Page 423 of Now and Forever

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“You look very beautiful, Lily, mi belleza!” Ricardo purrs. We are at the restaurant we agreed to meet up at. The party is close by and he wants us to grab something to eat before partying it up.

“Gracias, Ricardo.” I kiss his tanned cheek. He leads us inside the restaurant where we are immediately escorted by the hostess to a table overlooking the breathtakingly beautiful Caribbean Sea.

I don’t consider myself in the ‘knockout’ department, but some guys find me appealing. I’m five-seven, have long, dark brown hair, amber/hazel eyes, but I’m quite lacking in the breast department with my B-cups. The only redeemable asset I have is my perky bottom. My lithe, toned body is thanks to my nighttime swim routine and my dedication to Pilates.

We hit the beach party right around six and the sun is setting beautifully in the backdrop. Spanish reggaeton music is blaring loud on the speakers. I have already had two strawberry margaritas and am loving the carefree beach ambiance.

Ricardo and I go over to the bar and he orders four shots of Patron.

“To mi belleza and to your beautiful vacation in Mexico!” Ricardo holds up his shot glass.

“Cheers, Ricky Ricardo!” I hoot back and take the shots back to back. The Patron burns smoothly as it goes down my throat and into my stomach. “Ahh!” I shiver.

“Come on, time to party!”

Ricardo hugs my hips as we grind to the music. I’m pretty much plastered, but I don’t care much because I’m letting go and finally having fun!

I giggle when Ricardo’s lips find the back of my ear. “You smell good, Belleza.”

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!” Drake yanks me off Ricardo in an instant. I blink a few times. My hazy, drunken state confuses me for a second.

“Drake!”

“Hey! She’s my girl. Go look for a different one to tango with, no? She’s mine!” a drunken Ricky Ricardo says.

“Lily’s always been mine.”

“Mierda!” Ricardo cusses before he leaves for the bar.

“Hey!” I call out to him, but Drake drags me away from the party and stomps up the shoreline that leads to the villa. It’s half a mile away and I’ll be damned if I’m walking that far drunk.

“What the FUCK Drake! I’m going back to the party!” I try to detach my arm from his tight hold, but he holds me closer.

“Let me go, Drake!”

“Don’t fight me off, Lily. You’re drunk!” We stop walking as he glares at me with those steel eyes. Shit, the moonlight makes him look like a dark, hot… sexy panther.

Earth to Lily, hello? I swallow. Get a grip, Lil, seriously!

“What are you doing, Drake?” I whisper to him, searching the depths of his ice grey eyes.

“We’ll talk about it once we get to the villa,” he says, turning on his heel and starting to walk again.

I look back at the party and realize that we’ve been walking for quite some time now. In the distance, the beach is alight with the full moon. I stop to take in the scene and try to calm my hammering heart. Why is Drake acting out of character? He’s never acted this way.

Maybe he realizes he loves me after all? Fat chance… but what if that is it?

“Drake, stop.”

“What?” he asks over his shoulder, but doesn’t stop to gaze at the beautiful moonlit sea.

I’m unsure of how to broach the subject, but it’s now or never. It’s just him and me out here tonight. Surely he’s not going to push me away?

“Why are you acting like a jealous boyfriend? I thought you said you weren’t interested . . .” I bite my lip as I see him stomp toward me. His chiseled body looks even more appealing with the moonlight highlighting the planes of his body and his eyes are a smoldering, liquid silver.

My body starts to tremble just looking at the handsome creature before me. His face is masked with something I can’t quite figure out, it’s intense and forbidding. We stand there for a good minute, staring at each other. Wondering what the fuck is going on. “Drake . . .”

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