Betrayed (The New Yorker) (5 page)

“He’s a big guy; he’ll snap me in
half,” Dennis said, pride filling his voice.

“Let’s just hope he’s not that
pissed.”

* * * *

“Why are you dressed like that?”
Reno scanned Lisette’s attire and when his eyes fell on the slit of her skirt,
his heart and groin jumped. Her shapely brown thigh peeked from the black
flowery material where the slit began. Her frilly top hung loosely on her
shoulders and exposed the top of her full breasts. All he wanted to do was to
bury his hand at that juncture of her skirt and run it a little further up. A
whistle from a passerby had him wanting to do something else.

He watched as Lisette responded to
the cat calls with a curtsy and a wave, as if the men were her adoring fans.
Reno knew what they wanted to do; it was the same thing he wanted. If he could,
he would lift her onto the bonnet of her car, push her skirt up, and let her
luscious thighs cradle him as he buried himself deep within her.

“It’s cultural day—National Puerto
Rican Day Parade. I thought you could share a piece of my culture with me.” She
smiled up at him.

Reno’s eyes were fixed on her lips
as they moved. He barely heard what she said. When another whistle filled the
air, he hustled Lisette into the car. “I think we should get going.”

“We are going to have loads of fun.
My family is going to be there. I hope you don’t mind.” Lisette cast a glance
at him as she pulled out of the parking spot.

“Are you sure I’m dressed
appropriately?” Reno looked down at his flannel shirt and his jeans, not sure
he looked his best for a meeting with the family.

“I think you are overdressed. If I
had my way you would be naked.” She winked at him as a sly grin claimed her
lips.

“Lisette, you sure know how to get
a man’s blood boiling.”

“I hope so. That way you will stop
seeing Bitch-
toria
. I’m sure her street corner has
been missing her,” she grumbled.

Reno could see the flamed fury and
jealousy on Lisette’s face. He hated thinking of her with another man so he had
to assume she felt the same way. “I am not seeing Victoria—or anyone else.”

“Good.”

Reno watched as Lisette drove in
complete silence, something very rare for her. He could tell she was struggling
with something—the furrow in her brow was a dead giveaway. He almost wanted to
tell her to spit it out. They drove in silence until they arrived at an
apartment building parking garage.

“I need to ask you something.
Please don’t say no.”

“All right, I won’t,” he said,
amused and curious at the same time.

“I would like you to be my
boyfriend. I am asking you to be my boyfriend.” Lisette took in a deep breath
and he could see how uncomfortable she was. She was probably used to guys
asking her but Reno had thought it was too soon to establish a relationship. He
was about to say so when she started to talk again. “Please let me finish, you
need to know what you are getting yourself into. I am not sexually active, in
other words what I am trying to say is that…is that—”

“You are a virgin.” Reno was
amazed. At that moment he regarded her in the same way he would if he had seen
a unicorn. Excitement was soon replaced by caution, especially with all the
sexual innuendo Lisette kept dropping on him.

“I talk about sex, because I want
people to think I am experienced. I want to feel normal especially with today’s
progressive society.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t want you to think that I am
waiting for the second coming or marriage.”

“I know
,
you’re waiting for the right guy.” He wished his mother had waited ‘till she
was in the confines of marriage before giving up her all to Dennis Kent. But
according to
Kono
, Dennis was the right guy. He
couldn’t fault Lisette for looking for the unavailable and nonexistent ‘one’.

“And I think…no…I know I have found
him—” She paused and Reno hung onto her every word. “I think my ‘one’ is you.”

Reno felt his breath constrict in
his chest, and his heart pounding out of its confines. He was her ‘one’. How
could he be? New York was one of the most populated cities in the world and
this virgin sitting before him had chosen him to be her designated de-
virginator
.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but
I feel, like, you are it for me. Please don’t tell me I am only twenty-two and
have a lifetime to find my guy. I know what I want and what I want is you.”

“Yes.” Reno heard his voice, but
couldn’t believe he said it. He sounded strangled and terrified and unsure and
yet so sure. “Yes, I will be your boyfriend. I won’t rush you into anything you
are not ready for. When you are ready I will try my best to make it special for
you.”

* * * *

Lisette had heard the word “yes”
and immediately her senses went into a celebratory rumba. She barely listened
as he promised to make things special for her. What she wanted engraved in her
mind and heart was the moment she took a giant leap of faith and landed in Reno
Kanaloa’s
strong arms. So she did.

Lisette got out of the car and
walked round to the passenger side where Reno was waiting for her with open
arms. She rushed into them and they held her in place. She felt like she
belonged there, as if she’d finally found her place in the world.

“It’s dark down here and we are
alone,” she said in a seductive tone. “I might let you take me to the back seat
and sneak a peek under my skirt.”

Reno’s body shook as he
laughed,
his laughter filling and bouncing off the walls of
the small parking garage. “Its statements like that that can get a girl
de-flowered.”

“Oh really,” She teased as she
rubbed her chest against his.

She saw his eyes widen in shock,
and then they slowly grew dark as his breathing labored. Lisette took a
startled step back when she felt his manhood come alive and press against her
belly. “I think I should stop teasing you now,” she mumbled as she stared at
the bulge of his jeans.

“I think that is a great idea.”
Reno closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

“Reno, promise me something.”

“Anything.”

She waited until he had his eyes
open before she spoke again. She needed to look into his eyes when he gave her
this one promise. She needed to see if he was being honest with her. “If you
feel like you are tired of waiting and you need to—”

“I won’t.”

“But if you need to, please break
up with me first. If there is one thing I cannot forgive, it’s the breaking of
trust.”

“I won’t.” Reno took a step forward
and pulled her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head, before moving to
her cheeks then her neck. “You are so tiny,” he mumbled as his lips smoothed
against her neck.

Lisette rose to her tiptoes and
angled her head. What she didn’t expect was Reno to lift her off the ground and
settle her on the bonnet of her car. He claimed her lips and kissed her
passionately and hard, the hunger flowing through him and into her body.

She whimpered when he took a step
back. Lisette put her hands on his shoulders and tried to pull him back in. But
Reno took a step back and shrugged her hands away.

“I need a minute,” he gasped out.
“You shouldn’t be so willing to give me what I want.”

Lisette watched as he struggled to
get his body under control. She could feel a throbbing in her own body as her
center pulsed with the need to be filled. “Maybe you should take me to the back
seat and lift my skirts.”

“I think we should get going.” Reno
started walking toward the parking entrance, leaving Lisette behind. She
watched him for a while and could see he was serious about leaving. She leapt
off the car, ran after him and hopped on his back. Reno’s hands secured her
legs around him, and they walked to the parade in laughter.

* * * *

Reno froze when they got to where
the Ross family was watching the parade. He stared at the four people who
weren’t part of the Ross family—an older woman, a teenage girl and two men who
resembled him. He wanted to turn around and run. Being faced with the family he
and his sister could never have ate at his heart and his resolve. But Lisette was
still on his back. Her lips so close to his ear, whispering to him to put her
down, gave him the strength to take a step forward.

“Hey, dude.” He saw AJ emerge from
the crowd in scrubs. “If I knew you were doing pony rides I would have asked
for a lift.”

Reno chuckled, trying to ignore the
ache in his heart that pained him. “Well this ride is reserved for only one
girl.”

“He’s huge, Lisette, you weren’t
kidding.” He watched as a younger girl who resembled both Lisette and AJ
stepped forward. “I am
Catalella
, the nice sister,
and you are freakishly large.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Reno mumbled
uncertainly.

“Well that’s how I like them, tall
and packed with muscle,” Lisette said as she pushed her fingers into his bicep.
“You should meet my parents and my cousins and my aunt.”

“Sure.” Reno hesitated as Lisette
pulled him toward
his family.

“Papa, Uncle Dennis you already
know, Reno.”

“Yes, nice to see you again young
man.” Adrian shook his hand and gave him a guarded expression. But Dennis all
of a sudden didn’t seem so sure of himself.

“This is my mother Rosalinda.”

“
Buenos
Dias
,
Senora
Ross.”

“Buenos
Dias
, mijo.”
Rosalinda
said. “I like this one, Lisette.”

“Me too.”

“Me three, so who’s the hunk?” The
teenager with her hair cut to her shoulders stepped forward.

“Daniela, this is my boyfriend
Reno. Reno, this is Daniela, her mother
Issadora
and
her brother Dennis Junior.”

Reno regarded his siblings and felt
a rush of warmth engulf him. If only
Rhyne
was there
with them. They could finally have the happy family they wanted. He looked at
Issadora
and Dennis and couldn’t help the resentment he
felt for them. He took a step back and stood with AJ and his new found brother.
He watched Daniela from the corner of his eye and vowed he would always protect
his siblings.

“So, you are whipped,” DJ said.

“Why would you say that?” Reno
smiled as he saw the resemblance in his and his brother’s features. DJ was a
few inches shorter, he wasn’t filled out as much as he and AJ were, but he was
getting there. He had this smile in his eyes and apart from Reno’s dark
coloring,
they were pretty much the same.

“My sister has already got you
carrying her around,” AJ scoffed.

“I didn’t know you were a doctor.”
Reno changed the subject. He wasn’t confident about talking about his new
relationship with Lisette. Plus he secretly wanted to find out about his
younger brother.

“He tries to be,” DJ teased. “I on
the other hand am attending Harvard University, on the fast track to law
school.”

“That’s great.” Reno was unable to
hide the pride in his voice. “What about Daniela?”

“I’m afraid the only interests
Daniela and
Catalella
have at this time are in boys,”
AJ said. “Speaking of, where are the little rascals?”

“They went with Lisette to get some
cotton candy,” Rosalinda filled them in.

Reno felt guilty—how could he have
not noticed that Lisette wasn’t with them? “Other than boys, what are their
interests?”

“
Catalella
is on Law and Daniela is on her boyfriend. Wherever he goes she will follow.”
DJ smirked. “She is ‘in love’ with him apparently and can’t live without him. I
wonder where she will find an interior design school that will offer both her
and her meathead a football scholarship.”

“Why a
scholarship?”

“Dad threatened to cut her off. Of
course he wouldn’t, but he thought threatening her would set her mind
straight.”

Reno wouldn’t let his sister
struggle. If he couldn’t be there for
Rhyne
, he would
be there for Daniela. First he had to find out who the meathead was. He looked
around and immediately spotted
Catalella
and Daniela
in a circle of teenage boys. He had to focus his energy on pulling his
protective side back.

“Guys, I think you need to go into
big brother mode.” With his head he signaled toward the growing crowd.

“Oh shit. I wonder what having a
brother feels like.” DJ groaned.

He followed the two to the group
and one by one the boys began dispersing. The scowls on Daniela’s and
Catalella’s
faces told them their protective instincts were
not appreciated.

“You need to stay out of my
business, DJ,” Daniela wailed.