Leap of Faith (La Flor #1)

by Ml Rodriguez

  “Yes, Peanut, I saw her score a goal, and I think everyone from here to China heard you celebrating,” I reply.

  I turn back to Jackie and we discuss plans for the concession stand our booster club is working next week, which will be our first home game. Suddenly, I feel this tingly feeling in the back of my neck. You know, that feeling you get when someone is staring at you. Trying to seem inconspicuous, I carefully look around the field and finally my gaze lands on a person by the fence. My eyes widen in surprise—standing there is the delicious and incredibly handsome man I’ve seen several times around town—Mr. Gorgeous Eyes—and he’s looking at me.

  My mind goes crazy.

  Holy cow, he’s here!

  What is he doing here?

  I thought the sight of him in my rearview mirror would be the last, but I was wrong. A few days later I saw him in town and I freaked out—I ran away and made a fool of myself. Another time, I ended up in a fish store, EW! I dislike fish with a passion but that didn’t matter one bit when I threw myself through the door to escape him. To be honest, I don’t know why I keep running from him, and I’m not even sure he is trying to make the effort to approach me. I only know that every time I see him, I feel flustered. For that reason alone, I run. I’ve been lucky that the girls haven’t been with me during these sightings, or I’d have some explaining to do.

  Oh my!

  Having a full view of him, I check him out. He’s every woman’s dream man: exotic eyes, rugged gorgeous face, and an amazingly fit body.

  I turn back to Jackie just in time to see her stand. I start freaking out inside when she starts waving her arms like a lunatic.

  “Yoo-hoo! Zane! We’re over here! Zane! Over here!”

  Goodness! Could she be any louder? I think unhappily.

  “What are you doin’?!” I hiss at her.

  I really, really want to wring her neck right now. Friends aren’t supposed to do this to each other. Granted, she has no idea that I’m freaking out right now, but still. Can’t she see she’s bringing his attention more towards me?

  Oh Lord, he’s coming this way.

  “Jackie, please sit down,” I beg her while at the same time wishing the Earth would open up and swallow me whole.

  “Relax, Faith.” She says, oblivious to my panic. “That’s just my baby brother. He promised Josilyn he’d come watch her play.”

  “What?!” I squeak.

  Yes. I. Squeaked.

  “You remember?” She says off-handedly. “I’ve told you about Zane and how my mom’s been on his case because he won’t settle down, and she’s itchin’ for more grandchildren.”

  “Oh yeah …” I trail off. She’s mentioned a younger brother but she never told me he looked like that.

  Maybe, if I’m really quick, I can grab Skylar and run. Oh crap, I really need to get out of here and fast. I can’t see him face to face right now. I still don’t understand the feelings he makes me feel and I don’t know if he’s seen me during my escape attempts.

  I have Skylar’s hand in mine and I’m very close to escaping to the concession stand when he sits right down in front of me.

  “Hey, Jackie,” he says with a sexy grin. “Introduce me to your friend, will you sis?”

  Goodness gracious! His voice is amazing. So smooth. Sexy. Masculine. Oh my, I even hear a slight Texas accent. You know the type of voice that’ll grab you and make you want to jump his bones—that’s the voice I hear.

  Okay, I tell myself, relax … breathe. You’re a grown woman, a lady, you can do this. You can talk to him and act like an adult, without showing him how much he affects you. Get your big girl pants on.

  “Zane, this is Faith and this little darlin’ here is Skylar, her daughter.” Jackie starts the introductions. “Faith, this is Zane, my baby brother.” I chuckle at her description of him.

  “Hello, Faith,” he says, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. “And hello to you, little Miss Skylar,” he says to my little girl, smiling at her and doing the same to her little hand.

  I hear Skylar giggle. She giggles. Even my little girl is impressed. I bet every female from birth to eighty-five is charmed by this man. He just has that way about him.

  “Uh, h-hello,” I manage to stutter.

  I see his grin get even bigger and realize he knows the effect he has on me. I wonder if he remembers me … but why would he? That afternoon was probably an everyday occurrence for him. He’s gorgeous and sexy, and I bet women are constantly staring at him. I was probably one of hundreds. And the other times, well, I made a fool of myself and can only hope he didn’t see or remember those times. Remembering my foolishness, I get myself together.

  “My apologies,” I say sounding very proper, maybe too proper. “Zane, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  I hope he doesn’t notice the drool that’s at the corner of my mouth. Wow, this man is something else; he’s just so freaking sexy—there are no other words to describe. He’s the whole shebang and he knows it.

  He chuckles, letting me know I didn’t fool him. “How are you doin,’ beautiful?” He asks smoothly. “You enjoyin’ the game?”

  “I’m well,” I reply, trying to keep my distance from him and coming off a tad bit rude.

  “You aren’t followin’ me, are you?” He asks, catching me by surprise.

  “What?!”

  I’m offended. I’m not a stalker, no matter how yummy the man is. I don’t chase men. I approach but I don’t chase.

  “I asked if you were followin’ me,” he repeats, knowing I heard him the first time. “I remember the last time you saw me—you couldn’t stop starin’ at me. And then those other times, they gave me a good laugh, baby,” he finishes with a smirk.

  Well, of all the nerve. There’s my answer—he does remember me. Oh, but the arrogance … he doesn’t have to rub it in my face that I’ve found him stare-worthy.

  “How can I be followin’ you when I was here first?” I ask him. “I should ask you, instead, if you’re followin’ me.”

  He gives me that sexy grin and chuckles. “I’da been here sooner if that was the case.”

  “I bet.”

  “Baby, for you, I’d go to the ends of the world—slay a dragon, climb the Himalayas, and even dance. I’d do anything for you.” His eyes are fixed on me as he makes his declaration.

  I feel myself blush and softly laugh. “You’re such a flirt. I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  “Nah, beautiful,” he tells me seriously. “Those words are just for you. And only you.”

  “Oh,” I say and receive a real smile from him.

  We hear the crowd start to get loud. Zane turns to the field and watches my girl as she runs, comes face to face with another player and skillfully maintains the ball. She makes another amazing move, getting her closer to the goal. Now, it’s just her and the goalie.

  Come one, Rylee, you can do it, I silently cheer her on. YES!!! She makes it—GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!!!!! I silently yell to myself. I smile proudly.

  “Damn! She’s good,” he says in awe.

  “I know,” I proudly reply. “She my daughter.”

  He looks at me and smiles but says nothing. His expression seems to say he knows something I don’t.

  “Did you see that?” Jackie asks. “That was amazing.”

  I turn to her. “Yes, I did. She did good,” I reply and she turns back to the field, leaving me and Zane alone again.

  “So she’s your daughter?” He asks.

  “Yup, she’s my sister,” Skylar tells him. “She’s amazin’ and one day she’s gonna be a champion—that’s what Momma tells us. She’s gonna be just like Momma.”

  “You don’t say,” is all he replies.

  “Well, if you’ll excuse us, I have to get down to the sideline and congratulate my daughter,” I say. “Let’s go, Skylar; let’s go see your big sister.”

  I take Skylar’s hand and say goodbye to Jackie, tilt my head to Zane, and start making my way to my eldest. As I get
to the last step I hear him call out very loudly.

  “I’ll be seein’ you later, beautiful.”

  Zane

  There’s nothing I don’t know about her—I know all about Rylee and Skylar. I’m not a stalker or any of that sick shit; I’m a man who believes in keeping his word, and I made sure they were safe over the years even if I was away from them. When I made that promise, I never thought I’d grow to want her—to fight to become a better man for her.

  I’ve finally met her face to face and I know I affect her as much as she affects me. She’s run away from me, but that ends now. Pretty soon, I’ll have her in my arms and I’m never letting her go.

  Damn right, I’ll be seeing you later, I think to myself as I smile, watching her walk away from me for the very last time.

  Three crazy and busy weeks have gone by. I’m in my room getting ready for my night out with Julia. This Saturday is a bye week in the schedule. We decided to take advantage of this downtime to have a night to ourselves. Rylee and Josilyn volunteered to babysit, so I have no worries and I know Skylar will have a blast with the girls.

  After much consideration, I decide on black dress shorts, a purple sequin sleeveless mesh shirt, purple bra, and purple high-heeled pumps with kickass spikes and rhinestones on the heels. My earrings are black, glittery, and long and I have a beautiful black-and-purple bracelet on. Yes, I love my purple. I finalize the ensemble with a black coach wristlet. My make-up is neutral and I put my long dark wavy hair in a low side ponytail, showing off my Aquarius tattoo on the back of my neck.

  “Momma, you look beautiful,” Skylar says. “I want to look just like you when I grow up.”

  “Oh, baby, thank you. You’re gonna be more beautiful than me when you grow older,” I say. “You and Rylee are gonna be strong, beautiful, and amazing women. You have your father in you as well as me. We created you and we did an amazin’ job.”

  As I’m having this conversation with my youngest, I hear a loud whistle at the door of my room. “Dang, Mrs. Faith, you look hot! Muy caliente,” Josilyn says and Rylee agrees.

  “Thank you, girls. Aunt Julia wants to go out and I hope this is what she has in mind. I’m too old to be wearin’ those short dresses that show my underwear, the ones girls wear nowadays, so I decided on shorts.”

  “You’re rockin’ those shorts, Momma,” Rylee says. “You and Aunt Julia are gonna have so much fun. Josilyn and I have the peanut and we’ll take care of everything. Just go have fun, dance, and maybe talk to a hot guy or two. And drink safely.”

  “Rylee!” I exclaim.

  “What?” She asks. “You’re still young and deserve to have fun.”

  Before I can say anything else, I hear the front door open.

  “Honey! I’m home!” I hear Julia yell.

  Julia’s a hoot. She’s been stuck with me from the day we met, and after everything we’ve been through, we’re still together. I love her, craziness and all. She tries her sexy walk as she walks into my room.

  “You ready, chica?”

  She looks me up and down. I figure I pass inspection when she doesn’t send me back into my closet for different clothes.

  “Let’s go have some fun. I’m ready to get my shake on. Woohoo!”

  She starts to dance, shaking what her mama gave her and grabbing my hand in the process.

  Skylar starts to laugh. “You’re funny, Aunt Julia. You and Momma look beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Peanut,” she replies as she kisses my girls on their cheeks.

  I gather all my belongings, give my hair one last pat-down, and turn to my girls.

  “Okay, girlies. Momma’s headin’ out with Aunt Julia now. Be careful and have fun. Skylar, don’t stay up too late and listen to your sister. Rylee, if you have any problems, call my cell phone or Aunt Julia’s, and here is the club’s number just in case.”

  I give my girls their goodbye kisses and walk out the door with Julia. We climb into the cab and head towards our night of fun, dancing, and drinking. Well, not too much drinking, I want to feel human in the morning.

  We arrive to the club about forty-five minutes later and I feel like a VIP as Julia drags me to the front of the line waiting to get past the bouncer. On the way, I hear some not-very-nice things leaving numerous mouths, and I seriously want to wash some mouths out with soap. I guess I’d be pissed as well, but it isn’t my fault that Julia and I know people and so don’t have to wait hours in line to get into the club of the year—TanZen.

  We get to the door and Josh, the bouncer, lets us into the club. “Have fun and save me a dance,” he says, more to Julia than me, since he’s looking straight at her. Hmmm, I wonder what that’s about.

  “Well, well, well,” I say to her. “Did you forget to mention something to me? Do share. You know the only action I get nowadays is livin’ vicariously through you.”

  “What? Josh? He’s nice a guy I went out with once. We decided to be friends after I told him there wasn’t going to be a second date; I didn’t have that spark with him. I can’t help that I’m irresistible and guys would rather be my friends than be without me,” she replies jokingly, but there’s truth in her statement. She has so many guy friends that would date her in a heartbeat but she’s so picky—no butterflies, no second dates. I think she’s still in love with him, the one who broke her heart and took a piece of her with him after destroying her. But we’re not going to think about him now.

  “One day, Julia … one day, you’re gonna find a man that’ll make you fall in love again, and he’ll cherish you beyond belief. You won’t be able to wrap him around your little finger so easily,” I say. “That day will come and I’m gonna enjoy watching it happen. Mark my words, babe, when that day happens I’ll have front row seats and I’ll even help him.”

  “Well, that might happen but it sure won’t be today,” she replies. “We’re here to have fun and not talk about my love life. You’re gonna have a good time even if I have to ply you with alcohol.”

  She takes my hand and leads me to the bar. We both order Tequila Sunrises, our poison of choice, and get to sippin’; they’re so yummy and there’s nothing better than Tequila, orange juice, and grenadine, in my opinion. Well, maybe a frozen margarita. Plus, if made correctly, they can be strong and you barely taste the alcohol. They’re my kind of drinks; I just have to be careful. And drink lots of water along the way.

  As we’re slowly sipping on our drinks and checking out the club, we hear “Timber” by Pitbull and Kesha come on. We quickly finish our drinks and head out to the dance floor to get our dance on. We dance and dance, doing every dance move imaginable. We’re probably getting weird looks from the other dancers, but we don’t care. I forgot how much fun it is to just come out and dance. I love dancing; Jake would get a babysitter at least once a month and take me dancing when we were in Germany. The music there wasn’t as modern—there was a lot of eighties music, but it was still fun nonetheless. Even now, I’ll put on music at home and start a dance jam with the girls.

  Julia and I are doing all those club moves you see in the YouTube videos. We’re laughing and I’m having the time of my life. “Danza Kuduro” comes on and I go wild. This is my jam—I love this song! I’m showing off all of my dance moves and as the Tequila takes effect, I even impress myself. Damn, I’m freaking awesome. Suddenly, I see Julia go completely still—her eyes go wide, mouth hanging open. She’s trying to tell me something, but nothing comes out.

  “What?” I shout to be heard over the music. I don’t know what her problem is; she probably saw a really hot guy, but I don’t care, I keep on dancing like there’s no tomorrow.

  She just points behind me and before I can turn around, I feel a set of arms circle my waist. What in the world! I’m about to let loose on someone and give him a piece of my mind. You just don’t go up to someone and put your hands on them. I don’t care that we’re at a club; you don’t do that crap to anyone, much less me. I turn.

  Oh my goodness!

  It�
�s Zane!

  No wonder Julia’s in shock. I told her about him, but it just can’t do the man justice until you see him in person.

  Realizing who it is and that I actually semi-know him, I calm down. I look at him and say, “You’re lucky I know you. I was about to let my deadly weapons loose on you for puttin’ your hands on me and I could’ve seriously hurt you, you know. Next time, let me know it’s you and that you’re gonna to touch me.”

  He softly laughs at me and then gives me his sexy grin. “Hello, beautiful. I told you I’d be seein’ you again. No more runnin’. I’ve got you now. Dance with me.”

  He doesn’t ask, he tells me, and keeps his hold on me. I decide not to fight it, at least for tonight, and he’s Jackie’s brother so I can tell on him if he gets out of hand. In his arms, I turn to Julia to let her know why this strange man’s hands are on me and I’m not kicking butt.

  “It’s Zane, Jackie’s brother,” I tell her and then lean in and whisper loudly, “Remember? Mr. Gorgeous Eyes.”

  Julia’s still in shock and wondering why I’m not freaking out that his hands are on me. To be honest, I have no idea why I’m not freaking out. I don’t know him that well aside from the first time I saw him and felt that strong pull to him. Then there are those times I made a fool of myself by running, and you can’t forget the game. Holy cow, when you start to thinking, he must think I’m the biggest dork.

  Nonetheless, I relax in his arms. It feels right. Yes, he makes me feel out of control, but at the same time being in his arms feels safe. I feel like I belong. It’s nice and terrifying at the same time, but tonight, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m here to have fun and if he wants to dance with me, I’ll dance with him. No biggie.

  Julia finally comes out of shock and smiles. Then, she starts to laugh. She’s laughing so hard, I think she might start rolling around on the floor or wet her pants.

  “Seriously, Faith! Seriously,” she says, wiping tears of laughter. “We come here to have a girls’ night and you manage to pick up a man without even tryin.’ I mean we’re here dancin’; you’re doing your ‘famous dance moves,’ which are freakin’ hilarious; and this hot, and I mean seriously HOT specimen of a guy just comes up to you and puts his arms around you. You’re one lucky biatch, babe.”