Page 20 of Savage Devil
“What? It’s a valid question.”
I scrub my hands over my face. “It was fine. Good. But like I said, it was a one-time thing.”
“So, the classroom was—”
“A mistake. And not sex. He just…” I look away and swallow.
“Aw, you like him!” Allie sing-songs and now it’s me throwing a pillow at her.
“I’m getting food.” I jump to my feet and rush off to grab some coxinha I made earlier. They’re these little deep-fried balls of heaven filled with shredded chicken that my mom used to make for my dad. She doesn’t make them anymore, but I still do from time to time, and hopefully with food in their mouths they’ll drop the Emilio stuff, and we can get on with our night.
“Oh, what are these?” Kasey asks, popping one into her mouth when I return. She closes her eyes and moans. “Oh my god,” she says around a mouthful because really, coxinha aren’t small enough to be eaten in just one bite. “Soooo good.”
I laugh as I grab one of my own. “Thanks. I figured since I dropped the baby bomb on you, I’d feed you. You know, in case having a kid was a deal breaker or something, I would bribe you with my culinary ways.”
“You can drop as many bombs as you’d like,” she says, eating another. “As long as you make these, I swear I will never care or hold anything against you.”
“Deal.”
We watch Five Feet Apart, which has all of us girls teary-eyed by the end and then take pity on Aaron and put on Enola Holmes. It’s still probably not his cup of tea, but he doesn’t complain, which I give him props for. I’m sure hanging out with four girls, one of which being your little sister, is probably not the highlight of his week, but he takes it all in stride and he seems pretty close with Allie so what do I know? Maybe this is how he likes to spend his Friday nights.
“I’m going to make some popcorn,” I say hopping up from my seat and heading to the kitchen when it gets to the part when her brothers show up. I’ve watched this movie at least a dozen times and know the script almost by heart.
“I’ll help you,” Aaron says, getting up to follow.
“She totally needs help,” Kasey mocks, and he throws a pillow at her, not bothering to respond.
“Did you want a drink or anything?” I ask once we’re in the kitchen. I toss a bag of popcorn in the microwave and then grab two glasses from the cupboard, filling them both with water and handing one to Aaron as we wait for the popcorn to pop.
“Thanks.” He accepts the glass and then leans against the kitchen island, a serious look on his face. “So, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
He rubs the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Is he gearing up to ask me out or something? No. That can’t be right. Aaron hasn’t shown even a hint of interest in me as anything more than a friend, and even that is still up for debate. Right now, he’s tolerating me because of Allie, just like the rest of the Devils. So, I have no idea why he’s acting so nervous all of a sudden.
“You said Luis is nine months old, right?”
I nod, not really sure where he’s going with this.
“And you hooked up with Emilio two summers ago?”
My body goes on high alert. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I nod again. What else am I supposed to do?
“Kasey’s right. He doesn’t really look anything like you.”
I frown. “Uh, okay.”
“But he looks a hell of a lot like Emilio especially if you’ve seen his baby pictures like I have.”
My mouth drops open. The microwave dings and I turn to retrieve the bag. “I don’t know what you’re—”
He doesn’t give me the chance to finish. “I’ve known Emilio almost my entire life. I’ve seen the pictures of him that decorate his walls. The timeline adds up. You moved eighteen months ago. You hooked up with Emilio before you left. Tell me I’m wrong.”
My back is still to him as I squeeze my eyes closed. This isn’t how anyone was supposed to find out. What if he tells Emilio? What if—
“You need to tell him. He’d want to know. He’ll want to be a part of that little boy’s life.”
