Page 16 of Just for the Holidays
Marcos: You’re what?! OMG PERLA SAMBRANO! Can I call you?
Perla cringed at the idea of Gael hearing her gab about her thirst for him while he was in the other room.
Perla: I can’t. I’m in Gael’s private cottage...because we sort of told his mom we’re dating again.
A string of gifs appeared, which Perla supposed were trying to convey Marquito was not computing.
Marquito: For the love of all that is holy please let me call you.
As she considered what to do she heard a door open and close in the cottage. And a moment later through the bedroom window she saw Gael’s tall figure walking out on to the boardwalk leading to the ocean. He looked so sad and alone, and Perla once again wondered what the hell she thought she was doing with this man. Sullenly, she tapped her screen and called Marquito. It didn’t fully ring once before he picked up.
“I want the tea. All of it!”
Despite herself, Perla smiled at her friend’s nosiness. “You’re a chismoso,” she told him, unable to mask the genuine affection in her voice.
“I do love my gossip, but come on, friend.This is major.What’s going on? How did you end up in the Hamptons?”
She sighed before launching into a detailed explanation of the day’s occurrences and almost couldn’t believe herself that all that had happened in less than twelve hours.
“So you’re spending Nochebuena with him and his family, pretending to be his girlfriend?” Marquito recapped.
“Correct.”
“And you’ve already made out twice and are sleeping in the same bed tonight?”
Perla growled at Marquito’s giddiness. “This is such a fun game. I’m so glad I called you.”
“Perlita, babe, are you having just pants feelings for this boy or is your heart in the mix, too?”
And that was the question, wasn’t it? One that she would be smart to answer sooner rather than later.
Still looking where she’d seen Gael’s tall figure long after he disappeared from view, Perla sighed. “Maybe...” Lies. “Okay, not maybe, I do.” She slumped on the bed feeling wrung out from the admission. It was one thing to barely acknowledge it to herself, but a whole other to say it out loud.
“Oh, friend.” Marquito’s gentleness as he spoke to her stung. She hated feeling pitiful and foolish.
“You know what’s even more absurd?” Perla asked into the silence of the room as she shifted to get under the covers.
“What?” Marquito asked cautiously.
“I’d convinced myself that I was over him. It’s barely been twelve hours, Marcos, and I can’t breathe right if he’s around. I can’tthinkwhen I’m close to him.” Perla squeezed her eyes shut as she thought of the way he’d touched her just minutes ago. The way his big hands had felt on her skin. “I’ve let him kiss me twice, and I know I’ll do it again if he asks me.”
“Oh, boy...Perla Marina Sambrano, you in danger, girl.”
“I know,” she said, resigned, and considered her options. This thing with Gael would end poorly. He was not interested in a relationship. As far as she could tell he hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since they split up. It was probably unhealthy of her, but over the years she’d kept up with him, or at least with what the tabloids had to say, and he had not had a long-term relationship. He’d casually dated a model or a costar, but they never lasted.
Not that she was one to talk. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone past a first date. But she had a lot going on; she didn’t have the bandwidth for a relationship. She was just starting this new chapter in the family business. She was finally on her own and free from her mother’s clutches for the first time in her life. She’d told herself she would focus on her career, that she’d take this time to figure out what she wanted. In conclusion, she should not want Gael Montez, but she still did.
“Perlita, are you still there?” Marquito’s raspy voice yanked her out of her thoughts.
“I’m going to see where things go.”
Perla thought Marquito’s long exhale would be a preface to him trying to talk her out of it, but when he spoke, he surprised her. “Who am I to lecture you, babe? I keep falling headfirst into someone that I know isn’t good for me. But I love him.” Perla’s heart ached for her friend, and she wished her brother wasn’t such a selfish jerk.
“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely. “I wish Onyx would get his head out of his ass.”
“Nope, we’re not touching my drama tonight. Perla. If you want that man, let yourself have him.”
“I think I might,” she assured her friend before ending the call. Anticipation roared under Perla’s skin like the flames of a fire as she lay in Gael’s bed. This was not a smart plan, but maybe that was why it needed to happen, because from how they’d both been thirsting after each other all day she knew all of this tension would need to be popped somehow. And wasn’t it better to do it now? To stop fighting the inevitable and slake this lust that was clouding her judgment? No one had ever done to her what Gael could. He made her feel like a goddess when he looked at her with lust burning in his eyes. It was impossible not to want to snatch some of that when it was within her grasp.
