Translation of Love

by Alice Montalvo-Tribue

  “I see.” He turns back to me. “I called you last night.” His statement holds a hint of accusation in it. He’s wondering if I spent the night with Victor.

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry, I was gonna call you back this morning. Is everything alright?”

  “Gavin and Gemma are coming for dinner tonight. I was calling to extend an invitation to you.”

  I want to have dinner with my family but Victor went through all this trouble to spend the weekend with me. I wouldn’t feel right about leaving him now. “Dad, Victor and I have plans tonight.”

  Victor chimes in. “It’s okay. You should go have dinner with your family, we can do something after.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” We both look at Dad. “You should come meet the rest of the family. Elle hasn’t bought someone home in a long time. I’m sure her brother will want to meet you too.”

  Victor grabs my hand. “In that case, I’d love to go. Thank you.”

  Dad’s gaze drops to our linked hands. “Right. Dinner’s at six,” he says, turning on his heel and walking out the door.

  This just keeps getting better. I don’t know if I can go through with introducing Victor to my family. That would make it into something that I know I’m not ready for. I agreed to get to know him better. I didn’t agree to kissing, touching, meeting friends and family, and I most certainly did not agree to be his girlfriend. It’s just all happening too fast, but every time I want to pump the brakes, he does something that makes me forget. He brings out sides of me that I thought were gone. I didn’t think I wanted them back but it feels good to let loose a little.

  “Are you freaking out?” Victor’s voice brings me out of my mental rant.

  “Umm. Yeah, just a bit.”

  “Babe. It’ll be fine.”

  “Did you see him? If looks could kill, you’d be dead.”

  He lets out a chuckle. “You’re his only daughter. He’ll come around.” I just look at him, shaking my head in disbelief. He pulls my hand. “Come on, let’s get our coffee and get you home.”

  As promised, Victor takes me home after our coffee run and unexpected meeting of the father. I was quiet the whole drive over. I tried my best to relax but I was still on edge. The thought of introducing a man who I barely know to my family is sending me into full panic mode. I know that if they give him a chance, my family will eventually like Victor, but meeting them is a big step and I’m just now starting to come to terms with the fact that this might go somewhere beyond a few dates. That’s if I can get out of my head long enough to allow it. I begin sorting through the stack of mail that’s been sitting on my dining room table for days. Victor picks up on my mood and calls me out on it.

  “You’re panicking, aren’t you?” he asks, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

  “What? No!” I lie. I don’t want to alarm him. I am panicking but I’m not ready to throw in the towel and revert to my normal behavior. I promised myself I would try and come hell or high water that’s what I’m going to do.

  “Having a relationship doesn’t come easy to everyone. I get that. You can be honest with me, Ellie. I’m not gonna think any less of you.”

  I can’t be honest with myself half of the time, how can I be honest with him? I know that I’m not ready to bare my soul to him. Definitely not today, maybe never, but I have to give him something. I don’t want to chase him away, not after what we shared this morning. I take a seat at the table next to him. “Okay, I’m kind of panicking, but it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. You know that I haven’t dated in a long time, and for a while, I didn’t think I’d ever be ready to date again.” I take a breath and continue. “I didn’t have the best experiences in the past and…”

  “It put you off to dating,” he says, finishing my thought.

  “Yes. Then I met you and you have been nothing short of amazing, and I want to try. I do. But sometimes I panic a little.”

  “So why didn’t you say something to me sooner?”

  “Well, at first, I just didn’t think this would go any further than a date or two, but I ended up liking you and I guess I just didn’t wanna scare you off.” I can’t believe I’m opening up like this. He’s like a truth serum to me.

  “You’re not gonna scare me off.” He turns his head, briefly looking out the window. When he turns back to me, I can see the uncertainty in his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

  My heart rate increases. I always dread situations like these. Heart to hearts are not my thing. “Yes.”

  “This morning, when I…I went to far, didn’t I?”

  I suck in my breath. This is exactly what I didn’t want. I don’t want my fears and insecurities to fall onto him. I need to reassure him, to show him that it’s okay, that I really do like him. He’s the reason I’ve come this far and if he pulls back, there’s no telling what might happen. I just know that at this moment, I don’t wanna go backwards. I get up, move to him, lowering myself onto his lap, circling my arms around his neck. He reciprocates by sliding his arms around my waist. I put my forehead against his and decide that if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna go all in. “Baby,” I whisper. “This morning, was…” I smile, and bring my lips down to his, placing a gentle kiss there. “It was amazing. You didn’t go too far. It was perfect.”

  Victor smiles against my lips. “It was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.” He kisses me, sending electric currents pulsing through every surface of my body. He’s pulling me further in, making himself my center of gravity. No one has ever been able to calm my nerves like this. He pulls away, resting his forehead in the crook of my neck. “If you don’t want me to go tonight, I understand. I can go back to the hotel and you can come by after.”

  He’s such a good guy, I’m truly starting to believe it. “No. I want you to come. Hopefully, my family will be on their best behavior but I can’t make any promises.”

  He lifts his head and tilts it up to look at me. “They don’t have to be on their best behavior. One day you’ll meet my family and God only knows how they’ll act.”

  I smile down at him. “One family at a time. Deal?”

  “Deal, should we shake on it?” I shake my head. “No? What then.”

  I run my tongue against his bottom lip. “Kiss me,” I say, He gives me his mouth and takes mine in return. I don’t recognize myself anymore. This is more like the girl I was pre-Brian, before all of the lies, and hurt. I thought that she was gone, lost to me forever. Perhaps I was wrong.

  My pulse is racing, my palms are sweaty, and my breathing is erratic as I open the door to Dad’s house. After the day I’ve spent with Victor, I really don’t want my family to do anything to scare him away. To be fair, I’m not exactly sure how they’ll react. I’ve never brought anyone home before. I never really even introduced them to Brian. I just kind of disappeared off the face of the earth for the length of our relationship. They met him a few times but, for the most part, I was living a different life back then. I guess in hindsight, the fact that I kept him away from my family speaks volumes. I was going through a hard time when I met Brian. I’d just lost my mom and I guess I thought he could fill the void that losing her had left behind. I was wrong. Nothing could ever fill that void.

  “Auntie Elle!” I hear Gemma before I see her bounding into the foyer. She stops dead in her tracks, looks at Victor, then back to me with a huge grin on her face. “Nice!”

  I’m pretty sure I’m turning a bright shade of red. “Gemma!”

  “What?” she asks still grinning. “Dad, Grandpa, Auntie Elle and her friend are here!” she yells loud enough for the neighbors to hear. I look at Victor who is holding back laughter, then back to Gemma. “What are you…five?”

  Gavin enters the room, striding with purpose to me and Victor. His eyes are kind. I know he’s not aiming to give Victor a hard time. He pulls me into a hug. “Hey, Sis.”

  I hug him back. “Hey, Gav.” I pull back. “Victor, this is my brother, Gavin. Gavin, this is Vi
ctor.”

  Gavin holds out his hand. Victor takes it and they shake. “Nice to meet you, Victor.” He lets go of Victor’s hand and throws his arm around Gemma’s shoulder. “Have you met my loudmouth daughter, Gemma?”

  Victor chuckles. “Not quite. Hi, Gemma.”

  “Hi,” she replies.

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “He’s in the kitchen, come on.” Gemma goes into the living room while Gavin, Victor and I make our way to the kitchen. Dad’s at the island in the middle of the kitchen, prepping a salad. I’m saying a mental prayer that he doesn’t give Victor a hard time.

  “Hey, Dad,” I say, placing a kiss on his cheek.

  “Hey, Kiddo, glad you could make it.” He smiles at me and gives me a quick nod. I know he’s giving me a nonverbal cue that everything is gonna be okay. “Hi, Victor, glad you could make it too.”

  They shake hands. “Thank you, Mr. Brooks.”

  “Call me Joe. Mr. Brooks was my father.”

  “Okay, Joe,” Victor says, taking me by the hand.

  “Alright, well dinner’s ready. Why don’t you all go take a seat in the dining room?”

  “Do you need any help, Dad?”

  “No, Kiddo, table’s already set.”

  Dinner is fun for the most part. Everyone gangs up on me to tell Victor the most embarrassing stories they can think of about me. He smiles and laughs along with the rest of them. He seems to really be enjoying himself. Dad has just served an apple pie from his favorite bakery when the evening takes a turn for the worse.

  “So, Victor, what do you do for a living?”

  “Um…I’m a singer,” he says with just a hint of hesitation. Gemma smiles big. She thinks Victor’s cool. Gavin puts his head down and chuckles, and Dad…well Dad looks like he’s about ready to have a stroke.

  “A singer? What kind of career is that? No one makes a living doing that,” he growls.

  “Dad! Victor makes a great living. Don’t assume the worst.”

  “Elle, seriously?” I can’t believe how furious he looks, it’s not like I’m dating a drug dealer for God’s sake.

  “No, Joe, Ellie’s right. I make a great living. I’m a Latin singer. I’m actually pretty popular in some parts of the world.”

  “What do you mean by popular?”

  “Oh my God!!!” everyone turns and looks at Gemma who is staring at her phone. “You’re a superstar!” she says to Victor. “Is this really you in concert? There’re like thousands of people here,” she asks, flipping her phone so that he can see.

  Victor smiles at her. “Yup, that’s me. This is the tour I just finished up.”

  The phone gets passed around the table. Gemma managed to find a video of him performing live in concert. When the phone makes its way to Dad, he stares for a minute. I can’t read what he’s thinking, his face gives nothing away.

  “Just how successful are you, Victor?” he asks. I’m pretty sure he’s asking how financially secure he is. Victor looks slightly uncomfortable but he takes it in stride and answers the intrusive question.

  “I’m a multimillionaire, sir.” I hear a collective intake of breath.

  “Wow. This video is very impressive.” Dad looks between me and Victor and he says. “Look, I don’t wanna be a downer cause I can tell that you two like each other but how can you take care of my daughter if you’re constantly on the road?”

  I’m mortified and angry. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from, and Ellie and I have talked about this. I am at a point in my career where I’m looking to slow things down. I have one more album to record, a smaller tour planned and then I’m taking some time off so that I can decide what I want to do next.”

  Gavin finally chimes in. “That’s great man. It’s good that you’ve got it all figured out, but where does my sister fit into this equation?”

  Oh my God, what is happening here? “Gavin!”

  Victor grabs my hand underneath the table. He’s trying to calm me down. “I care about your sister a lot. We’re taking things slow, but I know that she’s gonna be a part of my future.” My breath catches and I turn to look at him. His eyes never leave Gavin but he gives my hand a squeeze. He knows that what he just said scares the hell out of me but he’s trying to reassure my family. “I’ll do what I have to do to make sure she’s okay with my career.”

  Gavin smiles and nods. It’s his way of giving Victor his approval.

  “Well, I think it’s awesome. Can I come to one of your shows?” Gemma asks.

  “Sure, Gemma. Next time I play Madison Square Garden, you’re all invited.”

  This gets Dad’s attention. “You’ve played at The Garden?”

  “Yeah, I’ve sold out The Garden three times.”

  Dad nods his approval. It’s not just because Victor can sell out an arena, but it’s because he really likes Victor, who looks cool as a cucumber. I, on the other hand, feel like I’ve just been through a hurricane.

  Victor made me pack a bag before we left my house for dinner. He said he wanted me to spend the night with him again at the hotel. I can’t seem to say no to him, so after dinner with my family, we hop in his car and head to the hotel. I’m relatively quiet for most of the drive. I want to know what he thinks about my family but I’m scared to ask. As usual, he makes it easy for me.

  “Your family is great, Babe,” he says, squeezing my knee.

  “Really? You don’t hate them for interrogating you?”

  “No. I don’t hate them. Your father is a retired police detective. I was mentally prepared for worse. I was actually relieved that it wasn’t.”

  “Who are you?” I ask, wondering how it is that he can take things so easily. It seems like nothing bothers him, he’s calm and collected at all times.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Any other guy would run as fast as they could.”

  “I’m not most guys. I know a good thing when I see it.”

  I don’t respond. I can’t. What would I even say to such a lovely comment? I’m flattered that he thinks I’m a good thing. I know better, I’m not a good thing. There’s too much baggage that comes with me. Who would wanna shoulder that heavy a load? It’s hard enough to have a relationship with someone normal, but to attempt a relationship with someone who is so clearly damaged is just straight crazy. Victor wanting someone like me is almost as crazy as me wanting someone as wonderful as he is.

  When we get back to the hotel, I go straight to the bathroom to get ready for bed, while Victor checks his voicemail and email messages. Now I’m standing in the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror wishing I would have grabbed a less revealing pair of pajamas. The black and white cami top hugs my curves. The hot pink, floral lace trim detail call attention to my breasts and the matching boy shorts show off the curve of my ass perfectly. I wanted to look good for him but I don’t want to give off the impression that I am ready for a sexual encounter just yet. I’m not sure that I am. I stare at myself in the mirror, take a deep breath and try not to panic.

  I build up my courage to open the bathroom door. As I peek through, I see that Victor’s already shirtless and in bed, reading something on his laptop. I practically run to the bed, get under the covers and lay down with my back to him. The sound of the laptop closing makes my heart race. The bed shifts and an arm comes around me, his hand planted firmly just below my breast.

  “What are you doing, Love?” he asks softly, sending shivers through me.

  “Uh, I’m just going to sleep. Good night, Victor.”

  “I see, because it looked like you bolted from the bathroom and jumped under the covers because you were hiding.”

  “Hiding from what?”

  “From me,” he whispers in my ear. “I think that maybe you’re afraid to let me see what you’re wearing.” Why does he know everything that I’m thinking? It’s so annoying!

  “I’m not afraid.”

  “No? Then you won’t mind
if I do this,” he says, throwing the covers back and pushing me down on my back. He stares at me in my skimpy pajamas, instantly his eyes go liquid. Gently, he traces the pink lace above my breast. The simple touch is all it takes for the moisture to build up between my thighs. “I like this,” he says.

  “You do?” My response comes out a little too breathy.

  “Mmmm. You look good enough to eat.” The words sound primal coming from him.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I whisper.

  He dips his head down to the crook of my neck. I feel his body shaking and realize he’s laughing. “Are you laughing at me?”

  Victor lifts his head so that he can look at me, his eyes full of amusement. “Yes. I told you we will go slow. I’m not gonna do anything you don’t want me to do. Okay?” I nod my understanding. “Alright then, back to my exploration,” he says, tracing his finger back over the lace that separates him from my breasts. Bringing his lips down to my neck, he kisses it then slowly licks the same spot. He kisses the space just between my breasts and again replaces his lips with his tongue, taking his time licking. He lifts the hem of my cami so that it’s lying just underneath my breasts, exposing my stomach. Again he begins his delicious pattern of kissing then licking me, this time over every inch of my stomach. I tangle my hands in his hair and arch my back, letting out a moan of pleasure.

  Victor lifts his head till our eyes are locked, he gives his head a shake and removes my hands from his hair placing them to my sides on the bed. “No touching,” he says, giving me a devilish grin. “You hold onto the sheets and don’t let go.”

  “What?” My pulse quickens.

  “Don’t get scared, just hold onto the sheets. This is gonna be good, Baby.” I lick my lips and close my eyes as his thumbs hook onto the waist of my boy shorts and pulls them off in one fluid motion. I’m totally bare to him now from just below my breasts down to my toes. The sensation of Victor’s tongue dipping into my belly button causes my eyes to flutter open and sends a shudder coursing through me. A trail of kisses and licks leave me writhing under him in a state of near delirium.