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I was probably the only teenage girl on the planet obsessed with her grandmother. All I wanted to do as soon as school let out was to go to abuela and crawl into bed with her. Maybe I'd even covertly asked for boy advice.
Perhaps I was overthinking, but I wanted to cancel things with Nash and delete his contact from my phone. It was all too risky. After watching him and Yumi threaten to kill Bentley reality sank in. Nash was every bit as wrong for me as the guys in Los Soldados. We said it was just one date, but why waste time?
I just kept wondering what would happen if something did start for us. What if I made him mad? What if we broke up? Would he let me go? Or kill me?
I barely knew Nash, yet deep down I was sure Nash had a limit and wouldn't physically hurt me. It was almost like he was on the cusp of heartlessness. Like he still had a chance to go left.
The only problem was that this was Hacienda, very few people chose left.
Now that I'd seen all of Nash, I knew chances were he'd follow in his brother's footsteps, as he was already marked by the Dragons in ink.
What I needed was to focus. Not on Nash, but on myself: Nina.
But 'Nina' still wanted to talk to her abuela about boys. Because the stupid, stupid girl inside me was too caught up in the sweet side of Nash. The side of him with that irresistible smile, husky chuckle, and the cutest face of amusement when he wanted to laugh at you but held back. In homeroom I'd pretended to scowl at him and that look of pleasure on his face had me wavering.
Had he always been cute?
Like, maddening cute?
I wish I could just throw it up to hormones, but this was more than attraction, he was nice in general to me, and that was horrible in the way that it should've been amazing.
All I needed was one good talk with abuela, she'd sort me out.
Except, as I pulled in front of my house I was greeted by the sights of Soldiers littering our property. It was bright and sunny out so a few were kicked back on our porch with cold beers, as some hung in the yard.
Goodness, it looked so ratchet. Seriously, were we the hangout spot for the boys or what?
"Damn, lookin' good, Nina," Felix said as he came over to me as I got out of the truck. "When'd you get so hot?"
I slit my eyes. "Don't wake up alive tomorrow."
Felix snorted and backed off, tipping his head back as he downed more of the beer in his hand.
Chuy, who was also at our house, made sure to shove Felix for his words.
I gathered the mail and headed inside. Hector was getting ready to come out and we met up in the doorway.
