Forever Baby (19 page)

“You are my first love, too, Livi, and I know you’ll be my only love in this life. I was put on this earth to love you. I know it.”

The adoration I see in his eyes at this moment is overwhelming, causing my tears to fall harder.

“You mesmerize me, Livi. You are so smart, funny, and caring. When I see you for the first time every day, whether it is when we are waking up or when I am picking you up at school, my heart starts beating faster in anticipation to spend another day with you. You stir up feelings in me that I didn’t know existed. You have everything I never knew I wanted, but now that I have you, I need you, and I know I always will.”

He places his mouth on mine, kissing me with deep passion. We make slow, sweet, and unrestrained love until we can’t stay awake any longer. We fall asleep naked and entwined in one another’s embrace.

If there is a heaven on earth, I know that I’ve found it.

I wake with a start to the sound of loud voices coming from somewhere in the house.
What is going on?

I stretch and kiss Andres on the cheek. I run my hand down his handsome face that is covered with a manly short stubble. The soft roughness of his face is making me want him badly.

His lips turn up into a slight smile, and he mumbles, “Good morning.”

Waking up to a sleepy Andres next to me is quite possibly the biggest turn-on.

My desire quickly hits a wall when I hear the yelling again. “What the hell is going on out there? Maybe we should go check?”

“I’m sure it is Hugo and Cara fighting over something stupid. Let them figure it out.” Andres nuzzles his face into the crevice of my neck, sending jolts of need through me.

The yelling continues.

“I really should go check on Cara to make sure she is all right.”

“If you insist.” Andres doesn’t seem the least bit worried.

I rummage through Andres’s dresser and throw on a pair of his boxers and a T-shirt. I open the bedroom door and make my way toward the commotion. As I enter the main living room, I see Hugo standing in only his boxers while Cara is in her outfit from the night before. They both appear a little rough around the edges, tired, and slightly frantic.

“Fuck you!” Cara yells. “I don’t owe you anything. You have no say in what I do. I will fuck the whole city of Seville if I want!”

“Oh, I’m sure you would try. Stop being such a whore!” Hugo yells.

She throws herself toward him, bringing both of her fists down on his chest. “Whatever! At least I didn’t fuck you!”

He grabs her wrists and pushes her off of him. “Only because I didn’t want to!”

“Yeah, right! You were dying to get inside me last night, and you’re just sorry that you will never get that chance now! I don’t fuck assholes!”

Hugo forces out a cynical laugh. “I highly doubt that. I’m sure you fuck anyone who is willing.”

Cara advances toward him again and pushes him. “Apparently, not you!”

“Stop!” I yell. “Stop this!”

Both Hugo and Cara turn toward me, and for a moment, puzzled expressions grace their faces, registering that they have an audience, before turning back to each other to continue their argument.

I walk over to Cara and grab her arm. In a calm voice, I request, “Please come with me?”

Cara squints her eyes and twists her lips into a scowl as she glares at Hugo. “Gladly,” she states in a firm voice.

Holding her hand in mine, she lets me lead her out of the room and into an extra bedroom. I close the door.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

Her eyes fill with tears. “He is such a jerk!”

“Just calm down, and tell me what happened.”

I rub her forearms gently as she takes a deep breath.

“We had a great night. We messed around and cuddled, you know? This morning, my phone kept going off, and I heard it, but I was too tired to get it out of my purse. I knew it was nothing important. Well, at some point, Hugo grabbed it. He was probably sick of the buzzing, and he read my text messages. I had missed texts from Brandon and a couple of the other guys, but they were harmless. Brandon told me he missed me, and a couple of the other guys wanted to get together, obviously not knowing that I am here. One of the texts was from a guy who I haven’t spoken to in a year. It was totally not a big deal. Well, Hugo goes all apeshit and territorial, and he starts insinuating things. How dare he! He doesn’t even know me, and I don’t owe him an explanation!”

I listen attentively. “No, you don’t owe him anything.”

I can see how their fight escalated. They are both very similar even though they probably would never admit it. I’m sure the situation could have been handled differently, more calmly, but that’s not Cara, and apparently, it’s not Hugo either. If Cara feels offended, she becomes extremely defensive. I pointed this out once, and it led to a huge fight between us, so now, I simply listen, and I agree. She eventually figures everything out in her own way.

“Let’s go back to Nadia’s. I will tell Andres that we are calling a cab.”

“Okay,” she agrees.

Andres insists on driving us in his dad’s car that has been left at the house. I don’t see Hugo when we leave, so he is either hiding out in the house somewhere, or he already left.

Andres drops us off, and we make plans to meet up later.

“What do you want to do today? Do you want to see some of the city? We could do some touristy stuff?” I suggest.

“Sure, that sounds fun,” Cara agrees.

Cara and I basically re-create the exploring adventure that I had with Andres a couple of weeks ago. I take her to the shops that I enjoyed, and we eat at the same restaurant.

Over lunch, I can tell that she is still upset about her earlier altercation with Hugo.

“Don’t let this morning bother you. We are still going to have a great time. Forget Hugo. He is trouble,” I say.

“He was so mean. I don’t get it. He has known me for a day. He almost acted like a wounded boyfriend, but he doesn’t have that right. I barely know him.”

“I don’t know. Who really does with these Latin men? Andres is pretty chill, but overall, Latin men have a reputation for being quite emotional.”

Cara laughs. “Yeah, I would say so.” She plops a shrimp her in mouth. “I guess I was pretty mean to him, too.”

“Your defenses were up as were his. I am sure you both said stuff you didn’t mean.”

“Yeah, I guess. I wonder if it will be weird the next time I see him.”

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully.

Knowing Hugo for the short time I have, I am guessing that he will either be his usually carefree self tonight and not address this morning, or he will be a pouty jerk with a wounded ego all night.

Well, I was correct with my first guess. Hugo doesn’t address this morning at all. We are sitting in Carlos and Nadia’s living room, having a beer. We are going to a bar to play some pool tonight.

Hugo is talking and joking with everyone as usual—well, everyone except for Cara. He is pretending that she isn’t in the room, but to be fair, she is acting the same way—talking with everyone, except for him. It is comical actually and very middle school. Two people who are used to being the center of attention are talking over each other, but they are completely ignoring the other.

I am having fun, watching the back and forth of the power struggle, as Hugo and Cara try to maintain the attention of the group. Andres squeezes my hand, and I notice the smirk on his face. He obviously thinks it is pretty funny, too. I don’t miss the manner in which Cara’s conversations usually involve Julio or Carlos. She is trying to get under Hugo’s skin by flirting with the only two accessible guys here. She must really want to get Hugo’s attention. I hope it doesn’t get ugly.

The bar we go to is small, sitting among houses and apartment buildings on a quiet street. Poorly lit, yellow globe lanterns hang above wooden booths surrounding the perimeter inside. The walls are covered in wooden panels. In the center of the room are a handful of pool tables.

The whole group of us occupies one of the larger corner booths. After giving the waitress our drink orders, we pair off for games of pool and start another makeshift competition. This group is very competitive.

“Okay, so what is the winning team going to get?” Julio asks the group.

“The losers can all buy a round of drinks for the winners,” Hugo suggests.

“No. We always do drinks. Let’s be original this time,” Nadia says.

“I have an idea!” I think back to how much fun Max and I had playing Truth or Dare and how much trouble we got into as well when we were growing up. I think this night could get even more entertaining than the Hugo-and-Cara battle. “How about the winning pair gets to each pick a person and give them a dare and those people have to do the dare tonight?”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Nadia responds.

Julio chuckles. “Depending on who wins, that could be very risky.”

“I think it sounds fun.” Andres kisses me on the head and wraps his arm around me.

“Okay, it’s settled,” Carlos adds.

With the addition of Cara, we have an odd number, so Julio volunteers to be the judge. Andres and I pair off against Cara and Carlos first. Hugo and Nadia will take the winners of the first game.

Andres is really good at pool. It’s not surprising, considering he is good at everything. I, on the other hand, suck. Carlos is really good as well, and Cara is better than me.

The white ball I hit doesn’t even go in the vicinity of the striped red ball I had been trying to hit into the corner pocket. “I’m sorry, babe,” I mutter.

Carlos mumbles something about an easy win as Cara lines up her shot.

Andres stands behind me, wrapping me in his arms. Bending his head, he kisses the side of my neck at the base of my shoulder. “You are adorable.”

“Sucking at something is adorable?” I ask with a pout.

“Everything you do is adorable, trust me.”

My attention is drawn to Cara, who is asking Carlos for advice on her position. She is leaning over the table, and Carlos is behind her, helping her with the angle of her stick. I know darn well that this is all an act, and it isn’t for Carlos’s benefit. I watch Hugo as he is glaring toward the scene unfolding. Throwing back her long, shiny hair, Cara laughs loudly at something Carlos said. Carlos puts his hand on the small of Cara’s back, guiding her for the shot.

Cara and Carlos win the game. I am happy to be a spectator for the second game. I lean back into Andres’s chest as he sits on a stool, his arms securing me close. We watch as Hugo and Nadia set off to play against Cara and Carlos. Andres kisses my hair and inhales deeply, and I melt in his arms.

Cara continues her charade, requesting Carlos’s assistance, at every possible opportunity. I stare in fascination as the tension rolls off of Hugo. Something is going to come to a head tonight, and I wonder how it is going to play out. Either Hugo is always an exceptional player, or he plays better when he is frustrated. He dominates the game, and he and Nadia easily beat Cara and Carlos.

Nadia jumps up and down, clapping her hands. “Who should we pick?”

I give Nadia a high five. “Great game, guys. So, you can each pick one of us and dare us to do something. Don’t get too crazy.” I eye Hugo when I say that last line.

Some of Hugo’s jovial humor comes back as he smiles at me. “Are you nervous, Liv?”

“Of what you could dare someone to do? Absolutely—especially if that someone is me.”

He laughs. “Well, you are off the hook tonight because I am going to dare Carlos.”

We all turn to Carlos. He is mildly amused while he’s waiting for the dare.

Hugo faces Carlos. “I dare you to…” He pauses for effect. “Get a kiss, a real kiss, from one of the ladies in here tonight, but it can’t be from anyone in our group.”

I roll my eyes in amusement because that translates to,
Kiss anyone but Cara
.

Carlos scans the room. “Uh…man, there are not really a lot of women to choose from.”

“Well, a dare is a dare,” Hugo responds.

“Fine, but give me a few minutes to figure out my game plan.”

“Agreed.” Hugo nods.

“Okay!” Nadia exclaims. “I think I am going to choose Cara. I will stick to the theme my partner laid out and have Cara find a guy to give her a kiss.”