by David A Max
That afternoon Carlito suggested, “Let’s go to the mall and do some shopping.”
“Listen guys, we need to slow down on our spending and look for something to do so we don’t run out of money,” Emilio replied looking at Carlito.
“We still have a lot of money, after one or two more shopping trips then we can relax, now is the time to have a little fun.” Carlito got up and started dancing, they all looked at him and laughed.
That afternoon they went to the mall and did some shopping, Emilio hurried to help Andreiá with her bags. She reluctantly gave him two out of her five bags, “I can carry them,” she said.
“I just want to help,” Emilio reached for the bags and carried them. Emilio saw the men’s section and went in to try on some of the clothes.
Andreiá called Carlito, “What is wrong with Emilio? He actually told me he was falling in love with me this afternoon, what do I do? I see him as my brother.”
“You have to be gentle with him,” Carlito advised, “don’t you want to give him a chance?”
“We grew up together, he is like my brother, I’m sorry I can’t,” Andreiá said looking upset.
Carlito shook his head, “Be gentle with him, because I have noticed he really likes you.”
Chapter 4
A couple of days later, the four of them went for dinner, Déborah and Andreiá both wore gowns, Carlito and Emilio wore suits with bow ties. “This is a really fancy restaurant,” Andreiá said as she ordered her meal. “The food is lovely here,” Carlito said.
Emilio hit a spoon against his glass which caused it to make a sharp clinking sound which got Carlito, Andreiá and Déborah’s attention. “I want to make an announcement,” Emilio looked at Andreiá, held her hand and said, “I just want you to know that I love you and if you give me a chance, I will cherish and take care of you. Please let me even start by being your boyfriend.”
Andreiá was speechless, she got up and ran out of the restaurant, Déborah ran after her. Emilio sat down and had disappointment written all over his face, Carlito put his hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, she’ll come around.”
Andreiá and Déborah left the restaurant and went home. “I think it’s time we leave the restaurant,” Carlito told Emilio, “I don’t think the ladies are coming back, we’ve been waiting for thirty-five minutes.”
“I have fallen in love with her, I really don’t know what else to do, I’m willing to fight for her,” Emilio whispered.
“Maybe you should give her some time,” Carlito advised.
Emilio avoided Andreiá for about a week in the house, making sure they were not left alone together at any time; he was trying not to upset her again. “There is so much tension in this house,” Carlito said looking at Déborah, Emilio and Andreiá’s faces as they all sat in the living room, “I’m taking all of you out to a bar tonight for drinks.”
“I don’t know,” Emilio mumbled.
“I didn’t hear what you just mumbled, but you are coming with us,” Carlito insisted.
That night they all dressed up. “The bar is just about ten minutes’ walk from the house,” Carlito pointed to it as they walked towards the bar. Carlito ordered a bottle of wine and got four glasses at the bar. Carlito and Emilio sat next to each other looking round to see if there were beautiful girls they could go up to and chat with, but Emilio kept glancing at Andreiá.
Déborah and Andreiá were enjoying their drinks, when two men walked up to them and started chatting with them. Déborah got up and left for the bathroom, and the man chatting with her had to leave, so Andreiá kept chatting with the other man, she kept smiling and stroking her hair. After about ten minutes, Emilio walked up to Andreiá and whispered into her ear, “Please, I want to talk to you.”
“Can’t it wait?” Andreiá said with frustration written all over her face.
“No it can’t,” Emilio insisted.
“Is this man bothering you?” the man chatting with Andreiá asked, trying to stand between Emilio and Andreiá.
Emilio pushed him back, “Can’t you see I’m talking to her!” he shouted.
The man was shocked, “Is he your boyfriend?” he asked Andreiá, she shook her head slowly and said no. Emilio pushed the man again, and the man became enraged and pushed him back. A brawl started between Emilio and the man, Andreiá got up and walked out, Carlito ran to Emilio and pulled him away. Déborah came out from the bathroom and saw Carlito pulling Emilio away; one of the bar bouncers walked towards Emilio, Carlito and Déborah and told them to leave, and when they got outside they saw Andreiá sitting on a pavement with tears in her eyes. Déborah tried to talk to her but she just walked away.
Andreiá got back home about three hours later, slightly intoxicated. Emilio and Déborah were already in their rooms sleeping; Carlito slept on the couch in the living room. Andreiá got into the apartment and lay down on top of Carlito and started kissing his lips. Carlito opened his eyes and pushed her away gently, he could smell the alcohol on her breath, “You’re tipsy and I’m taking you to your room.”
She shook her head, “I’m not tipsy, I know what I’m doing.” Carlito picked her up and carried her to her room.
A couple of days later, Carlito felt something on his lips while he was sleeping, he opened his eyes and saw Andreiá lying on top of him, kissing him, he couldn’t smell alcohol on her breath. “What are you doing?” he muttered. “I’m kissing you,” Andreiá replied. “But why?” “Stop asking me questions and kiss me back,” Andreiá mumbled while still kissing him. Carlito kissed her back, then after about ten minutes of kissing each other she got up and pulled him up and took him to her bedroom.
The next morning Carlito left Andreiá’s room early before Emilio and Déborah woke up. Andreiá decided to leave her room and sat down in the living room, “Emilio can’t find out about what happened between us,” Carlito said, gazing into Andreiá’s eyes.
“Don’t you like me?” Andreiá shrugged.
“I do, Andreiá, but it will hurt Emilio, you know the way he feels about you,” Carlito shook his head. Andreiá got up and walked back into her room.
Later, Andreiá was making breakfast for everybody to eat, she was wearing her silk night gown. Carlito entered into the kitchen and saw how beautiful and sexy she looked. He held her waist from behind and started kissing her neck and shoulders, holding her tight. “Carlito,” Emilio shouted from the living room, “where are you?”
Carlito hurriedly left Andreiá, “I’m in the kitchen,” he replied.
Emilio walked into the kitchen, “Andreiá, you’re making breakfast already, I was going to ask you and Carlito what you wanted for breakfast.”
“Never mind, I’ve made enough for all of us,” Andreiá replied.
“It’s a sunny afternoon, the weather is perfect for the beach,” Carlito said the next day, “who wants to join me on the beach?” he asked, pointing and smiling at Andreiá.
“The weather is perfect for the beach,” she replied, “I’ll change into my swimsuit.
Carlito pointed at Emilio and Déborah, “You guys, let’s go to the beach,”
“I’m just going to relax in the house,” Emilio replied.
“I’ll join you in relaxing,” Déborah nodded.
“So it’s just me and Andreiá, but you guys are going to miss out,” Carlito said smiling.
The beach was crowded, it was a bright and sunny day, a lot of people were sun tanning; some people were in the ocean, diving into the waves, the atmosphere was vibrant. “This is a nice spot,” Carlito said, spreading a beach towel on the sand.
“I need to sun tan because it’s really sunny,” Andreiá replied.
“I’ll help you rub the sun lotion on your back,” Carlito got some of the lotion and rubbed it on Andreiá’s back, then he lay next to her and started kissing her. The kiss went on for a while, and two other couples noticed them and started clapping for them. Carlito looked back and the couples were singing his praises, “There is no cont
est, you are both in love!” one of them shouted. Carlito and Andreiá laughed.
One of the men walked up to Carlito, “I’m Hugo,” and he shook Carlito’s hand, “that is my girlfriend and those other two are my friends,” Hugo pointed.
Carlito got up, “Nice to meet you Hugo, this is Andreiá, we just moved here.”
“Okay, that’s interesting, we can show you around town if you want,” Hugo suggested.
“That would be lovely.” They spoke for about ten minutes and exchanged addresses.
“I’ll come with my friends tomorrow to say hello to you and Andreiá,” Hugo said while walking away to meet his girlfriend and friends. Carlito waved, “That would be lovely.”
Carlito pulled Andreiá up and carried her into the water, they dove in the waves, and swam in the water, then swam back towards the shore. Carlito pulled Andreiá close to his body and kissed her, lifted her up and kept kissing her, “I’m falling in love with you,” Carlito whispered to Andreiá.
“I feel the same way,” she whispered back.
Carlito and Andreiá got back to the apartment later that evening, opened the door and saw Emilio sitting on the couch and holding his head. “What’s the matter?” Carlito asked him, looking worried. Emilio just kept holding his head with no answer.
“What’s the problem?” Andreiá tapped him on the shoulder, but Emilio didn’t look up or answer. Carlito and Andreiá sat next to him, “Please tell us what’s going on.”
After about two minutes he looked up, looking confused, “I can’t find Déborah, she’s not in her room, I haven’t seen her since the two of you left.”
Carlito got up and ran to Déborah’s room, looked around the whole apartment and there was no sign of her. “She doesn’t have a phone we can reach her on,” Carlito said, looking really confused, “have they found us, did they kidnap her?”
Andreiá began to panic, “I think we should calm down and make no hasty decisions.”
Emilio tried to calm them down, “I have been thinking all day, I think she might have gone out, and you know we can’t call the police, we need to just calm down and see if she comes back.”
Andreiá crouched on the couch; Carlito was dumbstruck and stared at the ceiling; Emilio held his head and kept thinking of what to do next.
Andreiá, Carlito and Emilio got up early the next morning and left the apartment to search for Déborah, the three of them walked around asking people if they had seen Déborah, describing what she looked like.
After searching for her for hours, they walked back towards their apartment. Andreiá looked back and saw someone running towards them, she squinted and saw that it was Déborah who ran past them, and they gave chase. Carlito grabbed her by her arm, “Déborah where have you been since yesterday and why are you running?”
Déborah stopped and gasped for air, “I thought I was being followed by the men who were after you, it’s a long story, let’s just go back to the apartment.”
They all walked back to their apartment, turning back several times to see if anybody was following them. Carlito opened the door to the apartment quickly, and they all sat down with a sigh of relief. There was a knock on the door, Emilio jumped up, “That might be them!” he exclaimed. There was a second knock, Carlito walked quietly to the door and peeked through the peephole, he looked back with relief on his face, “It’s Hugo and his girlfriend from the beach,” he unlocked the door and let them in.
Hugo introduced himself and his girlfriend Sylvia, “You have a nice apartment, Hugo said looking round, “I have to take all of you round the town, Carlito told me you just moved into town.”
“Yes we did. Hugo, I’m jealous you have a beautiful girlfriend,” Emilio said smiling.
“Thank you, everybody tells me she is beautiful,” Hugo replied, kissing her on the cheek, “we’ve been together for about a year now.”
Sylvia shook her head, “It’s almost two years,” she said.
“Okay my mistake, but you have to give it to the beautiful Andreiá and Carlito, they are so in love, they were all over each other on the beach and in the water, I think they are the number one couple,” Hugo joked.
Emilio was stunned, he couldn’t believe what he just heard, he got up and went into his room. Carlito sat down and covered his face; Andreiá just shook her head and didn’t look so bothered; Déborah just stared at Andreiá and Carlito and shook her head. “Have I said anything wrong?” Hugo asked.
“No, it’s okay you haven’t said anything wrong,” Andreiá replied.
Emilio did not leave his room for the rest of the day.
Early the next morning, by 6:30 a.m., Emilio woke Carlito up, “Why did you do this to me, I am so disappointed in you, I confided in you, meanwhile you were having an affair with her all this while.”
“I wasn’t having an affair, it started a couple of days ago, it just happened,” Carlito said, trying to get up from the couch he was sleeping on.
“So she does mean anything to you?” Emilio asked, with an unpardonable look on his face.
“I love her, I am in love with her,” Carlito tried to explain to Emilio.
Emilio looked directly into Carlito’s eyes and slapped him, “You are a bad friend,” he said.
Carlito held his face, “You don’t have to slap me, she said she loves me too.” Emilio got so furious and punched Carlito in the stomach, Carlito punched him back and a fight ensued between them.
Andreiá and Déborah ran out of their rooms, and quickly pulled Carlito and Emilio apart, “Why are you both fighting?” Déborah yelled.
“He’s fighting me because of Andreiá,” Carlito said, trying to remove his hand from Andreiá grip.
“It’s not his fault, I started the whole thing, he is the one I’m in love with,” Andreiá said, looking at Emilio.
“You both are like brothers, you shouldn’t be fighting,” Déborah said, still holding Emilio.
“I’m done,” Emilio pulled his hand free from Déborah’s grip and walked into his room with so much pain written on his face.
Carlito decided to leave the house for some time. Emilio came out of his room and knocked on Andreiá’s door, “Come in,” Andreiá replied. Emilio walked in and Andreiá was shocked, “I didn’t expect to see you in my room, I thought you were mad at me and Carlito.”
“I am mad at the situation, but I can’t be mad at you, Andreiá. I don’t care about Carlito but if you give me a chance I will be your perfect boyfriend.”
Andreiá got up from her bed and held Emilio’s hand, “Please if you really love me let me be with Carlito, I want to be with him,” Andreiá pleaded with Emilio. Emilio shed some tears and he quickly wiped them off and told her not to worry, “but I will be watching Carlito.”
“I’m so sorry Emilio,” Andreiá hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek.
That evening Andreiá, Carlito and Déborah sat in the living room chatting, while Emilio was in his room. The windows and doors in the apartment suddenly started vibrating. Emilio ran to the living room, “What is going on?”
Déborah got up and ran into her room, came out with a small bottle, and poured some liquid from the bottle in her palm. Then she used the liquid to draw circles on each of the windows and doors in the apartment; after she did that, the vibrations stopped.
“What is going on?” Andreiá asked Déborah.
“You all have to take a sip from the bottle, it’s for you own protection.”
Andreiá, Carlito and Emilio looked at each other, shook their heads and asked what was in the bottle. Déborah gazed at the three of them, “It is safe to drink,” she sipped a little, “it will help protect you when you are in trouble.”
Emilio took the bottle reluctantly and took a sip, passed it to Andreiá who closed her eyes and took a sip, shook her head and gave it to Carlito. He gobbled what was left in the bottle, “All you needed was a sip,” Déborah shook her head and collected the bottle from Carlito.
“Hugo invited all of us for
a drink at his place, he said a bunch of his friends are going to be there,” Carlito said, looking around at their faces. “Emilio, I know things are not great between us but I would like you to please come with us,” Carlito continued.
Emilio shrugged, “Okay I don’t mind.”
Carlito smiled, “What about you Déborah?”
“Count me out, I need to rest,” she replied.
“Hugo’s house is nice, I think we are going to have a good time here,” Carlito said, looking around and nodding his head to the sound of the music playing, “there are quite a number of people here, I think we should all try and have some fun, and Emilio I’m going to get you the most beautiful girl here.” Andreiá smiled.
The three of them were having fun. After about an hour at the party, Hugo walked up to Carlito and whispered something in his ear and left, Carlito pulled Andreiá and Emilio close to himself, “We have to go to the room upstairs, Hugo said he wants to introduce us to a couple of his friends.”
Andreiá, Carlito and Emilio went upstairs, “The room is empty, where are his friends?” Andreiá said.
Two minutes later Hugo walked into the room with five other men, “How are you guys doing,” Carlito greeted, stretching his hand to shake hands with one of them, but he didn’t reply to him; he looked at Hugo and he had a hostile look on his face.
“Hugo, what’s wrong?” Carlito asked.
“Can you keep quiet!” Hugo shouted at Carlito, “do not speak unless I speak to you.” The five other guys shoved Andreiá, Carlito and Emilio to the ground. Andreiá started weeping, “What’s going on Hugo, we’re your friends?” Hugo slapped her and told her to keep quiet. Emilio got up and punched Hugo in the stomach, the five men pounced on him and beat him up. Carlito tried to stop them, but Hugo punched him in the face. One of the five men tied Andreiá, Carlito and Emilio up, Hugo pushed Carlito’s head, “Where is the money you told me about? When you and your friends moved here, you came with a lot of money, so where is the money?”
Andreiá and Emilio looked at each other and shook their heads, “We spent the money,” Carlito replied, “we only have a little left.”
