Angel
It was tiny—the almost undetectable movement of her brow—but Angel saw it. The just as seemingly insignificant lift of her chin only confirmed it. Already Sarah was going to become defensive, defensive of a guy she’d only just met for the first time: Leo—her brother.
“He got here earlier than he’d anticipated,” she said, walking over to the cabinet to put the rose Angel had given her away. “So”—she turned back to Angel after closing the cabinet—“since he didn’t have anywhere else to be and his only friend out here was still working, he decided to stop by. I’ve talked to him enough about the restaurant that he knew the name. But he’s only been here for fifteen minutes.”
The defensive expression Angel had definitely noticed just moments ago eased up and she smiled. “It’s not as if I met him on my own somewhere isolated or dangerous. Alex has been here the whole time, and even though Alex said I could leave early, there was no way I was going to until you got here.” She walked past him toward the door but held out her hand. “C’mon, let me introduce you to him. He said he’s looking forward to meeting you.”
Trying not to frown, Angel took her hand and followed her through the main dining room and into the bar. The bartender was just setting a new beer in front of Leo and took his empty bottle. He stood when he saw Sarah and Angel coming. He was bigger than Angel expected.
Sarah did the introducing, and both guys shook hands, smiling politely. “I’ve heard so much about you. I feel like I know you already,” Leo said as he sat back down on his stool. “College football, huh? I haven’t been following. What’s your record so far?”
“Three and 0,” Angel said. “This last one was close. Our defensive line has had some holes lately because of some injuries, but my brother comes back this week, so that’s a good thing. The team we play this week is also three and 0, so after this Saturday, one of us will have a loss.”
Leo’s eyes opened wide in what appeared to be genuine enthusiasm. “That’s gonna be the game to watch this weekend, then. I’ll be on the lookout.”
Angel nodded, taking the stool behind Sarah’s and pulled it up closer to her so his legs came around her. He brought his hand around and rested it on her thigh “So how’s it feel to finally meet your sister in person?”
Leo smiled even bigger and turned his attention to Sarah. “I was just telling her it’s all I’ve thought about for weeks. The anxiousness to see her in person just built with every conversation we had.” He brought his eyes back in Angel’s direction as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips. “You have no idea.”
Leo peered at Angel while taking a swig of his beer. “No, I don’t,” Angel said, refusing to read more into that last comment.
He’d already made a conscious decision, from the moment they’d agreed on a date to meet with Leo, that he’d be open-minded. Angel was giving the guy the benefit of the doubt regardless what his gut said.
“I can’t even imagine,” Angel said as indifferently as he could, “finding out I have another sibling out there at my age.”
They made some more small talk until Leo finished his beer, and then Leo excused himself to the men’s room before they headed out to the marina.
Sarah turned to Angel as soon as Leo was out of hearing range. “So what do you think so far?”
Angel did his best to sound optimistic, though he still wasn’t feeling it. “He seems cool. I like what he did for that girl in the parking lot. It says a lot about a guy who’ll stand up for someone he doesn’t even know, just because he knows it’s the right thing to do.”
It really did. Angel knew Alex was impressed by that as well—probably why he was so quick to tell Sarah it was okay for her to leave early with Leo. But then he had no way of knowing this was their first time meeting.
Sarah’s phone buzzed on the bar counter, and she reached for it as she told Angel how she hadn’t even recognized Leo at first and how she feared when they were told there were two guys fighting outside that it might be Angel and the jerk Alex kicked out.
She read her text then smirked and responded. “I don’t suppose you’d be okay with me accompanying Valerie and her girlfriend to Havasu this weekend for an Oktoberfest thing.” She continued texting without looking up. “She wanted to go out there all summer and never got to, so she’s making up for it now. Sarah glanced behind her then looked up at him, raising a playful brow. “She didn’t say it, but I’m sure it has everything to do with Alex being in Hawaii all weekend. I know she’s been worried about it. I’m sure it’s her way of keeping her mind busy and not driving herself crazy all weekend.”
Angel slipped his hand in hers, glad that Sarah didn’t even seem to be considering it. He remembered how Sarah had caught that stupid lie about him not having seen or talked to Dana in years. “You’re not worried about my weekend in Hawaii, are you?”
“Of course not.” She looked up at him a bit playfully. “I shouldn’t be, right?”
“Of course you shouldn’t,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Sarah, I told you—”
“Then I’m not,” she said quickly, leaning into him. “Not at all. I promise. I was just teasing you.”
Angel wrapped his arms around her and did something he didn’t do too often in the restaurant because he knew it made Sarah uncomfortable to be so blatant; he kissed her softly at first and then he started taking it a little further.
“You two ready?” Leo’s loud voice in such close proximity made Angel flinch and pull away from her.
Sarah looked up at Leo, and Angel couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or startled—probably both. “Yeah,” she said, her face flushing a bit, confirming to Angel she was a little embarrassed. “We’re ready,” she said, grabbing her purse from the stool.
Angel’s eyes met Leo’s for a second, and the guy smiled softly but offered no apology for obviously startling them. Without another word, they headed out.
Once out in the parking lot, to Angel’s relief, Leo informed him he’d just follow them. “My friend lives near the marina, so I can just head to his place from there. But first,” he said as he held out his hand before Angel and Sarah walked past his truck toward Angel’s car. “I have something for you, Sarah.”
They stopped just behind Leo’s ride: an older model pickup truck. He opened the passenger door and pulled out a bouquet of roses. Sarah’s hands were immediately at her mouth.
“I asked my mom and sister,” he said, dipping his chin as he walked toward them, “what, if anything, I should bring you, and they both agreed you could never go wrong with flowers.”
Never go wrong?
He handed them to Sarah, and she took them, smiling big. “They’re beautiful. Thank you,” she said then leaned into Leo, bringing her free arm over his shoulder. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
Leo quickly wrapped both his arms around her back and squeezed. “I wanted to. So glad to finally meet you, Sarah.”
Angel stood there for what he knew was a reasonable amount of time, but still it felt too long. When it was finally over, Sarah and Angel walked away and Leo got in his truck. Angel didn’t say a word even as they placed the roses in his trunk and walked around either side of his car. They got in and Angel started up the car in silence.
“What?” she asked.
Staring straight ahead and then into his rearview mirror, Angel shook his head. “Nothing.”
“You’re being weird.”
Angel had to laugh. What else could he do? Never in a million years did he think he’d be doing what he was doing tonight: going out with Sarah and a dude she’d met just a month ago—a guy who’d just confirmed she’s all he’d thought about lately, had driven hundreds of miles to see her, and had brought her flowers. But what he’d said earlier to Leo was true. He really had no idea what it would feel like to find out he had another sibling out there at this age. Not only that but it was different for both Sarah and Leo. Neither of them had any other blood siblings. Sarah had told him about Leo’s stepsister—one he’d only met a few years ago—no way was that the same.
Open minded.
It’s what Angel was determined to keep being—for Sarah’s sake. He turned to her with a smile. “This whole situation is weird, babe. I’m just gonna need some time to get used to it. That’s all.”
She reached out and placed her hand on his thigh and smiled. “My mom’s been kind of weird about it too. I guess the circumstances are strange for everyone including me.”
That made Angel feel a little better. He really was trying his damnedest here. They arrived at the marina, which had been transformed into this outdoor festival with all the local seafood restaurants both on and off the marina set up outside under tents offering samples and specials on their seafood dinners. The place was more packed than Angel had expected it to be for a weeknight. It made him think maybe he should talk to his dad about considering seafood and lobster dinners for a limited time just for this festival.
They tried several of the samples and walked around for a while before deciding which restaurant they’d go with for dinner. Angel made mental notes of what made him sway more toward one restaurant’s food than the others. Fortunately, Leo didn’t do anything else that had the hair on Angel’s neck standing like seeing the flowers Leo had brought. Of course this would happen on the same fucking night Angel decided to bring her one paltry rose. It didn’t matter though. The roses were a sweet gesture from her brother, while the single one was a romantic one from her boyfriend—completely different.
Angel finally succumbed to his bladder’s needs and excused himself to the men’s room, leaving Sarah and Leo alone for the first time all evening. He was already done and washing his hands when his phone buzzed at his waist. There were two texts from Romero. He clicked on the envelope and read them in order.
Hey, where you at?
You know some dude is getting all cozy with Sarah at the marina? Text me back and tell me what you want me to do; otherwise, I’ll just take care of this my way.
Angel texted back quickly that he was there with them and that the dude was her brother but then added something as he walked out of the restroom.
What do you mean getting cozy?
He turned the corner quickly, knowing Romero could totally misinterpret and exaggerate things of this nature. Sometimes Angel wondered if Romero wasn’t just looking for a reason to pound on someone. As funny as the guy could be, they all knew he had some serious issues with his temper. Beating up on deserving assholes seemed to be his way of unleashing some of that pent-up anger.
Instantly, Angel’s eyes were fixed on Sarah and Leo. When he’d walked away, he left them sitting across from each other on the bench table. Now they sat side by side with Leo leaning into her. She was showing him something on her phone, and they were laughing. Angel could see how Romero could misconstrue this. His phone buzzed in his hand again, and he clicked on the text from Romero.
Sarah has a brother???
Angel didn’t bother responding. He hadn’t told Romero anything about Leo and hadn’t planned to until he absolutely had to. The last thing he needed was to hear Romero’s two cents on this. If his friend were still watching Sarah and Leo, and Angel knew him well enough to know he was, he’d see Angel with them soon enough. As soon as he reached the table, Leo moved back across from Sarah, and Angel took the seat next to her.
Sarah was still giggling when he sat down. “I was just telling Leo about Romero’s uncles’ charades party,” she said, motioning to the screen where the video of Romero twerking was still going. “Valerie videotaped all the hysterical stuff and sent it to me.” She glanced up at Angel and then immediately behind him. “Oh.” She smiled even bigger. “Speak of the devil.”
Angel turned to see Romero holding a plastic bag of to-go containers. “Browsing the festival?” Angel asked with a smirk.
Romero scrunched up his face. “Nah, I’m not into this shit,” he said, holding up the bags. “I’m here for Manny and Max. I’ll need wheels for this weekend since my car’s in the shop, and you know those two. They’re already cashing in the favors I’ll owe them for borrowing either of their cars all weekend. Couldn’t just ask me to pick up a burger on their way home either.” He shook his head. “They got me jumping through hoops now. They wanted lobster and crab cakes and they want them warm.”
“Then you better get that to them fast.” Angel laughed.
“Yeah, I know.” Romero nodded then glanced at Leo curiously and then at Sarah. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“I didn’t either until a few weeks ago.” Sarah smiled, turning to Leo. “Leo, this is Romero, Angel’s friend. Romero, this is my brother, Leo.”
Romero did his usual lifting of his chin, taking in Leo. “What’s up, man.” He then turned back to Sarah. “You didn’t know until a few weeks ago?”
“Yeah,” she said, exchanging glances with Leo. “It’s a long story. Angel can tell you about another time or your uncles’ food will get cold.”
Angel didn’t miss the look of suspicion or confusion on Romero’s face as he took in Leo one last time before saying he had to go. But before he did he turned back to Angel. “You and Alex are in Hawaii this weekend, right?”
Angel confirmed with a nod as the waiter from the place they ordered dropped off their huge trays of shrimp, crab legs, and lobster. He spoke to Romero for a bit before turning his attention fully back to Sarah and Leo.
“The game’s in Hawaii?” Leo asked as he peeled the shell off a shrimp.
Again Angel nodded, reaching for a crab and the wooden mallet the waiter had left.
“It gets really messy,” Sarah warned Leo.
“You going too?” Leo asked, glancing up to look at Sarah but then went back to struggling with his shrimp.
“Nuh uh,” Sarah said, biting into her shrimp and then reaching for her napkin. “Unfortunately, I don’t get to go to Hawaii with him. Yet,” she added, smiling at Angel. “I will some day.”
“Yeah, you will.” Angel leaned in and kissed her, wishing he’d thought of it sooner and somehow arranged for Sarah to go with him.
It was a day game on Saturday, and they weren’t getting back until Monday evening. They would’ve had the rest of the day Saturday, all of Sunday, and even part of Monday to do some sightseeing.
The messiness of the dinner with them having to peel the shrimp and break the crab and lobster shells open kept them busy and the conversation to small talk as all three inhaled the food. By the time they were done and all sat there stuffed, it was getting late. Most of the vendors were beginning to wrap it up.
“So it’s a three-day weekend for you, right?” Leo asked as he walked one of the trays to a nearby trashcan. “Columbus Day on Monday?”
Sarah nodded, piling up her dirty napkins on the tray Angel held out for her.
“Any plans?”
Angel eyed Leo, who rounded up the rest of the trash on the table and began walking away toward the trashcan again.
“Nope,” Sarah said. “I have a paper I need to work on. Maybe I’ll hang out with my cousin.” She turned to Angel. “Oh wait. Valerie’s out of town this weekend too. I forgot about Havasu.”
Leo stopped suddenly to look at her. “Your cousin’s going to Havasu for the weekend? Is she going for the Oktoberfest thing at London Bridge?”
“Yes.” Sarah smiled. “I think that’s what she said.”
“Why aren’t you going?” Leo glanced at Angel for a moment but quickly looked back at Sarah. “I’ve been there a few times for that. It’s always a blast.”
Sarah crinkled her nose. “That kind of stuff is not for me. I picture it sort of like a Spring Break thing where everyone gets crazy. Lots of drinking and girls going wild.” She laughed softly, hooking her arm into Angel’s. “Not my thing, not without Angel anyway.” She turned to Angel and smiled. Those beautiful eyes of hers sparkled once again, reminding him why he was so damn whipped on her. Not only was she beautiful she always knew the exact thing to say at precisely the moment it needed to be said. “I’d just as soon stay home with a good book.”
Waiting for a moment, Leo seemed to ponder something before continuing to walk his tray all the way to the trashcan. Angel got the feeling he wanted to say more but didn’t.
Despite having to endure watching Leo embrace Sarah again when they said goodbye, Angel was glad the night was finally over and Sarah’s first official meeting with her brother was done. Angel couldn’t say it’d gone badly, but he couldn’t say his unease about Leo was completely gone either. The fact that her dad had just up and disappeared still didn’t sit well with him. Though he wouldn’t in any way encourage Sarah to try to reconnect with him, it was still a red flag.
They reached her condo, and Angel could see the light from the television flickering inside, so he knew her mom was still up. Sarah came around the car, and he leaned against it, bringing her to him with one hand around her waist and pulling a strand of hair behind her ear with the other.
“So what do you think?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“I think he makes a pretty good first impression.” He smiled, staring into her eyes. “Even Alex thinks he’s cool.”
Her expression suddenly went from smiling to an adorably confused one. “I just thought of something. If Romero didn’t know I had a brother, how did he know who Leo was?”
Angel chuckled, kissing her on the forehead. “He texted me when I was in the restroom to tell me you were with a dude at the marina. I had to explain who Leo was before he went over there and got all Romero on Leo.”
Sarah’s mouth fell open slightly then she smiled. “Ah, okay,” she said. “No wonder.” Then she frowned. “Does he really think I’d do that? Sneak around to go hang out with another guy?” Before Angel could respond to that, she smirked. “I mean if I ever did I certainly wouldn’t do it in public somewhere where I know you and your friends frequent.”
Angel squeezed her hard feigning anger until she laughed. “Not funny,” he said but then added in case she was actually offended. “You know Romero. He’s ready to pounce at the first sign of drama. He’s always been like that. Kick ass first; ask questions later.”
She lifted her brow slightly, but her lip twitched so he could see she wasn’t too offended. “Well, I’m glad you and Alex have such a good friend who’s looking out for you guys, but you’d think after all this time he’d know things are a little different for you and me than they are for Valerie and Alex.”
“He does,” Angel said, hugging her tightly, knowing he’d soon be letting her go and he didn’t want to. “You know he does. That’s just Romero for you. But he did text me before doing anything, something I’m sure he wouldn’t have done if it had been Valerie.” He pulled away and smiled at her with a shrug. “So there’s the difference.”
“I guess.” She laughed then toned the smile down a bit. “You all ready and packed for Hawaii?”
Angel nodded but said nothing. It’d just dawned on him a few days ago that this would be the first time in a long time he’d be away from Sarah for longer than just overnight like all his other away games.
“You excited?” Her eyes brightened a bit in what he could only assume was an attempt to look excited for him.
Again he didn’t say anything but shook his head.
“Why?” she asked, confused. “This is Hawaii! I’d be excited.”
Lifting a brow slowly, Angel stared at her. “Would you really? Even if you were going without me?”
Her big smile waned and she pouted. “Probably not. But you should try and make the best of it, still.
“I will,” he said, kissing her softly. “I just know no matter what, with everything I see or do out there, I’ll be wishing you were there.”
“It’s a big game too,” she offered.
“Yeah.” He nodded in agreement. “And that’s probably what I’m most looking forward to, not the five-hour flight each way. Not the being on an incredibly romantic island getaway . . . with my brother.”
Sarah laughed. “Well, I’m sure he’ll make the most of the romantic island.”
That made Angel frown. “That’s neither here nor there, Sarah. You know all I’ll be thinking about is you the whole time.”
He reiterated that last statement nonverbally, using his lips for a few more minutes before he finally had to let her go. Tomorrow was his last day here, and then he’d be gone for the long weekend. He was only glad they’d gotten her first meeting with Leo out of the way and it’d been fairly painless. Already he was beginning to feel a little better about the whole thing.