“Try . . . to get some air . . . jointly?”
An incredulous laugh burst out of me. I smacked his shoulder. “No, pendejo. Don’t ruin this.” He kept giving me the same bewildered look, so I forced a tremulous smile. “I want us to try being a couple.”
Angel’s light-green eyes were unblinking, his face creased with worry. “Are you fucking with me, Stephanie? Because it’s not—”
“I’m not fucking with you.” I turned sideways in the passenger’s seat and leaned across the center console to touch his thigh. Every muscle in his body was drawn tight with tension. “I want you. I want us.”
“But you said you don’t want a relationship.” The confusion didn’t leave Angel’s expression, but his breathing grew faster. “Last night when we talked, you said—”
“I know.” I reached for his hand and squeezed it hard before releasing it. “But I keep thinking . . . about the what-ifs. What if I stick to my guns because I don’t want everything to fail, and for us to ruin each other, and the only thing that gets ruined is my chance to be with you? What if this time I lose you for good?”
“Steph—” Angel’s voice was strained. When he touched my hand again, his own was shaking. “Nena, are you serious? Is this for real?”
“I want it to be for real. And, look—” My words started coming out in a rush, tripping over each other and blending together in a panic. “Maybe it won’t be perfect. Or maybe I’m bad at being a girlfriend. Maybe we’ll fight just as much as a couple as when we’re upset over not being a couple. Maybe—”
Angel grabbed the back of my neck and drew me into a kiss. It wasn’t harsh or demanding, but it wasn’t gentle either. It was a firm, seal-the-deal type of kiss. A we’re-a-fucking-couple-for-better-or-worse type of kiss.
And it was exactly the type of kiss I needed.
When we broke apart, he smiled against my lips. That little-boy smile. The one that was hesitant and excited all at the same time.
“We’re really doing this,” he whispered. “You’re sure?”
“I’m su—”
A horn blasted behind us, and Angel jerked away. I blinked, looking out the window, and saw traffic had begun moving again. The horn blared again, longer this time, and Angel unrolled the window, his face flushed with anger.
“Hijo de la gran—”
“Angel,” I said, laughing, and pulling him back to me again. “Fuck him. Look at me.”
Angel swung his angry gaze back to me, and his face instantly melted from the hard glare into a searching stare.
“I love you,” I said. “And if I’m going to change my mind for anyone, it’s for you. Now let’s get the hell out of here before that dude rear-ends us.”
“Yeah.” Angel was nodding but not driving, still staring at me like he couldn’t look away. Or like he’d never seen me before. “Okay.”
When a series of horns blared behind us, I covered his hand with my own and put it on the shifter. This time it was him who closed his eyes for a second, like he was saying a prayer, before we shifted together and put the car back into drive.
“We’ve got this, Angelito,” I said softly. “I promise. And if we fuck up, we have a whole bunch of pain-in-the-ass friends who will try to help us fix it.”
Angel snorted out a fond laugh. “I can hear them now.”
“Me too. And I can’t wait to tell them.”
This time the smile that crossed Angel’s face was broad and proud. As he steered us back toward the five boroughs, one hand on the wheel and one hand holding me steady under the sudden weight of this new reality, “Real Love” by Mary J. came on.
Maybe signs were real after all.
Explore more of the Five Boroughs series: riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/five-boroughs
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This book would not be possible without my Five Boroughs fans. Since book two, readers have been asking to know more about Stephanie, Chris, and Angel (then Sharky). And since book three, readers have been asking for more of Jace and Aiden (Jaiden). It’s amazing how characters in this series who started with minor roles became not only became important reoccurring characters, but people who needed their own stories as well.
I especially want to thank my patrons for motivating me to write about the Queens Crew. Every month for the past year, I’ve polled my patrons to ask what short they wanted that month, and several times they voted for more Chris, more Jaiden, and more of the Queens Crew in general. Without them, the threesome short that sparked my realization that Chris is much queerer than I anticipated would not have been written. I’ve only been allowed to explore and flesh out this series due to Patreon, and for that I am thankful.
We have two more books to go in the Five Boroughs universe, and I am so excited for you guys to read! Thanks for sticking with my 5B squad for this long.
After Midnight
Stygian
The Five Boroughs series
Sutphin Boulevard
Sunset Park
First and First
Interborough
Concourse
The Community Series
Insight
Oversight
Sightlines
The Barons
Illegal Contact
Down by Contact
Cyberlove
Strong Signal
Fast Connection
Hard Wired
Mature Content
Santino Hassell was raised by a conservative family but grew up to be a smart-mouthed, school-cutting grunge kid, a transient twentysomething, and eventually transformed into a grumpy introvert and unlikely romance author with an affinity for baseball caps. His novels are heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, and his desire to write relationships fueled by intensity and passion.
He’s been a finalist in both the Bisexual Book Awards and the EPIC Awards, and was nominated for a prestigious RITA award in 2017. His work has been featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Washington Post, RT magazine, and Cosmopolitan magazine.
You can find him at santinohassell.com, in his reader group on Facebook—Get Hasselled, on Patreon, and on Twitter as @santinohassell.
Enjoy more stories like Citywide at RiptidePublishing.com!
Whiteout
www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/whiteout
Seasons of Love
www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/seasons-love
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