“Um… no, he’s my friend,” I say, not really wanting to start this conversation with him.
“Good,” he says, extending his hand. “Alejandro.”
I shake it before quickly pulling my hand back. “Beth.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Beth.”
He smiles, and the look in his eyes tells me he’s the kind of man that can get anyone he wants, and he knows it. Usually I’d revel in his attention, but I can only imagine the thoughts that are running through Angel’s head right now and I really don’t want to cause a scene. I lock eyes with El Jefe, desperately wanting to get away from this clearly uncomfortable situation.
Luckily he nods and says, “It looks like the others are keen to catch up with you.”
I glance at the other table, they’re all watching us cautiously, except Angel, who looks like he wants to kill someone.
“I’d better go and say hi then,” I say, before walking over, trying to keep it casual and not break into a run.
There are no spaces next to Angel, and as much as I want to sit on his lap like the club girls do, so everyone, well… Alejandro, knows I’m his, it’s not exactly in line with our ‘keeping us a secret’ idea. Tank pulls up a chair for me next to him and I sit down, grateful at least that my back is to El Jefe’s table. Hopefully if I ignore Alejandro for the rest of the night, he’ll get the idea.
“Hey,” Tank says, pulling me into a side hug, “glad you finally decided to join us.”
“Sorry it’s been so long, work and college have been busy.”
“It’s all good, darlin’,” Pretty Boy says, “besides, you picked an interesting night to come around.”
“Yeah, what is with all the tension? I can hardly breathe the air feels so heavy.”
“Sorry, darlin’, not our story to share. But you’re safe with us, although it seems like Alejandro has set his sights on you.”
“Yeah, what did he want?” Tank asks.
I look at Angel, but his expression is back to being unreadable.
“He was just introducing himself,” I say, “honestly, seems like a bit of a creep if you ask me.”
Angel’s face softens slightly, and he relaxes back in his chair.
“So,” I say, “catch me up, what have I missed?”
Diablo
The temptation to stride over to Alejandro and chop his fucking hand off when he held it out to Elizabeth is still burning me from the inside out. The way he looked at her, his filthy thoughts were practically hovering over him in neon, taunting me. That combined with the voices of the club girls in my head, how they talked about how handsome he is and how much they want him, it had me seeing red.
Fuck. I hate the thought of him being within ten feet of my girl, let alone talking to her and shaking her hand. As if Diablos Rojos being here isn’t tense enough already considering our history, now Alejandro has to go and take an interest in my girl.
My anger lifted slightly when I saw her pull her hand from his grasp, not lingering like the other girls had, and at least she wasn’t even smiling at him.
I don’t notice what the others are saying at first, I’m too busy glaring at Alejandro after he watched her walk away. I know that look, I look at her like that; but the difference is, she’s mine. I’m brought back to my senses when Pretty Boy mentions his name…
“…although it seems like Alejandro has set his sights on you.”
“Yeah, what did he want?” Tank asks.
She looks at me, her expression nervous, before saying, “He was just introducing himself, honestly, seems like a bit of a creep if you ask me.”
A weight lifts from my chest, and I can breathe again; she thinks he’s a creep. I almost want to sigh with relief, but I have to keep it together.
“So,” she says, “catch me up, what have I missed?”
I spend the next hour or so watching Elizabeth chat with the guys, loving that she shows so much interest in them, asking what they’ve been doing and what bikes they’re working on. Every so often I glance back towards Alejandro and several times I’ve seen him looking over at her, it makes me want to gouge his fucking eyes out.
