Sweet Sofie
A Moreno Brothers related novel
Written by
Elizabeth Reyes
Edited by
Hazard Editing
Sweet Sofie By Elizabeth Reyes
Copyright © 2011 By Elizabeth Reyes.
All rights reserved including the right to
reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever.
This is a work of fiction. Names, charac-
ters,
places
and
incidents
aracte
products of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
4/467
CHAPTER 1
Brandon
Age 10
“You’re not the boss of me!” Sofia
glared at her brother.
“Sofie, you’re gonna get hurt,” Alex
warned.
“Nah, she’s got it.” Eric was always
on Sofia’s side, as much as her
brothers would let him be, anyway.
All morning they’d been taking turns
jumping off a ramp with their bikes in the
middle of the street. As usual, Sofia was the
only girl. She watched as Eric knelt down
and adjusted the height on the ramp, lower-
ing it a bit.
“I can jump as high as you guys,”
Sofia protested.
“No.” Angel shook his head. “Lower
it, Eric.”
Sofia sat on the bike, frowning. “No
fair.”
Sal watched from where he was
standing on his bike. “That’s high
enough, Sof.”
She’d jumped off the ramp before, but
only a few times when her brother’s hadn’t
been around. Eric had seen her once and
said she was pretty good. Her brothers never
let her do anything. If it weren’t for Eric, she
knew she wouldn’t even be jumping right
now.
“Alright go for it.” Eric smiled.
Sofia rode down the street, turned
around and stopped. The apprehension in
her brothers faces irritated her. Sal was the
oldest at fourteen, Alex, twelve, and Angel
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was eleven. She was the only girl in her fam-
ily, and the youngest at ten. They all stood
there on the side of the street. Eric and
Romero also watched her closely.
“Be careful,” Sal yelled.
Eric smiled at her, and she smiled back.
Eric Diego lived up the street and was An-
gel’s age. He’d been one of her brother’s best
friends for as long as she could remember.
Sofia had always been drawn to him, but re-
cently she’d developed a secret crush on him.
He always helped her get around her broth-
ers, and had become such a sweetheart
lately. Not to mention, he was slowly becom-
ing what her and her friends liked to refer to
as a ‘hottie.’
“Yeah, and hurry up ‘cause I’m next.”
Romero rode his bike in slow circles, waiting
his turn.
Ramon Romero was her brother’s other
best friend. He, Angel and Eric were the
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same age. For as long as they’d known him
he’d gone by his last name. He lived further
down the street that crossed their cul-de-sac,
but on the same block.
Sofia began to peddle and stood up to
get more speed, determined to show her
brothers she could do it. The bike flew up
and over the ramp, and she turned the front
tire to the side as she landed for a dramatic,
skidding stop. More impressive than she had
expected, she smiled triumphantly. “You
see?” She looked at Alex.
Alex still had that same look of dis-
approval on his face. Sofia frowned
at that.
“That was cool, Sof,” Eric said.
“Maybe next time we can lift the
ramp a little.”
“No,” Alex said quickly, “that’s high
enough for her.”
“Not for me, though.” Romero ad-
justed the height to make it higher.
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“That’s way too high,” Angel said,
looking at the amount of bricks
Romero put under the plywood
ramp.
“You don’t know about this.”
Romero continued stacking them
higher.
“Are you nuts?” Eric asked. “That’s
not gonna take the weight of your
bike. It’s too high.”
Romero winked. “I am the master.”
“Oh, I gotta see this.” Sal leaned his el-
bows on his handlebars.
Romero finished and smiled, pleased
with his work. He got on his bike and rode
up the street. Alex and Angel stood on their
bikes next to each other, smirking.
“He’s gonna eat it,” Eric chuckled.
Sofia rode over to stand next to Eric
and Angel. Eric looked at the
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ridiculously high ramp and shook
his head.
“You think he can do it?” Sofia
asked.
“Hell no,” Eric said.
Romero started toward the ramp, pick-
ing up speed fast. He pumped his fist in the
air, making the guys laugh. Sofia held her
breath. The front wheel started up the
wooden ramp, but before it hit the top, the
ramp cracked and the front tire hit the brick,
sending Romero off his seat, and onto the
bar between the seat and the handlebars,
hard. He crashed onto the concrete, boun-
cing once before coming to a complete stop.
They all burst into laughter, but at the
same time the guys winced at the sight of
Romero rolling around on the ground.
“Awe, my nuts!” He clutched his crotch.
Nobody rushed to his aide—instead they
stood there laughing out of control. Alex
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finally walked over to examine the cracked
ramp. “You broke my ramp, ass.”
Romero could only groan. Sofia got
off her bike and walked over to him.
“Are you okay?”
Romero,
who
had
both
eyes
squeezed shut, opened one to look
at her. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Still laughing, Sal rode toward
Romero. “You want some ice?”
Eric bent over and helped Romero
up. “Thanks for that, man,” he
laughed.
Romero stood there, blatantly holding
his crotch, with an expression of sheer
agony. Sofia looked away. She’d seen her
own brothers do that plenty of times, when
they went overboard with the horseplay.
Someone would inevitably get a knee or el-
bow to the crotch, but watching Romero do it
felt weird.
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They all looked up when a car raced by
on the street that crossed the cul-de-sac. Not
a second later, they saw a police car race by
and the siren turn on. Tires squealed and sk
thealed aidded and another police car raced
by. A thunderous crash followed around the
corner. They all looked at each other, wide-
eyed.
“Holy shit!” Angel began peddling.
Romero limped quickly to his bike,
and Sal took off behind Angel. They
all started toward the corner.
“Sofia, you stay here,” Sal yelled
over his shoulder.
“No,” Sofia whined.
“Yeah, Sof. It might be dangerous.”
Alex was even sterner than Sal.
“I wanna see what happened, too!”
“No, Sof,” Alex repeated, “stay
here.”
Eric looked at her sympathetically, but
followed Angel anyway. She slowed down,
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pouting. Angry tears filled her eyes, but she
knew better than to disobey her brothers.
Though her mom came to her aid at times,
their father had laid it on heavily from the
time they were just kids. If anything
happened to Sofia, they’d all be in major
trouble. Her brothers, but most notably Alex,
who had the shortest fuse, took it very seri-
ously. The older they got, the fiercer their
protective natures became.
She waited until they were around the
corner, and started up slowly again toward
the corner. She stopped when she turned the
corner, but couldn’t see anything. The car
had crashed around the block. People began
to come out of their homes because of the
commotion.
She inched along, walking her bike. The
door of the house she stood in front of
opened up. Brandon Billings walked out and
onto his porch. He was Alex’s age, but been
held back a year, so he was still in grade
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school with Sofia and Angel. He almost never
came out, and Sofia had always thought of
him as kind of creepy. Part of the reason why
he never came out was he didn’t have many
friends. Her brothers and their friends all re-
ferred to him as Bad News Billings. Sofia
glanced at him.
“What are you looking at?” he sneered.
Sofia stuck her tongue out at him, but
didn’t respond. She continued to look up the
street. Brandon turned his attention also and
saw the people on their porches and front
lawns. “What’s going on? What’s everyone
looking at?”
Sofia stared straight ahead. “The
police chased a car around the
corner, and I heard it crash.”
Brandon’s
eyes
opened
wide.
“Really? So how come you’re not
over there?”
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He jumped off his porch and
walked toward her. “Don’t you
wanna see what happened?”
Sofia shrugged.
“Well, then let me use your bike so I
can go see.”
Sofia turned and frowned. “No. Use
your own bike.”
“C’mon.” He grabbed one of her
handlebars. “It’ll take too long to
get mine. I’ll be right back.”
”/blockq
“No.” She tried to pull her bike
back, but he held on. “Let go, Bran-
don! Why don’t you just walk?”
“Around the block?”
“Yeah, lazy.” She attempted to pull her
bike again, but he held on firmly, now stand-
ing in front of her with both hands gripping
the handlebars.
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Sofia pulled hard, glaring at him be-
fore she saw Alex ride up behind
him and jump off his bike.
“Get away from my sister.” He
pushed
Brandon
hard,
nearly
knocking him off his feet.
“She was gonna lend me her bike.”
“No, I wasn’t!” Sofia squealed. “He
was trying to take it.”
Alex glared at him and pushed him
again even harder. “You gonna take
my sisters bike?”
“No!” Brandon stumbled back, but man-
aged to stay on his feet. The other guys rode
up on their bikes. Angel and Sal jumped off
their bikes immediately.
“What’s going on?” Sal asked, walk-
ing up behind Alex.
“He was trying to take my bike,”
Sofia answered.
At Sal’s glare, Brandon turned
around and ran up the steps of his
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porch. “Yeah, you better run,
Billings!” Angel yelled.
Brandon hurried in his house and
closed the screen door behind him.
“I wasn’t trying to take no girl bike.”
“You gotta come out sometime,” Sal
smirked.
“And when you do,” Alex cracked
his knuckles, “I’m gonna kick your
ass.”
Brandon closed the wooden door.
Sal turned to Sofia. “Are you okay?”
“Did he touch you?” Angel asked.
“I’m okay,” Sofia said, and then
glanced at Angel. “No, he didn’t
touch me.”
Romero picked up a rock and threw
it at the screen door. “Asshole!”
They all got back on their bikes and star-
ted toward the house. “You shouldn’t have
been over here, Sof.” Alex said, and started
peddling. “We told you to stay.”
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Sofia rolled her eyes. “I wanted to
see. So what happened?”
“The guy that was trying to get away
crashed into a parked car and they
arrested him,” Eric said, riding next
to Sofia.
Sofia opened her eyes wide. “Was
he hurt?”
“Nah. The crash sounded a lot
worse than it aworse tt looked.”
Alex rode over to the broken ramp. “You
had to get stupid about it.” He looked at
Romero. The guys started laughing again, re-
membering Romero’s spill.
Romero frowned and rubbed his crotch.
“I think I bruised my nuts.”
“Easy.” Sal frowned at him and then
glanced back at Sofia.
Sofia didn’t say anything, but felt a little
awkward. She got off her bike, leaving it on
the driveway and walked in the house. They
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could talk about bruised nuts or whatever
they wanted to now. She was thirsty.
Pouring the juice in her cup, she thought
of her brothers. Brandon had it coming. It
had been building for some time now. She
could hardly believe how stupid he was to
continue to be a jerk. She cringed at the
thought of what would happen if her broth-
ers ever got hold of him.
***
A few days later at school, Mrs. Sanders
tapped the pointer she had in her hand
against her desk loudly. “Mr. Diego, can you
come back to earth?”
Eric turned to his sixth grade teacher,
feeling his face redden as some of the other
kids giggled. He’d been busy staring out the
window. Sofia and a couple of girls were on
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the playground. He’d seen Brandon hanging
around, not too far from them. Brandon
looked like he was up to no good.
“I asked you to read the next para-
graph,” Mrs. Sanders snapped.
Eric glanced down at his book. He
hadn’t the slightest idea what page they were
on, much less which paragraph. He glanced
up at Romero, who sat across from him, for
help.
“Page eight,” Romero whispered.
Eric turned the page quickly. He’d
been way off, in the twenties, and
then looked at Romero again.
“Third paragraph.”
“Mr. Romero, are you talking
again?” Mrs. Sanders raised her
voice.
“No, Ma’am.”
He turned back and shot Eric a
look. Eric struggled not to smile.
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“Am I hearing things, then?” Mrs.
Sanders pressed.
Romero shook his head and glared
at Eric, who was shaking his head
disapprovingly.
Eric started reading and quickly realized
he’d been had. He was on the wrong page.
Romero chuckled when the teacher told Eric
he wasn’t even on the right chapter.
“Is something funny, Mr. Romero?”
Romero had a bad case of the giggles by
now, and couldn’t even answer her. He
looked down at his book, biting his lip, and
shook his head. When Eric saw Romero was
unable to control his laughter, he started
chuckling also.
“Alright, I’ve had enough of you two,”
she snapped. “You can both go see Mrs. Pow-
ell, right now!”
23/467
Even then, Romero was still laugh bi
still ing. Eric didn’t even want to look at him.
He’d managed to stop laughing. Making the
mistake of glancing up at Romero’s stupid
face, he cracked up again.
“Take your things with you, because
I’m asking her to keep you for the
rest of the day.”
When they walked out the door,
Eric frowned at Romero and
pushed him. “You’re stupid.”
Romero laughed. “You’re the one.”
“Man, I’m gonna be so busted when
I get home.” Eric shook his head.
“Not as busted as Angel.”
Eric looked at him, confused, and then
turned in the direction Romero was staring.
There were two teachers trying to pull Angel
off of Brandon on the playground. Angel was
furious and continued to try to kick Brandon.
Brandon lay there on the ground with his
hands over his face.
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Sofia stood off to the side, close to tears.
Eric and Romero ran toward the crowd. “I
told you not to mess with my sister,” Angel
yelled.
“That’s enough!” Mr. Manning, the
playground proctor, warned. He
was finally able to pull Angel away.
Brandon had a bloody nose and a
fat lip.
Eric
turned
to
Sofia.
“What
happened?
“He pulled my skirt up.”
Eric frowned, suddenly glad Angel
had kicked Brandon’s ass. He
glared at Brandon, wishing he could
have a shot at him, too.
They walked Angel away. Eric and
Romero followed; they’d been sent to the
principal’s office and knew that’s where An-
gel was headed. Eric looked back at Brandon
who was now on his feet, crying, as the other
teacher checked his face. He glanced over at
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Sofia, who stood there and watched as they
took Angel away. Something tugged at his
heart when he noticed her quivering lip.
*
The walk home could not have been any
more somber. Angel didn’t walk with them
like he usually did. He’d been suspended and
sent home. Eric and Romero were both look-
ing at an entire week of detention. Sofia was
the only one not in trouble, but you wouldn’t
know it by looking at her. The look on her
face said it all. She felt terrible about Angel
getting in trouble because of her.
They reached Romero’s house first, and
he went in. Sofia and Eric continued down
the sidewalk. Eric looked at her. Her eyes red
rimmed and welled up with tears. Suddenly
he felt panicked. He wasn’t used to dealing
with girls crying. And something about see-
ing Sofia cry made it worse.
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“Don’t cry, Sofie,” he almost begged.
“Angel’s gonna be okay.”
“My dad’s gonna be so mad, this is the
second fight he’s gotten into.”
“Yeah, but the first one wasn’t his fault,
remember? Even the principal said so.”
Though with their school’s zero-tolerance
policy, he’d been he’d suspended anyway.
They reached Eric’s house, but he kept
walking with Sofia. “You coming over?” she
asked. “’Cause I’m pretty sure Angel’s not
gonna be able to come out today.”
“I know. I just wanna walk you all the
way home.”
Sofia smiled weakly, and wiped her eyes.
She looked so sad—her cheeks all flushed
and wet. Eric felt like hugging her. He
pressed his lips together hard. That damn
Brandon.
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He didn’t quite understand it at the
time. He’d always seen Sofia as his best
friend’s chubby little sister. He’d felt just as
protective as her brothers did when anyone
messed with her. But lately, he’d felt a differ-
ent connection with her. She seemed to turn
to him a lot now, to help her out when her
brothers were being too domineering, and
for some reason, he liked it.
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CHAPTER 2
The Wonder Years
Age 13
Ever since the boys had moved on to
high school, things had been different. Sofia
finally had some freedom. A good thing too,
because now that she’d lost a few pounds,
boys were beginning to notice her. She could
actually have a conversation with them dur-
ing lunch without worrying about one of her
brothers breathing down their necks. Even
Romero, but mostly Eric, had gotten in on
the big brother act. As if three brothers wer-
en’t enough.
Everything at home remained the same.
Her brothers’ overbearing natures hadn’t
changed at all. With them feeding off her
dad’s old school mentality about the import-
ance of the older brother role, their interfer-
ences began to reach new heights.
Sofia waited for Angel to leave the kit-
chen before asking her mom about the after-
school dance that Friday. Her mom chopped
onions
while
Sofia
helped
with
the
guacamole. She glanced back to make sure
Angel had walked out.
“They’re having a Valentine’s dance this
Friday after school. It’s just a two hour thing.
I was thinking of going. Is that okay?”
Her mom turned to her and smiled. “Did
someone ask you to the dance?”
Sofia shook her head. They weren’t noti-
cing her that much yet, but someone had
asked if she would be there. “No. It’s just go-
ing to be me and Tricia and some of the oth-
er girls from the running team.”
32/467
“I don’t see why not.” Her mom rinsed
her hands in the sink.
Alex walked into the kitchen and opened
the refrigerator. Sofia pressed her lips to-
gether, willing her mom not to say anything
about the dance in front of him. But all her
mental efforts were in vain.
“Are you going to wear anything special
to the dance, or is it just casual?”
Sofia kept her eyes on the avocado she
mashed in the bowl, but from the corner of
her eye, she saw they n ahad Alex’s attention.
“What dance?”
“The Valentine’s dance at Sofia’s
school,” her mother said matter-of-
factly.
Alex made a face. “You going to the
dance, Sof? With who?”
Trying her hardest to hide the atti-
tude, Sofia didn’t bother looking at
him. “With my friends.”
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“What friends?” Alex pressed.
She turned around, no longer able to
conceal her agitation. “Tricia and some of the
other girls, Alex.”
Alex frowned. “School dances are
lame, Sof.”
Sofia rolled her eyes, adding salt to
the guacamole. “Well, I’ve never
been to one. I just want to try it. Do
you mind?”
“Maybe I do.”
“Alex, go throw the trash out and tell
your brothers it’s time for dinner,” her moth-
er said, dumping the onion she’d been chop-
ping into the guacamole.
Alex grabbed the trashcan and headed
out the kitchen door.
“Sofia, never mind your brother, let me
know if we need to get you anything to wear.
You go and have a good time.” She kissed
34/467
Sofia on the head. “Just be sure you come
straight home after.”
Sofia smiled. Finally, her chance to
mingle with boys, and her brothers wouldn’t
be anywhere around.
*
Eric waited with Alex, Angel, and
Romero outside Kennedy middle school. He
wasn’t sure what to expect when Sofia
walked out, but he was glad Alex and Angel
were there. Any guy she might be with
wouldn’t stick around for long after seeing
them. Everyone knew about her older broth-
ers, part of the reason he’d never had to
worry about seeing Sofie with a boy.
Over the years, Eric’s affection for Sofia
had taken a bit of a scary turn. It had gone
from being brotherly, to thinking of her in
35/467
ways he knew he shouldn’t. It didn’t help
that she was blossoming at an alarming rate.
Most of her baby fat was gone, but she had
more curves now than most of the girls Eric’s
age. The nerves he’d begun to feel around
her now were partly due his attraction, and
partly for the fear of one of her brothers, es-
pecially Alex, noticing the way his eyes would
involuntarily wander.
Kids began spilling out of the front
gate. Angel circled around in the
street on his bike.
Something caught Alex’s attention.
“Is that Asia?”
Eric followed Alex’s stare. “Yeah,
that’s her.”
“Damn,” Alex smiled, “hard to be-
lieve she’s only in the eighth grade.”
Asia, one of the girls who had grown up
with them on the same street, had moved
several blocks away last year. She wore a
mini skirt with boots es with bthat went to
36/467
her knees. Her tight blouse and low neckline
showed just how much she’d grown up in
just one year.
Angel stopped his bike and watched as
she crossed the street. “That’s Asia?”
“Yep.” Eric nodded.
Romero circled around Eric. “What’s the
big deal?” Just as he was going to pass by
Alex, he added, “Yeah, she’s filled out pretty
well for an eighth grader, but she ain’t got
nothing on Sofie.”
Alex kicked Romero’s tire, causing him
to lose his balance for a second. “Don’t be
stupid, ass. Sofie doesn’t dress like that.”
Eric laughed and watched as
Romero nearly lost it, but recovered
last second.
“I didn’t say she did. I just meant…
”
Alex glared at him.
37/467
Romero frowned. “Never mind.”
“Yeah, never mind,” Alex muttered
something else and Eric couldn’t
help chuckling. Romero would nev-
er learn.
Sofia walked in a group of four, but the
fact that her two girlfriends were in front,
and she was behind them with a boy, wiped
the smile right off his face. She also wore
boots to her knees, but with jeans, not a
skirt. Her long, straightened hair made her
look older.
“There she is.” Angel started toward her.
“I’ll go get her.”
Eric waited with Alex and Romero.
There was no hiding her annoyance as she
realized they were all there waiting for her.
Angel rode right up to her. She said
something to him, then something to the
boy, before climbing on Angel’s handlebars.
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Eric smiled. This was precisely what he was
counting on.
When they were close enough, Eric saw
how annoyed Sofia really was.
She looked right at Alex. “Mom did not
say I had to walk home with you guys. All she
said was to come straight home.”
“We’ll take you straight home, Sof.”
Alex grinned.
They were all on the move now. She
rolled her eyes.
“Zat your boyfriend, Sof?” Romero
asked.
Before she could answer, Alex drove
his bike into the back wheel of
Romero’s bike. Again, Romero al-
most lost it.
“C’mon!” Romero yelled, barely
able to recover before hitting a tree.
39/467
Sofia and Eric exchanged glances, then
she huffed, “Of course not—like I’ll ever have
a boyfriend with you guys always around.”
“Good,” Alex said.
Eric smiled. His thoughts exactly.
Age 14
The swing set in their backyard held so
many memories. Sofia sat at their backyard
picnic table, watching her brothers and her
dad take it down. It was bittersweet to see it
go, but it had been years since they’d used it
for anything else but to sit on. The old rusted
thing had become an eyesore.
She remembered the time she jumped
off the top of the slide, pretending to be
Wonder Woman. Her forehead hit a
40/467
sprinkler Angel had forgotten to put away,
and she ended up with six stitches. Alex had
been livid. At first with Romero, for being
the one who suggested they jump off in the
first place, then with Angel for having left the
sprinkler there.
Romero and Eric strolled through
the back gate of her yard.
“No way!” Romero stared at the
piled up pieces of swing set on the
grass. “Old Nellie’s finally seen her
last days?”
“Yep,” Alex said, throwing a pole on
the ground with the rest of the set,
“this
thing
was
falling
apart
already.”
Eric sat down next to Sofia and
nudged her. “You sad?”
Sofia smiled. “Nah, I was just think-
ing about all the memories we had
on that thing.”
41/467
“Oh, yeah,” he chuckled, “remem-
ber when Romero almost hung
himself?”
Sofia laughed. Poor Romero, he always
learned the hard way. Angel and Romero
joined in with more stories about the swing
set. In just about every story, Romero didn’t
fare well. He’d always been the reckless one
of the bunch, and he’d paid the price.
Once her dad’s truck was loaded with all
the remains of the swing set, Alex, Sal and
her dad got in, with Alex at the wheel. He’d
only had his permit for a few weeks, and was
eager to drive any chance he got.
Angel and Romero played catch and Eric
sat with Sofia. He’d been doing that a lot
lately.
“I’m gonna see my mom again.”
Sofia turned to him. Usually, his amaz-
ing light brown eyes gleamed when he spoke
42/467
to her. Right now, they seemed troubled.
Eric had only met his mom in the past year.
She left him and his father when he was just
a baby. None of them really knew the story
about his mom. All she knew was he lived
with his dad, and his mom just wasn’t
around. That is, until he told her about it a
few months earlier when his mom suddenly
showed up. He hadn’t even told her brothers,
just Sofia. It made her feel special that he’d
confide something so personal to her—it
meant something.
“You are? When?”
“Tonight. She’s taking me to dinner. She
wants to go to the movies, but I don’t know.”
Eric turned his attention to Angel and
Romero, who tossed the ball around.
Sofia knew Eric was still hurt about
his mother leaving them. “Why
not?”
43/467
He shrugged, “Still feels weird. I’ll
do dinner, but I’m not sure about
the movies. We’ll see how it goes.”
“You nervous?”
Eric’s eyes were back on her. “A
little, but only about being alone
with her. It’s uncomfortable.”
The ball hit the bench next to Eric
and bounced off, rolling near his
feet. Eric bent over to pick it up.
“You’ll be fine,” Sofia said as he
stood up to throw it.
He threw it, then turned back to her and
smiled. “Yeah, I will.” He started to walk off
toward Angel and Romero, then turned
around. “Maybe I’ll come by after, if it’s not
too late, and tell you about it.”
Sofia smiled. “Okay.”
*
44/467
The drive home from dinner was quiet
and uncomfortable, as was the usual case
when Eric spent time with his mom. He
asked her to drop him off at Angel’s house,
said he needed to pick something up he left
there earlier.
“Eric, I don’t want to push. So you give
me a call whenever you want and we’ll plan
another dinner or lunch.” His mother paused
as Eric opened the door to her car. “Or
maybe breakfast. That way I won’t take up
too much of your time. Okay?”
Eric nodded and turned to face her. He
smiled, not wanting to make her feel bad, but
he wasn’t about to hug her, much less kiss
her. “Okay, I’ll see you.”
With that, he stepped out of the car and
headed toward the front door. He could see
the light was on in the garage. The guys most
likely were in there working out, but they
weren’t who he was here to see.
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Sofia opened the door before he even got
to it. She must’ve just taken a shower be-
cause her hair was still wet. She wore shorts
and a faded La Jolla High T-shirt. It was too
big, but she still looked cute in it.
“Hey,” she smiled, “how’d it go?”
He made a face. “Same as the last
time—weird.”
Sofia opened the door all the way
for him to come in.
“Hi, Eric,” her mom said from the
sofa in the front room.
“Hi, Mrs. Moreno.”
“The boys are in the garage.”
Sofia gave him a knowing look. “But
first you have to try some of my
mom’s flan. It’s delicious.”
Mrs.
Moreno
smiled,
proud.
“There’s plenty. Take some to your
father.”
“Thank you.”
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Once in the kitchen, Sofia was all busi-
ness after serving him a heaping helping of
the desert. She leaned against the counter in
front of him. “So what happened?”
The smell of the shampoo from her still-
damp hair distracted him. Her big eyes
waited in anticipation. He tried to concen-
trate. He told her about the small talk his
mom had made at dinner and how he tried to
make a joke and it toowike and tally bombed.
Sofia laughed.
He loved hearing Sofia laugh, even if it
was at his expense. “I don’t know if it’s ever
gonna not feel weird. My dad says it’ll get
better with time.”
“It will,” she said, sounding completely
convinced.
“You think?”
“Of course. It’s only weird because she’s
your mom. Think of all the times you meet
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someone for the first time at school. After a
few times of talking to them, it’s like noth-
ing.” She laughed. “The fact that you tried to
make a joke says a lot. Remember the first
time you said you didn’t feel like saying any-
thing else but yes or no?”
Eric smiled. He’d forgotten about that.
He’d been mad at his dad for making him go.
Sofia was right. Compared to then, things
had gotten a lot better. They talked for a
while until he finally got up and headed for
the back door toward the garage. Before he
walked out, he turned to Sofia. “Thanks.”
Sofia smiled, holding the dish out.
“You’re welcome. Remember, my
mom said to take some to your
dad.”
Eric looked at the plate, then back
at her. “Well, that too, but I meant
thanks for the talk.”
She smiled even bigger. “Anytime.”
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Eric took that to heart. From then on,
Sofia was the only one he talked to in-depth
about his relationship with his mother.
Age 15
Sofia fixed her mascara in the restroom
of her family’s Mexican restaurant. Eric
would be there any minute. She stepped back
and examined the polo she wore. She was
now a full C cup and she knew Eric had no-
ticed. She’d caught him looking several
times.
Many of her friends already had boy-
friends, but her brothers were still not hav-
ing it. She thought as she got older, they’d
ease up. Instead, it was just the opposite.
They were worse than ever. It was infuriat-
ing. No one in her school dared ask her out.
Worst thing now, her brothers had grown
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into these big guys, especially Alex, who
spent more time in the gym than he did at
the restaurant. He’d quickly become the
biggest guy in school. Top that, with his le-
gendary temper—no way would anyone come
near her. She could literally feel the shaky
nerves in the voices of any guy that spoke to
her.
Things were different with Eric. She got
to be around him all the time. Lately, there’d
been a change. Many times when they spoke,
he gazed deep in her eyes no matter what the
subject, almost as if he was trying to tell her
something without saying it. Her insides
would always turn to mush around him now.
She liked it. It was exciting.
As she walked out into the main dining
room, her mother came toward her. “Oh,
there you are. There’s a young man here to
see you.”
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Sofia pinched her brows. A young man?
“Who?”
“I don’t know, but he’s out front by the
entrance.” Her mom rushed into the kitchen.
Sofia walked through the restaurant
wondering where Alex could be. Sal was
away in college and Angel was hoe tAngel
wme, but Alex was here somewhere. She
didn’t want him embarrassing her. She
turned the corner to the front of the en-
trance. Ah, hell.
Ronald, a senior on her track team,
stood at the front entrance. He was new to
the school and apparently one of the few that
hadn’t heard about the cavemen in her life.
Alex spoke to him.
“You’re kidding right?” Alex soun-
ded almost amused.
“No, why? Is that a problem?”
Alex was as intimidating as ever.
“Of course it is.”
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They were both about the same
height, but Alex probably out-
weighed him by at least forty
pounds.
Sofia cleared her voice. “Hey, Ron.”
Ronald turned at the sound of her
voice and smiled. “Hey, Sof.”
He walked away from Alex, coming over
to where Sofia stood. He pulled something
out of his pocket. “I went to Old Town this
weekend. I saw this and thought of you.”
He handed her one of the little tiny
turtle bobble heads she’d mentioned collect-
ing. She smiled, taking it from him. Alex
came over and stood behind her.
“Let me see that?” He took it from Sofia,
examining it, as if he hadn’t seen all the ones
she had just like it in her room. Then he
asked, “How old are you, Ron?”
Ron gave him a strange look.
“Eighteen.”
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With that, Alex snapped the head
off the tiny turtle and handed it
back to Ron.
“Alex!” Sofia said, horrified.
“What’s your problem, man?” Ron
asked.
Romero and Eric walked through
the front door, oblivious to what
was going on.
Alex got in his face. “My problem, as-
shole, is my sister is fifteen. I could call the
cops on you, for trying to mess with a minor,
but I’d rather kick your ass myself.”
A few customers walked in, forcing Alex
to refrain from doing anything. The only
thing that would hold him back from hitting
the guy was his dad’s outrage if he made a
scene in the restaurant. Still, Sofia stepped in
front of him to separate them. Alex didn’t
make it easy. “Stop, Alex. We have
customers.”
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Ron held his hands up and looked at
Sofia. “I didn’t know you were fifteen.” His
eyes roamed her up and down and with a
smirk he added, “You sure don’t look
fifteen.”
“Get out.” Alex spoke through his
teeth.
Ronald smirked. “I’ll see you at
school.”
He walked out, but of course, Alex
went after him. Eric and Romero
followed. Sofia forced a smile and
greeted the customers.
*
The guy hadn’t stopped when Alex asked
him to, instead picked up the pace and got in
his car. Alex warned him as loud and as ob-
scenely, as only Alex could, about staying
away from Sofia.
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Eric and Romero walked back in the res-
taurant behind a fuming Alex. This complic-
ated things. Sofia turned heads now more
than ever. The guy was eighteen, for crying
out loud. Alex could only do so much to keep
the guys away. Next year, like Sal, he’d be
gone to college, too. It would be up to Angel.
Eric had to make some kind of move,
but how could he, with Alex and Angel so
dead set against their baby sister dating?
Alex stalked through the restaurant to
the back. Sofia saw him coming and walked
to the empty bar area, carrying a basket of
chips. Normally, Eric would’ve stayed back
and let them speak privately, but this conver-
sation he needed to hear. Was Sofia involved
with this guy somehow?
“You wanna explain why there’s an
eighteen-year-old guy bringing you gifts?”
“Oh, my God, Alex.” Her exasperation
was usually warranted. Alex did tend to
55/467
overreact, but Eric was with him on this one.
“I mentioned to him the other day at school
about my turtle collection. He’s just a
friend.”
“That’s not what he said to me.”
Eric took his eyes off Sofia to look at
Alex for a second, then his eyes
were back on her.
She blinked as she and Eric ex-
changed glances, then she turned
back to Alex. “What did he say?”
“He said he was here to ask you out,
Sof.”
Sofia glanced back at Eric. Her big
brown eyes seemed to almost speak to him.
“I don’t know where he would get the idea I’d
be interested. I only talk to him during track
practice.”
“Well, you’re not anymore.”
Sofia winced. “I can’t even talk to
him? Do you even hear how
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ridiculous that sounds? He’s just a
friend.”
“Don’t be naïve, Sof. There’s only
one reason he’d be talking to you.
Did you not see the way he looked
at you?”
“I saw.” Romero finally spoke. Eric
thought Romero had been quiet too
long.
Alex turned around to look at him. “I
should’ve kicked his ass,” he muttered, walk-
ing away back into the back office and then
turned back. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,
Sofia. I see you around him at school, he’s
dead.” To Eric and Romero he added, “I’ll be
right out. Just let me grab my keys.”
Sofia held out the chips to Eric and
Romero. “You guys want some?”
Romero went right to them. “Yeah, I’m
starving.”
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Eric took advantage of Romero’s distrac-
tion and stared at Sofia. She didn’t look
away. Instead, she said, “I really never gave
him the impression that I might be inter-
ested. I promise.”
Romero didn’t look up from the
chips. “Oh, I believe you, Sof. You
got any salsa?”
Sofia was still looking at Eric. “It’s
in the kitchen. You can grab a
bowl.”
Romero walked away into the kit-
chen. Eric smiled. “You promise?”
Her face flushed. She smiled and
nodded. “Promise.”
Subtle as it had been, Sofia officially
made the first move. This was all Eric
needed. He’d get around her brothers some-
how. Alex walked out of the office.
“All right, let’s go. Where’d Romero go?”
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Just then, Romero walked out of the kit-
chen with a small bowl of salsa. Alex made a
face. “Can you wait ‘til we’re done unloading
my truck? You guys can order whatever you
want.”
Eric had to stop staring at her before
Alex saw him. She was almost sixteen. He’d
think of something.
59/467
CHAPTER 3
Sweet 16
Alex and Sal were hardly ever around,
and Angel was utterly distracted with a girl
he’d met a couple of months earlier. Eric and
Sofia were able to hang out together more
than ever. Since his brothers were away in
college most the time, it had become Angel’s
responsibility to chauffer his little sister any-
time his parents couldn’t. With this new girl
keeping him busy, he’d come to rely on Eric
to help him out with the rides. Angel trusted
him completely, and of course, Eric was
more than willing to oblige.
Though they’d been alone many times,
Eric still wouldn’t allow himself to try
anything. Sofia had made the first move by
caressing his hand in the car when she spoke
to him. They’d graduated to holding hands
during their rides alone. His insides scorched
too many times when he’d been near Sofia.
The guilt of what Angel would say if he be-
trayed him by doing anything more than
hold his little sister’s hand now outweighed
the fear of what her brothers would do. To be
able to touch her and kiss her like he fantas-
ized for too long would be more than worth a
beating. Even from Alex. But the guilt he
couldn’t handle.
Angel texted Eric asking if he could pick
Sofia up at the restaurant and take her home.
As usual, he was out with his girl and he
needed the favor. Eric sat in the car behind
their family’s restaurant. His heart thumped
when he saw her come out the back door.
She smiled big when she saw him.
He took her scent in—soft and sweet—as
she slid into the passenger seat. For years
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he’d come to love the smell, but lately, it had
taken on a more womanly hint. Lately, too,
he couldn’t help thinking of her as his little
Sofie.
Sofia was hardly your typical sixteen-
year-old, just one of the reasons she drove
him so insane. She was tall, and had filled
out beautifully in all the right places. Her
dark hair was longer than ever, and though
she probably didn’t even realize it, she ex-
uded sensuality. The way she gazed at him
sometimes with those beautiful bedroom
eyes of hers nearly did him in.
Eric took her hand as soon as she was all
the way in. She smiled and took it a step fur-
ther, caressing her fingers ever so lightly
over his. It was all he could do to hold back
putting his hand behind her neck and kissing
those beautiful lips.
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“Do you have to take me straight
home?” She gave him those big, pleading
eyes.
Eric groaned. This wasn’t the first time
she’d asked him that. Just like the last time
she’d asked, the temptation to take her back
to his house overwhelmed him. His dad
wasn’t home, and they’d have the whole
place to themselves, but he may as well have
a death wish. Finally initiating a first move of
his own, he kissed her hand. Her eyes
widened. “You know I do, Sof.”
She let out a disappointing sigh. “Then
will you come over and have some pie? I
made it myself this morning, and my mom’s
home so my brothers can’t say anything
about it.”
Over the years, Eric had been over the
Moreno’s residence plenty of times, even
when none of the brothers were home. Liv-
ing with his single dad, who was working
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constantly, Mrs. Moreno knew he rarely got
a home-cooked meal. The woman, and now
Sofia, was always cooking. He’d always get
invited to come in and eat, or like today,
have a slice of pie. So Angel and his brothers
didn’t think anything of it. They made jokes
about him spending more time in their kit-
chen than they did, but they’d always treated
him like family. That only intensified the in-
credible feelings of guilt about the things
he’d been thinking lately when he was
around Sofia.
He sat at the center aisle of their kit-
chen, forced to watch Sofia as she moved
around the room. Her breasts full and firm,
Eric had been having dreams about them for
years now. She bent over, looking for
something in the refrigerator and he nearly
fell off the barstool.
Sofia pulled out the whip cream bottle
and walked over to the pie in front of him.
She squirted some on it, then some in her
65/467
mouth, licked her lips and smiled, wickedly.
Those big eyes of hers seemed to taunt him
so much lately.
At seventeen, Eric had no control over
his raging hormones. He panicked, feeling
the development in his pants. If Mrs.
Moreno or anyone walked in, there’d be no
way he could stand up without it being
noticeable.
Sofia giggled, and squirted a little
more in her mouth again.
“Sofie.”
Eric
glanced
around.
“Stop.”
“Stop what?” Those big innocent
eyes appeared genuinely confused.
“That.” He pointed at the can of whip
cream in her hand, then tried, unsuccess-
fully, to adjust himself in his pants. “I’m not
gonna to be able to walk for a while thanks to
you.irmanks to You better hope no one
comes in here.”
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He’d never said anything of that nature
to her, but things felt different lately. It took
a second to register, but when it did, instead
of blushing like Eric thought she might, she
smiled again. She squirted some on the tip of
her finger, then slowly, licked it clean. Eric
squeezed his eyes shut, sitting up straight.
“You evil little girl.”
Sofia laughed and walked back toward
the refrigerator. “In case you haven’t noticed,
I’m not a little girl anymore, Eric.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed.” Had he ever.
She turned and smiled. “Good, now can
you please tell my brothers that?”
Good luck. They all still spoke of her,
and treated her, as if she was this fragile
little flower. The only good thing about that
was it kept the guys away. Guys he knew had
to be watching and waiting.
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Lately, even Eric was having a hard time
not losing it when he saw guys around her.
He knew Angel thought he just felt the same
protectiveness they all did. He did, but not
for the reasons Angel thought. He had to
break down soon and talk to Angel. He
couldn’t hold back much longer.
*
Angel had a girlfriend now. Her name
was Sarah, and she was on the track team
with Sofia. Sofia liked her a lot, but most im-
portantly, she owed Sarah for all the time she
was getting with Eric now.
They walked back to the gym after prac-
tice. The football team was just coming off
the field, as well, done with their practice.
The guys usually met Sarah and Sofia
halfway to the gym, but they were
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interrupted by a couple of giggling girls this
time. Both Sofia and Sarah tensed when they
saw the exchange. Only Angel kept walking
toward them, without giving the girls the
time of day.
Eric and Romero, however, stopped to
chat. Romero obviously enjoyed the atten-
tion. He laughed about something. One of
the girls leaned into Eric playfully and
touched the curls on his head. The very curls
Sofia had only begun running her fingers
through in the past week during their time
alone.
Eric smiled, glanced in Sofia’s direction,
and she looked away. She felt her skin crawl.
Too many times, she’d had to endure seeing
him with girls. It was so unfair. With just
about every guy in school well aware of her
brothers, and recently even Romero and Eric
stepping up the big brother act, Eric would
never have to deal with seeing her with other
guys.
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She gulped hard, staring straight ahead.
She hated this feeling, and lately it was get-
ting worse. Every time she saw or overheard
the guys talking about the things they’d done
with girls, she wanted to scream. At the mo-
ment, she felt on the verge of tears.
Angel reached for Sarah’s hand as soon
as he was close enough. He turned in her dir-
ection. “You tired, Sof?”
She nodded, unable to even speak. After
changing, she and Sarah walked out to meet
the guys. It had become routine for Angel
and Sarah to drive to the beach and hang out
for a few hours every day before he went
home. But he always left it up to Sofia if she
wanted him to take her home first, or if she
wanted to jump in with Eric. This time, she
climbed in Angel’s car before he even asked.
< inasked. div height="0">
Sofia knew Eric would wonder why, but
she didn’t care. She was tired of their
70/467
charade. Eric got to enjoy their moments and
still play the single ready-to-mingle part,
while Sofia lived on constant lock down. It
was maddening.
The next day, Sofia managed to avoid
Eric for most of the day, until the after-
school pep rally. Forced to wait with Sarah
during the rally, while the principal riled
everyone up about the big game that night,
she had no choice but to watch the guys
around girls again. All the guys on the team
wore their jerseys every Friday.
Eric was now as tall as her brother An-
gel, but the biggest difference was he had
light brown curly hair versus Angel’s dark
straight hair. He’d really filled out in the last
couple of years. The jersey he wore made
him look even bigger around the shoulders
and he looked so damn cute it killed her.
She watched him from across the rally,
where he stood with the rest of the team.
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When it was over, everyone spread out. The
cheerleaders made spectacles of themselves
around the players. Angel headed toward her
and Sarah, while Romero and Eric, as usual,
hung around with all the ogling cheerleaders.
Romero lowered himself a bit, letting one of
them jump on his back for a ride. He said
something to Eric, who then did the same
with another cheerleader. The girls laughed
so loudly, Angel turned as he reached Sarah
and laughed.
Sofia was incensed. It was all she could
do to keep from crying. The jerk had seen
her—knew she’d be watching, and still went
ahead and let that girl on his back. She was
done with their alone time. In fact, she was
going to look into getting her license. She
hadn’t wanted to before, because needing
rides from Eric was the perfect excuse to be
alone with him, but she was done. Maybe, if
she had a car, she would finally get some real
freedom.
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That night at the game, she sat with
Sarah, Sarah’s cousin Valerie, and one of
Valerie’s friends. A group of boys she didn’t
recognize sat near them. One of the boys
smiled at her as he sat down. She smiled
back. He was cute. Tall, not nearly as muscu-
lar as Eric, but then Eric worked out every
day with the football team. This guy was ob-
viously not a player since here he was
watching.
The boy glanced over at her a few
times before finally scooting his
way closer.
“Hi, I’m James. What’s your
name?”
“Sofia.” She smiled.
“You have real pretty eyes.” His
sheepish smile made it easier to ac-
cept the compliment.
“Thanks.” She pulled a strand of
hair away from her face.
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She didn’t realize Valerie had been
listening in until she asked. “You
guys go here? I’ve never seen you.”
James shook his head. “Nah, I go to
Lincoln. But this rivalry is so
big—everyone wants to see this
game.”
Valerie nodded. “Well, you sat on
the right side.”
James laughed. He introduced the rest
of his friends to the girls. He was by far the
best looking of the bunch. Two of them were
still in middle school.
/blt="0"><
Sofia talked with James the whole game.
After the game, James and his friends
walked them back to the parking lot, where
Angel’s car was parked. They always waited
there until Angel and the guys were done
showering and dressing.
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She leaned against one of the cars
parked near Angel’s. Sarah was standing on
the driver side of Angel’s car, with the door
open. She turned the radio on. When Sofia
glanced at her, Sarah motioned for her to
come over.
“I’ll be back,” Sofia said to James,
and walked over to Sarah.
“What?”
“You’re making me nervous,” Sarah
whispered.
“Why?”
Sarah chewed her lip and glanced at
James. “You don’t think Angel’s
gonna be mad if he sees you
hanging out with these guys?”
Sofia smiled. She’d thought of that, but
lately Angel hadn’t been so bad. He wasn’t
likely to make a scene like Alex would.
“That’s Alex.”
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She
explained
Angel
wouldn’t
be
thrilled, but unlike Alex, he wouldn’t do any-
thing unless the guys were disrespectful, and
she assured her James wasn’t.
James had made his way over to where
Sarah and Sofia stood. Everyone else fol-
lowed. Sarah still seemed apprehensive.
Sofia went back to talking to James. Valerie
stuck her head in Angel’s car and turned the
radio up a little more.
Sofia walked away from the group with
James so she could hear him better. They
were standing on the other side of the car
very much alone when she glanced over and
saw Angel, Romero and Eric approach the
group by the car. Romero was the first to
speak up. “What is this? A fucking party?”
Her heart thudded when she heard Eric
ask what Sofia was doing over there. Both
she and James turned to see him stalking to-
ward them. He didn’t look happy.
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“Is that your boyfriend or something?”
James asked, sounding a little panicked.
“No,” she whispered.
James stood up a little taller, ready to
face off with Eric. Sofia felt for him, but she
had no way of warning him. Eric was just a
few feet away. Unlike her brothers, Eric was
usually the calm and more reasonable of the
bunch, but his expression now was reminis-
cent of Alex.
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78/467
CHAPTER 4
The promise
The guy standing with Sofia did the stu-
pidest thing he could do at that moment. He
reached over and touched her arm. Eric had
never had a problem controlling his temper,
but right then he felt like exploding on the
guy.
“What are you doing, Sof? What’s this?”
Eric gestured to the guy’s arm still touching
her.
“Who are you?” The guy asked before
Sofia could respond.
It wasn’t even asked with that much
conviction, but that’s all Eric needed to let
out what he’d been feeling the whole time
since he spotted them. He jumped in the
guy’s face. “Who the fuck are you?”
Sofia jumped in front of him, her breasts
pushed against him. “Stop, Eric!”
Angel and Romero were there in a
second.
“Easy, Eric.” Angel glanced back at the
guy. When his friend came from behind him,
as if to back him up, just like that, Angel was
on fire. “What are you gonna do?” He
growled, jumping in his face.
Sarah struggled to hold Angel back.
Romero got in on it when more of the guys
closed in. The girls all did their best to keep
the guys apart, though the other guys didn’t
put up too much of a fight. The younger ones
didn’t even try to get involved. When it was
all over, the other guys walked away. Eric
glanced at Valerie and her friend, who still
struggled, holding Romero from going after
them. Sofia pulled her hands away from his
chest and took off toward Angel’s car.
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Still reeling and breathing hard, Eric
wondered if Angel would question just why
he reacted that way. The door to Angel’s car
slammed, getting all their attention. Sofia
was already in the back seat of Angel’s car.
Obviously, she wasn’t jumping in with Eric.
Angel and Sarah got in the car. He stood
outside the passenger side trying to hear
what Angel was telling Sofia until he heard
him ask her if she was crying. Instinctively,
he stuck his head into the side of the win-
dow. “You crying, Sof?”
After Romero stuck his head into the
driver’s side window to see what was going
on, Sarah sat up. “All right, out!” She pushed
Eric’s head out. “You too, Angel.”
Eric H walked around the car and
met Angel and Romero, “Good
looking out, man.” Angel held up a
fist.
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Eric tapped it with his own fist, try-
ing to smile, but he was still too
wound up. “Always.”
“Was he being a wise ass?” Angel
asked, as they walked away from his
car toward Valerie and her friends.
“Yeah,” Eric embellished. “I didn’t
like the way he was looking at her,
either.”
“One of those, uh?” Angel shook his
head. “Fucking asshole.”
They talked to Valerie and her friend for
a few minutes, before heading back to their
cars and off to the beach for a bonfire. Eric
thought about Sofia with that guy the whole
way there. He knew she couldn’t be happy
about seeing him with those girls yesterday
and today. But if she thought she was going
to be hanging with guys she had another
think coming.
With Angel so distracted with Sarah at
the beach, Eric took full advantage. He’d
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already planned on coming to some kind of
understanding with Sofia. He knew he had to
after she’d jumped in Angel’s car yesterday,
instead of coming home with him. After to-
night’s incident, he definitely had to get
things straight with her.
It helped that Romero was busy trying
to cozy up with Sarah’s cousin, Valerie. Eric
wouldn’t have to deal with him interrupting.
Almost as soon as they got the fire going, An-
gel and Sarah laid a blanket down and sat
down on it. Within seconds, Angel was all
over her. That guy was so obsessed. Eric had
never seen him like this. He walked over to
Sofia, who was putting down her own
blanket on the sand. “You wanna go for a
walk?”
When she began shaking her head, Eric
glanced back at Angel. He was whispering in
Sarah’s ear. Eric reached his hand out and
touched Sofia’s. “Please, Sofie?”
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She stared at him for a moment, then
slipped her hand in his. Another glance at
Angel confirmed he was still completely dis-
tracted. He’d pulled Sarah down and was
now lying next to her. “Eric’s walking me to
the restroom, Angel.”
Angel barely managed to pull his lips
away from Sarah long enough to respond
with an, “Okay.”
They headed toward the water, com-
pletely out of everyone’s sight. First things
first. Eric squeezed her hand. “Who was that
guy, Sof?”
She didn’t look at him. “Just someone
who started talking to me at the game.”
“Why were you alone with him?”
Sofia stopped and faced him. “Why was
that girl touching your hair yesterday?”
Those beautiful eyes glared at him. “Why
was that stupid girl on your back today?”
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Eric took a deep breath. He knew it. “I
was gonna talk to you about that today, but I
didn’t see you all day at school.”
She shifted her weight. “And after school
you were too busy?”
“Listen, Sof. I can’t help it when things
like that happen.”
She pulled her hand out of his. “Then I
won’t be able to help it, either, when guys
talk to me, Eric. So I’d appreciate it if you not
attack every guy that talks to me.”
“That’s not gonna happen.”
“Why not? I don’t attack the girls
that flirt with you.”
“That’s different.”
Her mouth opened then closed. Be-
fore she said anything, he added,
“I’ll try, Sof. For you, okay? But it’s
going to be hard.”
Her eyes were ablaze. “Really? It’s
hard for you to not flirt?”
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“No.” He took her hand again. “It’s hard
because no one knows. That girl getting on
my back today was Romero’s idea, not mine.
If it had been Angel, no way would he have
suggested it.” He kissed her hand. “If I could
tell everyone how I feel about you, things
would be different. But I can’t.”
She licked her lips, and he nearly went
for it. He’d been dying to kiss her for so long.
“I’m saving myself for you.”
He stared at her. The thought of Sofia as
his nearly choked him. She was waiting for a
response, but he had no idea how to respond
to that in words. So he did the only thing he
could. He cupped her face in his hands and
kissed her.
His thoughts at first were to just give her
a peck, nothing more. But she opened her
mouth, inviting his tongue in. He couldn’t
resist. He took her mouth, her tongue, she
tasted so good he brought his hand down
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around her waist and pulled her to him. She
might not have known what she was doing,
but she caught on real quick.
Sofia’s breasts pressed against his chest.
Eric had such a hard on, it hurt. He’d dreamt
of this day forever. His legs nearly gave out
on him when she pressed herself against
him. “Sofie, baby,” he whispered, “don’t!”
“Why?” She smiled against his
mouth.
“Because, we can’t do anything. It’ll
only torture me.” He pulled away
from her, gulping hard.
She fisted her hand in his chest. “I
promise you, Eric. I’m all yours,
unless—”
“Unless nothing.” Eric wouldn’t
even think of it.
“Unless.” She raised her voice. “I keep
seeing and hearing about you with girls.” She
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tapped her fist against his chest. “It’s not
fair.”
“I promise you I won’t do anything with
anyone else ever.” He kissed her forehead.
“But you gotta cut me some slack around
Romero. Just because I go along with what
he says or does to shut him up, doesn’t mean
I’m doing anything. I’ll never do anything to
hurt you.”
Her eyes brightened and he kissed her
again. It was settled. Maybe seeing her with
another guy had been worth it after all. The
urgency levels had raised just enough to
force him to move this thing along a little
further. But he was playing with fire and he
knew it. He’d have to be particularly careful
now. If her brothers ever got wind of this, es-
pecially Alex, he was a dead man.
*
*
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Thank goodness for Sarah. If it wasn’t
for her, Sofia would be just bursting. Sarah
was the only one she’d told about her and
Eric. She promised not to say anything to
Angel, but begged her to be careful.
Sofia sat in her Geometry class, day-
dreaming. She and Eric were making out
every time they were alone now. He was so
gentle with her it drove her crazy. She could
hardly stand it. She roamed her hands all
over his body freely, though most of the time
he pleaded with her not to. But he had yet to
do much to her. She knew it was a torment
for him to hold back and she told him he
didn’t have to, but he insisted they were
already taking an enormous risk just making
out.
Brandon sat down next to her. He was
late again. He still lived at the end of their
cul-de-sac and he was still a recluse. Sofia
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stopped hating him a long time ago. Instead,
she felt sorry for him. There was something
sad about the look in his eyes. He’d stopped
being a jerk long ago, as well, and he seemed
nice enough now.
The first day of the semester, he’d
walked in late and there were only two empty
seats left. She’d been saving the one next to
her for her friend, but she didn’t have the
heart to tell him no when he timidly ask her
if he could sit there. He’d sat there every day
since. After getting to know him better, she
found out she’d been right. He was actually a
real nice guy. But he clammed up whenever
she asked anything about his family, so she
stopped asking.
He talked a lot about joining the Mar-
ines as soon as he graduated from high
school. It kind of made her sad how happy he
was about getting away from his family. She
couldn’t even imagine leaving her family. At
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least he hadn’t turned into the loser her
brothers always said he would.
“You still don’t know what you wanna
do once you’re done with high school?” he
whispered.
Sofia shook her head. Her parents had
always told her she was more than welcome
to follow the family business as long as she
went to school first. It was important to them
that she had an education to fall back on.
For as long as she could remember, she
kept a journal. She loved writing and unlike
some of the kids who groaned when her Eng-
lish teacher assigned a paper or short story
to write, she was always excited about it. Her
English teacher told her she hadn’t even be-
gun to scratch the surface of her talent.
“Maybe a writer. I dunno.”
“You like writing?”
She glanced at him. “Yeah.”
“What do you write?”
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“Short stories mainly, but I know I
have it in me to write a novel
someday.”
Brandon smiled. “I love reading. It’s
all I do at home. I could read an en-
tire novel in a day.”
Sofia stared at him, completely sur-
prised. She would’ve never pegged Brandon
as a reader. He was totally failing Geometry,
but maybe math wasn’t his thing.
“What kind of stories do you write?”
Brandon appeared almost captivated.
Sofia suddenly felt nervous. She hadn’t
expected Brandon to be interested in her
writing. Much less, ask her more about it.
“Lots of stuff.”
“Like what?” He actually put his elbow
on the desk and rested his head in his hand,
watching her. Only then did she notice how
blue his eyes were.
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She never would’ve dreamed she’d be
having this conversation with Brandon. She
told him about several of the stories she had
backed up on her computer. The teacher
cleared her voice loudly, and looked straight
at them. Brandon shielded his paper and
pointed at Sofia—as if she who was acing the
class—would copy off his work. Even the
teacher couldn’t help but smirk.
They walked out together after class. “I’d
love to read some of your writing, Sofia.”
She cringed. No one had ever read any
of her stuff. She’d never even told anyone
about it. “Umm… I dunno.”
“Here.” He pulled a paper out of his
backpack and scribbled something on it.
“Email me one of your stories. I promise I
won’t be mean. If anything maybe I can give
you some constructive criticism.”
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Sofia took the paper from him and
smiled. “Okay. I’ll check and see
what I don’t mind sharing.”
She got caught for a moment in his
eyes, then she looked away.
“Okay, see you,” he said and walked
away.
She turned to walk down the stairs
and saw Eric staring straight at her.
Her heart fluttered as usual, and
she smiled.
“Did he give you his number?” Eric
asked, without smiling back.
“No.” Unwilling to share the truth. “It’s
about the homework.” She smashed the
piece of paper into her hand. “He gave me a
website he uses to help him.”
“Since when do you need help from
Brandon?” Eric still wasn’t smiling.
Knowing she’d startle Eric, she
kissed
him.
“It
was
just
a
suggestion.”
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Eric looked around, obviously con-
cerned. “Sofia, stop.”
She giggled. He was too easy.
“Never.”
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CHAPTER 5
Risking it all
Sofia was in a forbidden heaven. Things
had progressed, and even Eric couldn’t stop
it. Every time they made out things got heav-
ier and heavier and every time, things were
more exciting than the last.
She was doing her usual morning run
when she got an idea. Eric’s dad was away
for a few days. Instead of doing her normal
run, she took a short cut and headed to his
house.
Sofia knocked when she got there, but
he didn’t answer. She wondered if he was
asleep still. To her surprise, the front door
wasn’t locked. She walked in, but stopped
mid-stride. What was she doing? There was a
humming noise in another room. Then
complete silence. Sofia stood in place, debat-
ing about leaving or waiting.
She called out Eric’s name. Within mo-
ments, he walked out into the front room
wearing nothing but a towel around his
waist. “Sofie? How’d you get in here?”
Unable to take her eyes off his bare
chest, she gestured toward the front door. “It
was open.”
She rushed to him and kissed him. Just
as eager, he spun her around and she was
against the wall with his big body pressed
against her. He kissed her more ravenously
than he ever had. She loved it. Every part of
her body was awake with anticipation.
She smothered herself against him,
hearing him moan when her stomach
pressed against his erection. Then his towel
dropped. Sofia froze. One look down and she
saw what she’d only felt through his clothes
for weeks. Sofia had never seen one. Not
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even on the Internet like some of her friends.
She didn’t dare risk getting caught. With her
eyes still glued to it, Eric bent down to pick
up the towel and there was a knock at the
door.
With her heart at her throat already, she
could barely breathe. Eric worked quickly to
wrap the towel around him, when Romero
flung the door open. They all stood there
speechless. Romero stared at the two of them
for once, without a thing to say. Sofia
grabbed a DVD off the wall and ran past
Romero. “Thanks, Eric. I’ll get this back as
soon as I’m done with it.”
*
Romero stared at the door Sofia just ran
through and then turned back to Eric. “Are
you out of your mind?”
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In a weak attempt to pretend not to un-
derstand what Romero meant, Eric respon-
ded, “What do you mean?” The throbbing
boner was all but gone now, but his towel
still showed signs of life. His heart raced like
he’d never felt before.
“Dude.” Romero glanced back at the
door. “Do you know how bad that looked? If
Angev> l or Alex had been with me…”
Eric shrugged, but the fear that sud-
denly inundated him just hearing Alex’s
name, was a living thing. “She showed up
when I just got outta the shower. All she
wanted was to borrow a DVD.”
Romero stared at him, unconvinced.
“Just ‘cause Angel hasn’t noticed, Eric. Don’t
think I haven’t. You really need to think
about this. Don’t be stupid. This is Sofie
we’re talking about, man.”
Eric frowned. “She’ll be seventeen
soon.”
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“Seriously? You’re actually considering
this?” Romero stared at him, then shook his
head, walking past him toward the fridge.
“Stop. Just stop, dude. I don’t even wanna
hear any more.”
Eric stared at the floor, his breathing fi-
nally back to normal. He looked up in time to
watch Romero pull a bottle of soda out of the
fridge. He took a swig of it then made a face.
“What’s with the diet soda?”
Ignoring his comment, Eric rushed into
the bedroom. “I gotta get out of here.”
Romero was on his sofa watching televi-
sion with his feet on the coffee table when
Eric walked back in the living room. He had
a bag of chips now. “Where you going?”
Eric frowned. “I gotta meet my mom for
breakfast. She drove in from Los Angeles.”
He had long forgiven his mom for walk-
ing away from him and his dad when he was
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just a baby. She explained it to him when he
was about fifteen. She said she’d just been
too young and immature to handle settling
down with a family. She was nineteen when
she walked away. His dad worried when he
was younger that he might be dealing with
issues of abandonment. But Eric had always
argued, how could he feel abandoned by
someone he didn’t even remember?
Their relationship ever since she’d
reached out to be a part of his life consisted
of one or two monthly visits like today. But
Eric kept them short. Even when she’d in-
vited him to come stay with her for a few
weeks in the summer or to take a trip with
her, he’d always politely declined.
Romero stood up, downing the last of
his soda. He tossed the bag of chips on the
coffee table. For some reason, Eric felt the
need to avoid eye contact with Romero. His
knotted up stomach churned. It was out
there. Someone knew now, and it was just a
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matter of time before he had to deal with her
brothers.
“Listen, Romero. About Sofie—”
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna say any-
thing,” he scoffed. “Are you fucking kidding
me? You really think I wanna be the one to
tell those guys?” He shook his head. “Nope.
No thanks, but I’m telling you, Eric, you bet-
ter watch yourself. This shit has bad news
written all over it.”
Eric eyeballed him as he finished put-
ting on his watch. He didn’t need Romero to
point that thunderous fact out.
He called Sofia before leaving to assure
her Romero wasn’t going to say anything. He
only prayed Romero wouldn’t say something
when he was drunk.
*
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Things were going fine. Sofia and Eric
had slipped into a comfortable enough
routine. Angel had become so distracted with
Sarah, he appreciated the fact th Kd trip wit-
at Eric was so willing to help him out driving
Sofia around. Then suddenly, and very dra-
matically, Angel broke things off with Sarah.
She was supposed to have gone back to Ari-
zona after the New Year anyway, but just be-
fore Christmas, Angel found out about the
guy waiting for her back home and it was
over.
He’d been in a completely black mood
ever since. Sofia felt bad for him. Even
though Sarah was no longer around, his dis-
traction continued. Never once did he ques-
tion why Eric was over so much.
Their parents were gone the week after
Christmas. Every year they took off to Mex-
ico after Christmas and didn’t come back un-
til after the New Year. At the last minute,
Alex put together a party for New Year’s Eve.
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Sofia didn’t even know about it until she got
home that night after closing up the restaur-
ant with Sal, who’d come home for the
holidays.
Excited about a party, Sofia ran to her
room to change. She’d borrowed the cutest
blouse from Sarah months earlier and hadn’t
had a chance to wear it. All done up, she
went downstairs, excited about Eric seeing
her in it. He wasn’t there yet, but Alex took
one look at her and made her go change. As
usual, Sofia was so mad she was close to
tears. Just because it was a backless top, and
he was having some of his college friends
over. He was ridiculous.
After changing into one of her boring
tops, because she owned nothing sexy, she
went back downstairs. As it turned out, even
her boring top was enough to drive Eric
crazy. No sooner than she leaned against him
behind the bar in the garage where the guys
were playing pool, did he pull away.
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“Stop,” he whispered.
She giggled. All three of her brothers
were engrossed in the game. The girls Alex
talked to were so silly, Sofia could barely be-
lieve they were in college. Their obvious at-
tempts of turning her brothers on were al-
most funny. Angel, of course, was oblivious
to them. She was surprised he hadn’t just
called it a night and went upstairs, in the
mood he was in.
Alex clicked the channel on the televi-
sion that hung in the corner of the garage.
They were getting ready for the countdown
to the New Year. Romero said he wanted to
watch it on the big screen inside. Sofia pulled
Eric’s arm. “C’mon, lets go with him. I have
to see this in there. It’s way bigger.”
None of her brothers even flinched
when they heard her tell Romero to wait up
for her and Eric. Once inside, they’d barely
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closed the kitchen door behind them and
Sofia was all over Eric.
Eric didn’t disappoint, with a hunger
that matched her own. But he was always be-
ing cautious. They didn’t even follow Romero
into the front room. They heard the count-
down, then cheering and the music started.
Eric took a few steps backward, finally stop-
ping when he had no choice and leaned
against the sink.
She could feel him now through his
pants, but he kept stopping to check if any-
one was watching. Finally, he gave in and
took her mouth in his, devouring her tongue
completely. Her insides went wild.
The back door opened. “What the
fuck!”
Sofia spun around, shielding Eric
from a very enraged Alex. He
charged at Eric, “You’re kissing my
little sister?”
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Sofia put her hand up in an attempt
to hold him back. “It was just a New
Year’s kiss.”
S>
“I don’t give a shit.” Alex’s voice got
louder with every word. “You don’t kiss my
sister like that. What the fuck’s wrong with
you?”
Angel had walked in right after Alex, but
hadn’t seen them kissing. He tried jumping
in front of Alex. “Hold on, Alex. Like how?
“It was just for New Year’s, Alex. Relax,”
Eric insisted.
Even more enraged by that, Alex
reached over Sofia and grabbed Eric by the
shirt. “I know what I saw, fucker. Sofia
move!”
Sofia didn’t budge. Instead she pushed
Alex back with both hands. Sal had rushed in
from outside and between him, Angel and
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Sofia they managed to hold Alex back. Eric
slipped away from behind Sofia and headed
to the door.
“What the hell, Alex?” Angel asked.
“Wait, Eric.”
Eric didn’t even slow down.
“No. I want him out!” Alex roared.
After Alex swore to beat Eric’s ass if
he ever saw him around Sofia again,
Angel turned to Sofia. “How was he
kissing you?”
Sofia was so choked up she couldn’t
even answer, but it didn’t matter. Alex didn’t
give her a chance before shouting, “Your
friend had his tongue down her throat!”
Angel looked dumbfounded.
“Maybe I had my tongue down his
throat!” Sofia cried. “Ever think of that?” All
three brothers stood their staring at her. Alex
blinked and opened his mouth, but nothing
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came out. “I’m not a baby anymore, Alex. I’m
tired of you treating me like one!”
She saw him gulp. “You’re sixteen, Sof.”
Even though his tone was much softer
now, it enraged her. He’d just threatened to
hurt Eric if he was ever around her. Cut him
off from her life just like that. “I’ll see him if I
want to. You can’t stop me!”
She pushed past Romero who’d been
standing at the kitchen door, watching and
listening to the whole show. Then Alex was
yelling again. “You hear me, Sofia? Like hell
you will!”
Oh, she heard him all right. Sofia ran up
the stairs but she was done with her brothers
running her life. She slammed her room door
shut before falling onto her bed sobbing.
*
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As bad as things had gone, it wasn’t
nearly as bad as it could’ve been. When Alex
walked in the kitchen, Eric had been but
seconds from squeezing Sofia’s ass with both
hands. She did things to him that made him
lose his mind completely. He knew it was a
bad idea to be doing anything to her with her
brother just yards away. For as much as he
tried to fight it, fight her, it was impossible.
Being with Sofia was like an addictive drug.
He knew the consequences could be deadly,
and yet he craved her more than anything.
The more he had, the more he wanted.
After Eric called Angel on the phone the
next day, he was relieved to hear he wasn’t
mad. Apparently, Sofia had explained to An-
gel that she’d been the aggressor. She told
him Eric had only hugged her a K huasnnd
she initiated the kiss. Since Angel hadn’t ac-
tually seen the kiss, she made it sound as if
they’d just hugged, she kissed him and Alex
had walked in. With Alex’s legendary
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temper, it wasn’t hard to believe he
overreacted.
Still, Angel had made it a point to make
Eric promise he’d make sure nothing like
that would happen again. Now that her
brothers were on to them, things would be
that much harder. Alex’s warning was
enough to keep Eric away for now, but there
was no way he’d stay away for good. There
had to be a way to convince them they could
trust him. But how was the million dollar
question.
A few days later, Eric would’ve never
thought he’d be annoyed about the amount
of time they got off school for the holidays.
He hadn’t seen Sofia in days. It was killing
him. His only hope of getting a chance to
hang out with her now was at school. At least
until things cooled down with Alex. There
was no way he was stepping foot in their
house or their restaurant—not for a while.
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Still in his pajama pants and t-shirt, he
finished unloading the dishwasher. With his
dad gone for the day, he thought about call-
ing Romero and asking him if he wanted to
go shoot some hoops at the park. He needed
to get out, stop thinking about the need to
see Sofia.
There was a knock at his back door. Eric
peeked out his kitchen window. Incredibly, it
was Sofia. She was in her running gear. He
gulped, feeling the adrenaline of both excite-
ment and dread flood through him, as he
rushed to open the door. The second he
opened the door, she jumped in his arms.
Eric hugged her, looking around his yard to
make sure no one else was out there. The
runway behind his property ran the entire
length of the block and around the cul-de-sac
where she lived. He often took it to get to the
Moreno’s instead of going through the front.
He took a step back and closed the door
behind her. Before he could even ask, she
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kissed him and unable to hold back, he took
her in his arms. Her hands ran down his
back then around to the front of his pajamas.
She cupped him, making him groan. “No,
Sof. Please.”
“They can’t stop us, Eric.”
“I know, but…” his breathing hitched
when he felt her hand wrap around him over
his pajamas. Her gaze nearly blinded him.
She could be so beautiful, but at the moment
she looked so damn sexy it hurt. Her long
lashes blinked in slow motion.
“I love you,” she whispered.
The words overwhelmed him. He’d al-
ways loved Sofia. At first like a sister, but it
occurred to him just then he was in love with
her now. And here she was telling him she
loved him too. “I love you, too, Sofie.”
He kissed her—a softer, gentler kiss
than earlier. The tenderness he felt made his
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heart pound in a way that was different from
when she was simply driving him crazy.
Her chest rose and fell a little harder as
her breathing accelerated. She took his hand
and guided it up under her blouse. Eric
gulped at the feel of her soft breast in his
hand. He’d only dreamed of doing this, but
dreamed about it for far too long. He closed
his eyes as he allowed himself to caress it
gently.
She began pulling her blouse up. Eric
could only stare, but he couldn’t bring him-
self to move his hand away. He wanted more.
He wanted to kiss her there, take her in his
mouth.
The doorbell rang and they froze. Eric
pulled his hand away from her. “Where are
your br Ke a/diothers?”
“Alex and Sal are both in school.” She
pulled down her top and headed for the back
116/467
door. “Angel had just got out of the shower
when I left.”
The doorbell rang again and Sofia ran
out the back door. Eric waited until she was
completely out of sight before heading for
the front door. He patted the tent in his
pants down.
Even though he knew Sofia was prob-
ably halfway home by now, his heart still
nearly gave out when he opened the door
and saw Angel standing there. He didn’t look
too happy, either. Eric held his breath.
“What’s wrong with you?” Angel asked.
Eric shook his head, still waiting for An-
gel’s fist to come at him.
“Get dressed. Romero’s piece of crap
broke down again. We’re gonna have to push
it off the road,” Angel laughed, lightening up
the mood. “He’s stuck in the left lane holding
up traffic.”
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Eric laughed more out of relief than hu-
mor. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be ready to
go.” He hurried to his room to change. His
heart had been hammering away from the
moment he saw Sofia, but now it hammered
for an entirely different reason. After today,
there was no going back. If he knew Sofia,
things would progress to places he knew
could only be deadly for him. As much as he
told himself he wouldn’t let it go there—he’d
convince her they couldn’t—he didn’t think
he had it in him to stop it.
What he felt when he was with Sofia was
something he’d never experienced. As level-
headed as he’d always been, no amount of
willpower would keep him from going along
with whatever she wanted. And he’d seen it
in her eyes today, felt it in her kisses. She
wanted a lot more.
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CHAPTER 6
Just one time
It was only two weeks before Eric was a
regular at the Moreno’s residence and res-
taurant again. Although Alex was cold with
him at first, he eventually came around, but
things had changed. Sofia knew things would
never go back to the way they once had been.
Angel knew Sofia had feelings for Eric.
She’d told him the morning after the New
Year’s Eve outburst. She wouldn’t hide it
anymore. If her brothers wanted to believe
she was still a child, they could. But they
couldn’t force her to hide the enormous af-
fection she had for Eric. He was back to eat-
ing at their place regularly. Sofia fawned over
him, making him special meals and deserts.
Alex and Angel watched, pretending it
wasn’t any different than how she behaved
before New Year’s. But she saw the look of ir-
ritation when Alex would walk in the kitchen
to find her laughing with Eric. The jabs about
him being in their kitchen more than they
were began to take a different tone, espe-
cially from Alex.
Sofia didn’t care. After months of sneak-
ing around, she’d mastered a few things that
drove Eric insane. He’d returned the favor,
and they’d been so close to going all the way
several times. She loved stripping down to
nothing for him at his house, but the fear of
pregnancy kept them from doing what she
wanted to so badly.
It was only a few months before she
turned seventeen. Years Nfavoago, her father
made a comment she never forgot. “You
can’t
have
a
boyfriend
until
you’re
seventeen.”
At the time, she thought it was com-
pletely absurd. Now that it was only months
121/467
away, it didn’t sound so bad. She could
hardly wait. Her dad had probably forgotten,
but she would be reminding him.
Though she and Eric were making the
most of their stolen moments, and she was
tired of lying about where she was going all
the time. The sneaking was exciting, but
they’d had too many close calls. She wanted
to be able to just say, “I’m going to be with
Eric all day.”
More than anything, she wanted the
damn girls at school to know Eric was off
limits. They’d already had another argument
about a girl who was all over him all the
time, and even asked him to the prom. Eric
promised that if he couldn’t go with Sofia, he
wouldn’t go at all. Sofia felt bad. She didn’t
want him to miss his prom, but him taking
someone else was out of the question.
Sarah and Angel were back together,
and as inseparable as ever. It was a Friday
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night and all the guys and Sarah were over.
They were out back playing pool. Angel and
Sarah were cuddling in the corner, while
Alex and Romero played. Sofia stood next to
Eric as usual, laughing it up. Alex glanced up
from where he’d bent over, ready to take a
shot. Sofia caught the glare and smirked.
“Who’s winning?”
“Who do you think?” Alex said, eas-
ing up his expression.
“This just isn’t my game,” Romero
said, “Try me at bowling. Then
you’ll lose your ass.”
Alex rolled his eyes and took a shot.
“You guys wanna go bowling tomor-
row afternoon?” Romero looked
around.
“I’m down,” Angel said.
“No.” Sarah raised her eyebrow.
“You have a fitting tomorrow.”
Angel groaned. “That’s tomorrow
already?”
123/467
“A fitting for what?” Romero asked.
“His tux, for the prom,” Sarah
answered for him.
“No shit.” Romero laughed. “You’re
actually wearing a monkey suit?”
“Aren’t you?” Angel stood up off his
bar stool and walked over to the
small fridge next to the bar.
“You have to.” Sarah added.
“I dunno. I’m not sure if I’m even
going.” Romero turned to Eric.
“You going?”
Sofia tensed up. Eric shrugged.
“Depends.”
Romero glanced up from where he
was ready to take a shot. “On
what?”
Eric took a deep breath, glancing at
Sofia. “If these guys will let me take
Sof.”
<" wid="0">
124/467
Sofia almost choked on her gum. Both
Alex and Angel stopped what they were do-
ing and stared at him. She had no idea he
was going to just put it out there like that.
Before they could answer, he added, “Other-
wise, I’m not going.”
Everybody seemed to hold their
breath.
“We could go together.” Sarah fi-
nally broke through the tension.
“It’ll be fun.”
To Sofia’s complete disbelief, Alex
lifted a shoulder. “If Angel’s gonna
be with you guys all night. I’m okay
with that.”
Sofia could hardly contain herself. All
Angel had to say was okay and they were
home free. He finally looked away from Eric
and glanced back at Sarah. Sarah gave him a
pleading look, and Sofia knew it was done
deal.
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Angel shook his head, but smiled at
Sarah. “Yeah, we can do that.”
Sofia jumped off her bar stool,
hugged Angel then Sarah. Next, she
rushed over to Alex and squeezed
him.
“All right, all right,” he said, sound-
ing as annoyed as she expected him
to.
Just so she’d be able to get away with
hugging Eric, and she wanted to so badly,
she hugged Romero. Sarah laughed. Finally,
she came back around to Eric, who gave her
a warning look, but she hugged him anyway.
“Yay, I get to go to prom!”
She knew her parents wouldn’t have a
problem with it, either. They loved Eric.
***
126/467
The Prom was Eric’s first chance to
make a statement about his and Sofia’s rela-
tionship. If there was ever any doubt that
Sofia was off-limits, Eric made things
crystal-clear now. He’d seen enough eye-
brows lift as they walked around, holding
hands, to know people would be talking even
after prom.
Angel and Sarah being elected prom
queen and king should’ve been a good thing.
Except an ex-flame of Angel’s, Dana, had had
a few too many, and she and the rest of her
cheerleader girlfriends decided to protest
and demand a recount. It started to get ugly
when all of Sarah and Sofia’s friends from
the track team came to Sarah’s defense.
Dana and a few of her friends were actu-
ally escorted out during Sarah and Angels
dance. Sofia was livid. More than once, Eric
had to hold her back. The Moreno in her was
alive and well and ready to kick some ass.
127/467
The only mistake Angel made was giving
Dana a moment when she begged for it just
outside the banquet hall. Eric suspected the
tears streaming down her face had a lot to do
with Angel giving in—big mistake. Sarah
walked away, with Sofia going after her.
Angel only spoke to Dana for a moment
before going after Sarah, but he had his
hands full. Sarah insisted he take her straight
home. Of course, Angel wasn’t having it. He
asked Eric if he could just hang out with
Sofia for an hour or so, then meet up with
them later at the beach. Eric wished Angel
good luck, and was off and running.
As usual, Sofia en [ualof her joyed tor-
menting Eric. There was a small hidden cove
they’d discovered just weeks ago at the
beach. The massive boulders and lush
bushes that surrounded it rendered them
virtually invisible to the rest of the world.
128/467
With a blanket and a few beers in hand,
they entered their secret cove. Eric’s heart
beat more erratically than it normally did
when he knew he’d have Sofia in his arms
soon. Each time with her had become harder
to resist doing what they both yearned for,
but knew they shouldn’t—couldn’t.
No sooner was the blanket down than
they were on it, kissing frantically. He loved
the way Sofia was always just as crazed as he
felt when they were together. She drove him
insane, yet she did nothing to hide her need
for him.
Her hands were at his zipper. “Sof,
baby, no, not here.”
“Why? No one can see us.”
“What if your brother shows up?”
Sofia frowned. “Are you kidding? Sarah
is so pissed, and I don’t blame her. That
bitch, Dana, nearly started a riot. Angel
should’ve told her to go to hell. They’ll be
129/467
here, but it’s going to be a while before he
convinces Sarah.”
Eric gulped as Sofia continued to unzip
him. With that crazed teasing look in her eye,
she smirked and began to straddle him. Eric
sat up with one hand on the blanket to sup-
port himself, and the other on her leg. “Babe,
we can’t.”
“Just once,” she whispered, “don’t
you wanna feel it, just one time?”
Was she crazy? He wanted to feel it
over and over with her, but this was
insanity.
“I
don’t
have
any
protection.”
“We’ll
stop
before
anything
happens.”
Eric laughed nervously. “That’s
something I’m supposed to be say-
ing, not you.”
Biting her beautiful lip, she gave him her
signature smoldering stare. The stare she
130/467
knew he couldn’t resist. He was a goner, and
he let his head fall back, every ounce of ra-
tionality smothered by something much
more powerful.
Her dress covered him from seeing what
was going on underneath, but he gasped
when he felt her warm and soft on him. She
went very slowly, her awestruck eyes on him
the whole time. She closed her eyes, pinching
her brows, in obvious discomfort. “You
okay?”
She nodded, but didn’t answer and kept
going. This wasn’t how he wanted their first
time to be, but no amount of resistance could
stop this from happening now. He was so far
gone, his heart nearly punched out of his
chest.
“You sure?” He managed to get the
words out, but even breathing became a
struggle.
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She nodded, her eyes blinking very
slowly. And then—her eyes widened and she
smiled. “We did it,” she whispered.
Eric’s eyes rolled to the back of his head
as he breathed in deeply. He should tell her
to get off—that was it—he was ready to ex-
plode already. But the ecstasy of it all dazed
him. Then she did the worst thing she could
at that second—move. Desperately trying to
hold back, he begged, “Sofie, get off.”
She did in a hurry and though she’d
been just in time, he knew they’d slipped. It
wasn’t a complete miss. The blanket covered
him as his entire body still pulsated. Sofia
leaned into him. “That was close.”
He wouldn’t even mention just how
close. From then on, they’d have to carry
protection, always. No matter how much he
wanted to believe what Sofia had said, just
one time. There was no turning back now. As
aware of how hazardous to his life this was,
132/467
there would be no way in the world he could
ever say no to that feeling again. Not with
Sofie.
***
Sarah’s laughter carried all the way to
Sofia’s room. The sound of it usually made
Sofia smile, but now all she could think of
was one thing. She stared at her phone. The
calendar was open and she counted again. It
was exactly twenty-eight days since her last
period. She’d been late once or twice since
she started her period, but not in over a year.
It came every twenty-eight days like clock-
work. Sofia could almost time it. It should’ve
been that morning. She’d even worn a pad to
bed like she always did the night before she
knew she was starting to avoid any messes.
Here it was, three in the afternoon and
nothing. She and Eric had done it a few more
times since prom night. Eric made sure they
133/467
had protection every time, but the fact re-
mained, prom night they hadn’t. She
wouldn’t panic Eric yet. In the past, she’d
been one or even two days late, but that only
happened twice in the past three years. What
were the odds that it would happen again the
month after she’d had unprotected sex?
As much as she’d pushed it to the back
of her head ever since, not a day had gone by
that she didn’t think about that moment of
passion, when she’d completely ignored her
better judgment.
She wasn’t even a day late yet, and her
anxiety had already reached the frantic
stages. The only person she’d confided with
all this time about the things her and Eric
had done was Sarah, but she hadn’t told her
they’d become sexually active.
After reading a few more articles online
about the early signs of pregnancy, she
couldn’t sit still anymore. It was wishful
134/467
thinking, more than anything on her part,
that made her check one last time before go-
ing downstairs—nothing—not even a trace.
Her body didn’t even feel the same as it usu-
ally did. She was usually achy and bloated.
Now she was neither.
Sofia walked in on Angel and Sarah kiss-
ing in the kitchen. Angel didn’t even flinch,
but Sarah pulled her lips from him. This
wasn’t the first time she’d walked in on
them. Her brother was incapable of keeping
his hands off Sarah. He had Sarah pinned
against the sink, but she squirmed her way
out of his embrace in a blush.
Sofia
forced
a
smile.
“Sorry
to
interrupt.”
Sarah walked around the center island
and sat down where they were supposed to
be studying. “I’m just glad it was you and not
one of your parents.” She shot Angel a look.
135/467
Angel smirked as usual, shamelessly un-
fazed by the interruption. He walked around
the center island and took the seat next to
Sarah, again his hand immediately on her
leg. Sofia had never asked, but [er th all there
was no doubt these two were active.
Alex and Romero walked in the kitchen
from the back door and nodded when he saw
Angel. “Good, you’re not busy. Give us a
hand.” Alex kissed Sofia’s forehead as he
walked by her.
“What do you mean, I’m not busy?” An-
gel attempted to sound annoyed. “I’m
studying.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “You can get back to
that when we’re done.”
“Done with what?” Angel stood up, but
not before kissing Sarah.
“I bought a new bench and some more
weights.” Alex pulled a couple of bottles of
136/467
water out of the fridge. “Romero’s scrawny
ass ain’t gonna be much help.”
“Dude, I’m right here. I can hear
you,” Romero said as he grabbed a
bag of pretzels from the counter.
Alex ignored him, instead turned to
Sofia. “Aren’t you supposed to be at
the restaurant today?” He started to
the door.
“Yeah, I’m closing. I go in at four.”
He nodded. Angel put his hands up
and Alex tossed him a water. “You
taking her?”
“Nah, Eric said he could, right?”
Angel turned to Sofia.
Sofia nodded, but before she could say
anything else, Alex stopped mid-stride. He
glanced at Sofia then back at Angel. “Why
Eric?”
Angel shrugged. “I asked him to, so
I could study.”
137/467
Alex’s face soured.
“All right,” Angel said, before Alex
could start up. “I’ll take her.”
Alex didn’t even look back at Sofia
before starting out the door again.
“If you can’t, I will.”
Normally, Sofia would’ve argued, but
today she wasn’t up for it. Alex would never
look at Eric the same way again. Not after
what he’d seen on New Year’s. Sure, he’d
agreed to let Eric take her to prom, but that
was only because Angel would be there. An-
gel hadn’t mentioned leaving her alone with
Eric that night. Alex would have had a
conniption.
Her brothers were in denial, not stupid.
None of them, but especially Alex, were com-
fortable about her being alone with Eric so
much anymore. She was only glad Angel
hadn’t actually witnessed the New Year’s kiss
himself, or he definitely wouldn’t be as okay
about her being alone with Eric. Sal was
138/467
much more laid back than Alex and Angel,
but she knew the fact that he was gone so
much had a lot to do with it.
Once they were all out, Sofia turned to
Sarah and frowned. Sarah gave her a side-
ways sympathetic smile. “Only a few more
months.”
Sofia had told Sarah about what her
father had said years ago. She turned to
make sure her brothers were out of hearing
range, then back to Sarah. She leaned on the
center island across from Sarah. “Do you
ever worry about getting pregnant?”
Her question wiped the smile right off
Sarah’s face. Her eyes widened. “Iinit
[ed.pregnm on the pill.” Sofia stared at her
without saying anything. “You’re not think-
ing of…”
Warm tears filled Sofia’s eyes. Sarah
stood. “You have?”
139/467
Sofia nodded, wiping her eyes. The last
thing she needed was her brothers walking in
asking questions. It took a moment for it to
sink in, but Sofia saw the moment it did in
Sarah’s head.
“Oh my God, you think you are?”
She looked as panicked as Sofia felt.
“I don’t know.”
Sarah didn’t say anything else, just
stood there staring at her.
“I haven’t actually missed my period yet.
I’m supposed to get it today.” She explained
about never being late and always getting it
in the morning. Saying it out loud had the
opposite effect she thought it would. Sofia
expected to feel better sharing with someone
else. Instead, it made the reality of it jump at
her. “I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Sarah stopped staring to glance out the
window. “Alex,” she whispered.
140/467
Sofia turned so see him walking toward
the door. She turned her back quickly and
opened the refrigerator. The tears had begun
to fill her eyes again. Alex would definitely
have questions.
The door opened, and he came in. She
pretended to dig through the cold-cut drawer
when the freezer door was opened. “Can I get
in here, Sof?’
She moved over to give him room. The
doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Sarah’s voice was a near yelp.
Sofia had moved over to the sink by the
time Sarah walked back in the kitchen with
Eric in tow. Alex was still busy filling a bag-
gie with ice.
Still feeling very emotional, the
sight of Eric nearly choked her.
“You ready?”
141/467
Alex turned to Eric. “Angel can take
her, but you can stay and help me
get my weights in the garage.”
Eric glanced at Sofia. “You sure? I
can take her, come back, and help
you. Angel said he had to study.”
Alex finished with the ice and walked
over to add some water to the baggy. “Nah.”
He didn’t look up from the faucet. “Angel’s
got it. Come out here and help me. He
walked toward the back door. “Romero’s
more trouble than he is help. I told him it
was too heavy, but you know him,” he
chuckled, “dropped it right on his toe.”
Eric laughed, then turned to Sofia, a bit
thwarted. For once, Alex’s unbending char-
acter had come in handy. Sofia knew she’d be
tempted to mention her worry to Eric. There
was no way she’d be getting any sleep tonight
if she didn’t get her period today. No sense in
both of them losing sleep… yet.
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<="48" filepos-id="filepos160113">
143/467
CHAPTER 7
Crisis
Nothing. Absolutely nothing, could pre-
pare Eric for the horror those four little
words could spawn. I missed my period.
Her big, anxious eyes stared at him, her
lip already quivering. Eric had never felt
faint in his life, but he was sure this was what
it felt like. He had to remind himself to
breathe. For a moment there, he thought his
own lip would start to quiver. “How late are
you?”
“A day, but I’m never late.”
Eric brought his fist to his mouth.
Damn! He couldn’t let her see what he was
feeling. He’d always thought if he ever got
someone pregnant, the worst thing would be
to have to tell his dad. Telling his dad didn’t
even compare to the terror of having to tell
her brothers. Alex would kill him, and that
was no exaggeration. All three of her broth-
ers would take turns on him, but that wasn’t
even the worst of it. Angel had trusted him
completely, gave him the benefit of the doubt
even after the New Year’s incident, and this
is how Eric repaid him?
“I should’ve got it yesterday.” Sofia
began to cry. “I wanted to wait longer to tell
you, but I’m so sick with worry. I couldn’t
stand it.”
Eric leaned over and hugged her. They
sat in his car just outside the restaurant.
Now he knew why she didn’t want to tell him
there. He’d noticed something was wrong the
moment she walked out of the restaurant,
and he insisted she tell him right then and
there. He pulled back and started up the car.
If anyone walked out now and saw her sitting
in his car crying, it might get back to her
brothers.
146/467
He drove a few blocks before
pulling into a residential street and
parking.
“Sarah says it’s too early to take a
pregnancy test.”
“You told Sarah?” The words came
out
much
louder
than
he’d
intended.
“Yes, don’t be mad please. I had to
tell someone. I was going crazy. She
won’t say anything. I promise.”
The thought of Angels’ girlfriend know-
ing about them scared the living crap out of
him, but he doubted Sarah would be willing
to be the one to break the news to Angel even
if they asked her to. “What did she say about
the test?”
“If I take it too soon, it might be a
false negative so I should wait.”
“How long?”
“Few more days.”
147/467
Eric wiped the tear that slid down her
cheek. He’d always hated seeing her cry. He
slipped his hand in hers and brought it to his
lips, kissing it softly. “Let’s not worry yet.
You might not be.”
After drop ^ght/di soping her off at
home, he drove to his house. He’d barely
taken a few steps inside when he rushed to
the restroom and puked violently. His head
had been in such a fog when he drove up to
his driveway that either he hadn’t noticed his
dads’ car parked there, or he’d just walked
in, but he startled Eric. “You’ve been drink-
ing, Eric?”
Eric glanced up at his dad, standing at
the bathroom door. His insides still turned.
“No.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
My sixteen-year-old girlfriend is preg-
nant. I betrayed my best friend in the worst
148/467
way imaginable. He’ll probably end up in
jail for murdering me. Nothing really.
“I dunno. I just felt sick all of a sudden.”
Less suspicious and more concerned, his
dad asked, “You need me to take you to the
emergency room?”
Eric shook his head. After being ques-
tioned some more, he convinced his dad it
must’ve been something he ate. He went to
his room and lay there for hours, staring at
the ceiling. Though he wasn’t the most reli-
gious person on the planet, and God was
probably not thinking too favorably of what
he and Sofia had done, he began to pray.
*
Several torturous days passed since
Sofia should have got her period and still
nothing. She couldn’t wait any longer.
149/467
Convinced she was pregnant, she’d begun to
think about her options. There was no other
choice. She’d have to go to her mom, but she
wanted to be sure first. Eric was on his way
over with a pregnancy test.
The front door rang and she took a deep
breath. She heard Alex and Eric’s voices
downstairs. Eric wanted to wait until Alex
wasn’t home. He didn’t even want to chance
the possibility of Alex sensing anything was
wrong, but Sofia couldn’t wait anymore.
She told him to lose the box and just
bring the test in his pocket. The voices down-
stairs seemed to fade, and Sofia knew they
were in the kitchen. She made her way down
and walked into the kitchen where Eric sat at
the center island. Alex had made himself a
protein drink and was pouring into a glass.
She exchanged glances with Eric, who looked
as nervous as she felt.
150/467
Even though the last thing she could
think of was eating, she cut up an orange and
made small talk. Finally, Alex got a phone
call he said he would take outside. As soon as
he was out the door, Sofia hurried over to
Eric’s side. He pulled out the small stick
from his pocket and handed it to her under
the island table. She grabbed it, stuck it in
her own pocket and practically ran out the
kitchen, nearly colliding with Angel as he
walked to the kitchen. He looked at her
funny, but didn’t say anything. She hurried
upstairs to the restroom that separated her
room from and Angel’s.
Eric had already texted her the instruc-
tions on the box earlier and all she needed to
know: One line = no, two lines = yes.
Waiting for the results was the longest
five minutes of her life. She stood in front of
the sink, eyes closed, taking deep breaths,
checking her phone several times for the
time. Thoughts of what would happen if she
151/467
had to tell her family plagued her mind. She
wasn’t afraid of telling her mom. She
dreaded disappointing her, but she’d always
been able to go to her mom about anything.
But even her mother wouldn’t be able to hold
back her brothers k heshe, especially Alex.
Sofia shook her head. This couldn’t be
happening.
Finally, she confirmed it had been five
minutes. Sofia was almost too scared to look
down. She glanced down, read the results
and immediately, became overwhelmed with
emotion.
*
Alex being home was bad enough, but of
all weekends for him to come home, Sal was
there, too. All three brothers and Eric were
now in the garage. Alex and Angel were both
under the hood of their moms’ car, while Sal,
152/467
as usual, supervised, making sure everything
was done properly.
It couldn’t get any worse. If anything
went down today, they’d all be there to tear
him apart. The nausea was back. It started at
the drug store when he stood there reading
the labels on the home pregnancy tests. It
only intensified when Sal got home.
Eric stood there taking deep
breaths, concentrating on not being
sick, while the brothers argued back
and forth.
“Will you just hand me the damn
thing?” Alex held out his hand.
“Hold on.” Sal bent over to check
Alex’s work. “You gotta make sure
it’s tight enough.”
“Hey, Mr. Dreamy.”
Eric had been so lost in thought he
didn’t even notice Alex was talking
to him. “Yo, Eric.”
153/467
Eric snapped out of it and looked at
him.
“What’s you’re problem?” Alex
didn’t wait for an answer. “Make
yourself useful and go grab me a
water from the fridge.”
“Yeah, me too,” Angel said.
“Make that three,” Sal added.
Eric managed a nod as he walked to-
ward the kitchen. His phone beeped just as
he reached the kitchen door—a text from
Sofia. He gulped before opening it.
Negative…but what if it’s false? I still
haven’t got my…
Relief came and went in the same
breath. For now, they were in the clear but
she was right. What if?
He walked in the kitchen. Sofia stood
there looking worried. When their eyes met,
she fell apart. Eric panicked. “Sofie, don’t
154/467
cry.” He turned to look out the window. “All
your brothers are out there, babe.”
To his dismay, Mrs. Moreno walked
in from the front room. “Honey,
what’s wrong?”
Sofia wiped the tears away and at-
tempted to compose herself. “I have
really bad cramps.”
Her mother rubbed Sofia’s back.
“That bad?”
Sofia nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna
take an aspirin and lie down.”
Mrs. Moreno turned to Eric. “Did
you need something, Eric?”
He’d been frozen in the same spot
the whole time. “Uh, yeah,” he mo-
tioned to the back door, “they want
water.”
She looked at him kind of weird.
“They’re in the fridge. Go ahead and grab
some.” She turned back to Sofia. “I’ll get you
155/467
the heating pad. That should help ease the
pain.”
Her mom walked out of the kitchen
and Eric started to the fridge. As he
neared Sofia, he saw her eyes
welling up again.
“I should tell her,” she whispered.
“No!”
“But what if I am?” Sofia was falling
apart.
“What if you’re not? Give it a few
more days.”
This was the worse nightmare of his
life and it only got worse. The back
door opened and one by one, her
brothers filed in.
Sal spoke first, “What’s taking you
so—” he stopped when he saw Sofia,
“What’s wrong, Sof?”
All eyes were on Sofia, including Eric’s.
He gulped, feeling his stomach turn violently
156/467
and he almost winced from the pain. She
wouldn’t throw him to the lions, would she?
“I’m not feeling well.”
“You sick?”
“Cramps.”
Mrs. Moreno walked back in the
kitchen, holding the heating pad.
“Did you take the aspirin?”
Sofia nodded. Eric nearly jumped out of
his skin when Alex poked him. “What’s with
you?” He smirked as he moved past him to
get to the refrigerator.
Sofia walked out of the kitchen with
her mom. Eric could only pray she
wouldn’t tell her.
“Yeah, thanks for bringing out the
water,” Angel said as Alex tossed
him one.
After tossing Sal one too, he asked
Eric if he wanted one. “No, I’m
good. I gotta go.”
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“I thought you were gonna hang out
and work out?” Angel said, taking a
swig of water.
“I gotta do this thing for my dad,
but maybe later I’ll come back.”
Eric couldn’t get out of there fast
enough. The second he got the
chance, he texted Sofia.
PLEASE don’t tell her yet.
Her only response was, k.
After being sick again at home and walk-
ing around the house aimlessly for hours.
Eric got the text from Sofia that took the
weight of the world off his shou k ofpray
lders.
I got it!
Never in life had he experienced such an
overwhelming relief. That moment changed
everything. He and Sofia would never take a
chance like that again. He’d nearly seen his
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life flash before him when her brothers
walked into that kitchen.
He’d been so damn worried about what
her brothers would say when they found out,
he never even had time to worry about being
a teen dad. Now that it was over and he
could think clearer, he couldn’t believe how
stupid they’d been.
He dropped down on his bed, his heart
still feeling the effects of the past few days.
He text back the two words that had come to
him as the relief manifested.
Thank God!
*
Alex was in the front room watching
television when Sofia walked in.
“Where’s Angel?”
Sofia had a feeling that would be
the first thing he’d ask. “With
Sarah.”
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There was no hiding the annoyance.
“So how’d you get home?”
He already knew the answer to this. She
didn’t know why he bothered. “Eric was
already at the restaurant so he offered to
bring me home.”
“I’m sure he did,” Alex muttered.
Sofia smiled as she reached the stairs.
Even though her brother’s clout had begun
to weaken, she and Eric were more cautious
now than ever. After the scare they had, Sofia
couldn’t believe Eric had actually been wor-
ried that she would want to continue taking
chances. She might’ve taken risks before, but
getting hit with such a huge reality check was
enough to scare her straight. They were still
sneaking around, and they still did things
that came awfully close, but the memory of
the agonizing worry they’d gone through
made it easy to hold off.
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Of course, Sofia still planned to do it
again eventually. But for now, even using
condoms was too risky. Sofia wanted to wait
until she was on the pill, but she wouldn’t
even think about asking her mom until she
had the go-ahead on having a boyfriend.
That was still weeks away. Even then, she
wanted her mom to let the idea of her having
a boyfriend simmer. It could be months be-
fore they tried it again.
She got no argument from Eric there.
He said the image of her brothers walking in-
to the kitchen that day and what he felt when
he thought she might tell them would be
with him forever. He’d even had nightmares.
It wouldn’t be too long, and in the mean
time, they found plenty of other ways to keep
themselves satisfied without the risks. As
much as Alex thought he was keeping them
apart, he had no idea.
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*
Eric got the text just as he walked
into the flower shop.
Guess who’s allowed to have a boy-
friend as long as she keeps up her grades?
=)
He smiled. Sofia had told him when she
turned seventeen she was going to talk to her
parents about it. She certainly hadn’t wasted
any time. Here it was the morning of her
birthday and she’d already done it.
Another text came through before he
could respond.
I’ll have to start looking for one.
He called her back, instead of respond-
ing to the text, and walked out of the flower
shop to talk. She answered on the first ring.
“You’re not funny, Sof,” he said, smiling.
She giggled. “My mom was kind of sur-
prised. I guess we haven’t been as discreet as
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we thought. She said she thought you were
already my boyfriend.”
“Are you telling your brothers?” Eric
closed his eyes and waited for her response.
“Only if they ask. I’m not gonna an-
nounce it or anything.”
The nerves began to stir inside him. He
wanted nothing more than to be Sofie’s boy-
friend—have the whole world know it, too,
but Sofie was so brazen. Even if they were a
couple, he still had every intention of being
respectful in front of her brothers. He wasn’t
sure Sofia would be with him on that. Espe-
cially because Angel could never quite keep
his hands off Sarah, no matter who was
around.
Even with the okay from her parents, it
would still be interesting to see what her
brothers had to say about it. He knew they
wouldn’t be thrilled, but Angel had been cool
about them holding hands prom night. After
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what happened at the beach that night, when
Angel and Sarah finally arrived, Sofia never
once let go of Eric’s hand. Angel and Eric had
exchanged a glance, but he hadn’t objected.
He knew Sarah had a hand in that. She’d
softened Angel. Alex would be a whole other
story.
Once off the phone, he walked back into
the flower shop. He’d planned on getting
Sofia a light flower arrangement and a regu-
lar happy birthday balloon. Instead, he
picked out a heart shaped balloon with the
words I love you, and a dozen roses. He had
them delivered.
He felt a little flutter in his stomach as
he sat in his car. He’d done it now. They’d
know in just a few hours.
Later that afternoon, someone honked
outside his house. He walked out and saw
Sofia sitting in a white Ford Fiesta. She
smiled from ear to ear. He’d been expecting
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her. Sofia had gotten her license finally and
Angel had told him on the down low what his
parents were up to for her birthday.
“I got a car!” she yelled out of the win-
dow. “C’mon, I’ll take you for a ride.”
She told him Alex had been the one to
get the door when the flowers arrived. As ex-
pected, he wasn’t happy about it, but after
realizing he had no choice in the matter, he
told her he’d be warning Eric of a few things
in person. She gave Eric a heads up.
“Basically, him and Angel are gonna
make sure you know the rules,” she laughed,
“as if we haven’t broken them all already.”
She reached over and squeezed his
thigh. Eric squeezed her hand and looked in-
to the side mirror. If he didn’t know her
brothers so well, the thought of those two
following them wouldn’t have even crossed
his mind.
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Sofia drove to the beach and parked. It
was a cloudy day and there were hardly any
people there. Only k thnow in ja few other
cars were in the parking lot. The second the
car was off, they were all over each other.
Eric stopped a few times, breathlessly, to
look around. He just couldn’t put it past her
brothers to be watching them, but the coast
seemed clear. Sofia reached down and un-
zipped his pants.
“Sofie, not here.”
She smiled. “Why not? No one can see
what I’m doing.”
He should’ve known when she parked in
the most isolated corner what she had in
mind. A second later, he dropped his head
back in sheer delight, forgetting about
everything.
***
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Months after becoming an official
couple, Sofia was still trying to conjure up
the nerve to talk to her mom about getting
on the pill. So the night her mom knocked on
her bedroom door had come as a huge
surprise.
“Are you busy?”
Sofia pulled both earphones out of her
ears. It was how she always did her home-
work. She sat on her bed, legs crossed, with
her binder over her legs. She moved the book
next to her and patted it for her mom to sit.
Her mom sat down and took a deep
breath. She glanced around the room. She
didn’t come in her room often. Sofia had a
collage on her wall of her and Eric. Pictures
of them even from when they were kids. She
didn’t like how chubby she looked in some,
but the memories were so heartwarming, she
couldn’t bear not putting them up. Her mom
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smiled. “You two were so young, but I think
that boy was in love with you even back
then.”
Sofia smiled and nodded. “That’s
what he says.”
Her mom touched her hand. “And
you were with him, as well?”
For some reason that made her
blush. Was it that obvious? “Yeah, I
think so.”
Her mom stared at the collage for a
while longer before speaking. Without look-
ing at Sofia, she said, “I know things are get-
ting serious between you two… and I know as
much as your brothers think they can keep
you two from…”
Sofia cringed. Her mom had the talk
with her years ago, but not in direct correla-
tion with anyone specific. “Mom—”
“Let me finish, Sofia.” She squeezed
Sofia’s hand. She seemed as nervous about
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this as Sofia. Though that still didn’t help.
“You’re father and I—”
“Daddy?” Sofia sat up. This was so much
worse now.
“Your father and I,” her mother contin-
ued, disregarding Sofia’s mortification, “we
really didn’t think we’d have to deal with this
so soon. You see, with your brothers being
the way they are, we honestly thought it’d be
years before anyone dare come around,” she
chuckled. “Little did they know, he’d been
around all along.”
Her mother held Sofia’s hand in both of
hers now. “We may be old school, Sofie, but
we’re not naïve. We know your brothers have
been active for years. As much as we would
like you to wait… we don’t want you taking
any chances. You have your entire life ahead
of you.”
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Excitement began to replace the
mortification. Was her mom really
saying what she thought she was?
“We want you to get on the birth
control—”
“Okay!” She placed her hand over
her mouth, realizing her mom
hadn’t expected her to agree so
quickly.
Her mom cleared her throat. “You do
understand
becoming
sexually
active
changes everything, don’t you?” Sofia nod-
ded. “Everything is turned up a notch—a ma-
jor notch. And once you go there you can
never go back. I mean,” she paused, “you de-
cide how much or how often, but if there is
ever anyone else—”
“There won’t be.” Her mom was less ob-
vious than her brothers with the ‘you’re be-
ing naïve’ look but Sofia could spot it a mile
away. She sat up straighter and reiterated,
“There won’t be.”
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Her mom finally conceded with a smile.
“Okay.” She leaned over and kissed Sofia on
the forehead, then stood up. “I’ll make an ap-
pointment for you this week.”
Sofia jumped up from the bed and
hugged her mother. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mija.” She raised an eye-
brow. “Now, we both know this is your busi-
ness and no one else’s, but I’m sure your
brothers will see it otherwise. Be discreet,
Sofia. I don’t have to tell you what might
happen if they ever walk in on—”
“Oh God, I know. Don’t worry.”
As soon as her mother left her room,
Sofia grabbed her phone and texted Eric.
Guess what?
His response was immediate.
?
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She was so excited she couldn’t text fast
enough.
I’m getting on the pill this week. My
mom’s taking me.
A second later, her phone rang.
“What happened?”
Sofia gushed as she told him about the
entire conversation. When she was done, he
was silent for a moment. His only response,
“So your dad knows?”
Sofia couldn’t help laughing.
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h="CENTER" height="0" width="48">
CHAPTER 7
Change is good
Adapting to Eric no longer being in
school with her wasn’t easy. He was also go-
ing to college and working now, so that made
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it harder for them to be together as often as
Sofia would have liked.
Sofia was a senior now. School was far
more demanding and she was still on the
track team. She was not about to give her
parents a reason to take back her permission
to have a boyfriend, not that at this point
anything could keep her and Eric apart, but
she liked not having to sneak around. So she
spent a lot of time studying.
One of the biggest changes now that An-
gel and Eric were no longer in school with
her was boys were really opening up to Sofia.
It was new and exciting, but Eric’s senior
ring hung on the chain around her neck,
faithfully. Still, that didn’t mean she never
flirted. With her brothers gone, she dis-
covered just how big a flirt she could be, and
she relished it.
As the year went by, she and Eric fell in-
to a routine. During the week, they saw so
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much less of each other than they had the
year before and that past summer, but it
worked out. She was just glad Eric hadn’t
gone away to school. She would’ve never
lived through that. Even now, she saw less of
him during the week, but she saw him at
least twice and they spoke every day, not to
mention texted all the time, and of course,
they made love frantically, every chance they
got.
Late her senior year, while Eric was busy
cramming for finals, she finally decided to
show up and surprise him at his job. He
worked in a big home electronics store at the
mall. She’d stopped by at his job before, but
he was always so busy he hardly had time to
visit with her. So she hadn’t dropped in on
him in a while. This was the longest they’d
gone in a while without seeing each other.
He’d been busy cramming for finals all week.
She could tell he was a little worried about
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his grades, so she stayed away and let him
study.
It was a Friday night and the place was
busy. It only took her a moment to spot him.
He was helping a customer, and she decided
to go around the aisle and come up from be-
hind him, to surprise him. She strolled up
and waited for him to finish with the
customer.
The girl he helped looked older than
Sofia. Sofia hadn’t paid attention to the con-
versation until the girl laughed a little too
loud. Then Eric laughed with her.
“Eric, you know I’m a tech idiot,” the girl
teased, “that software you installed for me on
Tuesday is still sitting there on my computer,
untouched. You’re gonna hav kresede to
come over and install this one for me.”
“How hard is it to put the disc in
and follow the prompts?”
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The girl laughed again, making the
hair on Sofia’s arm stand up.
“I could probably drop by on my
way home if you want. It’ll only take
a few minutes.”
“And then you’ll show me how to
use it?”
Eric’s laugh was like none Sofia had ever
heard. It made her stomach turn. “It’s not
that hard, Nicky. But yeah, I can walk you
through it.”
“Yay, you’re a doll. I’ll make you fish ta-
cos, and I already have Coronas chilling in
the fridge.”
Sofia
held
her
breath.
Say
you
can’t—you won’t.
“Fish tacos and a cold beer, sounds
good.”
Sofia walked away and out of the store,
choking in anger. He’d been to this bitch’s
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house this week to install software, but he
hadn’t had time for her all week? He hadn’t
called her all day to mention anything about
getting together tonight, so she’d assumed he
was busy studying again.
She hit the speed dial on her phone and
called him. When he didn’t answer, she
called right back. Never once this entire time
had she questioned Eric’s faithfulness. Sure,
she’d worried a little when he started college
about all the college girls he’d be meeting,
but once he started, and nothing changed
between them, she felt certain she could
trust him. He’d loved her since they were
kids. He told her this all the time. The jeal-
ousy burned her up. She called until he
answered, pacing outside the store.
“What is it, Sof? I’m working. I’m
not supposed to answer my phone.”
“Am I gonna see you tonight?”
He paused. “That’s what you’re call-
ing about?” He paused again for a
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moment. “I don’t know, babe. I still
gotta cram.”
Her stomach bottomed out. Without
thinking, the words flew out, “Fuck you, Eric!
I hope you enjoy Nicky’s tacos, because I’m
never cooking for you again!”
She hung up and wiped her tears. The
heartache she felt was suffocating. It took
her a while before she realized she was walk-
ing in the wrong direction. She spun around
and stalked to her car.
***
Sofie’s words were like a bat to Eric’s
groin. It took him a moment to recover.
When he did, he realized she must’ve been in
the store, close enough to hear his
conversation.
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He tried calling her back several times,
but each time it went to voicemail. After
working for another half hour, his phone
rang again. It was Angel.
“Shit.”
The number one rule when Alex and An-
gel had laid down the law about him and
Sofia was, do not break her heart. Alex had
harped on that more than anything ktha0"> .
He’d never even brought up sex. He hurried
to the break room to answer it.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“You better hope my sister stops crying
before Alex gets home. What the fuck did
you do, Eric?”
She was crying? This was worse than he
thought. It was only fish tacos!
“Nothing!”
He explained about his friend Nicky,
told Angel Sofia must’ve been there and
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overheard. “But I swear to God, I was just
being polite. I would never do anything to
hurt Sofia.”
He told him about Sofie’s call, leaving
out exactly what’d she’d said, just said she
was harsh. “I really do need to cram, Angel. I
just think she’s completely misunderstand-
ing all this.”
Angel’s tone didn’t ease up, even after
his explanation. “Well, you better fix this, be-
cause I’ve never seen her this upset. I don’t
like it.”
“I’m on my way.”
Eric told his manager he had an emer-
gency and had to take off early. His dad
would kill him if he knew what he was doing.
He’d already warned him he had too much
going on. School was his first priority, then
work, and last was his social life. The reason
why he’d cut down on his time with Sofia.
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But he had to fix this, and he had to do it
now.
The more he thought about on his way
to her house, the more he realized why she’d
been so upset. He turned it around in his
head. If it had been him, he’d be incensed.
Truthfully, he had been a little flattered with
Nicky’s continual flirting, and now he was
feeling rotten about it. He took a deep breath
before getting out of his car at Sofia’s house.
Angel met him at the door. “I
already told her you’re here, but she
refuses to come down. Sarah’s in
there with her now.”
Eric had no idea what to do. “Can I
go up there?”
Angels face soured. “Hell, no. I’ll go
tell her you’re here again and re-
mind her Alex will be home soon.”
Eric stood at the bottom of the staircase,
waiting. He looked up when he heard her
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door open. Angel came out first, followed by
Sofia. Even Angel flinched when Sofia yelled,
“You’re a liar! You were at her house this
week, and you were going there again to-
night! But you told me you had to cram!”
Her parents rushed in from the kitchen.
“Sofia, what’s the matter? You’re cry-
ing?” Her mom looked up the staircase.
Sofia ignored her mom. “Is that who you
were cramming all week, Eric?”
Angel had started down the stairs, but
stopped at her outburst. “Sofie, calm down.
Let him explain.”
“No! Go get your fish tacos, Eric. Tell
Nicky you like lots of cabbage!”
“Sof, I can explain. It’s not what you’re
thinking. I swear to you.”
Her parents stared at him. As if his heart
could take anymore, Alex walked in.
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“What’s with all the yelling?” He took
one look at Sofia’s face and his expression
immediately we kmme"0">
Mr. Moreno put his hand on Alex’s
shoulder. “Calmado.”
“Nothing,” Sofia said before Eric
could respond. She rushed past An-
gel down the stairs. “It was just a
misunderstanding.”
Alex still glared at Eric, but Sofia
grabbed Eric’s hand and pulled him
toward the front door. “We’ll be
outside.”
As soon as they were outside, Sofia
let go of his hand. “You’re lucky I
didn’t want my brother to blow up.”
“Sof, I swear to you. It’s not what you’re
thinking.” His heart was still pummeling
against his chest. He knew Sofia could be
feisty, but to make such a scene in front of
her family? “The software I installed for her
on Tuesday was in the store. She brought in
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her computer. I was only going to stop and
install the new one tonight then go straight
home. I wasn’t going to hang out with her.
You have to believe that, Sof.” He reached his
hand out to her, but she backed away. “I love
you. I would never do something like that.”
She paced back and forth hugging
herself. Alex stuck his head out the
front door. “You okay, Sofie?”
She nodded and wiped her tears
away. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Alex glared at Eric, then looked
back at Sofia. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Alex shot Eric another look before
closing the door.
“Don’t ever…” She whispered.
“What?” Eric took a step closer to
her.
“Don’t you ever dare cheat on me,
Eric Diego.”
185/467
He’d never even considered it and
ga-damn if he’d ever would now. He
reached his hand out and she took
it.
“I would never, Sof. You should
know that.” He pulled her to him,
feeling her arms wrap around him
and squeeze him.
“I don’t want you to talk to that girl
anymore, and you better never eat
any of her food.”
Eric had to smile. He hadn’t even
thought of what a big deal that might be, but
Sofia had always loved cooking for him. It
was their thing. He buried his face in her
neck. “I’m sorry I made you so upset. I hate
to see you cry.”
Sofia pulled away from him and looked
him straight in the eyes. “No more house
calls for any of your tech idiot girlfriends
either. Okay?”
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Eric kissed her. “I wish you could
somehow feel what I feel for you,
Sof. You’d never have to worry
about me with anyone else.”
“I do feel it. It’s what I feel for you,
but you made me question it today.”
“I’m sorry, Sof. I didn’t even do
anything, but I’ll say that forever.
I’m sorry.”
She rested her head against his
chest and sighed. “I feel drained.”
Eric took a deep breath. “Yeah, that
makes two of us.”
***
Sofia’s graduation present was a trip to
Cancun. Eric seemed thrilled when she said
she wanted him to come with her. All her
friends were going. It would be a blast.
187/467
Sofia had been a little surprised her
brothers were actually happy Eric was going,
but at almost nineteen, she knew her broth-
ers had to assume they were sexually active.
At this point, all they were more worried
about was her safety partying in a foreign
country.
The trip was everything she’d hoped for,
except for the fact that she was the only one
of her girlfriends that brought her boyfriend
along. There were a couple of nights her
friends were a little miffed that she didn’t
hang out with them because they were sup-
posed to be girls’ nights. Still, Sofia and Eric
made the most of the trip, and they had the
best time ever.
Eric took a break that summer and only
took a few classes instead of his usual full
load. They were able to spend more time to-
gether and as always, every moment alone
was electrifying.
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When summer ended, Sofia concen-
trated on school. She attended UCSD, the
same as Alex and Angel. She dare not go any-
where further. It was bad enough, school and
his job kept them apart for days at a time
now. She couldn’t imagine being away from
him for weeks, much less months.
She met Naomi in college. They were
both majoring in English Lit. They met in a
creative writing class. Naomi was a few years
older than Sofia, and already had a baby. She
was also a little bitter about the hand she’d
been dealt. Only twenty-two, she was a single
mom with no family support. But she loved
reading, writing, and she was working her
way through college. Sofia had to respect
that.
Sofia worked at the restaurant when she
had the time. Her parents had told her she
could put in as many or as little hours as she
wanted. She couldn’t even imagine working a
189/467
regular job, going to school and raising a
baby all by herself.
They went to lunch as they often did.
Sofia sat across from Naomi. She’d asked
Sofia if she could interview her. Naomi was
working on a paper on relationships for
Psych class.
Naomi bit into her sandwich before
picking up her pen and note pad.
“So how did you meet Eric?”
Sofia smiled. “I’ve known him
forever.”
“Really? You’re whole life?”
Sofia nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. We
grew up in the same neighborhood. He lived
up the block from me. Still does.” She bit in-
to her own sandwich. Naomi waited for her
to continue. When she was done chewing,
she swallowed and added, “He’s my brother’s
best friend, so he was always around.”
190/467
“Wow. That’s so sweet. So was he your first
boyfriend?”
Sofia smiled and nodded. “My first
everything, actually. I’d never even
kissed a boy before him.”
Naomi stared. “You’ve never had
any other experiences than with
him?”
Sofia thought about it. That was it
in a nutshell—she’d never been in-
terested in experiencing anything
with anyone else.
“That’s interesting. I’ve been reading a
lot about long-term relationships. The ones
that I find the most fascinating are the
couples that met and marry after only a very
short time, say a week or a month, but are
together forever. Then there are the ones like
you, who’ve known each other your whole
lives and stay together forever. But I know
you’re still young, so who knows. Personally,
I don’t know anyone else, even high school
191/467
sweethearts, that have stayed together. It
seems like too much. ”
“What do you mean?”
“Well.” Naomi sat up. “I’m not saying
you won’t; I’m just saying most couples that
start that young eventually start getting
bored with the same relationship and start
wondering what they missed out on. You
know—dating—meeting new people in the
real world outside high school.”
The memory of Eric laughing with the
girl at the store came to mind. There hadn’t
been anymore instances since then, but the
image was seared in her mind forever.
“In most cases, usually the guy starts to
resent all he missed out on.” She tilted her
head. “Neither of you has had other relation-
ships outside of each other?”
Sofia smiled big. “Yep. It’s just been
me and him all this time.”
192/467
Naomi took another bite of her
sandwich and wrote something,
thinking aloud. “Never even been
kissed by anyone else.”
Sofia shook her head. “Nope, and I
never wanna be.”
Naomi smiled. “That’s beautiful.
But don’t you get curious?”
“About what?”
“I don’t know.” Naomi stared. “I’m
just saying don’t you ever get curi-
ous about what kissing another guy
would be like?”
Sofia shook her head. “Never.”
“That is so amazing.” She held out
her hand and gave Sofia a high five.
“You go! You and your boyfriend
are one in so few.”
Sofia thought about that, then re-
membered Angel and Sarah. “My brother
and his girlfriend have been together since
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high school, and they’re sophomores in col-
lege now.”
Naomi’s eyebrows lifted. She lifted her
notepad again, but waited until she finished
chewing, then asked. “Were they each others
first, too?”
Sofia laughed. “I’m pretty sure she was
his first real girlfriend, but she was far from
his first experience.”
< k="0else.p height="0" width="48"> “What
about her?
After thinking about it for a moment,
she responded, “I think she said she had
gone out with a couple of guys before she
met my brother.”
Naomi kept jotting things down on her
notepad, but asked, “Well, that’s a little
different.”
Sofia was beginning to feel annoyed.
Who cared if she didn’t have anyone else to
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compare Eric to? She didn’t want to compare
him to anyone. All her friends had these
roller coaster relationships. She and Eric
barely had a few minor bumps. They were in-
credibly happy and neither could get enough
of each other. She bit into a carrot and
waited for Naomi’s next question.
195/467
CHAPTER 8
Doubt
After almost two full years of college un-
der his belt, Eric was ready for a break. Now
that Sofia was in college also, their time to-
gether was even more constricted. Even
when he was finally free of schoolwork,
sometimes she wasn’t. She was also running
on the college track team, so that took up a
lot of her time.
Both he and Sofia had been looking for-
ward to the summer. They’d been saving for
a vacation. Nothing fancy, maybe just a drive
up the coast. Stop at a few bed and break-
fasts. It didn’t matter where they went. Just
being with her for an entire week, day and
night, would be paradise.
Then a few weeks ago, his dad threw a
wrench in his plans. The company he worked
for was highly influential. Students lined up
for the chance to do an internship there. A
position in their IT dept was well sought-out.
Eric was majoring in Software Engineering.
He’d always been a natural tech, even when
he was a kid.
An internship at this place would do
wonders for his resume, might even open a
few doors. His father always said success was
due in large to hard work, but it also in-
volved some luck, and it helped to know
people. In this case, he was lucky his father
knew people that could get him in. The in-
ternship would be for the entire summer.
Unfortunately, it was at their head quarters
in Los Angeles. He’d have to stay with his
mom all week and be home only on the
weekends.
Eric’s first thoughts were hell no! But
after his dad stressed the importance of this
and what it would mean for him in the fu-
ture, he started rethinking. Sofia wouldn’t be
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happy about it, and the thought of being
away from her all summer except for the
weekends was the hardest thing to accept.
Still, this was a huge opportunity for him.
His father even said he was certain if he
didn’t, do it he’d regret it later on.
Eric finally agreed, but he still hadn’t
told Sofia. He’d be leaving in less than three
weeks and there hadn’t been the perfect mo-
ment to bring it up.
After watching a movie and munching
on pizza, they ended up naked on the living
room floor. Eric worked on catching his
breath when Sofia sat up. “God I miss this.
I’m so glad summer is almost here. I’m s
n="0els Erick of going days without you.”
She kissed his neck. “I want this every day.”
Eric took a deep breath. “We need
to talk, babe.”
Sofia stopped kissing his neck and
looked at him. “About what?”
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“This summer.”
She pulled away from him. “What
about it?”
“I’m gonna be gone. But I’ll be
home on the weekends.”
Sofia stared at him. “Why?”
“My dad got me an internship with his
company in L.A. It’s for the whole summer,
Monday through Friday.” He caressed her
face. “It’s a dream internship, Sof. My dad
pulled a lot of strings to get it for me.”
“You asked him to?”
“No.”
“I thought we we’re taking a
vacation?”
“I know.” He kissed her. “I was looking
forward to it, too. But my dad says this is
something I really need to do, and I have to
agree, Sof. I’d be stupid to pass this up.”
Sofia looked so sad it killed him. “The
whole summer?”
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He pulled her against him. “I promise,
we’ll make the most outta every weekend.
Okay?” He kissed her nose. “You mad?”
She took a deep breath, her expression
completely heartrending. “Are you going to
miss me?”
Eric sat up and cupped her face in his
hands. “Of course I am—every minute of
every day. You’re all I think of, Sofie. It’s al-
most embarrassing.”
Her face crumbled. “I miss you already.”
For a moment, he hated his dad, and he
choked up, hugging her tight. “No, Sofie.” He
took a deep breath, trying to hold it together.
“We’ll talk every day. I promise.”
They held each other for a while, then
Sofia asked, “Are you sure you didn’t ask
your dad to take you away this sum-
mer—from me?”
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Eric pulled himself up and leaned on his
elbow. “Why would you even ask me that?”
She lay there, looking at the ceiling.
“You’re not bored with me are you?”
Eric turned her chin gently to look at
him. He gulped, trying to hold in the anger
that question filled him with. “Don’t ever ask
me that again. I can’t believe you would even
think it.”
She stared at him, then in an instant,
she wrapped her arms around him. “Maybe I
could go out and stay with you a few times.”
Eric squeezed his eyes shut. He had a
feeling she’d suggest that. But his dad had
told him he’d be putting in some long hours.
There’s no way he’d have time for her.
“We’ll see,” was all he’d commit to.
She pulled away, eyes pinched. “Or not.”
Eric pulled her to him. “Sof, I’ve only
stayed with my mom a few times my whole
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life. I’m not even sure if this is gonna work
out. I’m just saying, let’s wait and see what
happens.”
Even though he knew how disappointed
Sofia was, he was glad he’d finally told her.
They’d been through so much already. They
could get through this.
***
Eric had only been gone a few days, and
Sofia was feeling it. She tried so hard to put
up a front when he left, but she couldn’t help
feeling like somehow he wanted to be away
from her. It felt wrong. She should be happy
for him. Even her brothers had agreed this
was an awesome opportunity for him, but
she couldn’t help it.
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Weeks later, even after Eric had come
home and two weekends in a row they’d
spent most of their time together in a hotel
room, she tried pushing it to the back of her
mind. Sofia had only signed up for two
classes over the summer. She regretted it
now, because it gave her too much time to
think.
She used her writing as therapy, spend-
ing hours with her laptop. For the most part,
it worked. She’d been writing for hours when
her phone rang. It was Eric. She answered
eagerly.
“Hi, baby.”
“How’s my girl?” He sounded tired.
“Okay, but God, I miss you.” She
had to stop telling him that. He was
going to get tired of hearing it.
“I miss you, too. Just two more days
and we’ll be together again.”
They talked about their days. His
was always more exciting than hers.
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“Oh, hey, guess what?” Eric’s tired tone
seemed to wake a little. “My dad’s always go-
ing on about what a small world this is. He’s
forever running into people from way back
even when he’s out of the country. Now I
know what he means. So far, I’ve run into
two people from La Jolla. Remember Jacob
Taylor?”
Sofia thought about it for a mo-
ment. “No.”
“From the football team in high
school.”
Sofia wracked her memory. “Ah-
uh.”
“Anyway, he’s going to school out here. I
ran into him the other day at the market.
Then just today I ran into Asia, remember
her?”
Sofia was trying still to remember Jacob
when she heard the name Asia, and her
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mind halted. How could she not remember
the neighborhood slut?
“The one that lived up the street?”
Sofia’s cheeks were suddenly warm. If she
wasn’t mistaken, she’d heard a few things
about Eric and Asia, way back in the begin-
ning of high school.
“Yeah, I stopped at the place where I get
my coffee on my way to work. She works
there. She said it was her first day. I almost
didn’t recognize her. She’s changed a lot.”
“Does she still dress like a whore?”
Petty, but for some reason the fact that Asia
worked at the coffee shop Eric would be at
every morning didn’t sit well with her at all.
“No, Sofie.” He paused, the regret in his
voice about telling her apparent. “She was in
uniform.”
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“What else did she say, Eric?” She hated
the mood the conversation had taken. She’d
taken it there, but couldn’t help herself.
“Not much. I was in and out of there as
soon as I got my coffee. But she did say she’s
out here trying to become an actress.” He
laughed.
Sofia didn’t laugh. It didn’t surprise
her. Asia had always been about the
drama.
“You still there, Sof?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“What’s wrong?”
Deciding not to make a big thing of
it, she took the high road. “I just
miss you. That’s all. I can’t wait ‘til
this weekend.”
“Me either.”
Eric told her about buying tickets to Sea
World for the weekend. As much as she liked
Sea World, she would rather spend the
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weekend the way they’d spent the last two,
but she pretended to be excited, anyway.
*
A few weeks later, Sofia went to the
movies with Naomi. They’d become pretty
close in school. The only reason why she nev-
er did anything with her outside of school
was because any free time she had, she pre-
ferred to spend with Eric. Now that he was
away, she had more than enough free time to
spare.
After the show, they grabbed a bur-
ger. They sat down in a booth with
their trays of food.
“So how’s it feel to be free?” Naomi
asked, sticking a fry in her mouth.
Sofia looked at her. “I’ve never felt
trapped.”
Naomi glanced up at her. “That’s not
what I meant. I mean, you finally get to do
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whatever you want without your brothers or
Eric having anything to say about it.”
Sofia felt unease set in. The same unease
she’d been feeling the past few weeks. Naomi
had an annoying way of always hitting things
on the nose. She’d never given it much
thought, but she had gone from her brothers
watchful eyes to Eric’s.
Her brothers had passed on the respons-
ibility of looking after her to Eric. It was nev-
er said, but that’s exactly what had
happened. Now she understood how after so
many years of being so overbearing, they’d
grudgingly, but a bit too painlessly, been
okay with her dating. They knew she was in
good hands with Eric. Even when she took
the trip to Cancun, they’d been more than
happy Eric would be with her.
Not that she thought Eric took advant-
age of that. He never told her she couldn’t do
things without him. When her parents had
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given her the gift of Cancun, he assumed she
was going without {oinher she cohim.
Since Eric had been gone, she’d been
doing things she hadn’t done in a while. She
told herself it was just because she was trying
to keep herself busy. She used to run every
day for pleasure. Ever since she and Eric
started sneaking off, she stopped. She only
ran for the team, even back in high school.
There was no way she was going to let any-
thing, even her running, cut into her time
with Eric. And she’d all but given up on any
writing, for the sake of writing. The only
writing she’d done was the mandatory stuff
for school. Now that Eric wasn’t around, she
spent hours every day doing both.
What bothered her most is how much
she’d missed it. She forgot how much she en-
joyed both. It made her wonder if Eric was
discovering he liked time to himself, also.
She worried that he’d begin to enjoy time
210/467
away from her, maybe even with other
people.
He’d mentioned Asia once more since
the first time. Again, she kept what she felt to
herself. She didn’t even make a smart remark
like she had the first time. But she’d decided
if he brought her up again, she would defin-
itely say something.
Sofia brushed off Naomi’s comment and
changed the subject. Even after they’d moved
on, several topics later, she still couldn’t
shake the unease.
The next morning, Sofia got ready for
her daily run. She stretched out before start-
ing on the grassy area to the side of the walk-
way behind her house. Someone was coming
up the walkway with their dog. She focused
on the puppy that mulishly refused to walk
as the owner tugged on the leash. He was ad-
orable, big and chocolate brown. “Is this his
first walk?” She knelt down to pet the pup.
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“Actually, it’s his third.”
Sofia looked up, immediately recogniz-
ing the voice. She hadn’t even realized it was
Brandon Billings from up the street. The last
time she’d seen him was just before he left
for the Marines years ago. He looked differ-
ent—more mature. He smiled at her. “Bran-
don?” She stood up. “When did you get
back?”
She couldn’t get over how different he
looked. He was in much better shape than
when he’d left and he looked so put together.
The despondency in his eyes was gone too.
He was taller and much more secure,
more distinguished somehow. “Ah, so you
noticed I was gone.” His playful smile re-
vealed a perfect set of white teeth.
She remembered him hardly smiling in
high school. He’d worn braces all four years.
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“Of course I noticed,” she smiled.
“You’ve been gone a while, haven’t you?”
“Obviously you didn’t notice the first
time I was back in town, but since then I
went back for another fourteen months.” He
glanced down at the pup who was chewing
on his pants. “Just got back last week.”
“And this is your puppy?” She said,
bending back down. She smiled, touching his
big paws and wrapped her hands around his
ears and face.
“Yeah, this is Troop.”
“Hey, Troop,” she said, “you’re
beautiful.”
“So are you,” Brandon said.
Sofia stopped petting Troop and looked
up at Brandon. The compliment was so un-
like him. It made her a {It igh little uncom-
fortable, but she was flattered anyway.
“Thank you.”
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“You look so different, Sof, so much
older.” He looked her over. “What
are you, eighteen now?”
Sofia smiled. “Just turned nineteen,
actually.”
“Really? Wow.”
She picked up her leg, bringing her
foot up to her behind, stretching it.
“I see you’re still running.”
Sofia was a little surprised he re-
membered. “Yeah, I’m on the team in col-
lege, but I kind of stopped running for fun
for a while there, just started to again a few
weeks ago.”
He eyed her as she stretched.
“Hey Sof, I’ll be in town for a few weeks,
maybe we can get together and do
something. You know, catch a movie or
something.”
She felt a little bad, but there was no
way she could take him up on the offer. “I
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would, Brandon, but I’m sure my boyfriend
would object.”
“Ah,” he nodded. “Is the lucky guy
anyone I know?”
“Yeah, you remember Eric, right?”
“No shit?” His blue eyes sparkled.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Since when?”
She smiled, stretching her other leg.
“Technically, since I was sixteen,
but
officially,
since
I
was
seventeen.”
Brandon’s eyes widened. She knew what
he was thinking. “How the hell did he pull
that one off? I remember your brothers were
all over anyone that messed with you.” He
laughed. “Hell, I got my ass kicked a few
times.”
Sofia laughed, remembering how Eric
almost got a beating from Alex. “It wasn’t
easy, that’s for sure.”
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“Well, that’s too bad. It would’ve been
nice to catch up.” He tugged the dog’s leash
to pull him away from Sofia’s shoe laces.
“You run everyday?”
She nodded. “Yep, Monday through
Friday.”
“Maybe I’ll take run with you one of
these days.”
She thought about it for moment. “Sure,
I wouldn’t mind the company. I’ll see you
around, Brandon.” She started running to-
ward the park.
Sofia decided she wouldn’t mention to
anyone she’d run into Brandon. Even though
things between her brothers and Brandon
had actually become amicable just before he
left, she had a feeling they still wouldn’t like
the idea of her agreeing to go running with
him. Eric probably wouldn’t be too crazy
about the idea, either. She made it clear to
Brandon that she was in a relationship, and
216/467
she didn’t see the harm in running with him.
It might not even happen. She’d keep the
whole thing to herself.
217/467
CHAPTER 9
Past acquaintances
The very next day, Brandon was out
there in his running shorts and a tank top.
Sofia could tell he’d already been running
because his shirt was dampened with
perspiration.
He ran up to her as soon as he saw her.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” The first thing she noticed was a
tattoo on his upper arm, but she didn’t say
anything. Something about it being on his
big, muscular, sweaty arm, made looking at
it feel wrong.
Sofia still couldn’t get over how different
he looked. He seemed so improved, and she
was happy for him. Everyone thought he’d
end up in jail, and here he was, clean-cut and
looking healthier than ever. “How long
you’ve been out here?”
“About an hour.”
“Really?” she said. “Wow, how much
longer are you gonna be? I usually only do
about an hour total.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a Marine, honey.” He
wiped the sweat from his face with his big
shoulder. “An hour ain’t shit. Pardon my
French.”
Sofia smirked. “Yeah, but you’re practic-
ally walking.”
Brandon’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that a
challenge?”
Sofia smiled and took off sprinting. She
felt him closing in, and she turned it on.
Sarah had been the best on the team in high
school. She taught Sofia how to turn up the
speed fast. She felt herself pull away. Then
suddenly, Brandon started closing in on her
220/467
again. She reached the park, ran into the
grass, and touched a tree, the one that she’d
always made her target. “I win!”
“What?” He reached it and ran past it.
He slowed down and turned around, walking
back toward her with his hands on his hips.
“You cheated.”
“I did not!”
He bent over, putting his hands on his
knees. “First of all, you didn’t even tell me we
were starting, and then you invent the finish
line just as I’m catching up?”
Sofia laughed, bending over to hold her
knees as well, and tried catching her breath.
“You’re the one that brought up the
challenge.”
Brandon walked over closer to her and
leaned against the tree. “Damn, you’re fast.”
~
honey.”
221/467
She straightened up and leaned against
the tree. Brandon moved closer to her. “I re-
member.” He smiled, a little too close to her
face.
Her racing heart fluttered. As much as
she wanted to rest, she didn’t think standing
there with him anymore was good idea. She
took a deep breath. “You ready for more?”
He looked at her unbelievably. “You’re
kidding me.”
“I won’t invent the finish line this time.
Last one to my house is the loser.” She put
her finger and her thumb to her forehead in
a shape of an L.
Before he could even respond, she took
off. It was a few moments before he was right
behind her. This was good practice for her.
She turned it on and broke away again. She
was almost there, could see the gate to her
backyard, when Brandon snuck up behind
her. She tried to step it up, the expression on
222/467
her face completely determined, but she was
so exhausted and her muscles ached so
badly, she couldn’t, and he came up from be-
hind her, beating her by a foot.
Sofia slowed down, coming to a stop just
a couple houses past hers. She walked back
to where he was leaning against the fence.
Neither could talk, they were breathing so
hard. She circled around holding her sides,
trying to catch her breath. Even though it
was just a friendly run, it irked her. She
hated losing. She glanced at him and then
away. “Don’t be mad, honey.”
She had to laugh. “Whatever.”
“You almost had me.”
“Yeah, well almost isn’t good
enough.” It was a struggle just get-
ting the words out.
She couldn’t stand it anymore. She had
to sit down, so she leaned against the vinyl
fence and slid down until she was sitting.
223/467
Brandon came over and sat next to her. His
leg touched her thigh. It was wet with per-
spiration, and his pinky caressed her own
glistening thigh as he massaged his leg.
“You still writing?”
Sofia
turned
to
him.
“You
remember?”
“Of course. I still have that piece
you sent me.”
“You do?” Brandon was the first
person aside from a teacher or a
professor she’d ever let read any-
thing she wrote.
She’d since let Eric read some of her
stuff. But since she stopped writing for so
long, she hadn’t had much to show him in
years, other than her school work.
“I was really impressed.” He wiped the
sweat away from his brow. “I’ll be honest. I
was a little nervous it wasn’t going to be too
good. But I really got into it.”
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She smiled, remembering the email he
sent her back. She’d been surprised herself
about how eloquent he’d been when speak-
ing of her writing. Then he admitted to writ-
ing a little poetry himself. She asked to read
some and he sent her one. She didn’t really
get it. She printed it out and tacked it to the
small tack board in her room, determined to
try to figure out the message. It was still
there even after all these years, under a buns,
anch of other stuff, but she hadn’t read it in a
long time.
“I’ve taken a bunch of creative writing
classes, so I’ve written a lot there. But only
recently did I start writing again for
pleasure.”
“Really?” His eyes were always so pier-
cing, and so lash heavy, it was almost sensual
the way he stared at her. “Why’d you stop?”
She shrugged, unwilling to admit the
truth. “I got busy, I guess.”
225/467
Sofia’s chest heaved up and down still,
and Brandon glanced at it. As much as her
legs ached, she pushed herself up. “I’ll get
you next time.”
“What? You’re done?” He looked up
at her.
Sofia looked back at him. “I gotta
go.”
“I was hoping we could talk.”
She tilted her head. “About what?”
“There are some things I’ve always
wanted to tell you.” He must’ve read her ex-
pression because he added, “Nothing your
boyfriend would have an issue with. I know
you’re with Eric now and I respect that. I’m
not the guy I was when we were kids. I’d just
like a few minutes so we can talk.”
She stared at him. Brandon pulled him-
self up quickly. Sofia’s eyes inadvertently
glanced at his muscled shoulders. He was
immediately face to face with her. She almost
226/467
took a step back, suddenly feeling a little
overwhelmed by him. “So when can we
talk?”
She had no idea what he could possibly
want to talk go her about. Even though he
said it was not anything Eric would have an
issue with, his eyes seemed to invade her
when he spoke to her. If Eric or even her
brothers witnessed it, she was sure they’d all
have issues. But she had to admit, she was
curious. “Another time. Not now, I really
gotta go.”
Brandon touched her arm, and she al-
most jumped. “I look forward to it.”
She felt shivers shoot up her back. They
weren’t exactly bad shivers, but they defin-
itely made her feel something she knew she
shouldn’t be feeling.
“Bye.” She walked away and hurried into
her yard.
227/467
***
Eric switched the channel on the televi-
sion. He stopped on footage of a car accident.
He turned to Sofia, who was lying half-asleep
on the bed. They’d rented a room again, and
after an exhausting, but incredible night of
love making, he’d finally woken up.
“You remember when Asia’s dad got
in the accident in high school where
the passenger was killed?”
Sofia was awake now. “Yeah.” She
sat up slowly, propping herself
against the pillow.
“Well, get this. The person that was
killed was his mistress.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, that’s why she moved away
seniored tress. year. Her parents divorced,
and her and her mom moved to Los Angeles.
228/467
She said her mom didn’t even know at first.
Her dad told her mom it was just a co-work-
er he was giving a ride home. Then a few
weeks later, the mistress’s husband showed
up at their house and told her about it. Isn’t
that crazy?”
When she didn’t respond, he turned
to her. He couldn’t make out her ex-
pression but it wasn’t good. “What’s
wrong?”
“How often do you talk to Asia?”
“When I see her in the coffee shop,
but she doesn’t work every day.” He
had a feeling where this was going.
“Why?”
“Did you go out with her in high
school?”
Eric thought about it and suddenly
he felt like kicking himself. “No, I
didn’t go out with her.”
229/467
“I heard something about you and
her, I just don’t remember the
details.”
“What difference does it make, Sof?
That was a long time ago.”
“So you did?” She sat up even more.
Eric took a deep breath. “I hooked up
with her once after a party in like the ninth
or tenth grade. I don’t even remember any-
more. Is that what this is about?” He clicked
the television off. “Is that why you made the
comment about her dressing like a whore?”
“Why? Did that bother you, Eric?”
“No, I just thought it was kind of ran-
dom.” He almost didn’t say it, but he did
anyway. “And a little rude.”
“Oh, I’m sorry my opinion bothers you.”
She stood up, pulling his t-shirt over herself.
She crossed her arms. “Obviously, your opin-
ion of someone who wears short shorts and
fishnet stockings with her tits practically
230/467
hanging out is different from mine, since you
still hooked up with her.”
“I think everyone’s a little ashamed
about some of the styles they wore in high
school, Sof. She’s not like that anymore.”
“Oh really, Eric?” If looks could kill,
there’d be a gaping hole between Eric’s eyes.
She raised her voice. “Why don’t you tell me
what she’s like? You two real tight now? Is
that why she would tell you something so
personal about her dad?”
As much as Sofia hated to admit it, she
was just like her brothers. Her temper could
go from zero to sixty in a split second. Eric
had a feeling this was going to get ugly, be-
cause she was starting to piss him off. He
dropped the remote on the bed. “You know
what really bothers me, is that you would
question my loyalty to you even after all
these years. I’ve never given you any reason
to.”
231/467
“You’ve never once brought up the pos-
sibility of me going out there to visit you and
you know I wanted to. And now you keep
talking about this girl you see every day.
Someone who shared something so intimate
with you? A girl you hooked up with once. Of
course I’m going to have doubts.”
Eric stood up, forgetting he was still na-
ked. He bent over, pulled his boxer briefs
from the ground, and slipped into them. “I
already told you, I don goiou,c stood upt see
her every day. I’ve only had coffee with
her…” He nearly choked on his own words.
Why the fuck did he just say that? “…a
couple of times.”
“You had coffee with her?” Sofia spun
around and grabbed her sundress from the
chair. She pulled off the t-shirt, allowing Eric
a beautifully naked view of her for a few mo-
ments until she pulled the dress over her
head.
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“I meant—”
“You’ve been having coffee and catching
up with the whore you once hooked up with.”
She slipped on her sandals.
“Sofie, don’t say it like that.” He walked
around the bed towards her. “I got coffee and
she hadn’t started her shift yet, so I sat with
her for a little bit. That’s all.”
Eric tried touching her arm, but she
pulled it away. “Don’t touch me!”
“Sofie, baby.” He took her arm again,
even though she tried pulling free. “Why are
you getting all worked up? If I’d have known
how upset this would make you, I would’ve
never—”
“Told me?”
“No, I would’ve never even talked to
her.”
She tried to pull away from his hold, but
he held her. She took a few steps backward
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in an effort to get away from him. Eric kept
up with her until they were against the wall.
“I’ll find another coffee shop, okay?”
She squirmed, but her struggle with try-
ing to get away from him, had lost a little
fuel. He took advantage and pushed his body
against hers, letting her feel the rise she’d
given him from just seeing her naked even
after being with her all night.
“How many times?”
He licked her bottom lip. “How
many times what?”
“You said you had coffee with her a
few times.”
“Twice.” He kissed her.
He wouldn’t be stupid enough to tell her
the truth now. He’d done nothing wrong, but
the fact that he knew Asia’s schedule and he
was beginning to look forward to chatting
with her, had already started feeling wrong.
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He had no idea Sofia knew about him and
Asia back in high school.
“Promise me you won’t talk to her
again.”
He pulled her dress up, spreading
her legs. She drew in a sudden
breath.
“I promise.”
She wrapped one arm around his neck
and pulled him out of his underwear. Within
seconds, they were making love against the
wall. He listened to those soft pants of hers
he’d grown to love. He may have enjoyed
catching up with Asia again, but where Sofia
would get the idea that anyone else would
ever do was beyond him.
***
235/467
Monday morning, Sofia stretched as she
walked through her backyard toward the
back gate. Wh banbsen she got out, she held
on to the gate with one hand and stretched
her leg behind her with the other.
The conversation she’d had with Eric
that weekend still lingered in her mind. Even
though she gave into him and didn’t storm
out of there like she had intended after he
admitted to having coffee with Asia, the
doubt still loomed. She’d hardly slept the
night before just thinking about it. Eric could
continue to talk to Asia every day and she’d
never know about it. He still hadn’t men-
tioned anything about her going out to visit
him.
After stretching a bit more, Sofia began
running. She’d only been running for five
minutes when Brandon was by her side.
Sofia smiled, looking down at Troop. He’d fi-
nally started walking on his leash without
Brandon having to drag him.
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The sweat dripped down Brandon’s
face. “You’re late today.”
“Yeah, I slept in,” she said. “It felt
good, too.”
“Late night?”
She shook her head. “Actually, I was in
bed early, but I had a hard time sleeping.”
She considered taking off in a sprint to beat
him to the park, but she didn’t think Troop
would be able to keep up.
When they finally did get to the tree,
Sofia bent over to pet Troop.
“You gotta hurry back again, or do you
have a few minutes to talk?”
His eyes gave Sofia that funny feeling
she got from him on Friday. The dark stubble
on his hard chin made the blue of his eyes
that much more piercing. She glanced away,
petting Troop some more. “I have a few
minutes.”
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Brandon sat down on the grass He
pulled a few blades of grass out of the
ground, then looked back at her. “I wanted to
thank you.”
“Thank me?” Sofia searched his
eyes.
“Yeah, there’s no way you’d know
this, but you’re the reason I enlisted
in the Marines in the first place.”
She shook her head. “Me?”
“Yeah, you,” he smiled. “Remember
when we used to talk in Geometry class and
you would talk about doing whatever it takes
to reach you’re goal, and never give up?”
Sofia remembered the conversations.
But she was so into trying to keep her spot
on the relay team back then, most of her mo-
tivational speeches were geared by that. She
sat down across from him, but not too close.
“Yeah, I remember.”
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Brandon smiled and gazed at her for a
moment, making her avert her attention
back to Troop. “Back then, my life at home
was crap. Always had been, actually. My dad
had always been abusive, mostly to my mom,
but on occasion, he turned it on me, too. I
hated life—I hated everyone. I talked to
nobody, and I mean nobody. I had no friends
and wanted no friends. I think you were the
only one I ever opened up to. I thought it was
ironic too ‘cause I’d been such a jerk with
you growing up.”
Troop jumped on Sofia’s lap. She
hugged the puppy, petting him all over. “You
weren’t so bad. I thought maybe you just did
it to get to my brothers.”
Brandon look> Blocked at her incred-
ibly. “Why would I want to do that? Alex has
always been a monster, and he wasn’t even
the biggest one back then.”
“So why did you?”
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Brandon glanced away. “I don’t know. I
think I just didn’t know how else to react to
you. Anyway,” he lifted a shoulder. “I
thought a lot about what you said back then.
You were always so cheery and optimistic
about everything and it sort of motivated me
to do something with my life. I hated school
but I hated coming home even more. Then
one day you talked about the career center at
school. Did you know I never even knew our
school had a career center until you brought
it up?”
“You’re kidding me? That’s all the teach-
ers and counselors ever harped about.”
“Yeah, like I was listening,” he scoffed.
“So I actually went down there and picked up
the information on the Marines and started
reading up on it. That’s how I decided it was
the best thing for me. I knew college wasn’t
for me, and it would get me away from my
dad. I felt bad about leaving my mom, but
sometimes I got the feeling she felt worse
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about me having to see all the crap he did
than her having to live with it.”
He stared at Sofia for a moment. She’d
always known there was more to Brandon,
even back then. Hearing him talk about his
family now made her feel terrible. It wasn’t
his fault. She couldn’t even imagine being
such a loner and no family support.
“Seeing me as a Marine changed
something in my dad. It’s like suddenly he
had something to be proud of. Everything in
my life changed, including my dad. Life at
home is so much better now. I always said I
had to thank you some day formally.”
“No way, just ‘cause I mentioned the ca-
reer center? Brandon, I’m sure you would’ve
heard about it eventually.” She laughed
nervously.
“It’s not just that, Sof. You were so kind
to me even after all I’d done to you as kids,
and if it hadn’t been for you I probably
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wouldn’t ever showed up to class. I think that
class was the only one I never ditched.”
“You just needed a little push, that’s all.”
“And you were it. I was close to spiraling
out of control. If it hadn’t been for me listen-
ing to you, who knows where I might’ve
ended up?”
There was an uncomfortable silence for
a moment, then Sofia cleared her throat. “I
don’t think I did much to deserve that kind
of credit, but I will say I’m really glad
everything turned out the way it did for you.”
“I have something I’d like for you to see.
You think you can come over my house one
of these days?”
His sensual stare was now softer. Run-
ning with him was one thing. Going to his
house would be crossing so many lines. Not
just with Eric, but she was sure her brothers
would have a fit. Since he’d steered clear and
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not been a pest his last year here, her broth-
ers had actually begun to talk to him a little,
but she knew they still didn’t trust him
completely.
“You wouldn’t even have to come in. I
can bring it out to the porch.” His eyes im-
plored. He reached over and squeezed her
shoe. Her eyes took in his muscular forearm
and immediately felt weird about it.
“Yeah, I could do that.”
“How ‘bout right now?” He squeezed her
shoe again. “You have ti“ ditme?”
Last night, Naomi’s words kept ringing
in her head. Don’t you ever get curious?
Only the words kept her sleepless, because
she was certain Eric had become curious. It
felt wrong, but damn it, she wasn’t even hav-
ing coffee with Brandon. All she was doing
was going to his to see what he wanted to
show her. “Actually, I do have a few
minutes.”
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244/467
CHAPTER 10
Curiosity
In an instant, Brandon was on his feet.
He held his hand out to help Sofia up. She
felt his tight grip as she stood and he didn’t
immediately let go once she was up, either.
She pulled her hand away and dusted herself
off. “This guy’s probably ready for lunch,
anyway.” Brandon bent over messed with
Troop’s ears.
“What are you gonna do with him when
you leave?” Sofia asked as they started
walking.
“He’s actually my mom’s. I got him for
her. She’s always loved dogs, but I’m begin-
ning to wonder if it was such a good idea. I
thought she’d be a little more enthusiastic
about walking him, but she really hasn’t
shown much interest in it. I hope he’s not
just gonna sit in the yard until I get back.”
Without even thinking about it, she
offered, “I can walk him sometimes if you
want.”
Brandon turned to her and smiled.
“Really? That’d be great.”
Sofia smiled, glancing back down at
Troop, who was prancing along happily be-
side Brandon. When they got to Brandon’s
house, Sofia stood at the front door, not sure
if she should go in or not.
“You can come in if you want,” Brandon
called from inside.
She didn’t really want to, but she felt a
little rude. She took a few steps inside and
stood in the front room. The smell of cigar-
ettes was so overpowering, her hand was im-
mediately over her nose. No one appeared to
be home. “Are your parents here?”
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“No,” Brandon responded from one of
the
bedrooms.
“My
dad
had
an
appointment.”
Great. She had to make this fast. She
was really beginning to feel anxious about
being there. Brandon finally walked out of
the hallway holding a photo album. Feeling
rude, she casually moved her hand away
from her nose. “C’mere,” he said, walking to-
ward the dining room table that was just off
the side of the front room.
She walked over slowly. Even though
she felt anxious, there was something oddly
exciting about being there with him. He set
the album down on the table and pulled a
chair out. He motioned for her to sit next to
him and she did. He opened the album. The
first picture was an eight by ten head shot of
him in his formal camouflage marine uni-
form, beret and everything. His expression
was very hard. It was impressive, almost
sexy.
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“Wow. You look so grown up.”
“That’s how I feel now. It’s weird I felt so
lost for so many years. You have no idea
what the Marines have done for me. It’s the
best thing I could’ve done. her dit sat’s ho
Sofia stared at the picture, glancing back
at him, she smiled. “I’m glad for you. I al-
ways knew you had it in you, Brandon. ”
He held her gaze and she had to look
away. She brought her attention back down
at the album, and he turned the page. The
next pages had certificates and awards. Then
there were pictures of what appeared to be
him and his troop in combat. They were
holding weapons and crawling in mud. In
others, they sat behind trees and rocks like
they were hiding. “You weren’t in a war, were
you?”
“No,” he laughed, making her feel dumb,
“but it felt like it. That was just boot camp,
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but they did their best to make us feel like we
were in hell.”
Fascinated, Sofia continued looking at
the pictures. She’d been looking at the pic-
tures for a while when she noticed Brandon
staring at her. Startled, she brought her eyes
back at the album. “Is this you?” She pointed
at a picture of a soldier climbing a wall. His
face was turned away.
Brandon put his hand on hers.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
Sofia flinched, pulling her hand
back,
immediately
feeling
ridiculous.
Brandon was quick to apologize.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She felt so stupid. “I
just… I don’t know why—”
Brandon smiled. “Forget about it,
you wanna see something else?” He
stood up.
250/467
She didn’t. All she wanted was to get out
of there. It was getting a little weird. She
should’ve never come inside his house. But
she stood up, nodding, and followed him into
the hallway.
When she realized it was his bedroom,
she stopped at the door. He went into his
closet and pulled out a long briefcase, setting
it on the bed. He undid the clasps then
turned back to her. “Come over here.”
Chewing on her pinky nail, Sofia looked
around. She walked over to get a closer look.
He worked fast, unzipping the bag. It was a
rifle, a big one like the ones in the pictures.
Her eyes grew wide. “They let you bring
that home?”
“No. My old man got it for me.” There
was no hiding how proud he was of that. “He
surprised me with it when I got home. It’s a
replica, but the resemblance to the real thing
is amazing. If I hadn’t handled one of these
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as much as I have, I probably wouldn’t be
able to tell the difference.”
Sofia was intrigued. Her family owned a
gun they kept in the restaurant for protec-
tion. But her brothers had barely let her see
it, much less handle it. “Can I touch it?”
Brandon
seemed
pleased
she
wanted to. “Sure.” He took it out of
the case.
“Is it loaded?”
Brandon laughed again, handing it
to her. “No.”
She felt her cheeks warm as she chalked
up the inane questions, but she appreciated
his patience. “Wow. It’s so light.” She
weighed it up and down in her arms. “I
thought it’d be heavy.”
“They make them light for a reason.
When in combat, you could be out there
walking for days with one of these over your
shoulder. Along with your backpack and
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other belongings, you wouldn’t get very far if
it was too heavy.”
Sofia ran her finger over the barrel, then
held it up to her face, pointing it at the win-
dow like she’d seen him holding it in the pic-
ture. “Who’d have thought I’d ever be hold-
ing one of these?”
Brandon came around her. “Actually,
this is how you’re supposed to hold it.”
He put his arms around her and picked
up her arms, his face inches from hers when
he adjusted her head so that she could focus
on aiming. Sofia heart rate spiked. His
breath against her temple made her feel
warm. It felt wrong. No one but Eric should
be able to make her feel like this. With his
body up against her back, big and hard, sud-
denly her eyes were on the bed in front of
them. Thoughts of her and Brandon on it
flooded her mind. She trembled, squeezing
her eyes shut.
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His hand came around her waist and
pulled her closer to him. He whispered in her
ear. “You okay?’
She nodded without saying a word, but
gulped hard. Brandon leaned in closer to her
temple. “I’m feeling it, too.”
He pushed up against her and she felt
exactly what he meant. Sofia let go of the
rifle. Brandon had a hold on it. He put it
down on the bed, and spun her around to
him. They stood for what seemed forever,
lips inches away from each other.
Sofia brought her hand up and flattened
against his chest. Though she didn’t push
him away like she should, at least she had
something in between them. Brandon’s hot
breath was on her mouth and she could al-
most taste him.
“I think your brothers’ plan to make you
so forbidden may’ve backfired on them.” His
arm slipped around her waist. “I saw the way
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all those boys looked at you in high school.
Saw it, because I was looking at you the same
way. Every one of us had a hard on for you,
Sof.”
He spoke right in her mouth, her heart
pounding in her chest. “Tell me to stop and I
will, Sofia. Otherwise,” he licked his lips.
“I’m gonna have to kiss you.”
A part of her screamed say stop, but an
even bigger part wanted him to. When her
eyes went from his eyes to his lips, it was
sealed. For the first time in her life another
man’s tongue was in her mouth. The incred-
ible excitement was of a different kind. One
she’d never felt.
Even back when she and Eric were
sneaking around, being with him never felt
wrong. This was wrong on so many levels.
Still, she kissed him back almost too eagerly.
His hands were all over her body in an in-
stant. Her hands cradled his face. The
255/467
stubble on his face excited her even more.
Eric had very little facial hair. She’d never
thought something like that could excite her,
but excite her it did. When his hand dropped
down and caressed her behind, something in
her brain finally snapped and she pulled
away.
“No!” She breathed heavily and she
pulled away from his arms. “I
can’t.”
His
dark
carnal
stare
nearly
brought her back into his arms.
“Sofie, why fight it?”
She took a step back, feeling the
blood drum in her ear. “Because it’s
wrong.”
He pulled her back to him gently.
“Do you have any idea how many
times you’ve been the star of my
wet dreams?”
Sofia’s mouth opened, but she had no
words. Eric had always been so gentle even
256/467
about the way he spoke to her. Brandon’s
words were indecent, scandalous… but they
made her feel things, things that made her
breath even harder. “I can’t, Brandon.”
“But you want to.”
She stared at him, unwilling to answer.
He leaned in breathing on her neck but not
touching. Then his lips brushed against her
neck, tormenting her. Her entire body
shivered.
“Do you want to, Sofie?” he whispered,
then kissed her neck.
Her legs almost gave out on her as she
felt a bolt of excitement run through her.
Somehow, she found the strength to pull
away. If what she was feeling at that very
moment was any indication to the answer to
his question, she had to get out of there.
Fast. She thought of avoiding his eyes.
They’d give her away, but who was she kid-
ding? He already knew.
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“I can’t.” She walked away.
She heard him chuckle behind her.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Suddenly infuriated with herself, she
hurried out of his room and toward the front
door. Brandon followed her, calling out for
her but she ran out. The more she thought
about it, the faster she ran. As soon as she
was home, she called Eric. He answered on
the second ring.
“Hey, babe.”
Hearing his voice did her in. Her voice
broke with the first word. “I miss you so
much.”
There was a pause, then he said, “Why
don’t you come down this week? I’ll get a
room for us out here. I can hardly stand be-
ing away from you either, Sof.”
Still tasting Brandon in her mouth, she
almost fell apart. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”
258/467
***
Eric thought of the week he’d just had.
Being away from Sofia was tough, but this
week had been especially draining. He had
no idea how emotional this would get. Sofia’s
call on Monday struck a nerve. She sounded
so upset. Eric knew right away something
was wrong. Of course, she assured him it was
just getting to her that she couldn’t go over
and see him when she was missing him.
Not sure what to expect when she ar-
rived, he braced himself. When Sofia showed
up on Tuesday, her emotions had been all
over the place. She’d always been eager to
make love, but she’d been almost crazed
from the moment she arrived and they’d
been together all weekend. Then she seemed
down, but no amount of persuading would
259/467
get her to talk. All she said was she couldn’t
wait for him to come home for good. Then in
a flash, she was back to being aroused.
Eric smiled. Well, he’d never complain
about that. Sofia’s sensuality went hand in
hand with everything else about her person-
ality. She was intense when it came to
everything. She’d been a little weird all week.
Eric had a feeling he knew why.
Her brothers weren’t the only ones with
thy o a e short fuse. He’d steered clear of the
coffee shop where Asia worked all week; he
wasn’t adding any more fuel to that fire. He
hoped she wasn’t still worrying about it. He
hated to bring it up, but if she was still acting
weird over the weekend he’d have to.
His phone rang just as he hopped
on the freeway.
“Hey, baby!” Her chipper mood
made him smile.
“Hey.”
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“You on your way?”
“Yep, just hopped on the freeway.”
Usually, Eric waited until Saturday
mornings to leave. Friday night traffic was
horrendous, but today he’d got off early. The
guy he was assigned to work with had asked
for half the day off, so they told Eric he could
leave early. He was headed home and not a
moment too soon.
“Angel and Alex miss you.” He
heard
Sarah
laugh
in
the
background.
Eric smiled. “They do?”
“Yeah, they’ve been whining about
you not spending any time with
them on your weekends home.”
He heard Sarah laugh again along
with
male
grumbling
in
the
background.
Eric couldn’t help laughing. “Is that
right?”
261/467
“Yeah, so we’re ordering from Andolini’s
and they want you to come over and play
with them.” She laughed. “Seriously, they
really wanna play some football out front.
Me, Sarah and Valerie will cheer.”
“Andolini’s? I’m in.” He hadn’t had their
pizza in ages. When they were younger, they
used to eat there all the time. They had the
best pizza in town.
After hanging up with Sofia, Eric felt
much better. Maybe he wouldn’t have to
have that dreaded conversation with her
after all.
The guys did seem happy to see him
when he got to Sofia’s house, but no one was
happier than Sofia. He squeezed her tight
and kissed her like he really wanted to when
they were finally out of her brothers sight.
Even after all this time, he still wasn’t com-
fortable getting too cozy with her in front of
262/467
them. And he knew damn well, they weren’t
comfortable watching.
Once back outside, he grabbed a beer
from the ice chest. “Don’t you bums work?”
“Go long,” Alex said to Angel then
glanced at Eric. “Parents are at the
restaurant.”
Angel ran out in the street and Alex
threw the football at him. A car turned into
the cul-de-sac and slowed. Angel moved out
of the way, smiling at the driver. When it was
close enough, he saw it was Valerie, Sarah’s
cousin. Eric wasn’t surprised she was still
coming around. She and Alex had been on
and off since high school. Alex put up an act
that their relationship was just for fun, but as
much as Mr. Tough Guy played it down, Eric
saw the way he looked at her when they were
together. He wasn’t fooling anyone.
Romero showed up a while later and
they all hung out like old times. It felt damn
263/467
good.eltool The girls sat on lawn chairs in the
front yard chatting, while the guys stood by
Alex’s truck parked out in the street throwing
back a few beers.
They were in the middle of clowning
Romero about his piece of crap car when
they noticed he wasn’t paying attention to
any of them. He was looking behind Eric. “Is
that Bad News Billings?”
Eric turned around to see a very clean-
cut, buffed-up Brandon Billings, walking to-
ward them with a dog on a leash.
264/467
265/467
CHAPTER 11
It is what it is
“Get the fuck out!” Romero said,
smiling, “Is that you, Billings?”
Brandon extended his arms out to
the sides. “In the flesh.”
“What?” Angel added, “No way!”
Brandon laughed. As surprised as
everyone else, Eric couldn’t believe
how different Brandon looked.
Angel reached out, shook his hand, and
patted his shoulder. They all did the same
except for Romero, who feigned punching
him in the stomach.
“Did you just get back?” Angel
asked.
“Last week, actually.”
Alex went back to leaning on his
truck. “You wanna beer, man?”
“Yeah, I’ll take one.”
Alex swatted Romero on the arm.
“Go grab one from the ice chest.”
Romero made a face. “Why me?”
“Because I asked you to.” Alex
turned back to Brandon. “So how
was it?”
Brandon smiled. “I can’t complain. I
mean, it was hard at first. Boot camp’s bru-
tal, but you get used to it and,” he said, look-
ing away for a second, “anything was better
than being home.”
“What’s this?” Romero pointed at Bran-
don’s upper arm, after handing him the beer.
“You got a tattoo?”
Brandon turned his arm to them when
he saw the interest in everyone. It was the
US Marine embeltooloo?lem, the one with
the eagle sitting on a globe with an anchor
going through the globe. The detail was
268/467
impressive, and by the look on Brandon’s
face, there was no doubt he was proud.
“That’s cool.” Romero studied it closely.
“You know I’m thinking of getting a tattoo.
Did it hurt?”
The guys chuckled. “What are you gonna
get, Romero? A picture of your cat, Flea?”
Romero looked at Alex, disgusted. “Its
Fee Fee, and he’s not my cat, he’s my
uncle’s.” He brought his attention back to
Brandon. “I was thinking of getting a gun
right here.” He lifted his shirt, exposing his
abdomen. He stuck his hand in his pants. “So
it looks like I’m packin’.”
They all busted up, including Brandon.
“That’d be the only thing you’d be
packin’,” Alex said.
Romero looked at all of them, obviously
failing
to
see
the
humor.
Without
269/467
commenting on their laughing, he looked
back at Brandon. “So does it hurt?”
The girls had come over to pet the dog.
He was cute, just a pup. Instead of bending
over and petting the dog like Sarah and
Valerie, Sofia came over and leaned against
Eric, slipping her hand in his. Brandon
glanced at them, then brought his attention
back to Romero. “Nah, it doesn’t hurt too
much. The vibrating needle kinda numbs it.”
“Damn, Brandon,” Romero said, looking
at his arm, “looks like they worked you out
pretty good.”
Brandon chuckled. “Yeah, I thought I
was used to getting worked out, but I got
back home and,” he looked at Sofia, “got
worked out pretty hard here, right, Sof?”
Sof?
Sofia smiled. Eric held her hand a little
tighter. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but
270/467
he wasn’t jumping to any conclusions like he
knew her brothers would. They all stared at
Sofia. Brandon saw the looks on their faces.
“I knew she was on the track team, but
damn. I didn’t know how fast she was.”
Eric glanced at Sofia. In very unlike
Sofia fashion, she blushed. She hadn’t men-
tioned Brandon was even back in town,
much less that she’d been running with him.
Eric didn’t want to make too much of it, but
he had to wonder if had anything to do with
her behavior this week.
“So you raced?” Romero asked. Before
either could respond, he added, “Did you
beat ‘im, Sof?”
Sofia and Brandon exchanged glances. It
was just a glance, but it held the weight of an
elephant. It turned Eric’s stomach. The care-
free afternoon he’d been having up until then
took a nose dive.
“I almost beat him,” Sofia answered.
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Brandon smiled. “Don’t worry, Sof,
You’ll get me next time.”
Eric squeezed her hand. The hidden
message in Brandon’s eyes wasn’t missed.
Sofia didn’t respond. Much to Eric’s annoy-
ance, Romero went back to asking about the
tattoo. As if one tattoo made Brandon an ex-
pert on the subject. Eric wanted to hear more
about Brandon and Sofia running. If he
didn’t now, he’d sure as hell make sure he
did later. Unfortunately, later would have to
wait. The guys had planned a night out,
bowling.
After chatting for a while longer, Bran-
don finally said he had to take off, but not
before turning to Sofia one last time. “You
gtim heonna be out there tomorrow
morning?”
Eric felt her tense up. “No. I only run
during the week.”
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“Alright, then I’ll see you out there
Monday morning.”, he said, and Sofia
shrugged in response.
To top it off, Angel insisted that since
Eric had had such a long drive, there was no
sense in taking two cars—they should all go
in his. The only moment he would’ve had
alone with Sofia before tonight was the drive
to bowling alley. Now that was shot, too. He
wouldn’t even be able to take advantage of
the ride home.
Alex and Valerie must’ve taken a detour
along the way, because they’d all been at the
bowling alley over twenty minutes, and they
still weren’t there. Those two did that a lot.
With Angel and Sarah off to buy drinks, and
Romero showing off his bowling skills, Eric
took advantage of the moment.
“So how come you hadn’t mentioned
Brandon being back?”
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Sofia lifted a shoulder. “I dunno. I for-
got. I only ran with him a couple of times.”
“You forgot?” Eric didn’t want to be
pissed. He didn’t want to ruin the weekend
before it even started. But he knew if he ever
forgot to mention something like that to her,
she’d go postal on him. He knew he could
trust Sofie. He just couldn’t shake the bad
vibe he got when she exchanged glances with
Brandon.
“It was in the morning and only for a
few minutes. By the end of the day it had
totally slipped my mind.”
That made sense to him. Still, he
squeezed her hand. “Anything else you for-
get to tell me?”
She shook her head immediately. Eric
leaned his forehead against hers. “Look Sof,
if you forgot to tell me because you thought
I’d be mad, that’s not cool. Remember just
like I’m always reminding you that I’ve never
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given you any reason to doubt me, you’ve
never given me reason, either.” He lifted her
chin. “I’m okay with you taking a jog with a
friend, it’s when you start keeping it from me
that makes me wonder why, okay?”
“Okay,” She stared into his eyes.
He stared back. “Promise me you
won’t keep things from me no mat-
ter how mad you think I’ll be.”
“I promise,” she said, then squeezed
him tight, “I love you so much.”
They kissed until someone cleared his
voice loudly. Angel stood behind them with a
frown. She was still his little sister. “Will you
two knock it off?”
Sofia laughed. “If you can keep your
hands off Sarah for even five minutes, I will.”
Ignoring her, Angel turned to Romero.
“So do we get to play or are we watching you
all night?”
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Eric turned back to Sofia, who leaned in-
to him. He’d let the bad vibe go for now and
hope that’s all it was. But he’d be damned if
he was letting his guard down. The thing
about knowing Sofia so long is he knew her
better than most boyfriends knew their girl-
friends. That’s what made him a little
nervous. In all the years he’d known her,
she’d never ceased to amaze him or surprise
him, and yet he knew her like the back of his
hand.
If her brothers so much as suspected
even halfcteris of the things they’d done
when they were younger, stuff usually sug-
gested by Sofia, Eric had no doubt they’d
blow a fuse, even now. Eric expected to be
able to trust her. He knew she loved him as
much as he loved her, and that she would
never do anything to intentionally hurt him.
But if there was one thing he’d learned over
the years, with Sofia you just never knew
what to expect. Very little, if anything, ever
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made Sofia blush, so her blushing was a red
flag.
***
It is what it is, but sometimes it’s not.
What you get is what you see.
You get only what you think it is.
Always been that way. And will always
be.
Sofia read the damn poem she found
buried under other stuff she’d pinned over it.
After all these years, she still didn’t get it.
When Brandon emailed it to her back in high
school, she read and reread it. As much as
she loved to write, she didn’t get poetry. All
poetry seemed to go over her head, and
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Brandon’s was no exeption. It made her feel
stupid. If she wasn’t deep enough to get it,
how could she possibly write it?
She wanted so bad to tell him she under-
stood, but she didn’t. Finally, she ‘fessed up
and told him she liked it, but didn’t get it.
She remembered that conversation and
Brandon laughing. “I thought for sure you of
all people would get it.”
Sofia stared at him, feeling even stu-
pider. “Me? Why?”
Brandon looked down at his notebook
on the desk. “I guess because you can relate
to me… at least I think you can.”
What did that mean? Good God, she felt
dumber with each sentence he spoke. “I
think I can relate to you. I’ve just never been
good about deciphering hidden messages in
poems.”
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He finally lifted his eyes away from the
notebook and their eyes locked. “There’s no
hidden message, Sof.” The bell rang and
Sofia realized she was holding her breath.
She let her breath out slowly and they both
stood and grabbed their books. Brandon
smiled at her. “It’s right there, Sof. The
words say it all.”
Sofia pinned the poem back on her tack
board, frowning at all the useless junk she
had tacked on over the years. She’d clean it
off eventually.
Even though the weekend was over,
Sofia still couldn’t get over the disaster she’d
dodged that past Friday. As sneaky as she’d
been through the years because her brothers
had forced her to, one thing she’d never been
good at doing was lying to Eric. He knew her
too well. If he had probed even just a little
more, she might have spilled her guts and
begged him to forgive her.
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She hadn’t gone running in the back
walkway of her house since the day they
kissed, hadn’t even seen Brandon again until
Friday. The only thing Eric had asked her
since then was if her running at the beach
now instead of her usual place had anything
to do with Brandon. Of course, she denied it.
She told him it was because the days were so
beautiful, and he knew how much she loved
the beach, especially in the summer. He
hadn’tr. 8"> < brought Brandon up since.
Brandon would be leaving first thing
Saturday morning. At least that’s what she
heard him tell Alex. The fact it relieved her
also gnawed at her. Not a day had gone by
since the kiss that she hadn’t thought of it. At
first she kept wondering what would have
happened if she had let it go on. She knew
the moment she left his place she wouldn’t
be stepping foot in that walkway again,
afraid of what might happen—what he might
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say. Mostly, she was afraid he might ask her
again if she wanted to.
After seeing Eric in Los Angeles, then
again this past weekend, the answer to Bran-
don’s question was clear. Absolutely not, and
she wouldn’t hesitate to scream it in his face
if he ever asked her again. But the fact still
remained—she let him kiss her—hold her,
and it riddled her with guilt. Why hadn’t she
told him to stop when he gave her the
chance?
She lay down on her bed, certain she
was in for another night of tossing and turn-
ing. Eric had been so sweet when she spoke
to him earlier on the phone. The guilt
weighed heavier and heavier with every
conversation.
*
Even though he was staying with his
mom during the summer, they hadn’t really
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talked a whole lot since he’d been there. His
mom was an RN and worked different shifts
every week. She worked at two different hos-
pitals and was gone a lot. When she wasn’t
gone, she was sleeping since her shifts were
usually night shifts.
The few conversations they’d had were
as generic as all the conversations he re-
membered having with her. Work, school,
his internship… she asked him about Sofia
but he made it pretty clear that was not a
subject he would elaborate on, so she hadn’t
asked since. Why should he share the most
precious thing in his life with her? He didn’t
feel she deserved it.
Most of the meals he’d had so far con-
sisted of him slapping a grilled cheese, or
throwing cup of noodles in the microwave
and eating it alone in front of the television
or in the spare bedroom—the room his
mother told him was his for the summer, and
for as long as he ever needed it. So when he
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got home Monday night, he was surprised to
see the small kitchen table set up and her
making dinner.
She smiled when he walked in. “Hey, I
hope you like roast! I was in the mood to
cook a real dinner.”
Eric glanced around. She’d made
mashed potatoes and even had a bowl of
fresh baked rolls. He wasn’t sure how he felt
about having to sit through an entire meal
with her.
“Can you grab that salad and put in on
the table for me?” His mom was already put-
ting two plates of dinner together. “Is juice
okay or you want milk?”
“Juice is fine.” He placed the salad on
the table and walked over to pull out the
glasses from the cupboard. “You want juice
also?”
“Yes, please.”
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Eric poured two glasses and brought
them over to the table. With everything set,
they sat down to eat. He made a few com-
ments about the quality of the food, espe-
cially the dinner rolls which she’d made from
scratch. She must’ve had the day off to have
time for all this. Eric felt bad now; he’d been
this close to passing and heading straight to
his room.
After a few more minutes of their usual
generic conversation, his mom put her fork
down and placed her nd his room.
Growing up, he never dwelled on the
fact that he didn’t have a mother. He re-
membered asking his dad when he was a kid
where his mother was, but only out of curios-
ity. It wasn’t until he was ten that his dad
tried to explain to him about his mom having
“issues” and her reasons for not sticking
around, but he always assured him that she
loved him.
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“I’m sorry,” she continued, “that I didn’t
feel strong enough or mature enough to
handle a child. I’m just so glad that your
father has been there for you and obviously
has done an excellent job of raising you. But
I want you to know, I’ve always loved you.”
A tear rolled down her cheek and she
wiped it away. Eric didn’t know what to
say—didn’t even understand why hearing her
say she loved him moved him so strongly
now. He’d never in all of his twenty years,
needed her love, never even thought about it,
but hearing her say it did something to him.
Still, he was without words.
She dabbed her eyes and nose with a
napkin and smiled weakly. “I only hope
you’ll continue to give me the opportunity to
make up for some of the time we lost.”
Eric nodded. “I will.”
It was all he could think of to say. They
ate the rest of their dinner in silence. When
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they finished, he helped her clear the table.
After placing the butter back in the fridge, he
glanced at her at the sink, getting ready to
wash the dishes. Without even thinking
about it, something made him walk over and
hug her. It took her by surprise, but she
hugged him back.
“Thanks for dinner, Mom.”
He’d never called her that—never called
her anything. He’d always just answered her
questions or spoke to her without any refer-
ence to her name or what she was to him.
The only time he referred to her as his mom
was when he spoke to Sofia about her. It felt
good.
She smiled, the tears welling in her eyes
again. “You’re welcome, son.”
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287/467
CHAPTER 12
The truth shall set you free
Lost in thought, Sofia hadn’t even
touched her sandwich.
“What’s
with
you
lately?”
Naomi
crunched into her pretzel.
Sofia came back to earth and glanced at
Naomi, who was staring at her. “You’ve been
really spaced out the last couple times I’ve
seen you. Something wrong?”
Sofia picked up half of her sandwich, but
then stopped and put it down again.
“Can I tell you something and you prom-
ise you won’t lose respect for me?”
Naomi’s eyes widened. “Wow, sounds
juicy.” She put the rest of her pretzel in her
mouth and leaned her arms against the
picnic table. “Sure, I would never lose re-
spect for you.”
Sofia took a deep breath and wondered
if she should. It was killing her, and she
hadn’t told anyone. Not even Sarah, who she
normally confided in when it came to her re-
lationship with Eric. She was just too
ashamed. Naomi, at least, was more de-
tached from the whole situation. She hadn’t
even met Eric.
“I did something I regret so bad.” She
bit her lip. Naomi watched her, but didn’t say
anything. “I kissed another guy.”
Naomi’s eyes widened again, but she
still didn’t say anything. She seemed to be
waiting for Sofia to continue. Sofia briefed
her on her history with Brandon. Then she
told her about the kiss and about the part she
felt most guilty about—the fact that she had
wanted it. That in that moment, she’d
wanted more.
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“I don’t know why I didn’t just say no.
All I kept saying was I can’t.” She shook her
head, feeling a weight in her chest. The same
weight she’d felt since that day. She thought
maybe telling someone might lift it some-
how, but it hadn’t.
“Sofia.” Naomi reached across the table
and touched her hand. “It’s okay. It was a
new experience for you. He was trying to se-
duce you, honey.” She giggled. “Sounds like
it almost worked, too. A lesser woman
might’ve given in, you know.”
“But I did give in,” Sofia argued, “I let
him kiss me… touch me. And… I touched
him back. It was—exciting. ”
God, how could she live with herself? If
she ever found out Eric did something like
that, she’d die. She put her hand over her
face.
“But you stopped, Sof. A lot of women
wouldn’t have.” Naomi pulled Sofia’s hand
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away from her face. “Listen, we’ve talked
about this. So you were curious. It sounds to
me like you had a deep-seeded crush on this
guy from way back. The opportunity presen-
ted itself when you least expected it. And I
hate to say it, but I think he may have taken
advantage of it.”
Sofia stared at her, confused. “Why
do you think that?”
nd hisofia stare
“Well, you said you always thought
he was smarter than most people
gave him credit for, right?”
Sofia nodded, thinking about it.
“I’m sure he picked up on the fact that
he made you a little nervous even back in
high school. Then he comes back and you
said he made you feel things you shouldn’t
be feeling.” Naomi shrugged. “He probably
picked up on that, too. Sofia, you’re a very at-
tractive girl, no guy would pass up the
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opportunity to at least try to kiss you, if they
thought they had a chance.”
Sofia wanted to be mad. She really did.
If Brandon tried to seduce her even after say-
ing he respected that she was with Eric, that
was pretty low down. But the truth was if
Naomi was right, it was her own fault. She
gave him the initial green light and he just
went for it. Hell, he even gave her the oppor-
tunity to stop him and she hadn’t.
***
That Friday, Eric was not getting out
early, so he wouldn’t be home until the next
morning. Sofia still hadn’t been out to run in
the back walkway since the kiss. She hadn’t
planned on going back out there until Bran-
don was gone, but after her conversation
with Naomi, she knew she wouldn’t feel bet-
ter until she did something.
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She folded the paper with Brandon’s
poem on it, and stuck it in her shorts pocket.
Her morning run had been extra early today.
She hadn’t been able to sleep anymore so she
got up and took off to the beach. After think-
ing about it during her entire run, she made
up her mind.
Alex was in the kitchen, making a pro-
tein drink like he usually did every morning.
He turned to her as she walked in. “Why are
you up so early?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” was all she re-
sponded as she grabbed the knob to
the back door.
“I thought you just came from
running.”
“I did.” She turned it only to find it
locked.
“So where you going now?”
Annoyed at his questioning, Sofia
turned the lock. She hated that even as an
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adult, Alex still questioned her constantly.
“Brandon’s leaving tomorrow. I just wanted
to tell him something before he leaves.”
“You’re not going out there to race him,
are you?” The annoyance on his face was so
typical. Neither he, nor Angel had said any-
thing to her since Brandon brought it up, but
the expressions on their faces that night said
it all. They didn’t like it.
“No,” she said as she walked out. “I’ll be
right back.”
Brandon was on his way back from the
park. He was shirtless, and from the sweat
that glistened over his body, she could tell
he’d been running for a while. He had a
headset on and wasn’t looking up. No way
was she touching him to get his attention. In-
stead, she made the noise he usually made to
call Troop, and the pup immediately tugged
the leash to try to get to her. Brandon looked
up.
295/467
In an instant, that sensual smile spread
across his face. He pulled the ee pt tarphones
out of his ears. “Hey, I didn’t think I’d be
seeing you out here anymore.”
“I’m not here to run.”
His eyes took her in from top to
bottom. He had to be wondering
about her running gear. “I just came
from running… at the beach.”
His smile seemed to wane a bit.
“Listen Sofia, about what happened.
I hope you’re not upset with me, I’m
really sorry—”
“I’m not,” she lied. She’d never regretted
anything more in her life, but she didn’t want
him thinking it was that big a deal to her. He
didn’t deserve that kind of significance in her
life. No man did, except Eric.
“It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have
happened, but it did, and I’m glad I got it out
of my system.” She shrugged. “Eric’s the only
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guy that’s ever kissed me. I was bound to get
curious sooner or later. But that was it.
That’s all it was.”
He stared at her for a moment and be-
fore he could say anything, she pulled the
poem out of her pocket. “I found this. I
wanted to ask you.” She unfolded the paper
and handed it to him. “Can you tell me what
it means? I’ve never been able to figure it
out.”
His eyes seemed curious at first, then he
read it and laughed. “Wow, this is such
garbage. I can’t believe I thought my poetry
was any good back then.”
“But do you remember what you meant
by it?”
“Those were my dark days, Sof.” His
eyes didn’t have the same hold on her as they
had when he first got back. “I remember al-
ways trying to put into words that people
didn’t know the real me, only what they
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perceived me to be. I never had a chance to
prove them otherwise, so I didn’t even
bother.”
Of course. God she was so dense. Then
she remembered. “You said if anyone would
get it, it would be me.”
He smiled. “You remember that?”
She frowned. The last thing she wanted
was for him to know just how much she re-
membered that and for how long. “I have a
good memory.”
“Your brothers always acted like you
were this fragile little naïve thing that
needed to be protected, and everyone bought
into it. But after talking to you that whole
semester, I saw how independent and
strong-willed you really were. You didn’t
need them. But you never got the chance to
show them,” he shrugged. “I thought you
might be able to relate.”
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He folded the paper back into the square
she had it in and handed it back to her. “I’m
a little flattered you held on to it this long.”
“I tacked on my tack board.
Everything on there is ancient.”
He nodded. “I’m outta here tomor-
row, you know—first thing in the
morning.”
“I know. That’s why I came out
here.”
“Really?” He seemed pleased. “To
say goodbye?”
“Well that too, but…” She fidgeted with
the paper in her hand, glancing down at it. “I
wanted to tell you… I want you…> < to know
that I would never do anything to hurt Eric. I
love him more than anything,” A lump began
to grow in her throat. The same lump she’d
felt during her phone conversations with
Eric all week. “I already explained to you
about the kiss. My only regret is that I didn’t
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say what I should’ve. And it’s been bothering
me ever since.”
He stared at her. “What’s that?”
“You asked me if I wanted to, and I
said I couldn’t.”
His expression softened into a tiny,
but undeniably smug smile.
“I don’t. I want that to be perfectly
clear.”
The smile was a little bigger now. “Are
you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure, damn it. I wouldn’t be
out here if I wasn’t. Saying goodbye to you
wasn’t nearly as important as making sure
you didn’t leave tomorrow thinking that I
do.”
She wouldn’t say it only because she
didn’t want to sound hateful. But if it hadn’t
been for her need to make sure he knew, she
300/467
would’ve gladly let him leave without so
much as a wave.
“You can’t tell me you didn’t feel any-
thing, Sof.”
“What I felt was a guy trying to seduce
me, Brandon. A guy who knew I was in a re-
lationship and who was leaving in a couple of
weeks.” She could feel herself getting heated,
but she wasn’t sure who she was more an-
noyed with, Brandon or herself for even hav-
ing to have this conversation. “Eric has loved
me since we were kids. It’s never been like
that with him. Obviously, all you wanted was
casual sex, an entirely foreign concept to me.
It took me by surprise.”
“That’s not all I wanted.” The smug
smile was wiped away and he suddenly soun-
ded defensive.
Sofia shook her head. “It doesn’t matter,
Brandon. I just wanted to make sure you
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knew. I don’t want to, and I’m sorry if that’s
the impression I gave you.”
“Don’t apologize, Sof. I just hope this
didn’t ruin things between us.” His expres-
sion softened. “Next time I come back, can
we start off fresh? Forget this ever
happened?”
Sofia nodded, but didn’t dare take a step
near him. Instead, she waved. “Bye, Bran-
don. Take care.”
He smiled and waved back. Sofia walked
away feeling a little better, but the guilt still
outweighed any relief she’d gained from that
conversation.
***
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Eric stared at his laptop. Not bad. After
Sofia’s outburst about Asia, he hadn’t gone
back to the café where Asia worked—not un-
til yesterday. He felt a little bad that he’d
promised Asia he would put together a
professional-looking online portfolio for her
acting career. She told him about the hor-
rible one she’d done on her own, contribut-
ing the lack of work she’d gotten lately to
how sorry it looked. Eric could put a portfo-
lio together with his eyes closed. All he
needed was all her info and pictures.
He hadn’t seen her since promising
Sofia he wong width="48uldn’t. Deciding it
wasn’t a big deal, he’d gone in one last time
yesterday. He told her he probably wouldn’t
be back, making up something about his
schedule changing, but he could still do it for
her and email it. She’d emailed him all her
info last night, and already he was almost
done. He was impressed with the amount of
theatre work she had done so far.
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Since Sofia told him she was going to
run this morning, he didn’t call her when he
got home. He would finish up on Asia’s port-
folio, then give Sofia a call. It was still early.
This time he wasn’t taking any chances. He
wanted to talk to her first thing today and
tell her about it. He really hoped she
wouldn’t make a big deal of it, especially
since he had no intentions of ever seeing
Asia again. He’d email her when he was done
and that would be the end of it.
He probably could’ve finished last night,
but as usual, he was being a perfectionist and
obsessing over the site. There was a knock at
the door. Eric left the laptop on the counter
top and walked over to open the door.
“You’re home?” Sofia smiled big.
Eric pulled her to him, wrapping his
arms around her. “Yeah, I was gonna call
you, but I figured you were running.”
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“I was, and I saw your car in the drive-
way.” She kissed him then leaned her head
against his chest. “God, I love having you
home.”
They walked back into his house,
closing the door behind.
“You hungry?”
“Yes, I’m starving.”
“Cool, let’s go get some breakfast. I have
something I wanna talk to you about.” He
leaned in and kissed her, noticing the con-
cern in her face. “Relax, it’s nothing bad. Just
let me grab my shoes from my room.”
He dug in his closet for his shoes. After a
few minutes of digging, he remembered they
were under his bed. When he walked back
out of his room, Sofia was standing in front
of his laptop, staring at the screen. She
looked up. Her eyes were more questioning
than angry. “She sent you all these pictures
of herself?”
305/467
“Yes, because I offered to help with her
portfolio. It’s what I was going to talk to you
about, babe.”
She stared at him without saying
anything.
He walked up to her and cupped her
cheek with his hand, glad that she let him. “I
hadn’t gone back to the coffee shop since the
day we discussed it.” Eric did his best to ex-
plain it and hoped with all his might there
wouldn’t be another blow up.
There was an abundance of him kissing
her and caressing her face as he spilled it all.
Every detail—he wasn’t keeping a thing from
her. She didn’t say anything the entire time
he explained, and Eric was sure that was a
bad sign. He braced himself when he was
done and waited.
“After this, you won’t have to see her or
talk to her for any reason, right?”
306/467
Eric smiled, relieved. “Right.”
Her reaction to it all had been a pleasant
surprise, but after breakfast, he was having
second thoughts. She’d been uncharacterist-
ically quiet the entire time they ate. He hated
to bring it up again, but she was acting so
weird, he had to. Once in the car, he glance-
dar,een at her before he turned it on. “Are
you sure you’re okay with me doing this for
Asia? Because I promise you after this I
won’t be in contact with her at all.”
Sofia snapped out of the same daze
she’d been in all through breakfast. “No.” A
weak smile spread over her face. “I’m fine
with it.”
“Then what is it?”
She shook her head and stared out the
window. “Nothing.”
Damn it. He should’ve gone with his gut
and just stayed away from Asia all together.
307/467
He hated for Sofia to have any doubts. Being
away from her all summer was hard enough.
They drove back to her house. She
wanted to shower and change before they did
anything else. He went back to his house,
finished up the portfolio and sent it off, feel-
ing a relieved to be done with it. That was the
last time he’d ever bring Asia up again.
A few minutes after he was done, he got
a text from Sofia.
Almost done. Come over. I made em-
panadas last night. You can have some
while I finish getting ready.
Eric smiled and grabbed his keys. He
loved everything Sofia cooked for him, but
her empanadas were one of his favorites. He
never even had any until she made some for
him some years ago.
He knocked once before walking in her
house. The only car in the driveway was hers.
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She was on her way down the stairs when he
walked in.
“Hey.” She hadn’t snapped out of
that mood, barely smiling as she
walked down the stairs.
She hugged him when he reached
her. Eric wasn’t sure but she looked
ready to cry. “Sofie, what’s wrong?”
She pulled away from him. With
one hand over her face, she barely
got the words out. “You’re going to
hate me.”
Eric stood still. He had no idea what she
could mean. He reached his hand out to her.
“C’mere. Don’t be silly. I could never hate
you.”
She pulled away and crossed her arms in
front of her. The tears in her eyes unnerved
him.
“What’s wrong? Tell me.”
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She walked around the sofa and sat
down. “Eric, I did something so wrong. I
wasn’t going to tell you, but I just can’t take
the guilt anymore. I have to.”
Like a drum, he felt his heart jump start.
Guilt? So wrong? His stomach tensed. He al-
most didn’t want to know. He took a cautious
seat on the sofa across from her. He gulped,
staring at her big, anxious eyes. “All right,
tell me.”
“When I ran with Brandon last week, he
asked me to come over his place. He wanted
to show me some of his Marine things.”
Eric’s eyes went from hers to her hands. She
kept intertwining them together, unnerving
him that much more. “He showed me pic-
tures and metals and stuff. Then we went in-
to his bedroom…”
Eric stood up. Something pierced into
his chest. “What did you do?”
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Tears rolled down her cheeks. “He just
wanted to show me a gun his dad got for—”
“What did you do, Sofia?” He wasn’t
sure if anyone was homanyto e and he didn’t
care. He raised his voice, feeling on the verge
of losing it. “What the fuck did you do in his
bedroom that has you crying?”
She stood up. “Not that!”
“Then what?” Visions of her and
Brandon assaulted him. He felt sick
to his stomach.
“He kissed me,” she whispered,
staring at her hands, “and I let
him.”
Eric stared at her for a moment, unable
to breathe. He gulped hard, unbelievably
feeling his own tears coming. “Was that the
day you called me and said you missed me?”
She glanced up at him, her expression
torn. Another tear made its way down her
face,
and
she
nodded.
He’d
known
311/467
something was wrong even then, but he nev-
er would’ve imagined this. She took a step
forward. “I’m sorry… it was a huge mistake.”
He stepped back, afraid of what he
might do if she touched him. There was no
way he could be in the same room with her
right now. The hurt he felt was so intense,
the blood pounding through his body was
deafening. She willingly went into Brandon’s
bedroom and let him kiss her. What else had
they done?
Eric spun around before his tears could
betray him.
“Eric, I love you!” she cried.
He waved his hand back at her and
rushed to the door. Never in his life had he
felt what he was feeling at that moment. He
hadn’t cried openly since he was a child and
he’d forgotten how hard it was to hold it in.
312/467
Remembering how he and his friends
had referred to guys on television as pussies
for crying over girls, he held it in, but only
until he was in his car. The pain of Sofia’s be-
trayal nearly suffocated him as he drove
home. He’d never look at his beautiful Sofia
the same way again.
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&n wiign="CENbsp;
314/467
CHAPTER 13
Why?
After sobbing uncontrollably for hours,
and trying unsuccessfully to get a hold of
Eric, Sofia knocked out on the sofa. She woke
when she heard the front door close.
To her surprise, Sal stood at the
door with a regretful expression on
his face. “Sorry, Sof. I was trying to
be quiet.”
She sat up, a bit dazed. “What time
is it?”
“Almost noon.” He dropped his gym
bag on the floor. “What’s wrong
with you? Are you sick?”
She shook her head, feeling the air con-
strict in her lungs the moment the memory
of that morning came back to her. In an
instant, she felt like falling apart again, and
she buried her face in her hands.
“Hey.” Sal was by her side immedi-
ately. “What’s going on?” He looked
around anxiously. “Where’s every-
one? Did something happen?”
“No.” She sniffed. “Everyone is
okay. Mom and Dad are shopping
in T.J. Alex and Angel are at the
restaurant.”
He put his hand on her knee. “So
what’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I think me and Eric broke up.” Saying it
out loud made it feel real. Something she
didn’t want to accept earlier. She leaned
against Sal and cried. “And it’s all my fault.”
Sal rubbed her back. Of all her brothers,
Sal was the only one to whom she would
even consider telling the truth. Though he’d
always been just as protective, he’d also been
the level-headed one. Often having to jump
317/467
in to calm Alex down, like the time Alex
caught her and Eric kissing that horrible
New Year’s Eve.
Sal hadn’t been home from school in
weeks, so he didn’t even know Brandon had
been back. She told him about Brandon be-
ing back in town then she said the dreadful
words once again. “He kissed me, Sal, and I
let him.”
Sal’s expression had gone stern the mo-
ment she mentioned Brandon asking her to
come over to his house. “And Eric found
out?”
“I told him. I couldn’t stand it anymore.
The guilt was eating me alive.” She grabbed
the box of tissues she’d almost gone through
that morning, dabbing her eyes as she con-
tinued. “He’s always been so honest with me
about everything. It just didn’t feel right to
keep something like that from him.” She
took a deep breath, holding back another
318/467
wave of sobs. “He was so upsem, herthit. I
don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
Unable to hold it together anymore, she
collapsed against Sal’s chest, sobbing. Sal ran
his hands up and down her back. “Sofie, if it
was just a kiss, he’ll get over it. I’m sure he’s
mad as hell now, but trust me, I don’t think
Eric can walk away from you just like that.”
Sofia pulled away and looked up at
her brother. “You didn’t hear him,
Sal.”
Sal’s brows furrowed. “What did he
say?”
“He was just so angry—so hurt.”
“Well, that’s to be expected, Sof. You
dropped a major bomb on him. Not only did
you kiss someone else, but Brandon, of all
people.” He shook his head. “Is that asshole
still in town?”
Sofia shook her head quickly. She knew
better than to tell Eric while Brandon was
319/467
still there, or even Sal, for that matter. “He
left this morning.”
“He’s lucky.” Sal frowned. “Listen, you’ll
no doubt be hearing this from Eric, but I’m
going to say it anyway. I don’t give a shit how
much Brandon’s changed on the outside, ob-
viously he hasn’t on the inside. Taking you
back to his house alone, and kissing you,
knowing you were with Eric, says it all. The
guy can’t be trusted and he’ll be back again
eventually. I don’t want you anywhere near
him.”
“I know,” Sofia sniffled, “but he really
has changed, Sal.”
Sal shook his head adamantly. “Don’t
you see, Sofie? He just pulled one over all of
us.” He stood up suddenly. “You have any
idea what Alex and Angel will have to say
about
Brandon
taking
you
into
his
bedroom?”
320/467
The way Sal put it, it sounded so differ-
ent than how it had happened. “It wasn’t like
that.”
Sal gave her that look Sofia hated so
much. That ‘you’re being naïve again’ look.
She frowned. “If I had said no, he wouldn’t
have done it, but I didn’t.”
Sal’s expression went even more severe.
“Is that what he told you?”
“He told me before he kissed me, to tell
him to stop and he would.” Sofia was drown-
ing in guilt again.
“That’s bullshit, Sof. He shouldn’t have
had you there in the first place. Should’ve
never put you in that predicament to begin
with.”
Sofia thought of some of the other
things Brandon had said to her, and knew
even Sal would fly off the handle if she told
him. After making Sal promise he wouldn’t
321/467
say anything to Alex and Angel, she drove by
Eric’s house. His car wasn’t in the driveway
and she wondered if he’d gone back to Los
Angeles.
Tired of crying, and tired of thinking
about it anymore, she went to the restaurant
to put in some hours and try to keep her
mind off him.
***
With his emotions raging, Eric’s first
thoughts were to head to Brandon’s house
after leaving Sofia’s. Then he remembered
Brandon saying he was leaving first thing
Saturday morning. Nothing would’ve made
him feel better at that moment than to beat
the living shit out of Brandon. < ofdon/p>
There was no hiding his feelings when
he walked in the door, and his dad wasted no
322/467
time asking him what the matter was. Eric
simply said, “She cheated on me,” and
headed to his room. Seeing him that upset,
there was no way his dad was going to back
down.
He could hardly even speak when his
dad came in the room to try to console him.
He kept the pillow over his face so his dad
wouldn’t see what a pussy he was. It was
sickening. Finally enraged that he could turn
into such a crying mess, he got up and
grabbed his gym bag. He held it together
long enough to convince his dad he was go-
ing to be okay, and that he could in fact drive
without doing anything stupid.
After working out at the gym, he sat in
his car thinking. He’d finally got it together
and stopped blubbering. He kept telling him-
self it was just a kiss, but it still hurt like hell.
Sofia had made such a big deal out of him
having coffee with Asia. She had to know a
kiss was so much worse, so why? That’s what
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bothered him the most. Was she tired of
Eric? Was he not enough for her anymore?
Did she actually have feelings for Brandon?
His throat began to tighten again, an-
noying him to no end. What was even more
maddening was it had only been hours since
he last saw her, and already he missed her
like crazy. He wasn’t even sure how much
longer he could fight the urge to answer her
calls.
His cell phone went off, making him
jump. Squeezing his eyes shut for a second,
he picked it up to look at the caller ID. To his
surprise, it was Sal. Could she have told him
about it? If Sofia was going to tell any of her
brothers, Sal would be the one. He almost
didn’t answer, but the need to hear anything
that might make him feel a little better pre-
vailed. “Hey, Sal.”
“Eric, you got a minute?”
324/467
He knew—that much was obvious.
Eric tried to sound casual. “Yeah,
what’s up?”
Sal jumped right in with both feet.
“Sofia told me what happened.”
Eric took a deep breath, willing the emo-
tions that washed over him away. “Hmm,”
was all he could muster without risking his
voice breaking. For a moment, he considered
hanging up. He completely regretted answer-
ing now.
“I know you’re mad, Eric. Hell, I’m mad.
It was wrong of her to do it, and I’m not
making excuses for her, but I seriously think
Brandon planned this.”
The thought wasn’t one Eric hadn’t con-
sidered. He cleared his throat. “But she went
for it, Sal. Is that how much I mean to her?
This is the first time me and her have had to
be apart, and she goes and does this?” He
banged his steering wheel.
325/467
“I know. I know. You have every right to
be pissed. I’m with you on that. I just think
you should really think about the big picture.
You two have been together too long—been
through too much, to let something like this
ruin it all. Sofia loves you.”
“Then why?” The damn tears were
already rolling down his face and he
squeezed his eyes with his thumb and fore-
finger. “Did you ask her why?”
Sal was quiet for a moment. “No, but I
can tell you why I think she did it.”
Eric didn’t say anything, just clutched
the phone and gulped hard, concentrating on
not
letting
Sal
hear
how
upset
he
hodth="was getting again.
“I think Brandon put her on the spot. He
came on strong. With all of us around, when
the hell has Sofie ever had to deal with any
guy coming on strong? I can guarantee you
he didn’t give her much time to react.” Sal
326/467
paused, but when Eric didn’t say anything he
continued, “That asshole took advantage of
the situation.”
Annoyed, Eric wiped a tear away.
“When’s he coming back?”
Sal chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what I wanna
know.”
Feeling a little better and much more
confident he could speak without breaking
down, Eric sat up. “I can’t just let this go, Sal.
I don’t know. Maybe with time I will, but
right now I don’t think I could stand to even
look at her.”
He heard Sal take a deep breath.
“She won’t be happy to hear that.”
Just like that, Eric was back to feel-
ing emotional, only this time anger
set in. “Ask her what she would do.”
Sal didn’t respond to that. Instead,
he asked, “Will you do me a favor,
then?”
327/467
“What?”
Eric
stared
out
his
window.
“As long as you two been together, don’t
even consider ending things without giving
her a chance to explain. You wanna know
why? Ask her.”
Eric agreed to that much, but he didn’t
say when. Ending things. The thought hadn’t
even entered his mind. Getting through the
weekend without her, then another full week
away, was going to be a challenge in itself.
He couldn’t even imagine his life without
Sofia.
***
It wasn’t until his drive home Sunday
night that Eric finally decided to answer
Sofia’s call. He’d listened to every single one
of her messages. She’d cried in just about all
328/467
of them, which only made him choke up, as
well. They were all the same. She was sorry,
she loved him, she’d never forgive herself for
hurting him, but not once had she men-
tioned the only thing he needed to know. So
he slipped in his earpiece and answered her
call.
“Why?”
He heard her sniffle, but she said
nothing at first. Then she spoke up.
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit,
you
don’t
just
do
something like that for no reason.”
“I swear it just happened. I didn’t even
have time to think about it. It was so fast.
Eric gripped the steering wheel tighter. “You
have feelings for him, Sofia?”
“No! Not at all.”
Eric took in the sincerity in her voice,
then remembered what Sal had said. The as-
shole took advantage of the situation.
329/467
“Did he touch you?”
Her silence made his heart race.
Why the hell was he asking this? He
didn’t want to know. But he had to.
“Well, yeah.”
“Where?” He gritted his teeth. He
couldn’t believe the fucker had walked over
and talked to all them, knowing full well
what he had done. “How, Sof?”
“He just put his arms around my
waist.”
“You said it was fast. How did he
have time to do that?”
“It was only for a moment and then
when I pulled away, he touched my
hand to pull me back.”
Eric’s insides ignited. “He forced
himself on you?”
“No! Eric, please, you’re making
this worse. It was just a kiss and
then I left. I swear.”
330/467
The image scorched his mind. He
stepped on the gas. His heart threatened to
pummel out of his chest. All the emotions
he’d felt this weekend had done a complete
one-eighty. He was now mad as hell. If he
ever saw Brandon again, no matter how
much time had passed, it wasn’t going to be
pretty.
The car in front of him slowed suddenly.
“Fuck!” Eric swerved to miss it. The car in
the next lane clipped him from behind and
his car spun all the way around. When he
came to a complete stop, he heard the skid-
ding, but didn’t see the truck until it plowed
into his front passenger side. The last thing
he remembered was the airbag slamming in-
to his face.
***
331/467
The terrifying moments after she lost
Eric’s call were a blur. Sofia remembered try-
ing to call him back, but her hands trembled
so much she could barely hit the right but-
tons. Angel and Alex had run in her room
when they heard her cries. They both knew
she and Eric had had a fight this weekend,
but only Sal knew the details.
With her being so hysterical, it took a
while for her to explain about the skidding
and horrendous crash she’d heard just before
the line went dead. Angel had been immedi-
ately on the phone with Eric’s dad. Nobody
knew anything for what seemed like an
eternity. An excruciating hour later, Angel
got a call from Eric’s dad. He was on his way
to the emergency room, but he didn’t have
any details yet.
Sofia felt faint when Angel told her. She
literally felt the blood drain from her face.
Sal was gone. He’d left earlier, taking the
very same drive Eric had to Los Angeles.
332/467
Angel drove them to the hospital, Alex sitting
in the back seat holding and consoling Sofia
and insisting it wasn’t her fault.
By the time they reached the hospital,
Sofia had a massive headache and she
thought she might faint she was so scared.
They walked in together, Alex supporting
her, and met Eric’s dad in the emergency
waiting room. He spoke to Angel first, telling
him Eric had suffered a shattered wrist and a
broken nose from the airbag. Sofia didn’t
miss the cold way he completely ignored her.
They waited for over an hour before they
were told they could go in and see Eric. But
they could only go in one at a time. Eric’s dad
went first. He never once addressed her. He
knew Eric had been on the phone with her
when the accident happened, but how much
did he know about their fight? One thing was
for thi onsure, Eric’s dad had always thought
Eric was too young to be in such a serious
relationship.
333/467
He’d always been polite to her, but she
could never help feeling like he didn’t ap-
prove of the amount of the time Eric spent
with her, the commitments they’d made to
each other so young.
His dad was only in there for ten
minutes when he came out. Finally, he spoke
to Sofia, but his expression was blank. “He
wants to see you.”
She stood, nervous, but anxious to see
him. As soon as he saw her, his heart-
wrenching expression sucked the air out of
her. She rushed over to the side with his un-
bandaged hand, brought it to her lips and
kissed it. He took his hand back, but only to
pull her to him. She leaned over, carefully
and wiped the tears that streamed down his
face.
“I was so scared,” she whispered, trying
to remain as calm as possible. “Are you in a
lot of pain?”
334/467
He shook his head. “Not as much as I
was yesterday.”
It felt like a blow to her gut, but she had
it coming. “Eric, I’ll never forgive myself for
hurting you like that. Please don’t hate me.
Please forgive me.” Tears streamed down her
face.
Eric took a deep breath, clearly trying to
pull himself together. “I could never hate
you, Sof.” This time he wiped the tears on
her face. “But I can only forgive you once. As
much as I love you, Sofie. I won’t forgive
again—ever.”
“I would never put you through any-
thing like this again. I swear to you.” The
guilt she’d carry after all this would be
enough to last her a lifetime.
“You have no idea how much I love you,”
he whispered.
335/467
Sofia took a long, trembling breath and
kissed his bruised cheek softly. “Trust me, I
know exactly how you feel.”
336/467
337/467
CHAPTER 14
Happy Holidays
The accident forced Eric to end his in-
ternship early. A shattered right wrist
rendered him useless. He used his right hand
mostly on everything. There had only been a
few weeks left of the summer anyway, and
he’d been glad to be able to spend them at
home with Sofia. His dad was already talking
about getting him another internship. One
he could finish.
It took a few weeks for things to feel like
they’d gone back to normal. His biggest fear
after the whole ordeal was that he’d have
trust issues and would drive Sofia crazy,
questioning her every move. But after much
thought, he’d come to the conclusion that
Sofia was genuinely regretful. She’d gone out
of her way to show him in every way she
could how much she loved him. He was sat-
isfied he could trust her without having to be
that insecure nagging boyfriend. That just
wasn’t him.
By the time they’d gone back to school
in the fall, everything seemed to be back to
normal. Their routine, however, changed a
little, and his dad was none too happy about
it. They were seeing more of each other dur-
ing the week than before the summer star-
ted. Last semester they’d go several days at a
time, more during finals, without seeing each
other. So far, this semester they’d managed
to see each other almost every day. His
grades weren’t suffering from it yet, but he
found himself dozing off during class a lot
more than he had last semester.
Most of his classes ended before the
winter break. During fall break, his dad
dropped another bomb on him. They were
having their traditional Thanksgiving dinner
340/467
at a restaurant, just the two of them. “I got
you another internship. The best thing about
it is you can go to school at the same time. So
you’d be doing the internship and getting
credit.”
Eric stared at him. “What? You mean
like for next summer?”
“No, this is a shorter one. During Christ-
mas break. You’d leave after Christmas.” His
dad took another spoonful of his dinner and
waved the waitress down. “Can I get another
glass of wine, please?”
“Same place?”
“Nope.” His dad drank down the
rest of what was left of his wine.
“Madrid.”
Eric stopped mid-chew. “Spain?”
His dad smiled. “Merry Christmas.”
“For how long?”
“Just four weeks. You’d be back be-
fore the end of January.”
341/467
Eric could feel his stomach turning.
“Wait, whoa, dad. I got classes in
the winter.”
“Yeah, in Spain. The credits are transfer-
able. Don’t worry,” his dad winked at him,
then at the waitress who refilled his glass, “I
made sure I cove>
Eric wasn’t ready for this. What
happened over the summer was still too raw.
He didn’t need another roller coaster ride
this soon.
New Year’s Eve this year was supposed
to be huge. Sarah was a New Year’s baby. An-
gel’s birthday was just a couple of weeks be-
fore hers. This year they were both turning
twenty-one, and they were planning a big
party on New Year’s Eve. The worst part was,
this would be the first New Year’s Eve he
wouldn’t be spending with Sofia in years. “I
don’t know, Dad.”
342/467
“What do you mean, you don’t know?
It’s done, son. Your passport is ready, the
tickets are booked and they’re non-refund-
able. It’s gonna be great. I thought you’d be
excited.”
Eric frowned. “No, you didn’t.”
His dad smirked, taking a drink of his
wine. “Look, I’ll add international texting for
the month to your cell phone plan. This way
you can text her all you want.”
Eric almost groaned. He hadn’t even
thought about that part. Unlike with his in-
ternship in Los Angeles, they wouldn’t be
able to talk much on the phone. The cell
phone bill would be astronomical. They
wouldn’t even be in the same time zone.
Telling Sofia was going to be brutal. She
already thought his dad didn’t like her. She’d
insinuated his dad got him the internship in
Los Angeles to get Eric away from her. He
343/467
was sure that’s what she’d be thinking about
this. Only this time he had to agree.
After the accident, his dad hadn’t made
it a secret he thought Eric was way too emo-
tionally involved with Sofia. He said he’d
never seen him so upset than he had the day
he found out about Sofia and Brandon. His
father attributed his careless driving to the
whole distraction. He never really asked Eric
about the details of Sofia “cheating,” but ever
since, any talk of her changed the mood.
Partly, because his dad did nothing to hide
his disapproval of them being so serious, but
mostly because Eric was ready to snap if his
dad made even one negative remark about
her.
Friday after Thanksgiving, Eric and
Sofia took a weekend snowboarding trip to a
resort in Big Bear with Angel and Sarah,
compliments of Angel’s parents who owned a
timeshare up there. They stayed there until
Sunday. As romantic as the weekend had
344/467
been, Sofia made a few comments about the
holidays officially starting and how much she
loved this time of year. It dampened the
mood for Eric. He hadn’t planned on telling
Sofia about Spain until they were back home
alone, but on the ride home, Angel brought
up the New Year’s/birthday party.
“So you can get a long enough play list
with just the good stuff together for me,
right, Eric?” Angel glanced back at him. Eric
sat in the back seat. Sofia leaned against him,
holding his hand. “This way we don’t have to
have anyone manning the music all night,”
he chuckled, “or worse, have Romero take
over.”
Eric shifted in his seat. “Yeah, I can do
that. I’ll just email it to you, so you can
download it to your laptop.”
“I’ll probably need to borrow your
speakers, too. Mine blew out.”
345/467
“Yeah, I’ll bring them over when we get
home if you want.” Sofia snuggled into him.
Even with the windows all closed and them
bundled up it was still cold.
“Nah,” Angel said, “Just bring them over
the day of. I don’t need them this soon.”
Sarah turned around tu A to face Sofia.
“You think we should give the party some
kind of theme? You know, like eighties or a
masquerade or something.”
Sofia straightened up and moved
closer to the edge of her seat. “Oh,
that would be fun!”
“Masks are kind of fruity,” Angel
said.
Sofia rolled her eyes. “How about
famous couples?” She turned to
Eric. “Me and you can be Bonnie
and Clyde.”
Ah hell.
346/467
Sarah smiled big. “I like it.” She
squeezed Angel’s arm. “I’ll be Miss
Bennet and you can be the dreamy
Mr. Darcy.”
Eric saw Angels eyes pinch in the
rearview mirror. “Who the hell’s
Mr. Darcy?”
Both girls ignored Angel and went
on, more excited by the minute.
“Alex and Valerie can be Danny and
Sandy from Grease.” Sarah giggled.
“That would be so perfect.”
Angel spoke up again. “Not every-
one coming are couples. Romero,
for example.”
“I’m sure he’ll find a date.” Sarah
waved her hand at Angel. “The guy
has a new girl every week.”
“Or maybe he can be Clyde with you
for the night.” Eric squeezed her
hand.
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Sofia looked at him confused.
“Why?”
“I’m not gonna be here for New
Year’s, babe.” He rubbed his hand
over the back of hers.
“You’re not?” Angel asked, looking
into the rearview mirror.
He glanced back from the rearview mir-
ror to Sofia, who was staring at him. Noticing
Sofia’s sudden change in mood, Sarah went
back to facing forward.
“My dad got me an internship in
Spain.” Sofia didn’t say a word, just
sat back.
“No shit?” Angel looked in the rear-
view mirror. “For how long?”
“Just four weeks. I leave the day
after Christmas. ”
Sofia attempted to pull her hand
away, but Eric held it firmly.
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“Well that sucks you’ll miss the
party, but that’s pretty cool. Spain.
Wow.”
Eric smiled at Angel’s comment, but
he knew the conversation he and
Sofia would be having in private
was going to be tense.
She didn’t say much the whole way
home. A few blocks from his house, Eric
whispered to Sofia, “Get off with me at my
house so we can talk. I’ll take you home
later.”
Sofia nodded, but didn’t say anything
else. Eric was happy his dad halk. wasn’t
home when they got there. Ironically, during
the summer when he and Sofia’s relationship
almost fell apart, his dad had met someone
and was seeing a lot of her lately.
As soon as they were in the house, Sofia
turned to him. “Why haven’t you told me?”
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“I just found out on Thanksgiving.” He
pulled her in his arms. “I wanted to wait un-
til after this trip. I had a feeling you wouldn’t
be happy and I didn’t want to ruin the week-
end for you.”
“Spain? Really? He couldn’t find
anywhere further?”
Eric smirked. “C’mon, babe, it’s
only four weeks.”
Sofia exhaled. “Is he gonna do this
every time you get any time off of
school? Make sure you don’t spend
the time with me?”
“No.” He kissed her gently. “That’s not
what he’s doing, Sof. He’s just always been
like that. Wants to make sure I get the op-
portunities he never had. That’s all.” He
pulled her with him to the sofa and sat down.
She sat next to him still noticeably despond-
ent. “Spring break next year, we’ll take that
vacation we were supposed to take this past
summer.”
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One side of her mouth lifted slightly. “A
cruise?”
“Whatever you want,” he smiled, glad
that she was warming up to the idea.
She sat up suddenly and climbed over of
him, straddling him. With those lustful eyes
that always drove him crazy, she stared and
started to unbutton her blouse. Her beautiful
ample cleavage had him hard in a second.
“What I want is to start making up for those
four weeks you’re gonna be gone.”
Eric buried his face in her cleavage.
Damn, he was going to miss her.
***
The holidays had a different feel this
year. Sofia wanted so much to enjoy them as
much as she always did, but knowing Eric
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would be gone the day after Christmas
dampened her spirits.
Christmas was just a few days away. Eric
was spending the day with his dad getting
everything he needed together for his trip.
Sofia and Sarah had finally finished their last
minute shopping. The mall was a mess. As
usual when she hung out with Sarah, they
laughed non-stop. It was a nice release from
the gloom that grew with every day that got
closer to Eric leaving.
As they turned the corner into her cul-
de-sac, Sarah was trying to finish telling her
about something that was apparently hyster-
ical. As usual, Sarah couldn’t even get
halfway through her story without cracking
herself up. Sofia laughed just listening to her.
Then she saw him; it wiped the smile right
off her face and she gripped the wheel.
Brandon and Angel were outside her
house talking. She’d never told Angel or Alex
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about what happened, but she knew Sal was
home. She wondered if he’d mentioned it, or
even seen Brandon yet. She’d had no idea
Brandon was home again.
She parked in the driveway. When
Angel came over to help them with
their bags, Brandon followed.
“Damn, Sofie. You buy enough stuff?”
Sofia
ignored
the
comment,
grabbing the last of the bags in the
trunk.
“Mine are in the backseat. I’ll move
them later to my car when Angel is not
watching.” Sarah’s smile teased Angel, then
she turned to Brandon. “Hey, Brandon, you
home for the holidays?”
“Yep, I’ll be around for a few
weeks.”
“Oh, good, were having a big party
for New Year’s Eve.”
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Sofia felt her stomach turn. Then to
make things worse, Angel added,
“Yeah, you should drop by. Sarah’s
turning twenty-one.”
“The party’s for both of us, Angel.
Not just me.”
“Sounds good.” Brandon brought
his attention to Sofia. “Hey, Sof.
How are you?”
“I’m good.” She prayed Angel wouldn’t
invite him in. Her only hope—Troop was
with him. Fortunately, his mother had taken
to walking the dog so she didn’t have to feel
bad about not keeping her promise of walk-
ing him. There was no way she would. Not
after everything that had happened.
To her major relief, Brandon said he had
to go. Her heart was still racing when she
walked in the house. Angel put all her bags
down in the front room. Sal walked in from
the kitchen. “They actually got you to go
Christmas shopping?”
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“Hell no!” Angel reached for the soda
Sal was holding. “Nah, I was outside talking
to Brandon when they drove up. He’s home
again for the holidays.”
Sal’s expression went hard. He
glanced at her, then turned back to
Angel.
Angel took a swig of Sal’s soda and
handed it back. “You didn’t see him
this summer, huh? The dude’s
changed.”
“No, he hasn’t.”
Before Angel could ask, Alex inter-
rupted. “Any of you seen my
wallet?”
He was on his way down the stairs.
Great. Sofia glanced at Sal and hoped he
wouldn’t say anything else.
“It’s probably in your car.” Sofia
desperately attempted to change
the subject.
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“I’m gonna grab a water outta the
fridge,” Sarah said, walking into the
kitchen.
“Get me one, too,” Angel said, then
turned to Sal. “What do you mean,
he hasn’t? Have you seen him?”
“Seen who?” Alex asked.
Sofia began grabbing her bags in
hopes of making a mad dash out of
there. But Sal wasn’t having it.
“Sofie, you never told them?”
Alex stopped lookingtopiv>
Sofia locked gazes with Sal. He
made a face, then took a deep
breath.
Angel glanced at Sofia. But before
he could ask anything, Sal put his
hand up. “Sorry Sof, but if he’s
back, they have to know.”
Sofia plopped on the sofa, rested
her head on her fist and waited for
the inevitable.
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“Know what?” Angel asked. “Did
that fucker do something to you,
Sof?”
“Who?” Alex demanded.
“Relax,” Sal said. Sofia hoped he knew
what he was doing, because Alex looked
ready to kill already. “Last time Brandon was
here he took Sofie over to his house. Once he
had her in there, he took her to his bed-
room—and kissed her.”
“What?” Angel peered at Sofia.
“He was showing me his Marine
stuff—pictures and metals and what not, and
it just happened. He apologized after.” She
spoke more to Sal than anyone.
“I think he planned the whole thing,” Sal
addressed both brothers, “and made her feel
bad by saying if she’d have said no, he
wouldn’t have.”
“That mother fuc—”
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“Alex!” Sofia stood up, the tension in the
room too thick for her to sit any longer, “He
apologized before he left. It’s not like he
forced himself on me.”
“Why would you go to his place in the
first place alone, Sof?”
“I didn’t know we’d be alone. He just
said he wanted me to show me something. It
seemed perfectly innocent.” She turned to
Sal. “I really don’t think he had it planned.”
“Bullshit.” Sal frowned.
“Does Eric know?” Angel asked.
Suddenly feeling a wave of pain,
Sofia whispered, “Yes. We almost
broke up because of it.”
“And he has the fucking nerve to
show his face around here?” Alex
asked.
Angel’s expression suddenly went
from angry to exasperated. “I
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invited his ass to the New Year’s
party.”
“I’ll uninvite him.” Alex started
walking to the door.
“Slow down.” Sal took a step in
front of him. “I’ll take care of this.”
“What are you gonna do?” Sofia
asked.
Sarah walked out of the kitchen holding
two bottled waters and Alex’s wallet. She
handed a bottle to Angel and tossed Alex his
wallet. All eyes were on Sal. Sarah didn’t say
a word, but it was obvious the mood in the
room had changed significantly since she
walked out.
“I’m gonna pay him a little visit.” Sal
turned to Alexturhad ch. “By myself, and he
won’t be showing his face around here any-
more.” He glanced at Sofia. “Does Eric know
he’s back in town?”
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“I don’t think so. I didn’t even know
until I got home.”
“Don’t tell him.”
“But—”
“Trust me, Sofie. Unless you want
his ass arrested, don’t tell him. He’s
leaving soon anyway, right?”
Sofia hated keeping anything from Eric.
She’d promised him she wouldn’t ever again,
especially about Brandon. But Sal was right.
If he found out Brandon was back, no telling
what he might do.
“Yeah, day after Christmas.”
“Then don’t tell him until he’s gone.”
After some arguing from both Alex and
Angel, who wanted to go with Sal, he finally
convinced them he’d handle it on his own.
Luckily, Alex was in a hurry. He was already
late to pick up Valerie, and Sarah’s presence
alone was enough to pacify Angel.
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Sofia never really asked Sal what exactly
he told Brandon that night, but whatever it
was, she hadn’t seen him at all since then. It
was such an uncomfortable subject she pre-
ferred not to know. She wouldn’t ask and
bring it up again. But she was relieved she
wouldn’t have to worry about seeing him at
the New Year’s party.
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CHAPTER 15
No second chances
Christmas morning, Eric got dressed
early. He and his dad had exchanged gifts
the night before. Earlier that week his dad
gave him one of hiturhad"0">
His dad was spending the day with Tina
and her family, the woman he started seeing
over the summer. Eric was fine with that
since he wanted to spend his last day here
with Sofia.
Just as he was getting ready to walk out
his dad stopped him. “Eric, before you go, I
wanted to talk to you. Since Sofia will be with
us tomorrow when I take you to the airport,
this will probably be my last chance to talk
before you go.”
Eric stared at him curiously. They’d
already gone over everything he needed to
know about the trip and his internship.
“I know we’ve talked about this before.
You really believe that your relationship with
Sofia is forever.” His dad shrugged. “Who
knows, maybe it is. But I want you to prom-
ise me that you’re going to make the most of
this trip to Spain. Don’t sit in your dorm
room, texting Sofia the whole time.”
Eric nodded. His dad had always wor-
ried that he wasn’t living life like a young
bachelor should be. But that wasn’t the life
he wanted. He’d known Sofia was the one
since they were kids. He had no interest in
going out and partying it up, like his dad
hoped he would.
“You never know what’s gonna happen
in the future, son. I just don’t want you look-
ing back at this when you’re older and re-
gretting that what could’ve been one of the
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most exciting experiences of your life you
spent sitting around thinking of a girl back
home.”
“I know, Dad. I won’t.”
His dad frowned, obviously not buying
into Eric’s feeble attempt to convince him. “I
hadn’t told you because I wasn’t sure I could
get the time off until just the other day, but
I’m turning my trip to Madrid for New Year’s
Eve into a mini vacation. Tina’s coming with
me. We’ll be there for a week, so plan on do-
ing some touring with us. I also got us all
tickets to one of the biggest New Year’s
parties out there. You’re gonna enjoy this
trip whether you want to or not.”
After his conversation with his dad, Eric
walked to Sofia’s house. He knew her house
would be full of relatives, and the cul-de-sac
she lived in would be packed with cars. He
thought about what his dad said on his way
over there. This definitely hadn’t been the
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first time his dad had suggested in not so
many words that Eric might want to sow his
wild oats a little before settling on just one
girl. If Sofia knew, she’d be more than furi-
ous—she’d be hurt. But she had nothing to
worry about. Eric was sure of one thing. The
one thing he’d been sure of since he was a
kid. For him, no one but Sofie would ever do.
***
Christmas was bittersweet. Eric kept re-
minding himself and Sofia that this wouldn’t
be the end of the world. It was only going to
be four weeks. She tried putting up a brave
front, but the tears had come at the airport.
His dad gave them a moment alone, say-
ing goodbye to Eric and telling Sofia he’d
wait for her in the car.
Eric held Sofia close, holding back his
own tears. He had no idea this would be so
hard. He leaned his forehead against hers.
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“I’ll start texting you as soon as I take my
seat taldiin the plane.”
Sofia strained to smile. “I miss you
already.”
“You’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna be
fine. No matter how far apart we are, Sofie,
we’ll always have each other right here.” He
pointed at her heart then at his own. “Four
weeks is nothing. I’ll be back in no time.” He
lifted her chin when she dropped her face a
little. “We’ll figure out our schedules, and
book the cruise as soon as I get back. My dad
said the winter rates will be real cheap he
can probably get us a good deal through one
of his friends.”
He hated to let go, but he had to. Once
on the plane, all he could think about was
what happened the last time they were apart
for a while. He’d long ago stopped worrying
about being able to trust Sofia, and though
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he’d forgiven her, as much as he wanted to,
he’d never forget.
With the distraction of arriving in a new
country and getting settled in to his dorm,
Eric’s anxiety about being away from Sofia
had begun to decline. He’d all but stopped
thinking about it. He was almost done un-
packing when he got the text from Sofia.
I wanted to tell you before you heard
from anyone else. Brandon is home for the
holidays. But don’t worry, my brothers are
already on it. Sal went and had a talk with
him and I haven’t seen him since the day I
found out he was here.
Eric felt the slow boil in his veins start
up. He called her back. He didn’t give a shit
about how expensive the call would be. This
wasn’t a conversation he was having via text.
She answered on the first ring. “So you saw
him?”
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“Only for a moment. He was here when
Sarah and I got back from shopping the oth-
er day, talking to Angel outside.”
“Did you talk to him?” Eric gripped the
phone. The memories and the thought of
Sofia kissing Brandon were back like a slap.
“He said hi and he asked how I’d been
then he left, and I came inside. Sal told both
Angel and Alex, and well, you can imagine
how they reacted. Trust me, Brandon won’t
be coming around here anymore. Not if he
values his life.”
“Why hadn’t you told me?”
Eric hated that Sofia had brought any
doubt into their relationship. Before this
happened, he would’ve never questioned
anything she did or said. He told himself
once he decided he would forgive her, that
he’d let it go. He didn’t want to dwell on it
forever, but he couldn’t help feeling
resentful.
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“Sal told me not to until you left. He was
worried you might do something and get
yourself in trouble. Eric, please don’t be
mad.”
“I’m not,” he lied.
There was a short silence, then she
asked. “Isn’t this call gonna be really
expensive?”
Glad she brought it up, not because he
cared about the money, but because he sud-
denly didn’t want to talk to her anymore.
“Yeah, it is. I’ll text you later.”
“Eric…”
“What?” He didn’t even try to hide
the incredible annoyance he was
feeling at that moment.
“Don’t be mad at me… please?”
He pinched the rim of his nose and closed
his eyes. “I’m not, Sof. It’s just… I gotta go.”
“I love you.”
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“I love you, too.”
In all the time he’d been saying those
words, this was the first time it felt forced.
He knew it was only because he was so mad,
but he didn’t like the feeling at all.
***
Not wanting to even chance it, Sofia
went back to running at the beach. She’d do
it until she knew Brandon was gone. Alex
didn’t have to warn her, but he had, anyway,
that if he saw Brandon so much as talk to her
he’d beat his ass.
All three of her brothers were convinced
he’d planned the whole thing, coercing her
back to his place just to spite them all, in-
cluding Eric. Of course, it made her feel like
a complete idiot. If their theory held any
merit, that would make her the pawn in the
middle of this lifelong clash between her
brothers and Brandon. The naive pawn that
fell for Brandon’s plan hook, line, and sinker.
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Sofia still didn’t believe Brandon had
planned it, but she was done arguing with
her brothers. It wasn’t like it mattered, any-
how. No matter what they thought, any type
of friendship with Brandon was out of the
question—a fact she was more than willing to
accept. She only wished he didn’t live so
close. Any time he’d be home there would be
that tension between her and Eric. That
same undeniable tension she’d felt over the
phone when she told him about Brandon be-
ing home.
Eric had been gone less than a week,
and Sofia was already missing him terribly.
He hadn’t called her since that first day, but
they texted everyday. He sent her pictures of
the different places he visited and promised
they’d go back together and visit some day.
She pulled into the parking space at the
beach where she was getting ready to take
her run and admired the latest pictures Eric
had sent her. They were of an old
373/467
marketplace he said he’d visited the day be-
fore. It looked a lot like the market places in
Mexico. Even resembled Old Town San
Diego, with the exception of the cobblestone
streets and the European feel of the build-
ings just behind the marketplace.
Sofia noticed a car pull into the parking
space next to hers at the same time she had
and someone got out. But it wasn’t until she
got out of her car that she realized it was
Brandon.
“Look.” He held up a hand before she
could say anything. “I know I’m supposed to
stay away from you. But I just wanted to talk
to you one last time. I’ll stay on this side of
the car and you can stay on that side.”
She didn’t want him to notice how
nervous his presence made her. Her heart
raced, but it wasn’t like when her heart had
raced from being near him before. It was out
of fear. Fear of what her brothers would do if
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they found out he was here. “Did you follow
me?”
“Sofia, I had to. It’s been killing me to
know if you really believe what your brothers
are saying, that I planned the whole thing.
Because I swear to you, I didn’t.”
The fact that he followed her alone wou
helanld be enough to make Alex go after him.
He was just itching for a reason to rip Bran-
don apart. Sofia stared at him, choosing her
words very carefully, because she knew she’d
be repeating them to Eric later. “I believe
you, Brandon. But what happened was
wrong. We both knew it, and we did it any-
way. Eric knows. I told him.”
He kept a deadpan expression. Sofia al-
most expected him to smirk like he had in
the past. “What did he say?”
“He was mad, Brandon… and hurt.” God
would she be regretting that slip for the rest
of her life? “And rightfully so, but he’s over it
375/467
now. I just can’t be around you. When he
finds out you followed me here, he’s gonna
be pissed.”
“So don’t tell him.” Brandon shook his
head. “Why would you tell him about the kiss
in the first place?”
“I had to. Eric and I have always been
honest with each other about everything. It
didn’t feel right to keep something like that
from him.” She put her car key in her pocket
and connected the earphones to her phone.
This conversation was over.
“I’ve always known you were special,
Sof.”
Sofia glanced up at him. He was smiling.
The moment with him in his room came to
her, the things he’s said to her and she hadn’t
protested. The last thing she was feeling
right now was special.
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“You think if I talk to Eric—you know,
apologize? Maybe your brothers would feel a
little differently? I’d hate for things to end
between us like this.”
Sofia shook her head. “The damage is
done, Brandon. We had a chance to be
friends, and we blew it. Eric was actually
okay with me running with you until…” She
didn’t even want to think about it anymore.
“You better go, Brandon. My brothers won’t
be happy when they hear about this. Neither
will Eric.”
“I really wish you’d reconsider letting
me talk to Eric. Maybe if I start with your
brothers. Sal… well, he was a little too pissed
for me to talk to the day he came over, but
he’s probably calmed down by now.”
That surprised Sofia, but if Sal was too
pissed, she could only imagine how Angel
and Alex would react to Brandon trying to
convince them to let him come around her.
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“No, Brandon. It’s really not a good idea.
I promise you. It would probably only make
things worse.”
His wounded expression made her feel
bad. She felt for him. Even if her brothers
and Eric would never believe it, she knew he
was a good guy deep inside. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too.”
With her run shot, she had to stop after
only ten minutes. A knot had formed in her
stomach and she couldn’t help thinking
about the conversation she was going to have
with Eric. Even worse, she wondered if she
should tell Alex and Angel at all. There was
no holding those two back when enraged,
and she knew they would be.
She called Sal as soon as she got in the
car. He was the only one who’d be calm
enough to give her some sound advice.
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“No, don’t tell them,” was his immediate
answer to her question.
Sofia breathed a sigh of relief. “I’d hold
off on telling Eric, too. Unless you think he’s
not gonna be mad. You’ll probably ruin his
New Year’s Eve. When I get home tomorrow,
I’ll talk to Alex and Angel. But yd A toou did
the right thing, Sofie. That guy is, and always
has been, bad news. He has no business try-
ing to hang around you. I just hope he’s not
stupid enough to try to talk to Alex or Angel
before I get home.”
Sofia hoped so to. She took Sal’s advice
and decided she’d wait until after New Year’s
Eve to tell Eric.
***
Eric’s dad and Tina were arriving the
morning of New Year’s Eve. Both school and
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the company he was interning at were closed
for the holiday. The next few days he’d be
free to spend with his dad and Tina. He
wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. He’d
only been around her a few times. It wasn’t
that she was so young. His dad had always
stayed very physically fit. He looked damn
good for his age, so the age difference wasn’t
that obvious. She was just the first woman
his dad had ever brought home for Eric to
meet. It was still awkward.
He was meeting them for breakfast in
the restaurant in the hotel they were staying.
The place was over the top, ritzy, but he ex-
pected nothing less from his dad. He walked
around in the lobby where his dad said he’d
meet him. The artwork on the walls was in-
credible. He was taking one in when he
heard his name.
He turned to see his dad with Tina and a
girl, approaching him. His dad hugged him
380/467
when he was close enough and smiled big.
“So how you liking it so far?”
Eric nodded, feeling a little self-con-
scious. “It’s been amazing.”
His dad seemed pleased, smiling even
bigger. “Good, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
He turned to Tina and the girl. “You’ve met
Tina.”
Eric leaned over and shook her hand.
“Yeah, hey, Tina. Nice to see you again.”
Tina greeted him back with that some-
what timid smile he remembered from the
first time he met her.
“And this is Tina’s youngest sister, Jen-
nifer.” Eric was just reaching his hand over
to shake Jennifer’s when his dad added,
“She’s your age.” He turned back to Jennifer,
“Eric just turned twenty-one this year also.”
Jennifer smiled at him, but not quite as
timidly as her older sister. Both sisters
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shared the same red hair, but unlike Tina’s
straight shorter do, Jennifer’s hair hung in
long, tight curls. It was the first thing he’d
noticed when he saw them walking to him. If
he had to describe her in word, it would be
bright. From her hair, to her light blue eyes,
right down to her whiter-than-white teeth,
even her freckles were bright.
“Eric maybe you could show Jennifer
some of the places the younger crowds fre-
quent while we’re here.”
Eric shot his dad a look, but knowing
both sisters eyes were watching, it wasn’t
quite as severe as he wanted it to be. “I have
school and the internship—”
“I’m sure you can find some time.” His
dad dismissed his excuses.
All through breakfast, his dad made
subtle remarks about how much Eric and
Jennifer had in common. It was so obvious
what he was doing. Ever since his dad saw
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him so upset that summer, he’d been push-
ing more than ever, but Eric couldn’t believe
he’d take it this far.
He had to admit Jennifer was something
to look at. Though Sofia had thh Selie most
amazingly sexy eyes, he couldn’t help being
distracted with Jennifer’s long auburn
lashes. She’d even caught him looking once
and smiled. Just because she was attractive
didn’t mean Eric had an iota of interest in
her, the way he knew his dad was hoping.
After yet another mention of how Eric
and Jennifer were both computer whizzes,
Eric finally nudged his dads knee. His dad
just smiled and started telling Jennifer about
the time Eric fixed his teacher’s computer in
the sixth grade. Exasperated didn’t even be-
gin to describe what he felt. This was going
to be a long week.
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384/467
CHAPTER 16
Below the belt.
The New Year’s Eve/birthday party was
a combination of both family and friends.
Some of the family from Mexico had even
come over for it. Normally, Sofia’s parents
spent the entire week after Christmas in
Mexico, but this year, they’d come home
early for the party. They brought aunts and
uncles home with them. The house was
already bustling that morning when Sofia left
for the restaurant. They’d only be open a half
day and since it was Angel’s party, so Sofia
agreed to go in so he could stay home and get
everything together with Sarah.
Sal hadn’t arrived when she left that
morning. Alex only went into the restaurant
to pick up the food for the party. She dreaded
Sal telling Angel and Alex about Brandon
following her. The only good thing was she
wouldn’t be there when he did.
On her way home, Sarah called her. She
slowed down, wondering if maybe she was
going to ask her to bring something else
home from the restaurant and she’d only
driven a few blocks so far.
“Sofia, where are you?”
“I just left the restaurant.”
“Don’t come home yet.”
Sarah’s tone alarmed her. “Why?”
“Brandon’s outside. I thought Alex was
gonnah Selirah kill him. He hit him pretty
hard, but Brandon still refuses to leave. He’s
so drunk.” Sofia’s felt her stomach cave in.
She pulled over when she heard the women
in the background. Her mom and aunts shrill
voices talking a mile a minute, telling Sarah
to make sure Sofia didn’t come home yet. “I
know, I know, she’s not,” Sarah assured
them.
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Sarah must’ve walked into another room
because the noise subsided. “The whole
neighborhood is out there, Sofie. It’s such a
scene. He showed up asking to see you, and
Alex unloaded on him. Thank God you have
so many uncles here. I don’t know how else
they would’ve stopped Alex. I’ve never seen
him so mad.”
“Oh my God.” Sofia was suddenly over-
whelmed with dread. “Why won’t he leave?”
“He’s drunk. Even with a fat lip and a
his eye nearly closed shut, he just keeps say-
ing he wants a chance to explain and that he
wasn’t leaving until he talked to you. Hold
on, Sofie.” She heard the women in the back-
ground again, only they seemed a bit calmer.
Sarah was obviously walking through the
house. Sofia waited, trying to listen for clues
as to what was going on. After what felt like
an eternity, she heard Sarah ask someone.
“Did he leave?” Suddenly she heard a lot of
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men’s voices, and Alex cursing. “He left, Sof.
You can come home now.”
“Yeah, tell her to come straight home,”
she heard Sal say.
Sofia didn’t hang up until she got more
information from Sarah. Apparently, Alex
and Angel were already pissed because Sal
had told them about Brandon following her.
But they both promised to stay cool until
after the party. Then a few hours later, Bran-
don showed up slurring, demanding to see
Sofia. After hanging up, Sofia noticed the
couple of texts from Eric.
Getting close to New Year’s over here.
The party’s not half bad but it’d be better if
you were here. How’s everything over
there?
The second one was worse. Since she
normally responded almost immediately,
he’d waited fifteen minutes after the first and
wrote.
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Is something wrong?
She covered her face with both hands.
Would this nightmare ever be over? She
thought long and hard before responding.
She hated not telling him something of this
magnitude, but she also didn’t want to ruin
his New Year’s Eve.
Everything’s fine. I do need to talk to
you, but it can wait until tomorrow.
She’d barely turned on the ignition,
when her phone rang. Seeing his name on
the caller ID made her cringe. She slipped
the earpiece in, took a deep breath and
answered.
“What happened?”
Sofia didn’t even know where to begin.
She started by telling him about her talk with
Brandon at the beach, leaving out the part
that he followed her, but Eric didn’t miss a
beat. “How’d he know you were there?”
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“He said he followed me because he
wanted to know if I really believed what my
brothers were saying about him planning the
whole thing last summer.”
“And you said?”
She didn’t know what she dreaded more,
getting home to a houseful of people who
were no doubt just waiting to interrogate
her, or having to answer this question. “Eric,
he swore he didn’t, so I just said I believed
him.”
“Do you really?” Eric’s raised his voice.
“After everything he’s done, you’re still fall-
ing for his shit?”
“I just didn’t see the point in ar-
guing, Eric. What difference does it
make if he thinks I believe him or
not?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
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Sofia was quiet for a moment. She’d
never tell Eric Brandon had given her the op-
portunity to tell him to stop, but she was so
sick of being labeled naïve. What happened
that day was not planned, and she knew it.
“You believe him. Just say it.”
“You weren’t there, Eric. Can you give
me a little credit that I wouldn’t fall for some
stupid plan?”
“Unfuckingbelievable.”
Eric
rarely
cussed in her presence. “All right, he didn’t
plan it. Anything else I need to know? Like
why you kept this from me, again.”
Feeling a little irritated by his tone and
unwillingness to give her any credit for hav-
ing half a brain, her tone changed as well.
“Because I called Sal right after and asked if I
should tell Alex and Angel. I was afraid of
what they’d do, and he said to wait. Told me
to wait until after New Year’s Eve. I was
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going to tell you tomorrow. I didn’t wanna
ruin your night. Okay?”
He was quiet for a moment then asked.
“Is that it?”
She took a deep breath loud enough Eric
heard it. Sounding even more agitated, Eric
asked, “What, Sofia? Just tell me everything.
My night’s already ruined, anyway.”
“He showed up at my house today
drunk. I wasn’t there. I just found
out about it right now. I worked all
morning.”
She told him everything Sarah had
told her. When she was done, his
only response was, “And you still
believe him?”
As if her day could get any worse,
when she didn’t respond immedi-
ately, he hung up on her.
***
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The celebration was just beginning to
pick up momentum, and all Eric could think
of was heading back to his dorm. He was in
no mood to party. Aware that his dad was
already annoyed that he’d taken off to make
a phone call, Eric knew making an exit now
wasn’t the best idea. His dad knew just who
he was calling. Still, Eric was livid. There was
no hiding the change in his mood when he
walked back into the banquet room.
Jennifer’s expression when he sat back
down was the opposite of his father’s glower.
“You missed it.”
Eric lifted a brow, not really interested
in what he’d missed, but still asked. “What?”
“The dancer.” She pointed at one of the
many dancers in costume dancing around
the room. “She came over and made your
dad dance with her. It was hilarious.” She
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laughed, taking a sip of her fancy mixed
drink.
Eric couldn’t even smile. “Yeah. I’ll bet.
He can’t dance for shit.”
v height="0" width="48"> “Hey, I heard
that.” His dad’s scowl was now a silly smile.
“I think I did pretty well. Didn’t I?” He
turned to Tina, who giggled, but agreed he
had.
The music changed to something even
more upbeat and both Tina and Jennifer
danced in their seats. His dad stood up.
“C’mon, lets go dance. You guys too.”
Eric was about to say no. He was in no
mood for dancing, but Jennifer stood up
eagerly. He grudgingly downed the drink
he’d been babying for the past half hour.
Jennifer slipped her hand in his, and they all
walked onto the dance floor.
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As much as he tried to snap out of the
horrendous mood Sofia had put him in, no
amount of dancing was doing it. He leaned
into Jennifer’s ear, taking in the sweet smell
of her hair. “I need another drink.”
She nodded her head. “Me too.”
Again, she slipped her hand in his. His
dad lifted his hands in question when he saw
them start to walk off the dance floor, but
smiled and winked as his eyes caught Eric
holding her hand. Eric almost rolled his eyes,
but Jennifer was watching him.
Eric took a shot at the bar then they took
their drinks and walked over to the one of
the balconies that overlooked one of Mad-
rid’s most famous plazas.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Jennifer gazed out
into the mass of people out there dancing
and celebrating. Seemed the entire city was
out for the night.
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Gently removing his hand out of Jen-
nifer’s, Eric leaned over the balcony. “Yeah,
it is.”
The fresh air helped him relax a little,
but very little. He still couldn’t get over the
fact that even after everything they’d gone
through that summer, and the scene Bran-
don had caused tonight, Sofia was still will-
ing to give him the benefit of the doubt. It
absolutely made him wonder what the hell
else she was willing to do for the guy and
why.
He downed his drink in record time and
was ready for another. It had been almost a
year since he’d had so much as a buzz. Now
felt like as good a time as any to get
hammered. “I’m ready for another.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened when she saw
his empty glass. “Wow, that was fast.”
Eric shrugged. “What’s New Year’s Eve
without a good buzz, right?”
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Several shots and drinks later, Eric was
in more of dancing mood than ever. By the
time the countdown started, he and his dad
were two of the loudest at the party. His dad
had been buying round after round of shots.
As they rung in the New Year in, everyone
hugged and kissed. His dad hugged him
hard. “I’m glad you’re having fun, son. You
know I only want you to enjoy life, right?
That’s all I want. ‘Cause I love you, no other
reason.”
Before his dad got too mushy, Eric nod-
ded and pulled away. “Yeah, I know dad. I
love you, too.”
After their rather long embrace, Eric
turned to Jennifer and gave her a fast hug.
The smell of her hair lingered even after he
pulled away. He quickly turned to Tina and
hugged her, too. The band played a slow
song and his dad and Tina took to the dance
floor, holding each other closely.
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“You want another drink?” He turned
toward the bar.
Jennifer tilted her head and gave him a
look that made him feel guilty. “I like this
song.”
he="0">
Eric hesitated, but took her hand any-
way. They walked out to the dance floor. She
wasted no time wrapping her arms around
his neck, and pressed her body against him.
He’d had a looser embrace in mind, but at
this point he had no choice in the matter.
She’d all but draped herself on him and
leaned her face against his chest. Feeling her
breasts pushed on his chest, he thought of
what Sofia would say if she saw them. He
held her gently, but in no way wanted to en-
courage anything inappropriate.
The song was finally over and people
clapped. Eric took advantage to undo their
embrace and pulled away to clap. They
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started up another slow song. No way was he
doing that again. “I need a drink and some
air.”
No sooner had he said it, and her hand
was in his again. Her behavior, most likely
alcohol induced, was sobering him up. With
that in mind, he ordered a beer instead of
hard liquor. Jennifer ordered another fancy
mixed drink.
“Remember.” Eric shot her a warning
look. “Those kinds of drinks tend to sneak up
on you.”
Jennifer giggled. “Too late!”
They headed back outside to the bal-
cony. As soon as they reached it and Eric res-
ted his elbow against the rail, Jennifer
leaned into him. She seemed a little dizzy
and Eric held her up. “Whoa, you okay?”
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She did a little more giggling and
moved her hair away from her face.
“Maybe I better not drink this.”
Eric took the drink she held up and
placed it on the rail. “Yeah, maybe
not.”
“I’m not just saying this because
I’ve been drinking, but I think
you’re incredibly sexy.” She traced
his lips with her finger.
Eric smiled, feeling a little nervous, and
pulled her hand gently away from his lips.
“Alright, maybe we should get you some
water.”
“No, Eric, I’m serious.” She stood up a
little straighter and leaned into him again.
“When my sister told me I was going to be
hanging out with her boyfriend’s son, I was
worried about who’d I’d be stuck with. But
when I saw you, I could hardly contain
myself.”
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“I’m flattered.” Eric had to admit it felt
good. But he was careful about his response.
He knew no matter how mad he was at Sofia,
doing anything with Jennifer was out of the
question. “You’re not too hard on the eyes,
either. Trust me, if I didn’t have a girlfriend,
I would’ve already been trying to get to know
more about your situation.”
Her lips curled and she stared him down
with a wicked smile. “Well, my situation is, I
live in New York, not California like my sis-
ter. We only see each other on rare occa-
sions. That’s why I decided to tag along with
her on this trip. So I don’t mind that you
have a girlfriend, because after I leave Spain,
it’ll probably be years before I see you again.”
She licked her lips, tracing a finger down his
chest. “Assuming, that is, that Tina and your
dad stay together.”
Having never been in this position, Eric
wasn’t sure what the best way was to
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respond. Before he could, she leaned in and
pecked his lips.
Eric backed away. “Jennifer—”
“Call me Jenny.” She stepped for-
ward again.
With the rail behind him, he had
nowhere else to move. “Jenny, my
girlfriend would absolutely mind—”
“Don’t tell her.” She pressed her
body against his, still smiling as her
hand grazed over the front of his
pants.
Eric flinched. No way was he going
there. As much as he loved Sofia, Jennifer
was sexier than hell and he was, after all, a
man. There were certain parts of his body
that would have a harder time rejecting her,
if rubbed the right way. He switched places
with her, making her the vulnerable one
against the rail. “Listen, sweetheart. I’m sure
any guy would jump at the chance to be with
you—”
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“But not you.”
Her offended expression tugged at him,
making him feel like a jerk. “I’m sorry. I
can’t.”
After the awkward conversation, things
went from bad to worse. Jennifer grabbed
her drink, insisting she needed it. A few big
gulps later, she brought her hand to her
mouth and said she needed to find a re-
stroom, fast. She didn’t make it, throwing up
in her hands just before she got to the door.
Eric held the door for her as she ran in. A few
minutes later, two very concerned-looking
women walked out asking if he was the sick
young lady’s boyfriend.
“I’m a friend of hers,” Eric replied. “Is
she okay?”
“No,” The heavier of the two said. “She’s
in there throwing up, and sobbing in
between.”
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Wonderful. Eric glanced around until he
spotted his dad and Tina. “Lemme go get her
sister.”
He was glad the two women walked
back in the restroom. He hated to think of
Jennifer in there alone. Tina rushed to the
restroom as soon as he told her. He and his
father followed right behind.
Before his dad could say anything, he
explained about the last drink she shouldn’t
have had, but did anyway. He didn’t mention
why, though. They sat outside by the closest
table to the restrooms waiting. The party was
nowhere near being over. There were people
dancing on chairs and tables still. Even his
dad was still drinking.
Tina finally came out of the restroom.
She glanced at Eric then asked if she could
speak to his dad alone. His dad stood up and
walked a few feet away from the table where
Eric sat. The music was so loud there was no
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way Eric could hear what they were saying
even from that close a distance.
Their talk was brief and Tina hurried
back to the restroom. His dad turned to him
not looking pleased. When he reached the
table, he didn’t sit down. “You couldn’t have
hung out with her for just one evening
without bringing up Sofia?”
Nothing annoyed Eric more than when
his dad played his relationship with Sofia
down as if it wasn’t as serious as he knew it
was. “Dad, she didn’t want to just hang out.
And for the record, I hadn’t mentioned Sofia
until she started coming on to me.”
“Would it have killed you to just go
along for the evening? Damn it, Eric, you hu-
miliated her.”
As bad as Eric felt about humiliating
Jennifer, nothing topped the disgust he felt
for his dad at that moment. Go along for the
evening? He stood up. “I’m sorry about that.
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I’ll apologize, but I can’t just go along with
another girl for the evening, Dade eng . Sofia
and I are in a committed relationship.”
His dad didn’t even try to mask his irrit-
ation. He downed what was left of his drink
and put the glass down on the table. “Yeah,
well maybe someone should’ve reminded her
of that this past summer.”
Eric felt the air sucked out of him. The
blow couldn’t have been any lower. His dad
must’ve seen it in his face because immedi-
ately he started back-peddling. He tried put-
ting his hand on Eric’s shoulder, but Eric
backed away.
“Son, I’m just saying—”
“I think you should stop talking. You’re
drunk and you’re already pissing me off.” He
started to walk away.
“Eric, you’re devotion for her through all
these years has been unwavering, and she
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cheated on you. You don’t think that pisses
me off?”
Eric turned to look at him, ready to go
off on him.
“Son, I’m sorry, but anyone that hurts
you, hurts me and as far as I’m concerned
she doesn’t deserve you.”
Before he said anything he’d regret, but
more frantically, before his dad said any-
thing else to remind him of how Sofia had
once ripped his heart out, he walked away.
His dad called out for him, but he didn’t
stop. If his dad said even one more thing to
put down Sofia, he’d snap for sure.
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CHAPTER 17
The Test
Somehow, Sofia thought she’d be more
tired the morning after the party. Instead,
she was the first one up. When she got home
the day before, everyone wanted to know
why Brandon was so adamant about talking
to her. Thankfully, Sal had been there to
settle everyone down. Everyone that is, but
Alex. He was still on fire when she arrived,
making her even more relieved she hadn’t
been there when it all went down. Between
Sal and her parents, they managed to get
Alex to let it go—for now.
She stood lost in thought in the kitchen
waiting for the coffee to finish brewing when
Angel’s voice startled her. “Why you up so
early, Sof? You gonna go running?”
The suspicion in his voice hurt. “No.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Angel stopped at the center island of the
kitchen and seemed to consider his next
words before saying them. “Sofie, are you
sure nothing else happened between you and
Brandon?”
She turned to him, her insides falling
apart all over again. “It was just a kiss, Angel.
A mistake I’ll regret forever.” She hated be-
ing so melodramatic about it, but she was be-
ginning to think that damn kiss would never
stop haunting her.
He stared at her for a moment and her
emotions took over. Eric hadn’t answered
any of her calls the entire night and her
whole family had been under such stress all
because of her yesterday. She tried so hard
but her emotions did her in.
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“C’mere.” Angel walked around the is-
land and held out his arms. She walked over
to him and he hugged her. “Don’t cry, Sofie.
It only makes me wanna go find that asshole
and kick his ass.”
“It wasn’t all him, Angel.” She finally let
it out. “I kissed him willingly.”
Angel pulled away from her to look at
her face. “Why? Are you and Eric having
problems?”
“No!” She shook her head. “The only
person who’s ever kissed me before Brandon
was Eric. I think the only reason I gave in to
him was because I was curious. But it was so
not worth it. I hurt Eric, and caused all this
aggravation with my family.”
“You didn’t.” Angel’s forehead pinched.
“His stupid ass did.”
“But it wasn’t all him. If I’d have just
said no, none of this would be happening.”
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“That’s what he wants you to think, Sof.
He would’ve kept pushing, especially if he
sensed even an ounce of… curiosity on your
part. He should’ve never had you in his room
in the first place.”
Sofia wiped the tears away and looked
up at Angel unconvinced.
“Think about it. Why didn’t he ask any
of us to come over and look at his shit? Why
was he only interested in having you alone in
his house?” Angel’s jaw worked as Sofia was
so accustomed to seeing her brothers do
when they were mad.
They talked for a little longer, with An-
gel warning her once again to keep her dis-
tance from Brandon. He also made her
promise if she so much as got the inkling
that he was following her again, to call one of
them ASAP.
Back up in her room with her much
needed cup of coffee, Sofia tried calling Eric
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again. To her surprise, he answered. She was
so sure he wouldn’t answer she hadn’t even
prepared what she would say. But she’d
thought about it enough last night, so she
took a deep breath, willing her voice not to
break. “Hey.”
“How’d it go last night?” He didn’t
sound angry, but he did sound down.
“As you can imagine.” She frowned.
“Alex was a walking inferno even when I got
here.” There was an uncomfortable silence
for a long moment. Sofia cleared her voice
and lay back down on her bed, gripping the
phone to her ear. “Are you still mad at me?”
More silence. She squeezed her eyes, a
warm tear slipping down the side of her face.
She feared the worse. They’d never get past
this.
“I’m just trying to understand why after
everything he’s done, you’re still willing to
give him the benefit of the doubt.”
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Sofia sat up on her bed, determined to
make him understand even at the risk of
making things worse. “Because I can’t in
clear conscience just put all the blame on
him. Don’t you think it would be easier for
me to just agree with you and my brothers?
Yes, it was all him. He duped me and poor
innocent little me fell for it, he’s a monster!
But I can’t, Eric. I knew just going to his
house would be an issue with you and my
brothers and I still did.”
“You wanted to?”
“I would never choose to hurt you. He
said he wanted to show me something, said I
didn’t even have to come in he could bring it
out. But I chose to go in. Not because I
wanted to, Eric, but because at the time it
didn’t seem like that big a deal.” She stopped
to take a deep breath. “My whole life I’ve
been called or it’s been insinuated that I was
naïve. That day…”
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She wasn’t sure if she should go on, but
it felt like this issue would linger forever if
she didn’t just say it.
“That day what?” His tone was hard
again like it’d been the night before.
“That day I felt something when I went
in his room. I wasn’t being naïve, Eric. You
all want to believe that I was completely in
the dark about what might happen. I had a
feeling something would. I could’ve left,
walked right out the moment I got that no-
tion but I didn’t. I chose to stay. There’s no
way he could’ve planned that.” For a mo-
ment, she thought he hung up. “Are you still
there?”
He didn’t answer, but she heard him
breathe. When he finally spoke, his voice was
clearly strained. “So when you told me it just
happened so fast you didn’t get a chance to
think, that was a bunch of bullshit?”
“No, it did happen fast.”
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“But you knew it would and yet you still
hung around for it.”
“Eric—”
“I had a beautiful girl throw herself at
me last night, Sofia. I could’ve easily done
something with her but I didn’t even con-
sider it for second. You know why?”
Sofia
didn’t
respond.
Something
squeezed at her throat. When she didn’t an-
swer, he went on.
“Because I would never do to you, what
you fucking did to me.”
Sofia was left clutching her phone as the
line clicked and Eric hung up on her again.
***
417/467
Eric was meeting his dad and the girls
for late lunch. His dad called early in the
morning, but Eric sent it to voicemail. His
dad apologized for his insensitive behavior
the night before and asked that he please
join them for lunch.
The only reason Eric agreed to go was
because he felt compelled to apologize to
Jennifer. He never meant to humiliate her.
After getting off the phone with Sofia, he
now wished he hadn’t called his dad back to
tell him he would be there. He was in abso-
lutely no mood for socializing, but his dad
had been so glad he was coming and kept
apologizing and thanking him. Eric couldn’t
bring himself to cancel.
When he got to the table, the girls were
nowhere in sight. His dad was sitting at a
table by himself.
“What happened? Did they decide not to
come?”
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His dad shook his head. “No, they’ll be
here in about a half hour.” He motioned for
Eric to take the seat across from him. “I
wanted to talk to you alone first.”
Eric took a seat and prepared himself.
t="0">
“About last night, I know you think that
I just don’t like Sofia, but—”
“No, Dad you were right.” Feeling the
anger, but mostly hurt, inundate him again.
He told his dad about the conversation he
had with Sofia that morning, then he added.
“You know last night Jennifer offered herself
to me, no strings attached? She’s going back
to New York and said we probably would
never see each other again, anyway. Sofia
would never find out, and I couldn’t even
consider it for a moment. And Jennifer is a
great girl. But I could never do that to Sofia.”
His dad stared at him, hanging on every
word. He was sure his dad was shocked that
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Eric was spilling his guts like this. But he
needed to, needed to let it out, so he might
start to heal. “Not only did Sofia do what she
did, she did it with Brandon, that piece of
trash from up the street. The guy that’s been
nothing but an asshole to her and her broth-
ers all her life.” He shook his head. The more
he thought about it, the more disgusted he
felt. “I thought I could forgive her because I
can’t stand being away from her, but I don’t
know anymore. I’ve been thinking about
what you said last night, maybe she doesn’t
deserve me.”
His dad leaned over and patted him on
the knee. “Don’t put too much weight on
what I said last night. I was drunk and not
thinking straight.”
Eric shook his head. The overwhelming
pain he’d felt when he first found out about
Sofia and Brandon months ago was back.
Only this time an utter disgust accompanied
it. She’d let that asshole in. And now he had
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no idea how to get him out. He’d be the per-
petual reminder that his beautiful Sofia
wasn’t the perfect girl like he’d always
thought. He’d held her on a pedestal since
they were kids, and Brandon had knocked
her right off.
They talked until the girls got there. His
dad warned him not to make any rash de-
cisions. Maybe wait at least until he got back.
Eric agreed, still not convinced that he could
actually go through ending things with Sofia.
After breakfast, they all went for a stroll.
Eric waited until his dad and Tina were walk-
ing ahead of them and out of earshot. Their
walk up until then had been a quiet one. He
could tell Jennifer was embarrassed. She’d
hardly said a word all through breakfast.
He turned to Jennifer. “I’m sorry if I—”
“No.” She placed her hand on his arm
and stopped. “Please. Please, whatever you
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do, don’t apologize for anything. I feel so
stupid.”
“But I didn’t mean to—”
“Mean to what, Eric? Remain faithful to
your girlfriend?” She scoffed. “She’s a lucky
girl. You shouldn’t have to apologize for be-
ing a good guy. Like you said, anyone else
might’ve taken advantage of the situation,
girlfriend or not. I should’ve never acted the
way I did.” She squeezed his arm. “I should
be the one apologizing, and I am. My behavi-
or last night was appalling.”
Eric smiled. “I wouldn’t call it appalling.
You’re young, beautiful, and single. It was
New Year’s Eve and you were having
fun—nothing wrong with that.”
With a weak smile, Jennifer started
walking again and shrugged. Eric walked
alongside her but she didn’t look at him. In-
stead, she stared at the ground. “We both
know it was wrong of me to push even after
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you so politely turned me down, but I’d
rather not dwell on that anymore.” Finally,
she glanced up at him again. “Can we just
forget it ever happened?”
“What happened?”
Jennifer gave him an appreciative smile.
After strolling around a nearby open market
place, Eric managed to push his issues with
Sofia to the back of his mind, at least for a
while.
After about an hour, they stopped to
munch on some churros they’d purchased
from a vendor.
“Eric.” Jennifer leaned against the rail-
ing of the bridge they were standing on. “I
know I was the one that asked you to forget
about last night, but I can’t help but feel like
you’re still feeling uncomfortable.”
Eric turned to her. “Not at all, I just have
a lot on my mind today.” He bit into the
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churro and looked out in the road below
them.
“Anything you wanna talk about?”
Talking to another girl about Sofia
might help, but after what happened last
night, he didn’t think it a good idea. He
shook his head. “Not really, just school and
my internship.”
When Eric got back to his dorm room
that afternoon, he read the long text Sofia
had sent him earlier. He hadn’t wanted to
hear what she had to say all day. Even now,
he wasn’t sure wanted to, but he read it
anyway.
I want you to know I’ve never once giv-
en any thought to what my life would be like
without you in it…until now. I know even
after I explained why I let it happen, you
weren’t completely satisfied with my an-
swer, but since then I’ve had time to reflect
and I think I have a more honest
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explanation. I was afraid to tell you before,
but because of everything that’s happened I
think you deserve the truth. After giving it
much thought, maybe my brothers were
right. Brandon was wrong for taking me in-
to his room and even initiating the kiss. I’ll
give them that. But nothing takes back the
fact that I let him. Why? I gave in to the mo-
ment. Plain and simple. Curiosity got the
best of me. Eric. I can’t take back what I’ve
done. Believe me, if I could, I would. I just
want you to know if I live to be a hundred,
the fact that I gave in will be my biggest re-
gret. Even if my prayers are answered and
somehow we work things out, I will forever
regret the pain that I’ve caused you. No
matter what happens. I love you. Always
have. Always will.
Eric read it several times, the lump in
his throat present the entire time. He was
going to have to do one of two things. Either
he got over that damn kiss and let it go, or he
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got over Sofia and let her go. At the moment,
both seemed impossible.
***
Eric didn’t respond to Sofia’s text. He
hadn’t responded to any of her texts in days.
Including the last one where she said she was
done torturing herself. He still couldn’t
stomach discussing the fact that she’d given
in to Brandon just like that. She probably
even enjoyed the moment.
He was also done torturing himself.
He’d spent every evening that week so far
after classes and his internship with his dad
and the girls. They caught a show one of the
nights and tonight he and Jennifer were on
their way to a concert. His dad had gotten
tickets for them. Some Spanish rock band
Eric had never heard of. His dad said they
were supposed to be good, but Eric didn’t
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care. He just wanted the distraction. Having
gone days for the first time ever, without any
contact with Sofia was killing him. If this was
a taste of what his life would be like withoue
like wt her, he was going to be one miserable
bastard.
Eric held Jennifer’s hand through the
crowd as they made their way into the con-
cert. They stopped to buy drinks at the con-
cession stand.
“You want a mixed drink?” Eric re-
membered the kind of drinks Jen-
nifer preferred New Year’s Eve.
“I’ll take a beer,” Jennifer said,
blushing.
Eric laughed. “You don’t have to.”
“Trust me, I learned my lesson.”
They took their beers and walked
around the huge lobby of the arena. They
were early. It was fun to people watch. Be-
fore long, they were on their fourth beers.
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Eric’s dad had given him one of his credit
cards. The prices for everything in the con-
cessions were ridiculous, but his dad insisted
he not worry about the money and just enjoy
himself.
Since this was Jennifer’s last night here,
they planned on going out to a club after.
They slowed down on the beers once the con-
cert started. After having to make a restroom
run a couple times, they decided missing so
much of the concert wasn’t worth it. The
band was actually good.
Once at the club, however, they decided
Jennifer deserved to have a good time and
let her hair hang down without it turning in-
to a disaster like New Year’s. They stuck to
beer, but had plenty of it. The clubs in Spain
were so different than the ones in the states.
In the U.S. closing time was usually around
one or two in the morning. It was just after
midnight and things were just getting
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started. The bartender told them closing
time was at six!
Eric had class in the morning. He wasn’t
planning on pulling an all-nighter, but he
still had a few hours in him. They danced
and continued to drink, though Jennifer
ordered water a few times in between beers.
Seeing the way guys eyeballed Jennifer
reminded him of his trip to Cancun with
Sofia. He’d been so relieved when she asked
him to go with her. Not because he didn’t
trust her, but at the time he’d been worried
for her safety. Thinking back now, the way
the guys had gawked at her at the bars even
with him at her side, he couldn’t help but
wonder if she might’ve given into her curios-
ity way back then, had he not been there.
Her girlfriends sure as hell got crazy. Anger
flooded him. He downed the rest of his beer
and ordered another one.
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They’d just handed it to him when Jen-
nifer walked out of the restroom and headed
toward him. A guy stepped in front of her,
saying something that made her smile. It
could’ve been the alcohol or maybe even the
sudden hot rush of adrenaline he was feeling
over thoughts of Sofia. Whatever it was, he
started toward Jennifer with only one pur-
pose. The second he reached her, he slid his
arm around her waist pulling her closely to
him and kissed her forehead. She smelled
damned good.
“Everything okay?” He turned to the
guy, who smirked, but shook his head.
“Everything’s cool. You’re girlfriend is
stunning.” The guy lifted his beer toward
Eric in a good natured gesture of peace.
Eric clinked his bottle against the guy’s
and forced a smile. With that, the guy walked
away. Jennifer turned to Eric but didn’t pull
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away from his embrace. “What was that
about?”
He leaned his forehead against hers.
“Just making sure everything was okay.”
“I didn’t look okay?”
She’d obviously had a mint in the ladies
room, because her breath smelled of mint.
Did her mouth taste like it, too? Curiosity.
They stood there without saying any-
thing for what seemed like too long. With the
music blaring around them and people still
dancing on the tables and chairs, no one no-
ticed them just standing there. He gulped
when she licked her pink lips and stared at
his. He was so close he could feel her warm
breath against his lips. “Eric?”
“Hmm?” He closed his eyes, fight-
ing with himself.
He should let go of her. Walk away.
Another part disagreed. An eye for
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an eye. Sofie would have to
understand.
“Are you gonna kiss me?” She
whispered so close to his mouth he
could almost taste her.
“You want me to?”
“Yes.” She said this into his mouth.
Eric licked her bottom lip, tasting the
mint. She trembled in his arms. It immedi-
ately felt wrong. He hugged her, pulling his
face away from hers. Instead, he kissed the
side of her head.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear
breathlessly. “Please, this time let me apolo-
gize. I shouldn’t have done that.”
She didn’t say anything, just took a deep
breath. When she finally pulled away, she
looked him in his eyes. “We should go.”
The cab ride back to her hotel room was
a quiet one. Eric was so mad at himself. He’d
been totally unfair to Jennifer, using her to
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get back at Sofia. How immature was he?
Like that would’ve made things any better.
She made him stop apologizing before they
even got into the cab. When they reached her
hotel, she turned to him and kissed him on
the cheek. “It’s really nice to know there are
still good guys out there. Don’t feel bad, Eric.
You’ve given me hope.”
Eric smiled and kissed her hand. “You
don’t need hope, Jenny. Any man would be
lucky to have you. It was a pleasure spending
time with you this week. I hope I do get to
see you again some day. Have a safe trip.”
The second she was out of the cab and
turned toward the hotel, he let his head fall
back. He put his hand over his eyes. Could he
be a bigger ass?
Before they even reached his dorm,
thoughts of Jenny had already taken a dis-
tant second in his mind. He missed Sofia
more than ever. Any chance of sleep tonight
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would be in vain. He plopped into bed, lick-
ing his lips. He could be making love to
Jenny this very minute, but all he could
think about was Sofia. Son of a bitch.
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CHAPTER 18
Clarity
Sofia trudged into the drugstore. Few
things were getting her out of the house
these last couple of weeks. She needed condi-
tioner for her hair, otherwise she might’ve
stayed in bed, moping like she had for the
past few weeks. She and Eric had never gone
this long without any communication. Noth-
ing could be clearer. He hated her.
The conditioner she normally used
wasn’t on special. It hardly ever
was. She stood there staring at the
all the other choices.
“Hey, Sof.”
Sofia flinched, gasping when she
saw him. “Brandon!” She glanced
around. “Did you follow me again?”
“No, I was on my way out when I
saw you pull in.”
“I can’t be around you. You have to
understand—”
“I know, Sof.” The dreariness she re-
membered from when they were in high
school was back. He wasn’t the strong Bran-
don she’d been so impressed with last sum-
mer. The faint bruising around his eye didn’t
help, either. “I just hoped I could speak with
you one last time before I leave. Do you have
a few minutes so we can go somewhere more
private?”
“No,” was her immediate reac-
tion—her brothers would flip—Eric
would never forgive her.
He glanced around. “Can you give
me a second then... here?”
She stood strong. What could he do
here in a public store? “Make it
fast.”
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His eyebrows pinched and for a moment
there, he looked ready to cry. “My old man is
dying,” Taking a deep breath, he looked away
as if to pull himself together. Sofia’s heart
dropped. “I’m not just here for the holidays. I
took an emergency leave to come back and
get things settled. He’s known, but the can-
cer’s really spread now. I’m taking them both
back with me to Georgia. The house is
already for sale. My dad wants me to take the
money and buy a house out there. The prop-
erty is way cheaper than in California.” His
eyes met hers, but only for a second before
he looked away again. “I just wanted to say
goodbye and apologize for any problems I’ve
caused.”
The past few weeks had been hor-
rendous for Sofia. Not hearing from Eric had
been the worst suffering ever. Now she could
only think about what Brandon must’ve been
going through. “I’m so sorry, Brandon. I had
no idea.”
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“I just came in here to pick up his
meds.” He lifted his hand with the bag from
the pharmacy. “But I’m glad I saw you.
There’s something I really want to tell you.”
Sofia’s eyes went from the bag in his
hand to his face again. His expression was so
pained, she was tempted to touch him.
“What’s that?”
“Are you sure we can’t go somewhere
else to talk?”
“No way, Brandon.” She’d learned her
lesson.
He stared at her for a second before
speaking again. “I’m in love with you, Sof.”
His voice became a whisper. “I thought I was
in high school. Last summer only confirmed
it. I almost didn’t re-enlist because of that
kiss.”
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Sofia shook her head, feeling her eyes
well up. This was the last thing she needed to
hear.
“Don’t worry. I know it’s impossible. I
just needed to tell you before I left. I won’t be
back anymore.” He almost swatted the tear
that escaped the corner of his eye. “I needed
to say it to you, if only one time. I’m glad I
got the chance.”
She had no words. He reached out
and squeezed her shoulder. “Good-
bye, Sof.” He turned and took off
down the aisle in a rush.
Sofia stood there, still stunned.
How could he be in love with her?
He hardly knew her.
“Was it just a kiss?”
Sofia spun around, almost jumping out
of her skin. Eric’s dad stood there waiting for
a response. Mortification sunk in. He knew.
Of course he knew. Eric would tell him
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something like this. They’d always been that
close.
“Yes,” she whispered.
His chuckle surprised her. “Well, thank
you for not agreeing to go somewhere private
to talk to him. My son wouldn’t have been
happy to hear it if you had.”
She pressed her lips together, at a
complete loss of how to respond to
that.
“Was all that drama this past sum-
mer over a kiss? Really?”
“Yes,” She nodded, chewing her
bottom lip. “And I’ll regret it
forever, Mr. Diego.”
To her surprise, he leaned over and
hugged her. “Eric is something else.” He
shook his head and patted her back gently.
“You’re a good girl, Sofia.” He pulled away
and spoke face to face to her. “I know you
probably think I don’t care for you. I’ve never
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had anything against you.” He pursed his
lips. “Well, that is until this past summer.
But Eric made such a fuss I thought you’d
slept with Brandon.”
“God, no! I would never!”
“The way he acted I was certain—”
“Did he say I did?” An uncontrol-
lable panic swept through her. “He
doesn’t think I did, does he?”
“All he ever said was that you
cheated on him and that he’d never
do to you, what you did to him.”
Words she’d never get over. She
cried for days after that call.
“Sofia, I know Eric is still hurt. Butill
hurt he loves you very much. I want you
know I’m hoping it works out for you two.
You belong together.”
There was no way to hold in what she’d
been feeling all week. Her trembling lip be-
trayed her and he leaned in and hugged her
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again. After crying for a few more minutes,
while Eric’s dad consoled her, promising
things would work out, she left.
Sofia drove home in a daze. Once there,
she sat in her driveway and continued to cry.
At first softly, then she was overwhelmed
and she buried her face in her hands. The
garage door opened. She worked fast to clean
up her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to
stop crying. Alex walked toward the car, hur-
rying when he saw the tears.
“What’s wrong?” He flung the door
open and squatted down. “What
happened?”
She shook her head, afraid to even
say Brandon’s name. “Nothing.”
Alex searched her face as the tears
continued to pour out. “What is it,
Sof?” He rubbed her knee. “Tell
me.”
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Sofia reached across her dash into the
glove compartment for some tissue. She
wiped her face. Alex still calm, continued to
rub her knee, but she knew how quickly his
temper could flare. “It isn’t just one thing.
It’s everything.” She blew her nose. “I miss
Eric. He’s still mad at me and…” She glanced
at his compassionate eyes. “I ran into Bran-
don at the drug store.”
The hand on her knee stopped, the com-
passion now replaced with a murderous
glower. “What did he do?”
“Nothing, Alex.” She placed her hand on
his. “He just wanted to say goodbye.” She
could almost see the wheels in his head spin-
ning. “His dad’s dying.”
Alex’s expression lightened up. But very
little.
“They sold the house, and he’s taking
both his parents back to Georgia with him.
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He re-enlisted,” she shrugged, “he’s not com-
ing back.”
Alex stared at her. “Is that why you’re
crying?”
“No!” How could he even think that? “I
was already in a down mood. Hearing about
his dad just made me feel sad for him, and I
haven’t talked to Eric for weeks. I don’t think
he’s ever going to forgive me. It all just piled
up on me.”
Alex stood up and held out his hand.
“C’mon.”
When she was out of the car, he pulled
her to him, hugging her tight. “You’re too
damn sweet is what it is.” She felt tiny in his
arms. “Brandon’s gonna be all right. And
Eric will get over it. Trust me, he ain’t going
anywhere.”
If only that were true. She took a deep
breath, wishing things were like when she
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was a little girl and her brothers could pro-
tect her from any kind of pain. Though he’d
probably die trying if she asked him to, there
was nothing Alex could do to make this pain
go away.
***
Eric lay there in his bed staring at the
ceiling like he’d been doing so often in the
past few days. This was exactly what his dad
hadn’t wanted him to do. With the routine
he’d kept, he may as well have been a ro-
bot—school, his internshihis intep and back
to his dorm room. He was barely making B’s
in most of his classes when he was more than
capable of A’s.
His phone rang, startling him out of his
haze. He sat up, glancing around and saw it
on the nightstand. Reaching over, but still on
the bed, he grabbed it and lay back down. He
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knew who it was without even looking. The
only person who had called instead of texting
the entire time he’d been in Spain.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Eric, you busy?”
“Nope.” He only had a few very import-
ant papers that were due that week, but he
wouldn’t tell his dad that. “What’s up?”
“I ran into Sofia today.”
Eric froze, but didn’t say anything.
Just hearing her name was cause
enough to make him wince. He
missed her so much.
“She was with Brandon.”
Eric sat up. “You saw them togeth-
er? Where?”
“Now, relax. She was doing some
shopping at the drug store alone
when he approached her.”
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Eric’s heart rate had already doubled
over. He listened intently, trying to remain
calm. His dad filled him on what he’d over
heard then his dad asked, “Eric, I thought
she slept with him. It was just a kiss?”
Eric squeezed his eyes shut. He was sick
of thinking about it. “She let him, Dad. She
let that idiot who was only trying to use her
to get to me and her brothers.”
“Son.” His dad took a deep breath.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this,
but that boy’s in love with Sofia.”
The words were clear enough but
they didn’t quite sink in. “What?”
“I overheard him tell her, and I be-
lieve him.”
A myriad of questions came to
mind, but the main one was, “What
did she say?”
“Nothing, I think she was stunned. He
didn’t say much else after that, only that he
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was glad he got the chance to tell her before
he left for good and then he took off.”
Eric didn’t speak. He took in everything
his dad said. Why would Brandon want her
to know he was in love with her? Was he still
playing head games or had she given him any
indication that it was something she wanted
to hear? Damn, he hated the insecurity.
“Eric.” His dad spoke up after Eric
didn’t say anything. “The point is, I know
how much this girl means to you. Hell, I
don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as heart-
broken as I saw you the day you found out
about her and Brandon. Right then and there
I knew how profound your love for her really
was. I’ll admit it scared me, especially be-
cause at the time I was under the impression
that my son was hopelessly in love with a girl
who’d betrayed him in the worse way. Then
when you got back with her so quickly, it
scared me even more. Now that I find out it
was just a kiss… Eric, that’s nothing.”
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“But dad—”
“Just ask yourself this. Are you really
willing to give up everything you and Sofia
have because of something so trivial that she
obviously is extremely remorseful about? I
saw it in her face, son. There is no doubt in
my mind she loves you and is still beating
herself up about a kiss that really should be
ancient history by now. Shit happens, Eric.
Let it go. Age and immaturity have a lot to do
with it, but if you ask me, I’d say she’s
learned a hard, but valuable lesson.”
Eric stood up unable to sit still anymore.
“I don’t know.”
“It’s up to you, obviously. You know,
normally I’d be all for you moving on and
shopping around a lot more, before getting
stuck on one girl. But I got to thinking today
after speaking with Sofia. I’d hate for you to
make a mistake you’ll be regretting for the
rest of your life. I’ve seen it happen too many
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times.” He was quiet for a moment before
adding, “Just ask your mom.”
***
Early that morning, Sofia got the call.
Eric’s dad asked if she wanted to pick Eric up
at the airport. She’d almost said no. She still
hadn’t heard from Eric. But she needed clos-
ure. If Eric had really decided this was the
end for them, she needed to hear it, the
sooner the better. The torture had gone on
long enough.
She arrived at the airport early. When
they’d dropped him off the day after Christ-
mas the airport had been a mess. Afraid to
get stuck in that kind of traffic, she’d given
herself plenty of time. The traffic today
didn’t even compare.
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Planes flew in and out of the airport,
and Sofia stared out the window, wondering
which one Eric would be in. Each one that
flew in tied her stomach up even more. She
wiped away a tear that slid down her cheek.
Sofia hadn’t bothered with makeup. She
knew her face would be a mess. Even if
things were okay between them, seeing him
again would be emotional.
She thought of Brandon and decided
there was no way he was in love with her.
Maybe he loved her as the only friend he
thought had ever given him a chance. But in
love? He didn’t have the first clue what that
was. There was no way could he be feeling
for her what she felt so deeply for Eric.
When she finally saw on the monitor
that his plane had arrived, she took a deep
breath and sat down. She sat and watched as
one by one, the passengers came down the
escalators. Her sucked in her breath when
she saw him. He seemed lost in thought. Like
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the other passengers, he headed for the bag-
gage claim. She stood and waited, her heart
thumping wildly.
After grabbing his bag from the convey-
er, he turned and headed back in her direc-
tion. He was still completely lost in thought,
staring and the ground in front of him. Fin-
ally, just a few feet away from her, he looked
up and their eyes met. He stopped in his
tracks, and the person behind him nearly ran
into him.
Sofia stood there, not sure what to ex-
pect or say. Within seconds, his eyes flooded
and he looked away.
“I missed you.” She barely got the words
out. “I missed you so much.”
Eric dropped his bags, took the few hur-
ried steps to her and wrapped his arms
around her tightly. She felt him take a deep
breath as she wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m so sorry, Eric.”
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“Don’t be, Sof.” He kissed the side of her
head. “I’m over it now, but I’ll never be over
you. I was stupid to think I could ever be
over you.” He pulled away to look at her face.
It killed her to see him cry. “So stupid.” He
kissed her softly. Then he hugged her again,
holding her tight for a while.
“He’s gone, Eric.”
Eric tensed, but he didn’t say
anything.
“Your dad probably told you but I
wanted—”
Eric pulled away. “Don’t. I don’t
wanna hear it.” He stared at her.
“You love me?”
“Of course.”
“Then that’s all I need to know.” He
kissed her again. “I wasn’t even sure until
just now when I saw you. Now I know for
sure. I could never be happy without you.”
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Sofia smiled, feeling the warm tears
stream down her cheeks. She wrapped her
arms around his neck, an enormous relief
washed over her. “Oh, Eric, I was so scared.”
“Me too.” He rubbed her back then
pulled away, but took her by the hand. “Let’s
go.”
He grabbed his luggage and started
walking fast.
“Where are we going?” she asked, the
excitement building with every step. Eric was
home, he forgave her, and she’d never do
anything to screw up again.
For the first time since he’d arrived, she
saw him smile and a twinkle in those amaz-
ing brown eyes. “We got a lot of catching up
to do.”
He squeezed her hand. After weeks of
crying herself to sleep, she could finally
smile, feeling the familiar flutter in her
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stomach that only Eric would ever make her
feel.
***
It wasn’t quite the weather Eric had
hoped for, but it didn’t matter. This was just
the first of seven glorious days he’d be
spending with Sofia on their cruise. They ori-
ginally planned to take a shorter one because
of the price, but his dad had surprised them
with the seven-day one. As usual, he said it
helped to know people, and he had plenty of
friends in the travel business.
Eric walked back to where Sofia was sit-
ting on the deck. They’d both brought their
laptops with them. Sofia said she couldn’t
wait to write while sitting on the deck of a
cruise ship, drinking a fancy cocktail. Eric
was glad since his dad had hooked him up
with a few web-building jobs for some of his
associates. As obsessive as he was when it
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came to that stuff, he’d need all the time he
could get. What better time to get started on
them then on a cruise ship next to
Sofia—while she wrote.
Sofia looked up from her laptop as he
reached her with their drinks. “Ooh, fancy!”
He’d looked forward to seeing Sofia in a
bikini all week, but March was hardly the
time of year for that. It didn’t matter. Even in
jeans and a light sweatshirt she was beautiful
as ever.
Eric handed her the drink with the big
pineapple wedge, then leaned in and kissed
her. She put down the laptop and took a sip
of her drink, looking out into the out into
cean. “This is heaven.”
Moving his own laptop from the chaise
he’d been sitting on, to the table next to it, he
sat down. “Yeah, it is.” He eyed her as he
sipped his beer. “Did you get any writing
done?”
457/467
“I did, actually.” She smiled. “I was in-
spired yesterday by Angel and Sarah’s en-
gagement announcement. They were so
happy, a story came to me.”
He stared at her for a moment. How
was it that even after all these years,
sweet Sofie could still cast such a
spell on him?
She took another sip of her drink.
When he hadn’t taken his eyes off
her, she smiled and asked, “What?”
“You think we’ll end up married
someday, too?”
“Absolutely,” she said, leaning over
with a wicked smile. “You’re stuck
with me forever, Eric Diego.”
God, he loved her smile. “Is that
right?”
“Yep, or I’ll sic my brothers on you.”
Eric laughed. “Like anything could
ever keep me away from you—re-
member even they couldn’t?”
458/467
“How can I forget?” She held out
her glass. “To forever.”
He clinked it with his beer bottle,
then kissed her. “To Forever.”
Acknowledgments:
I’d like to thank my critique partner
and beta reader Tammara Webber au-
thor or Between The Lines, for her hon-
est and very constructive feedback. I’ve
been very fortunate to have found not
only a critique partner in you but a good
friend who TRULY understands the ups
and downs of being a writer. Thank you
for being there to listen to my rants and
helping me through the hard days. I
look forward to working with you from
here on. I’d wish you luck on your own
459/467
writing but you don’t need it, you’re
already a SUPER STAR! =)
To my husband Mark, what can I
say? Thanks for putting up with the
endless hours of writing editing and
taking over the cooking and laundry on
days when I just can’t be pulled away
from my computer. I love you and ap-
preciate your patience. I know you’ve
never been much of a reader especially
of romance novels so the fact that
you’ve taken the time to not only read
each and every one of my stories and
put so much thought into your input
means so much to me. I love you. You
are my rock.
460/467
To my other beta readers Ivannia
Alay, and Beth Fred. Thank you for your
detailed critiques and enthusiastic feed-
back. It always amazes me how the
smallest details could make such a dif-
ference in character development and
overall pacing of a story. Thank you for
helping me see those things those t that
I often overlook. Ivannia, you never like
the cussing, I can’t wait until you read
Romero. I can already see you cringing.
Lol
A few words to my wonderful
readers:
461/467
I hope you enjoyed my latest edi-
tion to The Moreno Brothers series.
Please let me know what you thought by
writing a review on the Amazon, B&N
or Smashwords websites. The next in
the series was supposed to have been
Sal’s story Making you Mine which is
currently a work in progress, but be-
cause of the interest and requests I’ve
received from YOU the readers, I’ve de-
cided to include Romero’s story in the
series. I wasn’t going to, but then the
story just came to me and kept coming.
It will now be the next in the series and
tentatively due out by the end of Octo-
ber of this year. The final in the series
Making You Mine, will be out hopefully
by the end of the year.
462/467
To read excerpts and updates I in-
vite you to visit my website: www.Eliza-
bethReyes.com Also, please visit and
like my Facebook Fanpage at ht-
tp://www.facebook.com/TheMoren-
oBrothers and follow me on twitter
@AuthorElizabeth
Thank you all for your continued in-
terest in The Moreno Brothers!
463/467
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
Brandon
CHAPTER 2
The Wonder Years
CHAPTER 3
Sweet 16
CHAPTER 4
The promise
CHAPTER 5
Risking it all
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
Crisis
CHAPTER 8
Doubt
CHAPTER 9
Past acquaintances
CHAPTER 10
Curiosity
CHAPTER 11
It is what it is
CHAPTER 12
The truth shall set you free
CHAPTER 13
Why?
CHAPTER 14
Happy Holidays
CHAPTER 15
No second chances
CHAPTER 16
Below the belt.
465/467
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