NINE: Boyle Heights

by Elizabeth Reyes

  But it meant a long torturous wait for his response, which didn’t come until a little after eleven that morning when she’d finally become so engrossed in her work she’d forgotten about it. When her phone dinged, she’d hardly put any thought into clicking on the little envelope then surprised herself when her heart nearly swelled at his response.

  Hey! Didn’t think I’d hear back from you. =)

  This only brought on more obsessive over-thinking. Why did he think he wouldn’t hear back? Was he insinuating something? That he, more than anyone, knew this might not fly with Brad, yet she was being bad. Was he wondering if she thought this was inappropriate? Was he feeling her out maybe? Trying, possibly, to see how willing she’d be about staying in touch like this?

  This time, however, she kept the obsessing to a minimum, responding faster and keeping it simple. The whole time she was texting, her heart pounded like she was doing something sneaky. Phoenix was known to walk in and out of her office all the time, and even as she’d just begun to write out her text, she flinched when he stuck his head in the door to ask if she wanted coffee.

  “You startled me.” She pulled her hand away from her chest where she’d clutched it without thinking. “I’m good,” she added before he could answer, then brought the phone to her ear, praying it wouldn’t ring and he’d leave when she motioned she was on the phone.

  Phoenix looked at her a little weird but otherwise walked away without further inquiry. And that was how the harmless texting started up again. Her response was something simple and along the lines of she’d meant to respond the day before, forgot, so she’d done so now.

  To her surprise, he didn’t respond right away, but later that day as she sat there eating her salad at her desk, he sent a picture of what looked like a car’s dashboard. A very fancy looking dashboard with lots of shiny wood and intricate details, but it confused her. There was no text or caption, and she wondered if maybe he’d sent it to her by mistake. Then he followed up with a text.

  Just finished this baby. Beast is gonna eat his words.

  Drew smiled, remembering about his passion. She scrolled down to get a better look at what he’d done to the car. It truly was impressive: modern without looking too modern. She could see why he’d call this an art form. She was instantly hit with the desire to respond, as excited as this made her for some reason.

  Drew knew all too well what it felt like to pour your heart and soul into something then finally see the finished product and have it be beyond what you dreamed it might be. If that’s how he was feeling, the fact that he’d felt inclined to share with her only made her smile bigger.

  Since she’d been on her lunch, she eagerly began to put her long text together, gushing about what a great job he’d done and how certain she was Beast would be pleased. All the questions she’d since chastised herself about not asking him when she’d had the chance, came to her. Like what he meant about almost being homeless once upon a time? Was that when one of his moms stopped speaking to him? Did he have other siblings? The thought of there being other men out there that looked and smiled like Nine made her giddy as she happily tapped away at her screen.

  Then she was hit with a sudden jolt of clarity. What was she doing? There was nothing wrong with her congratulating a friend on a job well done. Clearly, he was excited, and if she had to guess, it was very likely that she was just one of the many he’d sent the photo out to. Still, Drew knew better. If this was totally innocent, her insides wouldn’t be doing what they were doing now and what they’d done the whole time she’d blissfully been typing away on her phone screen. It may very well be innocent on his part. She already knew what an animated and excitable guy he could be. She’d seen him speak of his passion firsthand. But there was no way she’d be admitting to anyone what his simple texts did to her.

  “Tread lightly, Drew,” she whispered under her breath before smiling and adding, “Dee.”

  Slapping a hand over her mouth before any silly giggling escaped her, she deleted her pathetically long text and started a shorter one.

  Looks real good. I’m sure Beast will be pleased. Congrats!

  This time she didn’t obsess about the exclamation point after the last word and just sent it. But that’s all it took. The texts were short, sporadic, and innocent enough. At least that’s what she kept telling herself each time she decided she’d respond with just a short polite response.

  That all started over a week ago now and ever since, they’d gone back and forth at least four or five times a day. Always generic, always perfectly appropriate, and always short and to the point.

  Until the afternoon of the rehearsal dinner.

  They’d just finished up the last of the shoots for a documentary she and Phoenix had been working on for weeks. She was sitting in the studio, trying to do some last-minute editing before she had to call it a day early so she could go home and get ready for the dinner when her phone pinged.

  After a week and a half of their innocent texting, Drew had begun checking her phone way too often. In fact, her insides did that funny thing they always did whenever she heard that familiar ping. She’d also started looking around now, especially when she was with Brad, but even around Phoenix to make sure she kept her reaction to anything silly he might send to a minimum.

  Fortunately, this time she was alone. Her heart did that ridiculous flutter when she saw his name on her screen.

  Will we be playing games again tonight?

  She knew what he meant, despite how it read, and even then, her heart thudded harder than usual. The simple text also had her smiling big. Too big and she knew it, but it just couldn’t be helped. She was just thinking of a witty response to put together when another text from him came through, and she tapped to open it anxiously. Only this time her smile waned as soon as she read it.

  Will Brad be there tonight?

  It was the first time, aside from congratulating her, since his intrusive questions about her man, that he’d brought Brad up. Even worse, Brad was still a maybe for the dinner, and before this text, Drew had already been a bundle of nerves, knowing she might get some alone time again with Nine. Brad would for sure make the wedding tomorrow, from the ceremony in the day to the reception in the evening. He’d taken the entire day off to be there. But he was meeting with a client for an early dinner tonight and said he’d do his best to get there at least for the cocktail hour after the dinner.

  Deciding to not make a thing of it, she responded, keeping it short and to the point. As curious as she was about why he’d be asking about Brad, she knew better. She wouldn’t be opening up that can of worms. So far, everything they’d texted had been as proper and vanilla as what you’d expect from two people who were barely friends. Reading her text one last time, she sent it without further thought.

  Don’t think so, about the games. And yes he will.

  Nine never bothered to respond, and her mind raced with theories of why he’d ask in the first place. Did it matter? This whole time she’d been trying to convince herself that her texting Nine was no big deal and, if Brad asked her about it, she’d be as honest as ever. She had nothing to hide and a perfectly clear conscience. Brad could even read all the messages between them if he so well pleased.

  Except this one.

  Technically, there was still nothing wrong with it, but she knew Brad would raise a brow, asking the very things going through her own head now. Why would this guy be asking? Why does it matter to him? Why hadn’t he bothered to respond to her response?

  “What do you expect him to respond?” she hissed at herself under her breath as she gathered her things.

  Glancing down quickly at the mail Phoenix had plopped on her desk earlier and she’d barely bothered to scan, she noticed something she hadn’t before: a letter from Ali. Ever since the mailboxes at her townhome complex had been broken into, she had all her mail delivered to her office.

  Drew picked up what looked like some kind of a formal card and smiled when she saw the
sender’s address.

  Mr. & Mrs. Leonardo Ledesma.

  She opened it quickly, excited about seeing it. A handwritten note fell out as she opened the envelope, and she read it.

  Everyone will get one of these fliers at the wedding, but I was so excited when I saw them I wanted to send you one early! I know, technically, we won’t be Mr. and Mrs. until Saturday, but I couldn’t help myself! =) We’ll talk at the rehearsal dinner about the new formalities the wedding planner decided would be best for the big entrance!

  Smiling even bigger, Drew opened the wedding itinerary, inhaling deeply at the photo of Ali and Beast gazing into each other’s eyes on the front side. The man looked enormous standing so dominantly next to his delicate little bride-to-be. Yet, that vulnerable gaze was so telling. That big lug would fall on his knees in a heartbeat if Ali asked him to.

  Feeling her heart swell a little, Drew turned it around, getting right to the list of bridesmaids and groomsmen. Ali had already explained, since this was such a small ceremony, they wouldn’t be having a big typical entrance with coupled-off groomsmen and bridesmaids. Everyone else would already be in their seats, and Ali was the only one making an entrance. So, of course, Drew’s jaw dropped when she saw the lineup.

  The three groomsmen and bridesmaids were, in fact, coupled off, at least in this itinerary. Drew read them out loud as her heartbeat quickened with each name.

  “Matron of honor, Lila Sabian and best man Byron Ledesma. Bridesmaid Drew Morris and groomsman Rudolfo Kealani . . .”

  Drew’s eyes went on to Orlando and Ali’s friend Jennifer as the last of the three in the wedding party but were quickly back to Nine’s full name. “Kealani? What the hell?”

  A quick search on Google confirmed his last name was not Hispanic at all. It was . . . “Hawaiian?” Drew whispered, shaking her head. “Mr. Proud Hispanic is Hawaiian?”

  Drew stifled a giggle until she remembered the new info about the wedding. They were being coupled off. Obviously, she’d been coupled with Nine, but what did that mean exactly? Glancing at the time, Drew remembered Ali’s note said she’d explain more of the formalities at the rehearsal dinner, so she shoved the itinerary into her purse with a huff. This was all she needed. First, Nine’s cryptic text, now this.

  Saying a quick good-bye to everyone, Drew rushed out to her car. She hit the command to call Charlee on her steering wheel’s buttons, and it brought up her friend’s name on her dash. But just like the several times she’d felt inclined to call her bestie this past week to discuss her contradicting feelings about Nine, she changed her mind last minute and hung up. Discussing this with anyone would make it an actual issue.

  And it wasn’t.

  She hesitated before hitting the next command. Would Ali be too busy to talk at the moment if she called her? Remembering how Ali said Beast didn’t let her do any heavy lifting or much of anything for that matter, not since she’d felt dizzy one time during her pregnancy, Drew hit the call button.

  “Hey, Drew,” Ali answered cheerfully.

  Drew smiled, trying to sound just as cheerful. “Hey, I just got the itinerary.”

  “Aren’t they cute? I just fell in love with that photo of us.”

  “Yes, it’s very nice,” Drew agreed, not sure how to bring up what she really wanted to know without being too obvious. “Your note said something about new formalities?”

  “Oh yeah,” Ali replied without hesitation. “So you know how I originally had planned just to have you guys all waiting for me to walk in? My wedding planner convinced me that it makes for a grander entrance if I have the wedding party walk in first and sort of hype up my big entrance. Since we had an even number of guys and girls, I figured it’d be easy enough. I had to pair you with one of the groomsmen, and since you and Nine hit it off at the shower, I thought that would work. It does, right?”

  “Uh . . . yeah.”

  Drew wasn’t sure how else to respond. Ali hadn’t been at the barbeque, and Drew was fairly certain Beast hadn’t mentioned how much time she and Nine had spent together again. He’d been pretty busy watching the game then later with the poker game. But she was certain Ali would’ve mentioned it if he had.

  Already, she was having visuals of walking down the aisle with Nine—starting tonight at the rehearsal. Ali explained how Orlando and Jen would walk in first then Drew and Nine followed by Lila and Byron.

  Drew listened intently as Ali went on sounding even more excited about how short the ceremony would be but saying the wedding itself would be fun. She mentioned something about a few formalities at the reception but then said she had to go because she’d been in the middle of getting her hair blown out when Drew called. “He needs to finish, but I won’t be able to hear you. So I’ll see you in a few!”

  Drew hung up, feeling even more unnerved. When she got home, she did her best to busy herself getting ready. But as much as she tried to argue with herself that her taking so damn long to pick out an outfit for tonight had nothing to do with knowing she’d be seeing Nine in a few, her pounding heart knew better.

  She finally picked out a snug-fitting little dark chocolate-colored cocktail dress that wasn’t too revealing but just sexy enough. After video-chatting with Chelsea on the phone while she put on her makeup, she was ready to go. The whole way to the rehearsal, her insides were all knotted up. After chatting with her daughter and being reminded of the importance of not getting caught up with guys like Nine anymore, a part of her regretted having gone along with the texts this past week and a half, while another part struggled with keeping the butterflies in check. This was insane. She’d hung out with the guy three times and exchanged a few texts.

  Drew had tried in vain all this time since the shower to not put too much thought into how quickly his strong arms had swept around her that day. So he’d pulled her against his hard body in the wine cellar, making her nearly choke with anticipation of what might follow, and a single kiss to the cheek later had nearly turned her into a puddle. Big deal. Both had taken her by surprise, and again, she was big enough to admit, as annoyingly smug as he could be, he was damn good-looking. Of course she’d get a little tingly. Charlee had admitted it also. She was a married woman, but even she could see herself crushing on Nine.

  Drew also pushed aside what a natural he’d been with Chelsea. Smiling, she shook her head. Of course he’d be a natural. In many ways, Nine was a big kid himself. She remembered back to the shower how his hand had flown up when they asked who’d be participating in the treasure hunt. Only her heart thudded because she knew he was a full-blooded grown-ass man in every sense of the word.

  When Drew arrived at the steakhouse where the rehearsal was taking place, she was greeted by a valet attendant as she drove up to the entrance. He took her car, and a few minutes later, she walked into the restaurant’s lobby, taking a deep breath before heading toward the private banquet room where their dinner would take place. She wasn’t too late but had arrived a few fashionably late minutes after the formal start time.

  She walked in, glancing around casually and smiling nervously. To her relief, Ali’s bright smiling eyes met hers soon enough, and she started toward her.

  The place was a smaller banquet room since the rehearsal dinner was only for the wedding party and their dates. She wouldn’t even have Charlee here to help keep her preoccupied if need be.

  Thankfully, Ali walked over to her with a woman Drew didn’t recognize. The woman held a clipboard and seemed to be pointing things out to Ali. “Hey, girl.” Ali smiled big as they reached Drew. “Where’s Brad?”

  “He had to meet with a client,” Drew explained about how he might make the cocktail hour after the dinner.

  Ali nodded, touching the woman on the shoulder. “This is Celeste. She’s my wedding planner.” Ali turned to Celeste. “Celeste, this is Drew, the other bridesmaid.”

  “Very nice to meet you.” Celeste held out her hand and Drew shook it, returning the greeting.

  Celeste went right into explain
ing what she’d already explained to the others, since Drew was the last to arrive, that the ceremony itself would be just as Ali and Beast had requested it: short and simple. She went over the basics of how everyone would walk in and in what order, etc.

  “I understand you’ll have someone filming the wedding?”

  “Yes,” Drew said, nodding. “My friend Phoenix will be filming.”

  “I wish I’d known this sooner,” Celeste said, turning to Allison. “I would’ve asked you to invite him tonight. Would’ve been nice to meet him and get a few things straight before the big day.” Celeste settled on getting his number from Drew so she could at least chat with him beforehand, then moved on.

  When she was done, she smiled big, excusing herself to check on some last-minute things before starting the rehearsal. Before Ali walked away, Drew touched her arm because the reminder had her beyond curious now. “Kealani?” Ali turned to her, brows pinching tightly at first. “Nine’s last name. Is that Hawaiian?”

  As the understanding seemed to dawn on Allison, she smiled, shaking her head. “No, he’s Pacific Islander. Like one eighth or something silly like that. Both his moms are Hispanic, but one of them is like part Samoan? It’s not Hawaiian, but I can’t remember which other island it was exactly. It’s been a while since I asked Leonardo about it. But Pacific Islander for sure.”

  Drew nodded, pondering that as Ali excused herself when Celeste flagged her over. Glad to see Ali’s best friend Jen sitting alone at the mock wedding-party table, Drew hurried over to her. She did a double take when, from the corner of her eye, she spied Nine standing by the bar, with a girl. Had he brought a date?

  Strangely, Drew’s insides tightened as she watched him smile and say something to the brunette. But she kept walking, glancing away before he caught her watching him. Despite the strange tightness in her belly, she was actually relieved. One of the things she’d worried about was the awkwardness of possibly spending another night hanging out with him and then Brad showing up. His bringing a date obviously meant he’d be spending more time with her than with Drew. That would certainly be the case for Drew if Brad were here.