Page 175 of The Slayer
She pulled Chuito down with her, until the last of the tension left his body, and they were sweaty and breathless in the wake of the ecstasy. She wanted to do it a thousand more times, and she told him that, but he just kissed her and said, “We have time. I promise.”
“Really?” she asked, knowing how much a vow like that meant to Chuito. “You’ll make sure we have lots of time?”
“Lots,” he promised. “An eternity.”
“You’ll repent?” she asked him hopefully when he pulled out of her. “You’ll make it last forever.”
“I’ll make it last forever.” He sounded strangely solemn despite the lazy lull to his voice. “I owe you forever, mami.”
He held her while she drifted, because her body was so very heavy, as if every ounce of energy she possessed had just been drained out of her. It didn’t feel like such a bad thing, because she had been living off pure adrenaline since Tino had pulled that Ferrari out of Jules’s driveway.
Garnet seemed so far away now.
A part of her realized she might never really get back there.
That happily ever after was officially dead.
But as she fell asleep, she had the thought that maybe there were different happily ever afters. Not as pretty and easy as people like Jules or Wyatt got, but it was still there, because as long as she had Chuito…
She was happy.
Chapter Forty-Five
Alaine wasn’t kind of asleep. She was dead to the world, completely wiped of energy as little puffs of breath hit Chuito’s arm while she rested. He watched her sleep, studying the way the tears had made her eyes puffy and the sex left a flush on her cheeks that took a while to dissipate.
Chuito was blitzed for the first time in years, because her little protest caused him to smoke way more than he planned to get the shake out of her hands. Now, even if he didn’t want to leave her, all he could think about was the fact that he hadn’t eaten in a very long time.
He would seriously kill a motherfucker for food.
So he finally had to roll away from her and gently slipped his arm from beneath her head. Alaine didn’t even move in protest. Seeing just how exhausted she was, he decided to do the fight-with-covers thing and get her snuggled in the bed.
He got dressed and packed up his mother’s shit, because he knew she would probably want it back. Then he stood there, staring at Alaine, knowing he should feel something more than the deep admiration and adoration that welled up and swallowed him with emotion.
Maybe a little guilt.
Or horror.
But he figured that shit would come back and slap him in the face tomorrow. So he left her there and walked down the hallway, wincing at all the noise.
A party was really the last thing he wanted to deal with.
He wasn’t sure how word got out that fast, but it seemed like everyone he knew in Miami was there. He found Luis first and told him to guard the bedroom door. He took a page out of Nova’s book and offered to pay him enough money to make Luis more than happy to miss the party. Then, as Chuito made his way through the crowd, he noticed that everyone seemed obligated to stop him and pat him on the back. The women kissed his cheek. He was feeling suffocated enough that he would’ve turned around and crawled back in bed with Alaine if he weren’t so damn hungry.
Every single one of them said congratulations.
So when he found his mother in the kitchen, cooking and talking to Nova, he just asked, “What the fuck, Mamá?”
She turned away from the stove and said in Spanish, “You’re getting married.”
“Oh yay,” he whispered when she hugged him, because he had forgotten. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry Alaine; it was just the circumstances sort of sucked. “Who told you that?”
“It’s an engagement party,” Nova offered, also speaking Spanish, as if by default, because he had likely been speaking it all afternoon. He leaned against the counter, eating a bowl ofmofongo con chicharrón. “This is excellent, Sofia.”
“Gracias.” His mother gave Nova a pleased smile and went back to cooking.
“I need some,” Chuito said as he gestured to Nova’s bowl. “If it’s my party, I deserve whatever you’re making for it.”
His mother laughed, as if she knew the real reason why he was hungry. “Have fun?”
