Ch 5

"Go Carmen! Go Carmen!" Bobby and a few other people chanted as danced in the middle of the club with some random guy. Although he was gay, he knew how to move very well with my hips.

When the dance was over, I hugged the guy who then asked me for my name and number. I gladly gave it to him before asking for his information.

"Oh I'm Samuel…whose your friend?" he asked.

I looked over my shoulder at Bobby who was dancing with the Asian guy he met at the nail salon. "Who Bobby? Oh that's my older cousin."

"Well he sure can move his hips as well as you do…is that guy his boyfriend?" he asked.

I shook my head, "No not at all. They just met today…are you interested?"

He smiled and licked his smooth lips. "Yes I am actually…do you think you could hook me up?"

I smiled and looked over at Bobby, "It would be my pleasure."

I took Samuel's hand and led him over to Bobby. To my surprise all three of them hit it off and soon, we had ourselves a little gang to hang out with for the rest of the night. We were having a blast dancing and getting to know each other although I found it strange seeing Bobby make-out with both of the guys throughout the night.

Later on, we all headed to The Treasure Island Hotel to hang out. I ended up getting myself a separate room just in case Bobby and his boys were feeling a bit horny for each other.

"So Carmen, Bobby and I were talking and he tells me that you want to be a singer someday." Samuel said as he popped open a bottle of Grey Goose.

I nodded as I watched him pour himself a glass of it mixed with Cranberry juice. "Yeah it's something I've wanted to do for quite some time now and honestly I think I have what it takes."

"Well if you're still here Monday Night, there's a special Karaoke night down at Gene's Biker Bar. The manager has been looking for something new to present in his bar and from what I'm hearing the pay is pretty nice."

I sighed, "I'd love to do that but we're only here on vacation."

Bobby cleared his throat, "Actually I heard your mom and Aunt Maria talking and your mom is thinking about moving down here."

"She said that!" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded, "yeah, she thinks it's a nicer environment and where you're living now actually reminds her too much of your dad."

"Wow…well I guess I could try singing then. What time do I need to be there?" I asked.

"8, maybe you can convince the rest of your family to come."

I nodded just before my cell phone rang. I glanced at it and saw that I had a text from my aunt, asking where I was. I raised my eyebrow wondering why she cared where the hell I was. Not wanting to disrespect her I texted her back at told her which hotel I was at. She then responded with an Ok and I placed my phone back in my purse. The guys and I then decided to watch a few movies and play a few games. I saved Samuel and Jet's numbers in my phone promising them that I would always be in touch before leaving the two of them alone with Bobby.

"I'll call you if I need you Carmen," Bobby said.

I giggled and winked at him, "Don't have too much fun, we still have to go back to the house tomorrow morning."

"True, well see you in the morning cousin." Bobby said as I slipped my shoes back on and grabbed my purse.

"See ya," I told them all before hugging each of them and then heading to my room for the night. I was glad that my room was across from his and not next to it. I damn sure didn't want to hear the activities he was about to get himself into. When I stepped out into the hall I walked directly across from the door to my own and dug through my purse for the key. As soon as I found it, I stuck it in the lock and turned it, only to find that the door was already open. Not thinking anything of it, I walked inside and shut the door behind me. Upon turning on the light switch I was extremely startled when I saw a tall man standing in front of the balcony doors facing the glass windows. He was wearing a long sleeved black t-shirt with a pair of blue jeans and black boots. It wasn't until he partially looked over his shoulder at me that I realized who he was.

"Mark? What the hell are you doing here?"

He looked down at the ground for a moment and then sighed heavily before turning around to face me. I could tell that he had been forced to come here just by the look of annoyance in his eyes. He placed his hands in his pockets and then said, "Have a seat Carmen."

I narrowed my eyes at him and then folded my arms. "Well seeing as how you're in my apartment I think I'll say no."

He sighed and folded his arms, "Fine then I'll talk to you like this…your mom has decided to move down here."

"Sweet, I love it here anyways." I said.

"Yeah well you won't love this…until your mom is able to get a place for you two, you'll be staying with your aunt and I."

I looked at him blankly as the color left my face. It was then that I walked over to the bed and had a seat. "Go on."

He slowly walked around the bed so he could see my face. "Since you'll be here for a little while I want to make things right with you."

I didn't look at him, instead I folded my arms and stared down at my lap.

"I don't know if that story from the last reunion is completely true…but I'm sorry for making you feel like shit." He said in an oddly calm voice. "You and your mom are right, I don't know anything about what happened and I didn't have a right to assume that you lied about it. I was just trying to protect my wife and my money."

I sighed looked at him, "I don't need your damn money Mark. I get money from my father's pension every month so I don't need to lie in order to get it."

"Fair enough…" he said. "Anyways I came by here to start things over with you. I have a pretty good friendship with your mom and I don't want to ruin it because of how I'm treating you."

I nodded and shrugged a little, "Ok. Apology accepted."

"Good." He said. "Now with that being said…I have something for you."

I looked at him in shock as he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. "Since today is officially your birthday, I grabbed that for you."

I smiled as he handed me the box. "Awe Mark you didn't have to buy me a present. I haven't been that nice to you either."

"Yeah but we're starting out fresh…so open it." He said.

I dropped my gaze to the box and gently opened it, revealing a set of princess cut diamond earrings and a necklace that was dripping with diamonds.

"Wow…" I said. "It's so beautiful,"

He smiled, "I'm glad you like it."

I sat the box down and then gave him a hug. "Thanks Mark…just promise me one thing."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Never sneak into my room again."

He laughed, "No problem."

I smiled as he turned around and left my room leaving me in peace. Did I think things between Mark and I would get better from that point on? I didn't know, but I sure was glad he had enough balls to admit he was wrong. I hoped that things would get better and at first they did…