Hector (Season One: The Ninth Inning #3) (12 page)

“If she doesn’t mind, I’d enjoy some girl time alone with Zoey. I can tell her all your dirty little secrets,” Carissa teases him and giggles.

“I do not have any secrets. If you really don’t mind, then thank you. I can at least give you some cash for the gas, though.” He sits back down next to me.

“Nah, I made you jump out of a plane. I think we’re even after this.” It’s my turn to laugh.

“I have to spend a day doing whatever you want, don’t I?” he reminds me.

“Oh, yes, you do. I’m not letting that go at all. I just meant this is part of it.”

“Alright then. Thanks for taking her for me.”

I PICK CARISSA up about two hours before her plane takes off. She jumps into my car, but she doesn’t look as happy as she was when I left her last night.

“Are you okay?”

“I guess. I’m not really ready to head back yet, but I needed this weekend.” She buckles her seatbelt and I pull out of Hector’s driveway.

“I had fun, too,” I tell her as I head toward the interstate.

“You know, my brother really likes you.”

My heart flutters a bit. “I like Hector too.”

“No, I mean
really
likes you. I can’t wait until Mom meets you,” Carissa giggles.

“Hector has told me little bit about her. I know she really wants you guys in relationships.” I don’t want to go behind Hector’s back, but I’m curious about how bad she really is.

“She’s on both of our cases all the time. The past few months have been worse than normal.”

“Is there a reason why?”

“She’s getting older. A lot of the people Hector and I grew up with are married with kids, and she has to tell them Hector is still playing baseball instead of working in the family business, and I’m still in college instead of playing wife and mother to some loser guy I’m not in love with.” Carissa sighs and I feel bad for her. I can’t imagine my aunts doing anything like that to me. They’ve always told me they want me happy and nothing more.

“Maybe she’ll come around someday.”

“You know how stubborn Hector is, right? Mom is ten times worse. Wait until you meet her.”

My nerves are bit on edge at her words. If I ever did meet her, I know it’s going to be bad. I look at Carissa with her dark hair, brown eyes, caramel skin and a bright shiny cross like Hector’s but smaller. I’m not going to fit into his family.

“Has your mom liked Hector’s other girlfriends?”

“I guess. Hector didn’t have girlfriends for long. He wasn’t a player or anything. Hector kept his focus on baseball and being the best player he could be. Since his career is mostly established now, he’s been having more fun. Then he found you, and he’s been happier than I’ve seen him in a very long time.”

I don’t say anything at her last comment. I understand what she means because I’m happy too. However, I need to keep reminding myself to take it slow and I shouldn’t open my heart up too much because Hector’s mom won’t like me. I can already feel it.

Once I drop Carissa off and hug her goodbye, I head back to my apartment. There’s a new blank canvas waiting for me and with all the sadness bouncing around me, I know what I’m going to paint.

IT’S BEEN A few days since I’ve had the chance to see Zoey. Between games, practices, and things ramping up with the end of the season on the horizon, it’s been hard to do much more than come home and collapse onto my bed. Today, I hope to see her. I’m in the kitchen doing something rather rare for me; I’m cooking.

I grab my phone, hoping I’m not cooking for nothing. After finding her contact, I call her and wait for her to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” I smile. “Please make me the happiest person on earth by telling me you aren’t working tonight and will come over for dinner. So, am I going to be happy or will I have to cry myself to sleep?”

She’s quiet for a moment, probably so I’ll be on the edge of my seat waiting for an answer. “I can come over. What time?”

“As soon as you can get into the car. I’ve already started cooking.”

“I’ll be there shortly, then.”

We hang up and I place my phone off to the side on the counter. A smile is stuck on my face. Even though I had to suffer through the horrible idea of fun called skydiving, Carissa is a huge fan of Zoey’s, as am I. I’m always pretty happy, but when Zoey’s around, I’m practically overflowing with it. Dinner is close to being done before she finally knocks on my door.

“Come in!” I shout, pulling some rolls out of the oven. I hear the door open and shut and turn around just in time to see her coming into the kitchen.

“Something smells mouthwatering.”

“I hope so. I don’t cook actual meals often. How does pork chops and mixed vegetables sound? Oh, and rolls.”

“Well, it sounds fatty and delicious. What’s the occasion?”

“I missed you, but I’m also feeling a little lazy, so I didn’t want to go anywhere for dinner.”

“I missed you too. Are you always this busy toward the end?”

“Yeah, pretty much. It’ll get even more so the closer it gets.” I grab some plates and silverware, loading them up with food. “Want to fix some drinks?”

“Sure. What do you have?”

“Water and beer. I might have some tea bags if you want that.”

“I thought you meant there was a full bar hiding somewhere.” She laughs. “Beer is good.”

I chuckle. “Nope.” She grabs the beers while I take our plates to the table. A moment later, we’re seated and digging in. “How’s your day been?”

“Good. I finished a painting.”

“What of this time? How do you decide what to paint anyway? Could I watch you one time?” I spill all the questions on the tip of my tongue.

“Um, I’m not going to tell you about it. Mainly because I actually like it. When I’m done with it, I’ll show you. Why would you want to watch me paint? It’s probably boring for you.”

“You’ve seen me play and you enjoyed it. I’m positive it would be anything but boring. Why do you like it? What makes this particular piece something better than crap on a cracker?”

“It’s something I’ve never done before. I don’t know why this one is special, it just is.” She shrugs, taking a bite of the meat.

“And you’re sure you don’t want to tell me what it is? I’m even more curious about it now.” I’m already itching to see it.

“No. Not yet. Soon, I will show you. I promise, okay?”

“Okay, I can be happy with that. Thanks again for taking Carissa to the airport for me. I’m pretty sure she’ll visit more often just to hang out with you.”

Zoey smiles. “I had a blast with her, and it wasn’t a big deal to take her to the airport. We had a good talk along the way.” The touch of sadness in her voice confuses and worries me. Carissa told me about their little talk and honestly, I’ve been worried about it. My mom’s a hard pill to swallow, even without meeting her, and I worry Zoey will go running.

“Sure it was good? She said she brought up my mom.”

“She did.” Zoey pushes the veggies around with anxiety keeping her gaze down for a moment. She takes a deep breath and lifts her eyes to mine. “Okay, I’m just going to say it: is this, whatever this is, going to lead to me meeting your parents?”

I take my own deep breath. “I hope it does, but I’m hoping I can keep you to myself for a while. I won’t lie to you, Zoey. It probably won’t be fun with how my mom is.”

“Then why are you wasting your time? If your family won’t like me, and you’ve already told me how important they are to you, then what’s the point?”

What’s the point? Is she kidding me? Has she met herself? She’s fucking amazing. Something in me knew that from the moment I saw her, and I’ll be damned if a difference of views is what’s going to break us apart. “I’m not wasting my time or yours,” I tell her firmly and with all the conviction I can muster. “My family is important to me, but ultimately, it’s my life and if Mom sees that I’m happy, she should eventually come around. I don’t date for them; I date for me.”

“Is that what we’re doing? Are we dating?”

“Yes,” I answer simply.

Surprise flares in her eyes before she tampers it down. “Oh, okay. We’re dating, then?” she repeats.

“Unless you don’t think so? Tell me what you’re thinking because I think you’re thinking too much.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and I take that as a sign I was right. I’m tempted to high-five myself because I’m finally able to read her and part of that is because she’s let me in some. “I’m not the type to give my heart to anyone. I’ve had boyfriends before, but they’ve never lasted long. I’m...nervous and that doesn’t happen often.”

Freaking Carissa and her scaring her with all the talk about my mom. “Don’t be so nervous. As long as you want me around, then you know I’ll be here. I’m too determined to walk away.”

She uses the opportunity to cut her pork chop to look away from me. I can see the wheels turning in my head as she thinks. It seems to take her forever as we finish our meal. I wait with baited breath for her agreement or denial. “Okay, we’re dating.”

I grin.
Yes! Zoey Reyes is mine.

We stand and put the dishes in the sink. “I’ll get them later. Let’s watch TV.”

I take her hand, lead her to the couch, and make sure she snuggles into me when we sit down. I hold one of her hands in mine, using my other hand to trail my fingers over the tattoos on her arm. Her voice causes me to look over at her.

“Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo, Hector?”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “No, I haven’t. Could you see me with one?”

“Yeah.” Zoey reaches up, her fingers brushing my skin as she lifts my necklace with the cross out from underneath my shirt. “Something like this is what I could see you having.” She rubs her thumb over the silver.

Her focus is on my necklace, but it slowly lifts to my mouth. I cover her hand in mine, close the distance between us, and press my lips to hers. How could I not when she’s this close and when it’s been days since I last saw her? Zoey moves to straddle my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. If it were up to me, I would be carrying her into the bedroom right now. My body is wrung tight with the need to have her. A need that’s been brewing within me since the day I laid eyes on her, growing every moment I am around her, and consuming me even when I’m not.

But something tells me she’s going to need more time before that happens. She’s making it unbelievably hard. With every meeting of our mouths, she digs her fingers a little harder into my neck. When I slip my hands underneath her shirt, not able to resist touching her skin, she releases a moan into my mouth.

Zoey shifts in my lap, causing me to groan. I tug her lower lip into my mouth, biting down gently and it’s like Zoey loses control. Her hands start gliding down my chest. I pull away, keeping a smile on my face before she gets too low and I lose what little control I have left. She rests her forehead against mine, taking a deep but shaky breath.

I pull my hands from under her shirt and cup her face before letting my fingers dive into her hair. I kiss her softly on the lips, once on the tip of her nose, and then once on her forehead.

“You, Zoey Reyes, are beautiful and amazing, and I’m so happy you’re finally mine,” I whisper.

She smiles before kissing me again.