A Lot Like Adiós (Primas of Power, #2)

by Alexis Daria

“Anyway, I’m so happy you two are finally together.” Norma grabbed Michelle’s hand with her free one and beamed at her. “I always knew it would happen. Gracias, Michelle, por devolverme a mi hijo.” “I wanted him back too,” Michelle admitted, then sent Gabe a quick glance that had his heart flipping over in his chest.

“I always have energy for you,” he said, because what he really wanted to say was I’m under a lot of emotional stress and I need you.

“Well! You sure grew up nicely, Gabriel.” Michelle pinched the bridge of her nose. “Oh my god, Mom. Don’t flirt with him.”

Michelle repeated the lie about reconnecting on Instagram. Her dad grumbled, “I still don’t see why you had to bring him to my house,” but otherwise, he was civil. Until Michelle overheard him telling Gabe, “Remember what I said.” Abuelo came over to greet them. Michelle gave him a big kiss on his lined brown cheek and a tight hug. Then, while her parents were distracted, she pulled Gabe aside. “What did my dad mean?” Gabe ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck. “Oh, when I was around . . . twelve, I guess, your dad made some light threats about what would happen if I ever touched you.” Michelle narrowed her eyes. “Like what?” “Vague stuff, like . . .” Gabe made a menacing face and drew his finger across his throat. “Jeez, Dad. Way to be a stereotype.” She shook her head. “Is that why you never made a move until after we graduated high school?” “What? No. I wasn’t even thinking about any of that yet. And later . . . I didn’t think you were open to being more.”

Esperanza leaned in conspiratorially and gave Michelle’s dress strap a tug. “I told you these tetas were too good to waste.” Michelle just smirked. “I never said they were going to waste.”

Michelle had been clear: she did not sleep in the same bed with sexual partners. He didn’t want her to do something she didn’t want simply because of circumstance, because of a lie he’d told his father. If that was her way of keeping distance between them, he had to respect it. After all, he was leaving in a few days, although he had yet to buy a new return ticket to Los Angeles.

Michelle had been his first love, and while he’d later tried to dismiss those feelings as “just a crush,” they felt strikingly similar to—while also a pale shadow of—what he was experiencing now.

“However long it takes, your pleasure is worth it. Anyone who’s made you feel like it wasn’t . . .” He worked to get the anger out of his voice, because he wasn’t angry at her. “I’m just sorry anyone ever made you feel that way.”

“If I come—and I might, because seeing you in ecstasy brings me pleasure too—it doesn’t mean the night is over. We’ll go for as long as you want. Okay?”

“Harder,” she said. He stilled, reading the desire in her face. “You like it a little rough, don’t you?” At her nod, he bent her in half and gave it to her how she wanted it, tossing the wand aside and using his hand. “¿Así?” he asked her repeatedly. “Like this?” Every time, she said yes.

“The truth is . . . I’ve felt so stuck lately. I’ve been taking easy design jobs because I was burned out, but they’re so fucking boring. Consulting on this campaign has made me feel alive again. And being with Gabe is . . . it’s just the best. I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s like he’s been holding a piece of me all this time and I just got it back.”

Rolling onto his side, Gabe found her in the dark and kissed her shoulder. “I want to cuddle with you.” “Okay.” Michelle’s voice was soft in the darkness, but she turned her butt toward him so he could be the big spoon. Gabe pulled her closer, pressing his thighs against hers and tucking his knees into the backs of her legs. Her hair was in his face, but he didn’t mind. The sweet herbal scent of her shampoo soothed him. There wasn’t an inch of space between them. And it felt so, so right.

He tried to sleep. He really did. But it was hard. He was hard. How could he not be with her gorgeous ass pressed into his crotch? Her parents were down the hall, so sex was out of the question, but maybe . . .

Gabe raised his head to whisper in her ear. “I want t...

Michelle’s breath caught, and he felt her tense. “Now?” “Right now.” She parted her thighs to give him access. Her immediate acceptance of his offer showed how much had changed between them in a few short days. He dragged his hand down her body, traveling over her hip to the waistband of her sleep shorts, where he slid his fingers underneath and into her panties. When she m...

“God, I want to fuck you so bad, baby.” He breathed the words into her ear as he caressed her, shifting his hand to slip his fingers inside her. “Just like this. I’d slide into you from behind, and—” He broke off and pressed his face into the nape of her neck when she bit back a moan. As much as he was doing this to tease her and bring her greater pleasure, he was teasing himself too. “What else?” she asked, her voice raspy with desire. “What else would you do to me?” He let out a shuddering breath. This was torture of the most exquisite sort. “I’d slide into you and you’d take every inch,” he went on, moving his wet fingers to her clit and circling it as he spoke. “I’d start off slow, but then we’d go faster. You like it hard, don’t you, babe?” “Yes.” Her reply was barely audible amid her harsh gasps as he matched the speed of his touch to the images he was spinning. She was close, so he shifted his fingers down again, pressing two into her pussy. He thrust them back and forth, mimicking what he wanted to do with his cock. Her hips bucked, and when she let out a series of soft whimpers, he captured her mouth with his in a kiss before bringing his fingers back to her clit.

And Gabe knew he’d held back when Michelle asked what else he would do with her. He wanted to do more than just fuck her. He wanted to hold her like this while she came around his cock, swallowing her gasps of ecstasy. He wanted to cuddle with her through the night and wake up with her every morning. A few days and nights weren’t enough. One weekend of pretending wasn’t enough. He wanted more with her. More time, more . . . everything. And it scared the shit out of him.

DESPITE BEING A heavy sleeper, Gabe woke periodically throughout the night to check if Michelle was still there. She was.

And because the words weren’t enough, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. He didn’t care that her mom was in the kitchen or that her dad might walk in at any moment. The presentation had brought up so many conflicting feelings inside him, feelings that had nowhere to go. He needed this connection with Michelle to ground him, to give some of his emotions a home. Love. Appreciation. Hope. He didn’t even know what else. All he knew was that she made him stronger.

Michelle’s honey-colored eyes were dazed and dreamy. She blinked slowly and licked her lower lip. “What was that for?” What could he say to that? For being incredible. For seeing me and my vision clearly. For caring about my gym. For caring about me.

Shit, no wonder their families had been so obnoxious at the barbecue. He might as well have gotten down on one knee and proposed in the middle of the damned dance floor. That dance was a declaration.

Yes, the bedroom reminded her of Gabe. Yes, it hurt that he’d left. Yes, she’d asked him to stay, and he hadn’t. But at least this time, she’d asked for what she wanted. She hadn’t let anger get the better of her, making her say things she later regretted. As much as it pained her to think of him, she didn’t regret opening up. Those days with him had been the most emotionally satisfying of her life. She’d allowed herself to be vulnerable. To be seen. To ask for what she wanted. How many people never felt that in their whole lives?

She’d once been one of those people. And now that she’d felt it, she’d always know. She deserved better. And she would survive, no matter what.

Grumbling, Michelle used the cheese knife to slice the packing tape at the end of the tube. Opening it, she reached in and gently pulled out the rolled sheet of photo paper. Her heart twisted when she looked at it, but a smile tugged at her lips. She’d compiled photos of herself and Gabe from their visit to the Bronx Zoo, their day in Manhattan, the shopping trip, and the quinceañera, combining them with a few old photos from their childhood and high school years. There was a Halloween picture from the year Gabe had dressed as a Jedi and Michelle had been a vampire. Another from Michelle’s thirteenth birthday party, when they’d gone to Jones Beach. Gabe in his baseball uniform and Michelle in a school play, the two of them sitting on the steps of her house and playing on the swings in his backyard, the first day of middle school and their high school graduation. Across the bottom, in bold script, it read: Part of me will always be waiting for you. “What do you want to do with it?” Ava asked. Michelle didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed her phone and sent a text message. Michelle: I need his mailing address.

But the biggest surprise was . . . himself. He’d written himself into the character of Zack in a way that was glaringly obvious, and as a result, reading the story was like opening a time capsule and finding Teenage Gabe. Zack Salazar, a Latinx space prince with telekinetic powers and major family baggage, was slow to trust and second-guessed himself and others constantly. He went through periods of extreme caution before throwing it all to the wind in an impulsive act fueled by emotions. And he had been head over heels in love with Michelle’s character, Riva. Riva, as Gabe had written her, was daring and smart, brave and beautiful, and far too cool for Zack. She was, in essence, how Gabe had always seen Michelle.

“How do you feel about her?” Norma broke in. “Because I know you used to—” “The same,” Gabe muttered. “I feel the same about Michelle as I did—” He stopped, because no, that wasn’t right. However he’d felt about her in their teens was a pale shadow to what he felt now. “No, actually. I feel . . . more. A lot more.” “You should tell her,” his father said decisively.

“What about the work Michelle was doing?” Esteban asked. “I still have it,” Gabe admitted. “And we paid her. But I left suddenly, and I didn’t explain everything to her.” “You should do that,” Norma said in a mild tone. “I’m working on it,” Gabe said. “That’s what I was doing when you got here.” His father rapped his knuckles on the table like a gavel. “Okay, mijo. You fixed things with the gym. You fixed things with us. Now you fix things with Michelle.” A smile tugged at Gabe’s lips. “I will, Pop. Don’t worry.”