Resplendent Read Online Free PDF Page B

spill anything as I laid it on thick. My routine was always the same, a layer of sauce, meat, sauce, toppings, and then sauce again. My concentration was broken with Andres’ chuckle. That laugh of his caused warmth over my skin and a drop of sauce fell on the floor. Crap. I turned my head slightly to stare at him.
    “Yes?” I asked and pursed my lips.
    “You sure you want all of that?” The corners of his lips curled and his eyes lit up in amusement.
    I held up the spoon in mid-air and squinted my eyes. “I can handle it,” I smirked.
    “Are you sure? Because if anyone is the master of hot sauce that would be…” He looked around the room before resting his eyes on mine and pointed to himself with his index finger. “This guy right here.”
    “Well, then you’ve met your match.” I challenged and finished fixing up my plate. I grabbed a napkin and thought of something else before I turned around to go back to my seat. “And no, I’m not Mexican.”
    Andres nodded, as if he knew exactly what I meant. “I wasn’t going to ask. I hate when people ask me that. I don’t understand what the deal is. Lots of non-Mexicans like spicy food.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Exactly! The joke is old. For the record, I’m Colombian and I like all types of Latin food.” I poured myself a cup of soda and went to move out of his way but he held me back by my elbow.
    “Wait for me,” he whispered in my ear and I involuntarily shivered.
    I watched as he fixed his own plate; a heap of six tacos and a messy trail of hot sauce over the meat. He didn’t even finish stacking them neatly into rows before taking a bite out of one of them. I shook my head and he grinned at me.
    “What?” he muffled. Boys.
    “I thought you weren’t hungry?” Adam asked Andres, with a smile on his face as we walked toward him on the couch.
    Andres shrugged. “I wasn’t, now I am.”
    I sat down next to Adam and noticed Carmin was sitting at the dining room table and glancing over at all of us.
    “Andres, why don’t you sit here next to me?” Carmin said, pulling out the chair next to her with her foot.
    I turned my head to look back at Andres and caught him throwing daggers at Adam with his eyes.
    “No, that’s Adam’s chair,” Andres answered without looking at her. “Why don’t you sit at your usual spot?” He stared at Adam and waited.
    “What usual spot? We don’t have any?” Adam responded, his eyebrows pulling together. He was either an idiot or didn’t care that Andres was getting pissed.
    Andres glanced down and I could see his jaw tense up. When I followed his line of vision, I saw Adam’s thighs almost rubbed up against mine. I didn’t want to move a muscle. Andres looked like he wanted to kill Adam.
    “We do. You sit over there,” he said with a growl, jerking his head toward the chair next to Carmin. I could feel Carmin burning holes behind our heads while I squirmed in my seat. Awkward . I grabbed my cup of soda off the floor, and I debated if I should stand up to find somewhere else to sit, when Andres saw my intentions.
    “Move!” He snapped at Adam and stepped in front of him.
    Adam held up his hands and chuckled. “All right, all right, no need to yell—Romeo.” He bumped his shoulder with Andres as he walked by him. Finally, Andres was able to sit next to me, close enough that our thighs were touching. I sat up straight and took a big gulp of my drink. The room had grown quiet as every eye had been focused on the whole interaction. My face was on fire.
    Slowly, the chatter of conversation around us picked up, and the crunching of the taco shells kept our mouths busy, but the silence between Dre and me was deafening. I debated on what to say. Should we make small talk? Bring up his game? I knew his team had won, I could ask him about the score. He beat me to conversation and asked, “So what sauce did you use?” before taking a bite of his taco.
    I wiped my mouth with my napkin before speaking and saw that