“Okay kids,” Ralphie said, trailing me. “Don’t be too late. Don’t do any drugs, drive smart and even if all the other kids are doing it, think twice. If you’re going to be over your curfew then make sure you call your Daddies or we’ll get worried.”
I stopped in front of Hector but turned to Ralphie.
I leaned up to kiss his cheek and then whispered, “Shut up.”
He grinned at me.
I turned to Buddy, he helped me on with my to-the-hip, black trench coat, handed me my deep-green, patent leather Lanvin bag with the chain link strap and then I kissed his cheek too.
“Seriously, Sadie, you’re gonna be late, you phone,” Buddy said to me but his eyes were on Hector.
“I’ll phone,” I promised.
With that, Hector took my hand and we were out the door.
Darn.
Here we go.
Hector walked me to the Bronco so fast I nearly had to run to keep up. Once there, he opened the passenger door, helped me in then slammed it when I settled. He rounded the front and got in the driver’s side but instead of turning on the truck, he twisted toward me.
“Give me your cell,” he demanded.
I blinked because everything was happening really fast.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Your cell,” he repeated.
Confused at this strange start to a date, I pulled out my cell phone and handed it to him. He took it, flipped it open, punched numbers into it and then hit the green button.
In a second, I heard his cell phone ringing. He pulled it out of the inside pocket of his jacket and flipped my phone shut. Then with me still silent and watching him, he hit buttons on his phone, loads of buttons. My phone rang; he flipped his shut, mine open and returned his to his jacket pocket. Then he started to hit buttons on my phone, loads of those too, even more than what he did on his phone.
“Do you,” I tried to be polite after he kept on hitting buttons, “mind telling me what you’re doing?”
He flipped my phone shut and handed it to me, his eyes coming to mine.
“You’re programmed into my phone, I’m programmed into yours,” he told me. “You got my cell, my house, the office and the control room at the office. The control room is set as the top choice in your phonebook. You ever have a situation, any situation, you call there. Someone is there twenty-four, seven and they’ll take care of you. Got that?”
Slowly, not certain sure how to react to Hector giving me his cell phone and home phone and office phone and offering me twenty-four, seven access to someone who would “take care of me”, I nodded.
“Now,” he went on, his voice softer, he was leaning closer and I wasn’t keeping up. “I’m gonna kiss you, because, mamita, the way you look right now, I gotta f**kin’ kiss you.”
Oh my.
I guessed Ralphie was right, my outfit was perfection.
He got way closer, his fingers slid into my hair at the side and they cupped my head.
“You all right with that?” he asked quietly, eyes looking into mine.
Again, slowly, I nodded though I also wasn’t certain sure I was “all right with that”.
“Thank Christ,” he muttered.
Then he kissed me.
It started soft, sweet and then I put my hand to his shoulder and felt the heat there. I liked it and moved in closer so I could feel the heat from his body.