She glanced over at Eric holding Romero up, and giggled a little. Angel could see she was lightheaded from the wine. She seemed so small and delicate and incredibly vulnerable, “I won’t leave though. Where’s Valerie?”
She smiled at him. “Go ahead, I’m fine.”
Like hell
. “Yeah, you are fine. But I’m not leaving you until Valerie gets back.”
The party was beginning to end and Valerie, Sarah’s ride, was nowhere in sight. Sarah had tried calling her several times on her cell, but the call wouldn’t go through. Angel grabbed Sarah’s hand in his, and both their ice chests in his other. “Come on, let’s go look for Valerie.”
As they walked through the party, one of Dana’s friends tried to stop him. “Hey, Angel, where’s Dana?” Her eyebrows were arched and she peered at Sarah. Angel kept walking, pretending not to hear.
“Is Dana your girlfriend?” He could feel Sarah try to let go of his hand but he only tightened the grip.
Angel pressed his lips for a second, “Nope.”
Eric was right outside looking a little irritated. Angel knew how Romero could get when he was drunk, and Eric had been on his own with him now all night, so he understood his frustration.
“Dude, are you ready to go?” Eric asked.
Sarah was still holding Angel’s hand. Angel looked at him apologetically. “Give me a sec. She needs to find her friend.”
Sarah was calling Valerie on her cell again but she wasn’t answering. When they got to the car, she looked at him. “I can’t leave Valerie.”
“Okay.” He pulled her closer to him, out of the way of oncoming cars that still cruised past the party. She leaned against him and he put his arm around her waist. He’d burned to touch her, all night, and now all he wanted was to take care of her. He examined her face, smiling tenderly. “How you feeling?”
She smiled, finally looking in his eyes. “Better now.”
It took all his willpower to not lean over and kiss her, but the last thing he wanted was for anything to happen tonight that she could dismiss tomorrow and blame on the wine.
He turned to see Eric adjusting Romero in the front seat. Romero was totally out. Angel motioned toward him. “By the way, meet my friend Romero.”
Sarah laughed. “Is that really his name?”
“Well, his last name. His first name is Ramon, but he doesn’t like it.”
Eric walked over and leaned on the car next to Angel and Sarah. He looked exhausted. Sarah rested her head on Angel’s shoulder.
“Oh, hey,” Angel said looking at Eric. “This is Sarah. Sarah, this is my friend, Eric.”
Sarah held her head up just long enough to say hello. Angel knew Eric assumed she was just another girl he’d picked up. Sarah moved off of Angel and leaned against the car now, but he still held her hand. “Where could she be?” Sarah grimaced.
They all stood there watching the driveway of the house where the party had been. There were people still walking out, and standing around the front of the house. A car pulled up and let someone out of the back seat. It was Jesse Strickland. The car that had dropped him off drove right past them and up the street.
Sarah didn’t see him at first but when she did, she straightened out. Angel noticed and his muscles tensed. “Something wrong?”
“Can we leave?” Her eyes were still on Jesse.
Jesse walked in a hurry to the back yard. Eric and Angel exchanged glances.
“What about Valerie?” Angel asked.
“We’ll come back for her,” she said, “I just don’t wanna be here right this minute.”
Angel stared at her for a second. “Sure.”
He let go of her hand to gather up the ice chests. Sarah tried Valerie again on her phone. For whatever reason, Jesse made Sarah nervous and Angel didn’t like it. He grabbed the ice chests and threw them in the trunk, then walked Sarah around and into the car. He sat down next to her and reached for her hand immediately. Eric eyed him through the rearview mirror.
“Let’s drop off this guy first,” Eric said motioning toward Romero. “Then if you want, you can drop me off and take my car. I’ll pick it up in the morning.”
Angel smiled. Suddenly he was relieved he’d only had two beers. He wasn’t ready to say goodnight to Sarah yet. He could always count on Eric to understand.
***************
Minutes passed, while she sat in the passenger seat, heart pounding, waiting for Valerie to answer her phone.
“Hello?”
“Valerie?”
“Sarah, I’ve been so worried. Where are you?”
“I’m with Angel. We’re dropping off his friend. Are you on your way home?”
“Home? It’s still early, there’s another party we’re going to. Do you need me to come get you?” Valerie asked.
“No, I think I’m good for now.”
“Oh, my God, are you and Angel gonna hang out?” Valerie gushed.
The thought of what Valerie meant by hang out, made Sarah’s heart beat even harder. She bit her lip.
“I’m not sure,” Sarah said. “I’ll call you and let you know where to meet me.”
“Is he right there next to you?” Valerie whispered, as if he might hear her.
Sarah giggled. “No, he’s outside with his friend. I’m in the car.”
“You have to make out with him Sarah, so, you can tell me all about it.”
Sarah laughed nervously, her face suddenly warm. “Valerie!” she gasped, “I hardly know him.”
“He’s totally hot. What more do you need to know?”
Sarah's body heat went up. Valerie wasn’t helping her already strained nerves. “I gotta go. He’s on his way back,” she lied.
“Okay, okay, bye.”
Her cousin was so different than Sarah when it came to guys. Valerie was commitment-phobic. She’d had one serious relationship, and she said it nearly suffocated her. She could easily just make out with someone without giving it a second thought.
Sarah didn’t think any less of Valerie for enjoying her freedom. She just couldn’t understand how Valerie could turn off the emotions just like that. To Sarah, even holding hands inevitably meant feelings were involved. It wasn’t something she could do and not feel anything, just the thought that Angel might kiss her tonight had her in knots.
She studied the guys standing outside, face to face. Eric stood a few inches shorter than Angel. His hair was a lot lighter and curlier too. He didn’t have Angel’s pretty boy good looks, but still his rugged good looks of his own, and he was so nice it made him attractive.
She'd watched them as they carefully helped Romero from the car, genuinely concerned that he got home safe. Albeit they did it with a lot of laughing and repartee, it was obvious they were very good friends.
Angel walked back toward the car. That smile. It was
unreal
. She shifted in her seat, trying not to look like a goofball but her own smile was so big and hard to hold back. She’d been talking to him most of the night and been doing pretty well. Except for spitting up her wine and her miserable attempt to be deep about loving the beach, she’d managed to keep the blundering to a minimum. Why was she having such a hard time breathing now?
She took a long deep breath as he opened the door and climbed in the car. His eyes were immediately on her, making her insides into mush.
“Are you hungry?”
She let out her breath and nodded.
“Good, ‘cause I’m starving.” He pulled out of the drive way.
They picked up some food at a drive-thru and headed to the beach, eating along the way. After driving up a winding road to the top of a cliff, he turned into a dead end, and parked. The moon was bright, and the ocean went on as far as she could see. They were high above the ocean, and the view was breathtaking.
Sarah stared out the window in amazement. Her thoughts were muddled when her phone rang and she went still. She had a feeling who it might be, and she didn’t want to answer it. One look at the caller ID and her suspicions were confirmed,
Jesse
. Angel was eyeing her. “You gonna answer that?”
She shook her head.
Glancing at Angel, she noticed his eyebrows narrow, and she turned away biting her lip. Her phone rang one last time.
“Where are we?” She turned back to face him.
He still had the same expression on his face, but he didn’t say anything He opened the door. “Follow me.” He got out of the car.
Sarah got out, and he came around and held his hand out. She put her hand in his and they walked toward the dead end. There was a rock trail off to the side, behind the homes that faced the ocean.
They headed to the edge of the trail where there was a wrought iron fence. She looked down as they walked along the side of the fence, and could see the waves crashing into the rocks below. When they turned the corner, she saw the trail stretched across the cliff. There were benches and grassy sitting areas with flowering tropical plants, and an endless trail of palm trees. Sarah took it all in with awe. She turned back to him.
“I love it,” she whispered.
“This is my favorite place.”
“I can see why.” She stepped closer to the fence and gazed out into the ocean. The lights on a couple of ships and some small sail boats still out there shined brightly. Angel stood behind her, and he grasped the top of the iron rail, enclosing her body between his arms. His warm body against her back felt good, especially since it was getting cold. His face came over her shoulder next to her ear, and she felt him take a deep breath. She closed her eyes and her body tingled all over. It was still unbelievable to Sarah that she was here, doing this, with
him
.
“You smell good,” he murmured.
“Thank you.”
They stood there for a few minutes in silence, his breath against her temple. Finally, he spoke. “Can I ask you something?
His tone made her nervous, somehow. “Sure.”
He pulled away from her shoulder slightly.
“Why were you in such a hurry to leave when you saw Jesse tonight?”
Sarah went stiff. God, she’d forgotten all about that. That was the last thing she wanted to be talking about right now. Jesse could be a pain in the ass when he was sober. Valerie had told her when he was drunk, he was even worse, and she had a feeling he’d been drinking tonight. She’d been afraid of another confrontation between him and Angel. “He can be a pest sometimes... that’s all.”
Angel put his hands over hers on the fence. “The other day, you said you’d
hung out
with him. What did that mean?”
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut for a second.
Shit.
She didn’t want to tell him about that. Why hadn’t she just said yes, when he asked her if Jesse was a friend? She’d hardly expected to be talking to Angel again. And not like this.
“It was a long time ago.” She thought she felt him suck in breath, and he was quiet for a second.
“What was a long time ago?”
She braced herself not knowing how he’d feel about her after she told him. But it was in the past, so what did it matter? She turned around, but he never let go of the fence, so, she was still in his arms, so to speak. His eyes seemed darker somehow. He looked straight at her, waiting.
“Nothing really,” she said. “I met him a few summers ago, when I came out to visit my Aunt, and we hung out one night.”
“Was he your boyfriend?” Angel eyes were still fixed on hers.
She shook her head. “No.”
“You still
hang out
with him?”
“Nope, he’s still asking me out, but I’m not interested.”