Taming Romeo Read Online Free PDF Page B

it’s like walking on the back of a giant snake. It winds up a landscaped slope, around a grove of trees representing the Garden of Eden, and past a monument of the book Milton’s Paradise Lost .
    The significance of all this is, of course, lost on my bickering family. First, we had an argument over who was riding with who. Genie, the wronged party, was given preferential treatment and went with the parents in the Lexus. Choco said she’d drive me and Brian, but last minute, Romeo showed up outside my bedroom window. While the family trampled to the garage, I pulled on my spanking new motorcycle outfit and expensive helmet and hopped onto his bike.
    I’m not being bitchy, but after questioning, no, interrogating Choco, she finally admitted that Romeo didn’t know the details of the loan, that he’d only been asked by his mother to call on our family with cake samples, and he was supposed to escort Genie to our cousin Julia’s wedding. Since all of this was planned by Tita Elena and my parents without my knowledge, I don’t feel obligated to play along. Besides, Romeo and I have unresolved business.
    My family gathers outside of the entrance and waits for me and Romeo to finish kissing. I’m going to have to make up to Genie somehow, but it’s obvious he can’t keep his lips and hands off me, and I’m completely incapable of resisting him.
    “Enough with the PDA.” I drag my mouth from his. All this angst is compounding my tachycardia, racing heartbeat, and tachypnea, rapid breathing. Hey, maybe I’ll lose a few pounds from the increased metabolic rate.
    “We need to talk.” He taps the tip of my nose. “How about dinner?”
    “That would be nice. Can we make it vegan?”
    He scrunches his face. “You too? Know of a good place?”
    “Yeah, there must be some nice places. Let me, uh, look it up while you do the shoot.”
    “I’m going to be hungry.” He dives back for another nip on my lips, growls, and gives me a loud smacking kiss.
    I can feel the waves of anger emanating from my family. Well, Brian doesn’t care. He’s got his skateboard and is doing jumps under a sign that says ‘No Skateboarding.’ Choco is torn between coming to me to get the scoop and showing a semblance of family loyalty to the Tita Elena/Mama grand plan.
    My eyes don’t leave Romeo’s back as he saunters toward the film crew. They’re setting up for an outdoor scene where the forbidden lovers meet for the first time under the apple tree. I know, pure cheese.
    Speaking of forbidden lover, where’s Blondie? Her character, Mildred Venables, is the nerdy mathematician who falls in love with Romeo’s character, Zeke Fernandez, a bad boy rock guitarist. I glance at the extras lined up near the library entrance, and then at the director who is slapping his clipboard and gesticulating wildly at his assistant.
    I choke back a laugh when I finally spot Blondie. She’s wearing zero makeup, is dressed in a dowdy jumper over a button-down shirt. Ha, ha. She’s got Birkenstocks on her feet, and the beautician is pulling her hair back into a severe bun. Romeo told me this is the scene where Zeke, his character, first bumps into Mildred. Frankly, I can’t see the attraction. Without the heavy eye shadow and miles long mascara I saw her with the other day, she looks as plain and nondescript as a newborn lab rat. I’m going enjoy this shoot more than I thought.
    “What are you doing here?” A harried looking man with glasses drags me by the elbow. “Get to makeup. You’re late.”
    “Uh, I’m not part of this.” I literally dig in my heels.
    He snaps his glasses off, glares at me with steely gray eyes and swipes his greasy hair with his other hand. “Aren’t you the replacement for Susie Sotelo? Even if you’re not, you’ll do. Let’s go.”
    I do not like being manhandled by nervous, high-strung film makers. “I’m not playing any part. This is a mistake.”
    “You have the hots for Romeo? That’s all you need to do.