Block Party

by Stylo Fantome

  I really like his family.

  When she was done eating, Ayumi forced her way into doing dishes. She felt bad if she wasn't able to help and besides, watching Liam flirt with the other girl was making her want to stab things. Ayumi wasn't a stabby kind of chick, she didn't like the feeling. So she worked out her annoyance on the dirty pots and pans.

  “Since we're an item now, mind if I join you?” Frank asked, stepping up next to her and rolling up his sleeves.

  “I have to warn you, I'm pretty high maintenance,” she said. He groaned and dunked his hands into the soapy water before bumping his hip into her, taking her spot at the sink. She picked up a dish towel and began drying.

  “I guess it's over. At least we'll always have tamales,” he told her.

  “Now I know where Liam gets it,” she laughed.

  “Gets what?”

  “His ... interesting sense of humor,” she tried to explain.

  “You mean his almost overwhelming wit and charm? Why yes, that comes from me,” Frank replied with a big grin.

  “Overwhelming is the perfect word,” she agreed, and he chuckled.

  “That kid. I swear. Don't get me wrong, I love both my children equally, but Liam ... I think the funnest times I've ever had in my life have been with that boy,” he sighed.

  Ayumi didn't like getting involved in other peoples' business. She had her rules and she stuck to them – the few boyfriends she'd had, she'd never met their families. Never introduced them to her mother. She had no real connection to Liam, just one night of meaningless sex. He didn't mean anything to her. Nothing at all.

  And yet she couldn't stop herself when she opened her mouth.

  “Have you ever said that to Liam?” she asked, glancing up at Mr. Edenhoff. He looked surprised.

  “Oh, I don't know, probably not. It's not really the kind of thing you just randomly say. Besides, he was there, he knows,” he laughed. Ayumi shrugged.

  “True. But you know, sometimes it's nice to hear it out loud. I wish my mother said things like that about me,” she said in a wistful voice. Frank smiled down at her for a second, then he took his hands out of the water and wiped them off on a towel.

  “I'm sure she thinks them, dear. Now quit flirting with me – my ex has you pegged as a match for Liam, so you'd better go steal him back from that teeny bopper out there,” he told her.

  “Liam and I aren't -”

  Ayumi stumbled as she was good naturedly shoved back towards the dining room.

  It was pretty late by then, almost ten o'clock at night. Everyone had moved out onto the back deck, only the tias were inside cleaning up the table. She smiled at everyone before making her way outside.

  Finding Liam was easy – with his dad inside, he was the tallest person in the group. He was surrounded by a gaggle of girls, all of them laughing. He looked completely in his element, his smile big and bright, his skin glowing in the light from tiki torches that had been set up. It was almost like he was the light, and they were all moths being drawn to him.

  And I'm not any different.

  Before she could analyze that thought, he lifted his head and looked straight at her. Almost as if he'd known she was watching him. His grin dimmed and fell away, fading into a smile. It was smaller and it didn't shine so bright, but it was better. It was a real smile, and he was giving it to her. So she couldn't help but give one of her own back.

  She watched as he made excuses and extricated himself from the women. Then he made his way towards her. It was slow going, someone had put on music and people had started dancing. He did a sort of salsa with an aunt for a moment, then dipped a cousin in another instant. Got caught up in a conga line of sorts. Finally he ducked his head and made a beeline for her.

  “You're very popular, Mr. Edenhoff,” she said when he finally reached her side.

  “You're the only lady who refuses to fall for my charm,” he replied, toasting her with his beer. “I think it's what I like best about you. Or hate most. I can't ever decide.”

  “I also think you might be a little drunk,” she laughed. He grimaced.

  “Yeah. I might be. Wanna dance?”

  “Oh, no, I don't dance.”

  “Of course you don't, Ice Queen. But tonight, you will,” he informed her, then he sat his beer on the deck railing and he grabbed her hand, dragging her into the crowd of people.

  She didn't know the steps. Ayumi had some rhythm, she could get down in a club if she had to, but she'd never salsa danced before. She stood still while everyone moved around her, trying to see how she should move her feet.

  “Liam, I can't do this,” she hissed while he danced around in front of her. He laughed and stepped up close, wrapping his arm around her waist.

  “You're the girl who can do anything, remember?” he said, yanking her close. She squealed as she was completely pressed against him. Then he took her right hand in his, lifting it up next to them. “Just let go and for god's sake, let the man lead.”

  She couldn't help but laugh at his tease, then returned one of her own, “introduce me to one and I'll be sure to let him.”

  “Brat.”

  His whole body moved forward, forcing her backward. She stumbled over her own feet and his, feeling awkward. But everyone around them laughed and encouraged her to keep trying. She could feel Liam's laughter through his chest, reverberating through her body, and it relaxed her. She loosened up and leaned into him, giving into his movements, letting his body tell her where to go.

  “See? I knew you could do it,” he whispered.

  “I never would've figured you for a dancer,” she said, looking up at him.

  “Really? I thought my hip movements the other night were pretty impressive,” he replied, cocking up an eyebrow at her.

  “I always figured you for a good lay.”

  He burst out laughing so loudly, everyone around them turned to stare.

  “You have a sexy way with words, Ice Queen,” he said when he finally got control of himself. “Dancing isn't like my thing, but we've always done it. Every birthday, first communion, wedding, quinceanera, birth, wake, you name it, there was dancing. I think some of my earliest memories are of my mom holding me while she danced.”

  “I don't think my mother ever danced with me,” Ayumi replied.

  “Pity, she missed out. You're a great partner.”

  He was staring straight down at her, his real smile back in place. She hadn't realized it, but the music had ended. They were just standing there, still holding their dance pose. Still pressed together. Still staring.

  “Beso!” one of his cousin's suddenly shouted. Everyone laughed and clapped, then it turned into a chant. “Beso! Beso! Beso!”

  “What are they saying? What does that mean?” Ayumi asked, glancing around. He chuckled, then the arm around her waist got even tighter.

  “Oh, Ice Queen, you are not gonna like this.”

  “Like what?”

  He dipped her so low, so fast, she let out a startled scream. It was quickly swallowed by his mouth as he planted a showy kiss on her lips. Everyone started cheering and when it started to die down, he finally let her up.

  “What was that all about?” she hissed, clinging to his shirt.

  “It means kiss,” he laughed. “Beso – they wanted us to kiss.”

  She frowned and glanced around. Mostly everyone had gone back to dancing and drinking, but she caught a couple people eyeballing them. His dad standing over by the barbecue. His mother and one of her sisters, smiling while they watched them.

  Not good. This is not good.

  “You know what? I'm kinda tired. I got up early to get some work done before we hit the road, I'm beat,” she mumbled, pulling away from him. She expected him to say goodnight, then to go back to his gaggle of groupies. Instead, though, he kept his hand on her back and he walked back into the house with her.

  “Yeah, it's been kind of a day. You've been a trooper, really,” he told her.

  “Your family is a
mazing, Liam.”

  “Thanks.”

  His smile was gone when he said it, though.

  They got her suitcase out of the car and he carried it upstairs for her. She was in a guest room across the hall from his room. A sofa bed had been pulled out for her, with a soft afghan stretched across it. A bottle of water had also thoughtfully been left on the end table, along with two fluffy towels.

  “There's a bathroom right next door, it has an amazing shower,” he explained as he folded his arms across his broad chest. “Or if you want more privacy, my room has an en suite. Or if you want mind-blowing orgasms, my room has me in it.”

  Ayumi glanced over at him, but he was staring at her ass.

  “No more deal, remember?” she said. “We're just two buddies, taking a road trip together.”

  “Sometimes buddies fuck each other,” he pointed out.

  “Not us buddies,” she laughed. “Good night, Liam.”

  “G'night, Ice Queen.”

  He shut the door behind him when he left and she listened to his footsteps. He didn't go back downstairs, like she'd expected, but instead he went into his room across the hall. His door slowly creaked shut.

  While she got ready for bed, Ayumi thought about everything that had happened. She had assumed meeting his family would be annoying. A little awkward, a little forced. She'd sit down to a lame dinner and then escape to her room as fast as possible – that's how the night should've gone.

  But she'd instantly clicked with his family, and Ayumi never clicked with anybody. She'd felt at ease with them and she was surprised to find that she was almost bummed that they wouldn't be staying longer than two nights.

  She also felt kind of bad. How had Liam gotten the impression his family didn't like him as much as his brother? When had he developed such a low opinion of himself? She wished he could see himself the way everyone else saw him.

  Because Ayumi knew what it really felt like to not be wanted. To be a burden. An annoyance. To literally be told “you're not good enough”, over and over again. To be pushed to the edge, and ever over it a couple times, by someone that was supposed to love her.

  I'm sorry I can't be your daughter-in-law, Flor, but can I please be your adopted daughter?

  9

  Ayumi woke up to something wet sucking on the back of her calf. She let out a shout and kicked her leg out, scrambling to get away.

  “Wakey wakey!” Liam yelled, grabbing her ankle and pulling her across the mattress.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to shove her thick hair out of her face.

  “I've been saying your name for the last two minutes,” he laughed. “You sleep like the dead. So I gave you a hickey on your leg.”

  “You did not!”

  She twisted around, trying to see her calf. He didn't give her a chance to find it, though. He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her out of bed.

  “C'mon, we're going to the beach, sweetheart. Get ready,” he instructed, patting her on the butt before shoving her towards her luggage.

  “The beach?” she asked, frowning at she stared down at her clothes.

  “Yeah. I'm a beach bum, I was born on a surfboard,” he told her. “We're heading out in half an hour.”

  “Maybe I'll just stay home, I'm not really a beach person,” she said. He made a choking sound.

  “If you don't like the beach, then we can't be friends.”

  “We're not technically friends right now.”

  “Shut up and put on a bathing suit. I'll be back in thirty minutes to drag you to the car, regardless of your state of dress,” he threatened, then he hustled out of the room.

  Ayumi chewed on her bottom lip and dug her bathing suit out of her suitcase. She put the blush colored two piece on and looked in a mirror. She knew her body looked good and could tell she filled out the bikini in the exact way god had intended, but she still felt self-conscious. The only person who'd ever seen her in a bathing suit was Wulf, and he was basically like her brother. No reason to feel self-conscious in front of him. Liam was a whole different story.

  No one said you had to go in the water ...

  She remembered she'd packed a cover! A gauzy black bathing suit cover that was slightly sheer. It covered everything from her collar bone to her knees. She put it on and checked herself out in the mirror. Feeling comfortable again, she grabbed her makeup bag and headed to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

  Even thought it was eight in the morning, the whole house was buzzing. Flor and her sisters were in the kitchen, drinking coffee and gossiping while they started making breakfast. Liam was stealing pieces of cantaloupe as fast as his mother could cut it up, earning him a smack on the hand with a wooden spoon.

  Everyone said hello to her and there was more hugging and double-cheek kisses. Then Liam said goodbye through a mouthful of fruit before dragging her outside.”

  “Sometimes if you don't cut and run, they'll keep you all day,” he warned her.

  “How come you don't speak Spanish with them?” she asked. She noticed that he never did. He would say a couple words here and there, and she'd seen lots of his family speaking to him in Spanish, but he only ever responded in English.

  “Because I don't know how,” he replied.

  “What? I thought you did.”

  “I can understand it,” he said. “For the most part. And I can kind of pidgin-speak it back, but I never learned. Landon picked it up real easy, he and my mom used to talk for hours in Spanish.”

  “Does your dad speak it?”

  “Nope. That's probably why I don't – I was always talking to him,” he chuckled.

  She wanted to keep on the topic, maybe somehow figure out a way to convince that his family adored him, but she was distracted by what she saw on their garbage pile of a car.

  “I don't think I've ever seen one in real life,” she commented as she leaned into the backseat. A surfboard was wedged behind the driver's seat and tilted to the side as far as it could go.

  “Blasphemy,” he chuckled, running his hand over the smooth board. “This here is my first love. I saved up my allowances and my paper route money for months to afford her.”

  “That is a beautiful love story, Edenhoff.”

  “Isn't it, though? And it's your lucky day – I'm offering free surf lessons all morning!” he told her as he opened her door for her. She threw her beach bag into the back before sitting down.

  “Too bad I don't want to learn how to surf.”

  It was December and cold out and early, which Liam said was the perfect recipe for an empty beach. As they walked down to the wooden steps and across the sand, Ayumi saw that he was right. There were a couple people off in the distances, and two or three surfers lingering about in the break, but other than that they pretty much had the beach to themselves.

  “It won't stay like this,” he warned her as they parked their stuff down close to the water. “It'll start getting busier as the day goes on.”

  “That's okay, I'm just gonna read.”

  “Weird, I didn't know 'read' was synonymous with 'surf',” he said, then he yanked his t-shirt off over his head. He was wearing a wet suit under his pants with the arms tied around his waist, which he quickly pulled apart.

  Ayumi stared at his chest for a moment, remembering what it felt like under her fingertips. It was a pity that they'd only gotten to have sex once. The longer she watched him, the more found herself wanting to run her tongue over every inch of his skin.

  “Stop objectifying me,” he said, and when she jerked her gaze up to his, he winked at her. Then he worked his arms into the suit and pulled up the zipper. “Save it for when I'm on the water.”

  Of course she'd seen people surfing in movies and on television, and probably even at a distance when she'd been visiting other beaches. But she'd never actually taken the time to watch anyone surf, had never seen it up close. She'd never had any sort of interest in it, found it kind of boring.

  Watching Liam, though, h
e made it seem exciting. He was clearly in his element, doing something he absolutely loved. Even when he was knocked off the board, he came up smiling and laughing.

  She forgot all about her book for most of the morning, instead standing with her feet in the water and moving up and down the beach so she could watch him. He went down hard one time and didn't come up for so long, she almost had a panic attack. She yelled at him for that one, earning herself another wink.

  Another time his board actually went air borne. She was sure there was some sort of cool term for it, but she didn't know – she just knew that for a second, he was flying. She was positive that he was going to bite it, but he stuck the landing and stayed upright, riding the board all the way into the shallows.

  “Friend of yours?”

  Ayumi turned, a little startled at hearing a voice so close to her. Some guy in a wet suit was standing behind her and he was watching as Liam zig zagged around on a small wave.

  “Yeah, sort of,” she replied. He chuckled.

  “Sort of? What's that mean?”

  “It means I'm his accountant.”

  “Wow, I didn't know surfing involved math,” the guy laughed. “Your friend is pretty good. You surf?”

  “No, not at all,” she said, turning back to watch the ocean. Liam was off the board, clinging to the side of it and wiping water off his face.

  “I could teach you. I give lessons on the weekends,” surf dude offered. Just then, Liam turned to look at her.

  “No thanks, I won't be here on the weekend,” she said, glancing over her shoulder.

  “That's fine, I'll teach you now. Consider it a freebie,” he said.

  “Thanks but no thanks.”

  “C'mon, it's fun. I promise. No better rush than riding a wave.”

  “I'll have to take your word for it,” she sighed. Why wouldn't this guy leave her alone? “But really, I'm not interested.”

  “Aw, c'mon, why don't we just -”

  “Hey, Ice Queen,” Liam's voice was loud as he jogged out of the water and up to her side. “Give up on the book?”

  She smiled as she turned back to him.

  “I never picked it up. You're really good on that thingy,” she told him, gesturing to his board.