“You lucky son of a bitch,” he says in awe. Not really the response I was expecting.
“Seriously? You’re not going to lecture me about what a dick move this is and how it’s all going to backfire on me later?”
“Well, hell yeah, all that’s true, but it might be worth it. I mean, shit, she thinks she’s got competition, so she’s going all out. I’ll bet you can get a hell of a lot better things out of this than some free meals. I mean, whatever kinky fantasies you’ve got, I’m saying now’s the time to see how they pan out in reality.”
“You’re a twisted individual. You know that, right?”
“Just calling ‘em like I see ‘em.” he grins.
“But seriously, man. I want to tell her the truth, but she keeps stopping me, and I guess in a way I do like that she’s having to work a little at it. I mean, I’m not completely there yet, even though I want to be. It’s tough. She messed with my head pretty bad this last time. I know when everything’s smooth sailing she’s all in, but what if her parents put pressure on her again? What if one of her brothers doesn’t like me or she decides she wants to go to Africa to do aid work and I’m not able to come along? I don’t know if we have what it takes to survive the hard stuff.”
Mike belches and tosses the rest of his sandwich in the trash as he stands. “You’re giving me a headache.”
“Yeah, it gives me one too.” I take the last bite of my lunch. “That’s why I keep letting her cook for me and just enjoy it.”
“Amen, brotha’.”
I’m working late again, and Alexis has stopped by with a plate of barbecue ribs. The woman is outdoing herself with this shit and I’m starting to feel a little guilty. But I am a guy, and a beautiful woman is bringing me food so, well…
I remind her that she promised to stay and eat with me this time, and judging by her smile, she’s happy to do that.
“So,” I say as I try to keep from getting barbecue sauce all over my uniform shirt. “Has your sister talked to you about this guy at the halfway house?”
Alexis’s head snaps up. “How do you know about that?”
I swallow a mouthful before it’s chewed enough and almost choke on it. Reaching for my soda, I take a swig before I answer her. “I guess Beth never told you we keep in touch?”
She collapses against the back of her chair. “That would be a ‘no.’” Her face is a mixture of astonishment and irritation. I’m really hoping she’s irritated with Beth and not me.
“Well, it’s not a big deal. We just, I don’t know, touch base sometimes.” Shit. I charged into this without a master plan. Never a good idea with women. They’ll trip you up every time. “She sort of felt sorry for me after your mom’s heart attack and so we talk every few weeks, you know?”
Alexis just shakes her head. “You two sit around and talk about me?”
“No! Well, I mean, yeah, but not bad stuff. Just, you know, how you’re doing, how your classes are going, stuff like that.” I fade out, waiting for the explosion.
She sighs deeply then looks down at her plate, “So, you’d ask Beth how I was doing?”
My heart commences beating again. Thank God, I think I’m out of the woods on this one, although I don’t know if Beth will have the same good fortune. “Yeah. No matter how pissed I might get at you, I always want to know you’re okay,” I say truthfully.
She looks up at me, her cheeks pink, and her eyes soft. “Thank you. That’s probably more than I deserve.”
“Oh, babe,” I sigh.
“No, enough about that. What has Beth told you about Juan?”
“Is this the same guy you told me about in Afghanistan? The one you had the mad crush on in high school?”
“Yeah, the one who joined Latin King Nation and ended up in the State Pen.”
“Man, that’s what I was afraid of. What do you think of it?”
“I don’t know. It scares me, but I’ve also learned it’s wrong to get between people who love each other.” She gives me a significant look.
“So you think she’s in love with him? I mean, I couldn’t even tell if they were dating or if she’s just trying to be a friend to him.”
“I think she’s got some strong feelings for him, and I’m afraid she might have finally fallen in love.”
I digest that for a minute. “Wow. That could be really complicated.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I already told her this, but you need to make it happen. I want to meet him.”
“What? Why?” She looks at me suspiciously.
“Because I want this motherfucker to know there are guys nearby who are watching out for your sister. He knows your brothers, but neither of them is here in town, and I don’t want him to think Beth is alone in Austin. I don’t give a shit how much of a vato badass he is. I’ve been in a war – I’m not afraid of him or his gangbanging buddies. He needs to know I’m watching and so help me, if he makes one mistake with your sister, I’m coming after his ass.”
Alexis gapes at me for a minute, her eyes wide. Finally, she tells me, “You can be kind of scary sometimes. You know that, right?”
I lean forward and place my hand over hers. “And you know I’d never hurt someone unless I had to, right? And I’d never hurt a woman, Alexis. Ever.”
She nods her head solemnly. “I know that. I’ve never been afraid of you. And what you’re saying about looking out for Beth is…wow…really sweet. Which I know sounds weird, considering you just threatened to physically harm another person on her behalf, but still.” She laughs lightly.
“Will you get her to set it up? Take me over there with her next time she volunteers? I told her I wanted to meet him, but she blew it off. I think she suspected I was trying to check the guy out and didn’t want to let me get involved.”
“Yeah, totally. It’d make me feel better too. I’ll come along so it won’t seem like it’s you trying to handle things for her.”
“Huh uh,” I shake my head hard. “No way. I don’t want you anywhere near this guy.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”
“Hell no I’m not kidding. I don’t want him to see you or know anything about you. In fact, I’ve been wanting to tell Beth that she should keep the mentions about you to a minimum.”
“Gabe. Seriously? You can’t tell her that. You also can’t expect she’ll be involved with this guy and I’ll never meet him or talk to him. Besides, he already knows me. He’s known me since I was about four.”
“He doesn’t know where you live, and he doesn’t know what you look like at twenty-one. I want to keep it that way. He’s going to be free to walk around town pretty soon, and I don’t want to worry that he’ll show up at your door or see you out somewhere and approach you.”
Alexis looks at me in a way that can only be described as indulgent. “Gabe. If this guy is my sister’s boyfriend, you can’t keep him from seeing me or hearing about me or knowing me. It’s just a matter of time until I run into him at Beth’s or she asks me to go to dinner with them or they stop by my apartment for something. Beth’s my best friend and my sister, when she dates someone I’m going to know them and be around them.”
I sigh, because she’s right. It bothers me more than I want to admit. This guy sounds fucking scary and I don’t want him anywhere near Alexis…or her sister.
“Okay, I know you’re right, and it just reinforces the fact that I’ve got to meet him. I need to get a sense of the guy and make sure he and I have an understanding about how things will go if he keeps spending time with Beth.”
Alexis is smiling now, one hand over her mouth. Some people might say she’s actually laughing at me. I won’t confirm that.
“What?” I ask petulantly.
She stops laughing. “Nothing. I just love you. That’s all.”
I look at her, and the room warms up about ten degrees. She leans over and kisses me on the cheek.
“Remember, tell me when the doubts are gone.”
I nod then look
down at my plate again, unsure what to do, because I can’t say it yet. I wish like hell I could, but it sticks in my throat every time. The doubts are weaker, but they aren’t gone.
She squares her shoulders like she’s going into battle. “Okay, you need to get back to work and I need to go hassle Beth so she’ll take us to meet Juan.”
“Babe?” I stop her as she stands and looks down at me. “I’m trying. I really am.”
“I know. It’s okay.” She gives me a brilliant, gorgeous smile. “And I know I’m up against a lot. I brought it on myself. I can serve the time. Just remember, nothing and no one can get in the way of my love for you. Not ever again.”
Alexis
Perdonado y olvidado.
Forgive and forget.
EVEN though I know Beth’s going to be difficult about it, I also think Gabe’s right. Juan may really be rehabilitated and a great guy, but I want him to know Beth’s got family behind her. And having a six foot one muscle-bound soldier as part of that package won’t hurt.
I stop by her house the next day on my way home from class. She’s out in the yard digging up plants.
“What the heck are you doing?” I ask, since I’ve never seen her touch a plant before.
“Juan wants flowers for the halfway house garden so I’m going to give him some of these to transplant.”
“And your landlord’s okay with you stealing his plants?” I’m skeptical.
“Like he’ll ever notice,” she scoffs. “He hasn’t even been over here in six months.”
“So when are you going over there again? To see Juan, I mean.”
“Well, this afternoon now that I’ve dug all these up. They won’t live long if we don’t get them back in the ground.”
I take the opportunity the fates have thrown in my path. “Can I come along?” I’m as casual as possible.
She stops digging and sets her spade down as she stands and wipes her hands off on her jeans. “Really? You want to see Juan?”
I lean down and pick up a flower that’s fallen off of one plant. “Yeah, I’d like to see him again, and Gabe wants to come along too.”
She scowls. “Oh, I get it. You two want to second-guess me and see if you think he’s all right. Since he’s been in prison and everything, you can’t believe he’s not out to what? Con me? Abuse me? God, you two are such hypocrites.”
“Beth. Stop it. We both care about you, and we want to meet the guy you’re spending all your time with. Is that so wrong? Didn’t you want to meet Gabe when he first came to town? Don’t you want to make sure the people I spend time with are good to me?”
She sighs as she kneels back down and starts digging again. “Fine. But you promise not to go in there with guns blazing? He doesn’t need all that negativity right now. He needs people who’ll believe in him and help him out.”
“Of course,” I kneel next to her and hold the top of the plant while she digs around the base and lifts it out. “Beth. We aren’t trying to sabotage you or him. We only want to make sure you’re okay. It’s out of love.”
She looks at me for a minute. “I know. Everyone will always expect the worst of him though, and it makes me so sad, because he’s wonderful, Lex. Really wonderful.”
I put my arm around her shoulders and give a squeeze. “Well, look at it this way. You’re giving me and Gabe a common goal. That’s got to be a good thing. Which reminds me – you’ve been in touch with him this whole time and never told me?”
Beth is suddenly fascinated with a plant a few feet away and she shimmies over to start messing with it, her back to me now.
“Beth…” I say in a warning tone.
“La la la la…” she chants like a two-year-old trying to ignore her mother.
I roll my eyes. “We will talk about this, you know. Sooner or later. You can’t ignore me forever.”
I hear her mutter, “You want to make a bet?”
“So when should we come pick you up to go to the halfway house?”
“Well, I guess we have to wait for Gabe to get off work, so five thirty?”
“See you then.”
Gabe meets me at Beth’s after he gets off of work and we all head over to the halfway house in the truck. I’m sandwiched between him and Beth, and the energy coming off of both of them is intense. I keep my head down, trying to ignore the sparks that are flying from Beth and the testosterone rolling around Gabe like he’s getting ready to go shoot insurgents outside of our cave.
We pull up to a big ranch house on a quiet street. It’s obviously institutional but not in bad shape. This area was once an upper income residential neighborhood, but it’s now full of big houses that have been split into multi-units, or are being used for other things like this halfway house. We park on the street and Beth sends a text before she gets out of the truck and leads us around the back of the house to a small patio.
There’re a couple of beat-up metal picnic tables on the patio. They’re both chained to the concrete and have old tin cans full of cigarette butts and ashes on them. Just as we round the corner, a guy in a white t-shirt and jeans comes out the back door. He’s a touch shorter than Gabe, and lean but really muscular. His dark hair is cut short, and I see a small gold chain around his neck with a medallion on it. My sister walks to him quickly and hugs him. He says something to her quietly and she answers. I see his eyes dart over her shoulder to look at us. I can tell he recognizes me and he pales a little before his gaze moves to Gabe and hardens.
Beth takes his hand and leads him over to us. She’s glowing, but he looks very unsure.
“Juan, you remember my sister, Alexis, don’t you?”
“Yeah, of course. It’s nice to see you.” He holds out his hand very formally and shakes, his eyes not really meeting mine.
“And this is Lex’s boyfriend, Gabe.”
Gabe looks at her curiously, and I say, “Ex, Beth. Ex-boyfriend.”
“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, and Gabe clears his throat as he shoots me a dirty look and holds out his hand to Juan.
“Good to meet you, man.” Juan grasps his hand, and there’s this incredibly awkward pause. I see both of them sizing each other up, and my guess is the grip happening is much firmer than technically necessary. Finally, a look flashes between them and they release each other’s hands, seemingly satisfied for the moment. Some sort of guy thing has passed between them and Gabe visibly relaxes.
“So you want to have a seat?” Juan gestures to the picnic tables.
I smile, “Sure,” as we move to sit down, Juan and Beth on one side, Gabe and me on the other.
Juan immediately picks up the coffee can ashtray and puts it on the other table. “Sorry about this. It’s, uh, not the nicest place to entertain.” He huffs out a bitter laugh.
“It’s fine. Really, the weather’s great. It’s nice to be outside after spending all day in a classroom.”
Juan leans forward with his elbows on the table. He’s quiet, and I see Beth shoot me a look that indicates she and I are going to have to carry this little meet and greet. I look over at Gabe. He’s studying Juan, and I can see him looking at Juan’s tats.
“That’s some nice ink,” Gabe points to Juan’s left arm, where there’s an intricate picture of a young girl’s face on it. It looks like a black and white photo, and it’s so realistic. I hear Beth give a little gasp after Gabe’s remark, and Juan glances over at her.
“It’s okay, linda. People are going to ask,” Juan tells my sister very softly. “You told me I have to get used to giving answers. May as well start now.”
Gabe has held his ground, looking at Juan politely but obviously expecting an answer to the question.
“I got it done by a guy down in Mexico. It’s the little girl who was killed in the drive-by I went to Huntsville for.”
He looks at Gabe with a challenge in his eyes. Daring Gabe to say something insulting, I guess. But, as usual, Gabe rises to the occasion and somehow takes a really awkward situation and turns it around.
“Shit, like five or six. It went on for days, and I was staying at my Tia Lana’s shack on the damn floor, so every night I’d go home with my arm hurting like crazy and then have to sleep on packed dirt wrapped up in one of those stupid Mexican tourist blankets. I’m surprised I didn’t get some sort of damn infection and die from it.”
Juan smiles and Gabe laughs. “Yeah, man, I was so paranoid with my first. I was only seventeen, and I was convinced I was going to do something wrong with it and get sick and die. My mother was really fucking helpful because, of course, I did it without her permission, so when I started panicking about it getting infected, she refused to help me out. Just said, ‘You’re old enough to get one, so you’re old enough to figure out the consequences.’”
“You never told me that story.” I turn to look at Gabe.
“Yeah, babe. There’s all sorts of things I’ve never told you,” he answers as he winks at Juan.
Juan chuckles then mumbles, “I hear that.”
Beth slugs him in the arm and squawks, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“C’mon, Bethy. Leave the poor guy some secrets. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming to unload them too fast. You’ve got to parcel them out over time, like bad medicine.”
Beth sticks her tongue out at Gabe, and he laughs at her.
Suddenly I’m reminded of a question I’ve had for weeks. “Hey. Tell me about my tattoo. The one you got for me,” I demand, turning to Gabe.
Juan raises an eyebrow and watches Gabe, who actually looks moderately embarrassed.
He shifts in his seat so his left arm is toward Juan before lifting his shirtsleeve to show him the ‘Alexis Forever’ tattoo.
“That’s a helluva scar, ese,” Juan comments quietly.
“Afghanistan,” Gabe answers concisely. “Alexis was with me when I got shot.”
Juan’s head whips over to me. “You were in the military?” His voice is heavy with shock.
Concealed - A Hiding From Love Novel #2 Page 19
