Page 112 of Outspoken

That’s cool. I should have enough food for guests, and it might be good to visit with family. Trying to get Amber off my mind and deal with this Angel situation has taken a lot of my motivation. A family visit might lift my spirits.

I open the door with a smile and look into the living room, where I hear laughter. I almost drop the grocery bags I’m holding. Amber and Angel are sitting on the floor around the coffee table, their backs to me. The coffee table has been cleared off for a Monopoly board. Mom is on the couch petting the cat and the TV is blaring in the background, which may be the reason no one heard me open the door.

My pulse speeds up. Never in a million years did I expect to come home to find Amber in my house laughing with my family.Why is she here?

And how is she even more beautiful? Her hair is soft and flowing, a pink blouse and a pair of jeans hugging her curves. She’s facing away, but I know my heart is going to skip a beat when I see her radiant smile and gorgeous blue eyes.

Despite everything, the first words in my heart are:Mi amor, I missed you.

I didn’t realize how much until this moment.

But it doesn’t change anything, does it? I’ve driven myself crazy these past weeks from thinking over everything—the different futures we want, my feelings that I doubt, how she only wants to hide me and make me a fuck buddy.

I’m not closer to any answers, but…

Seeing Amber here chilling with my family like it’s the most natural thing to do—seeing how easily everyone gets along, how easily she fits—sparks something in me. It’s a mellow warmth shimmering deep within me that I’ve never felt. My brain can’t grasp it fully, so I let it rest for now.

Angel rolls dice and then moves his token. “Mine,” he says, counting Monopoly money and then slapping it on the board.

Amber makes a disgusted sound. “You brat. I need that one to complete my set. You can’t take yellow.”

“Already did.”

She grabs the dice. “Fine. Then I’m spending all of my hard-earned cash to build hotels so you go bankrupt. Then you’ll beg me to buy that yellow and I’ll refuse. You lose.”

Angel laughs. “That’s dumb. I own half the board.”

“Shh,” Mom says, pointing at the TV. “They’re confronting that man in the suit. I don’t like him.”

Amber angles herself to look at the TV, finally noticing me. Her lips part and we lock eyes for a moment. My heart dances.

I can’t deny I’m happy to see her, as conflicted as I am.

She tucks a few blonde curls behind her ear. “Hey,” she says softly to me, causing Angel and Mom to glance in my direction.

Angel frowns while Mom’s face lights up.

“Ah, Miguel, finally,” Mom says, reaching toward me even though I’m across the room. “Come in. Stop staring.”

Snapping from my daze, I quickly drop the grocery bags in the kitchen, getting the rest from the car. After closing the front door, I stuff the perishables in the fridge, and then hurry back to the living room. I’m surprised to find Angel still around. Normally, he bolts as soon as I’m home.

“It’s your turn,” he grumbles to Amber, ignoring me.

“Um, yeah,” she says, giving me a shy side glance.

“What are you doing, Miguel?” Mom says. “Say hello. I raised you better.” I walk to the couch to kiss her forehead, but she shoves me away. “Ay, not me. Amber. She’s your guest and you don’t say hello?” She shakes her head with disapproval.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Amber says, grabbing the dice. Her voice is still quiet and timid.

Mom pats my arm, trying to push me in Amber’s direction. “Hug and say hello. Be a gentleman.”

Amber shakes her head at me with a weak smile, not standing up so we can hug. I glance between her and my mom, caught between these two women in my life. Mom frowns like I’m disappointing her as a son.

“Es complicado,” I tell mom.

She shakes her head. “It’s not.”

Amber finally stands to give me a hug. My heart had finally started to relax, but as soon as her soft arms wrap around me, it goes crazy again. Amber is stiff in my arms, but I catch her soft sigh. She squeezes me, so I squeeze back, taking in her floral perfume and wishing we could stay in this embrace until sunrise.

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