Page 25 of Through My Window
“Are you all right?” Apolo asks as soon as I appear at his side again. “You’re all red.”
I try hard to fake a slight smile as I sit down. “I’m fine. I’m just a little hot.”
Apolo’s eyebrows furrow, almost touching. “You saw something unpleasant, didn’t you?”
No, actually, I just left your brother with an erection the size of the Eiffel Tower.
Apolo takes my silence as a yes and shakes his head. “I’ve told Artemis that the candle room isn’t a good idea, but he won’t listen to me. Why would he listen to me, anyway? I’m just the kid in the family.” I notice a certain bitterness in his sweet voice when he says it.
“You’re not a child,” I say.
“To them I am.”
“Them?”
“Ares and Artemis.” He sighs and takes a sip of his soda. “Even to my parents, they don’t take me into account when making decisions at all.”
“That can be a good thing, Apolo. You have no responsibilities. This is a stage of life that, according to my aunts, you have to enjoy. There will be time to worry about those things when you’re an adult.”
“Enjoy? My life is boring. I have no friends, at least not real ones, and in my own family I’m a nobody.”
“Wow, you sound very sad for such a young man.”
He plays with the metal rim of his soda. “My grandfather says I’m an old man in a child’s body.”
Ah, Grandpa Hidalgo. The last I heard, he’d been placed in a nursing home. The family made that decision after discussions among his four children, including Apolo’s dad. From the sadness in Apolo’s eyes, I could tell that this was one of the many decisions where they didn’t take his feelings into account.
That innocent, beautiful face shouldn’t look that sad, so I stand up and offer him my hand. “Do you want to have fun?”
Apolo offers me a skeptical look. “Raquel, I don’t think that . . .”
The alcohol still circulating in my veins motivates me even more. “Get up, Lolo, it’s time to have some fun.”
Apolo laughs, and his laugh reminds me so much of his brother’s, except that Ares’s laugh doesn’t sound innocent, just sexy.
“Lolo?”
“Yes, that’s you now, forget about Apolo, the good, boring boy. Now you’re Lolo, a boy who came to have fun tonight.”
Apolo stands up and follows me apprehensively. “Where are we going?”
I ignore him and lead him down the staircase back to the dance floor. I’m surprised I don’t fall in these heels. I look around and once again find Dani dancing with someone, but it’s a girl this time.
Okay, Dani, you seem to be having a great night.
I head straight to the bar and order four glasses of vodka and four more of lemonade. The bartender pours them in front of us.
“Are you ready?”
Apolo smiles from ear to ear. “I’m ready.”
Before I can say anything, Apolo downs one drink after another. Leaving the four small glasses empty, he turns to me, and I watch in horror as he holds onto the bar while his body tries to handle so much alcohol at once. “Oh shit, I feel so strange.”
“You’re crazy! Those were for me! The lemonade was for you!”
Apolo covers his mouth with his hand, grinning. “Oops!” He takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor.
“Apolo, wait!”
