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

Chapter 16

16

Leo’s stomach was doing somersaults in his torso. He was nervous, but he was also excited. A few hours ago he’d made it through the entire practice physical exam. And the best part was that his arm wasn’t useless because of it. He honestly wasn’t sure when things had changed, because he felt like his training kicked his ass more often than not, but at some point in the last few weeks he’d crested the hill. He now had proof that he could and would pass the physical exam and once again be considered an active firefighter.

When he’d made it through and realized what it meant, the first person he’d wanted to tell was Sofi. But there were some other things he needed to tell her first. So here he was standing in front of the iconic Cloud Gate statue, more commonly known as The Bean, holding a picnic basket in one hand and his guitar case in the other. He didn’t worry that she wouldn’t know where to go. This was their spot. Since the night they’d shared their first kiss, they’d met up here plenty of times. They knew that it would be highly unlikely for them to be seen by anyone they knew since natives tended to give any touristy spots a wide berth.

Sofi walked up to him in a bright green dress with white polka dots. Her skin was shimmery and her hair down and wild, how he liked it. “What are you up to?” she asked him.

“Where’s Tostón?” he asked at the same time.

They both paused and looked at each other patiently.

“Ladies first,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure if dogs were allowed here, so I left him with my mom and Abuela Fina.” She gave him a look to signify that it was his turn to explain.

“I thought we could have a picnic.” He held up the basket.

“But why?” she asked.

“I’ll explain, but let’s set up first.” He led her to a grassy spot in front of the pavilion and put down the basket.

“I hear that they do different types of workouts here in the mornings,” she said. “I was planning to take advantage when I moved back since my apartment would’ve been close, but now it feels like too much of a trek.”

“We can still do it.” He opened the basket and pulled out the dark blue blanket he’d bought specifically for their picnic.

Together they spread the blanket and sat. Leo began taking everything he’d prepared at Ahmad’s house out of the basket. There were different dried fruits, cheeses, meats, olives, nuts, crackers, jams, a baguette that he’d sliced into thin ovals, and of course chocolate bonbons with caramel filling and sprinkles of sea salt on top.

Sofi looked impressed. “Look at you pulling out the big guns.”

He smiled. “What, you think only the French can do these sharkcoochie boards right?”

Sofi laughed. “First of all, it’s charcuterie .” She emphasized the correct pronunciation. “Secondly, this is too much. You already made me margaritas; you don’t have to ply me with wine too.”

“Hey, I need to use what I have,” he replied with a shrug. “I should have it all set up in a minute.”

Sofi watch him work in silence for a moment. “Okay,” she said when he pulled out a bottle of French wine and two stemmed glasses. “Now you really do need to explain yourself. What is all this?”

“I wanted to celebrate,” he said. He opened the wine and put it to the side to let it breathe.

“Celebrate what?”

Leo took a deep breath and released it. Here we go. “I’ve been training in order to take the CFD physical exam, so that I can be an active firefighter again. Today I blew through the practice drills without any issues, so that means that I’m finally ready to take the real thing.”

“Wow,” she said. “I didn’t know that was even possible. I just figured it was one of those things that when you were done, you were done.”

Leo shook his head. “No way. Firefighters get injured all the time and sometimes it takes them a while to get back in shape, but if they can prove they can still do the job, they’re welcomed back.”

“Is that why you didn’t quit? So you could go back eventually?”

“Yes, but also because I needed the health insurance, so I had to accept the desk job.”

“But you don’t want to keep the desk job,” she concluded.

“Hell no. I hate it.”

“How come you don’t go back as an EMT?”

“I tried,” he confessed. “Being around all the real action and not being able to help the way I used to was too hard. I felt myself shutting down, falling deeper into a dark place. When I started wishing the bullet had just ended it for me, I knew I needed to make a change. I wasn’t going to let myself get worse. So I called my psychiatrist and set up an emergency session. I decided after that to accept the desk job at least until I could go back for real.”

Sofi’s eyes were wide. “You miss it that much?”

“Every day.”

She tilted her head as if trying to figure something out. “Why is being a firefighter so important to you?”

“When I was thirteen, we had a kitchen fire at El Coquí. I don’t remember how it started but I remember being in the office ignoring Eddie as he tutored me in math. All of a sudden we heard shouting and we went running. There were huge flames all over the kitchen and the heat was intense. My mom and Kamilah were dragging my abuela out the back door. My dad and Abuelo Papo were leading people out the front door. Papi saw me and Eddie standing there and told us to get our asses outside, but before we could move the firefighters burst in the front and back doors. It was like watching superheroes descend on a villain. They led us outside, so I didn’t get to actually see them put out the fire, but when we were allowed back in I remember being stunned that the damage wasn’t worse. Abuela and my mom were crying all over them, thanking them for saving the place, and they acted like it was no big deal. ‘We were just doing our job,’ one of them said. After that Abuela told them that they were forever going to eat for free at El Coquí. They took her up on it too. It seemed like there were always firefighters around and they were cool. They answered all of my questions and didn’t make me feel like a dork for basically following them around like an overeager puppy.”

She smiled at his description. “And that was it? You decided to become a firefighter then?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. There was never another path for me.” Until he’d been ripped off that path and dropped in a whole new setting. But he was working his way back and that was what mattered. “When I was younger I worried that I’d never find the right fit for me because I hated school and was shit at remembering to do things. I struggled so much that I couldn’t even imagine a job that I could actually do. But something about being a firefighter has always just worked. It’s like something in my brain just clicks and everything falls into place. The only other time that happens is with music.”

“How come you never pursued that? With Gio’s connections I’m sure you would’ve had some fantastic opportunities.”

Leo paused and wondered how to put his feelings about that into words. “I love music, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know, it just felt too easy if that makes sense. Everyone always says that I’m a born singer slash musician. That I got my talent from Abuelo. So I guess I just felt like I didn’t want to do it only because it was expected of me or because I need to carry on Abuelo’s legacy or something. I also didn’t want to pursue music just because I could. I don’t know, maybe I’m just too much of the rebellious youngest son, but music has always been my hobby not my passion.”

“I get that,” Sofi said. “I’ve always been impressed by your sense of self.” Sofi put a hand on his thigh. “You’re one of the only people I know who’s always been certain of who they are. You are you in any situation and without any pretense. That’s not easy.”

“Is that what’s going on with you?” he asked. “You’re having trouble distinguishing between who you are and who you think you need to be?”

Sofi sighed. “I don’t know how you always know what I’m thinking. It’s annoying.”

Leo took that as affirmation that he was right. Not that it had been that difficult to see. People who were happy with their life didn’t just take off for a year. “What’s going on, bombón?”

She threw herself back on the blanket like she was in a telenovela. She was so dramatic and Leo loved it. “I thought getting away and doing everything I’d missed out on would fix this feeling, but if anything it got worse. I know I need to quit my job.” She tossed her arm over her eyes. “But also like, who the hell do I think I am, you know? My grandparents on my dad’s side came from the DR with nothing but a few dollars and even fewer belongings. My abuelo Juan grew up in a freaking shack in Maricao.” She took her arm off her face to wave it around in emphasis. “Here I am with a great job that just allowed me to spend an entire year abroad and it pays me so well that I can buy designer things.” She began counting things off on her fingers. “I’m not drowning in debt, I have a luxury car, and I’m complaining that I’m not happy? What the fuck is wrong with me?” Leo opened his mouth but Sofi threw up a hand to signal him to stop. “And don’t tell me ‘money doesn’t buy happiness,’ because that’s bullshit.”

“What do you want me to say, then? You want me to say ‘stop playing the poor little rich girl, pull your head out of your ass, and be the badass I know you are’?”

Sofi sucked her teeth. “I wish it were as easy as you and my mom make it seem.”

“It is never easy, but it’s what you need to do. Want to know my secret for always being me?”

“Yes.”

“I accept myself as I am in that moment. There are a lot of things about myself that I wish I could change, but I know I can’t. I’m never going to not have ADHD. I’m never going to not have nerve damage. So I have to figure out how to work around those things in order to still accomplish what I want. Like playing the guitar.” He pulled his guitar out and placed it in his lap. “They told me they doubted I’d ever play again, but I refused to believe that, so I kept practicing even when it hurt, even when it sounded worse than when I started. I took it one step at a time.” He began strumming. Soon it turned into one of his favorites, “Lost Without U” by Robin Thicke. He closed his eyes and started singing. He felt the blanket sink next to him. He opened his eyes and met Sofi’s gaze. He continued to sing about not being able to help himself. He didn’t look away as he sang about her being the perfect shape. He watched closely as her breathing accelerated. He kept singing until he finished the entire song and not once did he look away from Sofi.

“Now here you are playing better than most people,” she observed. With the setting sun hitting her, she looked dusted in gold like some sort of goddess. Even her dark brown eyes looked like they were speckled with gold flakes.

Leo could stare at her forever. Instead, he responded to her comment. “Yeah. I’ve been practicing every day because I don’t want to mess up at Kamilah’s wedding.” He still couldn’t believe that she wanted him to sing the song for their first dance. He and José, one of the guys in the band, were going to perform acoustically with Jose’s daughter and niece, who both play the violin. They’d been practicing separately, but still needed to find the time to practice together.

“I know you’ll be great,” Sofi told him with a smile that she then turned into a threatening scowl. “Because you have no other option.”

Leo set the guitar down next to him and gave Sofi a two-fingered salute. “Yes, ma’am. Madam wedding planner, ma’am.”

They grinned at each other.

“How is the planning going, by the way?” he asked as he poured the two of them wine. “I know you’ve cc’d me in a bunch of emails with the vendors, but if you need anything else from me, just let me know.”

“Thanks, but I’m good. It’s been going oddly well.” Sofi spread some apricot jam on a sliver of baguette and bit into it. “I’ve been thinking that this might be what I want to do.” She finished off her bread and jam. “Like maybe I’ll open my own event planning company.” She started looking through more of their spread.

“That’s a great idea.” Leo brushed against her as he reached for a slice of hard salami.

Sofi gasped and Leo smiled. He loved knowing that his touch, as light as it was, affected her.

She cleared her throat. “There’s one big problem with that.” She opened the container of blue cheese–stuffed olives and used the mini fork to pluck one out. “My dad.” She placed the olive in her mouth. “When I was eighteen I agreed to work for him in exchange for his help with college, but now he wants me to take over when he retires.”

“You don’t owe him shit,” Leo said when she finished. “He’s your dad. It’s his freaking responsibility to support you in getting an education. Not only that, but I can guarantee that you’ve made the company way more money than he spent on your schooling.” It didn’t matter that he’d funded both a bachelor’s and master’s degree for her. She was a badass businesswoman and he knew that she was worth her weight in gold.

“I probably have, but I can’t help but think that if I were to tell him that I wanted to quit, it would be the end of our relationship.” Sofi refilled her glass of wine and set the bottle between them. “I know it’s not the best, but at least it’s something.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze. She tried to seem like she was too focused on making a tiny sandwich with the meat, cheese, and a thin layer of jam spread on the baguette bread.

“Bombón, you’re fully capable of anything you put your mind to. You are amazing and anyone who doesn’t recognize and value that, who wants to put limitations on what you can do, doesn’t deserve to be considered in your life decisions. The people who know the real you and truly appreciate her will stand by you no matter what you decide.” And I’m one of those people , he wanted to add but didn’t. Instead, Leo grabbed his own full glass and took a drink.

“Thank you for the life lesson, Leo.” The way she looked at him, with tender warmth, made his own insides melt. “I’m going to try to take your advice and just accept that I am who I am and I want what I want.”

He bit into the sandwich as she held it up to his mouth. “Stick with me, kid,” he said around a mouthful. “I’ll teach you all you need to know.” Leo licked a bit of jam off his bottom lip.

The corner of her lip curled and she gave him a heated look through her lashes. “Maybe I will.” She leaned in and kissed him as if she just couldn’t help herself.

He wanted to keep things light, but he couldn’t help himself either. Leo deepened the kiss, his tongue playing with Sofi’s. She was so sweet. He couldn’t get enough.

She twisted and lifted to her knees so she could put a leg over his lap. She lowered herself into his lap and whimpered when their bodies met.

Leo groaned and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer until her chest was against his.

She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled it back so she could ravage his mouth.

Fuck. He loved it. “Mmm, bombón. Qué rica eres.”

Sofi ground her core against him. “You feel so good,” she whispered in his ear before nibbling on it.

Goose bumps chased the shiver down his spine and spread along his body. “You have no idea how good it feels to have you right here, on my lap, in my arms.” She dragged her mouth down his neck and he just about came in his pants. “Fuck, Sofi. I missed this. I missed you.”

“I missed you too. I tried to get over you once I left, because un clavo saca otro clavo.”

Leo tensed, not really wanting to hear about the guys she dated or may have even slept with.

“But I couldn’t even bring myself to try moving on with someone else, because I knew it wouldn’t work.” She shook her head. “It never worked any other time I tried it, so there was no reason to do it again.”

Leo loved the sound of that even though he knew he didn’t have the right to care. “No one you met interested you?”

“Unfortunately no,” she grumbled. “It seems like you’re the only nail I want.”

Leo smiled. “You’re the only one I want to screw, so it works out.” He waggled his eyebrows. “You see what I did there?”

Sofi chuckled. “You are so corny. That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Sure it does.” He could tell that she was going to continue arguing with him about it, so he kissed her to give her something else to do.

They went at it then. Their lips and hands all over each other. Each kiss, each caress, more urgent than the previous one.

“Wait, wait. Let’s go home,” she suggested. “Or somewhere not in the middle of the park.”

Leo’s lip curled. “I’d love nothing more than to push you against one of these trees and fuck you where everyone could see you come apart.”

Her pupils blew wide-open. She liked that idea even though she didn’t want to.

He ran his hands down her sides until he reached her ass. He knew she felt insecure about her less curvy hips and butt, she’d once told him that she was considering a Brazilian butt lift, but to him she’d always been a perfect handful. “That will have to happen another night though,” he continued with a squeeze to her cheeks.

“No it won’t. We don’t need to get arrested for public indecency.” Her lips brushed against his neck where she’d been biting at his tendon.

He groaned. “Exactly. Besides I already told you, I’m not fucking you until you tell everyone that you’re mine.”

She pulled back. “I’m sorry?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll still make you come when we get home.” He reached for her, but she slapped his hands away. He frowned. “What?”

“Are you kidding me?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You say something like that and expect me to just be fine with it?”

“I told you that before, so why are you mad about it now?”

“I was mad about it then, but I was distracted!”

“Well, let me distract you again.” He reached for her.

Sofi pushed off his chest and stood. “Hell no. I’m not going to let you manipulate me with sex, Leo.”

“Manipulate you?”

“What do you call this? You’re trying to use my own body against me. Fuck that.”

“I’m putting down a boundary, Sofi. I’m not going to fall back into the same patterns with you. I’m not trying to be your glorified booty call. I don’t want that anymore.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want to be with you, Sofi! What else do I have to do to make it clear?”

“I don’t know, maybe actually say it.” She tossed back her head. “I’ve never heard you say it until right now, so forgive me for not reading your mind.”

Leo paused. That couldn’t be true, could it? It seemed to him like he was saying it constantly, but now that he really thought about it, he was pretty sure he hadn’t. His grandmother had always told him that actions speak louder than words, but apparently not. Apparently, you needed both. “You’re right,” he told Sofi. “So let me say it clearly. I want to be with you. For real. No hiding. I want to call you my girlfriend and for you to call me your boyfriend. I want everyone to know that you are mine and I am yours.”

“I want that too,” Sofi said, the anger fading from her eyes. “That’s what I came to tell you tonight.”

Leo was overjoyed. He reached for Sofi, but she held up a hand.

“I need time to tell Kamilah, okay? Things are still so fragile between us and I don’t want to ruin things—not when I’m in the middle of planning her wedding reception. But I will tell her. I promise I will and after that, I don’t care who knows.”

Leo believed her. Sofi didn’t make promises she had no intention of keeping. “Okay. I’ll give you time, but not too much. Deal?” He held up a pinky.

She wrapped her pinky around his. “Deal.” She looked around. “Can we leave to go have sex now?”

“Hell yeah.” They cleaned up in the blink of an eye and rushed back to the apartment.