by Hope Stone
Yosemite National Park. Like stepping right into a fantasy world. Rusty red and blue mountains lined the back of the park with their jagged ridges. In the foreground, the park was surrounded with trees of all varieties. The park made us look like toothpicks in the grand scheme of things.
“Wow, this is incredible!” Misty exclaimed as I parked the bike.
“You've never been here before?”
“No. I haven’t. So crazy. I’ve lived in Merced for the last ten years and I’ve never ever been here,” she gushed. She spun around, captivated by the park. Made me smile to think I could bring her a new experience. Helmets were off and we were ready to hike. The roar of the waterfalls made my ears perk up.
“Can you hear that? If I knew they had waterfalls here, I would have brought my shorts to swim.”
“That water would be ice cold. You would get hyperthermia and then I’d have to revive you.”
Misty laughed. I grinned back at her. I grabbed her hand and held it as we walked to check out the trails.
“I wouldn’t mind that at all. Not one bit,” she laughed. I kissed her hand as we reviewed the trails. “We’re going for the easy trail, right?” She glanced at me.
“Yep. I’m not trying to kill you. I just thought this might be nice, and not boring.”
She inhaled a deep breath. “It’s definitely not boring, that’s for sure.”
We picked the trail we wanted to walk and I handed her a bottle of water.
“I don’t want you falling out on me,” I told her.
“I won’t. Promise.” California blue skies all the way around. A familiar bird call rang out. One I knew. I looked up to a circling eagle above the pine trees. “Wow. This is the best. Thank you for bringing me.” Misty looked up at the sky right along with me.
“You’re welcome.” I squeezed her hand. The gravel from the trail crunched underneath our feet as we admired wildflowers and cute squirrels along the way. “So you said you’ve been here for ten years. Where were you before that?” I enquired.
“I lived with my family in Mexico City.”
“That’s different. Did you like it there?”
“I mean, it was okay. I like it better here.” She picked at a flower along the way and put it in her hair. A little Puerto Rican wild child.
“How about you, where are you from?” she asked. I decided to opt out about speaking on Outlaw Souls. I wanted the connection to be pure between us. We could get to the finer details later on.
“La Playa for eight years. Long time there.” I glanced at her. She looked so free out here. “So, this morning you had me pick you up from McDonald’s. Is that a precautionary measure? Have you got a man at home?” Direct bullet, shot straight. Misty swung her head to look at me.
“Nope. No man at home. I live with my brother right now and he can get a little funny.” Was she telling me the truth? I’d been down this road before. Plus, she was a med student and ten years younger than me. I didn’t want another Crystal situation on my hands.
The Cali heat started kicking in. When I’d looked at the weather beforehand it said mild-low sixties but the weather channel lied. My brow had beads of unnecessary sweat on it.
“So what’s your brother do? Looking out for you, huh?” Turns out Misty was pretty fit. She was a few steps ahead of me. Fine by me; I got to watch her ass and to torture myself with lusty desire.
“Something like that. My brother works with computers and stuff. Likes bikes,” she mumbled. “Catch up. Come on!” Her lithe body moved effortlessly as we walked farther on the trail. I didn’t want to take her too far. Just enough so we could walk and talk. Get to know one another.
“He likes bikes? I like him already.” Might be a chance to get him in the chapter. Although if I had no long-term interest in Misty, it could potentially blow up in my face.
“What about you? What are you going to do in Merced?” She puffed a little.
“I have a few things in mind. One of them I’m already doing.” She eyed me suspiciously. Brought out a devious smile from me.
“What would that one thing be?”
My face feigned innocence.
“Oh. Only that I found a place. Accommodation. Let’s stop here. Chill. I’m not trying to get fit or anything. I just wanted to do something different with you.” I caught up with her and grabbed her from behind in a bear hug. If I wanted to crush her, I could. She was so lightweight. But that was not what I wanted. I just wanted to be near her. She had this tantalizing quality about her that I couldn’t stay away from.
“I like that you did this. Even though you're ducking my questions,” she said. Okay. We were playing a game.
“You’re ducking too. You wouldn’t let me pick you up from your house.” She lifted her hair from the back of her neck. The heat and the walk made us both sticky. I handed her a water bottle.
“I told you why.” She stepped back a little and surveyed me. “Don’t you trust me?” she teased.
“Should I? I mean we just met. Takes time.”
She guzzled down her water and looked around the park. We stopped in an open area and I sat on top of the park bench. Misty stood, stretching out her legs. I watched her closely. I hadn’t realized how athletic she was.
“That’s true. My brother can be overprotective so I want to just chill on it. He might start asking too many questions.” Her cat eyes danced in the sunlight. I noticed the brown specks in them. So far, it sounded legit. I would let it drop for now. “What did you say you do again?” she asked. I set my jaw. You can’t talk, then I won’t either.
“I didn’t. I’m just chilling right now. Nothing going.” She raised her brows and cast her eyes to the mountain.
“Just chilling? What does that even mean? Are you retired or something? Are you doing something illegal?” Irritation laced her voice. I was getting under her skin. A little spice never hurt anyone. I wanted to bring it out a little.
“No. Illegal? Not my style. I’m just taking a break right now.”
Her brow furrowed as she put her hand on her hip and glared like a lioness at me.
“What? Why won’t you answer? You’re not Ted Bundy, are you?” The indignity.
“Easy, easy. I surrender.” I held up my hands in mock protest. “I’m into real estate and I’m looking for property right now, if you must know. I was just fucking with you.”
“Ohhhh. Funny guy.” I reeled her in to me so fast she almost lost her balance. She put her slender hand on my chest for balance. I grabbed the back of her neck as she turned in to me. Her arms stretched up around my neck. When I gazed into her eyes I knew I was stepping into a ring of fire. I took over her lips and divided them, our tongues gliding over one another. Her rapid breath chased mine. Heartbeats synced as one. I moved my hands to her ass, cupping it. A possession on my part. Both cheeks fitted right in my hand. If I was equipped we would have been making love in the wild. But I wasn’t. To save us both, I pulled back. But my cock didn’t; it stood to attention, ready for action. We both had to regain our footing, along with our breath.
“That was intense, papi,” she murmured. I rubbed the back of my neck to let the fiery beast of lust die down.
“Uh-huh. I gotta tell you. You’re sexy as fuck.”
She bit her lip. “You’ve got potential.” Her voice sounded like pure satin. She stared at my package and then back at my face on purpose. I broke out in laughter. Lil’ mama had it going on. She was my type. Young and free in her expression. Problem was, did I want another young one?
“I do? Well, I’m happy to hear that. Let’s head back,” I said. We’d been out on the trail for over an hour. No point teasing myself or her and keep on walking. We mostly walked in silence. Both of us were dancing around one another with the questions. So I surrendered to enjoying the moment with her. We rode back into town and I dropped her off. We finished our morning with a few more kisses.
“All right, beautiful lady. I had a wonderful time with you. I will see you next time, ri
ght?”
“Yeah, you will. Call me.” She winked and got into her car.
I left for my new home. It was sparse, but I had a few things delivered. I had my mind set on pizza and whiskey. My plans were interrupted by a phone call.
“Hullo. Miss me?”
Crystal.
“I could ask you the same thing, but since you’re on my phone, I know the answer,” I replied flatly.
“I wanted to, you know… See what was up. Can we talk, hang out?”
I sighed.
“I’m not in La Playa anymore. I got out.” Silence.
“You left and didn’t tell me?”
“Why would I? We weren’t together anymore. Gotta let it go.” Came off as callous, but she knew what time it was with me. I’d told her from the start. She wanted something I couldn’t give her.
“Oh. Okay.” The disappointment in her voice was apparent. “Do you want to see me?”
I paused. I cut things clean but it couldn’t hurt, could it? I made an exception.
“Sure, come up here. But you know what it is. I’m not your guy like that.” My stance was clear. Here came the women. Now I had two on my hands. One new and fresh and the other from my past. Things were about to get interesting.
Misty
“We got a chapter meeting tonight. No. I don’t care. Emergency meeting. Set it up.” Palo’s clipped tone sounded off in the house. He had the phone to his ear. A blond girl came out of his room and scurried like a mouse to the front door. I saw her on the walk into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes. Another one. My brother had chicas in rotation. As far as I knew, it was the same three. Looked like it was the blonde this week. I didn’t know how he maintained all three. I had a full day of classes so I had to get in and out of the kitchen. I drank my coffee and ate fast. I wanted to talk to Palo first. This was the most we’d ever spoken. Normally, I kept away at the other end of the house.
“Palo!”
“Yeah.”
“You wanna coffee?” My way to get him in the kitchen, otherwise he would make me go to him.
“Coming,” he yelled. I took a sip of my coffee and waited. “Wassup?”
“What’s going on with those guys from the club? You never told me.”
“That’s because I don’t want you involved in anything. You got your studies to worry about.” Palo rubbed his head again and looked down at the ground.
“Palo. Look at me.” My voice was firm. “I need to know. I don’t want to be in a position where I can’t go out with my girls because of your fucking gang!” Palo massaged his hand and looked at me.
“Both of them are being taken care of. You’re right, I should have told you. They were connected to El Diablo and I suspected them already. They were on my list to let go of. Now it’s a little more personal because you’re my baby sister and I ain’t going to let nobody harm you.” Passion permeated his voice. I waited for a beat.
“Palo. What aren’t you telling me? Don’t do anything stupid.” I forced a cup of coffee into his hands. It nearly splashed out of the cup. He jumped back a little. I wanted him to know I was pissed.
“Watch it!” He steadied the contents of the cup. “Look. It’s deeper than that if you want to know the truth. They were setting up a prostitution ring. Keep your mouth shut. I knew they were doing something but I didn’t pick it up quick enough.” My stomach tied up in knots. I wanted to vomit.
“Were they-” I started. Palo closed his eyes.
“Yes. I suspect they were. But I have enough evidence gathered to get them put away. I can leak some things to the police,” he said.
“Are you fucking serious? I cannot believe you! You have to leave Las Balas.” My blood pressure rose and was about to skyrocket.
“Calm down. Have I ever not protected you?”
“But-”
“Let me ask you again. Have I ever not protected you?” His eyes were fierce as he asked.
“No,” I answered quietly.
“Then. Let it go. Go to your class.”
“What are their names?” I wanted to know.
“No way in hell I’m giving you names! You’re going to be nowhere near this.”
“You involved me when you joined Las Balas, estúpido!” I didn’t give him time to reply. I stormed out of the kitchen and swiftly grabbed my books. School would be my sanctuary now. I had to get out of my brother’s house. I’d been there long enough. I got in my car and drove to school. My phone pinged. Palo.
“Don't be angry. It's handled.”
Yeah. right. He would never leave them. I’d told him explicitly I wanted no part and now I was knee-deep in it. Because of me, a meeting was being called and two slime buckets were trying to use me for a pro’ ring. Disgusting. I diced through the morning traffic, working to cut off time and be on time for class. But now to top it off I was going to be late. My mood-o-meter was on shitty now.
The phone buzzed again. I pressed the button for Bluetooth.
“Palo, don’t even-” A pause.
“Palo? Should I be worried?” Diego’s husky laugh entered my car.
“Ah- sorry. I was talking to my brother earlier. I thought it was him.” Dead air sat between us for a minute.
“Okay... I wanted to hear your voice and say good morning.” He skipped over it. I didn’t want to discuss it anyway.
“Good morning.” My mood-o-meter was right back up where it belonged. He’d called at the right time. I kept an eye on the traffic as it started to bottleneck. “What are you doing today?”
“I’m going to pick up the keys for a new property I’ve invested in.”
Diego didn’t strike me as the type of guy to be involved in real estate. I’d learned over the years not to judge a book by its cover, however.
“Okay. What type of investment is it?”
“Hmm. It’s a warehouse, a business,” he replied calmly. I nodded my head.
“So have you always been doing that? How did you learn to ride bikes?”
“I’ve been riding bikes since I was a kid. I used to be in motocross. But it’s brutal, so I switched to cruising on the open road.”
“Oh really? I never knew that. Super cool.”
“You look like you know how to ride a bike. Can you ride?” he asked.
“Yep. I can. My bro’ taught me. I can ride a few types of bikes,” I replied in a flirty tone.
“Ha! What? Did you say what I thought you said?” He sounded shocked. I wanted to see him, but I knew my schedule for school. I was staring down the barrel of some tough exams.
“Yep,” I said proudly.
“You’re ballsy. I like it.”
“Of course. I’m Spanish.”
“I’m aware, trust me. Know how to play pool?”
“Of course. I play at college sometimes. Why?”
“Pool, pizza, drinks? What do you think? Friday night if you’re free,” he suggested. The traffic eased up and I pulled into the college parking lot.
“Sounds good. Just call me with the details. I just pulled into school, so I gotta go.”
“Okay, babe. I’ll call you later in the week.”
“Bye, papi.”
“Haha. Bye.”
Okay, better way to start the day. I had to hightail it to the C block in a hurry. By the skin of my teeth, I made it to the lecture hall. People were still talking among themselves. I caught the wave from Shauna and Rob.
“Hey, hey.” I hugged them both and sat down. Shauna sat in next to me as usual.
“Miss Puerto Rico, you didn’t respond to my text yesterday. You must be sick of me.” She jokingly pouted.
“No. I’m trying to get my mind set up for these exams.”
“You and me both. Are you okay after last week?”
My skin started crawling just thinking about those creeps.
“My brother knows them. He’s dealing with it.” Shauna knew some of what club my brother was in but she didn’t know everything. I wanted to keep it that way.
�
��I was worried about you,” she said. Mr. Sanders put up a slide with red blood cells on it. He was lecturing us on pathogens. I wanted to pay attention because I knew he was a hard marker. He dropped a lot of gems in his lectures.
“Okay. Now we’ve got everyone in. How are we all?” Mr. Sanders was a serious type of guy. White hair and thin with big dark glasses. They didn’t suit his face, but oh well. He knew his stuff and had worked in a biochemistry lab for over a decade. Now he was head of the department at University of California. Kudos.
“Don’t worry. I’m good. But I gotta move out. My brother is giving me the shits,” I whispered.
“Oh, shit! Luckily, I like my roommate. What’s going down with you and the hottie?”
“Well…” I smiled when I thought about those lips and those icy blue eyes. Oh, and the hair, his husky voice and that bike. “I’m taking it easy. I don’t want to rush things.”
Shauna shut it down quickly. “Are you serious? I would have rushed right in and taken off all my clothes on sight! The man is fine...” I widened my eyes at her. “Respectfully so. Respectfully. I ain’t no man stealer.” She quickly cleared it up.
“Yeah. I like him though. Let’s see. I’m going with the flow of it.” Our talking got a little loud. Mr. Sanders gave us a look over his glasses. Uh-oh. A few people turned to look at us. I sank down in my seat and Shauna held back a laugh. I listened intently for the rest of the class. From time to time, Diego’s penetrating eyes came into my mind. My whole body flushed with heat when I thought of where his mouth could go. I shook myself out of it. I had to focus. I had medical exams coming up.
As the day wore on, it got better. I took to looking at places to rent in between classes. The bonuses of staying with Palo were starting to wear off. I felt the taste of bitter resentment at his choices clouding me. The next couple of days flew by as I got back in the groove of studying and routine. Palo and I didn’t speak. I just could hear his voice from time to time down the other end of the house. Friday night rolled around quick enough. I was in my room picking out an outfit with music on to set the mood, getting ready to meet Diego at the spot. I didn’t want Palo messing up anything else for me.
