by Ginger Sharp
She laughs. “You amaze me, Pedro. Not all men are like you.”
I look away from her. “Men should not be treating women like cheap whores. Plus, he doesn’t even know you and that you are a virgin.”
“Yes, he did. Noelia told him, then he got more excited with me.”
I glare at her. “Katie, remember what you promised me? That you and Noelia will stay away from my family?”
She nods. “You need to watch Lasaro more closely then.”
I am confused. “Why would I have to do that?”
“I guess he pays for sex when he goes to Limon. He offered Noelia and me money to be with him.”
I turn to her in shock. “Are you saying that my brother is a cheater?”
“I would think so, Pedro.”
I grab my keys and pull at her arm to follow me. “Let’s go now.”
I drive fast up the hillside. Katie looks over at me. “Pedro, I thought you were taking me home.” “No, not yet. I am going to confront Lasaro and
warn him to stay away from you and Noelia. You are not a whore.”
I can feel her eyes on me as I drive faster.
I pull up to the barn where both Lasaro and Paolo are standing. I get out of the truck and Katie follows behind me. I feel the anger rise in my chest as I walk towards him. I stop in front of him and wind up punching him in the face. Paolo jumps in, stopping me from hitting him again. Lasaro rubs his jaw as he glares at me.
“You pay whores for sex and cheat on Galiana.”
Paolo pushes me back some more. “He has been doing that for years, Pedro.”
I glare at Paolo. “You know? How could you let him do that to her?”
Lasaro is still rubbing his chin. “She knows too, Pedro. She has always known. I love her and she loves me. I would never leave her. I just need some loving on the side when she is pregnant all the time.”
I shake my head in disgust. “You are a horrible man. Dad would be disgusted with you.”
Lasaro laughs. “You and Paolo are such honorable men just like Dad. Me not so much.” He moves his eyes to look at Katie.
I yell at him, “Do not look at her Lasaro. She is not some cheap whore.”
He laughs. “I know, she turned me down. Her and her little naughty friend were exciting to watch though with their mouths all over each other.”
I turn to look at Katie whose jaw falls open and she turns red. She takes a few steps closer. “You are a pig, Lasaro. You watched us how?”
He laughs. “When you and the girl were sunbathing nude on your mother’s deck. I never saw anything like that in my life, so amazingly hot.”
I shake my head in disgust at her,. “Katie, how could you? I thought you were into me.”
She glares at me. “You knew what she and I were into. Plus, that was the other day when I almost ran you over and you led me back to the house.”
Lasaro speaks out, “Damn, Pedro. You should have stuck around. You could have had both naughty girls. The other one has a pierced tongue too. So hot, man.”
I turn my head to look back at him. “No, never. I do not like naughty girls.”
Paolo grips my shoulder again as he turns looking at me.
Paolo nods at me. “Katie, please go back into the truck and wait for Pedro. I need to cool my brothers down.”
I nod at Katie. “Yes, Katie, go.” I watch her as she walks off.
Paolo releases his grip on my shoulder. “Yes, Lasaro is a screwed up man but do not let that girl mess with your head. She is different and you do not need to fall in love with her. She is poison. You got me, Pedro. I was hoping that she would be more like Olivia.”
I shake my head. “Olivia is not innocent either. She condones Katie’s immoral sexuality.”
Paolo laughs. “Pedro, it is not immoral. Women are like that, you know. Little devilish creatures. All nice on the outside but very tenacious in the bedroom. I am sorry that you did not get much time with Cyntia. You were still learning when she died. She never had time to show you her fierce side.”
I shake my head. “Cyntia was so sweet.”
Lasaro shakes his head. “No, Pedro, she was not sweet. You were blinded by her. She used to let all the boys touch her if you remember correctly. None of the other boys in town wanted her since they all touched her. You were the only one who pursued her. Her parents were embarrassed by her.”
I hold my breath and shook my head, fully knowing that he is right. I look up at the truck. “Let me take that one back to her mother.”
Paolo rubs my shoulder as I walk by. “It will get easier, Pedro. Trust me.”
I climb in to my truck and glance over at Katie who is on her phone. I start the truck and she grips my arm, signaling me not to drive yet. I stare over at her as I listen to her speak in to the phone.
She nods her head. “Great. I can’t wait. I will see you next week before I go back to school. We will have some great fun, you know. Bye, babe.” She ends her call.
I feel my face get red as I shake my head at her. “You are relentless.”
She laughs. “It was weird when I heard my phone ringing.”
I start to drive, wanting to get away from her. She makes me so angry. I stop short in the middle of the gravel road.
I turn to her. “Why did you come on to me, Katie? Why did you screw with my head? You make me so angry. You used me like I was nothing and now you are making plans with another guy.”
Her eyes open really wide. “Pedro, are you jealous?” She breathes in, watching me. “I did not use you. I like you very much, Pedro. You are right that this must end. I was kidding myself that we could be something more. You want a wife to take care of you and your son down here at your farm. I am not wife material. I do not want children. I want to become partner one day along with my father at the law firm. My life is back home. I wish I could have you, but I know I can’t. Oh, and that guy on the phone was my cousin, Nick. I was making plans with him. Gosh, Pedro, please give me the benefit of a doubt. I am not that heartless.”
I turn away from her to stare out the windshield of my truck. I put the truck in gear to continue driving her home.
We arrive at Olivia’s house. I turn off the truck, keeping my eyes forward. I do not want to look at her. She takes off her seatbelt and slides over next to me.
She gently rubs my knee as she softly speaks, “So I guess this is goodbye then.”
I nod, staring straight ahead at the house. She turns and reaches out to touch my face. She moves my head to look at her. She leans into to kiss me gently and I let her. I pull at the nape of her neck to deepen the kiss. I feel pain within my heart knowing this will be the last time I will ever kiss her.
She pulls away from me gazing into my eyes. “You make me feel so vivacious when you kiss me. I never felt this way before. You are so intoxicating. I will greatly miss you, Pedro. For what it is worth, I loved you while we were together. I respect you completely with your wisdom of cherishing my heart and I will keep that promise to you, Pedro. I swear.”
She leans in to kiss me again. As I kiss her back, I feel my emotions soaring. I just want to cry. I push her back from me before I do start crying.
I reach around her opening the door. “Goodbye, Katie.”
I turn my head so I do not look at her. She climbs out of the truck and closes the door. I watch her as she walks to the front door of the house. I feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes. I start the truck and drive away as fast as I can. I see her look back at me as I drive away. The tears are streaming down my face. I feel so heartbroken yet again.
CHAPTER 7
It was very hard for me not to go running back to Katie. Paolo saw how badly I was hurting and he stayed close to me over those last few days when I knew Katie was still here at her mother’s house. He kept telling me that the pain would lessen, but I am still waiting for it to diminish. I knew it wouldn’t.
I went with him to pick the kids up from school. I decided to stay in the truck as he ran up th
e stairs. I still have not seen Olivia since that one morning at my house. I knew I could not face her because she was right that Katie would only hurt me. Paolo walks out of the school walking beside Olivia. He is smiling down at her as he talks. His eyes go serious as he stops looking towards the Cantina. Olivia spots me in the truck and our eyes meet. She walks away from Paolo, leaving him. She comes down to the truck and looks at me. She places her hand on my shoulder. I glance at her and I can feel myself starting to tear up.
She speaks so softly, “I am so sorry, Pedro. She is young and I knew this would happen to you. I wanted more for you seeing how sensitive that you are.”
I feel my tears roll down my face as her hand touches me. She slowly caresses my cheek. I have a hard time looking at her without seeing Katie’s face.
I shrug my shoulders. “I wish it could have been different. You know, Olivia.”
“I know. You are a very sweet man. Katie is not right for you. Trust me. You will meet the right woman someday. This too shall pass.”
She rubs away my tears and looks at me with those soft crystal blue eyes just like Katie’s eyes. She then quickly jerks her hand away from me as she looks towards the Cantina. She sees her dogs running towards her. She backs away from the truck, leaving me to go back up the stairs into the school. Paolo passes her without looking at her as he makes his way back in to the truck. I dry my face with the back of my hand as the kids are jumping into the bed of the truck.
We start driving back up to the farm.
He looks over at me. “It was hard for you to see
Olivia, I take it. Katie has really done a number on you.” I nod my head in agreement. “Katie looks so much
like Olivia. I want to be mad at Olivia, but she did warn
me. She is so warm and caring. At least I will not have to
see her too over the next two weeks since we are
planting.”
Paolo looks over at me. “Olivia is off limits, Pedro.
Do you understand me?”
I glare over at him. “What type of man do you take
me for, Paolo? I would never go from the daughter to the
mother. Plus, I know you like to flirt with her.”
He laughs. “Not anymore. Her husband is here.” I grimace at him. “How do you know that he is
here?”
“She just told me while I was walking with her to get
the kids.”
I raise my eyebrows. “We have to protect Olivia
from him. He is abusive.”
“I know, but the next two weeks, Parker will look
after her. I saw him in the school and we talked about it.
He thinks she is crazy to stay with him. He said that he
has a real temper and Rosalie has to yell at him to cool
off. Also, Katie’s grandpa is here too. He is protecting
Olivia as well. She will be fine.”
“Katie’s grandpa is here too. Hum, Olivia’s husband
in a big man from what I saw in the photos. He looks
about our size. I hope Olivia’s father can control him. Paolo pulls up to the barn. “Parker will control him.” I chuckle. “Parker is scrawny compared to us Araya
men.”
“Do not make fun of your best friend. If Olivia
leaves to go back to her husband, you will both be licking
your wounds over those women. Misery loves company.
You and Parker will be prowling in Limon looking for
women again.”
I laugh knowing that he is right. I need to get over
this girl. I have to focus on the farm and my son. Seeing
Olivia crushed me today. The emotion in her eyes and her
gentle small hands on my face reminded me of the last
time Katie touched me. I keep thinking back to those few
days and how she made me feel. I wish I could have made
love to her, but then I would be hurting even more. All I
do when I sleep is dream about her. When I am alone, I
constantly think about her. Those words she said about
loving me, I just clung to them. I keep replaying those
moments over and over again in my head.
A week passes and we are halfway through planting the fields. I hear Parker’s motor bike approaching us, as we put away the seeds for the night. Parker pulls up to us and nods. Paolo throws the last of the bags into the fire.
I point to the cooler. “Parker, you want a beer? We are just going to relax for a while.”
He nods opening the cooler. “I miss you guys. You know that?”
Lasaro sits down. “You could be up here helping us out instead of chasing that woman around.”
Paolo sits up. “How is she doing anyways with her husband and father being here?”
Parker sits down. “Good, I guess. She is the crazy one. Ryan, her husband is pretty cool. Her father went back home after he banged Rosalie a few times.”
I sit up in astonishment, “Rosalie did what?”
Parker laughs. “You are missing all the drama back in town. Rosalie fell for Olivia’s father, Henry.”
Paolo nods. “That is good. That means she is getting over Dad.”
I snap my head towards him. “What?”
Lasaro laughs. “Rosalie and Dad were an item. You did not know that, Pedro?”
I shake my head.
Parker leans forward. “So, I had some special moments with Olivia. I still really like her even though she is crazy. Her husband is going back home in a few days.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Special moments. You just said the guy is cool.”
He laughs. “I kissed her a few times. She is so hot and wild. You should have seen what she did to Ryan.”
Paolo gets up and stalks over to the cooler. “Parker, you really kissed her? Was she kissing you back because you do not seem her type? Plus, you were supposed to be protecting her.” Paolo finishes with a growl.
Parker stares up at him confused.
I put my hand up. “Paolo has a little crush on Olivia. Don’t mind him.”
Parker laughs. “Don’t we all. Yes, she was kissing me back and she can take care of herself against that husband of hers.” He pauses for a few seconds. “She beats him, Katie had it wrong. Olivia has aggression issues, not Ryan. She ties him up and gets all wicked with him. Ryan even told me that Olivia put him in the hospital once during an aggressive sex session.”
Lasaro leans forward. “Hot damn. I was going after the wrong woman.”
I put up my hand to silence him. “I knew it. I told Katie that she had it all wrong.”
Parker glances over at me. “Yeah, Katie. I think you should stay up here on the hillside for a while and hide out just until Ryan goes back home.”
I shrug. “Is he taking Olivia back home with him?”
Parker looks into the fire. “No, he said her life is here now. I think he is going to go back and forth. Pedro, you need to steer clear of him. He will tear you apart if he finds out. He is very strong, athletic type and fights a lot. He is very smart, he will figure it out. When I spoke with Katie…”
I lean forward. “You spoke with Katie?”
“Yes, a few times. She would FaceTime her grandpa twice a day. He would talk to her on his iPad while sitting at the bar. She told Henry all about you. She is sad, very sad, Pedro. I think she misses you and is upset. Olivia yelled at her for screwing with you and she told her to leave you alone.”
I am confused. “FaceTime?”
Parker laughs. “It is like looking at someone through a computer screen. You are talking to them live and you can see them. Ryan setup the Internet in the Cantina. Oh, so Henry bought Rosalie a tablet computer. All she does is sit at the bar all day talking to Henry. She talks to Katie too. Ryan has been doing most of the cooking. It will be interesting to see what happens when he goes back home. Olivia has some really strange friends too. They came on a mega yacht
and they are mooring off the beach.”
I look at him. “I want to talk to Katie. I have to apologize for the way I treated her.”
Parker shakes his head. “I do not think that is a good idea, Pedro. Her father is not a man you want to mess with. I know you both love each other. I think you will be seeing her soon if her grandpa keeps coming down to see Rosalie. Ryan and Olivia are going to be on the boat tomorrow afternoon. You should go see Rosalie and see what she thinks.”
I nod my head. “Yes, I will go down and talk to her tomorrow. I want to see Katie.”
Paolo shakes his head. “I do not think that is a good idea, Pedro. I told you she was poison. Sounds like her mother is too.”
Parker laughs at Paolo. “You won’t be saying she is poison if it is you Olivia is tying down in her bed.” Paolo smiles at him. “I see your point. Hum, an aggressive lover, huh?”
I shake my head. “You guys worry me. So Olivia is happy then. I could tell she was not over her husband.” Parker laughs. “I am not sure. She gets upset when he becomes overprotective. He was sure nasty with Marcus and me in the beginning. Then she beat him that night of my birthday outing. I felt pretty bad for him. She punched him and his lip was swollen. He had rope burns on his ankles and wrists. He was in pretty rough shape, emotionally too. He threatened me to stay away from Olivia. He knew what we had done together, she told him. I was shocked that he did not go after me. I think he was more afraid of one of her beatings again.”
Lasaro shakes his head. “I do not know if I would like a woman hitting me. I guess he is a man for just taking it and not hurting her back.”
I nod. “I agree. Katie gets nasty too. Her mouth is horrible. I was glad Ramón was not home to hear the things that she said to me. You can just imagine my shock.”
Lasaro smiles. “Yes, I do not have to imagine. Remember I was there watching Katie and her friend. I heard her loud and clear with that dirty mouth of hers. She is a screamer too.”
Parker looks at him confused.
I smile. “He was watching the girls make out on the deck of Olivia’s house. He claims it was hot watching two girls.”
Parker smiles back. “Oh, it is, Pedro. Every man’s dream to watch, but it would be even better to have the two in your bed with you.”
We all laugh as I listen to the guys trading sex stories. This is the first time I ever heard my brothers talk this way with Parker and me. Maybe I am naïve with my expectations of women.