“Fuck all that, Benni.” He’s not relenting, meeting every swipe of my lips tit for tat, lifting me off my feet. “I don’t feel this with anyone else. Only you. There’s no one like you.”
God, those words... I have to squeeze my eyes shut and shake away the emotional tidal wave they threaten to bring on as my body locks in his grip. The memory gets me, though, sucking me back into the past for a brief moment...
“Muévelo, Enrique.” I flip the phone around to provide him a view of the screen, my fingers strategically placed over the active call symbol. “Time is ticking.”
He must’ve thought I was joking about the timer because that gets him moving, shuffling through his home with rushed, heavy steps. I’m listening in great amusement as he speeds from room to room when my phone buzzes.
Papi: My dick is hard af listening to you right now…
Eyes rolling playfully, the very corners of my lips quiver. “Two minutes!” I yell to Enrique, pulling Ángel’s message down for a quick reply.
Me: I’ll take care of it once I’m done here.
Papi: That right there is exactly why I want you, mami. No hay nadie como tu.
There’s no one like you.
Andrés’ confused “What?” brings me back to the here and now, vision refocusing on his cinched expression.
“Remember almost-ex?” I swallow, damning Ángel to an eternity in hell.
Andrés nods, expression cinching tighter.
“He used to tell me that.” I scoff softly and shake my head. “You said it, and it just kinda...triggered.”
Shit, triggered is putting it lightly, obviously. I just zoned out and took a trip down memory lane in another man’s arms. I’m expecting for Andres to set me down now that I’ve killed the mood, but he doesn’t. He tightens his hold on me instead, brushing our lips together as he holds my stare.
“Sounds like I need to go harder, make you forget about him altogether.”
Oh, if only. If that were the case, the man wouldn’t be haunting me this many years later. “You can try,” I offer quietly. “But he’s a big part of my baggage.”
Andrés shrugs, seemingly unfazed by the abrupt turn of events. “Everyone has baggage, bebé. Some worse than others.”
Yeah, and after all these years, Arcángel still takes the motherfucking cake.
“Close your eyes,” he continues, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Take a deep breath for me.”
“We can’t. We don’t have time.” And yeah, that’s true, but I’m just done.
This is too much. What we’re feeling isn’t something we can “keep light.” I’ve been telling myself we could for days, had convinced myself we could, but the point of the matter is, the similarities have been there from the very beginning, and I should’ve heeded their red flags.
Andrés and Ángel are two different men, complete and polar opposites, but what I feel with both of them? It’s scarily similar.
“Just do it, Benni. We’ll leave as soon as you do.” The softness of his stare promises as much, shutting my eyes as I inhale a long, deep breath. Leaning in, his lips settle beside my ear. “Now let it go, and let him go with it.”
“Andrés, it’s not that—” I start, but his fingers seal around my jaw, jamming the words in my mouth.
“Let. Him. Go. Let him go, bebé, and relax. I don’t need you to think about tomorrow or a week from now or what you think I deserve. I know I can’t have you right now, that I might never get to have you at all. At least let me have this one time...”
When he releases me, our stares collide anew as I take another breath and let it go.
Is this real life?
Am I really falling for a guard right now?
“Why does it feel like one time won’t be enough, though?” I whisper, drawing a sure smile on his lips.
“Because it probably won’t.”
♫ Loco Contigo - DJ Snake, J Balvin & Tyga
The next morning, I’m still riding the high from that kiss. Did it go according to plan? No, but even with the sudden downhill plummet, it’s been hours since then, and I can still feel her in my hands, can still taste her on my lips. She was absolutely right—one time would never be enough. I knew before, but it’s crystal clear now. Whatever this is, whatever we’re doing, it’s not one-sided. It’s not a figment of my imagination or vice versa. It’s fucking real with the potential to explode in our faces, and that’s what makes it scary.
But it’s exciting, too—tempting—and we’re at the point where there’s no tamping this down anymore.
She wants it. I want it.
We already crossed the line, so why not? It’s not like we can go back now. My dad is always wanting me to live my life, to never settle, right? Well, this is me listening to him. The circumstances surely aren’t what he meant, but everything is good. No one knows what happened, our secret is perfectly safe. And if we’re careful enough, we can do it again, and this time—I will have her.
Whoever that almost-ex of hers is, I’m going to fuck him out of her system until all she can focus on is this.
Us.
“Oh, Bala, did you happen to take a look at this?” Mack’s voice erupts behind me as I’m putting all my shit into my locker.
There’s a few of us in here, but I’ve not said much other than “Good morning.”
I spare him a look over my shoulder and drop my gaze to the paper he’s holding out to me. My eyes quickly scan its contents, and the further I read, the more intrigued I become, the proverbial lightbulb flickering at the possibility. One of the third-shift dudes, Zhao, needs someone to cover him for a week. He’s going on vacation to visit family in China and promises he’ll cover a different week when he returns. The catch is he originally had
