Summer Nights (6 page)

“Lead the way,
mi corazon
.” His voice
took on a husky quality. He leaned into Stella and planted a kiss
on her lips.

I slipped out the door, leaving them to
their private moment. I knew I’d brought it upon myself by leaving
when I did but a part of me was envious. I wanted a man to greet me
every morning in bed; I wanted someone special to share my life
with, but I’d learned the hard way that I shouldn’t expect those
things as long as I was a plus-size gal.

Stella and Ramon caught up with me in
the hotel lobby.

“There’s a Starbucks a couple blocks
down,” Ramon said.

“That sounds like heaven,” Stella
sighed, her eyes slipping to a dreamy level. I knew she was
envisioning her favorite Mocha Frappuccino. “But we’re taking a
cab. There is no way I’m sweating this early in the morning. As it
is my pores are fighting to keep the moisture at bay.”

I chuckled. Ramon smiled, his eyes
sparkling with amusement as he took her in. “A taxi it
is.”

Ramon paid for the ride to the popular
coffee house. I was surprised by the amount of people inside at
this time of day.

“What the hell happened to island time?
I thought you people slept until noon?” Stella puckered her lips
and tapped her foot as we stood in line.

“We’re always late for events, but we
never miss a meal or our morning coffee,” he explained.

“Figures,” she scoffed.

Ramon wrapped his arm
around Stella’s shoulder, pulling her into his chest.
“Relax,
mujer
. We
have plenty of time.”

My eyes traveled around the room.
Everywhere I looked, people were gathered in pairs. They sat,
leisurely consuming their morning caffeine. Conversation filled the
air, but there was no hustle and bustle like back home. No one was
rushing off to their next appointment or anxious to start their
day. It was just them, just the two of them, enjoying their time
together. A longing settled in my chest.

“Summer. Hello? Summer.” Stella waived
her hand in front of me.

I shook my head. “Sorry,
what?”

“Go grab a table and I’ll get
this.”

“You know what I want?”

She cocked her brow, her nose scrunched
and her lips turned down. “Vanilla iced coffee with extra milk, two
squirts of caramel and two pumps sweetener.” She delivered the
order with an air of confidence and amusement.

I flushed. “I’ll, ugh, go get a
table.”

“Uh huh. That’s what I thought.” She
rolled her eyes.

God, what was wrong with me? I needed
to get my head in the game. Reminiscing about last night, about a
man I never planned on seeing again, or about scenarios that would
never happen, did nothing for my confidence.

I took a seat at a corner table, tucked
in the front of the store. I gazed out the window, my head bobbing
in and out of reality. I heard the ice swishing around the cup
before it was set in front of me. I looked up to see Ramon give
Stella a kiss on the cheek.

“I look forward to our date
tonight.
Tenga un buen
dia
.”

She smiled up, peering up at him with
bedroom eyes. “Bye.” Her tone was seductive as she wiggled her
fingers in a farewell.

I know I looked befuddled as she took a
seat across from me. “Where is he going?”

“To work.”

“Oh.” I took a sip of my beverage,
savoring the cool liquid as it assaulted my taste buds before
sliding languidly down my throat.

“Now, dish. I want every single hot and
steamy detail followed by every ridiculous and obscene notion that
drove you from the scene of the crime.” She stared at me, head on,
expectantly.

I took a deep breath, swallowing past
the lump in my throat. Maybe I would feel better after spilling my
guts…

Twenty minutes later, every torrid
detail about my tryst was out in the open. Stella fanned herself,
her mouth opening and closing on and off throughout my
divulgence.

“Holy hell, girl. And I thought my
night was a fling to remember.”

“Speaking of, it’s only fair.” I gave
her a pointed look.

“Oh, girl. Let me tell you.
He may have chicken legs, but he’s got the cock of a bull.
Papi
is packing some major
heat.” She blew out a heavy breath.

“Think anything will develop beyond
this?”

“Nah. He knows this is just a weekend
fling. His life is here and mine is there. There’s no way it could
work long term with that kind of distance.”

Her words bit into me. She was right.
Even if I wanted it to, there was no way me and Cruz would have
lasted beyond my time here. I made the right move by walking away.
I would forget all about him once I got back to the
mainland.

“Details,” I prompted, the same way
she’d urged me.

“So we stayed and danced for about
another half hour after you left. He took me to get some piragua,
which is like a snow cone, but a million times better. I’d sign a
petition to get that in the states for sure. After that we headed
back to the hotel where things got hot and steamy.

“He went down on me, and ooh, ooh ooh
can that boy suck my cherry. Girl, he left no crevice untouched. I
must have come at least three times last night. If it weren’t for
the distance, I would scoop him up in a heartbeat. He seriously
worked my coochie from every possible angle. I’m so sore right now,
but it’s a damn good sore to have after three months without.” She
groaned and took a deep sip of her cold drink.

It was my turn for my mouth to hang
open. A shiver ran down my spine and my body quaked. “So, you’re
doing it all again tonight?”

“Pretty much, only he insists on dinner
before dessert, which is a crime in my book.”

“You want the room?”

“Nah. I’ll give you time to work
through your little pity party.” She flicked her wrist, swatting
her hand.

“What do you mean ‘work through my
little pity party’?”

“Honey, I know you better than anyone.
You’re beating yourself up about sneaking out, and trying to
justify it at the same time, probably feeding yourself some
bullshit about getting hurt if you stayed.”

“You know, sometimes I just hate
you.”

“Please,” she scoffed. “You love me.
You just hate that I’m right. But I’m not gonna push you. You’re
going to have to realize that on your own. I will say that Ramon
works for Cruz, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be hunting you down at the
hotel later.”

“You and him planned this, didn’t
you?”

“Not really. It just worked out
perfectly. Now shut your mouth, finish your coffee and let’s go
shopping. I need some shorts before my knees melt.”

I laughed. “I don’t think knees can
melt.”

She shrugged. “Damn sure feels like it.
I’ve got enough moisture behind mine to fill a gallon
jug.”

I frowned. “Did you really have to
share that?”

“You’re the one who questioned my
logic.”

“Let’s go, Stella. We can take our
drinks with us.”

“Oh, now you’re embarrassed? Five
minutes ago I was giving you a play-by-play of a steamy porn flick.
You weren’t pushing me out the door then.” She lifted her chin
defiantly.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go. I need some
more shorts too. These are my last pair, and stupid me only packed
pants for pajamas, too.”

“Oh, honey. We’re not gonna be buying
pajamas. We’re getting you some sexy lingerie. I have a strong
feeling Mr. Cruz will be back for more tonight.”

I was afraid of that too. I didn’t know
if my body could handle more pleasure than what he gave me already,
and I didn’t think my heart could wrestle around without getting
attached.

Chapter 6

CRUZ

“Where is she?” I pressed the second
Ramon walked through the door.

“Relax, bro. She went back to the
hotel.”

“Fuck, man. She scared the shit outta
me. I freaked when she was gone.”

Ramon looked at me with pity in his
eyes. “You’re sunk man.”

“I’m not sunk. I just worried that
something happened to her, that’s all.”

“Doesn’t seem like that’s
all.”

I plopped down in my chair behind my
desk, shoving the pile of papers to one side. I rubbed my temples,
closing my eyes to avoid the truth. I didn’t want to believe that I
could become this attached to a woman after one night.

I heard Ramon sit in the chair across
from me. I opened my eyes. He stretched his legs out in front of
him and crossed them at his ankles. His hands rested together on
his flat stomach.

“How bad is it?” he asked
knowingly.

“I forgot to wear a rubber.”

He popped up quick. “Damn.” He scrubbed
his jaw, his brows raised towards his hairline. “That’s
serious.”

“I know.” I shook my head, running my
hands through my hair.

Ramon was my best friend. We’d grown up
together. As I climbed the ladder of success, I brought him with
me. He was one of the few people I could trust, and the only one I
could trust with this. In our line of work, women and family were a
weakness. We were a constant target that chased targets.
Attachments were liabilities, and our liabilities were always at
risk.

“Listen, me and Stella are going out
again tonight. I’ll take her back to my place so you can sort
things out.”

I lifted my head. “You talked to
her.”

He didn’t answer right away, probably
gauging whether I needed to know or not. Finally he nodded his head
once.

“What’d she say?”

“That you did nothing wrong.” He leaned
forward onto the desk. “You want the truth? I think both you and
her are shell-shocked. I think you both felt somethin’ last night,
but are too afraid to face it. What has you shittin’ bricks is that
she ran before you could, and no girl has ever run away from
you.”

Sometimes the truth hurt, and Ramon hit
the nail on the head. “You think I got a shot?”

“You’ll have to ask her, but from what
I can tell, she holds her cards close.”

SUMMER

“Damn. I didn’t think it’d be so hard
to find a store with plus-size clothing on an island with women of
every shape and size,” Stella huffed.

After scanning nearly every
clothing store in Old San Juan, we finally asked for directions to
the nearest mall. We hailed the first cab we saw. Forty-five
minutes later, thanks to traffic, we were at the
Plaza Las Americas
.

“If they don’t have anything here, I’m
going to cry,” I stated, gazing upwards at the three floor
mall.

“Cry? I’m going to pitch a full-on
hissy fit in the middle of the closest “Skinny Minnie” store. I
mean, really. How hard is it to add a few more sizes to your
line?”

“True.” I sighed. “My feet are killing
me. I don’t think I’m going to gain any weight on this trip, which
is a little sad.”

“Don’t pout. If my reason for not
gaining was as good as yours is gonna be, I’d be doing a happy
dance.”

“You say that like Ramon doesn’t
exist.”

“Oh, he exists. Only he indulges in
food just as much as me before attempting to burn off half of it in
bed. Cruz is focused, and you’re too caught up to
argue.”

“Point made, although I don’t think
last night will repeat itself.” I couldn’t allow it to happen
again.

“Uh huh. We’ll see about
that.”

Three hours later, we each had a
pleasantly plump shopping bag in hand.

“I can’t believe I spent that much.” I
was nauseous over the total.

“Girl, you’ve been wearing the same
clothes for the last five years. It was about time you got a few
new items.”

“Not four-hundred and sixty-eight
dollars worth!”

She shooed my cares away. “We’re on a
splurge weekend getaway, remember? Plus, I spent more than you, so
I don’t want to hear it.”

“I shouldn’t have let you talk me into
that lingerie. I mean, am I really going to need a black lace teddy
with matching thong anytime soon? It took me four-and-a-half years
just to get to last night. The odds are not in the teddy’s
favor.”

“Yes, well, while you’ve been babbling
about not needing it, I’ve been texting with Ramon, who claims you
definitely will be using it this weekend.”

“You told him?” My head jerked towards
her; my mouth hung wide open.

She laughed it off. “Don’t sweat it.
The only person he would tell is Cruz.”

I put my head in my right hand. “I
can’t believe you told him that. I swear you’re out to embarrass me
sometimes.”

“If I didn’t give you a push in the
right direction, you never would have applied for that management
position, you never would have stood up to your family, and you
never would have hooked-up with a sexy Puerto Rican. Believe it or
not, I only push you when I know you need it.”