Chapter 50: Chapter 50
They came to a stop light, and Hector turned to look at her confused. “You do?”
She nodded, hoping he wouldn’t think her too weird. “I came across something called ‘The 5th 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 really seemed genuinely 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 unimpressed 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 5th 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.
This was really happening, and while a part of her wanted to squeal like a schoolgirl in delight, another part of her, the one she needed to kill and bury already, was setting off warning sirens that screamed this was just too good to be true.