Don't You Know Who I Am? Page 10

  Almost all of the gifts I received were for a future dorm room. Looking at the microwave, towels, desk accessories and personal safe, I secretly hoped I could return it all. I’d be cohabitating in an apartment with Javier and not a dorm room at a university next year. I thanked my parents and sister for the nice gifts and silently hoped that my plans with Javier came to fruition.

  I watched my mother open her gifts. A scarf, clothes, and books. No jewelry. I’d bet she had no control over their finances and didn’t even know a purchase was made at that mall store. I’ll never let that be me. I felt so bitter when I thought about my dad taking advantage of my mom who’d given so much to him and our family.

  We had a nice dinner together and I retreated to my room to start packing for my trip. Dawn came in and dropped down on my bed.

  “Let me know how the skiing is here. I miss the snow.”

  “I’ll do that. Maybe, we can go up sometime.”

  “Is Javier going?”

  I tensed. We hadn’t confided in each other very much since the night I left her at the pub. She knew Javier and I dated, but I’d never told her any of the details. I felt guilty as I lied to her, but I couldn’t take any chances. This trip meant too much to me. “Why’d you ask me that? I'm going with Veronica’s family.”

  “If you say so. You really care about him, don’t you?”

  I didn’t make eye contact with her as I continued to pull out clothes for the trip. “I don’t know what you're talking about. Yeah, I guess I care about him. I mean he’s my boyfriend.”

  She sighed and got up off my bed. “Well, for what it's worth, I’m happy for you.”

  She left the room and softly closed the door behind her. I looked after her for a moment. I missed my sister, but we weren’t able to recover from the events of the recent past. She took everything so seriously, just like Dad. To me, they were one and the same and I couldn’t chance being forced away from Javier.

  ~ ~ ~

  On the day before New Year’s Eve, Dawn dropped me off at Veronica’s early in the morning. “See ya in a few days, sis.” I kissed her, then got out and unloaded my bag and skis onto the sidewalk in front of Veronica’s house.

  “Have fun.” Dawn smiled and drove away.

  Veronica and I carried my things to a SUV parked in the driveway.

  “Whose car is this?” I asked.

  “Javier’s dad is letting us take two SUV’s from the lot. He put dealer plates on them for us.”

  “Very cool. Where is everyone?”

  “At Javier’s. Come on, we need to meet up over there.”

  We got in and she drove us to Javier’s. Alma, Ricardo, his girlfriend, Lucinda, and Javier were all there packing up the SUV. We pulled up and got out. Javier finished sliding the cooler into place in the back of the vehicle.

  I spotted his dimple when he walked over and took my bag.

  His free arm came around me, as he pulled me in for a very long passionate kiss. “I missed you.”

  “Me too,” I whispered back. “You, I mean.”

  “Come on, you two, break it up,” Ricardo said with fake irritation.

  “I'm not sure why they're bringing their skis. I doubt they're going to use them,” Veronica said to Ricardo.

  “We can hear you.” Javier shot out at Veronica as he continued to hug me, his chin resting on the top of my head.

  We all went to work strapping sets of skis on the rack and arranging luggage and more coolers.

  “Are you ready, my love?” Javier asked, as we got into our SUV.

  “I’m more than ready.” I grinned at him. “Let’s go so I can kick your butt on the slopes.”

  Javier’s eyes widened with surprise, not expecting my unprovoked jab. “Game on, my love, but just remember this, if I out-perform you on the slopes, I get to have my way with you any way I want.”

  My heart sped up at the thought of even more ways he could take me. “If that’s the case, I may let you win.”

  My face warmed with all kinds of possibilities that I couldn’t hide. Javier laughed. We pulled out onto the highway, Ricardo and the others following behind us in the second SUV.

  Six hours later we arrived at the cabin. Javier called his dad to tell him that we made it safely. When he hung up, he gave me the grand tour of a wonderful log cabin with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full kitchen.

  He led me to our room for the weekend. We threw our bags down before starting to unpack. “Javier, this is a beautiful cabin. Do you come here often?”

  He slipped his hands around my waist, pulling me close to him. “Not as much as we used to. My parents are getting older and don’t like to make the long drive.”

  “It’s amazing.”

  He said nothing as he stared into my eyes and leaned in for a tender kiss. “I’m glad you like it. Let’s eat, I’m starving.”

  We fired up the grill for our steaks. Somehow, Ricardo and Javier scored, bringing beer and tequila. We started a fire in the fireplace when the grilling was complete. We ate and had a couple of drinks while we reminisced about our senior year thus far.

  When it got late, we all retreated to our rooms knowing we had to get an early start in order to make it to the ski resort when it opened. Javier grabbed two more beers for us as we retreated to our room. He set them on the bedside table.

  “So, what do you think so far?” He slid his hands around my waist, pulling me against him.

  “It’s beautiful up here. I didn’t know Arizona had tall pines and snow. Thank you for inviting me.”

  “Thank you for coming.” Javier gave me a long lingering kiss. “I want to give you your Christmas gift.” He turned and went to his bag and pulled out a small box. “I hope you like it.”

  I sat down on the bed and opened the box. Inside was a delicate heart-shaped ruby ring surrounded by tiny diamonds.

  “Oh Javier, it’s beautiful.” I took it out of the box, not sure how to wear it.

  He took it from me and put it on my left ring finger. “It’s a promise ring. Someday, I hope you’ll accept a diamond ring from me, but for now I promise I’m yours.”

  My eyes filled with happy tears when I considered marrying him. “I love it and I love you.” I stood and gave him a tender kiss. The look in his eyes was so warm I wanted to drink it in forever. “I got you a gift too.”

  Javier sat down and I returned with his gift. He opened the box, as I stood next to him, and took out the ring.

  “It’s a pinky ring. The center of the ring is onyx.” I explained, even though he could see that.

  He slipped it on and pulled me down onto his lap. “I love it. Thank you.”

  At that moment, nothing else existed. I was so happy and I didn’t want this moment in time to end. Javier looked into my eyes for a long time. He leaned in and kissed me with such intensity, I could feel he wanted me as much as I wanted him. We didn’t rush the moment. We undressed each other slowly, deliberately and caressed every inch of each other. I felt his hands run over me lightly and his lips followed. I reciprocated letting my hands run across his broad chest and down his waist until I felt him in my hands.

  I kissed his neck and ran my tongue down his body until I took him in my mouth. He threaded his hands in my hair and groaned as I tasted him fully.

  He pulled me back up before he lost control and got on top of me. His hands went to work stroking and caressing me as his lips came down on mine in a sensual kiss. My need for him was intense as our tongues danced with pleasure. I could feel my inner muscles clench around his fingers as I bucked against him reaching my climax quickly.

  He turned me over onto my stomach and pulled my hips so I was up on all fours. I heard him roll on a condom and then felt him enter into me. I gasped at how sexy this was. He held me close to him as he kep
t my arousal going with his fingers softly stroking over me.

  We moved together and he whispered, “I love you, Kayla.”

  “I love you too, Javier.”

  He lifted higher and grabbed my hips, pulsing faster. My breathing was hard and I tried to not make any noise since we weren’t alone in the cabin. I clenched the sheets as he pushed into me faster and harder.

  I couldn’t hold on any longer as a bead of sweat ran down my spine. I gasped as I came so hard, I shook. He was with me and groaned as he came, holding me to him. We collapsed down onto the bed with him on top of me and his arms wrapped around me. We gently rolled onto our sides and drifted off to sleep holding onto each other, like tomorrow would never come.

  Chapter 15

  Morning came way too fast. We woke when there was a knock on the door. Since we were completely naked, we scrambled to get up and find some clothes.

  “Just a minute!” Javier yelled as we giggled and dressed. When we were finally decent, he opened the door. Whoever had knocked, must have gotten bored and walked away because there was nobody there.

  Javier looked both ways outside of the door. He took my hand and before we left the room, he kissed me again. “Thank you for last night.”

  “You never have to thank me, silly. I’m here with you because I want to be.”

  He smiled, melting my heart, and kissed me tenderly before we walked to the kitchen where we found everyone else. Javier poured us coffee. It only took Veronica a matter of seconds to notice the ring.

  “That sure is a pretty ring. I don’t remember you having it yesterday.” She took my hand to look at it.

  “Javier gave it to me for Christmas.”

  “When’s the diamond coming, Javier? We all know you love her. What’s taking you so long?”

  “Don’t worry, Veronica. You’ll be the second to know.”

  I couldn’t help but think they were more like brother and sister than cousins. Just then, I felt Ricardo take my hand. I looked down at him and he was on one knee. What the heck was he doing? He then slipped a twist tie, which he had knotted at the top to look like a ring, onto my finger and pushed it to the ring Javier had just given me.

  “Will you marry us?” Ricardo asked. “If he won’t propose, we will as a family. Please marry us while he is being a chicken.”

  Everyone laughed hysterically now, even Javier.

  “Yes, I will,” I said.

  Everyone burst out into a cheer and I looked at Javier, still laughing at what just transpired.

  After breakfast, we showered and got ready to hit the slopes. It felt good to pull on my royal blue fleece and tight black ski pants. I was impressed to see Javier sporting a yellow Obermeyer ski-jacket and black snow pants. His taste was always impeccable and it carried over to his snow gear too. I wore my two new rings all day and I couldn’t remember a time I’d felt so happy.

  As we approached the top of the first slope, I declared I’d indeed kick his backside down the slope.

  “Game on, girlfriend.”

  Before I knew what happened, he’d jumped out in front of me. We flew down the slope weaving in and out of each other’s paths. When we finally reached the bottom, I could hardly breathe.

  “I have to tell you I am impressed.”

  He laughed, watching me struggle to catch my breath. “You really didn’t think I could keep up with you, huh? I knew you were a snob.”

  “Maybe I am, but I guess you’ll change that in me.”

  We got back in line to take on the next run. Javier was an excellent skier and we had fun challenging each other down the slopes all day long.

  When the day ended, we returned to the cabin and started getting ready for New Year’s Eve. We had tons of food and the tequila was already out. The night was a blur as we drank and ate and danced in the living room. At midnight we all rang in the New Year together.

  The cabin erupted as we all yelled ‘Happy New Year’ to each other, hugging and kissing one another. Of course, my kiss to Javier took us right to our room. At that moment we didn’t care if everyone knew what we were doing or even if they heard us. We just needed each other, right here, right now.

  ~ ~ ~

  The next morning, my head was killing me and my mouth was dry from my hangover.

  Javier rolled over and kissed my forehead. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like crap. How do you feel?”

  “My head hurts. Do you want some water?”

  “I’d love some.”

  Javier climbed out of bed. He pulled on some shorts and a T-shirt. He went to the kitchen and grabbed two bottled waters and two sodas and came back into the bedroom.

  “Here you go.”

  “Thank you. It sounds quiet out there.”

  “Nobody is up. I guess skiing is out for today.”

  I laughed. “Fine by me.”

  We snuggled in bed for what felt like forever, before deciding to get up and shower. Javier joined me and I delighted in letting him soap me up. It wasn’t long before we enjoyed each other’s company way too much in there. When we finally got out, we heard signs of life in the kitchen. We joined everyone else as we all nursed our hangovers.

  “Good morning.” Javier said, as we walked into the kitchen holding hands.

  The mumbling of our tired friends answered in unison half-heartedly.

  “Dude, I feel like shit. Let’s stay in and watch movies.” Ricardo suggested.

  “Sounds perfect. We aren’t feeling very good either.”

  We all made our way to the living room and sprawled out with pillows and blankets settling in for a day of recovery

  Today was the last day here. I couldn’t help but feel sad. Tomorrow it was back to reality and Monday was back to school. I’d have to hide my ring and go back to pretending Javier and I didn’t have a relationship.

  Maybe, I’d blackmail my dad and tell him if he didn’t let me see Javier, I’d tell Mom what I saw in the mall. Somehow I didn’t think that’d work, but my evil thoughts helped me burn off some anger. I needed to stay strong until we graduated.

  I turned my head and smiled at Javier as I sat between his legs on the floor. The smile must not have reached my eyes.

  He read it right away. “What are you thinking about?”

  “When’s the next time I get to see you?” I asked quietly enough so only he’d hear.

  “Don’t worry about it. We always figure something out.” He kissed the top of my head. “We have a lifetime ahead of us. A couple of months is nothing in the big picture.”

  “I know.” I wasn’t satisfied, but he was right.

  ~ ~ ~

  The next day, we packed up early in order to get back at a decent hour. We made sure we’d cleaned up the cabin and locked all the doors and windows. Javier called his dad and told him we were getting on the road now. We got in the SUV and followed Ricardo and our friends in theirs.

  Javier reached over, taking my hand in his. “Did you have a good time?”

  I smiled back at him. “The best. I look forward to skiing being a regular occurrence since I’m marrying your family and all.”

  “Nonsense. You’re marrying me.” He brought my hand to his mouth for a kiss.

  “I don’t believe you proposed.”

  “I promised you that I will.” He squeezed my hand. “When I do, I want to be sure that I’m secure and can provide for you.”

  “Being married means we provide and take care of each other, Javier. You shouldn’t feel like that’s all on your shoulders.”

  He grinned and kept watching the road. “That’s true, but I’m a Mexican man and we are macho.”

  “I see.” I giggled. “And
what are my responsibilities?”

  “To have babies and clean the house of course.”

  “Thank God, I’m not Mexican then.”

  We both started laughing. I flipped on the radio as we drove and the snow started to fall. By the time we reached Salt River Canyon, the storm worsened. The roads were slick. We were quiet as Javier navigated slowly through the deepening snow.

  The desolate canyon wound for miles down one side of the mountain and then back up the other side and the highway hadn’t been plowed for hours. We couldn’t see Ricardo and the other SUV. We weren’t sure if they were right in front of us, or way ahead of us. There wasn’t any phone service and no rest-stops, so we kept moving.

  As we came around the next turn, an elk jumped in front of the SUV. Javier swerved. We began to spin as he fought to regain control of the vehicle. I grabbed the side of the door in order to hold myself in my seat as we spun out of control. The force was so strong that I could hardly hold myself up.

  We began to fall. I felt us go forward. The SUV went end-over-end. I felt the plastic from the dash hit my face when the airbags deployed. My face stung. My nose hurt. My seat belt gave way, and I flew, ejected out the windshield.

  My body slammed into the cold ground. I slid at a high rate of speed outside the vehicle. Pain shot through my body. I saw the vehicle upside down, wheels spinning in the air. I tried to yell for Javier but no sound escaped my lips. Agony overtook me. Everything went black.

  Chapter 16

  “Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?” Dad kissed my forehead.

  I heard my mom and Dawn sniffling. I looked past my dad to try to see them. Mom looked up and wiped away her tears as she approached my bedside, near my father. Dawn stayed where she was behind them, softly crying.