A/N: As always, thanks for the great reviews and messages! I enjoy reading them more than you know! ;) And a great big THANK YOU and YOU'RE AWESOME to GabbyDunk and Stephfan6511 for their interest, encouragement, and suggestions for this chapter! You girls rock!
Bold section from Chapter 20
I heard a shriek coming from the opposite side of the room, and I jumped, pulling away from Carlos. Looking over the back of the couch, I saw Lester and Carmen. They were standing as if frozen in place, eyes wide, and mouths open in shock. That was when I realized that I had absolutely nothing covering the top half of my body. I folded my arms across my chest, completely mortified.
Carlos took in the situation and pulled off his shirt. He stood me up, turned my back to our audience and helped me slip it on and button it up.
Once I was finally covered, we turned to look at the still stunned pair.
"What the hell is going on?" Carlos growled.
Chapter 21
Lester and Carmen were still across the room, standing like statues in the entrance to the family room, shocked expressions on their faces. Carlos stood behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist protectively.
"Why are you here?" he demanded, glaring at Lester.
Lester shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other. "I didn't know you guys were going to be here, Cuz. Aunt Marisol gave me the key and said it was fine if we came up here." He held up the key as proof of what he was saying. "I had asked Bobby, Kyra, Cal, and Connie to come up with us, but after everything that happened at the dance…" He trailed off nervously.
Carmen cleared her throat and added softly, "Les thought that maybe this would be a quiet place to talk and relax." She stared down at the floor, her cheeks bright red.
I looked over at Carmen, and I felt some of my anger at her evaporate. She looked like a lost little girl, staring down at the floor. I couldn't blame her for being infatuated with Carlos. After all, I was too. I turned in Carlos's arms and placed my hands on his chest.
"I think you and Carmen need to talk." I said softly, hoping that the quiet music from the sound system covered up what I was saying.
Carlos jerked back and looked down at me, a confused expression on his face. "About what?" he whispered, his eyebrow shooting up in the air.
"Everything. You need to clear things up with her. Let her know where the two of you stand."
His forehead creased as he stared at me. "Babe, there is no 'two of us' between Carmen and me."
I nodded. "I know that, and you know that, but Carmen doesn't seem to know that."
He gave a resigned nod and blew out a frustrated breath. Leaning down, he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'll be right back." He promised.
He walked across the family room and into the foyer, touching Carmen lightly on the shoulder. "I think we need to talk." He said softly.
She nodded, still looking down, and let Carlos guide her into the kitchen.
I sat back down on the couch, trying to give the two of them some privacy so that this whole mess could be sorted out. Lester came over and sat down beside me, obviously agreeing that they needed a few minutes alone. He gave me a sheepish grin.
"Sorry about interrupting the party, Beautiful." His grin grew wider and more wicked. "But at least it was just the two of us! It could have been everyone else, too."
My eyes widened at that thought and I buried my face in my hands and groaned. Why did everything embarrassing have to happen to me?
Lester bumped his shoulder against mine and cleared his throat. "If you ever need some advice in that area, I'm your guy. It's practically my specialty!"
I looked up, shocked, and saw him grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Did you just offer to teach me about…" I left the ending unfinished, unsure how to word exactly what I thought he was offering.
He barked out a laugh. "Lester Santos, at your service! Your own personal sex expert, a sexpert if you will."
I buried my face back into my hands. "Les! That is just, just…"
"An awesome offer? Something you plan on taking me up on soon?"
I peeked at him from between my fingers. "Don't you think that's kind of weird?"
"What?"
"You. Offering to teach me things to do to your cousin. That's weird."
He grinned. "It's only weird if it doesn't work. And if it doesn't work, it's because you're not doing it right. Cuz my technique is flawless." He leaned back against the couch, a smug grin on his face.
I shook my head and swatted him playfully. "You are so bad!"
He just smirked at me. "But you love me anyway!"
I groaned. "God help me, but I do! I love all of you guys!"
His eyes glinted as he started rubbing his hands together mischievously. "Since you love me, lesson one is free."
I raised my eyebrows at him. "What? Wait a minute! You're planning on charging me for these lessons?"
He looked at me seriously. "Well, yeah! Although the form of payment is negotiable. Are you totally against a hot steamy kiss with lots of tongue?"
I glared back at him. "You know I am! I'm in love with your cousin, moron!"
He clucked his tongue at me. "No need for name calling, Beautiful! That's fine. I already have another plan in mind." He grinned widely. "Actually this payment might cover several lessons. Depending on your performance."
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "What performance? What are you talking about?"
"Another mission!" he said gleefully.
"Toilet papering?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.
He snorted. "Even better than toilet papering!"
I looked at him blankly until he couldn't stand it anymore. He was practically jumping up and down, and he looked about ready to burst.
"Sporking!" he crowed.
"Sporking?" I looked at him like he had two heads. "What the heck are you talking about?"
He leaned closer to me and caught my hands in his. "We make a Taco Bell run and completely wipe them out of sporks. You know, those plastic things that are half spoon, half fork. Then we stick them all in someone's yard."
I looked at him skeptically. "We stick them in someone's yard?"
"Yeah. We shove the handle part into the ground so that there are sporks sticking straight up out of the grass all over the yard!"
I started laughing hysterically. "Oh my gosh! That's hysterical! I'm totally in! Whose house are we doing?"
He wagged his eyebrows up and down. "That's for me to know and you to find out!"
I narrowed my eyes. "As long as I'm not going to get in trouble for this. We're not sporking Principal Marco's yard or anything, right?"
He grinned and shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that."
I leaned my head back against the couch and tried to imagine someone's front yard covered in hundreds of sporks. I couldn't help it, I started giggling. Les grinned and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
He wagged his eyebrows up and down and tipped his head next to mine. "Stick with me, kid. I'll teach you all kinds of stuff!"
I felt my cheeks get pink. "Yeah, well, for now let's just stick to the sporking. Let me think about the other stuff."
He nodded. "How about I give you lesson one now. You can do your homework assignment after Carmen and I leave and let me know how it goes."
I punched him in the arm. "Is this some big ploy to get me to talk to you about what's going on between Carlos and me? Cuz I'm not going to tell you!"
He smirked. "You try out lesson one, which I guarantee will be successful, and…"
I raised my eyebrows. "And?"
"And then you let me know when you're ready for lesson two."
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. "What if I don't want lesson two?"
He laughed. "Oh you will, Beautiful. You will!"
And God help me, but I already did! I really needed someone to help me out in this area. I knew nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. I needed someone who could give me some suggestions and advice so that Carlos didn't think I was a complete idiot when it came to sex.
I looked at Lester. "Fine. But if you whip out a banana, I am outta here!"
Lester smirked and ruffled my hair. "No food as visual aids. Got it."
I waved my hand in a hurry-up motion. "Well?"
"Take the lead."
I just stared at him. "Huh?"
He leaned back and gave me a gorgeous smile. "Take the initiative, start things."
I tipped my head. "That's all I get?"
"Trust me, Beautiful. That's all you need."
I sucked in a breath. "But…"
He tugged on my hands gently. "Sometimes guys get tired of always being the ones to initiate things. It can be hard to try and figure out what a girl wants or how far to go. It's a huge turn-on if the girl starts things every once in a while."
I blew out the breath I had been holding and nodded blindly. "OK."
He grinned at me as Carlos and Carmen walked back into the room. Les reached down and pulled me up off of the couch. He gave me a hug, whispering in my ear, "Go for it!" before he pulled back and walked over to Carmen.
Her face was tear-stained, but she looked calmer than she had when they first got here. She gave Lester a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Linking arms with him, she asked, "Ready to blow this pop stand?"
Lester grinned and nodded. "Whenever you are."
She tugged him gently towards the door, then stopped. She turned around to look at me, biting her lip. "Sorry to ruin your night, Stephanie." She apologized. "I'm really not a bitch all of the time."
Les threw his arm around her shoulder and grinned. "Just most of the time." He teased.
She glared at him and smacked his arm before glancing back at me. I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded at her.
Carlos followed them to the door, making sure it was locked again, before turning back to the family room.
I chewed my lip, thinking about Lester's homework assignment. Take the lead, huh? Be the one to initiate things. I blew out a sigh. How was I supposed to do that? Run and jump into Carlos's arms? Tie him to a chair and have my wicked way with him?
He walked over and wrapped his arms around me, dropping a kiss on my hair. Deciding it was now or never, I put both of my palms on his chest and gave a firm push. His eyes widened in surprise as he lost his balance and sat down hard on the couch.
Before he could react, I climbed up on his lap and straddled his thighs. I leaned in close and nipped his ear, whispering, "Where were we?" in a breathy voice.
Immediately I felt him harden underneath me, and he groaned as he pulled me in for a passionate kiss.
"Babe!" he growled.
"Yes, Batman?" I whispered huskily, thrusting my hips against his.
He closed his eyes and bit his lower lip. I could tell that he was trying to regain control. Grabbing my hips to still them, he choked out, "What's gotten into you, Steph?"
I didn't really want to tell him that I was taking advice from Lester. I wasn't sure how he'd react to that news. Instead, I waited 'til he opened his eyes, then I looked up at him through lowered lashes. "You don't like it when I start things?"
I rocked against him, and he groaned again. "Yeah, Babe. I do like it. I like it a lot."
I leaned in and kissed him, biting gently on his lower lip and tugging on it with my teeth. He sucked in another breath and slid his hands up and down my back. I could tell that he was letting me have my fun, waiting to see what I would do. It was probably killing him not to be in control right now, but I appreciated his efforts.
I ran my fingernails lightly across his bare chest, gently flicking his nipples. Carlos laid his head on the back of the couch and threw one arm over his eyes. He was breathing heavily when I leaned down and sucked on his pulse point.
He gasped and thrust against me when he felt the sharp sting on his neck. I pulled back and smirked when I saw the dark bruise against his neck. You know what they say about paybacks….
"Babe, please!" he rasped.
I trailed my fingertips up and down his chest. "Please what?" I asked huskily.
He thrust against me and tangled his hands in my hair. He pulled me down for a kiss, his tongue moving in the same rhythm as his hips. I pulled back slightly. By now we were both breathing heavily.
I unbuttoned Carlos's dress shirt and slid it off of my shoulders. We had never fixed my dress, so it was still hanging down, pooled around my waist. My bra was somewhere off to the side of the couch, and I had lost my thong hours ago. I was pretty sure it was by the picnic basket, but at this point, I wasn't sure! At any rate, all that I was currently wearing was my sequined dress. Which was really more like a sequined belt since Carlos had slid the hem up around my waist.
He leaned down to capture one of my nipples with his teeth, and I threw my head back, arching into his mouth. When he bit down, I moaned long and hard, which encouraged him to thrust harder and faster.
My bare mound was rubbing against his dress pants, soaking them with the wetness that he was causing. He reached down between us and brushed his finger across my center, causing me to shriek and grind against him.
"That's it, Babe." He coaxed. "Let go for me."
His fingers teased me a few more times, and I came completely undone. I shuddered and screamed out his name, falling against him bonelessly. He was seconds behind me, calling out my name. Between the two of us, his pants were absolutely soaked, and I felt a little guilty that we had managed to ruin almost his entire outfit this evening.
I would have apologized, but my brain and my body still weren't functioning normally. My head was resting on his shoulder, and I was completely blissed out. If Les and Carmen had walked in now, I wouldn't have been able to move a muscle.
Carlos was trailing his fingers up and down my back, murmuring in Spanish.
"What are you saying?" I whispered.
"I'm just telling you how beautiful you are and how much I love you."
I smiled lazily. "I love you, too."
He tightened his arms around me, and I nuzzled his neck.
"How did your talk with Carmen go?" I whispered.
He let out a small sigh. "Pretty good, considering."
I was really trying to respect his privacy, but the nosy part of me wanted to know what had been said. "Do you want to talk about it or not really?"
He kissed my forehead softly. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, Babe. There's just not really anything new to tell you. Like I told you at the dance, she thought that there was a chance for something more between us, and I didn't. I think she was really shocked and surprised that I was at the dance. And hurt that I hadn't taken her." He paused. "I really feel bad about that."
I leaned my head up so that I could look into his eyes. "What do you feel bad about?"
"She was really hurt that I didn't keep my word to her."
I nodded. "You mean because you didn't take her to the dance?"
"Yeah. If I had remembered that conversation, I would have talked to her after I asked you, given her a heads up. I still would have taken you. It's not that I regret that at all. It's just…" he blew out a frustrated sigh.
"You just hate to disappoint an old friend." I supplied.
He nodded. "Yeah. Carmen and I have known each other for a long time. Almost our whole lives. She feels more like a sister or a cousin than a friend, and I hate that I hurt her."
I stroked his face gently. "It wasn't intentional, Carlos. She has to know that. You're not the kind of guy to intentionally hurt someone like that."
He nodded. "She knows that. She told me that she understood, and I think that she does."
We sat wrapped in each other's arms for a while longer before I felt Carlos's body jerk underneath me.
"What's wrong?" I mumbled, half asleep.
"I didn't realize how late it was! It's already after 2:00, and we still have a long drive home."
My head snapped up as I double checked the time on the VCR player. Crap! My mother was going to have a conniption if I got home after 3:00 am. We both stood up and hurriedly righted our clothes and picked up after ourselves.
Carlos loaded up the picnic basket and reset the house's alarm system before we climbed into the car and headed back to Trenton.
TBC