Sarah
The last time Sarah and Leonardo had driven out to the pontoon Valerie had made a comment about being over it and ready to leave. Monica had hooked up with Paul and had been gone for a while on his Jet ski. There were a lot of secluded areas around the lake where Sarah had seen Jet skis parked. She wondered if Monica might actually be doing more with Paul than just enjoying the waves.
Sarah had asked Valerie if she wanted off the boat. She could ride with her and Leo back to the shore since Leo and his equally tatted-up friends had a canopy on the shore and a whole set up with a barbeque, music, and food where they could hang out. It was crazy how typically Leonardo and his intimidating if not scary looking friends were the last types of guys Sarah would feel comfortable hanging with. Sarah felt far more comfortable hanging out there than on the boat, which she hadn’t stepped foot on yet. It just went to show you could never judge people solely on their appearances. As formidable as Leonardo and his friends looked, so far they’d all been very sweet.
Valerie said she’d give Monica another half hour to come back and if she didn’t she’d head back with Sarah, leaving a message for Monica about where she could find them.
Leonardo and Sarah were standing around the barbeque, waiting for the burgers to be ready. Two of his friends, Alonzo and Bruno, were there with them. Bruno was manning the barbeque while Alonzo worked the tunes on the iPod. They had a ridiculously big speaker and were basically providing the music for everyone nearby. Sarah had been right about Leonardo’s friends reminding her of Angel’s friends in a different way. Unlike the oiled up, showing-off-abs guys with the huge and expensive-looking pontoon who seemed a little too smug, Leo and his friends were much more down to earth. Leonardo had even been annoyed when she told him about Edmund suggesting they could sunbathe topless if they wanted to, so she’d left out the “or even less” part.
She also got that protective vibe from Leonardo. The same vibe Angel his brothers and his friends exuded. When he’d shown up and literally rescued her from having to go on that boat, he admitted he’d been watching her from a few yards away. When he noticed how uncomfortable she seemed, he couldn’t stand back and just watch. Then later when Leonardo’s most flirtatious friend Marcello, who was out on the Jet ski at the moment, had come on a little too strong, the look Leonardo gave him had been enough to make Marcello lift his hands in the air and back off.
Sitting under the canopy now with a burger in one hand and a soda in the other, Sarah couldn’t get over how godsent it felt for Leonardo to show up when he had. If she’d been on that boat all this time, she was sure she’d be hating life and dreading having to tell Angel about it later.
Leonardo took the seat next to her, and she turned to him with a smile. “You ready to go out again?” he asked as he bit into his burger.
Sarah crinkled her nose, chewing her food then giggling, a little amazed at how comfortable she felt with him already. She could actually see Leonardo and his friends getting along with Angel and his brothers. “You’re so damn cute when you do that,” Leonardo said.
Just like when he called her baby girl, hearing him say things like that, especially seeing how he looked at her when he did so, was the only thing that could ruin the comfort she felt around him. She did wonder if by chance his calling her that had anything to do with the fact that it’s what her dad had called her when she was a baby. Maybe he’d mentioned to Leonardo.
She finished chewing and decided to ignore his cute comment. “Can we wait a little? This way we give Monica some time to get back to the boat. I think Valerie is gonna want to come back with us.”
“That’s cool,” Leonardo said with a big smile. “We can bring her back.”
She nodded, looking out onto the crowded lake. “You haven’t mentioned it in a while,” she said, splashing her feet in the water then glancing up at him. “Are you still going to try to take the LAPD test?”
He’d been staring at her when she glanced up at him in that same way she’d caught him doing more than once that day. His smile disappeared in reaction to her question, and he looked away. “I dunno.”
“Why?” she asked. “I thought it’s what you wanted.”
He took a long drink of his beer, so long he emptied it, and it’d been more than half full. For a second, Sarah wondered if maybe she should be worried about him drinking and driving on the Jet ski. Drunken accidents on the water weren’t unheard of, but he seemed fine still.
Tossing his empty bottle in a black trash bag they had tied to the canopy, he turned to her, licking his lips. “We need to talk.”
She tilted her head, wondering what about. “Okay, talk.”
The noise of the incoming Jet ski got their attention. Leo turned back to Sarah and eyed her half-eaten burger. “You almost done with that?”
Nodding, she looked around to see where she could get rid of the rest of her burger. She’d had a hot dog earlier and felt stuffed now.
“You not gonna finish that?”
She shook her head and he opened his mouth. It felt funny, but she put it in his mouth anyway, and he stood up holding his hand out for her. She took it, and he immediately laced his fingers through hers, making her insides flutter but not in a good way.
We need to talk.
Leonardo grabbed the extra vest from where it was hanging off the side of the canopy.
“You two going out again?” Marcello asked as he walked up from the water where he’d anchored the Jet ski.
Sarah didn’t miss the way both he and Bruno eyed her and Leonardo holding hands, but she felt weird about yanking her hand away like she wanted to. To her relief, he let go of her hand to help her get her life jacket on, only he stood a little too close to her. She wanted to tell him she knew how to put her own life jacket on, but a part of her felt as if she were being paranoid for no reason.
Instead, she focused on one of his many tattoos. One of them in particular had caught her attention earlier because at first glance she thought it was her last name, but at a closer look she saw it said “Fiera.”
She knew what it meant in Spanish, but still she was curious. “What’s that mean to you?” she asked, pointing at it.”
He stared at her, still working on tightening the straps of her life jacket. “It’s just a nickname,” he said as if he were looking for a reaction in her eyes. “It’s what all the guys call me.”
“Wild beast?” she asked.
He nodded, continuing to stare at her in that intense way, so she looked away. Her eyes focused on another tattoo: double L written in script on his upper arm. “What’s the double L stand for?” she asked.
She glanced up to see him staring at her in a stranger way now. “Let’s go talk.”
The moment he snapped all the snaps together on her vest, his hand was back in hers as they walked away toward the Jet ski. Her heart sped up again, knowing perfectly well Angel would be more than suspicious about Leonardo’s behavior. Had he been drinking faster than she’d noticed?
They reached the Jet ski, and he helped her up from behind. She climbed up awkwardly. She’d since decided there was just no graceful way to get on the damn thing. She straddled the seat and waited for him to climb up behind her. He sat down, pressing his body against hers from behind and brought his arm around the front of her belly snugly. “Let’s go somewhere private,” he whispered in her ear, and she immediately stiffened. She felt him loosen his hold around her and even back up a little. “So we could talk, baby girl.”
She turned her face him, not letting it go this time. “Why do you call me that?’
To her surprise, instead of looking alarmed that she’d question it, he smirked, wiping a speck of sand away from her face, close to her lips, which he stared at now. “Because you’re so tiny and delicate next to me. It’s what you make me think of.”
Gulping, she turned away from him and started the Jet ski up. Within minutes, they were out of the five-mile speed limit zone and she sped up. “Go that way,” he said loudly against her face so she’d hear him over the motor.
She headed toward the secluded area where he’d pointed, but the closer they got, the tighter her chest began to feel, and she slowed. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Sarah shook her head, trying desperately to shake the feeling of complete dread that crept over her—that feeling that she was being as stupid and naïve as she’d been back in high school with Coach Rudy. But before she knew it, she felt utterly choked up and panicked. All she could think of was Angel. God, she just wanted to be with him or at the very least be somewhere where she could text or call him.
“What’s wrong?” Leonardo asked again, sounding a little more concerned, and she turned the Jet ski around slowly.
“I don’t know,” she cried, feeling stupid. “This feels wrong. There’s something wrong. I shouldn’t be here. It’s not you.” She turned to him. “I just . . . after what happened with the coach in high school—”
“Oh, hell no, Sarah,” Leonardo said, pulling away so his body wasn’t touching hers at all. “I’d never—”
“I know! I know!” she said, feeling completely ridiculous now. “I’m sorry. I just got spooked. It’s not you; it’s—”
“Stop the Jet ski,” he said. “Stop it right now.”
“What?” she asked confused, looking back at him.
They were in the middle of the lake. “Kill the motor,” he ordered her, so she did.
The moment they’d slowed enough he jumped off. “Leonardo!” she turned to him then turned the Jet ski around. “What are you doing?”
“I need to talk to you,” he yelled from where he was floating. “But I need you to feel safe. I’m off now. You can take off whenever you want to—need to.”
“What?” she said, feeling incredibly stupid not to mention guilty. He’d been nothing but a sweetheart to her all day. “This is crazy. Get back on! We can’t talk this way anyway, and there are too many boats out for you to be floating out there like that. It’s dangerous. Leonardo; please get back on!”
“I’d never hurt you, baby girl,” he yelled.
“Okay, I believe you,” she yelled back. “Just get back on before you get hurt.”
He hesitated but then started swimming toward the Jet ski. He climbed on and again sat behind her, his cold body feeling good against her now dry and scorching hot swimsuit.
“Forget talking in private,” he said against her ear. “I’ll tell you on our way to get Valerie.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be,” he said immediately. “Don’t you ever be sorry about being suspicious and playing it safe. Okay?” She nodded, feeling like a complete idiot until he took a deep breath and spoke again. “I’ve been lying to you.”