When You Were Mine (Moreno Brothers)

Chapter 5 - Part 2

Valerie knew now she should've known the day he first kissed her, what an addiction Alex would become to her. She sighed, thinking of all the times she'd compared herself to a hopeless crack addict. Despite knowing how dangerous to her heart it was to continue to hope things would change, she just couldn't bring herself to walk away from him. Not for good. Like this whole week. Except for the few irksome calls he'd stepped outside to take, everything else had been perfect. She dared not ruin things by questioning something as petty as his needing more privacy to take his calls.

Though he was quick to ask who she was talking to or even texting when she was on her phone, she refused to ask him about his calls. Most of the time he offered an explanation without her having to ask. It was usually one of his brothers or his dad with stuff about the restaurant, a responsibility that was increasingly being left in Alex's hands lately.

It was where he was tonight. His parents were home monitoring calls from Mexico because his grandpa was ill. The restaurant, which used to be run primarily by his parents, was slowly being handed down to the brothers. But because his older brother Sal was attending a school hours away, the bulk of the responsibility was left to Alex, who was the second oldest.

Valerie had never been much of a cook, and Alex had already told her he was bringing food home from the restaurant. But she still wanted to have something for him when he got home.

Feeling a little giddy, Valerie pulled the tray of oatmeal cookies she'd baked for him out of the oven—not from scratch of course—but they were his favorite, so she'd stopped at the market on her way home from work today and bought the frozen kind. It was silly, but playing house at his place was a taste of what it would be like to actually live with him. So far, except for his long hours, she was loving it.

She glanced up at the clock on the stove. It was almost nine. He did mention he'd be late, but he hadn't mentioned closing. Only having to close would have him there that late. But she remembered in the past he'd been asked to stay and close plenty of times. Tonight might be the same thing, and if that were the case, it'd be close to ten before he was home, so she squashed the unease that he might be somewhere else while she waited for him at his place like an idiot.

Hoping she might have gotten a text from him, she checked her phone and frowned when she had none. But she did have one from Sarah. She clicked on it and read it.

Hey what've you been up to? I haven't seen you in too long. All we do is text or call each other lately. I'll see you Saturday, right?

Having no idea what her cousin was talking about, Valerie plopped down on the sofa and texted Sarah back with a few question marks. Valerie had just clicked the television on with the remote when her phone pinged. Even though she knew it was likely Sarah, a part of her held out hope it was Alex.

It wasn't.

The Taste of La Jolla! I thought for sure you'd be there! Angel and I are working the first shift at the Moreno's booth, but after that we're free to enjoy the festival.

That was this weekend already? It felt like just a few months ago she'd just been at the annual food, beer, and wine festival. She immediately texted Sarah back, commenting on how fast that felt and that she hadn't even realized it was this weekend. Valerie had been so busy studying for her state exam, and then playing house with Alex was all the distraction she needed to really lose track of everything else. But she left that part out.

Her phone ringing startled her, and again her heart did a little skip, hoping it was Alex, but again, it was Sarah.

"Hey," Valerie said as she answered it.

"Never mind," Sarah said, sounding a little deflated. "I'm still here at the restaurant, and just as I was reading your text, I heard Angel's dad explaining that they're leaving for Mexico tomorrow morning. He came in to talk to Angel as soon as they got the call that his grandpa was rushed to the hospital. So the three brothers and Sofie will be running the show all weekend. Angel will likely have to be in that booth all day all weekend. I'll probably be right there with them, helping out too. You know how crazy busy it gets."

It dawned on Valerie that it was strange that Alex hadn't mentioned it. But then their family's restaurant participated in the festival every year. Maybe he just assumed she knew about it and knew that's where he'd be all weekend.

"Well, maybe you can sneak away with me for a little bit." Valerie said, trying to make her feel better. "Is Alex still there?"

"No, he left over an hour ago," Sarah said. "But I'm sure he'll get a call soon enough from Angel or his dad." Sarah continued but in a lower voice as Valerie's stomach plummeted. "I feel so bad, Val. His dad looks pretty broken up. They think his grandpa had a stroke. I saw Angel hug his dad because I think he broke down for a moment there. I couldn't even watch. So I just walked away."

As bad as Valerie felt about Alex's grandpa, she was suddenly too pissed to empathize. He'd been gone for over an hour? The restaurant was less than ten minutes away from his place. He'd warned her he'd be late tonight, so wherever the hell he was, this was something he'd planned ahead. Yet he'd mentioned nothing other than having to be at the restaurant.

She felt so stupid now, being there stuck at his place because he'd picked her up at her apartment today after work. She didn't have her car. Now even if he got home and they fought, she'd be stuck there.

"Yeah, that is sad," Valerie said, doing her best to sound sincere.

Mostly she was. Alex had mentioned his grandpa hadn't been well in that last few months. He'd also been real worried about his dad. "My mom says it's not looking too good for my grandpa, but my dad's still holding out for a miracle. It's like he's in denial that his dad is that sick. I shudder to think of how he'd take it if my grandpa suddenly goes."

The front door opened, and Valerie turned to see Alex walk in holding a backpack and a plastic store bag.

"I gotta go," she said in a lowered voice, "but, yes, I'll be there Saturday. I'll stop and see if I can whisk you away. We'll have a drink or something."

Alex stared at her from where he was standing as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and set his phone on the dining room table.

"Who was that?" he asked as soon as she was off the phone.

"Sarah," she said, not wanting to look at him. "Where were you?"

"Working," he said.

"Until just now?" she asked, trying desperately not to sound like a nagging girlfriend, but that's exactly how she felt.

"No." He plopped down next her, and instantly she wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her—reassure her insecure heart that she was all he needed just as she'd only ever wanted and needed him. "I had errands to run," he said, pecking her softly. "I had to go to three different drug stores to find the brace I need for my ankle." He motioned with his head to the bag he'd just dropped on the end table then lifted his nose in the air. "Smells good. Did you make cookies?"

She nodded, already feeling a strange relief. Strange because she wasn't sure if she should be feeling it. Why hadn't he called her to tell her he was off or come pick her up and have her go with him on his errands?

Just the other night he'd picked her up after his shift at the restaurant and asked her to come to the gym with him. "I've really been slacking and need to get back in the gym, but I haven't seen you all day. Come with me," he'd said.

Taking a deep breath, she decided not to pout like a child about this. So he didn't pick her up and take her with him. Big deal. The important thing was she couldn't imagine him getting home this aroused and kissing her the way he already was if he'd just left the arms of another girl. Giving into him as she always did—she was beginning to wonder if she'd ever be strong enough not to—she lay back on the sofa, already trembling in response to his tongue and decided to just enjoy letting him have his way with her.