Page 25 of Under His Sheets
I couldn’t stop smiling.
“Where I grew up? Grass Valley? It’s picturesque there, too, but I didn’t grow up around…well, anything as wonderful as your family. Your parents, everyone was so nice to me, so welcoming.” And obviously my tongue was relaxed.
“What happened to Alonso, is what you’re thinking.”
“No!” I was mortified. Had I intimated that?
But he chuckled, keeping his gaze forward. “They are wonderful people, but it is not easy to go against their wishes.”
“And you have?” Now we were getting somewhere. I didn’t want to push him, but then again, he wouldn’t have brought me out here if he didn’t want to talk.
He slowed down as we reached a plateau that opened to a vista that was incredible.
“Whoa,” I breathed. “And you grew up here?”
“Sí. Cava Segura has been in our family for five generations. My grandparents still lived here when I was small. My father had already taken over the business, but it is as it is now for Felip—well, Mateu, now that Felip is in California.” He exhaled. “Mateu was running the California operation but there were some problems and he wanted to be home. It just so happened that Felip met his little teacher and fell in love, so it worked out perfect.”
His expression didn’t match what he’d said.
“And Tomás? He lives in Madrid?”
“Sí. Papa knew he had instilled the travel bug in Tomás, so when he announced he wanted to start his own company doing tours throughout the country, Felip backed him and our father reluctantly agreed.”
“Forgive me if I’m confused that your family runs this successful winery and you…work at the school?”
He looked down, shaking his head. “This is the part that I should not be telling you.”
“Whatcanyou tell me, Alonso? Because from where I stand? We had what I thought was a great night, I left you my number, you never called, which—fine. I wasn’t really surprised. But then I show up to Frederick Douglass and…and you…and youlie? You don’t speak English? Come on, what am I supposed to think?”
He nodded and then turned to me, the whites of his eyes practically glowing around his deep brown irises. He squeezed my hand just enough to make a point.
“Why weren’t you surprised that I didn’t call you?”
“Wha— Well, I’ve had people blow me off plenty of times. That never surprises me. But none of them lied about speaking the same language to do it.”
“They were ignorant to let you go.Iwas…ignorant.”
“I’m sure you had your reasons for leaving me in the dark.”
“Your poem was beautiful,” he said, the corner of his lips turning up. “I keep it with me.”
That admission stunned me. He was so many things, and sentimental was a welcome addition to what I knew of him. “There’s more where that came from,” I said. “You inspired me.” I couldn’t, wouldn’t, admit my re-creation—Randall 2.0—was due to his challenging words.
“I hate that I’ve kept you in the dark.” He huffed out a breath. “Randall, I can’t talk about what I’m doing at the school. I can’t tell you much. In my past, I can say that I did my required military service, and it suited me. Mama hated that I re-enlisted. I tried to appease my parents by contributing what I can to Cava Segura. I handle the technology and security needs, but I am not…free. ¿Me entiendes?”
His words hung in the night between us and understanding opened like the night-blooming flowers that ran up the trellises on the sides of the winery and the house.
“Are you…intelligence?” I whispered. “Like…youcan’ttalk about it?”
His gaze was pleading, he wanted me to understand without him having to spell it out.
“It’s not that you don’twantto give me your whys?” I attempted to clarify without asking him too much.
“Sí, Randall. I want to give themallto you.”
And under the moonlight on a hillside covered in what I understood to be some of the most valuable grapes in the world, Alonso placed his hand on my jaw and stepped closer to me.
“Know this little bit. I desperately wanted to call you, but that night we spent together was an indulgence that could have compromised everything. Can that be enough for you to trust me? For now? It’s been killing me to see you every day, to keep everything from you when I just want to be with you, like this. I have never taken such a risk, never lost focus before, but I can’t regret it. That night was…the first time I’ve felt likemesince I signed my life over to someone else’s discretion.”
