CHAPTER 5
He’d taken a few steps up the walk, when he saw her come out the door. Immediately he was smiling silly. She was dressed casual, yet somehow she had the same incredible appeal as she had had last night when she was all done up. In some ways even more.
Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she walked down the steps of the porch. She met him in the middle of the walkway. He took her hand in his. He could definitely get used to her soft delicate hand in his. He wanted to kiss her, but he felt weird doing it right in front of her house. His reserve however wasn’t strong enough to fight off the urge to hug her so he did, tightly. He squeezed her, feeling her hair against his face, breathing in everything about her.
Reluctantly, he finally pulled away and let her go. His hand still fastened to hers. He looked up at the door. “Do I need to go in?”
Sarah’s eyes widened and she shook her head too quickly. “Oh, no, that’s not necessary.”
Angel wondered if there was something she was hiding, ashamed of. But he let it go and walked her back to his car.
Once on the road, he found it impossible to keep his hands off her. It was worse than the night before. Maybe cause Eric’s car was a stick shift. Angel’s car wasn’t, so his hand was free to roam, and roam it did. Every chance he got, he caressed her face, her leg, her fingers. Twice he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. What the hell was wrong with him? He had to get a hold of himself before he freaked her out. Although she didn’t seem to mind, smiling as she caressed his hand.
He wanted to take her out and show her a good time. But that would have to wait for another time. Today he didn’t want to be anywhere crowded. He had only one thing on his mind, well, besides holding her and kissing her. He wanted to talk to her, get to know more about her, more about this nonsense of her leaving. Most importantly, he was hoping today they could come to some kind of understanding. He knew it was insane, but after last night there was absolutely no way he’d be okay with her being free to see other guys. Not as long as he was seeing her, and he planned on seeing her every chance he got. He knew it was a risk, but not riskier than not getting it out there on the table, and then possibly seeing her with someone else. The very thought, made him clench his teeth.
He’d packed sodas in Sarah’s ice chest from the night before and they stopped at a deli for sandwiches. They drove to Mount Soledad, the local state park. It had lots of cycling and hiking trails, but is known for its massive, man made caves. It overlooked the ocean and had the most spectacular views. He was sure Sarah would love it.
Angel had been there many times with his brothers and the guys. He knew the place pretty well. He’d bring her back for cycling later. But today he had a much calmer visit planned.
Sarah looked out the window admiring the amazing views. “My God this place is better than the cliff last night. I didn’t think that was possible.”
She was right; no matter how many times he came up here it was always as unbelievable as the first time. He took in the view himself, then looked at Sarah. His body could feel the moment getting closer, the moment he would have her in his arms again. He held her hand the entire ride and he squeezed it gently.
He picked one of the more private picnic areas. The park wasn’t crowded at all they pretty much had the area to themselves, except for the occasional cyclist riding by. Angel pulled the ice chest and a blanket out of the trunk of his car and took her by the hand. Sarah headed for the picnic table under a big wooden canopy. But Angel shook his head pulled her toward a grassy area under a tree.
“Over here,” he grinned.
Sarah’s eyes widened a bit, but she smiled and followed behind him. They laid out the blanket and put down the ice chest. No sooner than they sat down was Angel kissing her. At first softly and sweetly, then he pulled her back gently, laying her down on the blanket and he propping himself up on his elbow next to her. He held her head on his hand, while his other roamed her body over her clothes.
His hand ran over her stomach and then down her outer thigh. He was completely aroused and he knew she felt it.
He bit her lower lip softly then worked his way down her chin. She tasted so damn good. He moved her head up gently and dove into her neck, kissing, suckling, biting softly.
“Angel,” she whispered, hoarsely.
He groaned as he continued to kiss and suckle her neck, wishing now they were somewhere more private.
“Angel.” He could feel how hard she was breathing.
He sucked her neck one last time, then glanced at it as he pulled away smiling, satisfied when he saw a small but noticeable dark pink spot just below her ear.
He looked at her and couldn’t help kissing her one last time. When he was finally able to pull himself away from her, he laid there on his elbow staring at her wet pink lips and played with her hand. He was about to tell her how perfect it felt having her there next to him, when she stunned him with an unexpected admission.
“I’m a virgin.”
Angel stared at her blankly for a second, not sure how to respond. The idea of being her first rattled every nerve in his body, and his muscles tensed. When he didn’t respond immediately, Sarah sat up and pulled away from him.
“Wait, hold on...” He reached for her.
She pulled her hand away from his reach. “I’m only telling you, so you won’t think I’m a tease, if things don’t go as far as you’re expecting them.”
He sat up, quickly pulling himself next to her again. But before he could respond she added, “I’m just not ready for anything like that, especially with everything that’s going on right now.”
Damn it, he felt like a pushy prick, no better than Jesse. “That’s fine Sarah.” He caressed her cheek. “I’m sorry I came on so strong, I’m not usually like this. I don’t know what it is but I can barely control myself around you.”
She looked somewhat embarrassed and bit her bottom lip. “I feel the same way around you.”
He put his arm around her and kissed her head. With her baby soft hair against his face, and her alluring scent, he was afraid of getting carried away again. He pulled away, quickly looking at his watch, it was almost noon. “You hungry?”
“Starving, actually, I skipped breakfast.”
Angel frowned, “You should’ve said something.” He pulled the ice chest in front of him.
“You didn’t give me a chance,” she giggled.
He loved seeing her smile. “Ha, ha,” The sarcasm prompted her to laugh even more.
They sat yoga style, eating quietly for a few minutes. Though he didn’t try too hard, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He even enjoyed the way she ate, tearing the pieces of sandwich with her hands rather then biting right into it. She ate slow and gracefully. She was only half done with her sandwich, when he shoved the last piece of his in his mouth. Angel’s phone rang and he padded his pockets, then realized he’d left it in the car.
“I better get that. It might be my mom.” He jumped to his feet and took off toward his car.
******
Sarah admired him from behind as he sprinted to his car. Once there, he leaned in the window and reached for his phone. She placed her sandwich down on its wrapping and slapped her hand on her forehead, leaving it there for a second. She shook her head. I’m a virgin. Good God, it’s only their first date, they’re at a park, in broad daylight. Did she really think he was gonna jump her bones? Was there no end to her idiocy?
Angel walked back, still on the phone. He hung up before he got close enough for her to hear him. He sat down next to her again and picked up his sandwich.
“Sorry about that,” He sat down across from her again. “I thought it might be my mom. Sometimes it gets really busy at the restaurant on the weekend and they need me to come in and help out, even when I’m not scheduled to.”
“What kind of restaurant do they have?” She already knew. Valerie had told her so much about the Moreno’s. But she was shooting for a safer subject. One she couldn’t goof.
He shook his head wiping off his mouth. “A Mexican restaurant. It’s just off La Jolla Boulevard. I’ll take you there when we have more time.”
He finished his sandwich and wrapped up the trash in the plastic bag it all came in. He looked at Sarah’s sandwich. She’d only eaten half.
“I thought you were starving?
She looked down at her sandwich “I eat slowly.” She lost her appetite after her stupid declaration, but she lied just so they could get off the subject. It’d worked, so far.
Angel propped himself back on his elbows and looked at her curiously. “So.”
Sarah braced herself, shoving a small piece of sandwich in her mouth.
“You said your birthday is in the winter, what day exactly?”
Thank God. She washed down her food with a soda and looked at him. “January first. I’m a New Year’s baby.”
“Really?” Angel's eyebrows went up. “We’re only a few weeks apart then. My birthday is December 20th.”
“Really?” Without thinking she let out an upset, “Oh, shit!”
She saw the confused look on Angel’s face. “I’m sorry that just reminded me of something,” she explained. “Today’s Sydney’s birthday. We talked so long this morning and I never even said happy birthday. I feel terrible.”
Angel shrugged. “So, call her back.” He pulled his cell phone off the clip of his pants and handed it to her. “Here, the reception up here is pretty good.”
“No,” she said, a little too hastily. “I can call when I get home.” No way was she going to use his phone to call Sydney. She didn’t want Sydney’s number in any way programmed in Angel’s phone.
“Go ahead.” He held the phone in front of her “I don’t mind, really. If she’s upset at all that you forgot she’ll be happier you called back sooner than later.”
Her, She, Sarah felt her stomach churn. She’d never been a liar in her life and she’d reasoned earlier that this wasn’t lying. She never actually said Syd was a girl, but now this was beginning to feel like one big hairy lie. She should tell him. She really should, but she couldn’t. Not now. There would be a better time.
“You’re right.” She picked up her purse. “But I’ll use my phone. The number is already programmed in there.” She quickly pulled her phone out. She looked at him and gulped as she dialed the number. She was glad he was sitting across from her and not next to her; he might hear Sydney’s voice. Even so, she backed up a little pretending to rid herself of crumbs as she listened to the ringing.
“Lynni?”
Hearing Sydney’s voice only made her tenser. She pressed the phone closer to her ear making absolutely sure Angel wouldn’t hear him. The smile on Angel’s face made her sound even more remorseful when she spoke.
“Sydney,” she frowned, “I’m so sorry I forgot to say happy birthday to you this morning.”
She could hear Sydney chuckle. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I hadn’t even remembered until I came in the kitchen and my mom had it all decked out with balloons and what not. We had quite a feast this morning.”
“Oh.” She was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Sydney’s parents had always been that way. Even with her. She remembered a couple of years back when her mom had gone to Vegas for New Year’s, leaving her with the Maricopa’s. They’d celebrated New Year’s Eve eating pizza, playing dominoes for money, and watching horror movies. Then on New Year’s Day, Frances Maricopa, Sydney’s mom, surprised her by getting up early to make a huge feast of pancakes, bacon, sausages, eggs, and delicious home made croissants. She’d even decorated with streamers and balloons all around the breakfast nook. All of it, just for Sarah. She’d never felt so special. She’d cried the whole time they sang Happy Birthday. Even now, she felt tears flood her eyes.
She looked up at Angel. He was watching her curiously. She realized he hadn’t taken his eyes off her the whole time. She winked hard trying to regain her composure.
“Are you okay Lynni?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She cleared her throat, “I was just picturing it. It sounds wonderful Syd. I wish I could be there with you to help you celebrate.”
“You are here.” Sydney said, softly.
“What?”
“I got the slideshow you sent. I started to watch it but I kept getting choked up so I had to turn it off. I’ll try it again later.”
She felt herself warm up and smiled. “Yeah, you have to, it’s good.” she said. She looked up again at Angel to see he was still looking at her, he hadn’t flinched once. “Listen, I gotta go, but I’ll call you later and you can tell me how your day went okay?”
“I love you, Lynni.”
Her eyes still on Angel she couldn’t respond the way she wanted, and it clutched her heart. She’d told Sydney how much she loved him for years. It felt natural. She even told his parents she loved them, but she couldn’t do it now. Not in front of Angel. It was just a matter of time before he knew, and this would only make it harder to explain.
“Me too,” she whispered. “We’ll talk later okay?”
After she’d hung up, Angel smiled at her warmly. “Wow. Such emotion, all that cause you forgot?”
Sarah stiffened. She should’ve never called Sydney in front of Angel.
“No.” She wanted to kick herself. “Sydney’s mom made a big birthday breakfast this morning and it just brought back memories of when she did it for me a few years ago… that’s all.”
“Come here,” he held out his hand, smiling, “I promise I’ll try to control myself.”
She lay down facing him, propping herself on her elbow and smiled. He rolled off one of his elbows to face her, and took a deep breath.
“Sarah, I hope this doesn’t sound too crazy, but I like you a lot.” He stopped to kiss her fingers. “It’s insane, I just met you but I feel like I could spend every minute with you… if you’d let me.”
Sarah stared, gulping hard. Her heart was swelling by the milliseconds. Was she dreaming? She didn’t want to blink, she was afraid he’d disappear. He didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he went on, staring right at her.
“Last night, you said you didn’t have a boyfriend. I know it’s way too soon for that. You don’t know anything about me. I know I have no right to ask you this, but,” he paused. “You said you’re only gonna be here a short while… so, would it be too much to ask that until then we have an agreement?”
“Agreement?” Sarah had a feeling what he was getting at, but she was done making an ass of herself. She wanted absolute clarity.
He cleared his throat and it was obvious he was uncomfortable. “I mean, would you be okay if we agreed to be exclusive, while you’re here?”
Sarah couldn’t believe it. She stared ahead but not at him, shaking her head subconsciously, trying to take it all in. When she focused back on him his expression had changed. “Is that a no?”
She shook her head even harder. “No.”
Angel sat up quickly. “Are you seeing someone?” His voice was almost a whisper.
Before she could say or do anything stupid again, she sat up to face him and she spoke right in his face “I like you too. I can’t even begin to tell you how much. Last night was the first night I’ve gone out since I’ve been here. It’s been a long time since I laughed that hard.”
Her expression turned more serious. Her next statement was a risk, but one she felt was necessary. “I don’t have a problem with not seeing anyone else Angel, but I know all about you, and your brothers, and your friends. I don’t know if you’ll be able keep up with your end of the bargain. I just don’t want to get hurt.”
She saw Angel’s eyes narrow and his lips press shut. He leaned forward and spoke with a bit of affliction. “You may think you know me but you have no idea. So, I’ll let the assumption slide this time. But if I say I’ll be exclusive, I mean it.”
As much as Sarah wanted to believe him, she was terrified. There’d been so many broken promises in her life, so many let downs. She couldn’t bear another one. He must’ve seen the look on her face.
“Sarah I don’t lie.” He was firm. “You can ask anyone that knows me, if it’s one thing you can count on, it’s my word.”
The stab to her gut was deafening. How could she sit here and be such a hypocrite, when she herself wasn’t exactly being forthcoming? She smiled faintly then decided right then and there she would allow herself to be happy, very happy for the first time in too long. And then she was grinning from ear to ear. “Okay.”
He stared at her blankly. Then, as if it suddenly hit him, his grin matched hers. He put his hand behind her neck, pulling her gently closer to him. He groaned as his lips met hers and then pulled her down again with him.