From A to Z - Angel Reyes

Chapter 27

Slowly, Zara began to make her house into her home once again, but only out of necessity. The house reminded her of Angel, every room brought another memory to her mind, and the box things from their relationship called to her from under the bed in the guest room. As was standard now, she was up in the middle of the night while Nestor slept in her bed. Usually, she went outback but that night she was in the middle room, painting for the first time in months, with a joint between her lips. 

"I fucking hate this," she hissed, splattering the canvas with paint to effectively destroy what she had been working on. Grabbing her phone she text Angel, she'd blame the weed in the morning but she knew being high only gave her the confidence to do what she wanted to since they'd last spoken.

"You up?" She sent the text and immediately followed it with another to clarify. "Not a booty call."

"Yeah. You okay?"

"I'm okay. Can't sleep."

"Painting?"

Zara smiled at that, he knew her better than anyone, and for the first time, she felt butterflies in her stomach when thinking about Angel.

"You know me so well." Zara took a picture of the ruined painting and sent it to him.

"It's good."

"You're a liar. What are you doing?"

"In Vegas, big meeting."

"Dangerous?"

"Nah. We're good."

There was a creak from the hall that prompted Zara to look up from her phone and see Nestor in his boxers sleepily heading toward the bathroom. His hair was wild and he had sleep lines along the side of his face that endeared him to her despite her current text conversation. He glanced over to see her sitting on her paint covered stool.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Can't sleep," she shrugged, locking her phone screen. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I didn't even realize you got out of bed," he shrugged.

Zara nodded. "We should go out tomorrow, dinner, just us." It was a question she asked solely for information but she'd enjoy the date night if her assumption was wrong.  

"I'm leaving in the morning," he said apologetically.

"Oh, where to?"

"Heading to Vegas for a meeting," he explained.

"Odd place for a meeting," she said with a laugh. "Should be a party."

"Neutral ground," he explained.

Zara nodded. "I won't be up much longer," she said as he left the doorway.

Once he was gone she opened her phone again and text Angel back. "Good. Keep it that way."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm good, Z. Get some fucking sleep."

"I'll try. ♥️"

" ♥️ "

Her heart skipped a beat when the last text came through and she knew she had to be honest, partially, with Nestor.

"Hey," she called out as he passed by again. "Can we talk for a second?"

He stopped, the floorboards creaking beneath him, and nodded. "What's up?"