A Love Not Allowed

I couldn’t take my gray eyes off him. He looked at me like a freak circus attraction. So why was he staring at me so much? Beside me, my cousin Gabriela laughed and pointed her finger at me. I looked around, wondering why there was a crowd of people surrounding me.

It wasn’t until the attractive green-eyed boy held out his hand to me that I realized I was lying on the ground. As I stood up, I slightly lost my balance, fearing I would fall. But the cute guy, once again, grabbed me by the waist just in time, saving me from hitting the pavement. I held onto his arm, wrapped in a leather jacket, and lost myself in his pleasant scent.

“What happened?” I asked, feeling a bit dazed. I remembered walking behind Gabriela, carrying the paper bag containing her newly purchased condoms from the pharmacy. I complained about having to buy them instead of her, the one who would use them. After that, all I could recall was the vague feeling of my head hitting something hard, but I couldn’t remember what.

“You hit that sign,” the boy spoke near my ear. A shiver ran down my spine. His voice was deep and husky. I looked up at the metal sign hanging on the wall, advertising the new and improved look of an Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. I blinked twice before lowering my gaze and noticing that the portion of the floor I had landed on was covered with the three boxes of condoms we had just purchased; one of them had been opened. My face turned pale and hot simultaneously. Gabriela, with her curly orange hair, continued to laugh at me. “Next time, be more careful, honey,” the boy quickly released me. “I know you were in a hurry,” he looked down at the ground slyly, “but you have to keep your head up and your eyes fixed on the road.”

I blushed even more.

Honey?

To my embarrassment, the boy bent down and picked up the three packets of condoms scattered on the floor. Then he handed them to me, wearing that arrogant “I love to embarrass people” smile of his.

“They’re not mine,” I weakly said. I shot a pained look at Gabriela, who continued to find the whole situation amusing.

“I’m not judging anyone,” he replied, the handsome boy. “The only thing I would tell you is to be more careful.”

I looked at him, confused. “How?” I asked, trying to understand what he meant.

He snorted and averted his eyes to the few people who now remained attentive, probably curious to see blood staining the floor.

The handsome boy with black hair and teeth that appeared to be brushed after every meal moved closer to me. His hand grabbed my wrist, and he spoke in my ear so that only I could hear him.

“Leave that lazy idiot who isn’t even capable of buying his own protection,” he said.

I wanted to repeat once again that those condoms were not mine. They belonged to my cousin Gabriela, who was some kind of nymphomaniac. (I know, a few months ago, I wouldn’t have even known what that word meant. But thanks to her, I now knew: a sex ad***).

Before I could even open my mouth and count to one, Gabriela was already smiling at the boy, arching her back and lifting her breasts to show off.

“Thanks for your help,” she told him, flashing her patented flirtatious smile. “I’ve been telling my little cousin for years that she should wear glasses. But what can you do? She was in a hurry to put these to the test.” She snatched the condoms from my hand and waved them in the air.

I heard giggles from behind me.

I ducked my head and gritted my teeth.

This was pure humiliation.

“And you are?” the handsome boy asked, turning to my cousin. He ran his eyes down Gabriela’s body and smiled in approval.

“Gabriela Benson,” she replied, twirling some of her orange hair around one of her fingers.

“I’m Colton. Colton Harlock.”

The next thing I knew, I had taken a step back, and as usual, Gabriela was getting all the attention.

It was obvious that with his handsome looks, he would catch my cousin’s eye as a potential fling.

I sighed and took about three steps away from both of them. My head ached and throbbed simultaneously. I needed to sit down before I passed out again.

“I think we’d better get you to a doctor to get checked out,” a hoarse, soft voice spoke in my ear.

I didn’t even get a chance to respond as my head started spinning, and the last thing I knew, I somehow ended up in Colton Harlock’s arms, my face pressed against his neck, both hands pressing against his back.

This was not going to lead to anything good, especially seeing the murderous look Gabriela gave me.

Yes, she was already claiming him as hers.

5 months later...

I woke up drenched in sweat, feeling the heat radiating from my body. A hand rested on my waist, and there was something like a shirt button embedded in my shoulder.

I blinked several times, trying to focus my eyes, and rolled onto my back, only to see the black-haired, pale-skinned boy peacefully sleeping in the same bed as me.

I lightly shook him with a finger to wake him up, but he showed no signs of life.

I started shaking him. “Wake up,” I whispered hoarsely. “You fell asleep. It’s time to go.”

I tried to sit up, but his hand firmly grasped my waist and moved to my hips.

“Colton!” I shouted, angrily.

He held me tighter and pulled me closer to his side of the bed.

My forehead met his, and I could feel his sweat running down my body.

I gulped.

This was the last time I would let him sleep in my bed, I silently promised myself.

His hand lightly squeezed my ass, and he purred something in my ear. Then he started moving his hands upward, slipping them inside my t-shirt, stopping just as he felt my lacy bra.

I tried to push him away once more, but suddenly he straddled me and pinned my hands above my head.

I breathed heavily. "Colton," I stammered. Who stutters a name that only has four letters? “Get off me.”

He opened his eyes slowly, blinked several times as if trying to recognize his surroundings, and when he saw that he was holding onto me, his eyes widened.

I thought he would quickly move away, but he didn’t even attempt to budge.

“I always knew you wanted to take things further with me,” he spoke smugly. He blew air on my neck, and my skin immediately bristled.

“You idiot!” I shrieked. “I should have let you sleep on the street...”

His gaze moved from my face to my lips and lingered on my chest for a while.

I snorted. All men were the same.

“Black lace,” he sighed. “You know what they say about girls who wear black underwear.”

I looked down at my chest and noticed that my shirt had ridden up enough to reveal my bra.

“No. What do they say about girls who wear black underwear?” I knew I would regret playing along.

“They say they’re going to a funeral.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said, looking at him, confused.

He wore an obnoxious “I know it all” smirk on his face, clearly making fun of me. “They are going to a funeral,” he repeated.

I looked at him, still puzzled. “Forget it. You have too innocent a mind to understand,” he said.

“Now, do you want to get off me?” I asked impatiently. My hands were still held above my head, and the raised shirt was making me shiver.

He finally released his grip and slowly got off me. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, especially at this time of the morning when my little hunter is hungry,” he said with a sly grin.

I quickly stopped squirming, not wanting to wake up certain parts of my body.

“You’re such a pig...” I muttered, taking the opportunity to push him off the bed. I propelled my legs and bent my knees, causing him to fall onto the carpeted floor.

He groaned and grimaced, holding his stomach tightly. After a while, he tried to get up from the floor, still grimacing and massaging his head.

“I think I’m going to throw up. Shit!” he yelled. “My head hurts.”

“That’s called a hangover. Last night, you couldn’t even remember your own name. You asked me to call you Lady Agustina,” I said, trying to stifle my laughter.

“Lady Agustina? Really? Because as a stage name, I prefer Sexy Cat... Meow.”

I threw one of my pillows at him, and it landed right on his face.

“What’s wrong with you? I told you a moment ago that I have a headache, and the first thing you do is throw me a cushion that, strangely, smells like...” he brought it close to his face to sniff it, “sk**k piss.”

He tossed the cushion back onto my bed, ignoring the hateful look I was giving him.

“For your information, that cushion stayed buried under your armpit all night,” I said.

Then I paused, thinking about the word I uttered: buried.

Bury...oh, now I got the joke.

Hmm. Dirty animal.

“Get out of my room,” I squealed. Gabriela sleeps with Eder until late. Take advantage now that you can escape freely.

He grimaced one last time but said nothing and quietly walked out the door.

Not even three seconds passed when he was already back, next to me.

“Anna, really, thanks for not saying anything to Eder; thanks for helping me dodge Gabriela’s boyfriend... And for putting up with me in my drunken state; I swear it’s the last time I let your cousin talk me into drinking a whole bottle of vodka.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and rubbed my hair before leaving.

He carefully closed the door, leaving me alone.

He was stupid. A selfish, foolish, lying fool.

I felt guilty for not telling Eder, Gabriela’s boyfriend, that his girlfriend had been having an affair with Colton for five months, and I was the idiot who hid him in my room for a few nights to keep him from finding out about the relationship.

Would it be wrong of me to admit how much I was looking forward to the recognition Colton was giving me?

Any consequence seemed worth it as long as I saw the look of adoration in his eyes.

I know, I know: I am an idiot.

I laid back on the bed, pounded my fists against the mattress, and pressed my face into the nearest pillow... I immediately pulled away. Colton sure was right about one thing: the cushion reeked of sk**k.

“Looks like someone didn’t sleep very well last night,” Rita said to me as soon as she saw me walk through the employee door at the restaurant.

Gabriela’s father, my uncle, had gotten me a job at one of the many fast-food restaurant chains he managed around town. I had been very lucky to meet Rita, a girl my age, to attach me to the place.

She had become a good friend; she also knew my situation as Gabriela’s cover and didn’t agree with what I was doing (I kept reminding myself whenever I could).

“Yes, Gabriela’s boyfriend showed up just as she was making out with Colton on the living room couch.” I yawned. “It was my turn to hide Harlock in my room. Believe me when I tell you, it was the greatest feat I’ve ever done in my life: mobilizing a drunk into my bedroom. I didn’t get much sleep after that. I was trying to calm Colton down when he started singing Selena Gomez’s entire musical repertoire.”

Rita made an attempt not to laugh but failed miserably when I heard her let out a loud, nasal guffaw.

I joined her, laughing too. A guy like Colton didn’t give the impression of listening to that kind of music.

“I have no idea how he even knows it,” I said, choking back laughter.

We joked at Colton’s expense for a while longer until Cliff, the pig my uncle had put in as manager, appeared behind us.

He wore a huge gray suit with a red pinstripe tie that didn’t even reach his navel. The guy was thicker than a military tank.

He looked us over with his eyes, trying to poke his eyes through even the smallest gap in our bodies.

He forced us to wear demeaning “work” uniforms that barely covered a third of our thighs.

Today we wore a version, in my opinion, of sailor prostitutes. We even had to wear a ridiculous cloth hat to complement our attire. I didn’t understand why sailor girls: it was a hamburger restaurant!

We didn’t even serve fish burgers.

But the guy excused himself by saying he liked to be innovative, and this was one way to do it.

“Girls, girls... it’s time to work now,” he spoke as he didn’t disguise looking between our legs. He was running his hand through what little hair he had left and constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead with a paper napkin, causing little strips to remain rolled up.

He passed us, heading toward his tiny office to do God knows what because I doubted he was even working.

We walked with Rita to the kitchen. I took my turn behind the cash register, and she took her place in the self-service area.

Thirty-two customers later (and hundreds of thoughts trying to be patient), someone I never imagined seeing in a place like this appeared in front of me.

“Eder! “I said in surprise.

He gave me a small subdued smile.

Eder was the complete opposite of Colton: light brown hair, blue eyes, and a sleek, neat appearance. I bet if I looked at his fingernails, I’d find them without a speck of dirt.

I smiled at him in response. He was certainly too attractive for someone like Gabriela.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked as I watched him looking intently at the menu behind me.

He shook his head.