Vanessa snorts.
“I don’t want to marry him. One night, a few hours will be enough.” They all whistle and fuss, reacting to how direct my cousin is. I admit it reminds me of how direct Ares is. Apparently, there’s someone like that in every family.
Dani gives her an incredulous look.
“He’s younger than you,” Dani says, as if it’s the last word on the subject. Yenny and Vanessa shrug their shoulders. “Don’t you care what people will say about you?”
Vanessa shakes her head, smiling.
“You need a refresher, babe, or do you still believe in that macho bullshit that it’s okay for men to date younger girls, but it’s wrong if women do it.”
“Exactly.” Yenni nods in agreement. “He’s a teenager aware of what he wants. If both parties like each other, and there’s consent, what’s the problem?”
Camila rolls her eyes. “Both of you shut up, Apolo is mine.”
My eyes meet Ares’s glance. He’s holding a red plastic cup in his hands and takes a drink. There’s a mischievous smile dancing on his lips as he puts down the cup.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell my cousins, approaching Ares. I can’t look away. As always, I feel trapped in the blue of his eyes. Every step I take quickens my heart. One by one, the people around me disappear, until it’s just me and him. The Greek god and the witch. The moody one and the stalker. I stop in front of him, grinning like an idiot.
“How did it feel to be mentally fucked by all my cousins?” I ask. He strokes his chin, as if thinking.
“I feel a little used,” he says and I chuckle.
“Sure, like you’re not used to getting those reactions.”
Ares raises an eyebrow. “Are you jealous?”
“Pffff, please.” I roll my eyes. Ares grins, running his thumb across my cheek.
“You look sexy when you’re jealous.” His thumb comes down and caresses the edge of my lips, and I stop breathing. “Seeing you in that dress is killing me.”
I swallow hard. He removes his hand from my face.
“You know why?”
My aunt Carmen walks by before I can answer. “Raquel, your mother is calling you. She’s in the kitchen.”
“I have to go help.” I turn around, but Ares grabs my arm and turns me back to him. He gets close enough to me that I can smell his delicious cologne, and then leans in to whisper in my ear.
“Your family thinks you’re such an innocent girl. If they only knew how you moan and beg me to give you more when I fuck you.”
I gape at him.
“Ares!”
“Or how wet you get when I give you a simple kiss.”
Holy Virgin of Abdominals, pray for us, amen.
Ares releases me. I put my hand on my chest, keeping my cool for a moment, and then I run away from there as fast as I can. How can he turn me on with just words? Ares definitely has a gift. Taking a calming breath, I walk into the house. Mom is waiting for me in the kitchen with some trays.
“I didn’t mean to bother you tonight, but I just need help handing these out and I promise not to bother you again.”
“Calm down, Mom, I don’t mind helping. They’re my guests after all.” I grab the tray and turn to leave when Mom clears her throat.
“You two seem really happy,” she says, looking in my eyes.
“Really?” I ask, pleased.
She just walks past me with a smile on her face, and I walk out with the tray and a matching smile on mine. I meet Claudia at the entrance.
“Hey, you came,” I say. She looks very pretty in a purple dress with her hair loose and shiny.
“That’s right, happy birthday.” She attempts to give me the gift in her hand, but then she sees that mine are full.
“You can put it on that table over there, the boys are in the back,” I tell her.
She hesitates.
“All three?” she asks, and I nod.
“Yeah, come on in,” I encourage her. “I’m going to hand this out and I’ll meet you there, okay?”
I’m just about to reach the group where Dean, Apolo, and Artemis are standing when Camilla intercepts me.
“I’ll take these to them,” she says, taking the tray from me and heading toward the guys before I even have time to process everything. I watch her smile cheekily at Apolo after offering them the tray, and then she just stands there talking to him. I must admit, she’s brave.
“How dare she?” Dani’s voice makes me jump because I didn’t notice her at my side. Her expression is somber.
“I’m going to kill her.”
“She’s just talking to him. I don’t think he likes her,” I say, trying to calm her insecurities. Yenny and Vanessa take advantage of Camila’s boldness and join her, using her to subtly insert themselves into the conversation.
“Who are those people?” Claudia’s voice rings on my other side, making me jump slightly again. Why do people keep appearing next to me out of nowhere?
“They’re my cousins,” I explain, letting out a long sigh.
Claudia presses her lips together.
“I need a drink.”
“Me too.” Dani agrees. “Come on, I know where the vodka is.”
“Hey, go and enjoy.” I give them the thumbs up, but they both grab me by an arm and drag me with them.
This is going to be fun.
FIFTY-TWO
The Observer
- ARES -
I’ve never been one for birthday parties.
The Hidalgo house hasn’t had birthday parties for a long time. Now it’s just birthday dinners that end in silences and awkward smiles. My home hasn’t been the same after everything that happened; the vibe isn’t the same. With my friends, we always go out to a club to celebrate, so they’re not really birthday parties either.
Still, I find myself enjoying this party. It’s not set around a long table with too much silverware or at a noisy club. It’s normal, and the atmosphere is familiar and relaxed. People are chatting comfortably around me. Dean and Apolo are talking about something from school.
But to be honest, the reason I like this birthday party is not the environment but her: Raquel. My eyes fall on the girl with tousled hair and expressive eyes who has infiltrated my soul completely. She smiles openly at something Daniela says and her whole face lights up. She looks gorgeous. If a birthday party makes her smile like that, I’ll attend them all. I’ll even gladly organize them.
I never thought she would be the one to make me feel all this. As a kid, I remember seeing her several times through the fence between our homes, but it wasn’t until over a year ago that I actually saw her. I still remember that day I noticed her looking at me from her window. Of course, I played it like I was oblivious. Yet her curiosity about me piqued mine about her, and I began to want to know more about her: what she liked, what she did, and where she went to school.
And then one day our paths crossed, and, although she didn’t realize it, I still remember it clearly.
“Let’s get out of here.” Dean yawns as we walk through all the temporary exhibits and tents at his sister’s school fair. “I still don’t understand why she stopped attending our school to come to this one.”
Daniela’s classmates had organized a fundraiser for their extracurricular activities and personal projects. Dean dragged me with him to support his sister, but Daniela had already sold everything she brought and left, so we didn’t need to stick around anymore.
As we pass through the crowd, I can see several tables in the distance with items still for sale. One table in particular catches my attention.
Raquel, that girl who watches me from her window all the time, stands at the side of her table, offering handmade jewelry to everyone who passes by, but no one pays any attention to her. Her table is full of neatly arranged and untouched bracelets. I doubt she’s sold anything. A Funds to pay for my chess lessons sign is behind her table.
Chess, eh?
I stop because for some reason I don’t want her to see me. Dean stops and looks at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“You go on without me to the parking lot, I’ll catch up with you.”
He gives me a quizzical look but continues on his way. As he passes in front of Raquel’s table, he greets her, and she smiles at him.