Free Hector by Elizabeth Reyes

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to him like this and because Leticia’s body language was giving him the go-ahead
to do so, Hector checked her out. Very nice . Miriam wasn’t half bad either but nothing real
eye catching—your typical Hispanic girl—long dark straight hair, big dark eyes
and a little too much makeup. But Leticia had it going on and she knew it too.
She was tall and slender but not too thin. The curves were in all the right
places, just like he liked them, and she was showing just enough cleavage to
tease at how nicely stacked she was.
    “Yes, I did,” Leticia smiled a little more seductively now that
she saw she had his full attention. “Not for very long, but even after we moved,
we used to go back a lot because my mom liked the grocery stores in that area.”
    Hector nodded as Leticia continued to talk. He glanced at Drew,
who did nothing to hide the annoyance she was obviously feeling over this
little interruption. Charlee didn’t look too happy either, but she wasn’t as
blatant as Drew. He had a feeling what they were thinking, because he was sort
of wondering himself. These two didn’t look the chess tournament type at all. And
they were dressed more like two girls out on the prowl for the night than they
were for a chess tournament. “We play chess too,” Miriam said as if he’d read
his mind.
    “Not good enough to enter a competition like this,” Leticia added
with another flirtatious smile.
    For the first time since they’d arrived, Charlee suddenly spoke.
“It’s by invitation only.”
    “Yeah, you don’t just enter to try out for the U.S. team,” Drew explained.
    The sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed by Leticia because her eyebrow
lifted. “I know that.”
    “Have you ever played in a speed tournament?” Walter asked.
    Apparently he was the only one of them that failed to catch the
snarky tone in Charlee and Drew’s remarks, because he seemed genuinely curious.
    Leticia must’ve mistaken Walter’s question to be another jab at
her level of chess skill, because her response was just as snappy. “No, but I have been in tournaments.”
    “Ever won any?” Charlee asked, those deep blue eyes of hers
finally staying in one place long enough for Hector to really get a good look. He’d never seen lashes the color of hers. From
this distance, he could see they were as bright red as her hair. From further
away, they’d looked almost dark brown, but he saw now that was only because
they were so thick. It made the blue in her eyes stand out even more. They were
something else: way different than any eyes he’d ever admired up close. And he
could easily get lost trying to count all of the delicate freckles sprinkled
over her cute little nose and around her eyes.
    He glanced back at Leticia now. She’d gone from looking pissed to
smiling playfully again as she whipped her long hair back. “I’ve won a few
actually. But I’m not here to talk about me. I just wanted to congratulate the
newest member of the U.S. team.” She actually let out a loud hoot and did a
fist pump. “You make me so proud, Hector.” She moved in closer, handing her
phone to Miriam. “Will you take a picture with me?” Without giving him a chance
to respond, she wrapped her arms around his torso and adjusted them both so
they now stood directly in front of Drew and Charlee but with their backs to them.
    Never one to miss an opportunity like this but more than anything
feeling the need to make up for having come across like such a sap earlier, Hector
pulled her close. He felt her ample cleavage press up against his chest, and he
moved his hand up and down her back as they posed for the photos. Miriam then
asked Walter if he could take one of the three of them together and he did. The
girls got a little silly and loud, asking Walter to take more photos: one pose here, a different pose there, one after another. Leticia,
who’d been touchy-feely from the very first photo, eventually slipped her hand
into Hector’s.
    By the time the