AngelThey'd won their game and were all in good spirits as they waited outside of the party. Eric still sat behind the wheel. Angel, who stood outside of the car, leaned in the driver side window. "Pass me a water."Eric grabbed one from the ice chest and took one for himself."C'mon, let's go in." Romero stood in the middle of the street.Angel made a face. As good as he felt about the way the game had gone tonight, he was tired and not really in the mood for partying. He'd never admit it to anyone, but the only reason he was there at all was for the possibility of seeing Sarah. He'd been thinking about her ever since the day they had talked. Hell, he'd thought about her during the game. He kept glancing up at the stands every chance he got, prompting several disgusted hollers from his coach of, "Get in the game! What the hell's the matter with you, Moreno?"He hadn't seen her at the game, but then she did say she had to work. There was still a chance she'd make the party. Looki
"So, are you here alone?" she asked.He looked around. He had to. If he stared at her any longer, he was afraid he'd freak her out."Nah, my friends are here somewhere. We just got split up." He turned back to her. "How 'bout you? Is it just you and Valerie tonight?"She sipped on her wine again. "Yeah, well, I came here with just Val, but we're supposed to meet up with friends later."Angel took another swig of his beer and looked around casually. "Guys?""No, some of her girlfriends-they're not here yet though. That's why I'm here. I really don't like these kinds of parties, but none of her friends could get here until later, so she talked me into coming with her."Angel smiled, unable to look away from her eyes. "I'll have to thank her later for that. So, where do you like to go?"She held his gaze for a moment and then smiled, making Angel's legs weak. "I love the beach," she sighed. "I just moved out here a few months ago from Arizona, so the beach is new to me. I could spend
SarahMinutes passed while Sarah sat in the passenger seat, heart pounding, waiting for Valerie to answer her phone. "Hello?""Valerie?""Sarah, I've been so worried. Where are you?""I'm with Angel. We're dropping off his friend. Are you on your way home?""Home? It's still early. There's another party we're going to. Do you need me to come get you?""No, I think I'm good for now.""Oh, my God, are you and Angel gonna hang out?" Valerie gushed.The thought of what Valerie meant by hang out made Sarah's heart beat even harder. She bit her lip. "I'm not sure," she said. "I'll call you and let you know where to meet me.""Is he right there next to you?" Valerie whispered as if he might hear her.Sarah giggled. "No, he's outside with his friend. I'm in the car.""You have to make out with him, Sarah, so you can tell me all about it."Sarah laughed nervously, her face suddenly warm. "Valerie!" she gasped, "I hardly know him.""He's totally hot. What more do you need to know?"
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut for a second. Shit. She didn't want to tell him about that. Why hadn't she just said yes when he asked her if Jesse was a friend? She'd hardly expected to be talking to Angel again. And not like this."It was a long time ago." She thought she felt him suck in a breath, and he was quiet for a second."What was a long time ago? "She braced herself, not knowing how he'd feel about her after she told him. But it was in the past, so what did it matter? She turned around, but he never let go of the fence, so she was still in his arms, so to speak. His eyes seemed darker somehow. He looked straight at her, waiting."Nothing really," she said. "I met him a few summers ago when I came out to visit my aunt, and we hung out one night.""Was he your boyfriend?" Angel eyes were still fixed on hers.She shook her head. "No.""You still hang out with him?""Nope, he's still asking me out, but I'm not interested.""Good," Angel said. "He's an asshole."Sarah's eye
AngelAngel groaned as the music from his sister's radio blared in through his open bedroom door. He was having the best dream ever all about Sarah. It was so real: her beautiful eyes, her lips; he could even taste them. Who knew how far the dream may've gone. He frowned, listening to the music that interrupted his fantasies. His sister Sofia was only sixteen, but she'd recently discovered The Beatles and was blasting their music every chance she got. To top it off, the blow dryer was roaring.His mood quickly shifted when he replayed last night's events in his head. He lay there thinking about everything that had happened. He chuckled to himself when he thought of how effortlessly he'd cracked Sarah up. Everything he was feeling now was so unexpected.More than anything, he wanted to ask more about her mom, but it was obvious she didn't want to talk about her. Why would a mom dump her daughter on someone else, just like that? What kind of problems could she be ironing out? Somethin
SarahSarah couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so alive. Standing under the shower with the warm water running over her body, she thought of Angel as she lathered herself and smiled.The past year had been all but hell, and the past two months had been worse with Sydney having to drag her out of her funk every time. But now she felt jubilant. It scared her a little. She was still very aware of the fact that this was Angel—the Angel she'd heard so much about. But he said he was looking forward to getting to know her. He sounded so sincere, and his kisses, God, those kisses... Just thinking about them made her quiver all over.Sydney's call woke her up just after seven, and they talked until Angel called. He knew she'd gone out last night for the first time since she'd been out here, and he was anxious to see how it went. Sarah told him everything, not wanting to leave anything out, especially about the kissing. Sydney hadn't been surprised at all that Angel was interested in
AngelHe'd taken a few steps up the walk when he saw her come out the door. Immediately he was smiling silly. She was dressed casually, yet somehow she had the same incredible appeal as she had had last night when she was all done up—in some ways even more.Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she walked down the steps of the porch. She met him in the middle of the walkway. He took her hand in his. He could definitely get used to her soft delicate hand in his. He wanted to kiss her, but he felt weird doing it right in front of her house. His reserve however wasn't strong enough to fight off the urge to hug her, so he did tightly. He squeezed her, feeling her hair against his face, breathing in everything about her.Reluctantly, he finally pulled away and let her go. His hand was still fastened to hers. He looked up at the door. "Do I need to go in?"Sarah's eyes widened, and she shook her head too quickly. "Oh, no, that's not necessary."Angel wondered if there was something she was hidi
Sarah admired him from behind as he sprinted to his car. Once there, he leaned in the window and reached for his phone. She placed her sandwich down on its wrapper and slapped her hand on her forehead, leaving it there for a second. She shook her head. I'm a virgin. Good God, it's only their first date. They're at a park in broad daylight. Did she really think he was gonna jump her bones? Was there no end to her idiocy?Angel walked back, still on the phone. He hung up before he got close enough for her to hear him. He sat down next to her again and picked up his sandwich."Sorry about that," He sat down across from her again. "I thought it might be my mom. Sometimes it gets really busy at the restaurant on the weekend, and they need me to come in and help out, even when I'm not scheduled to.""What kind of restaurant do they have?" She already knew. Valerie had told her so much about the Morenos. But she was shooting for a safer subject. One she couldn't goof up.He shook his head