Page 5 of The Crush
“Yeah, but still…” Gabe shrugs. “Got farther than I ever did.”
I glance sideways at him, feeling a fresh pang of guilt that I was the only one of my siblings that got to go away to school. “You could still go.”
“And leave home sweet home?” He looks aghast. “Why would I ever want to do something like that?”
“Why indeed?” I smile. “I mean, here there are leftoverbuñuelos.”
Gabe’s expression turns regretful, and I narrow my eyes at him. “You did not eatallof those.”
“No,” he says, clearly offended. “But Aarón did leave the ice cream out on the counter last night.”
I groan, the dessert I’d been promising myself melting away before my eyes. “He is—”
“The worst,” Gabe finishes. “You know, hermanita… I’m pretty sure the store is still open for another hour. I’ll do the rest of your evening chores if you go get us a pint of rocky road.” He arches an eyebrow in my direction. “Deal?”
I grin, already running for my room to change. “Deal.”
Four
Isabel
I swear I can feel him with the way I keep looking over my shoulder, scanning each person that moves past, from the moment I walk through the grocery store doors to the moment I land back out on the sidewalk. Because, of course, we would run into each other.Now.When I am again completely unprepared.
Stepping out of the adjoining liquor store with a brown bag clutched in his left hand, Daniel comes up short as soon as he sees me, and I’m instantly aware that the jeans, light blue T-shirt, and worn-out cap I’d pulled on before leaving may not be creating the polished air I had been planning for our next interaction.Way to go, kid.
“Hey, how are you?” I ask, trying to keep my tone carefree as I come to a stop beneath the street light a few feet in front of him.
“Fine,” he replies, staying to small talk. “You?”
“Good.”
“Sorry I missed dinner.” He shifts his weight and the bag in his hands from side to side. “I’ll make it over one of these days.”
“We’d like that.”
“I do mean it.”
“I believe you. I, um…” He looks at me expectantly, and I try not to focus on how his own dark-green T-shirt and jeans hug him inall the right places. “I just ran into the store for some essentials,” I manage to explain, raising the ice cream in my hand. “What brings you out?”
“Same thing.” He likewise lifts his brown bag, the outline of a bottle clearly illustrating the stark contrast in what we both deemed as essentials.Great.
“I like to drink wine,” I blurt, immediately wishing I could be swallowed up by concrete when he tilts his head in confusion. “I mean, Ilikewine. Not like church wine though. Obviously.”
“Obviously.” The corner of his mouth lifts before he looks away, watching another vehicle drive into the parking lot. He glances then in the direction of his truck parked nearby. “I should probably…”
“Yeah.” I stare down at my shoes, hiding my face beneath the brim of my hat. “I should, too.”Because surely this is enough awkwardness for one interaction.“I’ll see you around.” I turn, starting toward my car so that, at least, I won’t have to watch him leave.
“Isabel, wait.”
I pivot so fast at the sound of his voice that I crash into him again where he has come up behind me, only this time his free hand clasps my upper arm to catch me before I stumble. Surprised, my eyes fly to the sight of his fingers on my bare skin before I lift my gaze to his.
“You okay?” he murmurs, so very close now, and am I crazy to think his eyes look darker from this angle? To wonder if he’s always been thisbig?
“Yeah…I’m—I’m fine.” I still haven’t stepped back, but he also hasn’t let go.
“I should have said the other day that I appreciate you helping out. You and your family,” he says, his voice low. “With my dad. It’s nice of you.”
“Oh, sure. I—” I attempt to swallow down the nerves so I can think, but my mouth goes dry when his gaze appears to dip briefly to my throat. “It’s nothing.”
