Blocked (32 page)

He stared at me for a few more seconds, then nodded. As he left my side and squatted to retrieve a frying pan, I stared at his taut butt encased in charcoal grey workout pants. My eyes zipped back to the cutting board when he rose, and I tried to think of something to say. “I get to meet your sister next week, right?”

The muscles in his forearm rippled as he added some oil to the pan. “Yep, Jess will be there.”

“What’s she like?”

He shrugged. “Sixteen, smart, pain in the ass.” He added the chicken breasts to the sizzling oil. “She’s always at swim practice, so she’s tired and grumpy all the time.” His nose scrunched. “She
reeks
of chlorine.”

Belying his critical words was his fond smile, which stretched into a grin when he said, “I think she has a crush on one of Mom’s agents.”

“Really?” I laughed.

He snorted. “Poor guy. Jess is the determined type.”

“Like her brother, huh?”

The depth of blue in his eyes made my breath catch in my throat. “I’d say we’re both pretty determined.” He held my gaze as the chicken crackled in the pan.

I
was certainly determined to stay next to him for as long as possible, and I swallowed but didn’t look away. The moment lengthened between us, timed by the pulsing metronome of my heartbeat. Was it getting warm in here? I unzipped my hoodie and hung it on a kitchen chair.

When Dane stared at my boobs, my heart raced.

“We like to spike,” he said with a smile, and I realized he’d just read my T-shirt. “Where’d you get all those shirts?”

Oh, he wasn’t staring at my boobs. Wait…
why
wasn’t he staring at my boobs? “My dad buys them for me.”

He nodded, and for once he didn’t make a mean comment about my dad. “Are you
finally
done chopping?” He gestured to my cutting board.

“Jeez!” I returned my attention to the last pepper. “Just a second, Chef.”

“You can work on the lettuce and tomatoes next, slave.”

“So bossy.” I smiled to myself.

A few minutes later he piled the cooked chicken breasts on top of each other on a plate and molded aluminum foil over them to keep them warm. The kitchen smelled so good. I paused my tomato chopping to hand him the strips of peppers. “Do you know where the word
fajita
comes from?”

He finished sliding the vegetables into the pan. “Little
fajas
, right? Only…I hate admitting this, but I don’t know what
faja
means.”

“It’s a belt, or strip.” I pointed to the peppers in the pan.

“Yummy.” He stirred the peppers, then bellowed, “Fried belts for dinner tonight!”

A second later Brad meandered into the kitchen, rubbing his belly. “Did you say something about dinner, GD? It smells awesome in here!”

“This is for Lucia and me,” he said.

I looked down at the bowls of fixings I’d prepared. “This
is
a lot of food.”

Dane frowned. “Fine. Dinner will be ready in fifteen.”

“Hey.” Brad thumped him on the shoulder. “Sorry, man…we won’t crash your party.” He strolled out of the kitchen.

I chewed my lip as I dolloped sour cream into a bowl. I would
not
be eating any of that lardaceous goo. “So, why do you like Maria?”

“Huh?” He turned to me.

“The soap opera actress. What makes her attractive?”

His gaze slid down the side of my head. “Her hair. It’s long and…shiny.”

Self-consciously, I twirled a strand of my hair. Dane’s eyes followed my fingers.

“And, um…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s kind of shy and sweet.” His eyes traveled to my face, then he grabbed the package of tortillas and turned back to the stove. “I think the actress is from Puerto Rico. She’s just pretty, I guess.”

Once the tortillas were warming in the oven, Dane pulled out some ranch dressing. He winced as he set it on the counter. “I’m not a fajita purist—I use ranch instead of sour cream.”

“So does Matty!” I grinned. “It drives Alejandro nuts.”

“Good to know I’m not a freak.”

“Oh, you’re still a freak.”

His eyebrow arched, but he didn’t seem mad. He surveyed the spread and sighed. “Margaritas would go really well with this.” His shoulders slumped.

“Is it hard?” He looked at me. “Not drinking, I mean.”

“Nope.” He’d rushed his response, and he paused, like he realized he hadn’t been honest. “If I say yes…that means I have a problem, right?”

It was rare to see him vulnerable like this. “It just means you’re strong. It means you’re fighting.”

He seemed to stand an inch taller. “What do you think of Dr. Valentine?”

“She’s pretty cool.” I thought about her for a moment, then scowled. “Except for the times she makes me eat.”

“Yeah. I was pissed when she made me do an alcohol swab test.”

I recoiled. “What’s
that?”

“She had me swab the inside of my mouth to test for alcohol in my saliva. I told her I hadn’t partied, but she said she still had to test me.” His eyebrows pulled together. “I wish she’d trust me.”

“Trust—” I started, and he joined me to finish Dr. Valentine’s platitude, “—takes time to build.”

When we both laughed, I noticed his face relax, and his eyes shone like ocean waves. Were
we
building trust? Could I trust him?

He took a step closer, smiling down at me, and I froze. Maybe I forgot to breathe. Was he about to kiss me again? That’s what I wanted, right? Then why did I feel so scared? Why didn’t I feel ready? “Um…” I looked at the counter. “How ’bout I tell the agents dinner is ready?”

The crease returned to his forehead. “Yeah. Yeah…sure.” He turned his back and grabbed an oven mitt to take out the tortillas.

As I skittered toward the agents’ bedrooms, my heart felt heavy. I knew I’d let him down. Why couldn’t I just say what I wanted to him?
What do I want?
Why was it always so complicated?

Three of four bedrooms were empty, but I heard a rustling behind China’s slightly open door. I pushed it open. “Hey, Dane cooked fajitas if you want—”

China’s head appeared from under the covers, and I blanched when I noticed she was topless.

“Sorry!”

Then a movement beneath the duvet rolled toward the headboard. I saw a flash of blond curls a second before Allison’s face emerged next to China’s.

“Oh!” I stepped back. Allison’s eyes might have been even wider than mine. “I…”
Mierda
. I closed my mouth, and swallowed. “I just…” I spun on my heel, determined to get the hell out of there.

“Wait!” Allison’s voice was higher than normal. “Will you tell your father about this?”

“What?” I inched back another step and felt my heart squeeze in my chest. Why would she care about that?

“Of course she won’t,” China said as she tossed the covers down and pushed off the bed to stand nude in front of me, in all of her muscular glory. Her breasts were round and perky, surrounded by pectoral muscle. She didn’t seem embarrassed at all, but I was literally dying. “We aren’t on duty.”

Allison shook her head as she pulled the duvet up under her chin. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

I pursed my lips, trying to figure out that comment.

“Ohhh.” China grinned, then kneeled on the mattress and climbed up the bed. “Governor Ramirez might not approve of same-sex sex.”

I looked away from her butt dancing in the air but the sound of a wet kiss was unmistakable. And
that
was my cue to leave. I rushed out of the room and raced down the hall—I couldn’t get to my bedroom fast enough.

¡Dios mio!
I plunged back on my bed and pressed my hands against my skull. I’d never walked in on a man and woman having sex before, much less two women. Why hadn’t I just knocked? I thumped my fist to my forehead several times.
Estúpida
.

“Lucia?” Dane knocked on my door.

I sat up. “What?”

“Where’d you go? The food’s getting cold.”

I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t let him find out I’d walked in on China and Allison.
Way
too embarrassing.

After a few moments passed, he asked, “Can I come in?”

I tossed my hair over my shoulder and stood.
Crap
. “Uh, sure.” I grabbed the knob and found him filling the doorway.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Do Allison and China want to join us?”

“Um…” I looked away as my cheeks lit on fire.

“Listen, if you don’t want to eat dinner with me—”

“No, I do! I really do. I just, ah, I just need a moment…”

I watched a fully dressed Allison come up behind Dane. “Lucia?”

Dane swiveled. “Oh, hey. Are you guys going to eat with us? Did Lucia come find you?”

I sure did find them. Mortifying!

“Are we cool?” Allison asked me.

What should I say to that?
I tilted my head.

Dane looked back and forth between us. “What’s going on?”

“Lucia, I need to know if I should start looking for another job.”

My chest tightened, and my mind went blank. Why did she keep hounding me? How could she think my dad would be so cruel? I just needed everyone to leave me alone!

“What the fuck happened?” Dane asked, his hands perched on his hips.

“Lucia walked in on us,” China explained. She came up behind Allison, thankfully dressed in a robe. “And evidently it was a surprise for her.”

I cringed. Now he knew.

As an understanding dawned on Dane, a smile stretched his mouth, followed by a few chuckles. “You walked in on them having sex?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, which only elicited more laughter from the
cabrón
. Deep belly laughs filled the hallway. “I wish I could’ve seen the look on your face!” He slapped the wall. “Hell, I wish
I
would’ve been the one to walk in on them.”

“You’re an ass, Monroe,” China said.

“You’ve never seen lesbians get it on?” he asked me.

I hadn’t seen
anyone
‘get it on,’ but I wasn’t about to admit
that
.

“Lucia.” Allison blinked at me. “Are you going to tell your father?”

“No, okay?” My voice came out louder than I’d intended. “I don’t know why you keep asking me that—I won’t tell him. It wouldn’t matter anyway.”

China exhaled loudly. “I guess I have to spell it out for you. Allison needs to know if your dad will get her fired once he finds out she’s a lesbian.”

My lips parted. “He wouldn’t do that! He knows I like Allison.”

“He’s hardly the champion of gay rights,” China replied.

I hesitated. Our church had taught us that being gay was sinful, but I knew Dad would never get Allison fired just for that.

“What do you think, Lucia?” Allison’s worried eyes bored into me. “Do
you
support gay marriage?”

“I…” My heart hammered. I’d always agreed with my family that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but it felt wrong to say that in front of them. Allison had been good to me, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“Are you homophobic like your father?” China demanded.

I glanced at Dane, who’d been surprisingly quiet through this interrogation. I didn’t know why he hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon to accuse me of prejudice as well.

He reached out and patted my shoulder with his warm hand. “You look kind of freaked out.”

I nodded.

He turned to the agents. “Guys, give her a second. She’s overwhelmed. Let me talk to her.”

The next thing I knew, Dane had pushed me into my bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Chapter 20