Sleeping with the Frenemy (Vega Family Love Stories #3)

Chapter 6

6

Leo still couldn’t believe that Abuelo Papo and Do?a Fina’s spur-of-the-moment plan had worked. As of this morning, less than a week after the idea had come up, he was officially living with Sofi. Sure they were only roommates, but it was only a matter of time before those lines blurred as they always did when it came to him and Sofi. Of course, he’d help it along in any way he could. To that end, he knocked on her bedroom door. She’d taken the bedroom all the way across the apartment from his, claiming that it was the only other room with windows, but he knew it was because she wanted to be as far away from him as possible and she wanted to maintain some boundaries between them...good luck with that.

Sofi opened the door. She was wearing a pair of high-waisted biker shorts, a snug crop top that left a strip of her gorgeous brown skin exposed, and an oversized jean jacket. Her perfectly made-up face was looking up at him from under the brim of her black fitted baseball cap. God, she was beautiful. “What’s up?”

Leo shook himself mentally and remembered his plan. “I was thinking that we should probably go grocery shopping. I haven’t been in a bit and the kitchen is basically empty.”

She arched a brow. “You know I don’t cook.”

“But you’ll need some stuff like coffee, water, snacks, breakfasty-type things for before work...” He trailed off.

“Leo.” Sofi sighed. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Sofi, it’s literally just grocery shopping. Chill out.” It one hundred percent was not simply grocery shopping, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Fine,” she huffed, all attitude. “But I’m on my way to my barre class right now.” She brushed past him and closed her door behind her.

Leo shrugged like he didn’t care. “How long is your class?”

“Fifty minutes.” She headed past the living room to the entry way where she sat on the small bench to put on her shoes.

“That’s cool. I have some stuff to do anyway, so I’ll text you where I’m at and you can meet me there.”

She stood up. “Okay.” She grabbed her purse and keys off the little table. “I’ll see you in a little bit, then.”

“Yep,” Leo said, wandering back toward the living room as if he had no cares in the world.

An hour and twenty minutes later, Leo stood in the middle of the cereal aisle hedged in by a plethora of colorful boxes. He looked down at his cart. There were already two boxes of cereal in it, one a boring adult cereal that advertised heart health and extra fiber and a super sugary kids cereal with tons of marshmallows. A guy needed options.

Why did I come over here again?

He knew something had sent him back to this aisle but he couldn’t remember what. He already knew from experience that trying to re-create the thought process that sparked whatever idea he’d had was futile. It would most likely only send him scrambling to another aisle and another only to end up still missing things. He should’ve made a damn grocery list, but Leo had never been a grocery list–type shopper. He bought exactly what he needed to make what he wanted that day and went about his merry way. ADHD brain for the win!

“Why are you just standing there looking like a little kid who can’t find his mom?” a warm and slightly husky voice asked from behind him.

He didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. Her voice was etched into his brain like engravings on stone. “Probably because I am lost,” he responded as he turned to face Sofi.

“You’re in the grocery store,” she informed him with just enough snark to make it clear she was being a smart-ass.

He narrowed his eyes at her from under the brim of his Cubs snapback cap. “Cute.”

Her lips quirked. “I see you got started without me.”

“Well, I felt like a weirdo just standing at the front of the store waiting.”

She looked in the cart. “Beer, wine, water, and cereal. Food for champions.”

“Hey, I just started. Besides, I didn’t want to get stuff without talking to you first.”

“Like about whether or not we’re just going to split the bill?”

He nodded. “That was always the easiest way to go about it with Ricky, unless there is something one person wants that the other person doesn’t eat.”

“I’ve never actually had a roommate, so I’ll defer to you on that.”

Leo had forgotten about that. She’d never even lived in the dorms in college, preferring to pay rent for a tiny studio apartment. The apartment she’d stayed in by herself until leaving for France. “Great, then let’s get started.”

“So is there like a list or something?” She paused and shook her head. “Wait. Nevermind. I forgot who I was talking to. We’ll shop based on vibes. Good vibes only, right?”

“You get it,” Leo said and smiled. Of course, she didn’t get it. Sofi was one of the most type A people he’d ever met. She made lists like Leo made chaos. He was positive she already had a detailed mental checklist of what she wanted organized by department, aisle, and probably brand name. Meanwhile, he still couldn’t remember why he’d circled back to the cereal aisle. However, he appreciated her being flexible despite how much the lack of structure was probably making her twitchy.

“So where to next?” she asked.

Leo thought about it. “Unless there is anything you want here, we should probably start at the produce section,” he replied. He was sure there were things there that they’d need. He knew for a fact that Sofi liked eating tons of fruits and vegetables and always had smoothies in the morning.

Their short walk to the produce section was silent and not necessarily tense but it wasn’t comfortable either. Leo felt like he did the first time he’d entered a burning building, he was nervous and excited for the adrenaline rush, but also terrified he’d mess up. Something about this moment told him that this was his last chance with Sofi. If he took one wrong step he could crash through the burning floor and into the flames.

He searched his mind for something to say, some way to reach Sofi behind the flaming door she was locked behind. He looked around. They were already in the produce section, standing right next to the watermelons. “Hey,” he told Sofi.

She looked at him.

He smirked. “What did the cantaloupe say to her date?”

Her eyebrow went up. “Are you really about to make a melon joke right now?”

“I was, but you ruined it with your joylessness.”

“It’s not joylessness. That was just...” She looked around and reached into a bin on the other side of the walkway. “Corny,” she finished, holding up an ear of corn.

Leo snorted. “Mine was way better than that.”

“You wish.” She motioned to the corn, silently asking him if he wanted some.

He was cutting back on starchy stuff to get in shape for the exam, but Sofi was playing with him again. He wasn’t going to let some stupid diet ruin it, so he just nodded. “Grab two of them.”

They moved on and Leo examined the produce in front of him for another idea. He found it. He held up his prize. “Hey, girl,” he said in an over-the-top sexy voice. “What’s it gonna take for you to turnip at my place?”

Sofi scrunched her adorable nose but she looked around. She reached behind him. “I don’t find that a-peel-ing.” She held a bunch of bananas.

“What?” he said, faking offense. “That’s bananas.” He took them from her and put them in the cart.

She shook her head. “You’re such a dork,” she told him, but she was grinning.

“And you must be an onion, because looking at you makes me wanna cry from happiness.”

She actually chuckled at that.

Leo smiled. Then he saw the perfect vegetable. He’d just reached his hand out when Sofi stopped him.

“Nope,” she said, swatting his hand away. “Eggplant jokes are too easy. Do better.”

“Fine,” he huffed and walked on. He picked up a carton of strawberries from the end cap. “But that was berry rude.”

Sofi reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bag. “Bitch, peas,” she said, tossing the sugar snap peas into the cart.

Leo laughed. “Nice,” he said. He took another look around. He zeroed in on the shelves at the end of the section, which were full of different kinds of seeds and nuts.

Sofi followed his gaze to the same area and then gave him a “don’t you dare” look.

Oh. Of course, he dared. He pushed his cart over to it and casually began looking. “Lola made this salad the other day that had roasted pumpkin seeds in it. It was bomb as fuck.” He pretended to look at the different pepitas options.

“Who is Lola?” Sofi asked, there was an edge to her voice that Leo was all too familiar with. It was the same tone she used when she saw him out with another woman and he was thrown for a second, until he remembered that Sofi had already distanced herself from them when Lola came back to Humboldt Park. Leo held back a pleased smile at her jealousy. “Lola is Saint’s girlfriend. She works at El Vecindario. Actually, she’s the director of the new El Hogar that they built together.”

“Oh.”

Before Sofi could start overthinking her reaction and shut down on him, he grabbed a bag of walnuts and tossed them to her. “Here, hold my nuts.”

She caught them on reflex but the look she gave him was unamused. “That was unoriginal.” She dropped them in the cart.

“The classics are the classics for a reason,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Are you done?”

“With the produce puns? Yes, for now. But I know how much you love salads so lettuce grab more veggies.” She shot him a look and he grinned. “Okay, now I’m done.”

He followed Sofi while she grabbed tomatoes, cucumbers, and baby spinach. She’d just reached for a bag of prewashed kale when she spoke again. “So you moved into your parents’ old place after living with Saint?” Sofi asked.

“Yeah. He wanted to convert his basement into a garden level terrace for me, but I was ready for my own space by then.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know Saint. He wants to take care of everyone.”

Sofi nodded. “It’s like his superpower.”

“He’s a real pain in the ass about it though,” Leo grumbled. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my brother and I’m grateful for everything he’s done. My whole family has done so much, but—” He cut himself off, unsure of how to continue.

“You feel smothered by it.”

“Yes,” Leo agreed with feeling. “I can’t do anything without one of them trying to jump in to do it for me or reminding me to take it easy. But what am I supposed to do? Tell them to leave me alone like an ungrateful shit?”

“That must be really frustrating,” Sofi said.

It really was. But Leo didn’t want to talk about that anymore. He wanted to continue making Sofi laugh. They were now in the meat area so Leo pointed to the cooler next to him and said in the cheesiest pickup line voice he could muster, “Are you a roast? Because that rump is well-done.”

Sofi stopped walking, so he did too.

He turned and she was covering her face with her hands and shaking her head. Her shoulders shook as she laughed. “I cannot with you,” she said between chuckles.

Leo beamed. “You liked that one, huh?”

She dropped her hands and shrugged. “I mean, it’s an obvious lie—” she turned to the side as if to demonstrate “—but I appreciate the wordplay.”

He was probably one of very few people who knew about Sofi’s body issues. She frequently disparaged her lack of curves and claimed to be shaped like a boy, but that wasn’t true at all. Did she have the pronounced and voluptuous curves of a Kardashian sister in the 2010s? No. But no one would ever call her figure “boyish.” She was sleek and compact like an expensive sports car.

Had Sofi been anything other than Black and Latina, she’d have appreciated the fact. However, both cultures tended to take Sir Mix-a-Lot a little too seriously when he said, “little in the middle but she got much back.” According to many in the communities, the perfect woman needed to have a pronounced hourglass figure with a bubble butt and a flat tummy. Leo didn’t see it that way. He’d dated women of every shape, size, and color, because ultimately the outside of a person didn’t really matter. Not to say that he didn’t harbor an unhealthy obsession with Sofi’s outside too, but it was who she was as a person that kept him coming back. “I see you’re still delusional,” he told her. “That rump is grade A, top choice meat.” He gave his eyebrows an over-the-top waggle.

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, douchey guy from The Wedding Singer .” But her small smile took all the sting out of her words. She grabbed onto the side of the cart and started pulling it.

Leo practically pranced behind her like a puppy. “I’ve been doing high protein, lower fat meals, so I’ve been eating a lot of white fish, shrimp, and lean white meats. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah. Red meat tends to make me feel sluggish anyway.”

Leo stocked up and they continued down the refrigerated section, picking up breakfast turkey sausage and regular thick-cut bacon because they both agreed that it was the only acceptable way to eat bacon.

They reached the dairy section and, after grabbing staples, like three kinds of butter, Leo went directly to the cheese. He grabbed a package of the slices and held it up to Sofi. “Would it be too cheesy for me to say that you make me melt?”

She snorted. “Definitely.”

He looked at the shelves behind her where a bright cluster of Activia showed over her shoulder. “Well, you must be yogurt, girl, because I just want to spoon you.” He walked a few feet over and picked up a tub of plain Greek yogurt.

When he turned back Sofi had a gallon of whole milk in her hand. “I know they say milk does the body good, but, damn baby, how much do you drink?”

Leo laughed loudly. “Yes!” he crowed. “That was amazing.” He grabbed the gallon from her and swapped it out for 2%; at her nod he put it in the cart.

Sofi did a small curtsy. “You’re welcome.” She looked around and snagged a carton of unsweetened oat milk. “So now where?”

“To the freezer section,” Leo exclaimed, one finger in the air.

Sofi shook her head and led the way, a small smile curled in the corner of her generous mouth. They made their way through the rest of the store, walking up and down each aisle, and grabbing things like coffee, rice, beans, condiments, and even some sweets.

He couldn’t help but notice that as they neared the end of their excursion, they both began to move slower. They were almost at a crawl. He wasn’t surprised. They always enjoyed each other’s company when it was just the two of them. He didn’t want their camaraderie to end. Not yet. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they started bickering about something, especially once they got back to the apartment and it really sunk in for Sofi that she was living with him.

“They actually have a pretty good salad bar and deli here. Everything is fresh.” He used to grab a quick lunch there when he was on duty and didn’t want whatever the cook for the day prepared. Just thinking about being on duty caused a pang in his chest. He missed it. He missed his crew at the station. Especially the guys on truck with him. But he would be with them again soon if he had any say about it. “Do you want to pick something up?”

She bit her lip. “Yeah, sure.”

They walked over to the deli section where workers created salads, sandwiches, and smoothies to order. Sofi had them prepare her a huge salad that had more fruit on it than veggies. Leo was not one for fruit on a salad. He ordered a chicken pesto sandwich with mozzarella and tomato along with a small Caesar salad. As they waited for their order Leo pointed to the small refrigerated enclosure. “Their sushi is really good here too.”

Sofi shook her head. “I’m scared to get sushi from a grocery store. I feel like there’s more chance for something to make me sick. My mom told me a story about a patient who got worms from grocery store sushi.”

Leo grimaced. “Gross.”

“I know.”

“Well, their sushi people come in every morning and only make a small quantity for the day. They write the time and date on them. You should try one, at least.”

“I’m good with the salad.” Her voice was firm.

Immediately, Leo knew he’d pushed too much. Sofi did not like feeling pressured. It made her shut down. “Of course.”

Suddenly the silence was weighted again. Leo scrambled for a way to bring back the lighthearted feeling from a moment ago. When his usual wit was nowhere to be found he began to panic. This was the first time they’d actually enjoyed each other’s presence in over a year. He didn’t want that to end. He was so in his head that he didn’t even notice Sofi move closer until she was right against him.

“Hey, baby,” she said in her breathy bedroom voice. “Are you sushi? Because I like it raw.”

Leo knew he was supposed to laugh. She was trying to do the same thing he was, lighten the mood. But that voice of hers talking about liking it raw brought back too many memories. Skin-on-skin, toe-curling, life-changing memories. His body reacted accordingly. “That was just mean,” he murmured to her.

“What?” she asked innocently. She batted her eyelashes and everything.

“You already know.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You know what your voice does to me. Don’t act like you don’t.”

Her lip curled the tiniest bit at the corner.

Devious woman.

Their names were called and they stepped back from each other. Right. They were standing in the middle of the grocery store.

Sofi hustled forward to grab their food and scooped two large waters out of a cooler. He followed her to the checkout line where they both unloaded their spoils onto the conveyor belt. “I’ll send you some money after we get the total if that’s cool,” she said.

“Not a problem.”

After he paid and they walked toward the exit, Sofi suddenly stopped, shifting from foot to foot, her water and salad in hand. “There’s a little park across the street. Do you want to eat th—”

“Yes,” Leo said before she’d even finished her sentence. Dude, play it cool. You look way too eager.

“What about the groceries? Will they spoil?”

Leo didn’t give a fuck about the groceries. He’d leave the damn cart there if it wouldn’t make him look like a psycho. “I’m in the parking structure, so they should be good for a little bit.”

She looked unconvinced but she nodded. “Okay.”

They unloaded the cart into his car and then walked out onto the street.

It was a bright and balmy summer day and Sofi tipped her face up to the sky.

“Is it good to be home?” Leo asked.

“I love Chicago. Being gone made me realize that this is my forever home,” Sofi said as they crossed the street. “But it would be a lie to say that I don’t miss traveling. I want to see a whole lot more of the world in the future.”

Leo had never been out of the US, so he didn’t know what it was like firsthand. Plus, he hated flying with a passion. He hadn’t been on a real vacation in years because of it.

“I think my next vacation will be in Asia,” Sofi said, “I’ve always wanted to go to the place in Bali with all the monkeys and the elephant sanctuary in Thailand.”

Leo loved seeing her so animated. Her eyes lit from the inside with excitement. “Tell me about your travels,” he said as they took a seat at an empty bench. “What was it like finally getting to see the places you’ve been dying to see.”

Sofi smiled. “It was amazing.” She paused. “I mean the racism is real in Europe, don’t get me wrong. People would stare at me like I was a street performer and I’m sure they were talking all kinds of shit about the Black girl in their midst, but I wasn’t going to let that prevent me from having a good time. Although I did have to check a few people for trying to touch my hair when I wore it curly.”

He never understood why people did that. Like, why would they think it was okay to just touch someone without asking, especially someone you didn’t know well? He couldn’t count the number of times random people thought it was totally cool to touch his arm when he’d still had it in a sling. Sure, they’d reach out like they wanted to rub it in comfort, but WTF. It was weird. “What was your favorite?” Leo asked. “France?”

“Actually, I loved Iceland. It was freaking gorgeous and the people there were very nice and chill. Of course, the food in Italy made me want to weep with joy. I did actually weep with joy when I finally saw the Eiffel Tower.”

She continued talking about things she’d seen and people she’d met.

Leo couldn’t help but smile. Ever since they’d met, Sofi had talked about traveling the world. Listening to her recount watching the changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace and swimming in the crystal clear waters off the coast of a Greek island, reminded him of the girl she’d been—full of hope and possibility.

“I’m so glad you were able to experience all of that,” he said. “You deserve to see everything you want to see and go everywhere you want to go.”

She just looked at him and smiled. Then she sobered. “I was already gone when you got shot,” she told him.

“I figured you were away,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I am worried about it because the other day you brought it up.”

“I was just talking out of my ass,” he tried to say, but Sofi had always seen through him.

She reached over and laid a hand on his arm. “I had already been in Paris for weeks, but I still should’ve done more than send you an email. I owed you that much.”

Leo shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. You never have.”

“I did and I do. You’re important to me, Leo. Even when we’re fighting. You’re not nothing.”

Leo closed his eyes and turned his face away before she could see the moisture build up. It had hurt when she’d sent him a damn email then blocked his ability to reply. Even now he hated that it took him getting shot for her to say that he was important to her. He wanted to be happy that he’d finally heard the words aloud, but it reminded him too much of how much everything had changed. She was different and so was he.

He cleared his throat. “Well, what’s done is done. Let’s not talk about that anymore.”

Any other time, Sofi would push. He knew she would, so when she simply said, “Okay,” he took it as more proof of change.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked after a moment of silence.

Sofi tensed. “I guess.”

“What made you decide to make up with Kamilah? You were dead set against it when you left.”

“Honestly, when I left I still felt super salty about everything. I was resentful, especially because she and Liam were back together living their best life like they hadn’t completely blown up the foundation of everyone else’s life. Meanwhile I was stuck hating my job and unsure of who I was. As time went on, I told myself to get over it, resentment wasn’t a good look for me, and I needed to focus on living my own best life instead. I did and I found all of the anger melting away. Then I realized that I was at fault too. Neither one of us trusted the other like we should.”

Leo knew better than most how important trust was to Sofi. She didn’t trust a lot of people. He could probably count them on one hand. When she did offer it, it was a gift. His sister had basically thrown that gift in her face. He got it now. “And what about me?” he asked. “Did your sabbatical change the way you feel about me?”

“Leo.” She sighed. “Can we not? This whole roommate thing is weird enough without bringing up our past and I don’t want to fight with you right now. We have to get through Kamilah’s wedding.”

It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but she hadn’t told him to fuck off, so that was good enough for him for now. He didn’t say anything else. He just sat there enjoying the weather, her company, and the sweet hope of possibility.