Let Me Tease You: Steamy Older Man Younger Woman Romance (Let Me Love You Book 5)(3)

Luis’s ability to hit on anything walking was something that he had in common with Desmond too – and that was one too many similarities for me. Poor Luis sealed his fate and didn’t even know it, and I couldn’t be bothered trying to explain myself or my reasons.

After a while you realize men for who they are. He – and Desmond - were the type of guys who were more interested in the chase than what happened after, anyway. Probably. And if he wasn’t, well… he did a damn good impersonation of that kind of guy.

And when you put that all together, it was all too easy to see that was why I preferred to stay single, especially at this point in my life. I had too many other things to worry about without trying to figure out a guy’s real intentions.

I wasn’t that girl. Not anymore, anyway.





Miguel





May 18 was never a great day for me. Normally, I could just let the day pass by, content to keep the fact to myself that I was turning another year older. This year was different, though. Special, according to my younger sister, Maria.

I doubted she’d feel so special when she turned forty. Then again, perhaps she would. Maria loved life and was a full blown extrovert. She never backed down from an excuse to have a party, whether for herself or someone else. Everything was to be celebrated.

This time, I was the lucky recipient, and she’d gathered a few of our old friends to mark the occasion.

My phone chimed with an incoming text, and I smiled as I checked it. It was from Maria, as if she’d been conjured by my thoughts.

Happy birthday, Miguel! We’ll be there in thirty minutes. Wear something nice!

I was half-excited, half-nervous about where we’d be going, what we’d be doing, and who might be coming with us. While she’d mentioned bringing some friends of ours from back in the day, she’d kept all the important details to herself.

The smile that had been spreading across my lips turned to a frown as I thought of who it might be. She and I didn’t have many friends left from our old neighborhood. It was the kind of place that if you were lucky, you got out of the neighborhood by going to prison. If you were unlucky? You left in a body bag.

I’d been the exception, always studying hard and hustling to get a leg up in life. Whenever someone shut a door on my ambition, I found a window. It was just how I was wired, and I ended up making my mother proud by being the first man in our family to attend college.

When I was lucky enough to land a job at a sports agency right out of school, I made sure that I used some of the money from my first big payday to set my mom and my sister up in a nice apartment, as far away from that hell-hole as they could get.

I sighed and typed out a quick reply.

I can hardly wait…

I contemplated putting in an eyeroll emoji, but I didn’t doubt she’d detect the sarcasm anyway. And besides, I didn’t want any lectures. She was going through a lot of trouble to make sure I had a good birthday, and I was thankful, even if I couldn’t quite muster pretending to be excited.

My phone pinged again almost immediately.

You never know. You might meet someone special tonight…

This time I did roll my eyes in response — so hard it could’ve caused injury — but she of course couldn’t see it. I simply shoved my phone back into my pocket, deciding it would be easier to keep my thoughts to myself. Not that it would’ve stopped her, either way.

Honestly, I wasn’t opposed to finding someone. Just… not someone my sister would set me up with. Especially not on my birthday. The best thing that could happen was a nice quiet night with my sister and some close friends.

In fact, I’d have to assume that the odds of going home with a woman on my birthday were worse than normal, since I’d have an audience of family and friends to witness my dating fails. And it’s not like the odds were very good to begin with.

Every date I’d been on recently — okay, well, every date I’d ever been on — had pretty much been a disaster. Even the ones that didn’t end in disaster just sort of… fizzled. The women I’d met - whether through speed dating, Happy Hours, friends, or dating apps - all seemed to be the same. They were more interested in my famous clients and the money I made than anything that actually had to do with me.

When they inevitably discovered I was just a normal Puerto Rican guy with a normal life, they never called back. Never a second or third date. The most excitement I’d had lately was when my most recent date’s crazy ex showed up at the restaurant we were at and caused a scene. Apparently they’d only broken up the day before.

I’m pretty sure I’m still not allowed back in that place.

And of course, that was the last I’d heard of her.

I just wanted to find a loving, genuine woman who wanted the same things I did. That would be a nice change of pace. Someone who was motivated by more than my money. Someone who would be happy living a quiet, normal life.

But in Miami? I might as well be looking for a unicorn.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on my lack of a love life tonight. I had a feeling I was going to need every bit of willpower to gather an ample level of enthusiasm for whatever shenanigans my sister had planned.

Knowing Maria, it could be anything.



*

It didn’t take me long to figure out why Maria had insisted on keeping our destination a secret. She couldn’t have possibly picked a place that was more out of my comfort zone. But at least the food was good. And with our friends there — Johnny and Staci, Berto and Gina — it had been a blast from the past. She’d even brought a female friend, but she insisted it wasn’t with the intention of setting us up on a date. I didn’t quite believe her until the friend — Rita, maybe — mentioned that her husband would have never come along to a place like this.