Ceci smiled. “I love how you call me that.” Mi amor. Her mom used to call her that, but it sounded infinitely better rolling off Manny’s tongue. She hoped he meant it more than her mother had.
She grabbed his hand and led him inside, up to her room in the boarding house – doing her best to ignore the anxiety in her stomach that’d been conjured by the thought of her mom. Today was Rebecca’s day, and it was her day, and her mother sure as hell wasn’t going to ruin it.
“Here we are, home sweet home,” she said, closing the door behind them. Manny had picked her up a few times, coming in on occasion, but Cecilia had liked to keep them out and doing things more than spending time in her room.
Looking at him now, wanting to take him to bed, Cecilia knew why she’d put it off this long. She’d undressed for him before….for money. She didn’t remember it. There were so many people in and out of those clubs, Cecilia just danced. She’d told herself she’d never dance like that again, but maybe she could.
Doubt and insecurity were a look she never liked on herself, so instead, she kissed him again, trying her best to banish the question: If she took her clothes off again for him, would he only see a whore?
Manny kissed her back, savoring every second, memorizing every move she made. He didn’t know where his fascination with her stemmed from, but it was strong. Strong and robust and very, very leading.
He knew Ceci had her reservations and he respected them as best he could. So he couldn’t ignore the little nagging feeling at the back of his head reminding him that, even though she had never explained why or explicitly said so, she was fragile.
“Wait wait wait, mamí. Just a second,” he murmured against her mouth. He allowed himself one more kiss before leaning back a bit, his brows furrowed with concentration. ‘Cause it certainly took a lot to hold himself back. “If you wanna do this, we’re gonna do this right. We’re gonna do it the way you deserve.”
He took a step away from her to look around the room. There wasn’t much, but all that meant was it’d be easier to find what he wanted. Smiling at her, he said, “Give me five minutes, okay? Go pull all the pins and shit out your hair so you don’t get a headache. I’ll be done by then.”
Manny smiled at her wary expression and released a sigh when she obliged him, stepping off to the bathroom. He moved quickly, opening cabinets and drawers, scrounging up some half used candles, matches, and some flower samples she had lying around from planning.
Two minutes later, he had her room decorated as romantically as he was capable of pulling off with what he had. Candles lit, petals on the bed. He caught a glance of himself in the mirror and swallowed hard. He’d been waiting for this, but the anticipation had built up so much that he started to feel like it would never happen. Like it was just going to be their game.
Realizing she’d be back any second, he loosened his tie a bit, rolled up his sleeves, and leaned as casually as he could manage on the doorframe.
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