Chapter 22

Donnie: Hey beautiful

Donnie: I'm picking you up.

Me: I don't get a say?

Donnie: Nope.

Donnie: I'll be there in 30.

Twenty-nine minutes later, my doorbell rings. When I see him through the side glass panel, I hear my heart hammering against my chest. Donnie stands behind the door looking sexy as fuck.

He's wearing his letterman jacket with dark jeans and dark gray and black boots tucked underneath the hem of his jeans. His hair looks freshly washed and is styled to perfection. His eyes are bluer than the deep ends of the ocean.

Come inside." I walk back to my room to grab my phone, jacket, and purse. When I walk out, Donnie is still in the same spot with an agonized look on his face.

Following his gaze, I notice he's staring at the kitchen floor where Abuela is wiping up spilled red sauce that is seeping through the tiles.

"What's wrong?" I ask, struggling to put on my Jacket.

"Nothing. Sorry, just lost in thought." He shakes his head. "Oh, here, let me help you."

"Thank you." He holds my jacket open, allowing me to slip my arms in. He places both hands on my shoulders and my body trembles. He rubs my arms up and down. "All good?" His warm breath feathers the back of my neck.

"Yes, thank you."

I let Abuela know we're leaving, and she kisses us both on the cheek.

After we settle in Donnie's Porsche, we drive through the city and into the suburbs, driving by houses—no, let me rephrase—mansions!

The houses are enormous with cast iron entry gates, perfect landscaping even in the snow, and expensive cars lining the driveways. The neighborhoods gradually change to a more secluded area.

Donnie turns into a driveway blocked by a black entry gate. He enters a six-digit code and moves forward once the gates open.

The steep slope guides us to a multi-level contemporary glass home with lots of windows. This is still the most beautiful house I have ever seen.

Donnie parks his car outside the garage, gets out and runs around to my side, opening the door for me.

"No one's home yet. I thought we could hang out here until Ash gets home. Come on. I'll give you a tour." He takes my hand in his.

We enter through the glass door and stand in the foyer underneath a sphere-shaped bronze chandelier—it almost looks like the planet Saturn. The light-filled main level features a luxurious open living space with floor to ceiling glass windows. Donnie walks me through the living room with its fireplace into a formal dining room and then a bright white chef's kitchen with stainless steel appliances. The sliding doors in the kitchen give a perfect view of the pool, complete with a waterfall.

We walk up the U-shaped staircase to where I'm assuming all the bedrooms are.

He motions to different doors. "This is my parent's room. That's Ash's room, and there two guest rooms, and this is my room." He opens the door to his room wide enough for me to enter.

His room is exactly what I imagined it would look like a black and white mural of two baseball players pitching and throwing the ball covers one wall and the others are painted a light gray. The light blue and gray comforter set covers the king size bed set in the middle of the room placed between two nightstands. The track lighting above his bed surrounds the silver ceiling fan. So far, this is the warmest and most comfortable room in the house.

The heat underneath my feet feels like the warmth of the sun radiating heat waves through my entire body. I look up to Donnie and as if he can read my mine, he answers the question in my head.

"The floors are heated." He laughs softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nice." I nod, impressed, as I check out the rest of his room. Trophies lined up on a built-in bookshelf sit beside a flat screen TV that is mounted on the wall across from his bed.

As I walk further into the room, I notice a large walk-in closet that connects to a private bathroom. Running my fingertips along the edge of his computer desk, a picture in a frame catches my eye. Picking it up, I notice two little kids sitting on a tree swing. The little boy wraps his arm across the girl's waist while she lays her head on his shoulder.

You can't see their faces because their backs are facing the camera, but I know it's me and Donnie.

"Where did you get this?" I whisper.

Donnie stands behind me breathing against the nape of my neck, goosebumps forming all over.

"Mom took it without us knowing. As we were unpacking, Mom found this picture and framed it for me."

I find myself leaning back against his chest. He welcomes me by wrapping his arms across my chest and resting his chin on my shoulder. "It's one of my favorite pictures. So you see, Shorty, there wasn't a day that went by that you never crossed my mind. I was always thinking of you." He softly kissed my neck.

I want this more than anything, but I hesitate. I pull myself away from him and walk toward his tall window.

"What's wrong?" he asks, sounding nervous.

"Nothing." I look out the window, admiring the beautiful scenery.

So much more peaceful than living in the city. I could sense his eyes on me, so I turn to face him.

He doesn't look convinced as he searches for the truth in my eyes and tucks his hands into his front pockets, watching me—waiting for me to turn him away but I'm done playing that game.

There has always been something about his eyes that brings me comfort. I can trust him with my life and know he would catch me if I fell. Donnie is one of a kind, and he is mine. I'm the one who knows what makes him angry, sad, and happy. I'm the one who knows his likes and dislikes. I'm the one who knows the signs when he begins to feel like he's losing control.

He belongs to me.

I give him a wistful smile.

With an expression of relief, he walks in my direction and pulls me into his arms. "I've missed you so much. You have no idea how much I want you. All of you." I pull away just enough to look up to him and place both my hands on his face.

"So do I." And then his lips are on mine. He kisses me with passion and intensity. When I groan and part my lips, he dives his tongue into my mouth. I close my eyes and let go, allowing him to have his way with me.

We pull away from each other, breathing heavy and trying to compose ourselves before it goes any further. And believe me, I would've allowed it. He places a soft kiss against my lips and winks at me with an adorable smile.

Donnie's phone goes off giving me a chance to take a breather from being so close to him. "Can I use your bathroom?" I ask him.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. It's right through there." He points toward the walk-in closet. "When you're done, we can hang out in the movie room."

"A movie room? You have your own movie room?"

What the fuck.

"Yeah." He laughs glancing down at his phone. "And a snack bar. Mom kind of went all out."

"Kind of?" I laugh as I walk to the bathroom.

His closet is insane. It's the size of another bedroom. I never would've imagined a guy would need so much space.

Jesus. Tia would love this. She'd use this room just for her shoes. The built-in shelving has items organized by style and color. The large skylight keeps the windowless room bright, highlighting the neutral wood flooring, double layer hanging space, and floor to ceiling shelf unit.

The closet isn't the only thing making my eyes pop out of their sockets. The luxurious bathroom is out of this world with its matte-black fixtures and trim. A chevron-patterned, polished-stone wall creates a calming space.

There's a stand in shower behind a glass wall that's big enough to fit at least four people. The best part of the bathroom is the wide stand-alone tub.

After I do my business and wash my hands, I walk out to find Donnie laying on his bed with one arm tucked underneath his head and the other resting on his stomach. God, I want him so bad, more than I have ever wanted anyone else. I wonder what he would think if I straddled his hips and—

"You good?" He looks up with a cocky grin, as if he knows exactly what I am thinking.

"Yep." I clear my throat and disappear out of his room before I do something stupid. His laughter echoes behind me as I scurry down the stairs.

When he catches up to me, we walk toward the middle of the hallway on the first floor and turn right leading, down to another set of stairs.

As soon as we make it to the bottom, I pick up my jaw from the floor...again. My eyes take in the massive room with its dark black and white walls, large white screen, two black leather recliners, and wide sectional sofa.

"Do you want some snacks before dinner? We have…"— he walks toward the snack and bar station behind us— "Sour Patch Kids, MM's, Milk Duds, or if you don't want any candy, I can make popcorn, nachos with cheese, or pretzel bites. Do you still love the bites?"

"Yeah, I do." I can't get rid of this stupid smile on my face. The fact that he remembers so much about me from our past makes my heart all giddy.

"Go sit and pick a movie. I'll get the snacks ready." He winks and gestures for me to sit down.

Picking up the remote, I get frustrated trying to figure out how to turn it on. When I finally get it to work, I search HBO Max, Netflix, and Hulu and find the movie. After Donnie hands me the pretzels and a bottle of water, we sit in the recliners and watch Sandlot. His favorite movie. When he realizes what we are about to watch, he's sporting a stupid grin just like I was.

I catch him taking glimpses of me here and there and adjusting the tent he is sporting in his pants. Eventually, he tosses a throw over it to hide it.

Once the movie is over, loud laughter and footsteps can be heard from upstairs.

"Yo! D! You here, man?"

"Wyatt." He groans as he takes my empty container and water bottle and tosses them in the trash.

"Come on." He takes my hand, and like a lost puppy, I follow his lead. Always holding my hand, just like when we were kids.

"Dude. Shut the fuck up. Why do you always have to yell?" That was Ash, sounding a bit annoyed.

"I gotta take a piss." A male voice I don't recognize.

We walk into the kitchen where we find Ash leaning against the marble counter and looking through his phone, and Wyatt half in the fridge.

"Hey. What's up?" Donnie addresses the guys.

Everyone looks up and notices me standing beside Donnie and holding his hand. Ash glances at our hands and back to me with a wide grin on his face. Almost like a proud papa. Ash tucks his phone in his pocket, picks me up, and twirls me around, releasing a giggle out of me.

"Ah, man! So glad you're finally here. Welcome home, Curly Sue." He places a kiss on my forehead and sets me down.

With one hand over on my shoulder, he points with the other to Wyatt. "And you remember Wyatt."

Wyatt closes the fridge and places an energy drink on the counter. He closes the space between us by pulling me in for a giant bear hug.

"Good see you again. God, you smell good."

"Dude. Fuck off," Donnie snaps at Wyatt.

"What? It's the truth." He ignores the anger on Donnie's face when he pulls me back, holding my shoulders as he speaks. "I can see what Donnie sees in you. You are the most exotic, beautiful Latina I have ever seen." He licks his lips in a seductive way and winks at me.

"Oh shit," Asher mutters under his breath while clearing his throat and clearly holding back a laugh.

"Are you serious right now?" Donnie steps in front of me, blocking Wyatt's view. Wyatt lets out a casual laugh and holds up his hands in the air and then walks back to his energy drink.

"Damn. Didn't take you as a possessive type, D." I turn around to see a blond boy with sea green eyes with hands clasped behind his head.

I remember him from the restaurant when he was there with Donnie. My eyes immediately travel to the size of his well-built biceps as they flex through his jersey. They are not as big as Donnie's but they're still nice to look at.

I'm surrounded by hot gods. If Tia was here, she would be licking each of these guys until her tongue ran dry.

He holds out his hand as he strolls toward me. "Hey, good looking."

"Hey," I respond.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Ash grabs an apple from the bowl on the counter and takes a big bite. He holds out the apple as an offering, but I decline by shaking my head.

"We can hang out by the pool," Wyatt suggests.

I place my hand on Donnie's forearm. He looks down at me and smiles sweetly. "I don't have a suit," I whisper low enough for his ears only.

"It's ok. We have extra suits in the pool house."

"Oh." I don't know what to say about that.

Donnie chuckles when he sees my expression. "Mom bought a whole bunch in different sizes for when family visits in case they forget their suits."

Wait. Something just clicked in my head.

"Isn't it a bit cold to go swimming?"

"We have an indoor pool on the roof," Ash explains.

Ok, then.

The guys meet upstairs and prepare the drinks. Donnie walks me out to the pool house that's right beside the enclosed pool and opens a drawer full of colorful swimsuits with the price tags still attached. We walk back to his bedroom to change.

"Just pick whichever one you want. I'll wait out here for you." He closes the door and leaves me in the bedroom to change.

There are so many to choose from. Dad never allowed me to wear swimsuits. I would have to wear a plain shirt and shorts. He would say, "What kind of girl shows her pussy and ass for other men to see? A fucking whore, that's who."

Ignoring his voice in my head, I pick a red and black tankini with polka dots and ties at the sides. On one side of the drawer, there are several pairs of sandals. I grab a pair of black ones and head out to meet Donnie.