Page 79 of The Crush
Eli shifts in his chair. “No, no, I go by myself when he’s…uh…” Eli glances at my dad, remembering his full audience. “I go while Aarón is…busy.”
There’s another pause. One beat, and then another, and then another, until one by one everyone starts to laugh, even me.
“Hold on,” Gabe says again, obviously delighted. “Does Aarón know this?”
“No, and don’t tell him,” Eli says back, pointing a warning finger at Gabe. “He wouldn’t understand, and I’d never hear the end of it.”
Gabe draws a cross over his heart and holds up a hand. “Oh, I’ll take it to the grave, hermano.”
“Thanks,” Eli mutters, looking sheepish again “I know it seems like a stupid thing to keep a secret. But…easier that way sometimes, you know?”
Crack.
No one seated around the campfire argues, and the silent but unanimous agreement makes me wonder how many secrets live in this circle alone.
“Well,” Gabe says, perhaps wondering the same as he reaches for a bottle resting on the ground beside his chair. “How does everyone feel about one more drink?”
Sixty-Five
Isabel
My world is spinning. Eyes opened or closed, I feel like I’m falling, one step away from hitting the ground.
Spin. Spin. Spin. Spin.
A fixed point above me, Daniel chuckles, the dimples I love making an appearance, and—God,he has the best laugh. And God, he’s sopretty.
“Thank you, Isabel,” he tells me, really grinning now as he tries to carry me down the hall without bumping into anything. “You’re pretty, too.”
That’s when I realize. “Am I talking out loud right now?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” I think about that for only a second before deciding, “That’s fine. Iwantyou to know you’re pretty. And sweet. And good. And smart. And…” I sigh. “Pretty.”
I see him bite his lip and glance briefly at the ceiling, so I do the same, wondering what he’s looking at. But then the earth is moving again.
“Sit right here, okay?” he tells me as he sets me on the edge of his bed. No, my bed, too. “Don’t move.”
“Why? Where are you—” I stand to follow him, swaying a bit and throwing my hands out to steady myself. He sighs as my handsmacks into his chest, catching it and kissing my palm. “I’m getting you a glass of water. That you will drink. Please.”
“Oh,” I say again, trying to scooch farther up onto the bed. “Good. I’m pretty thirsty.”
He looks at the ceiling again.What is up there? Wait, is he rolling his eyes?
“Don’t move, Isabel.”
I cross my arms, pouting a little, but by the time he comes back I’ve gotten over it.
“Sometimes…” I look at him carefully, leaning in and studying the lines of his face as he tries to get me to take another sip of water. I love the slope of his nose and the cut of his jaw. Really love even lower where his neck is exposed between the top buttons of his shirt. “Sometimes…” I start again. “Sometimes I want to bite you.”
He laughs,reallylaughs, and I beam.
“Sometimes youdobite me,” he says, still chuckling but also cupping my face affectionately with one hand. “But I don’t mind.”
“No, youlikeit,” I say, leaning into his palm. “I like it, too.”
He raises his eyebrow as his jaw works, mischief back in his eyes. “I know you do, Isabel.”
