Hector (39 page)

Another big thing she knew about him was that it was his idea to
start the Children’s Burn Foundation in honor of Jack, the late 5
^th
Street founder who’d passed the gym down to him and his friends. Hector had been
a victim himself and suffered some minor burns in the fire there at 5
^th
Street. Being a minor himself at the time, he’d been in the children’s burn
ward of the hospital and saw firsthand what those kids have to go through, so
that’s when he came up with the idea.

Feeling guilty now that he didn’t know much about her and yet
she’d already fallen in love with everything she’d read about him, she decided
to fess up. “Actually, I know a little more about you than you think.”

They came to a stop light, and he turned to look at her confused.
“You do?”

She nodded, hoping he wouldn’t think her too weird. “I came
across something called ‘The 5
^th
Street Journey’ online.” Immediately
she saw the discernment come over him, and thankfully he didn’t seem bothered
by it at all. “It’s really interesting,” she added as he slipped his big hand
in hers. “But there is a lot about you, and, well, I couldn’t help reading most
of it.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. It amazed her how
comfortable she felt with him now that she knew she didn’t have to fear the
inevitable heartache.
He
initiated
this. She would’ve never even considered suggesting it. There was no way what
he was saying could be insincere like with Danny. He wouldn’t have done all
this for nothing. In fact, he’d been thoroughly disgusted when she told him
about Danny.

“So it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do then,” he
said, turning onto a street with huge homes on it. “Let’s start off with the
most important.” He glanced at her lifting his brow. “You’re out here, but your
home is on the other side of the country. You’re not planning on moving back
there anytime soon, are you?”

“No,” Charlee said, looking out the window at the massive homes
they were passing. “But I was actually contemplating it a few weeks ago.”

Hector turned to look at her but didn’t say anything for a
moment.
“Really?
A few weeks ago?”

She nodded, a little embarrassed to admit it, but Hector had such
an easy going demeanor—when he was in a good mood as he was now—telling him the
truth felt like the most natural thing to do. “The day after that keg party, I
had myself a little pity party. I thought I needed to get away for a few days,
maybe weeks, but I happened to mention it to Drew, and she begged me not to.”

They were stopped at a stop sign, and there were no other cars
around, but Hector didn’t move. Instead, he stared at her before finally
letting out a strange, “Hmm.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” he turned his attention back on the road and started through
the intersection. “Good to know what it takes to get your mind off moving
back.” He smiled playfully, glancing back at her. “If I have to beg, I
will—totally worth it.”

This time
she
squeezed
his
hand. Pushing her pessimistic this-is-too-good-to-be-true
thoughts away, she allowed herself to accept that this was really happening.

Hector drove into the driveway of one of the huge homes in the
next block, but instead of backing out and turning around, which is what she
thought he might do, he drove all the way up until the truck was parked on the
side of the house.

“Whose house is this?” Charlee asked curiously as she admired the
kind of house she’d only ever seen on television or magazines.

“My mom’s soon and where I’ll be moving to as soon as the sale is
final,” Hector said, opening the door. “Abel bought it for her. We’re just
waiting for escrow to close. C’mon out. I’ll show you around.”

Charlee got out and walked around the truck, meeting Hector by
the walkway that went from the driveway to the front door. He reached his hand
out, and she took it, gasping when he pulled her to him then wrapped his arms
around her waist. She brought her own arms up around his shoulders, fully
expecting to be kissed again, but he didn’t. Instead he buried his face in her
neck, and she let her head fall to the side, giving him better access. He
squeezed her tight, taking a deep breath followed by a sated groan then made
her gasp again and laugh when he lifted her off the ground. “
God,
I’m gonna get used to this so fast.”

His lips were suddenly on her neck, raining soft, gentle kisses across
it, making her entire body quiver until he pulled away to look at her. Those
expressive eyes that penetrated deeply into hers nearly choked her now. He
eased her down slowly, never breaking the eye contact. “What are you thinking
of right now?” he asked in one of the most gentle tones she’d heard from him.

“What?” her mind was in such a daze she could barely put any
thoughts together.

“That,” he said, his brows coming together in what appeared to be
bewilderment or intensely piqued curiosity, “I saw that same glimmer in your
eyes way back on the night of the tournament. I didn’t know what to make of it,
and it’s haunted me ever since. It’s what’s crawled into my mind, and since
then, I haven’t been able think straight. What is it? What are you thinking?”

Charlee shook her head, not sure if she should tell him exactly
what she was thinking. He might think her crazy—too soon. She could very well
chase him off and make him change his mind about this whole thing. There was no
way she could’ve been feeling the same way back on the night of the tournament.
She barely knew anything about him then, except that he’d already made one of
the most unforgettable first impressions on her, he was incredible to look at,
and she actually had something in common with him. Maybe she
had
been thinking the same thing she was
thinking now.

Running a finger across his imperfect brow, she smiled. Now that
he was promising she would be the only one for him, this was the only thing
imperfect about him, and somehow what he’d said about learning from your scars
made him even more perfect. “How easily I could fall in love with you.”

Staring at her for a moment with that same profoundness that had
her holding her breath, he said nothing for a moment. Then the corner of his
lips twitched into a smile. “And you were thinking that back then too?”

“I don’t remember exactly. All I know is I’d been impressed with
you from the moment I first laid eyes on you.” She tilted her head and smiled,
feeling more relaxed now that he tightened his hold on her instead of letting
go and running for the hills like she was afraid he might. “Knocking a guy out
cold at my feet was a hell of a first impression, and then everything you’ve
done after that only added to my growing admiration of you.”

Hector smiled then suddenly laughed. “I’m not laughing at you,”
he said quickly. “I’m laughing because I’m an idiot. I would’ve never guessed
that’s what you were thinking, not even close. I thought you were completely
un
impressed by me. And then you went and
beat my ass in chess in front of the whole team—”

“Oh God!
Please don’t remind me about
that,” she covered her eyes with her hand then moved it aside to look at him
again, “because if we’re being honest here, that was actually
my
way of trying to impress
you
. Talk about being an idiot. It
completely backfired on me.”

He shook his head. “That’s the thing, Charlee. That was pure
genius. I was even more intrigued after that. And maybe it was that I saw something
else in your eyes. I kept flip-flopping from thinking you hated me to maybe you
were feeling something. I just couldn’t figure it out. As confused as I was
about how I felt about you, I know now looking back after that day I was
hooked.”

His smile was so sweet she didn’t even bother hiding the deep
breath she needed to take because of it. “You’re obviously better at this than
I am,” he said as he continued running his finger gently down the side of her
face. For as big, rugged, and tough-as-nails a fighter as he was, it amazed her
how very gentle his touch was. “But I promise I’ll work on it. Just promise me
this much, because clearly I’m not very good at picking up on subtle stuff: if
there is ever
any
doubt about
anything on my part from here on, I can guarantee I will not be holding back
about it. I want you to do the same. I may not be an expert on relationships,
but it’s pretty universally known that trust and communication are
key
. Let’s try to get this right.”

How easily she’d begun to get used to the way he looked at her
now—too easily. It was almost frightening. Already she could feel herself
becoming addicted to it.

“Okay,” she whispered simply. She’d be crazy not to agree to
that. What more could she ask for?

Kissing her nose, he slipped his hand in hers. “Let me show you
the house.”

She walked alongside him now, trying very hard to not feel so
awestruck. He was, after all, her boyfriend now. The very thought made her
gasp.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, shaking it off.

Pretending to be distracted by the huge entrance, she glanced
away so that he wouldn’t see her, once again, flushing face.
Get a grip!
Just as they stepped onto
the first steps of the grand entrance, there was a honk behind them, and they
both turned.

“Well, shit,” Hector smirked.

Charlee didn’t remember exactly what the
Starsky
and Hutch car looked like, but the car coming up the driveway was close enough.
Seeing Abel behind the wheel only confirmed it—Gran Torino. He held his hand
out the window, dangling something.

Hector started down the walk, bringing Charlee with him hand in
hand. “What is that?”

“The keys!”
Abel yelled out. “It’s a
done deal. Escrow closed today.”

Now that Abel was closer, Charlee could see he wasn’t alone. And
as she and Hector walked toward the car, she could see who was with him. Even
though she’d seen them all at the party a few weeks earlier, she hadn’t since,
and after spending so much time reading about them on ‘The 5
^th
Street
Journey’ blog, she almost felt as if they were minor celebs.

Though she hadn’t quite got past the way Hector made her feel so
captivated, and she honestly didn’t think she ever would, she
had
begun to feel more at ease around
him. At least she could talk to him now without feeling so tongue-tied, but
suddenly, as the guys all stepped out of the car, her stomach was in knots
again.

“What are
you
doing
here?” Abel asked, glancing at Charlee with a smirk.

Her face warmed, knowing what they all must be thinking, because
secretly she’d begun to not only wonder but hope that maybe Hector had brought
here for a little more privacy.

“I was gonna show her the place. She lives close by here.” Hector
turned to her and smiled. “Charlee, this is my brother, Abel. These other two
clowns are my partners, Noah and Gio.” He pointed at each respectively. “Guys,
this is Charlee,” he paused with a smirk and to her surprise added, “my
girlfriend.”

They all seemed momentarily stunned just as Charlee was, but then
each one nodded greeting her. Abel was the only one who actually commented.
“Girlfriend, huh?
Well, this is news.”

“Fresh off the press,” Hector said, squeezing her hand.

Like in all his pictures and even the night of the party, Abel’s
expression was deadpan now. She got that in most of his promotional pictures
for his fight he
had
to have that
hard look that fighters purposely put on to stay in their tough fighter
character. But even in all the other ones he was always the most serious of the
four. He started toward the house and they all followed. “Mom
know
about this?” Abel asked without turning back at Hector.

“Not yet,” Hector said, nudging Gio, who walked next to him and
laughed.

“That’ll be interesting,” Abel said then glanced back as he
walked up the stairs of the entrance. “She doesn’t know about this yet either.
She thinks it’s still gonna be weeks before escrow closes.” He pushed the
buttons on the keyless lock and opened the front door then stopped and turned
back to face Hector. “She’s going to see
abuelita
in a few days. She’ll be
gone for at least a week. I want to surprise her when she gets back and have
everything moved in here by then.”

“I probably won’t be here for the surprise,” Hector informed Abel
as they walked into the luxurious lobby of the house. “But I’ll be here to help
with the move.”

“Where you gonna be?” Abel stopped walking and faced Hector.

“D.C., remember? U.S. team meeting?”

Abel nodded and continued walking. “That’s right. Don’t worry
about it then. Just do what you have to do.”

Charlee tried focusing on their conversation and not obsess about
Abel’s “that’ll be interesting” comment. But it was nearly impossible. Why
would it be so interesting?

The house, however, did make for a good distraction. It was
incredible as they all walked through the front lobby, taking in all the impressive
granite fixtures and enormous chandelier. Hector leaned into Charlee, taking
advantage of his friends’ distraction. “That’s over a week away,” he whispered
in her ear. “Maybe we can let whoever is making the traveling arrangements know
we’ll only need one room.”

She froze as he nibbled on her ear before kissing her neck just
below it and sucking just hard enough to start up the tingles.

They continued to walk through the enormous house as the reality
of it all sunk in even more rapidly now. She wouldn’t just be traveling all
over soon with her
boyfriend,
Hector.
He was now making it clear they’d be staying in the same room when they did. Sleeping
with this incredible guy would no longer be a farfetched fantasy. It was
happening soon and then on a regular basis. He’d had no qualms about
introducing her to his brother and closest friends as his girlfriend, and he
was obviously planning on introducing him to his mother.