Dating Aaron & Other Forbidden Things (Garcia Brothers Book 2)

by Yesenia Vargas

  We pulled apart. He grinned down at me and then kissed me on the forehead. After, he slowly ran his fingers through my hair. “You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, you know that?”

  The way he said it made me go speechless.

  I hugged him. “I missed you too.”

  I wanted us to stay there by the creek forever, where it was safe for us to talk like this and hold each other like this.

  After what felt like seconds, though, my phone rang. It was Mom, demanding I get back home, stat.

  I hung up and looked up at Aaron. “Duty calls.”

  “I’ll walk you,” he said.

  At the edge of the woods, I let go of his hand. “See you tomorrow?”

  He nodded, getting the hint that I needed to walk back home alone. He knew as well as me that we couldn’t chance being seen together.

  I left him behind and jogged all the way home.

  As I got ready for the party, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and how we’d finally taken that forbidden step.

  Whatever happened now, there was no turning back.

  Aaron had kissed me.

  I’d let him.

  Somehow, I knew that there was no going back now.

  How would we ever figure this out?

  Could we?

  15

  It wasn’t long before my friends figured out that something had happened between Aaron and me.

  Nora glanced back and forth between us in the cafeteria with a puzzled look. “Is it me or does he keep giving you puppy eyes?”

  Audrey grinned and also looked. “Oh my gosh, is he?”

  Scarlett turned to me. “Are you two friends again or what did we miss?” she asked in a quiet but excited voice.

  I stared down at my food and urged myself not to smile. “Something like that.”

  Nora shrieked with disbelief. “Shut up.”

  “Tell us everything,” Audrey pleaded, pushing aside her tray of food. “The hot soccer player from math that I told you guys about the other day ended up being a total jerk, and I need stories of hope right now.”

  Nora gave a disapproving shake of her head. “Hmph. I keep telling you to stop going for the athletes, Audrey. Most of them wouldn’t know kindness and humility if it smacked them in the face. Go for quiet guys. The smart guys. Maybe a cute band nerd. I could introduce you.”

  Scarlett and I laughed.

  Audrey got a little defensive. “Aaron’s an athlete, and he’s not a jerk! Neither is Ben!”

  Nora held up a finger to make her point. “Exceptions, not the rule.”

  Then I told them what had happened with Aaron over the weekend and how we’d kissed. “It was…everything I always wanted,” I finished, still hardly believing it myself.

  And what I’d been waiting for for a long time.

  Audrey sighed. “I LOVE IT. You guys are so cute together. I can’t even stand it.”

  Nora agreed with a nod. “Super cute. I’m glad you guys finally took that next step without needing my intervention.” She winked and gave me a wide grin.

  “You’re the worst,” I said with a laugh. “But thanks.” I glanced at Aaron again. “I just don’t know what we’re supposed to do now.”

  “What do you mean?” Scarlett asked, taking a bite of her hot dog.

  I looked at them and exhaled. “I mean, we texted all night. He wants to try to make this work, but in the meantime, we have no choice but to keep it low-key.” They looked kind of confused about what I meant by that so I clarified. “Nobody can find out, at least until my brother leaves for college. I just don’t want them to get into some huge fight over this right before he leaves and then their friendship is ruined. I’d hate that.” I paused. “So we agreed to technically be friends…you know, according to everyone.”

  Nora grinned. “Who kiss sometimes?” she teased.

  I threw my balled up napkin at her. She ducked easily. “Something like that, yeah.”

  Even though she was teasing, I was definitely looking forward to the kissing part.

  Audrey opened up a container of chocolate pudding from her previously forgotten tray of food. “It’s only for a few more months, right? Until your brother leaves for college?” she asked. “Maybe it won’t be that bad. The time will go quickly.”

  “Yeah,” I said a little sarcastically. “We just have to hide what’s really going on and how we actually feel about each other from anybody and everybody.”

  Which I knew was a lot harder than it sounded.

  If I wanted to hold his hand, reach up for a kiss, touch his arm, I had to really careful that we wouldn’t be seen.

  By anybody, not just my brother, because this was high school.

  Word would travel back to him sooo fast.

  Even the way Aaron looked at me or I looked at him could make it obvious what was actually going on between us. It could happen like that, in one careless moment in the car with David.

  We had to be really careful or it could all blow up in our faces.

  Needless to say, it was going to be a bit of a challenge.

  My friends’ faces said it all. What was I was feeling inside.

  The idea of David finding out what was really going on would not be fun. I was nervous about it, really nervous.

  But we also wanted to do this.

  We’d decided it would be worth the two or three months of hiding and going through all of this trouble.

  I just hoped we were making the right choice.

  What was worse, it felt like there was no going back now.

  I took a deep breath and tried to let go of the worry. If we were going to do this, I had to be sure. There was no room for doubt or fear.

  Fear and doubt in a situation like this would be our downfall.

  Instead, I had to believe that the risk would be worth it, that we could do it.

  Just thinking of yesterday and finally getting to be more than Aaron’s friend… I was sure.

  “We know it’s going to be hard and tricky,” I said, “but I think we can make it work for now.”

  They must have sensed that I was reassuring myself more than anyone because Audrey leaned on my shoulder. “One day at a time, girl.”

  She was right.

  Just one day at a time.

  We could do this.

  A few minutes later, we headed to class a little early.

  The bell rang just before I reached my locker. I waved bye to my friends, who left in different directions. Just as I passed an empty classroom, though, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me in.

  It was Aaron.

  He shut the door and turned to face me with a grin.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, even though I was glad to see him.

  He came in and kissed me like the other day. Soft and sweet.

  I pulled back, although I could’ve kissed him forever. “Someone’s gonna walk in here,” I told him.

  “This is Mr. Sanchez’s room,” he explained. “His class is gone on a field trip, and well, I just had to do this.”

  He leaned down and kissed me again. I sank into it, a small voice reminding me that we were both gonna be late for class if we stayed much longer.

  When we pulled away, Aaron kept his arms wrapped around me. I breathed him in. “I needed this,” I whispered.

  “Me too,” he replied. Then he took a step back, a wide grin on his face. “See you later?”

  He was already halfway to the door. I smiled back. “Definitely.”

  With that, he gave me a wink and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

  A minute later, I slipped into the busy hallway myself.

  It took me four tries to get my locker combination right, I could hardly think straight.

  And I was late to class.

  Aaron Garcia, I thought as I found my seat, you are dangerous.

  16

  Being around Aaron in school got really interesting now that we were secretly a couple.

  It felt like
everything had changed, and yet, nothing had changed.

  Like the car ride to school the other morning. I was pretty sure that David had sensed something was up. Aaron and I had looked at each other a little too long, and he had noticed it.

  I could tell from the expression on his face, like he was a little suspicious for a micro-second.

  A micro-second was all it could take to mess up everything, though. I knew that so I looked away, pretended not to notice, and instead, I checked something on my phone.

  Luckily, he hadn’t said anything, though, and Aaron had asked him something about their next game and when David thought he would play.

  Everything had seemed completely fine after that, thank goodness, but it had been a bit of a close call.

  We had to be careful, especially in those little moments, I reminded myself.

  The good thing was that Aaron and I didn’t usually talk a ton around my brother in the first place. It was usually when he wasn’t around that he and I would let our guards down and laugh and goof off.

  Steal a kiss or two. A long hug.

  Long hugs from Aaron were everything…

  So it wasn’t that all of a sudden we were talking and flirting or something. More like there had been something palpable in the air when we’d all gotten in the car that morning. And a glance that had lasted a little too long.

  Nothing had changed, and everything had changed.

  At school, in the hallways, we made eye contact and said hello, but that was about it. We made sure to keep it that way, even if I wanted more.

  Meanwhile, I watched some of the girls from cheer or just random girls in our grade walk to class with their boyfriends hand in hand, and I ached for that to be us.

  I ached for the freedom to call Aaron my boyfriend, to spend time with him in between classes, and hold his hand out in the open… that would be everything.

  I just wished we could let the world know how Aaron and I felt about each other. I wished we could be ourselves around everyone, and for it not to be a big deal.

  But we couldn’t have that just yet.

  This had to be enough.

  It wouldn’t be forever, and for a long time, we hadn’t even had this.

  This…what we had now, it was more than what we’d had ever. I just had to remember that.

  In chemistry, Aaron sat down next to me with a quiet, “Hey.”

  “Hey, you,” I replied with a grin. I couldn’t help but smile whenever he was around.

  Was it me or was it hard for him to meet my gaze?

  A subtle blush crept up his neck as he finally looked at me. “What?” he asked with a small laugh.

  I laughed too. “Nothing. You just look cute when you’re embarrassed.”

  He seemed to build his resolve then because his expression turned serious and he reached his hand over to take mine.

  My mouth fell open with surprise. I glanced around the classroom. Nobody was paying attention, but my stomach filled with fear anyway. Even so, I bit my lip to keep from smiling like a complete dork.

  After a second, he slid his hand back to his own desk.

  Coach Collins started class, and I tried to focus on taking notes. But, every so often, I couldn’t help it. I’d stare at Aaron and realize I’d lost track of what the teacher was talking about.

  It was a good thing we only sat together in this one class because I could not afford for my grades to go down because I was too busy obsessing over my boyfriend.

  My boyfriend who wasn’t supposed to be my boyfriend…

  But still, he was my BOYFRIEND.

  Just thinking about that word had me holding back a wide smile.

  At one point, Aaron must have sensed me looking incessantly at him because he turned around, saw me staring, and grinned before turning back.

  Now who’s turn was it to blush?

  I could hardly meet his eyes when the bell rang.

  Any second now, someone would walk up to me with my trophy for being the school’s biggest dork, but also, I kind of didn’t care.

  When I gathered my books and we walked out of class together, we stood there awkwardly for a second.

  “So I’ll see you later?” he asked quietly.

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  Was it me or did he want to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him?

  But all he did was touch my cheek for a second before leaving.

  I watched him walk off, trailing a few feet behind him. David came around the corner and gave Aaron a high-five. They made their way down the hallway together.

  With an exhale and giant sense of irony, I realized that my brother got to walk my boyfriend to class while I got to walk alone.

  I laughed to myself and brought my palm to my forehead.

  Then I headed to my next class in the opposite direction, still wishing I was the one walking with him.

  Somehow, we were supposed to make it two more months like this.

  Two more months of my brother getting to hang out with my boyfriend more than I did.

  If I didn’t laugh, I might cry.

  But this was for the best, I told myself.

  The alternatives were not acceptable.

  David finding out? Not acceptable.

  Not being with Aaron? No longer possible.

  As hard as it was, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  He was more than worth it.

  17

  Sometimes it was really hard to not run up to Aaron and just hug him.

  Kiss him, be there for him, all of it.

  Like at the next basketball game.

  The varsity boys got killed.

  Like almost murdered on the court.

  They had gone against one of the top teams in the state and lost by thirty points, even after giving it their all.

  After the game, Aaron walked off the court with his head down, and all I wanted to do was push his chin up and remind him how amazing of a basketball player he was.

  How amazing he was in every way.

  One bad game didn’t define him.

  And he’d played his best through all of it when most guys would’ve given in to the public defeat and gotten upset and given up or gotten angry and aggressive.

  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who saw how good he was because the opposing team’s head coach came over to him before he reached the bench.

  He stopped him and said something to him. Aaron lit up a little bit and thanked him. Then the coach shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder before heading back to the other side of the gym.

  Some of Aaron’s confidence seemed to come back after that, and I was glad for him.

  He usually beat up on himself for not being good enough. I knew it had to be hard growing up surrounded by four other brothers who seemingly had everything figured out and knew what they were good at, but not him.

  Now that he’d gotten a chance to shine, though, everyone around him was starting to see his talent. He deserved that.

  After getting some water, Aaron turned to find me. He spotted me on the opposite side of the gym and gave me a small smile and wink. I blew him a quick kiss. His grin grew wider, and my heart made a leap.

  At the same time, David came up behind him. Aaron turned to face him, and I made a point of spinning around and talking to Scarlett.

  As much as I wanted to be around him, getting to hang out with Aaron would have to wait until later when David wasn’t around.

  Meanwhile, Miranda, one of the girls on the squad, went up to her boyfriend, who was also on the basketball team. He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then they walked off together, his arm around her.

  I watched them with a twinge of jealousy.

  I yearned to have that with Aaron, but it just wasn’t possible. Not yet.

  For now, it was hidden kisses and stolen moments together.

  It would have to be enough.

  It wouldn’t be forever.

  One day, we’d be able to walk down the sc
hool hallways together, hand in hand.

  I’d be able to go up to him after a game and hug him tight. Congratulate him or console him. We’d be just another couple.

  He’d be able to kiss me without worrying about ruining any of the friendships in his life. I wouldn’t be scared of getting in trouble or making my brother hate me.

  After I tore my gaze away from Miranda and her boyfriend, Scarlett and I walked to the locker room so we could grab our stuff.

  I was excited because even though everyone was heading off to grab dinner, Aaron had texted me earlier that he had something special planned for us.

  So while my brother and everyone else hung out to celebrate or commiserate post-game, he and I would be getting some alone time.

  The plan was that Scarlett and I were going to hang out instead of getting food with everyone else.

  Then Aaron would say he wasn’t feeling well, and he’d get picked up by Ben to go home.

  Scarlett had come up with the idea, and it was genius. I had to hand it to her.

  Aaron hadn’t said where we were going, but I had a feeling it would be fun and romantic and just what we needed.

  Our first official date.

  I could hardly believe it.

  Half an hour later, I was changing and touching up my make up at Scarlett’s house while I waited for Aaron to pick me up.

  Soon enough, he texted me that they were outside.

  Ben was with him.

  He gave Aaron his car keys. “The gas meter doesn’t work, but it should have more than enough fuel to get through tonight.”

  Aaron grinned. “Thanks, bro.” He mumbled in my ear, “He never lets me drive his baby.”

  I laughed and hugged him, glad he was finally here.

  Ben gave me a small wave. “Hey, Rach.”

  “Hey, Ben,” I acknowledged with an excited smile.

  Scarlett came outside and hugged Ben. Then she led him inside. Scarlett’s Mom was going to make herself scarce while they had a movie night in the living room.

  Why weren’t my parents that cool?

  Aaron took my hand. He led me to Ben’s old Jeep and opened the door for me. When he closed it and walked around to the driver’s side, I glanced back and noticed a picnic basket and blanket.