“Exactly. They’re your family. All anyone is going to think is you’re there to visit for a weekend, babe. The only people who will be thinking about you screwing the man’s brains out are you… and him.”
“Again, you’re not funnyandyou’re not helping. What do I even pack?”
“Clothes. Although I’m sure Emilio wouldn’t mind if you went without them.” Kevin laughs.
I pick up a pillow and throw it at him. “Argh, why are you even here?”
“Because you’re spiraling, and if I weren’t here, you’d probably be running home to your parents and hiding away. I’m here to make sure you don’t back out.”
“It’s fine. It’s just a weekend to visit my aunt and uncle.”
“Right, your aunt and uncle, who happen to be the parents of the man you want to jump like a monkey.”
“They’re not blood-related, idiot. It’s not incest.”
“I didn’t say it was.” Kevin holds his hands up in surrender. “Also, you haven’t actually done anything with Emilio.”
“I kissed him. Once.”
“When you were eighteen, after you’d thrown up five glasses of champagne. I know the story, Frankie. But also, if he’s stillinterested after kissing you with vomit breath, then he might be the real deal.”
I know Emilio is the real deal. That’s not the problem. I don’t want to be the reason my family is torn apart. Tío E is one of my father’s oldest friends. I can’t be what comes between them.
“Wait… You really think all he remembers from that kiss is vomit breath?” My nose scrunches up. That’s just… it’s disgusting. I really hope it wasn’t that bad. I run into my bathroom, pick up my toothbrush, squirt some paste on it, and start scrubbing my teeth.
Kevin appears in the doorway. “What are you doing?”
“Brushing my teeth,” I tell him as I continue scrubbing.
“Right, but why?”
Turning on the faucet, I lean over and rinse out my mouth. Then I pick up my towel, wipe my face, and turn around. “Because I don’t want Emilio kissing me to be linked to vomit breath. I’ll be right back.”
Before I can talk myself out of it, I walk through my front door, leaving Kevin in my apartment. I knock on Emilio’s door and wait. It doesn’t take long before he’s standing in front of me, in just a towel, water droplets running down his torso.
Damn, I really did not think this through.
All that toned, brown skin on display for me. Fucking hell, why can’t he just not be so hot?
“You want to come in?” Emilio asks, his lips tipping up at the corner like he’s amused by me standing on his doorstep speechless.
“No. I just need to do one thing,” I tell him.
“What’s that?”
“Stand still. Don’t move.” I push up on my tiptoes and then press my lips to his.
Emilio’s hand wraps around my back and he pulls my body up against him. His head dips and then his tongue pushes out, parting my lips.
I kiss him for only a brief moment before pulling away. “There. That’s what I want you to remember as our first and only kiss.”
“That was not our first kiss, Frankie.” Emilio smirks.
“Yeah, but it dawned on me that I had vomit breath for the first one, and that’s not how I want you to remember kissing me,” I explain. “Don’t overthink it. I just… wanted to fix it.”
“Vomit breath? I don’t recall that. I recall kissing a girl I’d been pining after for years and then having her run away from me,” he says.
“Yeah, well, now you can replace the vomit breath memory for this one. Pick me up at six. If you’re late, I’m changing my mind and not coming with you,” I tell him and then practically run back into my apartment.