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Claudia sat perched on the edge of Serigo's bouncy bed as she read him a bed story. She had ignored his protests and continued to read from where they left off. She didn't care how much of a man he was, he was still her little brother, and she would still read to him every night until he learned to do so himself. She turned the crisp page and carried the story on until she herd a clatter in the kitchen accompanied by the sound of laughter, all of which was coming from the three drunken men who had returned home from a long afternoon of drinking. At the sound of the deep voices Serigo jumped up,
"Is Hector home Clou?" He asked with excitement tearing through his voice.
"No honey, he's not home until Monday." It killed her as she saw the look of disappointment seep into his eyes as he flung his head back down into the flat pillow.
"I miss him." He said, trying to hide the pain in his voice.
"I know sweetie, and he misses you."
"Do you miss him?" He questioned curiously as she had said nothing of his absence.
She stood up and smiled, ruffled his dark hair and replied, "Good night sweetie." She turned and left the dark room, shutting the door behind her.
She walked briskly into the light of the kitchen which seemed to glow with a orange tint, she guessed it was just the light reflecting off the paint on the walls. The room also smelt strongly of alcohol. She entered the kitchen to see Ramon seated at the long rectangular pine table, next to him was Jack. Lais was leaning against the counter with his arms folded. All three seemed to be laughing at some joke that had been told before she entered the room. She walked over to the table and when she got closer she stopped, hands on her hips and demanded to know what had happened this time, once seeing the blood. Lais seemed free of any, except for a few drops on his shirt. Ramon had some smeared on his face coming from his lip and nose, and Jacks shirt had plenty on it, although it wasn't all his. Lais, seeming to be the most sober of the three decided to explain what had happened.
" Erm, well, what happened was, well lets see...." He trailed off trying to remember what had happened.
Claudia sighed and said, "Come on, what happened this time?"
Seeming to have found his words Lais continued. "Well, there was this blonde, tall, long legs, a real nice one, and Ramon decided to hit on her, and her boyfriend didn't seem to like that, so he kicked Ramon's ass-" he was cut off by Ramon, who wanted to tell it his way.
"No, no, no, Lais you have got it all wrong," he paused to take a gulp from the bottle resting in his hand, " I never got my ass kicked, the stupid man got one shot off," he paused again, this time to glance at laugh at Jack, "until Jack here goes all crazy on him and beats the hell out of him," he paused again, and wiped at his eyes as there were now tears running from them, he had obviously found it very amusing. "And then we all had a bit of an ass kicking session on that stupid son of a bitch who thought he could hurt me, huh, yeah right, so then this guys pals comes back and tries to stop us, and so Jack goes at them too, but one of them has got a knife..... and so he got Jack with it....so we decided to leave it for now.... but hey, they messed with me and they will regret it, I bet that fool who tried it on with me is dead, aint that right Jack?"
Jack muttered a, "probably", seeming uninterested in the conversation and more in the slash across his shoulder.
After prying the beer bottle from his hand Claudia convinced Ramon to go to bed, and instructed Lais to do the same, once sure they were both asleep she re entered the kitchen. She looked at Jack and said,
"Come on then, lets take a look at it?"
He complied undoing the first few buttons of his cream shirt and pulling it over the shoulder. She tutted and scolded him,
"I told you last time you saved Ramon's ass I was not fixing you up again Jack, and this really is the last time."
They both laughed knowing she didn't mean it, it had been a private joke between them ever since the time he tripped over a stool and gave himself a concussion, he remembered how much she had tormented him over that, she was such a tease, he though to himself. And after that embarrassing incident she had cleaned him up a few times after he had got involved in some fights, Ramon's drunken arrogance had got him into a few situations, but they always overcome them.
She began to clean the wound and as she did so he leant his head back and closed his eyes, the drugs and alcohol taking a stronger effect on him now, it was more than just slurred words. He thought to himself how easy everything was here in Mexico. No fighting with Kim and no grief from Kate, he had finally closed that chapter of his life for good. He found it easier to be himself in Mexico, and he knew that his actions earlier tonight, had earned him the full trust of Ramon, had he not already obtained it, he would never be doubted or questioned again. Ramon was big on loyalty, and the two were like brothers, protecting him like he had would draw him and Ramon even closer, in the long run. He smiled to himself and opened his eyes, seeing Claudia watching his facial expressions intently.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing Jack, I'm just wondering what your smiling about. You are a very strange man. Always quiet, serious, all business like when your with the boys, but I know that your not really like that."
Jack began to laugh, "And what makes you think I'm not like that?"
"Because I just caught you smiling to yourself. And people say that when someone is drunk they display what they are really like, deep down, and your drunk now, laughing and smiling, which proves it."
"Really?" He asked interested in her assessment of him.
"Yes." She placed a large white pad over the wound and taped it down. She looked up at him and smiled. "Be careful from now on Jack, I mean it."
"Thanks." He leant his head back and closed his eyes, feeling tired. He couldn't be bothered to walk over the yard to his room, he figured he might as well sleep at the table.
Claudia stood and watched as he began to fall asleep. She knew what she had felt all this time was wrong, she was engaged to Hector, but still, he was so good looking. She silently cursed herself for being so shallow, looks weren't everything, but that wasn't all there was, her mind told her. He was funny (mostly when under the influence), kind, nice to talk to and a good listener. She had always been fond of him, but the day she knew she had real feelings for him was the day she found him on the floor out cold in a tangle with the stool, something they still laughed about. She had been so worried, and he was so embarrassed, she could never forget that day, even if she wanted to, which she didn't. She had always had these feelings, yet she couldn't understand the sudden urgency about them that ran through her tonight.
Before she realised what she was doing she leant over and kissed him on the cheek, and got the shock of her life when his eyes opened, confusion spread across his face. She jumped back, surprised.
"Erm, Jack, I though you was asleep...."
"No..." was all Jack said as he watched her. On the outside he was the definition of calm, but inside his mind was racing, did she really feel the way he did? For months he had been so jealous, wondering just how that creep Hector had managed to get someone as attractive as Claudia.
"Sorry, I just....." her voice trailed off and she looked over to him, saw the expression upon his face and knew it was all right. Jack reached out his hand and pulled her towards him, cupped her face in his hands and began to kiss her passionately. She could feel her heart beating fast as he kissed her, inside her mind was in turmoil, oh my God, he is really kissing me, perhaps he does like me after all? She pulled away taking hold of his hand and led him down the hallway, towards her room.
He followed her down the hallway to her room. He was no longer confused, he was excited. He quickly assessed weather this was the right thing to do, or weather it was a mistake, she was engaged to Hector, would it jeprodise the operation? The alcohol made him shrug off his negative thoughts, and he decided to simply go with the flow, see where it lead him........
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