone last night and knew exactly who it was.

“Hello?” I answered.

“So,” he said. His voice deep and husky. Nothing was sexier than Andres’ voice.

“A little birdy told me that someone’s prom is coming up.”

I stopped playing with my wet hair and sat down, setting the brush on my dresser. “They did? Which little birdy was that?” I pulled my knees up to my chest and smiled, wondering what he was getting at.

“I can’t say. That’s top secret information.” He cleared his throat. “What they didn’t tell me is
who
is taking you. You know, it’s been known to be
the
event of a senior’s year. People go all out renting limos, partying, taking cheesy pictures. It’s important to take only the
best
date.”

“Is that how your prom was — the usual pomp and circumstance?” I teased.

“I wouldn’t know. I didn’t go to mine.”

I stared into my reflection and twirled a strand of hair between my fingers.

“I didn’t know that. I thought you took — what was her name? Rebecca?” I tried to sound nonchalant, but I knew exactly who he’d been dating around that time, and it
wasn’t
Rebecca. We might’ve agreed not to talk about our relationships since that day at the park, a year ago, but there was always a way to find these things out.

“Veronica. And no, we broke up before then. I never wanted to go. That’s a lot of money for a party with no alcohol.”

I placed my hand on my hip and rolled my eyes. “I thought it was
the
event of the year!”

“It
is
for the girls! What do I care? You know why guys go? To get laid. Which takes me back to my question.
Who
is taking you?” Andres always said things in such a way that I was never sure if he was kidding or not.