His Hot Tamale Read online

  “Watch it,” he warned, his jaw clenched, “I came in just as she was rushing off. I heard you dicks talking, and I went to my room and changed. Because honestly, you guys sounded like a bunch of tools. When I got to the Kappa house, I was sent out on a food and ice cream run. All because some nameless asshole made Cat upset.”

  “And you couldn’t fucking tell me?” I yelled, standing up and grabbing my shoes. If that’s all she heard, she didn’t get what I meant. Not that many ever did. No wonder she hadn’t texted me back or answered any of my calls.

  “You called her a fucking ugly duckling to the guys, asshole. What should I have said? Stop being a jackass?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. How about, ‘Hey Jonah, you should go clear it up.’”

  “Man! Please. There is no fucking explaining with the shit you spewed.”

  “Yes, there is!” I ran my free hand through my hair. “There is.”

  “I gotta hear this.”

  “Milo, the ugly duckling turns into a swan princess, you fucking moron,” I huffed, slipping my shoes back on.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “To them, all they see is the shell she shows to the world. You don’t think the baggy clothes and messy hair and huge glasses are a shield? It’s her against the world. For whatever fucking reason, she uses it to hide behind. But I see her for who she is!” I shouted, grabbing the keys to the Camaro my grandfather gave me when I graduated high school.

  “You’re serious about her?” The surprise was clear in Milo’s voice, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Of course, I am. Do I look like a player to you?” I huffed. “I don’t screw around, and no way in hell would I fucking say mean shit about a woman. Any woman. My mom and grandma and sisters would have my balls if they ever found out.”

  “I’m sorry, man. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Any chance you can find out where she is?” I asked, trying to bite down my anger.

  “Let me call Cora.”

  An hour later, I was at the mall in search of my girl and Allie Davenport and not having any luck. Then I saw the Halloween store and wanted to hit myself upside the head. Kappa was hosting a Halloween party in a couple of days.

  I rushed over, and to my luck, I saw Allie with a brunette just inside the store by the cash register. Like a mad man on a mission. I crossed the food court to reach them before they disappeared.

  “Allie, wait up!” I called, waving my hand. The two girls stopped, and Allie tilted her head.

  “Jonah Scott.” She smiled, and I was surprised by her reaction to me. She was too happy. “Are you getting your costume for tomorrow?”

  “Have you seen Catalina?” I blurted, ignoring her question about the party.

  “What? Jonah, she’s—”

  “I’ve been texting her all day and—” The words died on my tongue when Allie’s smiling face transformed completely. I’d known her since freshman year. Allie was a cool chick, fun and bubbly, nothing other than nice, but right then and there, I was man enough to admit the fury firing from her eyes was terrifying.

  “Wait, what?” She frowned, looking at the girl next to her

  “Oh my god,” the girl next to her muttered, covering her face.

  “Allie, I need to talk to her.”

  “You’re the jerk?!” Allie shouted, grabbing the attention of the people around us.

  “Allie, listen, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

  “I have two brothers. I know men are a different breed, but what you said was despicable,” she seethed, and I winced. Me and my stupid idioms.

  “No, I didn’t mean it the way she took it,” I tried to explain.

  “I know you, Jonah. I thought I did. I’ve never been so disappointed. Who do you think you are?”

  “It wasn’t meant the way it sounded. I know it was bad, but—”

  “Just stop!” the girl said, and I frowned.

  “I’m sorry. Who are—” My question died in my throat when my eyes met hers. I frowned and looked at her.

  Taking in the beautiful face in front of me. Sweet tan, smooth skin. Eyes free of glasses, no barriers, nothing hiding her away. Her hair full and lush and so thick my hands ached to touch it.

  Catalina.

  My Catalina.

  But not at the same time

  “Just stop,” she whispered, Her cheeks were red. “I got the message, okay? You’re not interested, not like that. I misunderstood and—”

  “What the hell did you do?” I asked, looking her up and down. She was beautiful before but now, now it was on a whole other level. Form-fitting white tee, her breasts perky and full, skinny faded jeans that looked painted on her legs, and fuck. The pièce de résistance were the knee-high boots she had on. Black leather boots with a thick two-inch heel. I could imagine her wearing those and only those as I fucked her and she wrapped her gorgeous legs around my waist.

  “What is all this?” I asked, hating that I sounded like a complete dick. The shock of her change was hard to process.

  “All this?” she whispered, obviously wounded by my careless words.

  “You’re an ass,” Allie muttered.

  “I don’t mean it that way.” I took a step forward, frustrated at myself for making a mess of things but needing to comfort her. But the look in her eyes and the way she took a step back, obviously not wanting me near her, had me stopping in my tracks. I’d hurt her. It was plain as day, and it made my gut burn. God, I was an idiot.

  “It’s never going to be enough.” She smiled sadly, the words soft and to herself, and this time I flinched. I felt her pain.

  “I didn’t mean… You look beautiful, but, Catalina, you’re always beautiful—“

  “Right,” she scoffed. “We gotta go. We have a SideRide picking us up.” SideRide was our school’s version of Uber drivers. College students who were looking to make an extra buck.

  “Cata—“

  “Don’t call me again.” She shook her head, and when she did, she dropped her bag from the Halloween store. A Greek goddess costume popped out, and I kneeled to help her.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled.

  “Princess, you have to listen to me.”

  “What did you just call me?”

  “Princess. Cat—“

  “One minute I’m an ugly duckling, and now I’m a princess? Is it because of the hair and contacts?”

  “No. Look, I can explain. I didn’t mean how it sounded—“

  “But you said it, right?” she asked, furious and hurt. Because of me and my stupid mouth. “It was you who called me an ugly duckling, right?” God, those words would haunt me til the day I died.

  “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “Then why didn’t you correct it when they started to laugh?

  “Cat.”

  “I don’t believe you.” She started walking away, and I followed, Allie close behind.

  “I promise—“

  “Really?” She shook her head. “You know what boggles my mind?”

  “Babe—”

  “It’s if you think so little of me, why text like you do?”

  “Exactly!” I exclaimed, hoping this could be my saving grace to prove I wasn’t full of shit or playing games.

  “Exactly?” She frowned at me, her eyes filled with confusion. I opened my mouth to explain, but she shook her head then walked through the exit doors of the mall, and I followed. I followed her like a shameless lost puppy.

  “That’s our ride.” Allie pointed to a huge white truck, and my jaw clenched. Some beefed-up guy stepped out and was looking in the direction of the girls, shades covering his face. “I can take you guys home,” I offered because the thought of her leaving with some guy who was obviously checking both girls out made me want to punch something.

  “No thanks,” my girl said with a ton of attitude, and I must have been sick in the head, coming down with the fucking plague, because I liked it.

  “Catalina?” the brawny guy said
in a deep voice.

  “That’s us!” Allie called out, looking back and forth between Catalina and me.

  “They didn’t see what I did,” I found myself explaining. My voice rough with emotion, my heart was jacked up like I’d been running half a game nonstop. Fear, real fear of losing her, of missing out on something so fucking special. I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life. It made me haul ass and try to explain as diligently as possible, and I prayed to hell I didn’t make a more of a mess of things.

  “Jo—”

  “They called you a nobody, and you are so far from that it’s not even funny,” I hurried and took a deep breath, reaching for her hand. “I said the stupid shit I did because I genuinely didn’t mean it the way anyone took it. I’m a guy. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Get to the point,” Allie sing-songed, and I sighed. I was trying to ignore the fact I was spilling my guts to the one girl who had me wound up in knots since I’d met her. And I was doing that just outside a very busy mall in front of Catalina’s sorority sister and a SideRide driver.

  “The ugly duckling reference, it was because people didn’t see its beauty. What it really was. Who you really are.” I swallowed and felt encouraged when her hand tightened in mine, her big hazel eyes slightly glassy with hope peeking through. “You don’t need the makeup and clothes for me to see it. I saw you. I saw it the moment we met. You made me laugh, and I was a fucking goner, Catalina. I saw the swan beneath. The one you were trying to hide. My hot tamale.”

  “Hot tamale?” the driver said behind me, and I shot him a look to shut it.

  “Catalina—”

  “So, we going or what?” the driver said, drawing Cat’s eyes away from mine. Then the narrowed gaze came back and my stomach sank.

  “I should go.” Fuck, I’d messed it up. I didn’t explain it right.

  “Cat—“

  “I gotta go,” she repeated, this time not meeting my eyes, hers filled with something I couldn’t put my finger on, and I worried I’d lost her. I stood there like an idiot as the SideRide driver took her bags and opened the door for her and she got in. A small warm hand brushed my shoulder, and I glanced behind me.

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  “Allie, I swear I didn’t mean—”

  “I know. I see it. I get what you were trying to say. I mean, it wasn’t kosher, but I get it. Guys speak a whole other language and go ass backwards to explain something as easy as one plus one.”

  “Oh god,” the driver groaned, obviously overhearing Allie. “You coming or what?” He seemed to really not like Allie. Not that she seemed to care what he thought because she rolled her eyes at him.

  “Well, aren’t you Prince Charming,” Allie mustered back, making me chuckle.

  “Not even close, princess,” he mumbled, and she rolled her eyes. Allie Davenport was a cool chick, and that guy was going to get a one star if he didn’t watch it.

  “See you at the party, Ceasar!” Allie shouted over her shoulder as she hopped in the backseat, making a face at the driver. Ceasar? I shook my head, my attention drifting to the girl in the front who was looking at me like she was seeing me for the first time. I got it too. Looking at her all made up and dolled up, seeing a whole other version of her, one I knew was there, was different. She was more beautiful than I’d thought.

  I just hoped when it came to me, she didn’t hate what she saw.

  When I turned around and headed back into the mall, one of the window displays for the Halloween store caught me eye.

  Ceasar.

  Like Cesar, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Smiling, I walked into the store, ready for combat. I was going to get my girl.

  I wasn’t out just yet. I’d explained, and she needed to process what I had meant. She needed to know I wasn’t going to give up. She needed me to prove all I had said to her, and I was going to do it!

  All in.

  Grand gestures, beware.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Catalina

  THE REFLECTION IN the mirror was unbelievable. Sure, I’d seen makeover movies. I mean, what college-aged girl hadn’t sat with her mom and binge-watched the classics like Clueless and She’s All That? They’d been our go-tos at least.

  My mom always knew when I needed a pick-me-up. Mom was a little like me, and maybe that’s why we were so close. Plainer. Simpler. She found more joy in getting lost in a book than a day at a mall. I loved my mom; she was beautiful in her own right, but she didn’t work constantly on showing it off. Not like my sisters or friends, who knew how to do those things and found joy in them. I wasn’t wired that way.

  But the woman in the mirror looking back at me was a mix of both.

  The easy tips Trish had given me and the help Allie, Willow, and Ivey had pitched in last night after dinner boosted my confidence and knowledge when it came to getting dolled up.

  My rich chocolate hair was straight and smooth. My makeup perfect for the Cleopatra costume I was wearing. As I looked down at the white dress, I felt like a goddess. Form-fitting at the chest, a thick gold band at my waist, the skirt flowed, but when I moved, you saw flashes of my legs through slits throughout the skirt that landed high on my thigh. Ivey, a fellow sorority sister who, despite having been Kappa Sweets with her since pledge week, I was only just now becoming close with, had lent me a pair of gold strapped sandals. Willow, another senior sister I was growing close to, had let me borrow beautiful hanging gold earrings and an arm cuff.

  “Knock, knock!” Cora said, stepping in wearing her nerd costume, and I turned. Her eyes widened.

  “Wow,” she whispered as she was getting closer, taking me in. “Cat. You look—”

  “Is it too much? Allie was kinda tough to rein in at the mall. Not that I really tried to or anything, but—” My words were just slipping past me as I rambled, but they stopped when her hand took mine and she squeezed gently.

  “You’re gorgeous, Cat. You always have been. You’re just letting the world see it.”

  “I wasn’t hiding,” I argued, but by the way she was looking at me, she didn’t believe me. I sighed. “I wasn’t doing it on purpose.”

  “That I believe.” We sat on the edge of my bed. “I have a great necklace I think would go great with everything,” she offered, quickly changing the subject, and I was grateful.

  “You don’t think it’s already too much?”

  “Babe, you look gorgeous. It’s Halloween, the one day you’re allowed to be a little extra.”

  “True, but—”

  “No buts.” She grinned and stood, heading to her side of the room, where she dug into one of her jewelry boxes and brought out a statement necklace. Gold with what looked like jade beads.

  “There you go.”

  “Thank you. It’s gorgeous.”

  “So…” she drew out, “are we going to talk about it?”

  “About what?” I acted oblivious.

  “Allie told me, Cat. Come on, talk to me.”

  “There is nothing to talk about. Jonah was just apologizing,”

  “He was making a huge declaration.”

  “No. He must have found out I overheard and was just trying to get himself out of a weird situation.” I still didn’t know if I believed everything he’d said. It had hurt me deeply when I’d heard him call me an ugly duckling, but it had hurt even more that I wouldn’t have expected it from him. It wasn’t like we had been dating or he had been my boyfriend. We had just formally met.

  But something about Jonah had felt different. Genuine.

  “Cat?” Cora called, and I looked at her.

  “What? I’m sorry.” I shook my head.

  “You zoned out,” she pointed out as her lips twitched, but she sighed and looked away, “I’ve been a shitty friend.”

  “What? Why would you—“

  “We’re roommates, Cat. You’re my best friend. I should have been around for you to—“

  “Hey, it’s okay. You and Milo are a thing, and it’s obviously
serious.”

  “But not over my girls. I’m really sorry. I didn’t even know you two knew one another.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. We didn’t. Not really. We sorta met at the party after their win.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, he said something, and I mouthed off thinking he wouldn’t hear me, but—”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah,” I answered softly and shared, “He laughed and then… he kinda hung out with me after.”

  “Kinda hung out?” She was grinning, and I playfully rolled my eyes.

  “He walked me home and asked for my number. We had been texting and talking.”

  “Texting and calling? Jonah Scott has been texting you and you have been talking on the phone with him?”

  “He calls me. I’m not big on the phone, but—” The words died when she smiled. BIG.

  “He likes you.”

  “No,” I quickly shut down. “It was a friend thing. A friend thing I misread.”

  “Misread? Cat, I’m not trying to dismiss what he said or anything, it was a dick move, but, Cat, you gotta know something.” She took a breath, and I waited, “Milo said Jonah is a solid guy.”

  “Probably is.” That’s what I had thought too.

  “Milo also said that sometimes Jonah’s a little… quirky.”

  “Quirky? Frat guys know what that means?” I joked, and we both laughed.

  “No, I mean, Jonah sometimes uses weird metaphors. I think…”

  “What?”

  “He really likes you,” she blurted out, and I saw that Cora had been holding on to tell me this. “Milo said they talked yesterday. Cat, he didn’t mean it the way it sounded. He’s a goner for you.”

  “Cora—”

  “It’s why I told Milo to let Jonah know he could find you and Allie at the mall,” she confessed and looked slightly guilty.

  “What?”

  “I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t think he was being real. He sees you for you. Like I do. Like the girls here do. He’s a good guy, and you’re my best friend. I couldn’t not try and help.”

  “Cora, I don’t know…”

  “Before you say anything,” she interrupted, and I realized Cora was nervous, “I think you should go downstairs.”