Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,52

vulnerable, exposed moment. But of course, he didn’t. Leo never seemed to apologize for anything. Then again, I wasn’t sorry he did it either. It was more so that I thought I should feel sorry.

“What now?” I asked, remembering how we conveniently evaded this part the first time. We let ourselves crash into sleep instead just to escape it - even though we had been laying in the middle of the woods.

“I’m hungry,” he replied bluntly. “I guess I’ll dry off and go back home for some lunch. I’d invite you to join, but my mother would have a heart attack.”

“You know what I mean.”

He sighed and nodded. “Hopefully I provided you some relief.”

“I hope so too...We really shouldn’t do this again,” I shot back, but I was surprised at the uncertainty in my voice. It was as if I was just testing him, hoping he’d tell me all the reasons we most certainly could do it again.

“You’re right. I guess your fence will help to remove some of the temptation. Though I would scale fences for more of that.”

His blase joking manner made me uneasy and insecure. “I’m serious,” I groaned. “This has to stop. No more sneaking around in the bushes and spying on me. Or worse...walking up on me and acting everything out for real.”

“Is it too much to ask for you to stop coming out here like this? Really, Lucia. It’s not like I instigated this. You can’t lay there and touch yourself and call out my name and expect me not to act on it.” Now his voice carried a sort of desperate pain - one that seemed more fitting.

“Either way...we’re agreed then? This can’t happen again.”

“It shouldn’t, no,” he conceded, climbing out of the water to put on his clothes.

He looked unsure and remorseful. Neither of us seemed to want to give up our guilty pleasure, but we both knew it was for the best. I could feel his eyes burning into me as I stood on the rocks, drying myself off in the sun and sliding back into my clothes. I found myself longing for more...not even more sex, but just more of him. It made no sense for how deplorable he had been in the time that I had known him. But still, it felt so natural to think of him coming over to me and kissing me goodbye.

I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as we hesitated to go our separate ways. He seemed to think better of it and began taking slow, reluctant steps back to his side of the property. But in one sudden swoop he stopped and turned. He raced towards me too quickly for me to wrap my head around it, and lifted him up into his arms for a long, deep and passionate kiss.

17

Leonardo

I was quiet around my family for the next few days, still lost in my thoughts of Lucia. Our time at the creek had curbed my insatiable appetite for her a little, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the need took hold of me again and became uncontrollable and incurable.

Jorge and Dario had been quiet around me as well, but the daggers they shot with their eyes spoke volumes. I could tell they had been suspicious ever since I snapped at them and told them to stay the hell away from the creek. Tensions were mounting as we gathered around the dinner table one evening. My mother sat between all of our awkward, fleeting glances. She was blissfully unaware and babbling on about her high society gossip while we ate.

But with the first lull in conversation, Jorge didn’t hesitate to open his big mouth. “How did that meeting with the lawyer go the other day?” he asked in a sly tone, intentionally bringing it up in front of Mother.

“Another meeting!?” she all but shrieked. “Good heavens, I thought that mess was all cleared up by now. How hard is it really to determine the property line? The whole thing is disgraceful.”

“I thought it was over too,” Jorge said with a dab of his napkin to his mouth. “But apparently Leo still had...a few loose ends to tie up with the matter. Or so he told us on his way out to the creek the other day.”

His tone dripped with accusation, and it was enough to make my blood boil. I couldn’t resist putting him in his place.

“It went quite well!” I thundered back with a sarcastic