AngelAngel groaned as the music from his sister's radio blared in through his open bedroom door. He was having the best dream ever all about Sarah. It was so real: her beautiful eyes, her lips; he could even taste them. Who knew how far the dream may've gone. He frowned, listening to the music that interrupted his fantasies. His sister Sofia was only sixteen, but she'd recently discovered The Beatles and was blasting their music every chance she got. To top it off, the blow dryer was roaring.His mood quickly shifted when he replayed last night's events in his head. He lay there thinking about everything that had happened. He chuckled to himself when he thought of how effortlessly he'd cracked Sarah up. Everything he was feeling now was so unexpected.More than anything, he wanted to ask more about her mom, but it was obvious she didn't want to talk about her. Why would a mom dump her daughter on someone else, just like that? What kind of problems could she be ironing out? Somethin
SarahSarah couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so alive. Standing under the shower with the warm water running over her body, she thought of Angel as she lathered herself and smiled.The past year had been all but hell, and the past two months had been worse with Sydney having to drag her out of her funk every time. But now she felt jubilant. It scared her a little. She was still very aware of the fact that this was Angel—the Angel she'd heard so much about. But he said he was looking forward to getting to know her. He sounded so sincere, and his kisses, God, those kisses... Just thinking about them made her quiver all over.Sydney's call woke her up just after seven, and they talked until Angel called. He knew she'd gone out last night for the first time since she'd been out here, and he was anxious to see how it went. Sarah told him everything, not wanting to leave anything out, especially about the kissing. Sydney hadn't been surprised at all that Angel was interested in
AngelHe'd taken a few steps up the walk when he saw her come out the door. Immediately he was smiling silly. She was dressed casually, yet somehow she had the same incredible appeal as she had had last night when she was all done up—in some ways even more.Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she walked down the steps of the porch. She met him in the middle of the walkway. He took her hand in his. He could definitely get used to her soft delicate hand in his. He wanted to kiss her, but he felt weird doing it right in front of her house. His reserve however wasn't strong enough to fight off the urge to hug her, so he did tightly. He squeezed her, feeling her hair against his face, breathing in everything about her.Reluctantly, he finally pulled away and let her go. His hand was still fastened to hers. He looked up at the door. "Do I need to go in?"Sarah's eyes widened, and she shook her head too quickly. "Oh, no, that's not necessary."Angel wondered if there was something she was hidi
Sarah admired him from behind as he sprinted to his car. Once there, he leaned in the window and reached for his phone. She placed her sandwich down on its wrapper and slapped her hand on her forehead, leaving it there for a second. She shook her head. I'm a virgin. Good God, it's only their first date. They're at a park in broad daylight. Did she really think he was gonna jump her bones? Was there no end to her idiocy?Angel walked back, still on the phone. He hung up before he got close enough for her to hear him. He sat down next to her again and picked up his sandwich."Sorry about that," He sat down across from her again. "I thought it might be my mom. Sometimes it gets really busy at the restaurant on the weekend, and they need me to come in and help out, even when I'm not scheduled to.""What kind of restaurant do they have?" She already knew. Valerie had told her so much about the Morenos. But she was shooting for a safer subject. One she couldn't goof up.He shook his head
Angel picked Sarah up early again on Sunday, and they had breakfast at a greasy spoon. They sat on the same side of the booth. Angel had given up trying to hold back. He kissed her and caressed her every chance he got.Even when their food came, he couldn't keep his hands off her. Between bites, he nibbled on her ear and pecked her endlessly. Sarah seemed to object, whispering, "People are watching." It seemed to Angel with all the giggling she was doing, she was enjoying it more than she was admitting.After breakfast, Angel asked if there was anywhere in particular she wanted to go, hoping she'd say somewhere he could enjoy her in private. But much to his chagrin, she said she'd never been to Old Town San Diego and knew it was less than half an hour's drive.Angel frowned. "You don't wanna go there."She pouted, making Angel smile. "Valerie said it's a must see."He rolled his eyes, putting the last piece of sausage in his mouth. "She would. She's a girl, and it's nothing but sh
They parked on a small quaint-looking street, just off the main strip. The sign over the restaurant read MORENO'S. She felt her stomach tighten and wondered if his parents or brothers would be there. What was he thinking? This was too soon. She wasn't ready for it, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings.He held her hand as they walked into the restaurant. It was much bigger than it looked from the outside. Angel had made it sound insignificant, but she knew better. Valerie had told her about it and said it was actually a very nice restaurant. Even with what Valerie had said, she still wasn't prepared for it.It was anything but insignificant. She was immediately taken by the high ceilings and the huge round metal chandeliers that held what looked like small red candles all the way around. There were dramatic arches everywhere and the walls were textured to look old with brick showing through some parts, just like the historic houses they'd seen in Old Town.The hostess at the fro
On the ride home from the restaurant, the two girls hit it off right away. They both loved running. Sofia was on the track team, and Sarah had been in track since the ninth grade. Sarah hoped Sofia wouldn't ask about her moving out here. She didn't. She was more interested in why she hadn't gone out for track at La Jolla."It's not too late, you know," Sofia said. "The meets aren't until next semester anyway. Have you done relays? 'Cause the girl that ran the relay with us last year was really good, but she graduated. So now we're trying to find someone to replace her, but no one so far has come even close to her speed."Sarah knew she had the speed. She'd been the fourth place runner in both the 400m and 1600m relays back home and won plenty of times—a few times coming from behind. Her heart ached to think she wasn't there training with all of her old teammates. She hadn't even said goodbye to any of them, not wanting to answer any of the inevitable questions. Instead, she'd asked S
Angel"It's not your fault," he whispered frantically in her ear as he kissed her again and again. He walked her over to the bench where they could sit and sat her on his lap.She sat up straight, composing herself, and looked at him. "She's in a minimum security correctional facility in Flagstaff." She held up her fingers to emphasize the quote sarcastically.Angel stared at her helplessly, taking her hand back in his and squeezing it."She doesn't want me to visit," she continued. "said she didn't want me to see her like that ever. But there's no way I can go three years without seeing her. I plan on visiting her, no matter what she says.""Can she call you?"Sarah nodded. "Yeah, she calls every week, and we write all the time, but it's not enough.""Sarah." He tried to sound optimistic. "People rarely serve their full term, especially when the crime wasn't a violent one. She'll probably be out before the three years.""That's what her attorney told her. But she just went in,