Page 47 of Wasted On Us

Mateo sits on the back porch, smiling the ridiculous childlike grin he wears when he knows he’s doing something he shouldn’t be, and my heart melts.

“Welcome,” he says before I pull him into the deep kiss I’ve been waiting for all day.

Chapter Twenty

Mateo

Part of me feels wrong about this, dragging Mrs. Lambert and her daughter into our parents’ feud without their knowledge. But I’ve been doing her favors for so long that I can safely say that she owes me one night, one single favor in return. I promise myself that I’ll make sure to do a solid walkthrough on the way out, double-check that all of the faucets and lights still work and that nothing smells weird or is a fire hazard. With two larger-than-life fathers, it’s not often that I do things for myself, and I get the feeling that Eden doesn’t either. I think that it’s time for both of us to be a little more self-indulgent.

Besides, if I eat some of these snacks she left me, I know that will make Mrs. Lambert happy. She’s one of those ladies much like my Abuelita who like to show their affection through food.

Eden looks just as wonderful as she did at Sunset Bluff, or that afternoon I first saw her standing in the middle of the street. There’s something so magical about the way that she looks at night, the moonlight bouncing off of her hair. I lead her through the patio door, disabling the alarm the moment we step inside. It’s funny. I’m so used to seeing the Lambert house the way it looked my whole life. But now it’s all fake, temporary furniture set up by the realtor to stage the house for potential buyers. It’s jarring, but it makes what we’re doing tonight a little easier. This isn’t even really Mrs. Lambert’s house, not anymore. It’s no different than hanging out in the showroom of a furniture store, taking a date on a stroll around IKEA to look for throw pillows and make fun of the funny product names.

The essence of this home, the thing that made it real, left at the same time Mrs. Lambert did.

I lead her through the kitchen and upstairs to the master suite, furnished with an extravagant king-sized bed and an electric fireplace. She gasps at the rose petals I scattered all over the expensive duvet, the candles flickering and casting shadows along the walls, and the champagne bucket I lugged up here earlier and filled with ice. It isn’t anything expensive, but it’s the thought that counts. I wanted this to feel a little more romantic and less like a quick and seedy hook-up in an abandoned house.

“Are yousureit’s okay that we’re in here?” Eden asks, taking a stroll around the room, glancing at the photo frames with the sample pictures of strangers still inside.

“I’m supposed to look after the place until it sells.” Coming behind her, I place a flute in her hand. She rolls her eyes at the way I dodge the question. “Mrs. Lambert told me to think of her place as my own. She even offered to let me live here until it sold, told me how much safer she would feel if someone were inside it, but I couldn’t do that to Abuelita. My dad gets to be a bit much without a buffer.”

“ShouldIbe here?” she asks again, hoping the pronoun switch prods me into a little more honesty.

Slipping one of my hands around her waist, I pull her backward against me. “I’m looking after you too. And just because I knew you would say that, I shot off a quick text to Mrs. L to double check, and she told me to make ourselves at home. In fact, she was pretty happy when I said I had a girlfriend.”

“A girlfriend, huh?” she teases, arching an eyebrow up at me. The twinkle in her eyes tells me she’s enjoying this, the playful game that’s started between us. She takes a sip of her champagne, the hint of a smirk on her lips.

“Well, I didn’t mean to assume,” I begin, a smirk of my own playing on my lips. The spark in her eyes challenges me, urges me to go ahead. So, I do. “Eden, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

Her laugh fills the room, light and genuine, as she turns in my arms to face me. “Why, Mateo, I thought you’d never ask,” she replies with a playful roll of her eyes. But then she meets my gaze seriously, her hand coming to rest against my cheek, her thumb tracing circles on my skin. “Yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

The moment her words leave her lips, a feeling of contentment washes over me. For the first time in a while, the future seems to hold more promise than I ever thought possible.

Eden’s next question makes me pause, her words rippling through the air between us. “And what exactly does being Mateo García’s girlfriend entail?” Her voice is playful, but there's an underlying seriousness in her tone. “I mean, considering your history, there’s no researchable precedent.”

My heart stutters a bit at that. It’s true, I’ve been known to play the field. But Eden is different. There’s something about her that makes me want to be better, to do things differently.

“Being my girlfriend...” I start, my gaze holding hers. “It means you’re the one I think about when I wake up and the last thought in my head before I sleep. It means you’re the only one I want to share my day with, and the only one I crave to touch, to hold, to...” I let my voice trail off, the unsaid words hanging heavy between us, “kiss, to taste, to pleasure with everything that I am.” My hands move to her hips, pulling her closer. I can feel her breath hitch, the heat of her body radiating against mine. It’s electrifying, the way we fit together.

She moans. “What else?”

“It means you’re the one who makes me feel... alive,” I confess, my voice barely above a whisper. My heart throbs in my chest, the truth of my words reverberating in the silent room.

Her eyes are wide as she looks at me, her lips parting in a soft gasp. The intensity in her gaze mirrors the feelings inside me. For the first time in my life, I’m ready to dive headfirst into a relationship, into love. And the only woman I want to take that plunge with is Eden. I can only hope she feels the same way.

There’s still a slight edge of tension in her voice, but I can feel it slipping away as I kiss my way along her throat and up against her jaw. “By the way, what you said before… do I need looking after?”

“No.” I pause for a moment, before making the decision that it’s time to open up to her. At least a little bit. Emotional honesty isn’t my strong suit, but it’s a skill I’m going to have to develop if I want this relationship to work. “It’s something men tell women to make it seem like we’re noble when really, we’re completely taken by the woman and don’t want to give away how deeply we feel.”

Eden takes a sip from her glass before setting it down on the nightstand. “Tell me more.”

“Anything for you, sweet girl.” I continue my route from before, scraping my teeth along the skin on her throat and lavishing soft kisses on her cheek, nibbling gently at her earlobe.

“I feel so safe when I’m with you, Mateo,” she whispers, letting her head roll back along her shoulders and closing her eyes. “More please.”

My fingers find the buttons of her blouse, exposing her chest and slipping the fabric away from her shoulders. I’m delighted to find that she’s chosen the same lingerie as before, the lacy pink set that she wore at the cabin. The color flatters her skin and looks so delicately feminine. Gently grabbing the bottom hem of my t-shirt, she pulls it over my head and tosses it somewhere on the carpet, before dragging her nails along my chest in that way that she knows drives me wild.

I unhook the back of her bra with ease, and she lets it fall from her arms without hesitation. I bring a hand to her breast, cupping it with my palm, and she groans between her teeth. It feels so perfect here, in this little bubble of ours outside of reality. It makes me wonder what it would be like to have a bedroom like this, a whole house just for us, that I could return to at the end of every day. It’s a scary thought, not something I’ve ever longed for before, and I’m happy for the distraction when she starts to undo my belt, before reaching for my fly and easing my pants down over my hips.

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