15. Lila

15

LILA

" W e're seeing a show on Broadway?" I squealed excitedly as we stood outside the theater, its glowing marquee lighting up the New York street. It took me a long moment to take in the scene, I was so starstruck. But then my eye caught the bold letters on the sign which spelled out VENGEANCE OF THE HEART, and I gasped aloud. "Oh, my God. Felipe! No way."

"Way," Felipe repeated cheekily, his smile brighter than the marquee. "Tonight, we're seeing the Tony-award-winning adaptation of your favorite childhood show."

I laughed, giddy and breathless. "I can't believe you remembered."

I'd told Felipe a story one night in our never-ending text stream about my long-time obsession with the old soap opera, Vengeance of the Heart. I'd watched it with my Aunt Greta one weekend when she was watching me while the rest of my family had been traveling for my older brother's baseball game, and from then on, seven-year-old Lila couldn't get enough of the drama, the soft focus camera, the absurd plot twists. My sweet, Midwestern mother had about had a heart attack when she'd learned I was watching something so adult, but Greta had assured my mother that I didn't understand any of the saucier bits of the show, which of course was true.

Ironically, that soap had been the first step toward my writing goals. After that weekend at my aunt's place, I started dreaming up my own kid-friendly soap opera scenarios, and my teacher at school had encouraged me to write them down. Even now, I still had a dream middle-grade project in my head that was loosely inspired by the soap opera I'd loved, though I hadn't actually put pen to paper on it yet. That was one of those projects I fantasized about completing once I could afford to live away from Gina and Christine's chaos.

And to boot, I wasn't sure I'd ever even told Felipe about my dreams of seeing my favorite show adapted for the stage. One thing I'd wanted ever since I moved to New York was to go to a show on Broadway, but they were so expensive that I hadn't gotten around to it in my years of living here. Besides, neither of my roommates had any interest in seeing a play with me since they both thought musicals were annoying, and I didn't see the point in trying to splurge on a ticket just to see a show alone. Excitement swelled to bursting in my chest, and it was all because of the sweet, romantic man by my side.

"Felipe, I can't believe…" I trailed off, staring at the marquee as if worried this was all a dream. "There are no words. Thank you so, so much," I gushed, and because we'd crossed that line already, I even went up on my toes to give him a swift kiss. His joy was near-tangible when I pulled away, both of us blushing a little.

"Come along, darling," he said to me in that low, sexy voice of his that was almost a purr. He took my hand and tugged me forward. "We have a show to see."

Felipe had kept his promise—the musical, this whole night, was beyond magical even before the show began. There was nothing like the hush of that theater full of people when the lights went dim, and from the second the curtains opened, the starting chords of the opening number rang through my body and only heightened my anticipation for the show. I was the luckiest girl in the five boroughs. Gosh, maybe even all the world.

As the story unfolded before us, I recognized plot beats from the soap opera, laughing and gasping in equal measure as an insanely talented cast brought this world to life. I found myself enthralled, especially, by the romantic leads of the show. A gorgeous red-haired woman portrayed Arlene Masters, the heroine I'd idolized as a little girl, and a golden-haired man whose looks almost rivaled Felipe's— almost —was her on-again, off-again soulmate, Rodrick Steel. I was near tears when their love story really kicked off, the two of them performing a soulful and intimate duet that made my heart yearn for that kind of romance. And then, as if on cue, Felipe shifted in his seat so that he was closer to me, and his hand ended up on my bare leg, just below the hem of my dress.

Oh, jeez. I was sitting in a dark theater, watching a spectacular performance of a musical I'd wanted to see forever, and now Felipe's hand was on my thigh. Someone needed to pinch me.

Naughtily, I hoped Felipe would do it.

As the romantic duet came to a close, my attention started to drift, and it was all the fault of the gorgeous man sitting beside me, his warm hand searing his memory into my flesh for eternity. At some point, his thumb began to stroke my outer thigh, the motion almost idle, and just that tiny bit of friction had me squirming in my seat. Stupidly, brazenly, I found myself spreading my legs, inviting him to move further upward.

Felipe took the bait like I hoped he would. There, in a theater full of people, he inched his hand further and further up until it was fully under my skirt. My breath hitched—but at least the show was heading in a dramatic direction, as that was the perfect cover. I edged forward in my seat, unable to help myself as I yearned for Felipe to touch me where I so badly wanted it. He was a gentleman, and I knew that—loved that about him, even. But right now, I wasn't looking to act like a lady.

I gasped aloud when Felipe's fingers found their way around the side of my panties and brushed against my wanton folds. It was almost embarrassing how wet I was, and it would have been more embarrassing that I'd made an audible sound if it hadn't been drowned out by the roaring crescendo of the music on stage. As the action on stage intensified, Felipe's fingers found my swollen clit and began to tease it, making it very, very hard for me not to rock my hips up to meet his hand. I had no time to process what was happening, the taboo and delicious reality that I was being fingered by a billionaire in a public place, because I could feel my body starting to peak in pleasure.

Oh, God. I was going to come. I was going to have my first orgasm given to me by another person in the middle of a Broadway show, and there was no part of me that felt sane enough to stop it. No, I only wanted more, wished desperately that Felipe could climb over his seat and make love to me, regardless of the other theatergoers. In that moment, I would have gotten up on stage and stripped naked just for Felipe to fuck me.

But just as Felipe's fingers increased their pace, when I was seconds from finishing, the theater erupted into thunderous applause. The lights started to come up, the curtains closing. Felipe pulled his hand out of my panties, and I wanted to cry. The show had reached its intermission.

As the people around us exited their rows of seats, heading to the lobby for refreshments or the restroom, Felipe and I stayed in place. He leaned closer to me, his lips nearly at my ear as he whispered, "Come with me, gorgeous Lila, so I can finish what I started."

He didn't have to tell me twice. On shaky legs, I went with Felipe on a circuitous route through the throngs, losing all sight of where we were going until the two of us were in a dark, empty hallway tucked away from the rest of the world. It was hard to even see him besides the near-neon green of his eyes, the vivid white of his teeth when he smiled.

But I didn't need to see him when I could feel him. In seconds, Felipe had me pinned with my back against the wall, and he was kissing me like it was his last moment on earth.

I was breathless before he brought his hand back up under my skirt. He moved his lips to kiss my neck, sending tingling bolts of electric pleasure through me and drawing a soft moan from my lips. Then, as he whispered gorgeous Spanish to me—words I didn't understand, but I could tell that they were filthy—his fingers found their way back to my soaked core.

This time, in some semblance of privacy, I could freely grind my hips against his hand. As he stroked my clit, firmly but slowly, I practically rode his hand, desperately seeking the release I knew he'd give me. Felipe swore under his breath, his mouth at my ear, his hips pressing forward until I could feel that he was hard for me, too.

"Fuck, Lila, you're so wet," he breathed, and I whimpered. "We don't have much time. Are you close?"

"So close," I hissed out as he pressed my clit in such a way as to make my hips jerk. "Please, Felipe."

"Anything for you, mi amor ." He kissed me hard on the mouth again, and with another second of his expert fingers' work, I was breaking apart.

The orgasm rocked through me, surprising and fast, leaving me completely breathless. Felipe's green eyes found me in the dimness, and I saw something like awe on his face.

"That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," he told me earnestly. I wanted to thank him, to kiss him again, to find a way to bring him half the pleasure he'd given me, but then we heard the telltale signs of intermission coming to an end, the bustle of the theater lobby like a distant foghorn. Felipe must have seen the disappointment in my face because he let out a quiet laugh as he started to lead us back to the theater. "Later, darling girl. We'll have all the time in the world after the show."

But how on earth was I supposed to focus on a musical after that ?

All I wanted as the second act of the show played out in front of me was for Felipe to put his hands on me again, but he kept his composure far more than I could, only holding my hand against the armrest of our seats. My body was a live wire even after already having an orgasm, desperate for its next fix of Felipe Rojas. When the show concluded, earning a standing ovation during the cast's final bows, all I wanted to do was grab Felipe and run back to the same hallway where he'd upended my entire world.

Luckily, somehow, I held it together until he and I were back in the limo, and not a second more. The door clicked shut, and I was reaching for him before we even got back into traffic, tugging his lips to mine with primal need. We were a mess of limbs and tongues and body heat, and I felt his hardness against me again, and I broke our kiss. Before I could think about it or overthink myself into a different decision, I asked Felipe in a whisper, "Can I come back to your hotel?"

He smiled like the sun breaking through storm clouds. "Lila, Corazon , I have never wanted anything more."