Forever Baby (21 page)

I think about my interactions with Abby. I really tried to make her feel welcome, and she’s been a bitch the whole time. “I hope he figures it out soon. I don’t like her.”

Cara laughs. “Yeah, me either.”

The next day, Nolan is more like himself at school. He apologizes for Abby’s attitude, explaining that she was tired. He also says that she doesn’t feel comfortable in crowds and that they’ll probably just do their own thing the rest of the time she’s here. To be honest, I’m thrilled I won’t have to hang out with Abby again, but I will miss Nolan.

Andres and Hugo decide to take Cara and me to Barcelona for the weekend. The Primavera Sound Festival, which features alternative rock bands, is going on. Andres tries to go to Barcelona every May for the festival. He says that it is one of his favorite cities, so I’m excited to be able to experience it with him.

We stay at a beautiful brownstone hotel adjacent to the Mediterranean. We have a small two-bedroom, one-bath suite with a connected living space and a balcony overlooking the water.

I stand on the balcony and watch the waves come in. They are the exact color of what I imagined the ocean would be like, a perfect combination of greens and blues. The sun dances off the peaks of the waves as they come into shore. It’s breathtaking.

We walk around the city and decide to stop at a bar with outdoor seating for dinner. We share many orders of tapas, which appear to be smaller portions of meals. I compare them to appetizers, but Andres tells me they’re different because they eat multiple plates of tapas for the meal and not solely for a starter. My favorites are the seafood tapas. We’re on our second pitcher of sangria. It’s so good that it puts the sangria in the States to shame. It has a delicious rich taste with the sweetness of the fruit and just the right amount of bite.

Andres is holding my hand and rubbing his thumb against my skin as we eat. He seems to always touch me in some way, and I love it. He has a way of making me feel cherished and beautiful despite my insecurities.

“So, Andres, what do you do with your days? Do you work or go to school?” Cara inquires.

“Right now, I don’t do either,” Andres says as if that’s a good enough answer.

He still doesn’t know Cara very well, so he doesn’t realize that his answer isn’t sufficient.

“Okay, so what do you do?” she asks again.

“I spend my days with Livi.” He takes a large gulp of his drink.

“So, when Livi leaves, what will you do with your days?” she pushes.

I cringe. I told Cara that Andres is a private person. Apparently, she’s choosing to ignore that fact since she’s not taking the hint. His short responses are obviously an indication that he doesn’t feel like talking about himself.

He exhales, peering at Cara. I can see the realization on his face that he knows this conversation won’t be over until he gives her some answers.

“I don’t know. I might go back to school.”

“Were you in school before?”

“Yes, for art and design, but I needed a break,” he answers dryly. As if realizing he needs to pull off the Band-Aid until she stops her interrogation, he continues, “I’m not sure what I want to do with my life at the moment. I like art. I paint sometimes. I like music as I’m sure Livi has told you, but I don’t know if I will be able to make a living with music. So, I don’t know. I inherited a little money from my mom’s life insurance policy when she passed away. I’m living on that until I figure my life out.” He takes another sip, his stern expression silently imploring her to halt her questioning.

Cara nods and redirects her focus to Hugo. I guess bringing up a deceased mother will end a conversation quickly.

I address Andres, “I didn’t know you were into art. Do you have any completed work?” There is still so much I don’t know about Andres, and I am determined to find out everything I can.

“Yeah, there’s a room in the house with my paintings. I can show you if you want to see them.”

“Of course I do.”

I lean my head on his shoulder, and he kisses my hair. My attention directs toward Cara when I hear her teasing Hugo.

“What kind of a degree is general
studies, Hugo? Seriously?”

“It’s offered at the university, so it’s obviously a real degree.” Hugo shrugs with a cocky smirk on his face.

“Really? Okay, tell me one job that requires a degree in general studies.” She puts emphasis on the words
general studies
as she finger quotes. “You can’t because it’s a pointless degree. Seriously, why even go to college if you’re going to get a fluff degree that can’t get you a job?”

Andres speaks up, “So, he can say that he went to college. He has a job in his father’s business anytime he wants it. So, why would he actually take any challenging classes when he doesn’t have to? Right, Hugo?”

“Whatever, man. At least I’m going to college,” Hugo responds.

Andres grins. “Hey, I know I’m fucked-up. I’ve admitted that. I was just giving the lovely Cara here a little explanation for your education choices.” He winks at Cara and takes another drink of sangria.

“Why go to college at all if you already have a job lined up?” Cara asks.

“I will give you three reasons,” Hugo says. “Number one, the hot college chicks. Number two, it’ll show my old man that I have some drive. And number three, did I mention the easy hot college babes?”

We all laugh.

Cara hits Hugo on the arm, laughing. “God, you are such a pervert.”

“Please, babe, call me Hugo.”

We all let out an exaggerated groan at Hugo’s cockiness.

“I don’t think you could be more full of yourself if you tried,” I say with a smile.

Hugo gives me his best smoldering glance. “Oh, Livi, baby…I’m sure I could turn it up a notch if I needed to.”

I laugh despite Hugo’s arrogance. He’s so cute even with his inflated ego. He’s the only guy I’ve ever met who can be an arrogant ass and still be so likable.

“Um…no. Please don’t. I think we’re good,” I say.

Andres gets the waiter’s attention and motions for the check.

The Primavera Sound Festival is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Walking in the gates, we’re met with a sea of people standing around on the blacktop. A band is playing on an outdoor stage. To my left is nothing but the Mediterranean.

Andres grabs my hand, and I grasp Cara’s. We weave our way through the crowd to get closer to the stage. I’ve never heard of the band currently playing, but they’re good. Hugo leaves us temporarily and returns with a large bucket of beer bottles on ice. While I’m facing the band, Andres stands behind me with his arms wrapped firmly around my waist. The energy is electrifying within this large crowd. I close my eyes and lean my head back onto Andres’s chest. He gently kisses my neck as we sway to the music. My body feels warm from the beer and his touch. I’m intoxicated with the smell of Andres, beer, and salt water.

As the sun sinks into the ocean, a new band sets up on stage. We’ve had a long day of listening to music, dancing, drinking, and laughing. We’re all pleasantly buzzed. The new band starts to play, and from the roar of the masses, I can tell the band is quite popular. I’m facing Andres with my arms draped around his neck. He’s leaning down toward me, and our tongues intertwine with amplified infatuation. He is a drug I can’t resist. We’re slowly dancing and kissing while the mob around us exuberantly jumps up and down with their arms raised.

As our kiss deepens, I withdraw one of my arms from around his neck and run my fingers back and forth under the button of his jeans, tickling the skin of his tight abdomen. My fingers venture farther down, and I can feel the base of his shaft. He groans and grabs my hand out of his pants. He slips his hand up my tank top and pulls on my bra, releasing my breasts. He begins to pull at my nipple, elongating it, leaving me in an almost painful ecstasy. I close my eyes in pleasure as his hand hungrily explores my skin from my breasts to my stomach and then around my back.

My breathing is harsh, and I revel in the sensation. His kisses are fierce as he consumes my mouth with lustful abandonment. My tongue wraps around his as if its hunger will never be satisfied. The crowd of people and the music surrounding us are a dull white noise in the far consciousness of my mind. All I can hear are the soft moans coming from Andres as our tongues dance to our own beat and the pounding of my blood as it rushes through my body.

He removes one hand from under my shirt and slides it beneath my short ruffled jean skirt. Pulling my thong to the side, he plunges his finger into me, and my breath catches as I bask in the feeling. After inserting a second finger, he begins to circle the two inside me, putting pressure on my front inner wall. I’m jostled toward him as the person behind me collides with us while she jumps up and down to the beat of the music. I open my eyes and take notice of the tight cluster of people around us. They’re oblivious to our activity due to distractions of their own.

Noticing my glances to those around us, Andres whispers in my ear, “Don’t worry about them, baby. No one cares what we’re doing. No one will even notice. Just feel it.”

He thrusts his fingers deeper into me, causing me to whimper with carnal gratification . He kisses my neck as he continues to circle his fingers inside me while rubbing my throbbing spot with his thumb. The intense pleasure shatters me, and I begin to spasm around him. I bury my head in his chest as I cry out.

He removes his fingers, and I immediately feel vacant, needing to be filled by him once more. His blue stare is filled with desire as he inserts his fingers into his mouth. He sucks them from the base to the tip as if they tasted like his favorite flavor of Popsicle. My eyes bulge as a painful desire courses between my legs.

“You taste so good, baby,” he says as his lips twists into a devilish grin. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Do I ever.
I nod.

Turning around, I spot Hugo and Cara. They appear to have been driven away from us with all the dancing bodies. They’re ten or so people away with their arms wrapped around each other as they dance to the music. Lacing our fingers together, Andres leads me to them.

“Hey!” I yell to Cara over the music. “We’re going to get out of here! Do you want to come with us?”

“No, I want to stay a little longer! We’ll meet you at the hotel!” she shouts.

Entwining his fingers through mine, Andres pulls me toward the back of the amphitheater and through the exit. We follow the sidewalk leading to the water and stop at a street vendor for sandwiches and bottled waters. We walk along the boardwalk, eating and talking about the show.

After we throw our garbage away, Andres kicks off his shoes and grabs them with one hand. “Let’s go walk by the water.”

I slip out of my shoes as well and pick them up. My free hand is intertwined with Andres’s as we move to the water’s edge. It’s dark now, but the lights from the city illuminate where the water meets the sand as small waves lap up onto our feet. We stroll down the beach for a long time, stopping intermittently to kiss like lovesick teenagers.

He turns to me, grasps my face between his hands, and stares into my eyes. I feel his love deep in my chest.

“We come from two different worlds, literally an ocean apart, and I don’t know how we were brought together, but we were. I thank my lucky stars that you came into my life. You have quickly become my everything. You’re my everything, baby.”

My cheeks flush, and a smile tickles my lips. My heart is full. In this moment, I feel nothing but gratitude, and I can sum up every life-altering feeling of happiness into one word—Andres.

On Tuesday, the boys invite us to their weekly basketball game. We pack into Nadia’s Maxima. I have to laugh when a vision of circus clowns piling into a tiny car comes to life as the seven of us stuff into her car. I sit on Andres’s lap in the front seat, and Cara sits across Hugo, Julio, and Carlos in the back. I ignore the fact that if we got into an accident, I’d be toast.

We make our way to a local high school where the guys play on an outside court. They’re met by their fifth teammate, another friend named Jose. I can see why Jose is an advantage to the team. He must be at least six-five. I notice Nadia’s immediate change in demeanor when we see Jose. She transforms from one of the guys into a giggly and flirty girl as she talks to Jose. When the guys make their way to the court, we girls take a seat on the first row of bench seats.

“So, what’s up with you and Jose?” I ask Nadia.

“Unfortunately, nothing. He’s hot though, right?” Her eyes light up.

I watch Jose. I guess he’s cute enough, but to be honest, standing next to Andres, he’s pretty unremarkable. “Yeah, he’s cute…and tall,” I say. “Does he know you’re interested?”

“He has to,” Nadia answers. “I couldn’t make it any more obvious. He doesn’t seem interested in me like that though. I wish he hung out with us more, but he’s not really into the bar scene. We really only see him at these basketball games.”

“You know, come to think of it, you guys do go out a lot,” I say.

Cara nods in agreement. “Yeah, you go out more than we do back home, and believe me, that is a feat.”