Summer Nights (9 page)

SUMMER

I rolled over and lazily stretched. My
muscles still ached from my overzealous activities the night
before; my pussy fragile and tender. I blinked my eyes a few times,
trying to clear my foggy mind. Kisses rained over me, bringing a
smile to my lips.

“Buenos dias, mi
amor
.” Cruz crawled up and over me, raising
himself above me on his elbows.

He leaned in to kiss my lips, but I
blocked him with my hand. “I haven’t brushed my teeth
yet.”

“Neither have I.” He kissed the back of
my hand.

I laughed, playfully slapping his arm
with my free hand. “Stop. Just let me brush my teeth and then you
can kiss me.”

He pretended to pout. “Next time, we
keep gum by the bed.”

“Deal.” The moment I moved my hand to
leverage myself off the bed and out from under him, he stole a
kiss. The quick peck warmed me to my toes. I knew my cheeks were
red.

“Good morning to you.” He
smirked.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I
slid off the bed, out from beneath the covers and him. Reality
smacked me in the face when the air conditioning wafted over my
nakedness, goose pimples covering my skin.

I reached for my grey t-shirt off the
floor, quickly pulling it over my head and into place. I glanced
back at the bed, frozen in place by the blatant desire in Cruz’s
eyes. His stare cemented my feet, the heat of his gaze shocked me.
I’d never been comfortable with my body, particularly my weight,
but he washed away every doubt I may have had about my
attractiveness. He made me feel like a beautiful seductress the way
his eyes followed me, and his cock stood at attention, full of
pride.

I couldn’t believe my stomach growled
right then; the sound echoed through the room. I scrunched my face.
“Sorry.”

He chuckled. “Your stomach just saved
you from my wrath.”

“Wrath, for what?”

“For being so sexy.
Ay, mujer
, you don’t
realize the beauty you own.” He licked his lips. “Did you bring a
bathing suit?”

I thought about the deep teal tankini
Stella had talked me into yesterday. I always had to go that route
since my bottom half was a size larger than my top half; my waist
narrowed decently above my belly button. Too bad it wasn’t enough
to get rid of my mound of pudginess. The top half of the bathing
suit was a halter, making my breasts appear larger, which was why
it took some convincing for me to purchase it. The rouging across
the entire front of the bathing suit, below my breasts, made me
appear thinner though, which was how Stella nudged me past my
hesitation.

I nodded, admitting to having a
suit.

“Good. Change into it, but put clothes
over top. I’m taking you to eat, then to the beach.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll stop by my place on the way and
change.”

I shook my head once, satisfied with
his answer. I definitely didn’t want to be swimming
alone.

Fifteen minutes later, I’d brushed my
teeth, tossed my hair up into a messy bun, changed into my bathing
suit and threw on a new pair of light, stone-washed jean shorts
with a white t-shirt over it. Cruz laughed at me as I liberally
coated my skin with sunscreen. He had a solid bronze tan on him
from head to toe. I slathered my skin with lotion to help mask the
scent of the sunscreen and the sweat I was sure to be bathed in
outside. I dabbed my face lightly with some foundation and powder
to even out my skin tone and hopefully help minimize my red cheeks
in the heat. Some simple, over-sized Cubic Zirconia studded
earrings, my teal watch and gold sandals completed my casual
ensemble. Satisfied with my appearance, I put on my glasses. I’d
just gotten dressed after coming out of the shower last night when
Cruz knocked, so this was the first time he’d see me in
them.

I walked towards my suitcase to return
my beauty bags. Cruz growled, pulling me to him. He tapped my
glasses. “I like these, very sexy.” He smiled, giving me a quick
kiss. He inhaled deep. “You always smell good.”

“It’s probably my lotion.” I lifted the
bottle for him to smell.

“I like it, but you smell better.” He
sniffed my neck, his breath tickling me. My stomach growled again,
interrupting the moment. “Let’s go feed you. I neglected to do that
last night.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I work long hours. It’s not unusual
for me to go all day without food.” He shrugged.

I worked long and odd hours as well,
but something about his answer bothered me. When I couldn’t
pinpoint what it was, I broke away, grabbed Big Bertha and headed
out the door with Cruz right behind me. He checked the lock on the
hotel door before leading me to the elevators down the hall. His
arm was wrapped around me, holding me against his side
protectively.

Chapter 9

I checked my phone while Cruz retrieved
his car from the valet. Stella had called once and left a message
around eleven. I dialed my voicemail, going through the
prompts.

“Hey, girl. I’m guessing by you not
answering that you’re cozying up with Cruz. Make it count, and make
it good ‘cause I want details. Call me in the morning. I’m staying
the night with lover boy. Love ya.”

I smiled as I hung up. Checking the
clock, I saw it was already 9:06 AM. I sighed deep as last night
flickered through my mind, a slow ache beginning to
build.

Cruz waved me over as the young male
handed him the car keys. In exchange, Cruz handed him a tip.
Turning around, he opened my door for me as the valet moved on to
the next car.

“Thanks,” I said as I passed him to get
in.

“I just do it for the view.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
He laughed devilishly before closing the door and coming around to
the driver’s side. I was right about him; he was definitely like
Stella and would keep me on my toes. The sex last night proved that
though. I certainly wasn’t expecting to be bombarded immediately
but was grateful for his forward attack. I squeezed my thighs
together, suppressing a satisfied moan.

As Cruz drove off, my phone rang. I
peeked at the caller ID before quickly answering. “Hey,
girl.”

“Well, good morning, little miss
sunshine. I take it by your chipper tone that you have a wildly
sexy story to tell me about last night.” Stella sounded
hopeful.

“Later. Where are you?”

“In the hottest damn apartment on the
planet,” she grumbled.

Cruz chuckled; apparently he heard
Stella. “Ramon doesn’t have A/C.”

I lifted my brows, facing him. “Not
even a window unit?”

“Nah. That’s a luxury on the island.”
He focused on the road as I returned to Stella.

“Wow. Sorry, girl. Why don’t you go
back to the hotel?”

“I was trying to give you some time
with stud muffin over there, but I guess we can head that way. What
are your plans for the day?”

“Cruz is taking me to breakfast then
the beach.”

“Woah! You’re gonna let him see you in
a bathing suit? Boy really has won you back.”

“He has already seen me naked, so I
don’t think a bathing suit is a big deal at this point.”

“And you have a damn sexy naked body
too,” Cruz purred, twining our fingers together across the console.
I felt myself blush as he brushed his lips across the back of my
hand.

“Ooh, girl. I can’t handle any more
heat right now. I swear I’ve sweat off at least twenty pounds in
the past hour.”

“Take a cold shower!” I heard Ramon
yell from a distance.

“I already have,” she
snapped. I burst into a fit of laughter. Stella didn’t have
long-term plans for her and Ramon, but they already sounded like a
married couple. “Ugh. He has all the windows open, but that isn’t
doing a damn thing. I swear. I don’t know how
certain people
live like this.” Her
implication of Ramon was loud and clear.

“Hold on a sec.” I pressed my cell
phone to my shoulder, using my free hand to cover the mouthpiece.
“Do you mind if Stella and Ramon join us at the beach?”

“Whatever makes you
happy,
mi reina
.”
He squeezed our conjoined hands.

“Want to meet me and Cruz at the beach
later?”

“As long as the ocean doesn’t feel like
a damn hot tub.” She conversed with Ramon for a moment. “Meet you
around noon?”

“Is noon okay?” I checked with Cruz. He
nodded. “Sounds good. Don’t melt before then, Stel.”

“When we get home, I’m turning my air
conditioner down to sixty. My fat is going to be melted Jell-O by
the time we touch ground in Atlanta.”

I scrunched my nose at the visual.
“Okay. You can stop there. I get it. Trust me. I feel like a fat,
sweaty sock walking around here too. No need to
explain.”

“We are never traveling South again
during the summer.” I heard commotion in the background. “Now what
the hell do you think that inky-dinky little fan is gonna do for
me? Summer, help a sister out. This fool is trying to cool me off
with an itty-bitty desk fan. It would take at least ten of them to
make a dent in my crankiness right about now.”

“Stop working yourself up over it.
You’re only raising your temperature and driving me insane,” Ramon
pleaded.

“You? You’re a twig walking around on
chicken legs that would cool off with a paper fan in two seconds.
Me? I’m a big beautiful woman who has girth and needs more than a
fan the size of an apple to cool off her excess
sexiness.”

“You are very sexy. You are
my sexy
chocolate
-“
Ramon’s voice was getting closer, as if he was leaning into Stella.
His tone was seductive and had a heady rasp that I knew had Stella
squirming. But I didn’t want to hear anymore.

“Okay! I’m going to go now, Stella. You
and Ramon have fun cooling each other down. I’ll see you
later.”

She giggled flirtatiously. Ramon had
clearly distracted her from his lack of an efficient cooling system
in his house. “See you later, Summer.” I heard a moan right as she
hung up her phone.

“Um, I think things are going good with
them.” I felt the heat painting my cheeks. They were definitely a
good match; I just hoped Stella kept an open mind.

“I’m glad things are going good with
us,” Cruz said. I swallowed hard, his eyes raking over me. My womb
warmed under the heat of his gaze, my heartbeat picking up pace. I
stared back at him, unable to gather my wits to respond.

When he faced the road, I exhaled
softly, trying to reign in my reaction to him and his words. I
tucked my phone inside my purse right as Cruz pulled along the curb
in front of a bakery in Old San Juan.

“This is my favorite place in all of
San Juan,” he stated.

I studied the structure. A
large glass window with ‘
Panaderia
Familiar
’ painted across the top greeted
us. Gingham curtains were hung but pulled to one side to frame the
window and allow potential customers a clear view of the pastry
case. Blue and white seemed to be the color scheme throughout the
quaint space from the rustic floor tiles to the white walls with a
blue leaflet border. Worn tables with matching wooden chairs tucked
beneath them were dotted amongst the small foyer of the shop.
Customers sat, sipping coffee and enjoying breakfast
pastries.

“What makes this place so special?” I
asked, still taking in the details.

“My
tia
owns it.”

My nerves revved up. He was taking me
to meet his family? I looked down at my clothes, kicking myself for
choosing this outfit.

He leaned in, kissing my cheek. “Don’t
worry, you look great.” He got out of the car and came around to
open my door.

The moment my feet hit the ground, I
tugged down my shorts and adjusted my tee. My stomach did
somersaults as he led me inside.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” A
chunky, teenage girl came around from behind the
counter.

Cruz greeted her with a
kiss on each cheek. “Hey, Carmen.
Tia
here?”

“Of course. The woman never leaves.”
Carmen looked me up and down before trailing her eyes back to Cruz.
“Who’s the chica?”

“Nosy little runt, aren’t ya?” He
rumpled up her hair.

“Would you stop doing that already? I’m
sixteen, not nine.” She swatted at his hand.

He laughed. “Serves you right, for
ratting me out.”

“That was two months ago.
Geesh. Grow up,
primo
.” She attempted to fix her hair, but Cruz had done a number
on it. She let him know, too, with a dark glare. Turning around,
she stomped off towards the back mumbling the whole way in
Spanish.

“Carmen’s my cousin,” he
explained.

I nodded, looking around the room. A
few patrons had been watching the commotion, but for the most part,
people were caught up in their own conversations. The male behind
the counter hadn’t missed a beat since Carmen walked
away.