Saint shook the bag at her. “Are you not hungry?”
Lola reached for the bag. “Is that even a question? I’m always hungry. Especially if it’s from your abuela.”
Saint smiled and took a spot next to her on the ground. “My sister made this actually, but it was under Abuela’s eagle eye, so it’s as if Abuela made it.”
“Your sister made me food?” Lola tried to keep the hope out of her voice, but couldn’t really. She was anxiously awaiting the day that Saint told her he had told his family about them and wanted her to come meet them. So far she’d met his brothers, Cristian and Eddie, but that was only because they went to the same school and had come across her and Saint talking in the hall. Other than that she didn’t think any of the rest of his family even knew of her existence. Unless Saint had finally told them.
He looked away and she knew that she’d gotten her hopes up for nothing. “Actually she made me a lunch to take with me, but I asked her to include more because I was really hungry.”
Lola brushed off her disappointment. Really what else could she expect. Of course he was going to be careful about introducing their relationship to his upright and successful family. Two-thirds of her male family members were literal criminals. Her mom, well, better not to think of her.
Instead she smiled at Saint. “Well, I’m always up for leftovers from your house whether from your grandma, sister, mom, heck even your dad.” She unwrapped the steak, roasted pork, and ham sandwich, passed him half, and took a huge bite. She moaned at the taste of the triple meat along with the creamy tang of the mayo-ketchup and the crunch of the shoestring potatoes. “Oh my god, this is good,” she said around another full bite.
He smiled at her and reached a hand up to cradle her face. A slow swipe of his thumb from the side of her mouth along her bottom lip made her swallow hard. He lifted his thumb to show her the smudge of mayo-ketchup before popping it in his own mouth and sucking it off.
Lola felt her face flame and not because she was embarrassed. Everything he did seemed perfectly designed to make her fall deeper under his spell.
Lola cleared her throat and dug in the bag for a piece of fried cassava and tossed it in her mouth before she could do something stupid like blurt out,I want to have sex with you tonight, in the middle of a public park surrounded by strangers.
They sat in silence for a few minutes while they ate, but the entire time she could feel his gaze on her. He did that a lot. Stared at her as if he were trying to figure something out. She didn’t know what he was thinking when he did that, but she could practically see the thoughts zooming from one spot to another in his head.
Unable to take another bite, Lola wrapped the rest of the sandwich back up and slipped it into the bag. She pulled out the Kola Champagne and popped it open. After taking a few sips, she passed it to him. He took a few drinks of the cream-like soda and passed it back.
She rested her head on his shoulder while he continued eating. “What made you decide to bring me here?” she asked after a while of just sitting and staring at the fountain.
“I heard they do a water and light show at night.”
“Like the Bellagio in Las Vegas?”
He smiled. “I doubt it will be anything like that, but I thought it could be cool to see.”
“So we’re staying here until nighttime?” Not that night was that far off. The sun was already setting.
“Is there a problem with that? Does Benny have something planned for you?” He looked worried.
Lola shook her head. “He told me happy birthday, made me pancakes, and gave me my present this morning. He picked up an overnight shift, so I’m on my own tonight.”
Saint relaxed against the bench. “I have you to myself all night if I want?”
Lola shivered at the barely suppressed excitement in his voice. She thought of her plans for the night and shivered more. They’d done a lot of making out and touching in the last few weeks and Saint said that he was perfectly content with that, but Lola was ready for more. She’d tell him so after the water show.
Later that night she almost changed her mind.
They lay on her bed kissing and touching, but Lola couldn’t turn off the voice in her head enough to enjoy herself. She kept thinking about what she’d look like in the sexy lingerie she was wearing under her clothes. She’d gone to buy something special for the night, but it hadn’t worked out the way she wanted. The look on the college-aged Victoria’s Secret employee’s face when she told Lola that the bra she wanted didn’t come in the band size Lola needed and that they were out of the matching panties in extra large was seared in her brain. The girl had been thin, slim-hipped, and busty in the right way. She’d looked at Lola with barely veiled pity. Embarrassed beyond belief, Lola had dropped everything on the table and rushed out of the store.
She’d ended up buying a bra and panties from the plus-size women’s section of a department store in the same mall. The bra was black satin, but that was undoubtedly the only sexy thing about it. It had thick straps like a tank top, a wide band with five eyelets, an underwire so thick she didn’t think the Hulk could bend it, and the material had this kind of floral print design that reminded Lola of old lady curtains.
Great,she thought to herself.When Saint takes off your shirt he’s going to think of his abuela’s curtains.She thought about her full coverage high-waisted underwear—the only pair they had in her size that weren’t cotton or shapewear.Then when he sees the matching panties he’s just going to think of his abuela.
She felt her eyes fill with moisture. God, she hated her body. She hated that she didn’t have the trim curves of the other girls in school who walked around looking like mini JLos. Sure Lola had ass for days, but it was accompanied by wide hips, belly fat, back rolls, and dimply thighs. What was she even thinking? She couldn’t show herself to Saint.
It took her a second to even realize that Saint was no longer kissing her neck. He was looking at her in alarm. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you? Am I moving too fast? We can stop.”
Of course he’d say that. He was the sweetest boyfriend ever and he treated her like she was special. She loved him so much and she just didn’t understand how he could feel the same way about her. How could he when he was the perfect guy with the perfect looks and the perfect family? Meanwhile, she was a weirdo.
“How can you love me?” she choked out. “Look at me. Look at my life. An ugly mess.” She didn’t know if she was referring to herself or her life. Maybe both.
“Canela,” he murmured.
