The Crush
Cece POV
“Oh, good,” Cece’s mother said as the two came to the exit door of the plane. “Miguel made it in time. I hate when I have to call in a driver.”
Cece followed her mother out of the plane, and found Catherine’s right-hand man wasn’t waiting alone. He’d brought along his oldest son—Juan.
Instantly, a hot flush climbed up thirteen-year-old Cece’s cheeks, and then raced down her throat as she caught sight of Juan leaning against the black Mercedes.
It wasn’t even her first time seeing Juan. She had known him for practically her entire life. He was two years older than her—fifteen—but he never made Cece feel like the annoying little girl he got stuck looking after whenever their parents had to do business.
They were friends.
Sort of.
Cece didn’t know when—or how—it happened, but sometime over the last year, she stopped seeing Juan like just a friend. Maybe it happened while he was growing taller, and filling out. Or maybe it was when his dark eyes started to always follow her whenever she moved.
It could have just been the fact Cece started noticing boys in general. Juan just ended up being the only boy she really cared to notice.
He was handsome, too.
Russet skin, and amber eyes. A baseball player with the grace and agility to prove it, not to mention the body …
Embarrassment crept up Cece’s cheeks again.
Dammit.
“Cece?”
It was only her mother saying her name that brought Cece out of her head. Apparently, she had all but come to a standstill on the bottom of the jet’s stairs.
Probably while staring.
At Juan.
Ugh.
“Yeah, Ma?”
Catherine glanced up the stairs to the jet, and then back to her daughter. “Did you forget something on the plane?”
“No,” Cece said quickly.
“Is something wrong?”
Cece’s gaze darted over her mother’s shoulder to see Juan talking to his father. “No, Ma, nothing is wrong.”
Just a little awkward.
The butterflies were back in her belly, too.
God.
Catherine followed her daughter’s gaze and then she grinned. “Ah.”
That stupid blush came back again at full force. She could actually feel the way the blood rushed to the surface of her skin to show off her shame. She might as well have just turned into a goddamn tomato for as red as she probably was.
Cece tried to play it off by coming down the last steps, and pushing past her stone-still mother. Because what else could she do?
“Leave it alone, Ma,” Cece said.
Catherine laughed, and grabbed her daughter’s wrist to keep Cece from going any further. She pulled hard to swing Cece around. Like this, Cece had no choice but to look her mother in the face—Catherine could see everything Cece was trying to hide, then.
“Wait a minute,” her mother said. “So … Juan, huh?”
Cece made a face. “It’s just a stupid crush.”
“Does he know?”
Her laughter tasted a little too bitter on her tongue.
“Ma, I don’t think he notices me at all.”
Catherine frowned, and took one step closer to her daughter. The way they were positioned kept Cece from view of Juan and Miguel.
Well, her face.
They could only see her back.
“Hey, now,” Catherine said.
“What?”
“Look at me.”
Cece did.
Catherine winked. “You are too beautiful, and far too amazing for someone to overlook you. You stand out—you fucking shine.”
Cece grinned.
Her mom nodded. “And trust me, Juan notices you, too, Cece.”
“You think?”
“I know he does, but I also know he’s a decent young man with his head on straight, and his heart in the right place.”
“What does that even mean?”
Catherine bent down to stare Cece head-on at eye-level. “It means … you won’t be thirteen forever, but right now you are—he knows it.”
Oh.
“Now,” her mom said, “smile.”
Cece did.
“And go say hello,” Catherine added. “He’s just a boy at the end of the day. And you? You are the most amazing girl. Got it?”
She nodded. “Got it, Ma.”
A little pep talk from her mom went a long way when it came to Cece. Catherine seemed to know just what to say, or just what Cece needed to hear to make everything better somehow no matter what.
She loved her ma.
Always.
The two crossed the tarmac to where Miguel and Juan broke out of their conversation to greet them. Juan turned a blinding smile on Cece the moment her eyes met his.
Jesus.
Were crushes supposed to make you feel lightheaded?
She didn’t get the chance to think on it for long. Once she was close enough, Juan took the chance to wrap an arm around her neck, and then he pulled her in for a tight hug that all but took her breath away for a quick second.
Strong arms.
Woodsy scent.
Cece’s heart skipped beats.
“Hey, Cece,” Juan murmured into her hair. “I missed you, my girl.”
Maybe it was the whole my girl thing that caused this mess that was Cece’s heart, too.
Yep.
Much more than a little crush.
Cece’s face was going to permanently settle into a scowl if she couldn’t get her raging jealousy under control. It didn’t help that Juan seemed entirely oblivious to Cece’s growing frustrations ten feet away.
Light, girlish giggles brought Cece out of her thoughts. Sure enough, she found the girl, who had approached Juan from the moment he and Cece came down to the hotel’s pool, was the owner of the stupid laughter.
Why did girls think giggling was cute?
Child-like giggles.
It wasn’t cute.
The girl was pretty, though.
Blue-eyed.
Peach and cream skin.
Blonde hair.
Total Cali girl.
Everything opposite to Cece.
Older, too.
Fifteen, or sixteen.
“You should come,” the girl said. “Oh, my God. I bet you would have so much fun with us, Juan.”
Juan shot a glance over his shoulder at Cece. She quickly turned her head to pretend she wasn’t listening to their conversation. He probably still saw her doing it.
“Uh,” Juan started to say.
Cece looked back just in time to see the girl reach out and place her palm against Juan’s pec. The girl’s white bikini was so small, it might as well not even be there at all.
Jealousy burned through Cece even hotter.
“I would really like it if you would come,” the girl said.
Cece wouldn’t blame Juan at all if he went with the pretty girl and her giggling friends waiting at the other side of the pool. He was closer to them in age, and they probably had better plans other than sitting poolside all day.
Screw it.
Cece grabbed her earbuds for her tablet, and shoved them in. If she couldn’t force herself to ignore them, then she would just drown their conversation out with loud music. She refused to even look in their direction after that.
Childish?
Maybe a bit.
It was better than her going over there to try and rip the girl’s blonde hair out of her head. Besides, she didn’t think Juan would like that very much.
Especially if he liked the girl.
Crap.
What if he did actually like her?
That kind of made Cece’s heart hurt.
This crush thing sucked.
All of the sudden, the sounds of the pool filled Cece’s ears as her earbuds were tugged away. A shadow darkened over her form as Juan came to stand next to her reclining lounger.
“Hey,” he said.
Cece tried not to frown. “Hey. I guess you’re going to hang out with your new friend, huh?”
Juan’s brow dipped. “No way, Cece.”
Her heart perked.
Stupid, traitorous heart.
“No?” she dared to ask.
He grinned. “Nope—today’s all for you. I promised.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“You okay?”
Cece glanced over at where the girl had rejoined her friends. “I am now.”
Juan nodded. “Huh.”
“What?”
“You look like you smelled something bad.”
Cece shrugged. “No, I just—”
“I didn’t mean to make you jealous.”
Her first instinct was to deny his words—she didn’t want him to know she liked him that way, partly. Another part of her did want him to know exactly that.
This teenaged girl thing was hard.
The way Juan looked at her made Cece stop and think before she said anything at all. She thought about her mom, too, and what Catherine always told her.
Petty girls made scenes.
Petty girls lie.
Petty girls play games.
Queens didn’t need or do those things.
“I don’t like seeing you with other girls,” Cece settled on saying.
Juan dropped into the lounger beside hers. “All right.”
“All right,” she echoed.
He looked over at her, saying, “It’s always just me and you when it’s us, Cece. I promise.”
Her daddy once told her to find a boy who kept his promises because those were the kinds of boys who grew up to be good men.
She knew that she had found that boy.
Juan.
They still had years to go yet, though.