She wasn’t entirely sure why, but the last few days had made it clear that he kept the real him hidden from the world. That the real Cullen Cruz was the fun, flirty guy she’d stumbled across as a teenager. Every night this week, after she finished up whatever she’d been working on, she’d swung by the kitchen to pick up the room service order Cullen had placed and then brought it to the bungalow. They’d spend the meal talking and laughing, sitting on the couch or out on the porch. He’d told her more about his parents, and how his mum had worked incredibly hard to make sure he had everything he needed, even if it meant she went without. How she had been his number one priority once he’d signed a professional contract, making sure she never had to lift a finger again. Leona in turn confided in him about how hard it was on the family when they were surprised with Josef and while she loved him more than anything, his arrival had put a bit of a wrinkle in both the physical space of the home and the family budget. They talked about her dad’s stroke—how scared she was when it all happened and how frustrating it was now that even though he’d made a fantastic recovery, he still wasn’t able to work and that she knew it was starting to take a toll on him mentally.
Now she stood in the laundry room, folding towels, reliving each night this week over in her mind. It was hard to believe it had only been five days since the outing on the Brown Eyed Girl. Five days since she’d allowed herself to let her world turn upside down at the hands of Cullen Cruz. Five days of talking, kissing, laughing, and some seriously great sex.
“Helloooooo,” Drea sang out, sticking her head into the laundry room. When she saw Leona, she sauntered in, making her way to the large metal-topped folding table that Leona was standing behind. Coming up next to her, Drea hopped up onto the table.
“Not even going to offer to help fold?” Leona teased.
“You’re just going to redo everything I fold, so what’s the point?” Drea asked, laughing. She was right—Leona would just refold everything. There was a very specific way to fold the towels and linens so that everything looked just right for the guests, and while Drea knew the method behind that fold, her execution left a little to be desired. Nothing she folded was ever straight, no matter what she did.
“Fair point.”
“Whatcha doing in the laundry room?” Drea asked.
“The sheets from La Isla Bonita needed washing, and I figured it was just as easy to do them myself,” Leona answered with a slight shrug, hoping that her nonchalance wouldn’t lead to any more questions.
“Just easier, huh?” Drea prodded. “Not because there was anything on them you might not want your staff to see?”
Leona stopped folding the towel that was in her hand. Turning so that her hip rested on the table and she was facing her friend, she gave her a quizzical look. “And just what do you think would be on the sheets that my staff couldn’t see?”
“Oh, you know…” Drea paused, searching for the right word. “Bodily fluids.”
“Even if there were ‘bodily fluids,’ as you put it, there is no proof they are mine, Drea.”
“I’m just trying to figure out the plan here. Are you going to hate fuck him and then blackmail him somehow? Sell photos to some rag mag? Tell them about his itty-bitty teenie weenie?” she asked, holding up her hand, pinching her thumb and forefinger together with just a small bit of space between the two. Leona just rolled her eyes, turning back to the towels on the table.
“He’s all washed up and has turned into an abusive alcoholic? He’s got some horrible STD? Oh, I know! He’s some egotistical pervert who preys on unsuspecting young women?”
“He does not!” Leona snapped, throwing the towel she was midfold on against the table. “His ego is all an act. He’s sweet, and loving, and funny, and believe it or not, actually kinda sensitive. And for your information, it’s an anaconda, not an inch worm!”
“Ha!” Drea exclaimed. “Got ya! So there is something between you!”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Girl, do not lie to me. I have been your best friend since we were five. I know you. Which means I know that the look on your face this week is the same one I had on my face when things started to happen with Kyle. Your head has been in the clouds all week. Also, I saw you two being all kissy-kissy on the boat. Or, better yet, the look on his face when Carlos was waiting on us. So, ‘fess up!”
Leona exhaled loudly. Drea was right. If there was anyone to not lie to, it was her. The girl could keep a secret, but more than that, they were each other’s person. Drea knew everything about her and wasn’t going to judge her for anything. Not to mention, she’d let Leona in on her secret a bunch of months back when the dam finally broke for her and Kyle.
“Fine. Yes, there might be something between us,” Leona admitted.
“Yes! I knew it! I knew that deep down all that hate was an act.”
“No, it wasn’t. I have really spent the last ten years pissed off at the way he’s treated me. It’s just that maybe now, I’ve realized that all that asshole-ish-ness was an act on his part and that there is more to him than meets the eye.”
“Like his anaconda,” Drea said, mirroring Leona’s words from earlier.
“Yes, I mean…” she trailed off, trying not to get flustered, as Drea sat there, giggling at her response. “There is more to him than his anaconda. Although, shit, Drea…that part of things is lights out!”
“Better than Carlos?”
Leona looked around to make sure that the room was one hundred percent clear before continuing.
“Yes. Not that Carlos was bad,” she answered, just above a whisper. “Because he wasn’t. Man is damn talented, but with Cullen it’s…different.”
Drea sat there for a moment, waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, Drea finally huffed out another question.
“Different how?”
“I don’t know, just…different. He goes slow and takes his time. It’s about both of us and the experience…” She paused. “It’s like he doesn’t expect anything from me.”
“So everything you’ve always told Carlos you didn’t want?”
“That’s not true!”
“I believe your exact words were, ‘I’m in it for the orgasms, not the emotions.’ Or do you not remember saying that?”
“No, I do. But there aren’t emotions in this either.”
“Are you lying to yourself about this too? Or just me?”
“I’m not lying to anyone.”
“You really mean to tell me that you feel nothing toward Cullen Cruz right now?”
“I feel a certain level of respect and a great appreciation for the three mind-blowing, next level orgasms he gave me last night. That’s it.”
“Okay, so you’re lying to both of us. Just want to make sure I have it straight.”
“I am not lying to anyone!”
“You know it’s okay to admit that you have feelings for him, right? That no one, especially me, is going to think less of you for falling for the big, broody footballer.”
“I’m not falling—” She cut herself off.
Her mind darted back to just moments before Drea walked in, and how her thoughts had been about how much she was enjoying spending time with Cullen and not just in bed. How much she enjoyed talking with him, laughing with him. Just last night they had been sharing secrets like she and Drea would have done at a junior high sleepover—most embarrassing moment, first kiss, the scar on his knee from where a goalie hit him studs up, the little-known fact that she kept a journal full of ideas in case someday she wanted to write her own romance novel. She told him that she’d never left the Virgin Islands and how she wanted to hear all about his adventures traveling around the world. He had shared that he hated being an only child and that even though there was quite the gap in their ages, he was jealous of the relationship that she shared with Josef and how close they were.
“The boys don’t get back from the booze cruise they’re running for another two and a half hours, so I have plent
y of time to sit here and wait for your realization,” Drea said, filling the silence that Leona’s thought process left.
“Keep a secret?”
“Always.”
“Maybe there are some feelings involved,” she whispered her admission.
“I knew it!” Drea did a little dance in her seat.
“Hey!”
“I promised to keep it a secret, not that I wouldn’t gloat.”
The two of them laughed as Drea continued to wiggle in her spot on the table, making the whole thing shift under her ever so slightly.
“He’s just not who I thought he was. Or well, maybe I should say that he is who I originally thought he was and not the amended version. I’m just really enjoying spending time with him.”
“And what happens when he leaves in a week?”
“He leaves,” she shrugged. “And we both go back to our lives. Him to do whatever he plans in retirement and me, here, folding laundry and ordering shampoo. And then next year we’ll be excited to see each other again.”
“You really think that’s how it’s going to go down? That you’re just going to be okay with him leaving?”
“Yes. We’re not you and Kyle. We’re not some fated love match or something, destined for our happily ever after. I won’t fall apart when he leaves.” The moment she said the words she knew that it wasn’t the whole truth. She knew that there would be some hurt involved and that she was going to miss their time together. It just wasn’t to the level she suspected Drea was expecting.
“You just admitting to liking him,” Drea exclaimed, lifting her hands in frustration.
“As a person. This won’t be like what happened when Kyle took his ‘hiatus,’” she said, using air quotes around hiatus. “I won’t need the Dalton special heartbreak drink package.”
“So we’re back to lying to ourselves. Got it,” Drea said with a resigned sigh.
“Girl, I promise.”
“As long as you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
At least she was pretty sure she wasn’t lying to herself.
As had seemingly become the norm, Josef was one of the last kids to be picked up for the day. Cullen didn’t mind one bit. In fact, he had to admit that the time he got alone with Josef either at the beginning or end of the day had become his favorite part of camp. It was time he could spend one-on-one with him, without other campers vying for his attention. Not that any of the other kids seemed to have noticed that Cullen favored Josef in any way. He’d worked hard to make sure that it didn’t shine through that there was a soft spot there at all.
The little guy was bouncing the ball on his left knee as Cullen wandered over to him. He still wasn’t able to get over just how small Josef was for his age. He was easily five inches shorter than most of the boys in his group at camp, yet he could run circles around each and every one of them. It remained to be seen if his speed would change at all when he actually hit puberty, but Cullen would guess that with the right coach and training, he would be able to harness the changes to his body and work them to his advantage. He just hoped Josef would be able to find that coach.
“Who’s picking you up today, buddy?” Cullen asked as he tried to kick the ball away from him. He missed, mostly since he didn’t try too hard, not wanting to get his cleats near Josef’s face.
“Lena, I think, unless something changed,” he answered, dodging his coach’s attempt.
“Sounds good.” Cullen paused. He wanted to ask Josef something, but didn’t want to put ideas in the kid’s head. “So, what would you think if we asked her to join us tomorrow for the last day of camp?”
“Yeah!” He stopped bouncing the ball. “She’s not very good though.”
Cullen couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh at the response. Such a little brother thing to say.
“Well, we won’t hold it against her. I just thought it might be fun for her to come hang out and see all the things you’ve learned.”
“Are you two friends now?”
The question caught Cullen off guard. What was the right answer to that question? It wasn’t that they weren't friends, yet it wasn’t exactly the right word either. And he certainly wasn’t about to tell her little brother about all the “extras” that were happening between them. He liked the kid—he didn’t want to scar him with thoughts of his sister’s sex life.
“Yeah, we’re friends,” he answered, deciding to keep it simple.
“Good. I’m glad. I like you being friends.”
Cullen wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he had just passed some test. It was an approval of sorts that he wasn’t aware he’d needed or wanted. But suddenly, he was damn glad he’d gotten it.
Chapter Twenty
"I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Leona said as Saul pulled out of the resort and into moving traffic.
“What? Spending the day at camp?” Cullen asked, slightly taken aback by her statement. “I thought you would enjoy getting to watch your brother. His skills have sharpened over the last two weeks.”
“No, I meant getting into the car with you. Especially after how it ended the last time,” she hissed.
“You didn’t enjoy our last car ride together, Menina?” he asked, lowering his voice and giving her a look she interpreted as him trying to be seductive. Problem was, it was working.
“You know I enjoyed it,” she whispered in return. “Which is why I question whether or not it’s a good idea.”
Josef and Cullen had proposed she come spend the day with them at camp when she had arrived to take Josef home the day before, and she had been excited on many levels. One, it gave her the chance to see just how much Josef had gotten out of the camp. Not that she doubted that it was time well spent, but after hearing about it not only from Josef this week, but also Cullen, she was excited to see it all in action. Two, she’d finally be able to see Cullen in his role as a coach. She’d only ever seen him play on TV or the odd video recap if one of the guys showed her. And while she knew watching him here wouldn’t be the same as seeing him play at a professional level, it was an excuse to watch his body move in ways that she knew she would appreciate. Lastly, she was looking forward to getting to hang out with him in public. Part of her knew she would have to be careful not to lean over and kiss him as she’d let herself get used to over the last few days, and they would have to keep their hands to themselves. But other than the boat trip almost a week ago, all their time spent together had been behind the closed doors of La Isla Bonita, and it thrilled her a little to think about being out where the world could see them together. Even if only they knew just what kind of together.
Of course, when Cullen and Josef sprung the idea on her, Cullen had left out that he seemed to have more up his sleeve. In saying yes, she’d just assumed she would meet them there late morning, maybe bring them lunch and then hang out for the afternoon before taking Josef back home. So when she found Cullen standing in her office doorway when she arrived at seven thirty am, after having rushed through her morning shower back in the staff dorm, holding two large to-go cups and what appeared to be a pair of breakfast sandwiches wrapped in foil, asking if she was ready to hit the road, she had been very confused. It had taken running into Vaughn in the lobby to convince her that it was acceptable to miss another whole day of work. It was that utter confusion that led to her allowing herself to get into the town car alone with Cullen Cruz again.
He simply laughed at her response, leaning in to give her a quick kiss.
“I promise to keep my hands to myself this morning. Besides, I’m much more concerned with you being able to behave yourself on the pitch today. Please remember there will be children present,” he said teasingly. “Your own brother included.”
“And just what makes you think I’m not capable of controlling myself? Hmmmm?”
“Once you see me in action, you’re going to want to immediately tear my clothes off. You won’t be able to help it. I possess the elegance and beauty of a ti
ger when on the pitch.”
“Is that the reason behind the tattoo?” she asked, placing her hand on his thigh, right where his track pants covered the piece in question. She’d been curious for years about the meaning behind the body art, but never let herself ask.
“Sort of,” he said, readjusting in his seat. “I wanted something symbolizing speed and strength, that was fierce, bold, and sleek, but still graceful.”
“Wow.”
“And my father’s favorite song was ‘Eye of the Tiger,’” he admitted, letting the words tumble out of his mouth quickly, as if he hoped they would evaporate as soon as they were spoken.
“It was not!” Leona hit him playfully on the leg.
“It was. He taught himself English watching Rocky before moving to London,” he replied, laughing.
Leona loved the sound of his laugh. Every time he let it loose, she got butterflies in her tummy. The smile on his face was highlighted by the laugh, making it that much more dangerous.
“I think it’s wonderful that it has a dual meaning for you. Especially since part of it is honoring your dad.” She drew her fingertips up and down his thigh lightly.
“If you’re a good girl today, maybe I’ll let you play with him tonight,” he said, his voice turning husky again.
“The tiger?”
“Him, or my python,” he winked.
Leona’s cheeks flushed with excitement. If this is how he was starting out, maybe she really wouldn’t be able to keep her hands to herself.
All talk of tigers, pythons, and being on one’s “best” behavior promptly ceased as soon as they reached the park. They had been expecting to find Josef there already, since Anna had told Leona that she had an early shift and would just drop him off on her way to work, however today he wasn’t alone. There were a handful of others already there with him, all of them standing in a circle stretching.
Josef was smaller than all of the teenagers who were circled up with him, although if Leona had to guess most were not much older than he was. Regardless of his small stature, he fit in with the group perfectly, laughing and joking around as they stretched. Holding back a moment to let Cullen walk in front of her, she took in the whole scene.
Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort Book 2) Page 17