The One Who Got Away is Back

Present 7 ♡ Not So Casual Surprise

"Phew, I have no doubt." Ayrton fanned himself. "Okay listen, I don't want to hear anything from you until Monday. And then I want to hear every little detail. Do we have a deal?"

I smiled. "Deal."

We hung up and I gave Poonam one last unwanted hug before she hid herself down the hallway leading to our bedrooms. I grabbed my purse, the overnight bag and opened the door.

Someone hold me, I thought. Preferably him.

"Hi," I squeaked out, holding my overnight duffel bag in front of me like a barrier.

Miguel's smile came slow but intense, as if he knew exactly the kind of effect his white linen shirt, purposely unbuttoned to where I liked it, was doing to me. Or the way his baby blue shorts hugged the thick muscles of his thighs. I thought bringing a box of condoms was an exaggeration, but now I wasn't so sure.

"Ready?" he asked, taking the bag from me and offering me his arm.

Listen, I was all for feminism. I could carry my damn bag if I pleased. But at that moment I didn't please. So I linked my hands around his arm and got a nice feel of his skin against mine.

His car was one of those Audis that sat low on the ground and looked like they were made of precious metals. Miguel opened the passenger's door and I gladly accepted his help to get in. It was a mix between squats and crunches and I wasn't well equipped for it with my dress or strappy sandals.

After he joined me in the driver's seat I said, "Gee, that was like going to the gym."

Miguel looked at me as he turned the engine on and said, "Hopefully that's how you'll feel like on Monday."

I smacked his forearm, which of course sent him into peals of laughter. This was one of the most dangerous things of being with him, the teasing that I could never dish back in kind.

I huffed, but changed the topic so I could try to sweep this one under the rug. "So, where's our destination?"

"I thought it would be a surprise."

He put on his sunglasses and I took mine out of the cross body purse I'd put on earlier. We spent the first hour of what looked like a road trip chatting about this and that. Work took the biggest chunk of conversation. He shared a couple of stories about his life in Canada and how cold it was.

"Ironically," he said at some point. "The best way to get warm is to get on the ice and play some hockey."

"Did you get any good at it?" I asked.

Miguel snorted. "No, and it pisses me off because Charlie's way better at it than me."

"Said like a typical older brother," I said with a roll of my eyes.

He shrugged.

"Charlie's a force of nature. Someone has to keep her in check, you know?" Miguel shook his head.

I thought about that. Although he pretended to be all annoyed by his porcupine sister, as he called her, I knew for a fact that he adored her and did everything for her. Any time she needed something, he was there for her. Over the phone, in person. Even helping her boyfriend out to pick an engagement ring and organize a proposal.

That was love. The kind I couldn't fathom.

After a moment of silence he glanced at me and asked, "Why are you smiling like that?"

"You'd do anything for your sister, right?"

I thought he would laugh and say no way, but he stayed quiet so long that I started to worry it was maybe time to flash him some skin.