I give him a grateful smile. “Thanks, you guys. All of you. Really.”
“Don’t let that cute baby smile fool you, though,” Monique says. “He can be a little devil when he wants to be.” My heart shutters in my chest at her choice of words, but thankfully no one seems to notice. Or at least I don’t think anyone does. But then Kasey asks, “So what is going on with you and Emilio?” And I freeze like a deer caught in headlights.
My eyes flick to Monique’s, who’s sporting a confused expression because I’m a terrible friend and still haven’t told her who exactly Luis’s father is or that I hooked up with him in a classroom after lunch.
“Yeah. Did you guys really have a thing before? I didn’t realize you knew each other.” Allie adds.
“Really well, too,” Aaron interjects. “Pretty sure Emilio wasn’t lying about that orgasm he gave you based on your face when he announced it to the entire class.”
My cheeks heat and once again my gaze finds Monique’s. Her eyes widen, sudden understanding dawning, and I implore her with my eyes not to say anything.
“Orgasm? You and—” she barely stops herself from blurting out you and Luis’s father, but thankfully manages to catch her herself. “You and Emilio Chavez fucked?” she says instead, knowing exactly who he is with him being one of Dominique’s best friends. “When? I’m your best friend. How did I not know about this? And eww… Emilio is one of Dominique’s best friends. He’s like an older brother to me.” She visible shivers.
I bury my head in my hands. “Can we please not make this a thing, and we didn’t have sex. There was no …” I shake my head. “Just no. Let’s pretend nothing ever happened. Okay? Okay. Glad we cleared that up.”
Allie snorts. “You may not have boned but he gave you an O during school hours.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I can’t judge. Roman’s caught me off guard a time or two too.” A sly smile curls her lips. “But Emilio doesn’t usually hook up on campus, and he’s staying tight-lipped about the whole thing, which is unusual for him. It’s driving me insane. So hard no. We are definitely not dropping it. I want all the details!”
Kasey snorts. “You mean because he usually brags about his conquests from the rooftops after spending the night at their place?”
My stomach drops, and Allie throws a sofa pillow at her. “He does not. He just…” She huffs and shakes her head. “Emilio is a great guy. A little bit of a man whore but a great guy.”
Now it’s Aaron who snorts though he raises both hands in surrender when Allie glares his way. “I wasn’t disagreeing with the great guy part,” he rushes to say. “Only the part about being a little bit of a man whore.”
“Ignore him. The guys had a falling out and he’s still a little salty. Emilio isn’t that bad.”
The face Kasey makes says she disagrees. “Right! He’s so great that he fooled around with Bibiana and has been all over every senior and junior girl since.”
I swallow hard, hating that she’s right.
“Please tell me you’re smart enough not to get involved with him as anything more than whatever it is you two are now? If you wanna fool around with him, have at it. Do the dirty. Just … don’t get attached,” she warns.
“It’s really not a thing. I made a stupid mistake. One I don’t plan on repeating. Let’s…talk about something else. Anything else.”
“No way,” Allie says. “There was mention that you guys hooked up before you moved. Is that true? Come on, please. Emilio is being so tight-lipped about it and getting anything out of Roman on the subject is like pulling teeth. I need the juicy details. I promise after you tell me everything, I won’t bug you again.”
“Way to sweeten the deal,” Monique chimes in. “But I’m with Allie. Give us all the details.” So not helping.
At the mention of our hookup, Aaron gives me a considering look. One that has me fidgeting in my seat.
“There isn’t much to tell. We hooked up one time.”
“Before you moved, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve lived in Sun Valley my whole life, so,” I shrug. “We were bound to run into each other, but it was no big deal. Really. One hookup. That was it.”
“Was it good?” Kasey asks. “I’ve always wondered why chicks throw themselves at him. I’m assuming he’s at least decent in the sack. Is that why you fell for his act and fooled around at school with him?”
“Really?” Aaron admonishes his sister.
“What? It’s a valid question.”
I scrub my hands over my face. “It was fine. Good. But like I said, it was a one-time thing.”
“So, the classroom was—”
“A mistake. And not sex. He just…” I look away and swallow.
“Aw, you like him!” Allie sing-songs and now it’s me throwing a pillow at her.
