Page 81 of Off Season

Alejandro nods. “I guess you were just in season. It’s probably hard to find time to cook.”

Cheetah nods though I’m running through our meal at his place and starting to think he may have made it himself. I assumed it was takeout because it was so delicious.

I turn to him, and he seems to read my mind and whispers. “I made that meal.”

Wow.

Alejandro asks, “How did you two meet? I don’t think I’ve ever heard the story.”

I smile. “Quincy Abbott is the brother of one of my best friends. Our groups started hanging out as soon as we moved to Philly this past summer. Cruz began using cheesy pickup lines on me from the first minute I met him. The creativity drew me in.”

Alejandro chuckles. “He’s been doing that for years. Which one got you?”

I twist my lips. “Hmm. There are a lot. I think I was partial todid you wash your pants with Windex because I can see myself in them.”

They all laugh, and I continue, “But what really got me were those blue eyes. So unusual for a Latino man. And I see none of you share those same eyes.”

I smirk at Cheetah, knowing I’m poking the bear. He narrows his eyes and whispers, “Bitch.”

Ruben deadpans, “Ah, Cruz’s blue eyes. One day he’ll find out who his real father is. Some gringo, no doubt.”

Cheetah gives a fake smile. “You’re a riot. My baby bluesattract all the ladies. Kam bam came right up to me and said she liked my eyes, and that they matched my shorts. I said,Really? Do they also bulge when looking at you?”

I giggle while everyone else seems unamused. His sisters scrunch their faces in disgust.

Adriana’s husband, Santos, who had walked out a few minutes ago, walks back in with a huge pile of gifts in his hands and places them under the tree. He shakes his head. “My wife orders so much from Amazon that if I got a job there, they’d let me work from home.”

Adriana winks at me. “A woman should be so expensive that a man can’t afford a second one.”

I’m about to respond to that sexist comment when Camila does it for me. “Adriana, a woman should be able to take care of herself. Kamryn strikes me as the type of woman who can and will.”

And…Camila is officially my favorite sibling.

Adriana scoffs. “Don’t be a bully, Cami. Not all of us are charity cases willing to spend Cruz’s hard-earned money on medical school.”

Cheetah holds up his hands. “Ladies, back to your corners. No name-calling. The only B-word you should ever call a woman is beautiful. Bitches love when you call them that.”

That momentarily breaks the tension as everyone starts laughing, though Adriana and Camila exchange nasty glances.

We drink and laugh for hours. They’re such a tight-knit, fun family. At some point, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. When I walk out, I see his brother, Ruben, and brother-in-law, Santos, standing in the hallway. They both smile, and Ruben says, “I hope you’re not too overwhelmed. I know we can come on kind of strong.”

Santos nods. “That’s the understatement of the year. I have a much smaller family. When I started dating Adriana, I was like a deer in headlights. At least you know names. It took me months to get that down.”

I let out a laugh. “Yep. I studied hard before we came. I wanted to make sure I knew everyone by sight.”

Ruben turns to Santos and says, “No sólo tiene un gran trasero, sino que también tiene cerebro.”Not only does she have a great ass, but she's got brains too.

Santos chuckles.

Of course they assume I don’t understand what they’re saying. I respond, in perfect Spanish, “Si te gusta mi culo deberías ver mis tetas.”If you like my ass, you should see my tits.

They both widen their eyes in shock, but I simply smirk. “Estan arrestado.”Busted.

They both apologize profusely, but I don’t care. That’s the precise thing I was hoping would happen when I secretly learned Spanish. Cheetah still doesn’t know. I can’t wait for the big reveal.

Knowing what he’s been saying while we have sex for the past few weeks has been amazing. It’s so fucking hot.

Two hours later we’re at one of two large tables. The siblings, spouses, and their parents are at one very long table, and all the grandkids are at another. There are so many people in this family. It’s nuts.

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