Say When by Tara West Read Free Book Online

repressing a shiver. And I keep thinking what I wouldn’t give for one more night in Andrés’s arms.
    He turns to me, his eyes dark and cloudy, and he tugs on my wrist. He pries open my fingers and hands me the paper. “It’s my cell number,” he says. “Call me if you want to.” Then he backs up a step and holds out both hands. The light in his eyes is totally gone now. “No pressure. It’s just I…” He averts his gaze for a moment and the muscles in his neck and shoulders tense up while he grinds his teeth together. “It’s just I really like you.”
    I bite my bottom lip as I look down at the paper. Andrés Cruz and a phone number.
    “Okay,” I say on an exhale, feeling like a balloon has popped in my chest . I like you, too, I think, but I don’t dare say it.

Chapter Six

    I’m not ready to go home yet. Luckily, Grace is famished after her wild night with the rodeo chick, so we pull into an IHOP. Truth be told, I’m hungry, too. It’s amazing how much sex can work up an appetite, especially considering that during the past few weeks with Jackson, sex has had the opposite effect.
    Grace orders a huge stack of chocolate chip pancakes. I order eggs, toast, and a double serving of bacon. It’s not until after the waitress walks away that I realize it’s pretty much the same breakfast Andrés made for me. My food can’t come fast enough, and I place my hand over the hollow ache in my stomach while downing a tall cup of coffee, heavily loaded with cream and sugar.
    “So?” Grace is peering at me over the rim of her juice cup, lifting her pale eyebrows like she knows I’m harboring a dirty little secret. She’s wearing the same clothes I saw her in last night, which means she didn’t go home, either. Amazingly, her blonde hair is swept up into a neat ponytail and her makeup looks flawless. Then I realize Grace’s one-nighter probably had cosmetics in her bathroom.
    “So what?” I ask, averting my gaze. She wants to talk about Andrés, and I don’t know if I’m ready to dredge up memories from last night. I shift uncomfortably in my seat as I cross one leg over the other. My panties feel sticky and I’m really in need of a shower.
    Grace sets down her glass and lays both palms flat on the table while staring me down with twin lasers. “How was it?”
    I bite my lip and lean back in my seat. I shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s best if I just put Andrés out of my mind for good, but Grace is still staring at me, so I finally heave a sigh and relent. “Amazing.”
    Her lips twist into a subtle smile. “No barfing?”
    “God, no,” I exclaim as I set down my drink and rub my hands down my face. “He was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
    There. I said it. Andrés is perfect. Which means I’m a total idiot for walking out on him this morning. I could have taken a shower in his bathroom, feasted on mouth-watering bacon and then spent all day having more mind-blowing sex. Instead, I’m pining over Andrés while dreading the moment Grace will take me home to my overbearing mother.
    Grace leans forward as her eyes narrow to slits. “So why’d I have to come get you?”
    I pick up my coffee and frown into the mug, choosing to focus on the swirling cream rather than look my assessing friend in the eye. “You know my mom.”
    “You know how everyone thinks I became a lesbian because I was fed up with guys?”
    I glance up. Grace is still looking at me with that determined expression. “Yeah.”
    “That’s not why I’m a lesbian.” Grace slants a smile before biting on her bottom lip. “I’ve always had a thing for girls. Always. I just could never show it because I knew my parents would freak.”
    I remember Grace’s parents did freak. Even though they live five states away, they cut her off financially, demanding she admit her thing for girls was just a phase. When Grace refused, her parents drove to campus and took back the car that was still in their name. Luckily, Grace had