FORBIDDEN LOVE

2:00 AM

BY J. MINAYA

Working an early shift at the bar doesn’t mean anything. I’m still getting home at two in the morning, carrying my sneakers in one hand and my bag in the other.

“Chris, I’m home!” I shout and walk into the living room. Dropping everything on the floor, I allow my dead weight to fall onto the couch. My arms and legs are limp over the cushions while I toss my head back on my seat. The exhaustion from the day keeps me still for a few seconds as I try to find the willpower to get up and walk myself to bed.

And that’s when I notice it…

Something feels off, and it makes me sit up.

“Chris?” I call out once again, but no sound comes back.

Reluctantly standing up, I drag my feet down the skinny hallway and open my brother’s bedroom. “Hey, didn’t you hear me?” I stop dead in my tracks. The empty room in front of me takes me by surprise, and it makes all kinds of alarms go off in my head.

So I turn on my heel and stride back into the living room. Picking up my purse, I begin to rummage through it until I find my phone.

“Come on, come on, come on,” I whisper beneath my breath and scroll through my contacts. My knee is shaking up and down while I search for my brother’s number.

“Hey!” I hear him say a few seconds later after dialing his number.

“Chris, haven’t you looked at the time? Why didn’t you tell me you’d be out this—”

“Ha, ha! Got ya! Leave a message after the tone.” My brother’s prank makes me curse under my breath. I’ve told him to change his voicemail greeting plenty of times. Not only because his little prank isn’t funny, but also because I keep falling for it.

“It’s two in the morning!” I growl into the phone. “Where the hell are you? Call me back when you get this.”

As I end the call, I stare down at the phone for a brief moment before redialing his number. “Hey!” His voicemail comes on once more. “Ha, ha! Got ya!”

“Fuck!” I hang up the call and dial once more. At that moment, the front door opens, and I turn to look over my shoulder.

“A little help here!” Manny groans as he pins Chris’s dead body against the wall to keep him from falling.

“Oh, my God!” I rush to them and toss Chris’s arm over my shoulder. “What happened to him? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” Manny replies as he fixes his grip around Chris's waist and helps me drag him towards his room. “He just had about half a keg in less than an hour. Then he topped it off with half a bottle of Patron and a few shots of Hennessy.”

“You guys were out drinking!”

“Not us… Him!” Manny corrects me. “I became the designated driver the moment your brother decided to challenge the entire Omega house at a game of beer pong, one girl at a time.”

“What the hell, Manny!” I bark at him. “Why did you let him do that?”

“Because—” Manny drops Chris on the bed and draws in a deep sigh as he tries to catch his breath. “Chris was damn set on impressing Katherine Summers, the house leader. So he wasn’t gonna listen to me. You know how hard-headed he can be,” he says and picks up Chris’s feet to remove his shoes.

“At least he made it home.” I run a weary hand over my head and walk towards the dresser. Fetching a clean blanket from the drawer, I willow the sheets over the bed and cover him. Chris immediately curls up into a fetus position and lets out a soft snore that makes me smile. “So, did it work?” I ask and look back at Manny. “Was Katherine Summers impressed?”

“Not-one-bit!” Manny snores a laugh and shakes his head, causing me to join in the laughter.

“God! I can’t believe we’re related.” I roll my eyes and head out of the room. Manny follows behind and walks with me down the long hallways and into the living room. Dropping back onto the couch, I stare up at him and smile. “Do you have to go right away?”

“I can hang.” He shrugs and flashes me one of his charming grins.

“Good!” I pat the space next to me and say, “Come on. Sit with me for a little bit.”

Doing as told, Manny sits at my side and twists a bit to face me. I mimic his pose and turn on my seat too. One of my legs is tucked beneath me, my bent elbow is now on the backrest of the couch, and my head is propped up on my fist as I look back at him.

“Thank you,” I blurt out, making him scowl at me confusingly. “For taking care of Chris and for bringing him home safely.”

“Please, Sophy. You know you don’t have to thank me,” he replies. “Chris’s a dumbass, but he’s our dumbass.”

“Still.” I grin. “Thank you.”

With a sweet smile on his lips, Manny lifts his hand to the side of my face. His fingers rest beneath my ear while his thumb gently caresses my cheek. “You’re welcome,” he finally replies.

For a moment, I close my eyes and lean into his hand. The warmth of his palm against my face it’s comforting, and it makes my heart skip a beat. As I open my eyes and look at him, I see something in his gaze I’ve never seen before. Something that it’s much more than just lust, and it makes me snap out of it.

“Are you thirsty? Would you like a drink?” I spring up to my feet and try to walk away, but Manny gets a hold of my wrist and stops me before I’m able to move past him.

“I’m good,” he answers. “I just want you to sit down.”

Reaching for my waist, he guides me back toward him and makes me sit on his lap. The position is too closed and personal. So much so that his lips are now a few inches from mine, and I can even feel his breath dancing beneath my breath. “Manny,” I whisper to him. “We shouldn’t do this.”

Pulling himself back, Manny stares into my eyes. “Why not?”

The question makes me drop my gaze towards my fidgeting hands. “Because… I’m older than you,” I answer and look back at Manny.

A soft smile is curling his lips. One that’s sweet but mischievous, nevertheless. “Not by much,” he tells me and slides my hair over my shoulder to expose the side of my neck. “Besides...” He places a soft kiss on my shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind learning a thing or two from you if you’d like to teach me.”

“Manny, please…” I take a harsh swallow and close my eyes once again. “Chris wouldn’t be okay with this. You’re his best friend, and—and he won’t be okay with you doing this to me.”

“Chris is past-out drunk in his room.” He grins and continues trailing kisses up my skin. “He won’t wake up until the morning. So if you don’t tell him about us, neither will I.”

Pulling my waist a bit harder, Manny pins my chest against his own and begins placing urgent kisses on the side of my neck. Kisses that are raising my skin into a million bumps while I feel his fingers curl around my thigh. The way his lips feel it’s incredible. So much so that it's making my breathing shallow, and I'm forced to shut my eyes in an attempt to contain myself.

“Manny…” I moan against my better judgment. “Please, stop… I’m seeing someone.”

At the sound of my confession, Manny stops moving and pulls himself away once again. “Really?” He frowns. “Who?”

“It’s um—” I stand up and walk a few feet away to try to regain my composure. “He’s this… guy.”

“A guy?”

Looking back at him, I nod. “We met at the bar a few weeks ago. He visits me at work almost every night, and we’ve been talking over the phone for the past few weeks.” I pause and drop my gaze. “I’m sorry, Manny… I never meant to lead you on. I just… I just thought that you should know.”

“Do you like him?” He asks, but I don’t answer. I just stare back at him in silence as I don’t know what to say. “Sophy...” He comes to his feet and walks over, stopping just a few inches away from me. “I need to know... Do you like him?”

“I… I don’t know if I do. I mean, it’s all so new, and we’re still trying to get to know each other.”

A smile immediately springs up on Manny’s lips, and he pulls my waist once again. “It doesn’t sound to me like you’re head over heels for this guy.” He leans in and places a soft kiss on my lips. “So fuck that guy, Sophy.” He kisses me again. “Fuck him, okay?” He kisses me once more, but this time his lips don’t leave mine. On the contrary, Manny sticks his tongue inside my mouth and nibbles on my bottom lip.

“Manny, wait!” I place a hand on his chest and try to stop him, but Manny doesn’t listen. He pulls me a bit harder and begins devouring my lips with more passion. “Manny… Stop!” I shout and shove him off me. Running a weary hand over my head, I let out a deep breath and looked back at him. “I can’t do this. This is madness!” I tell him. “You’re my little brother’s friend, and I’m… I’m a lot older than you.”

“Only by four years!” he fires back annoyingly. “I don’t see why you keep bringing that up. I don’t care about your age, Sophy.”

“But I do!” I shout back. “Manny, I’m a grownup. I’m not a college girl anymore, and that’s who you should be going after… Not someone like me. I’m sorry, but we can’t do this.”

Letting out an angry chuckle, Manny stares back at me. “So this is it? I’m not good enough for you just because I’m a bit younger?”

My lips fall open, but I restrain myself from speaking. I want to tell Manny the truth, that he means the world to me, but I can’t. So, I purse my lips and say, “Yes, Manny. You’re not worth my time.”

My answer makes him chuckle once again, almost as if he can’t believe the words coming from me. “So you don’t have feelings for me?” He takes a step closer and defies my gaze.

Folding my arms over my chest, I lift my chin and look him in the eyes. “No, Manny.” I give him a careless shrug. “I don’t.”

Without any warning, Manny launches himself at me in the blink of an eye. His hands take a possessive hold of my body as his lips come crashing onto mine with a kiss that takes my breath away. I want to stop him. I want to put an end to this before it gets out of hand, but my body isn’t responding. Instead of pushing him off me, my hands move up his nape, and I begin to guide him across my lips. Manny’s body immediately responds to my gesture. His hands cup the back of my thighs, and without much effort, he picks me up and wraps my legs around him.

“I’m not a little boy anymore.” He groans against my lips and pulls himself back to look me in the eyes. “I’m a man, Sophy. And I’m not afraid to prove it.”

His words made my heart thumb inside my chest, and before I could stop it, a naughty smirk curled the side of my lips.

“Then, what are you waiting for?”