Eduardo brought her body in closer and glared down at her; Amber’s eyes were still shut. Her purple eye shadow glimmered in the twinkling chandeliers up above them. Her hair done up in a French twist, her lipstick matched her dress, that pink, subtle shade that enhanced her beauty. She was quite striking in iridescent lighting—and with the alcohol damning his reason, his resistance came undone and his prurient nature took control. “What’s it like to kiss you?” Eduardo whispered into her ear.
Amber immediately opened up her eyes, broke apart from him and pushed his body away. It was bizarre, an abnormal scene in the middle of leisurely dancing couples. She glared into his eyes; his look was pure but impassioned. She was at a loss for words. He just got married for crying out loud! What the hell was he doing flirting with me like that? He’s drunk Amber, probably doesn’t even know what the hell he just said. Good Lord, why doesn’t he just take that coat off already? His tie is practically falling off! Isn’t he sweaty in this hot crowded space? Good Lord, where’s Victor? Where the hell is Victor!
Amber searched around her, no husband in sight. She walked slowly backwards searching for her husband. Her constant fantasizing about Eduardo was doing her in, wishing that her life were different, had taken another path, another road. They had both chosen law to pursue: him, an attorney, her, a Legal Assistant. They both had a lot in common and they constantly talked about the law and the cases that they were involved in. Oh how did it get so fanatical?
Amber found her husband finally–Victor with his Tió Lamberto. The extreme one, who, at sixty-two still smoked weed.
“Can we go home now?”
Eleven
Awakening
Amber was preoccupied that Easter, absentminded and worried. Two things crammed her brain that holiday; the situation at work and her brother-in-law’s troubled question.
Should she sue?
What was it like to kiss her?
One of the attorney’s at her firm was upsetting her. The pressure so great, Amber was even contemplating on quitting. But she couldn’t, they needed two incomes in order to survive, pay the mortgage and the car payments, Adrian’s tuition, health insurance, utilities, the list went on forever and ever. Money was tight in the firm and since Amber was the last one hired, she was oftentimes unpaid for months at a time, only to receive a portion of what’s owed to her. She knew she had a potential lawsuit, but how could she afford an attorney when she hadn’t any capital? And then there’s the likelihood of getting fired. Oh, it was an endless mind battle within, if it weren’t for Victor and his unsteady position with the city utilities department (and government budget cuts), she would have no reservations about suing.
And then there’s that ridiculous seed her brother-in-law planted inside her head. What was it like to kiss her? Why on earth would he ask such a question? Boy, he must have been really drunk to be so bold. Or was he normally that forward? Of course he was, Amber realized, remembering that day when he leaned in towards that blonde and stole a kiss. She had to stop thinking about him so much, every time she was near him, she wished his lips were pressed against hers too.
Unenthusiastically, Amber walked around aimlessly watching the children search for Easter eggs. Adrian, who was five that year, was amongst the youngsters on the annual Family egg hunt. Amber was nearly five months pregnant, but barely showing. Her figure, still curvy, just her breasts enlarged. Just what she needed, to bring more attention to her already large breasts?
The children all carried their baskets and searched high and low for all the colored eggs. Victor and some of his cousins were in charge of hiding all the eggs and made sure they were hard to recover. How awful of them. How’s a two year-old supposed to find an Easter egg on top of the roof?
Feeling even more listless than before, Amber couldn’t help but look for her brother-in-law, he was somewhere in the backyard, but seemed to disappear. Leticia was laughing with Tiá Jemma in the corner, but she didn’t see Eduardo any-where. Then all of a sudden, Amber felt her heart begin to pound. She didn’t even have to turn around; she knew that he was in close proximity. Trying not to make it look so obvious, Amber languidly turned her head and was astonished to find her brother-in-law secretly showing her son locations of nearby buried Easter eggs.
“Eduardo!”
He stiffened up, he was caught. “What?”
“That’s cheating...what are you doing? He’s supposed to look for that himself.”
“Yah, but my brother’s skillful at hiding eggs, the poor kid only found one, thought I’d help him out.”
Amber tsked at him, “You are so bad.”
“I know,” Eduardo agreed, winking and bringing his finger up to his lips, shushing Amber to secrecy.
Amber’s heart began to flutter again; it was so hard to deny what she felt for him. She tried to disguise her enthrallment though and walked away from him, not even turning her head in the slightest and tried to calm herself down and gazed directly in front of her and headed towards the kitchen.
Amber found Rosalba and her sister-in-law, Tiá Sonya washing dishes in the kitchen.
“I can help,” Amber suddenly pronounced, hoping for the preoccupation.
Rosalba looked over at her daughter-in-law, such a sweetheart. Así que dulce una chica. “Si—yes, my sister wants to show me something in the bedroom, can you take over for a few minutes?”
Amber’s eyes grow wide, “Of course Mama, you don’t even have to ask.”
After the two sisters left, Amber grabbed the dish scrubber and began to rinse the food off the plates. She was left alone now and welcomed the solitude. Washing dishes wasn’t a chore at the moment, it was a blessing and she started thinking about the little girl she was about to give birth to. Last week she and Victor found out the baby’s sex through an ultra-sound. They were hoping for a girl, and their wishes came true. Needless to say, Victor was elated and drove the family to the paint store to buy pink paint and now bedroom number three looks like a Pepto-Bismol nightmare. Later that night, while skimming through a list of girl’s names, Amber felt Victor’s possessiveness for the very first time. Arguing about names for crying out loud! He wanted to take control over his daughter’s name? Amber liked “Valentine”, while Victor chose “Kristina.” After a long drawn out discussion and the possibility of Sanchez war, they came to an understanding; “Valentina Marie” would be their unborn daughter’s name.
Brush, brush, brush...rinse, rinse, rinse...oh no...He was in the space; Amber’s heart began to pound once again. She gazed up from her focusing and centered on him entering through the open doorway.
“Ah…they got you doing KP?”
Amber turned away as Eduardo conveniently passed behind her back and went to look at something in the refrigerator. She smiled, “No, I volunteered, I had to keep my mind busy.”
Eduardo glanced up from the freezer. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Amber’s heart sunk. Like she would confess everything to him! “Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Oh,” Eduardo voiced, pulling out an orange from the bottom of the frig. He threw the fruit up a few feet and then caught it with his other hand. “Oh well, see ya out there.”
“Yah, see ya.”
Amber continued washing the pots now. Big huge containers filled with what once looked like potato salad. A few more minutes pass and Amber began to wonder where her mother-in-law and her sister went. She grabbed a few glasses and dumped them into the soapy water. Just then Eduardo caught the corner of her eye again. What does he need now?
“Where’s my Mom?”
Amber stopped what she was doing. “She was just here, she said she was going to her bedroom, did you check there?”
Eduardo walked out of her view and Amber instantly went back to rinsing out the glasses. She nearly broke one on the center of the porcelain sink when her brother-in-law appeared around the corner again walking towards her.
“Need some help?”
Amber nodded her head no.
&
nbsp; Eduardo could tell there was something deeply bothering her, Amber’s usual rejoinders were not apparent. “Tell me what the problem is then.”
How could he tell? Amber blushed, swallowed, and then turned away. She tried to finish the dishes but her heart was beating so darn hard. But yet...the more she thought about it, there was one thing she could have him help her out with. “Eduardo...how do you treat the females in your office?”
What an unusual question, Eduardo thought. “All the same, why?”
“What does that mean, all the same?”
“I treat all women with respect,” he said matter-of-factly, “Co-workers, Assistants...family.”
Amber gazed down at the ground. Although he probably didn’t mean to do it, Eduardo’s last comment melted her knees, his look was sweltering and she couldn’t help but turn away from her own heat rising. “I wish all men thought the same as you do.”
Eduardo came in closer to her and grabbed the glass out of her hand to begin wiping it dry with a dishcloth. “Why? What happened?”
Amber watched in awe as Eduardo placed the dried goblet back up into the cupboard. “Will you help me out with something?”
“Sure, anything,” he relayed, wiping off another glass.
Amber sighed. Thank goodness. Having a high profile defense attorney on her side would help out tremendously. “There’s this attorney at my firm, he’s actually the head and he’s not paying me. I need you to represent me, I won’t be able to pay you right off, but as soon as I get my money, I can make payments—”
Eduardo hushed her mouth with the dishcloth. “There’s no need Amber, you’re my family, how much does he owe you?”
Amber batted the cloth away, “Two month’s salary.”
“What a bastard.”
“You can say that again.”
“No need to sue Amber. I just need to place the fear of God in him. I’ll send him correspondence on Aldridge & Watson letterhead and enforce compensation.”
“You think that will work?”
Eduardo guffawed at her comment, “Amber...we just won a celebrity malpractice suit, I was on the news last night, didn’t you see it?”
Amber grabbed the wet dish out of his hand and started to hoot. “Yah—right, I’m pregnant remember? This body falls asleep at nine o’clock!”
Eduardo yanked the dish back, smiled and then his grin weakened when Amber licked her lips. “Too bad, I looked pretty good.”
Amber rolled her eyes, then again, he always looked good, darn him. “Did you tape it?”
“Of course.”
“You are so bigheaded,” Amber snickered, locking eyes with his.
“For the office archives silly girl.”
Eduardo was enjoying himself too much all of a sudden. Helping Amber out with a simple household chore, he even forgot what he came into the kitchen for. Amber was standing too close for comfort—her hazel eyes looked deep into his.
Much too close, Amber realized, she simply must step away. The fragrance of him unnerved her, he smelled of soap, masculinity, cologne and vitality. She wanted to run her hands up his muscled chest now and feel the power he so easily generated through his sexy pores. Without warning, Amber was caught in his web. His eyes, so green and narcotic caused her lips to part, her mouth watered and her breasts ached to be touched...Good Lord, why did she think this way around him!
Eduardo’s will power deserted him. His brain was sending messages down to his feet, but his desire absorbed his port and he remained level. Good God, Amber was radiant. The pregnancy caused her cheeks to fill with a pink hue and her already full luscious lips appeared swollen and begging to be kissed. Her gaze glittered and cheerfulness bounced around the browns of her eyes. Good God, if only he could just freely wrap his arms around her? Offensive thoughts beat down his groin. He wanted to know what it felt like to have her plump breasts up against his upper body. She was staring at his chest again...he wished to God he knew what she kept staring at.
Eduardo sighed heavily and did a double take when he eyed his mother and Tiá Sonya watching his exposure. He folded the dishcloth, placed it down on the counter and headed out the area without a further word.
Rosalba and Sonya blasted looks at one another. Eduardo
never offered to do housework before that was women’s work to him. Both of them felt the level of Amber’s and Eduardo’s keen friendship. Was it familiarity? Or was it something else entirely?
Twelve
Desire & Contractions
Amber was so glad that Adrian’s birthday landed on a Saturday. Normally, her son’s birthday would land in the middle of the week and she would have to scramble around and figure out if she would have it on the weekend before or the weekend after. It was the little things that usually made her crazy—it was the big things she thought she could handle.
Eduardo asked her what it felt like to kiss her. Well, what did it feel like to kiss him? She began to wonder. Her constant daydreaming of him was even clouding her normal routine. She was nearly nine months pregnant now and oftentimes missed her appointments because she was spending too much time thinking about her brother-in-law. Her mind would wander off into a zone all its own, a private sector of her brain where she could envision her and him together.
Thank goodness for friends in high places! Eduardo’s simple letter enforced her boss to indemnify her and was even treated with elevated esteem when the law office realized that Amber was related to that Sanchez. Boy, Eduardo sure was making a name for himself within the legal community.
But today was her son’s day; Adrian’s 6th birthday. Boys and girls from his kindergarten class would be there along with some of the kids around the neighborhood and most especially, the Sanchez Family; about thirty of them this time, mostly the relatives with kids Adrian’s age or younger. No balloons for her son, no way, Adrian would have none of it. He wanted streamers only, ‘no baby stuff Mom’, he insisted, and if she bought theme paper plates and napkins, he said he would walk out of the party. Would she do that? Oh no, Adrian was just like his Tió Eduardo in a way, he knew what he wanted and wasn’t shy about being direct.
She would obey her son’s wishes and do the best she could decorating the backyard with streamers, tablecloths and colorful displays of The Power Rangers. No baby stuff, huh? Her son was head over heels in love with The White Ranger and watched them every Saturday morning, even had several figures of The White Ranger and the other Power Rangers as well: Red, Yellow, Pink, Blue, Green and Black. His favorite, The White Ranger was special, for he was the most powerful Ranger. “Tommy” was the individual the other Rangers looked up to and needed when the other Rangers were getting beaten up by the monsters of the moment. He was the hero and Adrian wanted to be him. Amber decided long ago that she was going to surprise Adrian with a White Ranger impersonator. Having the White Ranger come by the birthday party to surprise her son would be the highlight of the day.
The house was set. Victor was outside turning on the propane to the barbecue grill when the first of the guests arrived. It was several kids from Adrian’s class, a couple of boys and a few girls. They all ran outside towards the backyard and Adrian was so excited to see them at his house, he ran around from room to room showing all the kids the furniture, TV’s, his video games, where the bathrooms were and then finally the patio.
Sanchez relatives began to pour in. Aunts and Uncles with cousins and more cousins came shuffling through the door. Amber was beginning to get slightly overwhelmed.
Her huge belly felt heavy as she bounced around from family member to family member. Leticia and Eduardo arrived soon after. Leticia was just as bulky as Amber, and she was appreciative of the fact that she didn’t have to feel singled out and awkward in front of The Family. She had a partner, they were a pair of pregnant ladies and she was thankful for the non-comparatives. They were in the same boat; both pregnant within weeks of each other. It was odd in a way, if you really thought about it. How the hand of God stepped in. Making sure
Amber had an equal gift Leticia wouldn’t be envious of and vice versa and the attention would be split evenly between the two. Their kids would grow up with one another; have the same interests, even the same devotion.
Amber eyed Eduardo walking over to Victor first. They shook hands, patted each other on the back and greeted each other with love, admiration. Good Lord! Eduardo looked good. Light blue cotton shirt tucked in comfortable expensive white linen shorts. Amber turned the other way when she felt the first of two strong contractions. Oh my God, not now!
She rubbed her tummy and let go a couple of breaths and sat herself down. She didn’t mean to bring more attention to herself than she did, but somehow it didn’t matter. She felt a little light-headed when Eduardo ran to her side.
“You OK?”
“I think I had a contraction,” Amber let go, continuing to breathe through the second less intense muscle strain.
“Leticia’s been having them too,” Eduardo expressed, chuckling at the thought of the both of them feeling the same pain.
“Oh no, is she?” Amber asked, surveying his attire again.
Victor eyed his wife in apparent pain and hurriedly walked over to her side. “Eduardo? What’s wrong?” He asked with the barbecue prongs still in his hand.
Unsuitable Obsession - Part One Page 11
