Riley Anderson was going back home after her hockey practice, when she turned thirteen she asked her parents to let her be by herself a little more, they agreed with the condition that she has to call them to let them know where is she and who is she with and answer the phone every single time they call her, she agreed, not totally convinced "I'm a grown girl now! I can take care of myself" she thought after they made the deal, but well, at least she doesn't have to be with her parents all the time now.
She got in the house greeting her parents -Mom! Dad! I'm here. -She shut the door behind her.
-Oh! Hi Riley! -her mother greeted her back. -Come to the dining room, we want to introduce you to someone. -
Riley walked to the dining room, she was already curious about who were their visitors, she found her parents sitting at the table with another couple, over the table were a bunch of shoe boxes. The man was showing her father a pair of boots. -These are pretty popular, made entirely with snake skin. -The man said passing the boots to her dad, who took them and checked them.
-Pretty nice. -he said and then looked at Riley. -Hi pumpkin, look at this. -he showed her the boots
-W… What's going on here? -Riley asked dumbfounded.
-Oh sorry, I didn't tell you. -her father stood up. -first things first, Riley, please say hi to Mr. Alberto Rivera and his wife, Mrs. Maria Rivera. -
-Uh… Hi. -Riley greeted both adults.
-Hi young one. -The man extended his hand and Riley took it.
-Hi lady. -The woman was next. -Oh my! What a cute lady you are! -The woman complimented her and Riley blushed.
-We're going to make business together from now on. -Riley's dad continued. -They have a shoes factory in Mexico and they want to introduce their products in the country, beginning with San Diego, San Francisco, Pasadena, Los Angeles, well practically with California and I offered to help them as intermediate and importer. -Her father explained excitedly.
-That's… great dad. -Riley was happy and a little confused for her dad's excitement.
-Do you want to try some shoes Riley? They brought some shoes for girls and ladies with them. -Her mom asked her.
-Uh… No… No thanks. I have a lot of homework to do and… -Riley excused herself but she was interrupted.
-Uh… Mom! -Riley turned around and found a boy about her age carrying a baby. -Sorry to interrupt you but little Coco here needs a diaper change. -He said while cradling the baby in his arms.
-Oh my… just give me one sec Miguel, we're busy here. -His mom said.
-Yes, I know, just tell me where's the diapers' bag and I can take care of this myself. -The boy said with confidence.
-Really?! Will you do me this favor Miguel? -His mom asked him excitedly.
-Yes, of course, I've done it before, right Coco? - The boy said lifting his little sister and looking at her, the girl just giggled and the boy smiled at her.
At that moment, Riley felt her cheeks hot and giggled too.
-Well, the diapers' bag is in the living room, beside your guitar. -His mom indicated.
-Ok, thanks mom. Let's go Coco, mom and dad have work to do, it seems it's just you and me for now. -The boy turned around and walked to the living room.
-Wait Miguel! -His father stopped him.
-What? -he asked.
-You better take care of that in the bathroom, we don't want any accidents, we're guests here. -
-Ok, you're right. -Miguel answered and turned to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. -May I use your bathroom please? -he asked politely.
-Yes, of course young man, it's upstairs. -Riley's mom answered.
- Thank you very much Mrs. Anderson. -Miguel answered and went to the living room for the diapers' bag.
-Riley dear, can you please show Miguel where the bathroom is? -her mom asked her but the girl didn't answer, she was just there, looking at the boy, without moving. She has never seen a boy like him. -Riley? Riley! -her mom called her again.
-Uh! What? -Riley said once her mom's voice reached her.
-Sigh… Please show our guest where is the bathroom. -her mom repeated.
-Yes, yes, of course. -Riley said awkwardly and Miguel walked to her, carrying his baby sister and the diapers' bag. -P… Please follow me. -She said looking away to hide her blush and going upstairs. Miguel smiled and followed her, he was blushing too. Maria noticed it and snickered.
-Well, let's go back to business. -Riley's dad said taking another pair of shoes.
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-He… here's the bathroom. -Riley said opening the bathroom's door.
-Thank you very much miss… -
-Riley, Riley Anderson. -The girl introduced herself extending her hand.
-Nice to meet you Riley, I am Miguel Rivera. -The boy said taking her hand in his own. -And this little one is my little sister Socorro Rivera, but we all call her Coco. -he said taking the baby's arm so she can take Riley's hand. Both girls giggled while Coco took Riley's index finger in her tiny hand.
-You're such a cute baby. -Riley said smiling at her. Now it was Miguel who couldn't stop looking at her while she played with the baby, he has never seen a girl like her.
-Uh… Uhm… Excuse me miss Riley. -Miguel said and she looked at him, he was blushing.
-Y…yes? -She asked blushing too.
-I… I'm sorry but I have to change Coco's diaper. -He said and Riley, a little disappointed, let go of Coco's hand.
-Yeah, right, go ahead. -Riley said and Miguel got in the bathroom and closed the door.
For some unknown reason, Riley just stayed there looking at the door, after a few minutes, Miguel opened the door, still carrying his sister and the diapers' bag.
-Feeling better right Coco? Cleaned and refreshed. -He talked to her in a childish tone, smiling at her, and the baby giggled at him. That made Riley giggle too.
Then Miguel heard his baby sister stomach growl. -What the…? Are you hungry? Really? -Miguel faked being angry with her and she pouted a little. -Sigh… Well, I guess mom and dad are still busy, let me see if there's something in here for you. -Miguel said while looking in the multiple little bags in the diapers' bag and found a baby bottle full of milk. -Aha! Do you want this Coco? -He asked showing the bottle to the baby, and immediately the girl tried to reach the bottle. -Very well then, let's go back to the living room and… -
-No! -Riley said almost screaming and then gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, her cheeks were completely red, Miguel looked at her dumbfounded, but his cheeks were turning red too.
-Is everything ok up there? -They heard Riley's mom.
-Uh… Yes mom, sorry, everything's ok. -Riley answered.
-Ok then. - Riley's mom said.
-Ahm… What was that miss Riley? -Miguel asked her looking at her and ignoring his sister, who was still struggling to get the bottle.
-I… Ehm… It… It's just… -Riley didn't know what to say and she was blushing more and more by the second, but then she got an idea. -It's just that our parents are really busy and we shouldn't bother them in any way. -
-Well, that's true. -Miguel said following Riley's reasoning.
-So, how about we stay in my room? -Riley asked without thinking and when she realized what she said she blushed even more.
Miguel wasn't in a better shape, his face was totally red, but he didn't want to be rude to his host. -Oh… Uhm… Ok. -he finally said looking at Riley straight in the eyes. For a brief moment, they stayed like that, just looking at each other, faint smiles appeared on their lips, until Coco's groaning and tantrum for her hunger broke the moment. -Ok, ok Coco, I'm sorry, I'll feed you in a moment. Please, lead us to your room miss Riley. -Miguel said cradling his sister and Riley turned around and walked to her room, opening the door for them.
-Please come in. -She said and Miguel got in the room, he was marveled and disappointed at the same time, this is the first time he is in a girl's room, well a room whose owner girl is not related to him, he expected to see a lot of girly stuff around, but the most girly things he found were the brand-new vanity with cosmetics and a few posters of teen bands and one from Twilight movie series, not even her bedsheets were girly at all, they weren't even pink, they were Minnesota wild hockey team bedsheets.
-Wow! -Miguel said in awe and wonder.
-What? -Riley asked him.
-Well, this was unexpected. -
-What do you mean? -
-Well, it's just… Ahm… I'm used to see my cousins' bedrooms back at home, but they are really different from your room. -
-How so? -
-Well, they use to have flowers almost all the time in their rooms and don't have sports teams' bedsheets. -
-Don't you like it? -Riley asked with some fear.
-No, no, no, I didn't mean that, I actually like this, it seems more comfortable, to tell you the truth I don't like to be in their rooms that much, I just do it when it's absolutely necessary and after some minutes I get really dizzy for all the perfumes and flowers smell there. -Miguel said a little desperate, he didn't want to hurt Riley's feelings.
-Ok, it's fine, please sit wherever you want. -Riley offered and Miguel sat on the chair in front of Riley's desk and started to feed Coco with the bottle.
Riley sat on her bed and watched marveled how the boy fed the baby, whose had her eyes stuck on her big brother, after some time Miguel started to mutter something like a lullaby.
Remember me
Though I have to say good bye
Remember me
Don't let it make you cry
For if even if I'm far away
I hold you in my heart
I sing a secret song to you
Each night we are apart
Remember me
Though I have to travel far
Remember me
Each time you hear a sad guitar
Know that I'm with you
The only way that I can be
Until you're in my arms again
Remember me
(That our song never stops beating
Just with your love I can exist
Remember me) x2
If in your mind I'm alive
Remember me
My dreams I give you
I have you in my heart
I will accompany you
Joined in our song
I'll be there for you
Remember me
If you think you're alone
Remember me
And my singing will go and hug you
Even in the distance
Never forget
That I´m always with you
Remember me
(If you close your eyes and let the music play
Keep our love alive, I'll never fade away) x3
Remember me
For I will soon be gone
Remember me
And let the love we have live on
And know that I'm with you
The only way that I can be
So, until you're in my arms again
Remember me.
Miguel finished and kissed Coco on the forehead, then he heard a sniff and looked at Riley, who was sobbing and wiping her tears with her hands.
-What? What's wrong miss Riley? -He asked a little desperate, he didn't know why she was crying but he didn't like it at all.
-N… Nothing, that was beautiful. -Riley said sniffing. -I've never heard that song, is it yours? Did you write it? -she asked.
-No, my great great grandfather did it, he wrote it for my great grandmother when she was a baby. -Miguel explained.
-Oh! Was he a musician? -
-Yes, one of the bests musicians in Mexico, he wrote many songs inspired by his love for his family. All of them were used in many movies, sang by the best Mexican actors of their time, like Ernesto de la Cruz, Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete. -Miguel said full of pride.
-Cool! I wish I knew who are them hihi. -
-Haha! Yeah, they aren't known that much around here, but it's ok, I have no idea whose team are your bedsheets, or what is that thing over there. -Miguel said looking at Riley's hockey stick.
-Are you serious? You've never seen a hockey stick? -She asked kind of incuriously, kind of amazed, and having fun.
-Nope! -Miguel said waving his head.
-And you don't know who are the Minnesota wild! Do you? -
-Not at all, how do you eat that? -he asked in a teasing tone.
-Hahaha! Ok, I have a proposal for you. -
-I'm all ears. -
-As long as you stay here, you teach me about those actors and singers and I'll teach you everything I know about hockey, do we have a deal? -She said extending her hand to him.
Miguel took her hand and shook it. -Deal. -he said but he didn't realize that he took Riley's hand with the same hand he was holding Coco's bottle, causing it to fall, fortunately, Riley's reflexes were in good shape and she managed to catch the bottle before it hit the floor.
-Uff! That was close. -Riley said handing the half empty bottle to Miguel.
-Do you want to try and feed her? -He asked her while extending his hand to take the bottle, making Riley blush.
-I… I don't know how to do it. -She said apologetically.
-Hehe, it's not that hard, you just have to hold her head firmly while keeping the bottle's nipple in her mouth, she does the rest. -Miguel explained while handing Coco to her.
With a lot of fear, Riley sat on her bed again holding the baby in her arms carefully, then Miguel gave her the bottle and Riley started to feed the baby, who was looking at her intently.
"She's so cute" Riley thought seeing the baby's face and smiling at her, Miguel was mesmerized by the scene in front of him, this pretty girl was carrying and feeding his little sister and both girls were enjoying each other company.
At some point, Coco pushed away the bottle. -What's wrong Coco? - Riley asked her with a childish tone.
-I think she's satisfied. -Miguel said.
-Oh! -Riley gave the bottle to Miguel but Coco seemed to be uncomfortable. -Wha… What's going on? -Riley didn't know what to do.
-Oh, she just needs to be burped. -Miguel picked Coco from Riley and accommodated her on his shoulder and started to pat her back and butt, after five minutes or so, the girl burped and both, Miguel and Riley laughed.
-Uh… Is everything here? -Riley's mom asked again, poking her head through Riley's room door frame.
-Ahm… Sorry mom, we didn´t want to bother you while working, and the baby was hungry, so we decided to stay here for a little while. -Riley explained.
-OK, well, thank you very much kids, but we have finished for today, and we decided to have dinner together, so I have to ask you, what do you want in your pizza? -
-Great! Pizza! I want peperoni and champignon please. -Riley answered almost immediately.
-Ok, what about you Miguel? -She turned to the boy.
-Uh… I'd like beef and jalapeno peppers please. -The boy answered.
-Ok then, you can stay here until we call you. -Riley's mom said while dialing the local pizza shop phone number, but he looked at the kids and realized something, and, like Maria, snickered. -Hey kids! -Both kids looked at her again. -Don't you want to hang out by yourselves for a while? I mean, without the baby. -She asked and both kids looked at each other, and then at the baby.
-That… would be nice Mrs. Anderson, thank you. -Miguel said and Riley's mom went to pick up the baby and the diapers' bag.
-Have fun. -Riley's mom said while leaving the room.
-So, what do we do now? -Riley asked.
-Well, we made a deal just a few minutes ago, let me borrow your computer and I can show you some things about Pedro Infante, like the movie "Los tres huastecos" where he plays three different roles. -
-Wait! Three different roles in one single movie? -
-Yes. -
-Ok then -Riley turned on her lap top on her desk and left Miguel look for the movie.
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-WHAT THE…? That girl is a demon! She's even worse than Bart Simpson! -Riley said indignantly.
-Hahaha! Yeah! She's a piece of work. -Miguel said amused.
-A piece of work?! -Riley turned to him with an "are you kidding?" stare. -She shot at her dad! -
-Uhm… no, she shot at the other one, the priest. -Miguel explained.
-But she thought he was her dad, and she shot at him! -Riley was still very mad and Miguel nodded at her. -AND SHE CRIES BECAUSE SHE MISSED! -Riley continued her tantrum and Miguel just nodded at her.
They were sitting together in the bed, watching the movie in Riley's lap top, they found a version with subtitles in English, so Riley could understand what were they saying. They were really close, too close to each other, neither Riley, nor Miguel were aware of that, they just knew they were really comfortable, Riley was even leaning on Miguel's chest while looking at the screen and said boy had an arm around her, kind of hugging her.
-KIDS! THE PIZZA'S HERE! -Riley's dad called from downstairs, breaking the moment, just then, both kids got aware of what was going on and they separated, blushing really hard and looking at each other.
-Uh… well… I… I think that's all for now. -Riley said pausing the movie, not looking at Miguel trying to hide her blush.
-Yeah, yeah, you're right, we better get down to have dinner. -Miguel said copying Riley's moves, they left the room, washed their hands and went down with their parents.
They had a comfortable dinner and kept talking about what would happen if the business succeeded. -One step at a time Mr. Rivera, one step at a time. -Riley's dad said while patting Alberto's back friendly.
-She's so cute! -Riley's mom was complimenting Coco while playing with her moving her hands in front of her while Maria held the baby.
Miguel and Riley, after recovering from their flustering, talked about school, their hobbies, hockey, music, you know, chatting from this and that.
-Well, we better get going before it gets late. -Alberto said after dinner. -How much I owe you for the pizza? -he asked to Riley's dad while they were picking all the stuff they brought with them.
-Ah It's nothing, my treat. -he said friendly.
-Are you sure? -
-Yeah, don't worry about it. -
-Fine, but tomorrow will be my treat, ok? -
-Yeah, sure. -
-It seems that they became friends really fast. -Riley's mom whispered at Maria.
-Yeah, it seems so. -Maria answered.
-Wait! Are you coming tomorrow? -Riley asked kind of excited.
-Yeah! We still have a lot of work to do to make this business work. -Alberto said smiling at the girl.
-Cool! -Riley said looking at Miguel, who looked at her, and almost at the same time, both kids blushed again and turned their heads away from each other.
-Well, see you tomorrow Anderson's family. - Alberto said while going to the main door.
-See you tomorrow, Rivera's family. -Riley's dad said while opening the door to them.
-They seem nice. -Riley's mom said after closing the door.
-Yeah. -Both Riley and her dad said.
-And that boy Miguel is really cute. -She added.
-Yeah. -Just Riley answered this time, making her mom giggle and the girl blushed again after realizing what she said; Her dad stopped on his track.
-What? -he asked getting nervous.
-Nothing. -Riley's mom said.
On Riley's mind, joy and the others were dumbfounded about what happened.
-What did we do? -Anger asked.
-I don't know, but I hope Riley doesn't get hurt. -Fear said trembling.
-That would be just the worse thing ever. -Disgust said pouting.
- Oh no! It will be so awful if she gets hurt. -sadness said curling on the floor.
-Hey! Don't worry, everything will be just fine. -Joy said jumping on her spot with a wide smile.
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On their way to the hotel they were staying, the Rivera family were catting.
-They seem good people. -Maria said.
-Yeah. -Both Miguel and Alberto said.
-And that girl Riley is really cute. -She added.
-Yeah. -Just Miguel answered this time, making his mom giggle, and the boy blushed again after realizing what she said.
-What? -Alberto asked dumbfounded.
-Nothing. -Maria said.
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A/N: This fic was inspired by AntonioAlexisHuerta Deviantart, which I was allowed to borrow as the cover and the first idea for the plot was provided by Silverlegends, both deviant art users, so, if you like the story and want to thank someone, thank them.