Page 59 of A Lot Like Adiós
“God, no wonder you left all of us behind.” Her voice held anguish. “None of us got it. Gotyou.”
“I had this feeling that if I stayed in New York for college, my life was never going to be my own.” It was more than he’d planned to say, but it was the truth. He’d needed space to grow up outside the family unit, away from the crushing weight of his father’s expectations.
He just wished it hadn’t meant leaving Michelle too. At the time, it seemed necessary. And it was yet another thing he blamed his parents for.
He shifted in the seat. “I’m just surprised your sister never told you about the wedding.”
“Monica? Why?”
“She came out to talk to me when I was waiting for a taxi. Told me you were okay, had a good job.”
Michelle narrowed her eyes, as if looking back into the past. “I was already at Rosen and Anders by then.”
“Monica said it paid well.”
“It did. Until I decided the cost to my health was too damn high.”
She’d mentioned burnout before. But they’d poked enough old wounds for one night, so he tried to lighten the mood.
“Seen any good movies lately?” he asked.
“You’re changing the subject.”
“Damn right I am.”
And maybe she was also feeling emotionally wrung out, because she asked if he’d seen theBeyond the Starsfifteenth-anniversary panel at Comic-Con, and when he said he hadn’t, she launched into a play-by-play of the banter and behind-the-scenes gossip.
And for a moment, it felt just like old times.
But better.
MICHELLE HAD FORGOTTENthe condoms in her apartment, but that didn’t stop them from getting creative in Gabe’s bed after they returned. To her own surprise, Michelle actually let him go down on her. It wasn’t something she did often—it felt more vulnerable, like losing control, something she’d previously avoided at all costs. But with Gabe, it had felt okay to release the reins and see what kind of pleasure he could bring her.
And boy, had he delivered.
After that, Michelle made good on the striptease she owed him, and proceeded to blow his mind in every sense of the word.
Once they were done and had cleaned up, Michelle made him flip over onto his stomach so she could thoroughly examine the tattoo on his back. It was fairly large, taking up about a fifth of the real estate, and blended the flags of Mexico and Puerto Rico with flora and fauna, forming a cohesive whole.
“Is this your only one?” she asked, trailing her fingers over the ink.
“You’ve seen every inch of me, so if there were more, I don’t know where I’d be hiding them.”
She grinned and gave him a poke. “I knew someone in college who had a tattoo on the inside of their lower lip.”
Gabe narrowed his eyes at her from where his cheek was pillowed on his arms. “Michelle, I do not have a tattoo inside my mouth.”
“Just checking.” She returned her attention to his broad back. “When did you get this?”
He hesitated before answering. “After I stopped talking to my family.”
She’d suspected as much. It broke her heart to imagine Gabe as a young man, alone and cut off from his family, his heritage.
She kept her voice light. “Can I guess what it means?”
He closed his eyes. “Go for it.”
“I recognize this one. It’s the Taíno symbol for the coquí. And is this one... an eagle?”
