WORK FOR IT | BONUS 1

“A bar. In Mexico City.”

Daniel’s POV of Chapter 32

“¡Cabrón! Ven acá.”

I don’t move when Raúl shouts to me from across the packed room. He’s beckoning me over, trying to get me to join him and the group of women surrounding him.

I keep my elbows on the bar top and my attention on the live football match on the TV overhead. Or, at least, I’m sure it looks like I’m engrossed in the game. If pressed, I don’t think I could tell you who’s playing, even while staring at their names on the screen.

I’m too busy thinking about Selene.

I shouldn’t be. I know that. I’m supposed to be focused on my cousin, who’s getting married this weekend. I’m supposed to be focused on my family and childhood friends. I should be shitfaced and grabbing a handful of ass like Raúl is, but instead I’m… My god, I’m fucking pining.

It would be embarrassing if I hadn’t already resigned myself to it. I’m blaming it on the upcoming wedding intensifying everything. Because watching two people in love flaunt their affection only makes me wish I could do the same. Part of the reason I agreed to come out with Raúl and the rest of the boys was to get my mind off of Selene. Clearly, I’m failing.

I can’t believe how badly I miss her—how much I want to see her. Fuck, I’d settle for just hearing her voice.

Thanks to her previous hatred of me, she’s never put on airs or tried to make herself more appealing. She speaks to me the same way she would to someone who she doesn’t need to impress. She doesn’t speak to me like a crush or a new infatuation. There’s no high-pitched simpering. No girlish giggles. Even the way she teases is low and dry. She has no problem letting me hear the rasp and depth of her voice, sexy without even trying. It’s driven me wild for so long now, and I don’t think I can go another moment without talking to her.

Except I don’t know if she wants to hear from me. I don’t know if she thinks of me when we’re apart. Or if she’s obsessed in the same way that I am. I’m leaning closer toward yes thanks to the conversation we had the last time we were together, where she put her worries out in the open and made it clear she needed to see more of an effort from me.

I didn’t realize until that moment how much I’d been holding back in an attempt not to scare her off. If she knew how often she was on my mind, how often she’s the only thought in my head, she might have run away screaming.

I’m still trying to figure out how much to show her. Is it too soon to let her in on the things I’m feeling? Is it too soon to tell her I’m falling in love with—

A hand slaps down on my shoulder, shaking me out of my thoughts.

“Why are you just sitting here?” Raúl demands when I look at him over my shoulder. “I’ve got five girls over there interested in getting their hands on your—”

“I’m good, thanks,” I interrupt. I don’t need to hear how that sentence ends. It’ll either be my dick or my wallet, and either way, I’m not interested.

Raúl looms over me with a sneer. “When did you get so boring? You used to pull a different woman every night, yet you’ve been here a week and you haven’t even looked at one.” He shakes his head. “The fuck is up with you?”

I’ve kept this to myself all week, not wanting to share even a hint of Selene with anyone else. She’s mine and mine alone. And while I don’t expect her to ever find out that I’ve told anyone about us, I don’t know how she’d feel about it. I’ve fucked up enough with her. I haven’t wanted to risk the chance of doing it again.

So I keep it vague. “I’m seeing someone. And it’s serious.”

His eyes go comically wide. “No mames,” he blusters, finally grabbing the barstool next to mine and dropping onto it. “You really like this girl enough that you’re out here turning down pussy while on vacation?”

I have to resist rolling my eyes, but I’m used to his ribbing after twenty-something years of friendship. “That so hard to believe?”

He shoots me a knowing look that makes me wince. Okay, yeah, it is hard to believe. I’m a flirt. I know that. I like beautiful women and they like me. My relationships don’t typically last long because I don’t know how to commit past a certain point—or I thought I didn’t until Selene scowled her way into my life.

“Something else is going on here,” Raúl surmises, looking me up and down. “I’ve seen you with a girlfriend before, but this is different.” He pauses, a grimace pulling at his face. “Fuck. It’s not just serious. You’re in love.”

I freeze momentarily, caught by his accusation. Then I shrug. What’s the point in denying it?

“Well, shit.” He leans an elbow on the edge of the bar and stares hard at me. “She love you back?”

I pick up my glass of rum and take a slow sip. The burn of it is only slightly less intense than the burn of not knowing the answer to Raúl’s question. “Remains to be seen.”

“Ay, Daniel,” he groans, throwing his head back. “What are we going to do with you?”

I’d like to know the same.

“When’s the last time you talked to her?” Raúl asks when I don’t reply. “Because you’re acting like it’s been fifty years.”

“Last week, before I left New York.” Last week, when I told her I wanted to take her on a real date—a date I haven’t stopped thinking about and mentally planning every day I’ve been here.

He gapes at me as I finish off my drink. “What is wrong with you? Not even talking to the girl you claim to love? Sick bastard.”

“She and I are…taking things slow.”

He snorts. “Not so slow if you’re already in love with her.” He pushes off his barstool and slaps me upside the head. “Just call her. Get your fix.”

I’m about to tell him that I don’t want to, that this loud-ass bar isn’t exactly the best place for a real conversation. But I don’t say anything, because I do want to call her.

Raúl must see the way I’ve made up my mind. “Pussy whipped,” he mumbles as he stalks off. “Embarrassing, man.”

He wanders back to his group of awaiting women, sweeping two into his arms and pulling them against his chest. I could be doing the same, but instead, I’m pulling my phone out of my pocket and swiping to Selene’s name in my contacts.

As it rings, my shoulders tense. Is this really a good idea? Probably not.  I’ll just have to add it to my long list of mistakes.

I could hang up now, hope she thinks I called on accident, and—

“Hello?”

One tentative word, and every muscle in my body relaxes and the doubts disappear into thin air. Raúl was right. This was what I needed—my fix. “Hi, Selene.”

“Hi,” she repeats breathlessly. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” It is now, at least.

“Okay…” She trails off. She’s no doubt surprised to hear from me and struggling with what to make of it. I won’t help her; I want her full and genuine reaction. “Is there a particular reason you’re calling?”

I smile, and across the bar, Raúl pretends to vomit at my reaction. “Just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Where are you right now?” The question’s asked after a few beats of silence. Probably because she can hear the clatter of glasses and laughter and shouted Spanish conversations in the background.

Raúl’s still miming at me, this time doing a very elaborate motion that looks like he’s cutting off his dick and spinning it around in the air. Apparently, I’m a dickless loser now that I’ve found a girl who makes me this happy. “Out.”

“Out where?” Selene presses.

“A bar. In Mexico City.”

“You’re seriously calling me while you’re at a bar in Mexico?”

“Yeah,” I admit. I can hardly believe it either. “I am.”

She’s silent for a moment, then finally, she murmurs, “Don’t play.”

Her disbelief has my smile widening. “I’m not playing.”

“You really wanted to hear my voice that badly?” she asks softly, as if she can’t fathom that I would.

“Is it so hard to believe that I think about you when we’re apart?” Because I do. Constantly, endlessly.

“I guess not,” she admits. Is it because I’m on her mind too? I fucking hope so.

“I already know you think about me,” I tease, nevertheless, knowing she’ll take the bait. She always does. It’s part of what made me fall for her in the first place. “Do you miss me?”

She scoffs. She’s probably blushing right now. Like she does every time I’m forward like this. Her skin’s just tan enough that most people wouldn’t notice. But I notice. I always do.

“Don’t even go there,” she grumbles.

“Ah, so you do.” I’m full-out grinning now. Not even Raúl’s continued miming can wipe it off my face. “Don’t worry. You’ll get to see me soon.”

“Not soon enough,” she says without hesitation.

I freeze at her words, surprised. I’m not often rendered speechless, but this…this confession has me lost for words—English or Spanish. I told her not to doubt me and to not doubt herself, though clearly, I needed the reminder as well.

“You really are dangerous,” I finally murmur. “You’re going to have me flying back to New York early, aren’t you?”

She laughs in response.

I close my eyes at the sound and envision the way she always tilts her head back when she’s truly amused. The expanse of her throat begging to have my lips pressed against it. If she told me to come back right now, I’d drop everything and go.

I’m disappointed but relieved when she says, “Enjoy your night, Daniel. I’ll see you next week.”

“Like you said, not soon enough.” I heave a dramatic sigh just to see if I can get her to laugh again. I’d do anything for that sound. “Good night, Selene.”

“Good night, Daniel.”

I keep my phone pressed to my ear until I hear the telltale beeps that signal that she’s hung up. Even when I lower it, I stare at her name on the screen.

“She’s got you by the balls!” Raúl shouts. “You better hope she’s worth it!”

There’s not a doubt in my mind that she is.