Chapter 19 What if?
"Is everything good with you?" Alette frowns down at me while she's stretching my leg with the injured ankle. "You've been extra quiet these last few days."
I'm not alright. I might be going crazy.
There's no way I smelled Black's aftershave on Miguel the other night. He doesn't even like me. We've only been acquaintances because I've been dating his brother forever. Even when we were in high school together, he never gave me the time of day.
It must be a figment of my imagination.
Or I might be so hung up that he hasn't been back that my brain was making things up.
That's it. That's the explanation. I'm going crazy.
"I just miss home a little." I wince when she puts an ice pack on my ankle. "Seeing my mother reminded me how much."
"And your hot brother-in-law." She winks. "What does he do here anyway? Do you think that was his girlfriend, or were they just on a date. Maybe you can get me his number."
"He's in the Navy, maybe his base is close by?" I haven't been keeping tabs on him, he left as soon as he finished high school and joined the Navy. All I know is, is that his father was very upset about it at the time because he wanted his sons to go to Yale, and only Ben ended up going. "And I don't have his number."
That's another reason why it's absolutely absurd that Miguel could be Black. The guy is so serious, I can't fathom that a dirty word would come out of his mouth. And he's from an extremely prominent family, he wouldn't just go killing people for fun. Families like the Cargills orchestrate everything carefully and they don't get their hands dirty. I've always been warned by my uncle that those are the type of people you should be careful of. Their name alone carries power.
Again, Ben has always been different. He's never tried to manipulate me.
I will text him again today, maybe this time he'll reply.
Yet, I can't ignore the nagging voice in my head that I haven't thought about my boyfriend the way I should have. I've been thinking more about if Black will come back and who he is than my actual boyfriend.
That's understandable, though, only because I've never slept with anyone other than Ben. That's the only explanation of why Black is consuming my thoughts, and it's not because the orgasms I had with him was explosive, more than anything I've ever experienced with Ben. It has to be because it's taboo and dangerous. Things we shouldn't want always tastes better.
The weather is beautiful here, and if I didn't love my city the way I do, I could see myself living here.
I'm lying by the pool one day, dozing off when there's a sprinkle of water splashed on my face, and I slowly get up to see who was diving. I don't want to intrude on anyone's therapy sessions. I know there are professional athletes here getting treatment, and I don't want any of them thinking I'm imposing.
I grab my towel, and wrap it around my body, but halt when the swimmer pulls himself from the water.
Wait.....
I know him.
"Raul?"
A dazzling smile takes over his face when he sees me, and I can't help but notice how well built he is, especially with the water dripping from his body.
"Madison Smith." He slicks his dark hair back and walks over to me. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Injured." I point to my foot. "How about you? I thought you were playing ball in Texas."
Raul is a professional footballer, one that my father always talks highly of. And funny enough, he also went to my high school, but he was a senior when I was a freshman.
"I was." He grabs one of the towels and dries his dark hair before going to his torso, and I look away blushing.
He has to know how good looking he is.
"Isn't it football season right now?"
"You're not following the news?" He asks surprised.
I usually do, for my dad and Alonso, but I have been so occupied with myself, that I haven't kept up with the football news lately.
"Sorry." I shrug. "Are you okay?"
"I had knee surgery not so long ago, so I'm out for this season, and my team cut me, so..."
I can hear the hurt hidden in that sentence. He's been with his team ever since he was drafted from college. It's so similar to the ballet world. One injury, and they decide your fate for you.
"I heard this place is the best for rehabilitation,so here I am." He smiles that dazzling smile again, hiding the disappointment in his eyes, but I see it. It's the same look I see when I look in the mirror.
"Well, I guess I will see you around then. Good luck."
"Yeah, maybe you can put in a good word for me with your dad." He winks at me with a chuckle, and I feel his gaze on my back when I walk away.
It's only when I'm back at my villa and putting my boot back on that the crazy idea starts festering.
What if....
What if Raul is Black?
How long has he been at the resort? Maybe he saw me here and stole a key to my villa or something. His height would be accurate, and the way Black moves so fast.
My heart pounds a mile a minute at the realisation.
And Raul used to drive a motorcycle when he was in high school.
Oh my god.
Raul is Black.