Hector (34 page)

“I’m thinking. Give me a sec.”

Okay?

She stopped pacing then sat down. “So Walter thinks he’s in love
with Charlee, but the guy can hardly talk to her. I’m thinking this is more of
an infatuation thing with him. She told me about how awkward it was when she
went over to see his science project. The only time he’d been comfortable was
when he’d been demonstrating it to her. The rest of the time he was his usual
nervous self and barely talked.” Drew rolled her eyes. “The guy had time to
prepare for her coming over, and the only thing he prepared for was his
demonstrations.”

Hector shook his head, feeling a little annoyed. “Nah, he did
prepare. I helped him actually. He just choked like he always does. But that’s
just who he is. That doesn’t mean he’s not really into her.”

“Well, I thought so too,” Drew quickly countered, “until I went
with him and Charlee to his grandpa’s assisted living facility.” She smiled
big. “You’ve been there with him too, right?” She gave him a knowing look.

Hector stared at her blankly.
“Yeah?”

“He’s not so awkwardly shy around
everyone,
now, is he?”

Still drawing a blank, he thought about it harder, feeling a
little stupid because he had no clue what she was talking about.

She frowned now and sat up. “How many times have you been down to
the old folk’s home with him?”

“A few.”
So Walter wasn’t shy around his
grandpa or the other oldies he played.
Big deal.
Hector
didn’t see how that was going to help.

“And did you meet Natalie?”

Hector had to think about it for a moment.
“His
gramps’ nurse?
Yeah, I met her. She’s been there every time.”

“
And?
”
Drew
pressed.

When he thought about it a bit too long for
Drew’s
liking
,
she plopped her hands
down on the table, and her eyes flew wide open. “Oh my God, I’ve only been
there once with Charlee, and we were there for all of five minutes before we
picked up on it. Charlee even thought it was cute, but at the time, I was too annoyed
to give it much thought because I didn’t like how rude Natalie was to Charlee.”

Hector lifted an eyebrow unbelievably. “Natalie was rude to
Charlee?” Natalie was a sweetheart. He had to wonder if Drew was exaggerating or
if this was a chick thing.

“Yes, she was rude to her. She obviously has a thing for Walter
and wasn’t thrilled about him bringing Charlee with him. The girl wasn’t
exactly sweet to me, but she must’ve picked up on Walter crushing on Charlee
because she really laid on the rude with her.” Drew dug into her chip bag and
shook her head. “Though, the big lug is as oblivious about it as you are.
Charlee and I actually considered getting involved and maybe giving him a clue,
but after the way she treated Charlee, we both said, ‘screw her.’”

This was total news to Hector. He’d been there a handful of times
with Walter now, and while he noticed Walter seemed comfortable enough with
Natalie, Hector hadn’t caught any interest
she
might have in him. Still, he liked where Drew was going with this. It wasn’t as
simple as he’d been thinking. “So what’s your plan?”

“We get Walter and Natalie together! Charlee even says they’re
perfect for each other. His grandpa’s in love with the girl. This will be a
piece of cake.” Drew smiled wickedly. “Once they’re together, trust me, he’ll
need to get over Charlee real fast because that cute little nurse with the big
attitude won’t be having it.”

Hector thought about it. Funny, he hadn’t picked up on any
discourteous behavior from Natalie. But then he wasn’t another girl vying for Natalie’s
love interest.

“And here’s the beauty of it.” Drew had Hector hanging on her
every word now. “Walter’s going to be traveling with Charlee a lot, right?
Spending time on the road, staying in the same hotels.
Natalie
already doesn’t like Charlee.”

Hector didn’t even realize he was frowning until Drew laughed.
“Relax. This is where you come in. I can guarantee you she’ll have issues with
it that may lead to arguments and fights and ultimately her not being able to
deal with it. I know
I’d
have a hard
time dealing with my man going on the road with someone I knew he had a thing
for, especially someone as adorable as Charlee. So you’ll actually be helping
him out. If she knows Charlee will have her hot boyfriend with her along on
said trips, she won’t be so freaked out about it.” Drew reached for her straw
and took a sip of her soda. “You’ll be Walter’s hero, not someone who betrayed
him.”

“Did you just call me hot?” Hector smirked.

With a laugh, she rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself.” She
reached for her purse. “But I will need your number. We gotta collaborate here.
Charlee
cannot
know about this.
She’ll kill me. As a matter of fact, I have to get going, or she might get
suspicious. I’m never gone this long without her knowing where I am, and she
sort of already caught on this morning that I might be up to something. Only
today, I knew she’d be out of it for most of the day, so I figured I could pull
this off. Let’s have it.” She held her phone up, ready to enter his number in
her phone. He gave it to her, and when she was done, she stood up.

“I’ll be in touch with you to let you know what I come up with.
I’ll have to think fast. Charlee was already talking about going back home.”

“What?” Hector stopped in his tracks. “Why?”

She continued to walk, making him walk with her. “It’s what she
does. That’s how she deals with being upset. She runs into her little Charlee
hole and wants to hide from the world. I talked her out of it for now. But if
this goes on much longer, I don’t know that she won’t change her mind.” She
must’ve seen the worry in his face because she added. “Don’t worry. If you knew
how my mind works, you’d know I’ll probably have a plan before I even get home.
I’m all over this.”

Hector smiled now as they walked out the restaurant. Drew seemed
as genuinely excited as he was beginning to feel. And she wasn’t kidding about
how fast her mind worked. By the time they got back to 5
^th
Street,
Drew had already gone over several possibilities about how they could go about
this. The more excited she got, the faster she talked.

“Catch your breath,” Hector said as they got out of his truck.

Drew laughed, but she did take a very long dramatic deep breath.
“I needed that.” She laughed.

Hector stared at her for a moment then smiled. “So you’d do all
this for Charlee, even though there’s a possibility she could kill you if she
found out?”

Her smile didn’t
flatline
like last
night when he told her she was a good friend, but it did lose some of its glow.
“I just wanna see her happy. She deserves to be.”

With his insides already stirring, Hector could hardly wait to
get on with this. The excitement of knowing this might actually work made him
smile. He was glad now that he’d decided to tell Drew everything. This day could’ve
gone in a completely different direction, and now he felt over the moon. “I
know I said it already, but Charlee really is lucky to have you as a friend.”

That really snuffed what was left of her smile. “You did that
yesterday when I said that. Why is that a bad thing?”

She was quiet for a moment then shrugged. “Let’s just say this is
not an entirely selfless act on my part. You’re not the only one whose conscience
is dragging him down. I need to do this for me as much as I do for Charlee.”
Hector waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. “I gotta go, but I’ll text
you.”

That last revelation didn’t sit well with him. Did Drew mean
she’d done something to Charlee she felt guilty about?
No way.
The girl had protective best friend written all over her.
She’d even marched in and called him an asshole for making her friend cry.

He made a mental note to bring it up again if he ever got the
chance.

Chapter 21

If there were any rhyme or reason to the days Hector
showed up to the chess lab, Charlee could prepare herself accordingly. Monday
she was fairly confident he wouldn’t be there because the last two weeks he’d
been consistent and only showed up toward the end of the week. She’d been right
and thankfully so because she still hadn’t felt up to facing him yet.

It was Tuesday now, and as Charlee walked to the chess lab, her
heart sped up. As unlikely as it was that he’d be there this early in the week,
the rattled nerves she felt from the possibility of seeing him again were out
of control.

Since Friday, more and more had come to her about their
conversation that night. She hadn’t just cried on her way home. She cried when
she spoke with him. She just couldn’t remember why—or rather what explanation
she’d given him for her tears.

Glancing up, she quickly lost her train of thought. Ross stood by
the stairway she needed to take to get to the chess lab. He was leaning against
the rail with both hands in his pockets, smiling—waiting for her. This was the
first time she’d seen him since Hector had blown up at her for talking to him
last.

“You promised you wouldn’t be talking to him anymore.” Completely
startled by Hector’s voice, Charlee nearly jumped.

With her hand on her chest, she glanced up at Hector, who was now
walking alongside her, staring Ross down, and she gathered her thoughts. Was
this something she’d promised Friday night? “I did?”

“Something
like
that.” He took a step in
front of her and stopped. “Last week you said you wouldn’t be talking to him
anymore. Is he waiting for you?”

Charlee looked up behind Hector. Ross wasn’t leaning against the
rail anymore, but he was still there, only the smile was gone, and he seemed to
be contemplating whether he should still wait or leave. “I don’t know.”

“He’s a bad guy, Charlee.” his words urged. “Trust me on this.
Like the guy Friday night, you don’t want to associate with him. I can get rid
of him for you. Just say the word and I will.”

She shook her head. “No.” His already hardened eyes seemed to
almost darken with that, so she touched his tense arm and added, “I won’t
associate with him anymore, but I don’t need you to say anything or do anything
to him.”

“How ’bout I do it to you?”

“What?”

Before she could try to figure out what he meant, he leaned in
and kissed her softly. As expected, her lips gave into him without even the
slightest resistance. When he pulled away, he smiled, licking his lips. “In
case he didn’t see that,” Hector said with a smirk then brought his arm around
her waist, pulling her against his hard body, and kissed her again this time
deeper.

Push him away. Tell him he can’t do this. It’s not fair!

But her brain was no match for her heart. It pounded soundly and
happily in her chest as Hector’s delicious mouth continued to devour hers. Even
after Hector pulled away, she stood there breathless and feeling completely enchanted.
This was the last thing she expected to happen the very next time she saw him.

Hector turned around then brought his smiling face back to face
her. She glanced back in Ross’s direction too. He was gone.

“You see,” Hector smiled even bigger. “That was a
much
more pleasant way to handle that. I
didn’t even have to touch the douche.”

The second she could manage to move her wobbly legs, Charlee
began walking. She wasn’t sure what she should be feeling, but at the moment she
was feeling it all: excited, confused, a little angry, but not sure if she
should be angry with herself or Hector. Mostly though, she felt embarrassed—embarrassed
about how easily she’d given into his amazing kisses. Frustration was also
peaking in her lineup of emotions. She’d been having a hard enough time getting
over something that never was, and now she had more to add to it.

Hector stopped her again just as they reached the stairs, placing
his hand on her arm. “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. But I
couldn’t help myself. It was either that, or I might’ve done something to him.
No,” he stopped and thought about it for a second, “I would’ve definitely done
something to him.”

“You can’t do that again, Hector.” It almost hurt to say the
words, but she had to. “It’s not fair,” she added with a whisper and began up
the stairs.

“I know,” he agreed with a regretful frown. Then his eyes
brightened a bit. “But if he even thinks of still trying to talk to you after
that, you have to admit I’ll have good reason to react
any
way I see fit.”

This time she stopped and looked at him. “No, you don’t.”

His face went all serious again. “What do you mean? The guy
thinks you and I are—”

“But
I
know we’re not.
And if he decides to talk to me again and you happen to see it, you will not
react
any
way you see fit.
I’ll
handle it.”

Hector shook his head. “Charlee, if I see that scumbag anywhere
near—”

“Let me ask you something,” she said, crossing her arms in front
of her and tilting her head. “Who were those girls you sat in the front row
with Friday night?”

Oh, yeah, if he was going to act as if a kiss somehow gave him
any liberties to do and say what he pleased, then she’d be taking a few
liberties of her own. She almost smiled at the way he so desperately tried to
hide how her question stunned him.

He recovered quickly and answered. “They were friends. One was
actually. She’s someone I knew from high school, and she brought her friend
along to watch the fight.”

She lifted her eyebrow. Was he trying to insinuate that, because
he’d only met her friend that night, it
had
to be completely innocent? “Did you have fun with them too in the parking lot
like you did with the two other girls you met the night of the tournament?”