driving distance from the motel. Ida was taking back her car that night, leaving Alexa without a set of wheels, so she had agreed.
And now she stood on the corner, her stomach in knots, as she saw the familiar dark-blue Honda make its way toward her.
Diego pulled to a stop at the curb. Alexa walked toward him, watching through the passenger window as he put the car in park and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He looked a little nervous, but also more breathtakingly hot than ever.
"Good Lord," Alexa muttered to herself. Suddenly, she wanted to get into that car, slide her arms around his neck, and run her fingers through his hair. Friends, she reminded herself sternly as she stepped off the curb. To settle the butterflies in her stomach, Alexa mentally ticked off all the reasons she shouldn't be lusting after Diego: There was her need to be single for a while. Her lingering worries about Holly's feelings. And the fact that it was simply silly to get invested in a boy who lived all the way down in Miami. The whole long-distance thing was so not Alexa's style.
She was reaching for the handle on the car door when Diego emerged from the driver's side. Their eves met. He smiled, and Alexa felt her knees weaken at the sight of his delicious dimples. Diego walked
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around the car, over to where she stood, one hand behind his back, the other in his pocket.
They faced each other on the street, just as they had on that fateful Sunday night. Then, there had been fiery anger between them; now, there was just palpable, almost excruciating tension. Diego's dark, soulful eyes lingered on Alexa's face, and she wondered if he was feeling as she had felt about him two seconds ago: dying to touch her, but knowing he shouldn't.
"Hi," Alexa said, sliding the bangles up and down her wrist.
"Hi," Diego said. He moved his hand from behind his back and held it out to Alexa. He was holding a single, perfect white orchid.
"For me?" Alexa asked, her heart jumping. Orchids were her favorite flower -- exotic, rare, wild.
But not exactly "friendly."
"Diego, you shouldn't have --" she began, her voice quivering, but he shook his head and smiled.
"Blame my mom," he said. "She taught me to always bring a girl flowers. Even girls who are just friends," he added, his expression slightly teasing.
"Well... thank you," Alexa relented, taking the orchid. Diego opened the car door for her, and she slid inside with a smile. There was something funny about getting into the very car that had brought her and Diego together in the first place, Alexa reflected
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as Diego returned to the driver's seat. She longed to share her thoughts with him, but she held back. She could bring it up over dinner, when she was feeling less on edge. She set the orchid in her lap and took a deep breath.
"So where's this café?" Alexa asked as Diego turned the key in the ignition and steered the car into the traffic.
"Hmm. Not too far," Diego replied mysteriously, his eyes on the road. He was an amazing driver, Alexa noticed: Smooth and slow when he needed to be, fast and almost reckless when he could be. I bet he's good at everything else, too, Alexa thought, her skin flushing hot.
"What kind of food is it?" Alexa asked, forcing herself to think chaste thoughts.
"Oh, you know," Diego said, changing lanes, and flashing her an incredibly sexy smile.
"Italian?" Alexa guessed, suddenly intrigued. She loved going out to eat, and had practically memorized the "Eating & Drinking" section of her Miami guidebook. "Is it Caffe Abbracci in Coral Gables?" she asked excitedly.
"Not exactly," Diego said.
"Well ... so is it sushi, then?" Alexa asked.
Diego shook his head, his dimples showing. "Stop guessing, Ms. Impatient."
Alexa laughed, feeling some of the tension between
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them ease. As Diego drove through the shimmering South Beach streets, they talked easily about movies they'd seen that year, songs they'd recently downloaded onto their respective iPods, and the big bonfire and concert that was taking place at Lummus Park Beach the following night.
We work well as friends, Alexa thought as Diego parked the car in front of a tall apartment building. But she couldn't ignore the fact that even talking about everyday things with Diego felt somehow electrifying to her.
Diego opened the door for her, and Alexa got out of the car, still clutching her orchid. She looked around in confusion. They were in a tree-lined residential area of South Beach that was unfamiliar to her, and there didn't seem to be any cafés nearby.
"Are we going to walk from here?" she asked Diego, who was, inexplicably, guiding her toward the front door of the apartment building. Alexa was about to ask him where they were going when she saw three slender ivory orchids, tied with a piece of twine, propped up against the door. Tucked into the twine was a folded piece of white paper with alexa written in bold, blocky handwriting. Her breath caught. The flowers were meant for her. Disbelieving, she walked toward the doorway and scooped up the orchids, their heady scent dizzying her. Diego was holding the door open,
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and Alexa, too confused to ask any more questions, stepped through it into a gleaming lobby. This was clearly a swankier building than Grandma Ida's, with tall mirrors and shiny floors.
"Where are we?" she asked Diego at last, turning to him, her arms full of orchids.
"This is where I live," Diego explained, his eyes dancing.
"We're going to have dinner at your house?" Alexa exclaimed anxiously. Her mind was racing. Did Diego want her to meet his parents? Or were his parents not even home? Either setup would be way too serious.
Diego shook his head, grinning. "Not unless you want to spend the evening watching CSI with my mom or helping my dad organize his medical journals."
"So then where are we ..."Alexa trailed off, catching sight of another bouquet of orchids resting delicately in front of a nearby bank of elevators, also bearing a note with her name on it. Once again, her heart skipped, and she looked at Diego, confused but curious. "Am I supposed to follow the orchids?" she asked with a slow smile of understanding.
Diego tilted his head to one side, saying nothing. Instead, he gently took her elbow and led her toward the elevators. Alexa picked up the flowers, and they stepped inside. Diego pressed a button marked r and the elevator swept them up. Alexa realized she was
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trembling with anticipation. What about the café? she wanted to ask, but she was too overcome by the flowers, and Diego's nearness, and a wonderful sense of bewilderment.
The elevator doors slid open, and they walked out into a narrow corridor. They stopped in front of an unmarked door, where another bunch of orchids lay waiting. Diego took a key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door. Alexa followed him outside into the night air.
She gasped. They were standing in a spectacular roof garden, looking out on a sweeping nighttime view of South Beach. The city was aglow with thousands of sparkling lights, and the full moon rose above the vista, round and plump as a peach. Alexa took it all in, her eyes scanning the bright, seemingly infinite panorama.
"Oh, Diego," she whispered. "It's amazing." She turned to study his beautiful profile.
"I thought you should get another look at South Beach before you leave," Diego said, gazing out at the view. "And I reserved the roof for the night, so it's all ours to admire."
And then Alexa noticed that the roof garden itself was aglow. Small white candles flickered all along the wide ledge, and everywhere she looked, there were bouquets of white orchids. Her eyes followed the trail of glorious flowers to a picnic blanket, strewn with
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pillows. On the blanket was a bottle of Merlot, two full wine glasses, a basket overflowing with French bread, cheeses, olives, and grapes, and two white plates, carefully laid with napkins and silverware. Next to the blanket rested a sleek silver CD player, and the classic sixties song "My Cherie Amour" was playing softly. For the first time in her life, Alexa St. Laurent found
herself flustered beyond words. No boy had ever done anything this romantic for her before.
"Do you like it?" Diego asked, taking a step closer to her. She turned to him. His big black eyes were hopeful.
Alexa managed to nod, and then she tried speaking. "I -- why did -- you shouldn't -- "
Diego grinned, putting a finger to her lips. Then he placed his hand on her waist and pulled her in. "Let's not talk yet, okay? Let's just dance."
Alexa let the orchids fall from her arms as she drew close to Diego. She twined her arms around his neck, breathing in his warm, spicy scent. His full lips were tantalizingly near hers, and, as they danced to the slow, jazzy music, Alexa felt their bodies melding together perfectly. They moved exactly in sync with each other. The music shifted fluidly into one of Alexa's favorite Bob Marley songs, "Turn Your Lights Down Low." He must have made a mix this afternoon, after we talked, Alexa thought dreamily. He'd planned
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all this -- the flowers, the food, the rooftop. Everything.
"You didn't listen to me at all," Alexa finally said.
"What do you mean?" Diego asked innocently, but the mischievous sparkle in his eyes gave him away. He twirled her around, then pulled her back in, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Alexa drew back a little and gestured to the swoon-worthy roof garden. "I said we should have a friendly dinner, and you played along.... But this is not very friendly, you know." She tried to sound firm, but Alexa knew her words were pointless. She couldn't be Diego's friend. She was head over heels for this boy.
"Friendly." Diego furrowed his brow and tipped his head to one side, as if he were deep in thought. "Hmm. I might have some problems with the exact definition of 'friendly'" He stopped dancing and studied her, his hands on her arms. "For instance, can you tell me if this is friendly?" He leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
Alexa nodded slowly If only that friendly kiss wasn't making her body ache for some more not-so-friendly kisses.
"Then how about this?" Diego whispered, putting one hand behind Alexa's neck and touching his full lips to the corner of her mouth.
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"That was a little questionable," Alexa responded shakily. Her lips were tingling.
With agonizing slowness, Diego kissed the divot above Alexa's upper lip, then her chin, her forehead, and both her cheeks, deliberately avoiding her lips. Alexa closed her eyes, half-delirious from this delicious torment. When she opened them again, Diego was gazing at her with that familiar teasing look. He traced the delicate shape of Alexa's mouth with his finger.
"Alexa, I hope you won't take this the wrong way," he murmured. "But I don't think we should be friends anymore."
"Me, neither," Alexa sighed, and, at last, Diego kissed her on the lips. Fully and deeply. Alexa clung to him, returning his kiss with all the pent-up longing she'd borne since that night at the Delano. Then, abruptly, she remembered her list of reasons from earlier, about why they shouldn't be together, and she snapped back to reality.
"No," she mumbled, pulling away from him entirely. "I want this so badly ... but... like I said before ..." She was having trouble forming the words. She had told Diego, last night, that she needed to make peace with herself. But maybe she already had. Her talks with Tyler and with Holly had helped Alexa start to untangle some of her own issues. And
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Holly is over Diego, Alexa reasoned. She's the one who made this date happen tonight, right?
"I'm so confused, Diego," Alexa finally said, putting her hands to her cheeks.
"Come here," he responded softly, taking Alexa's hand and leading her to the picnic blanket. They knelt down on the pillows, and Diego pulled a dangling bunch of grapes and a triangle of cheese from the basket. The food looked delicious, but Alexa wasn't sure she could eat. The scent of the orchids, and the music melding with the hum of the night breeze was making her feel light-headed.
"After we talked on Lincoln Road last night, I also thought I was confused," Diego began. He took a sip from his wineglass. "But then I realized how simple it all was." He reached for Alexa's hand, his expression serious. "Alexa, I just want to be with you."
When Alexa shook her head, Diego added, "I understand that you might need space now. I get that logically. But I can't stop thinking about you -- and thinking that we should be together." Diego shrugged. "Maybe it's irrational, but..."
"I feel exactly the same way," Alexa confessed in a whisper, threading her fingers through Diego's. She remembered how she'd been unable to stop herself from calling him that afternoon. Maybe, Alexa
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thought, it's your irrational feelings that tell you the truth. She picked up her wineglass, too, taking a sip and savoring the sweet, oaky taste.
"But," Alexa added reluctantly, putting her glass down. "How would it even work? I mean, you're here in Florida and I'm in New Jersey and ..."
Diego shook his head, his face breaking into an irresistible smile. He squeezed her hand. "Alexa, I'm in New Jersey, too. Or I will be."
"What are you talking about?" Alexa asked incredulously.
"I'm starting Princeton in the fall," Diego told her.
"You are?" Alexa cried. Somehow, in all their conversations, the topic of college had never come up. But this news changed everything: Princeton was only twenty minutes from Oakridge. Alexa's mind leaped ahead, considering the sumptuous possibilities: She could drive to Diego's dorm after school; he could come to her house; they could take weekend trips.... They could be together whenever they wanted.
Boyfriends aren't overrated, Alexa realized with a burst of joy. Not when you found someone who was so absolutely right for you.
"What are you thinking?" Diego asked, staring at Alexa with undisguised affection. He set down his wine, then reached over and stroked her cheek.
"I'm thinking ... that I can't wait until the fall,"
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Alexa whispered, slipping her hand under the collar of Diego's shirt, feeling the heat of his skin.
Diego's face lit up as he took in the full meaning of Alexa's words. "Neither can I," he murmured. He reached down and plucked a burgundy grape off the cluster, then held it to Alexa lips. "But we still have some time in South Beach," he added. "We should make the most of it, don't you think?"
Slowly, Alexa opened her mouth and ate the grape, her tongue brushing against his fingers. "Sounds like a plan," she said, her eyes never leaving his.
Diego swallowed hard, then put his arm around Alexa, drawing her very close. "I can't believe you're here with me right now," he told her. "If you hadn't called this afternoon, I'd be having dinner with some friends at Puerto Sagua and moping over you."
"Puerto Sagua?" Alexa repeated. "I was supposed to go there with Holly and Ida tonight."
Diego shook his head, smiling in disbelief. "You mean we would've seen each other, anyway?"
"Remember when we said good-bye on Lincoln Road?" Alexa asked, burying her head in Diego's warm neck. "And I told you we'd find each other again if we were meant to be?" She looked up at him tenderly. "So I guess we are. You can't argue with destiny, right?"
In response, Diego kissed her again. And again. Each kiss was deeper and more burning than the last.
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Wordlessly, Alexa and Diego fell back against the pillows, their lips and hands exploring, searching. The candles glimmered around them, and the city shimmered below them, but Alexa was only aware of Diego's breath as it joined with hers, his lips at her throat, the smooth feel of his cinnamon-colored skin....
Feverishly, Alexa undid several buttons on Diego's shirt, kissing his neck and chest. Diego carefully slid down Alexa's yellow spaghetti straps. He stroked her bare shoulders and planted purposeful kisses all the way down her collarbone, while gently moving his hands along her body, and playfully toying with the hem of her skirt. Alexa gave a murmur of pleasure, and Diego looked up at her with a smile.
"You tell me how far you want to go," he whispered.
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Alexa buried her hands in his smooth dark hair and guided Diego's face back down toward her neck.
"I will," she sighed. She stretched luxuriously up against him, utterly losing herself in the moment.
And Alexa's last coherent thought, before she sank into a haze of desire, was that she wished this for Holly. This feeling of sensual satisfaction, this breathtaking romantic intensity... and this pure joy, knowing the person you were falling in love with was falling in love with you, too.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Completely Real
Holly walked up Ocean Drive, swinging her little black bag, pleasantly flushed from the mojito she'd had with dinner. Over a long Cuban meal, Holly had filled Grandma Ida in on the past week's events, and her grandmother had, predictably, been supportive about everything. The only slightly sour part of the evening had been when Diego's friend, Ian, along with a bunch of other guys and girls, sauntered into the restaurant. This town is too small, Holly had thought, reluctantly returning Ian's wave. She finished the rest of her mojito quickly, Grandma Ida paid the bill, and Holly walked her grandmother to the street where Alexa had parked the Pontiac.
Before taking off in the car, Grandma Ida gave Holly the necessary cash, wished her luck with her
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parents, and insisted that Holly have as much fun as possible during her last two nights in South Beach.
Now, as Holly approached the Flamingo, she wondered what sort of fun she'd have between tonight and Friday. After last night's misadventures -- a few of which were still foggy in Holly's head -- she was done with clubbing for a while. Holly felt comfortable in her own skin tonight, happy not to be dolled up and tottering around in strappy sandals. She was wearing a floral A-line skirt that came to just above her knees, her black Urban Outfitters tank, and black flip-flops. Holly remembered her pink-and-silver getup from the night before with a shudder. She should probably donate it to Kaitlin or Daisy, either of whom would get more use out of it than Holly ever would.
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