“You have no idea.”
Thankfully, the buzz of my phone distracted me from any dirty thoughts about Mateo. It was a message from the group chat I was in with Josie, Tasha, Lydia, and Mila. Being in the group has been a nice surprise, especially after having our relationship splattered across social media.
The girls have been sweet in giving advice on how to block it all out, explaining that soon everyone will move onto something else. They understood what it was like being in this position.
“Has your phone been blowing up the last few days?” Mateo asked.
“It was but I muted my notifications.” The girls told me to silence all my social media notifications so I couldn’t see the influx of comments, follows, and tags in posts.
I had known being with Mateo would bring scrutiny and attention, so I wasn’t all that surprised at seeing tens of thousands of new followers, or comments on all my posts trying to pick me apart.
There were a lot ofShe’s not that pretty, Mateo could do way better than her, and Who even is she?There were quite a bit of nice ones, though. Girls commenting about how they loved my hair, how they couldn’t wait to watch me skate again, how hot of a couple Mateo and I were.
The last one was kind of funny considering there’s beenno actual photos of us together out in public yet. We spent the weekend in Mateo’s apartment doing…things. Then Monday, Mateo had his team meeting, followed by practice all week for their game coming up Saturday. I had my own practice, so we didn’t spent as much time together the last few days as we would have liked.
He opened his mouth to say something, most likely to apologize for the hundredth time, but I put my hand up to stop him. “Don’t even start. Like I’ve told you a billion times now. I. Don’t. Care.”
It was sweet how much he worried for me, but I was fine. None of this bothered me. Hopefully he realized that soon or I was going to slap him.
He squeezed my thigh. “Okay, okay.”
“Good. So tell me, what’s your go-to road trip song?”
“Say cheese!”Mateo held his phone up in my direction, ready to snap my picture.
We were currently on a boat, one that Mateo booked out completely for just the two of us, with Niagara Falls directly ahead.
“Cheese!” I grinned from ear to ear, arms spread out, leaning back against the railing at the very front of the boat. We weren’t even to the Falls yet, and I was soaked.
The moment we stepped foot on the tour boat, it started raining. At first, it was light, and the little clear ponchos they gave us kept us dry. Then it started pouring, soaking the two of us from head to toe.
Now it was a light drizzle, paired with the mist comingfrom the Falls. Despite being absolutely drenched, I was having the time of my life.
“Would you two like a photo together?” Paul, our tour guide, asked with an easy smile. He’d been incredible the entire ride, giving us space without making it obvious. I couldn’t tell if he recognized Mateo or if he was just that thoughtful.
Mateo handed his phone to Paul before making his way toward me. Clad in a see-through poncho, hair stuck to his forehead, Mateo was handsome. He pulled me into his side, hand wrapped around my waist.
Rain ran down my face as I grinned at the camera, resting my own hand over Mateo’s chest. When Paul lowered the phone, I turned to him.
Mateo was already looking at me, expression softer than it had been a second ago. A piece of my soaked hair clung to my cheek and, without saying anything, he reached up, brushing it back behind my ear. His thumb lingered, wiping away a trail of water down my cheek.
Something shifted in his expression, and his hand slipped from my cheek to my waist, pulling me a little closer like he couldn’t help it.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured.
I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head. “I’m drenched.”
“Yeah.” He smiled, eyes dropping briefly to my lips before finding mine again. “And still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
My heart stumbled over itself as I leaned into him, my hand tightening around the plastic poncho as I smiled. “Good answer.”
Mateo bent his head, his breath ghosting over my lips, warm against the cool mist around us. For a second, neither of us moved. Just stood there, smiling like idiots who were caught in the moment. There could have been a hundredpeople around us, and I wouldn’t notice any of them, not with this incredible man before me.
I moved up onto my toes, tilting my head and grazing his lips with mine. It was enough to make him finally kiss me.
It was soft at first, but when I melted into him, his hand slid up to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as the rain continued to fall around us. Water ran down both our faces, mixing with our lips.
I barely felt the cold, or my soaked clothes sticking to my body as I kissed him. I swore my toes curled in my shoes at the way his lips caressed mine.
