Page 11 of Savage Devil
I nod and accept her keys when she hands them to me. Like I said, too fucking easy.
Four
“Urgh. What is going on with him?” Allie says, but I’m barely paying attention to her because oh my god, that was him.
“Emilio.” I whisper his name to myself, liking the way it sounds. Emilio Chavez is what she said his name was. Oh my God. Luis’s dad is here. He’s really here and he has a name. Well, obviously. He has a name. Everyone has a name.
A million thoughts are running through my mind. I can’t seem to focus on any single one of them.
What do I do? Should I go after him? No. That would make me look like a crazy person. He recognized me though, right? At least, it looked like he did. Not that he stuck around. I’m not sure what I expected. It’s been eighteen months and it was just a casual hook up. I mean, yes, it was memorable for me. I lost my virginity that night. That’s kind a big deal. And even if I hadn’t gotten pregnant, I wouldn’t be able to forget being with him. We had sex three times. I didn’t even know a guy could do that. I thought it was a one and done sort of thing, but Emilio certainly proved me wrong. And I didn’t realize a girl could orgasm as many times as I did. I expected pain. Discomfort. Embarrassment. What I did not expect was…that. It sounds so dumb, but it was a dream. Magical.
As stupid as it sounds, slipping out early that morning to get home before Mom and Miguel woke up was physically painful.
He’d been asleep when I left, and I didn’t bother to wake him. At the time, I told myself it was because I wanted to avoid an awkward goodbye. But if I’m honest with myself, I think I didn’t wake him because I knew it would hurt even more to leave. He made me feel things I didn’t realize I could feel, and that scared me.
But judging by his expression when he saw me, I’m just one in a long line of hookups for him. My shoulders slump and my stomach drops. Why does that realization hurt so much? I don’t even know him. I knew what the deal was. And hell, I’ve been dealing with the consequences of that night ever since. Seeing him in the flesh shouldn’t suddenly bring about these feelings of loneliness.
Allie’s chatting with three boys in the hallway when suddenly she’s snapping her fingers in my face, drawing my attention. “Earth to Bibiana. Where’d you go?”
I shake my head. “Sorry. What’d you say?”
Allie rolls her eyes but smiles before turning to the boy closest to her.
“Bibiana, this is my boyfriend, Roman.” He inclines his head toward me, his way of saying hello. “This one is Aaron,” she indicates the blond boy with the skateboard, “and this ray of sunshine is Dominique.” I know she’s kidding, because Dominique is definitely not a ray of sunshine. He’s wearing the most brooding expression of the bunch, his eyes still trained on the door Emilio just exited out of. Allie elbows him in the stomach and he pretends to wince, rubbing his stomach, but I don’t miss her smirk. She knows she didn’t really hurt him.
“Ignore him. I swear he knows his manners. He just rarely shows them.”
Roman tilts his head back and laughs, a deep chuckle that has Allie’s smirk morphing into a wide smile. God, they’re cute together. My heart gives a pathetic lurch. I want what they have. It looks so easy. They’re so content. What if…no. I can’t get ahead of myself here. It was just sex, Bibi. Stop trying to remember it as anything else. And besides, once you tell him about Luis, he still might want nothing to do with you.
Determination straightens my spine when I think of that. He doesn’t have to like me. He doesn’t owe me any sort of relationship or commitment just because we have a kid together. But he does owe Luis his attention and affections. I just hope he’s the kind of guy who will step up once he realizes what we created together.
“You look…” Dom’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. His head tilts to the side as he scrutinizes my face. “Familiar,” he finishes. “How do I know you?”
Allie’s eyes brighten. “You two know each other?” She bounces on her feet.
“Not really.” I say with a shrug. I’m not sure if I should be answering her or him, so I go with the less intimidating option of the two. “I’m best friends with Monique. His sister. We used to go to school together.”
“Oh! I haven’t met her yet. Is she as stoic and broody as her brother?” She turns to him. “And why doesn’t she go here?”
Dom grunts and I laugh. “She’s Dominique’s complete opposite,” I tell her. “And she’s a senior at Suncrest Academy. Dominique’s parents only let him go here because of the football program.”
Allie’s eyes widen and she whirls on Dominique. “You have a twin!?” She squeals. “Why haven’t I met her yet?”
All three guys shake their heads. “She’s not my twin. She’s my little sister and I haven’t introduced you yet because look how well that worked out for us when you hooked up with baby Henderson. I do not need to add fuel to that fire.”
Aaron and Roman both nod in agreement.
“If she’s not your twin, then how—”
I answer for him. “Monique is smart. Like insanely smart. She skipped eighth grade. That’s why they’re both seniors. She could probably graduate early if she wanted to.”
“Okay, this is great. You know Monique and I’m friends with Kasey. The four of us have to get together this weekend. It’ll be so much fun. Girl’s night!”
The guys groan in unison just as the bell rings, signaling that we’re officially late to class. I should probably be a little concerned about that, but I’m too excited over the prospect of making new friends and finding my son’s father to think about anything else.
“Come on. We’ll sort out all the details after school. We better hurry or Mr. Chu is going to bite our heads off.” I follow her to class, a small ball of warmth unfurling in my chest.
As the teacher drones on about this week’s assignment, I slip my cell phone out from my pocket and fire off a text to my mom. It’s only been a few hours, but I’m not used to being away from my little boy this long.
