Part 26
"Where is she?!" I yelled, pacing back in forth in my living room in front of Dom and Leon. "She always tells me where she's going!"
"Oh calm down, it's not that big a deal," Dom said. I turned to him with an eyebrow arched and wide eyes.
"Not that big a deal?!" I yelled. "My sister is missing and you think it's not that big a deal?!"
"Calm down," Leon piped up. I turned to him.
"And you... stay out of it," I said.
"You're over-reacting," he said.
"Of course I'm over-reacting!" I continued yelling. "This is my sister we're talkin about here!"
"There's another problem," Dom said. I looked at him, preparing to be annoyed. "We have a party tonight and only three people to run it." My eyes widened and my facial expression softened.
"You and I got a real problem," I said, staring at him.
"Yeah we do," Dom agreed, standing in front of me.
"This is my sister," I said softly. I was almost ready to cry, but there was no way I was going to cry in front of Dom. He looked at me for a minute, never taking his eyes from mine.
"You're amazing," he said thoughtfully.
"What?" I asked.
"You... are... amazing," he repeated. I wanted to know why he made that comment, but a part of me was afraid to ask, so I just let it be.
I knew my sister was ok, she could always take care of herself. I continued to worry, but not as much as I'd started out. I went outside and sat on the edge of our pool with my feet in the water. The party was happening in my house, with no one that lived in my house watching everything that went on. I didn't feel like partying, it wasn't the same without my sister. There was suddenly a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Leon sitting next to me.
"What's up kid?" he asked. I didn't answer as I turned back to looking at the light blue water in the pool. It was fun to look at the water when the pool lights were on. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Don't be stupid," I angrily told him.
"Still worried about your sister?" he asked.
"Yeah," I answered, this time a little softer.
"She's fine, you know she is," he said. I looked at him and it felt like the wind had just been knocked outta me. Leon was gorgeous and I already knew that, but when I looked at him that time, something was
different. His eyes seemed deeper... like I could stare into them for an hour and never found my way out again.
"You should come inside, get your mind off things," he said. I agreed, pulled my feet out the water, and he offered his hand to me. I grabbed it and he yanked me up with a little too much power, we ended up with our fronts pressed together and our faces an inch apart.
"You're beautiful," he said, running his fingers through my hair. Something was weird... I still could barely breathe.
"Uh, let's go," I spat out, yanking my hands from his and walking into the house. I greeted everyone I came in contact with and headed to my room. I changed into a pair of leather hot-pants, a back bustier with a fishnet top over it, and my favorite pair of plastic go-go boots. I fixed my hair, sprayed it down, and headed out to my party.
As I was dancing with various men and women, I could feel Leon's eyes burning into my back every chance he got. And I noticed Dom wasn't even having a good time. All he did was sit on the couch with Vince and drink, and drink, and drink. I didn't know what his problem was and really, I didn't care. He was annoying me to the point where I was about to shoot his foot off. My sister needed to come home immediately.
----------------
Part 27
"Who the hell are you?" a woman asked, standing over me. I opened my eyes and saw her face uncomfortably close to mine. "Oh, you're that Michelle girl that Hector brought back here last night, aren't you?" I looked at her sternly.
"Move," I ordered. I was sleeping soundly, and did not feel like dealing with another of my brother's stupid friends. And especially not some bitchy girl.
"Well," she said rudely, "you're disposable anyways, so be a bitch that's fine." She stood and walked away, joining another woman and a man at the kitchen table. I walked into the kitchen, glaring at the woman who's just been talking to me. I grabbed another Coke and pulled out the remaining chair then took a seat across from her. She looked at me dubiously, as did the other two. I glared at them all and silently went about sipping my Coke.
Minutes later Hector walked in the front door. "Yo!" he called. He ran into the kitchen. "Where's she at?" he looked around quickly, obviously not seeing me.
"Your hoe?" the bitchy girl asked. Hector looked at her with his face
contorted.
"Hector!" I yelled, jumping up. I ran to him with my arms in the air. I mocked the girl from the previous night. He laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist and I wrapped mine around his neck. "Hector!" I wailed, laughing. I looked back at the group, who were just watching.
"Letty, this is my sister," Hector said slowly. The girl looked at me with wide eyes but soon narrowed her gaze hatefully. I returned the death stare.
"You're…" the other girl started. I saw Hector nod his head and smile. "Wow…" she said slowly. I looked uncomfortably from Hector back to the girl.
"Am I?" I asked after a few minutes of deafening silence. The same girl smiled, but didn't let her eyes wander from my face.
"Earth to Mia," the man said, speaking for the first time. I felt like a real outsider, and I wasn't too sure what was going on.
"Well, let's go, no reason to make this last any longer than absolutely necessary," the girl Hector called Letty said. I looked at her, then I looked at my brother.
"Hector?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. My hands found their usual place on my hips as my voice found it's normal, motherly tone.
"Surprise!" he said uncomfortably. My face hardened and I exhaled noticeably.
"Hector…" I repeated. He cracked after a minute and flopped onto a chair.
"Well," he said so quickly I could barely understand him, "I thought that since you're here you could take the rest of the team back with you…" When he ended, it almost sounded like a question.
"Do what?" I asked, full of attitude as usual. We'd grown up speaking Spanish and English, so I was used to hearing him talk fast, but I wanted to assure that I'd heard what I thought.
"I thought that since you're here you could take the rest of the team back with you," he said to me. He turned to face the others, "God, I hate it when people need it spelled out for them!" The Letty girl snickered, and the other two just rolled their eyes.
"No."
"Ahh, Z! You're killin me! Come on! You've got Dom and Leon and Vince already!" I could tell that he immediately regretted mentioning Dom. "Shit Letty, I'm sorry," he groaned. She shook her head and waved her hand, signaling that she was okay.
"What?" I snapped. She looked at me harshly, but I turned back to Hector. "What?" I asked, my voice a little softer. He took a breath and was ready to talk, but Letty interrupted him.
"Nothing," she said roughly. She stood and slammed the chair back under the table and walked to the back of the apartment. We all heard the door slam and a harsh scream. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. I hugged Hector half-heartedly and yanked my keys off of the table and headed toward the door.
"I'll call you from Baja," I said, slipping out the front door. I jogged down the stairs and out to my car.
"Whoa! Did you think I was kidding?" Hector yelled. I rolled my eyes and looked at him. He pleaded with me for another half hour until I finally agreed to help this bunch of his friends out.
"Do you have anymore criminals I need to hide?" I asked as we walked back up into the apartment. He laughed throatily as he opened the door.
"I guess I should introduce you to everybody," he said, laughing. I introduced myself to the man and woman who had been sitting at the table, and lastly to Letty, who finally emerged from Hector's bedroom.
"Well, Mia, Brian, Letty, Z… I guess I'll see you guys soon," Hector said after we loaded the small amount of luggage the group had. I hugged him and slid into the driver's seat. Mia and Brian climbed into the back, which left me up front with Letty. 'Oh joy,' I thought bitterly. We finished our good-byes and took off toward the border. I couldn't wait to see Dom's face when his sister, sworn enemy and ex-girlfriend showed up. I contemplated stopping to buy a camera, but figured it would be best to just drive.
----------------
Part 28
"Who's up for body shots?!" I yelled. The whole crowd cheered. I laughed as I grabbed a shot glass from the cabinets, a bottle of tequilla, a lemon, and the salt. I headed into the living room, bumping in various things on my way, and plopped down on the couch.
"Who's first?" I asked playfully, shaking the tequilla bottle in the air. There was another yell from the crowd before Leon emerged.
"Me," he said proudly, putting his arms in the air. He was a little more than drunk, but it didn't bother me none. I took off my shrit, revealing a white bustier that resembled a bikini top and laid down. Leon licked my stomach before pouring the salt on so it would stay. He placed the lemon in my mouth and poured a shot.
"1... 2... 3..." the crowd yelled. "Body shot!" Leon quickly lapped up the salt on my stomach, downed the shot, and took the lemon from my mouth with a short kiss. There was an applause from the crowd before the next guy stepped up... Dom.
"Dom get outta here," I joked. But he was playfully serious about doing a body shot off my body.
Het set everything up and performed the awkward event. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering he was fucking my sister. Suddenly, the back door slammed and the music stopped. I sat up and watched my sister walk in the room with her famous evil glare. I stood and staggered toward her.
"Hey sis," I slurred as I ran into the same wall that had been causing me problems all night! "Who put that there?!" I yelled.
"Hey Dom," Z yelled, looking passed me. Only her face wasn't as coarse as it usually was, she had this crazy grin and a twinkle in her eye. Either she was about to go psycho on poor Dom or she'd been drinking. By now, Dom was standing next to me.
"Gotta surprise for ya," she continued. A pretty, yet manly woman stepped out from behind my sister.
"How you livin Dom?" she asked, smiling. I looked at Dom and his eyes were big.
"Ok, who are you?" I asked. "And where did this friggin wall come from?" I yelled, grabbing it and attempting to yank it outta my way, but it refused to move.
"Walls, I tell ya," I said, wide-eyed.
"Letty, what're you doing here?" Dom asked, sounding a bit frightened.
"Wait, there's more," Z said excitedly. A very pretty young woman stepped in from the backdoor. She had beautiful, long black hair and a dark complexion.
"Hey Dom," she breathed, obviously forcing herself to smile.
"Mia," Dom happily greeted her. He was ready to hug her just as an incredibly attractive man came in. I looked at Dom and the man and someone could've cut the tension with a knife. Dom glared at him and he began breathing quickly. I knew something was about to happen and I noticed that my sister was smiling, she knew what about to happen and she wanted it to happen! Dom stepped forward and I refused to let anyone ruin my party, so I put my arm around his stomach and gripped his black shirt.
"No," I said, looking at the man. "Let's go. We got a party to enjoy." Dom, for once, listened to me. He was definitely drunk. We walked back into the living room and I flipped on the music. Dom and I danced for a while before Leon just had to cut in, which didn't bother me. I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. What happened after that, I'm not too sure... I think I passed out.
----------------
Part 29
I looked at my house, which had been nearly destroyed by the mass of people. A few partiers remained, having been too fucked up to drive home the night before. I saw a man and woman stumbling over each other and just rolled my eyes and went to my room. To my surprise, my bed was occupied.
"Hey man," I said, pulling the blanket off, "You ain't got to go home but you gotta get outta here." He grumbled, but put his hand up so that I would help him stand. I did, then slammed the door after he exited my room. I dropped onto my bed and fell fast asleep.
"Z!" I heard my sister yell. I sat up with a start and jumped out of bed.
"What?" I screamed back as I walked into the hallway.
"In the kitchen!" she answered. I walked in to see Dom and Brian standing against opposite walls, Mia, Vince, and Letty sitting at the table and Leon's arms around my sister's waist, leaning against the kitchen sink.
"What?" I asked Mercedes bluntly, raising my eyebrows. She shrugged and smiled.
"I just thought you should get up, we've got a busy day ahead of us," She said, leaning back against Leon. I glared at them both, but made my way to the refrigerator.
"Move," I told Brian roughly. He slid out of my way and I grabbed one of the Cokes Hector hooked me up with before we left California. "Mercedes," I ordered, "Now."
She followed me into the living room and we sat on the couch. "Wanna tell me what's goin on?" I asked icily.
"Well," she started with more excitement than I was used to, "first we're gonna go shopping and get some clothes for Letty and Mia since it's way hotter here than in L.A., and then-"
"Whoa, no, hold the phone," I said, crunching my forehead. My head hurt and I just wanted her to slow down. "Shopping with Mia and Letty? No, you go ahead, I'm not goin," I said roughly.
"No, come on Z! You gotta go!" My sister protested with conviction, but I just was not ready for that.
"Nope, nothin doin, sorry Mercedes," I said, walking back to my room before she could say anything. I heard her groan, but soon the three left. Home alone with four men? The possibilities seemed endless.
"Hey Z!" Leon called. I stepped out of my room in a pair of tight, black shorts and one of my sister's shirts, tied at my back.
"Yeah?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. Dom and Brian were still sending death stares to each other as I bent into the fridge to get another Coke. I could feel eyes burning into my flesh and sensed that one set were Dom's, and knew that the other absolutely had better not belong to Leon.
"Well, the boys and I were gonna head down to the basement and play some pool, just wanted to know if you wanted to play," he replied, looking sincere. I tried to keep my cool and prevent the smile that threatened to adorn my face.
"Sure," I said. The sweet tone of my voice shocked all present. Dom's eyes darted to me and I grinned evilly. "Come along," I said seductively as I shuffled outside. The five of us made our way downstairs. Dom busted open a case of beer he'd carried down, while Vince supplied everyone with cigarettes.
"Aright," Leon said, grabbing a cue stick, "Do ya know anything about pool, or are we gonna hafta teach ya?" I shook my head confidently. He winked at me and tossed me a stick.
"Okay, let's play!" Brian said, trying to ease some of the tension. I smiled at him and grabbed the cue ball.
"Aright," I said, "So, I just use this stick thing," I held up the cue stick for emphasis, "To hit this little white ball," I held up the cue ball, "And get the colored ball into the holes, right?" They all looked at me to see if I was serious. "Right?"
"Oh yeah," Vince said seriously, "Just like that."
"Well hell, I can do this," I said. Dom snickered, but I tried to ignore him. "Who goes first?"
"I'll rack, you break," Leon said, gathering the balls.
"Hmm... Okay..." I agreed. He racked the balls and place the cue right in front of me.
"Now, hit the cue ball with the cue stick and send this ball," he pointed to one of the balls, "into this pocket." I nodded and grabbed the cue stick, then laid it awkwardly on the table.
'Good ole Hector,' I thought to myself as I tried to shoot the ball. I hit it at a bad angle and instead of hitting the other balls, I completely sent the cue around them.
"Oops," I said, shrugging. Vince was leaning onto the table now, looking at me and shaking his head. Brian smiled and offered to help me out with my shot, "Nah man, I'm gettin it!" I said when my next shot arrived. Dom snickered and mumbled something to Leon, which made him laugh in return. "What?" I asked as I bent over the table right in front of Vince to take another awkward shot, which also went badly astray.
"Here," Brian said softly, setting up the cue stick for me after Leon sent three balls into the pockets. I watched him as if I were soaking in the information, then pushed him away from the table. He backed up and grabbed another beer. I had a straight line of sight to Dom and saw him almost cringe when Brian was helping me, which made me smile. I adjusted my shirt so that the neckline was just a bit lower so I could attract a little more attention as I took my shot. Another bomb.
"Okay, okay, I think I've got this," I said after another half hour of bad shots.
"What?" The four of them said almost simultaneously. I looked at the table, then each of the men individually and back to the table.
"Yeah, I've got this down," I said, smiling triumphantly. "Okay, let's go play some real pool." I started walking up the stairs. Leon followed me.
"What?" he asked again. I explained about a pool hall that was a few miles away from the house. He wasn't sure if I was serious, but I made myself quite clear.
"Aright boys, behave," I said as we stepped into the smoke-filled place. My lips were drawn into a cat-like grin as I looked around at the tables.
I talked with the manager as Leon and Dom parused the tables, trying to find just the right one. When they finally decided, I sauntered over and watched them play for what seemed like hours. A few men played with the two while Brian, Vince and I watched.
"Hey Z," Vince called. I turned to him and raised my eyebrows. He patted his lap and offered me a seat, to which I replied by laughing.
"Holy Christ," I said after a few more games, "Ya'll are losin somethin awful!" They'd lost a substantial amount of money and I was thrilled.
"Yeah, I think it's time to get outta here, fellas," Brian said, stepping up behind me. I hopped up and onto the table and crossed my legs.
"No, I think you guys need to get your money back," I answered. Leon and Vince agreed, but Dom stayed quiet. I looked at him but quickly turned my attention back to the game that would have to happen.
"And who's gonna win it back?" Dom asked sarcastically, "You?"
"Well... Sure, why not?" I asked. They all looked at me, dumbfounded. "Hey!" I defended, "I told you, I got this down!"
"Oh Jesus," Vince said under his breath. I rolled my eyes, then walked over to the large man that Leon and Dom had lost to. He turned slowly and looked at me.
"What do you want?" he asked. I watched his suit as it stretched around his stocky frame with every word.
"It's a pool hall, what do you think?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. I shifted my weight more evenly on my feet and lifted my chin up.
"Hmm..." he said with much amusement, "How much money you got?"
"All I got is the money you took from my boy Leon," I said confidently. I looked at Leon, who was rubbing his temples. I turned my attention back to the man, and he laughed.
"Well, I'll play you, but what am I gonna get when you lose?" he asked arogantly.
"Don't worry about it," I said in a sexy, low voice, "I won't lose." He laughed and agreed to play.
"Okay sweetie," he said, "How much?"
"Hmm... 20 dollars a ball sound reasonable?" I asked. He nodded and suggested that I break.
I let him rack and I continued playing with the same skill as before. I could feel Leon's cringing with every missed shot. I was so absorbed by my game that I didn't notice the man counting and hit him with the stick as I moved to take an obscenely obvious shot, which, again, I missed. All through the game, we bullshitted and he and his boys hit on me. I could almost see the smoke coming out of Dom's ears and I was enjoying every second. I learned that the man's name was Ron and he was one of the richest men in Mexico.
"Well baby girl," he said after our game was over, "Looks like you lose." Leon was looking at me with wide, infuriated eyes.
"Zoraida," he said through clenched teeth, "Let's go."
"No, no!" I said, "I'm really startin to get the hang of this!" He looked at me incredulously, as did Brian and Vince. Dom tried to play cool by taking a drink from his empty beer bottle. I snickered.
"Ya'll can't leave so soon," Ron said as Leon and Brian started to exit, "I ain't been paid."
"Sir, she doesn't know what she's doin," Brian explained. "She's terrible at pool."
"Hey! I'm right here! I can hear you, ya know!" I exclaimed. "That's it, I'm done fuckin around," I said roughly, "Gimme another one of those stick thingies." Leon rolled his eyes and handed me a cue stick. "Ron, rack em. I'm upin the ante."
"Hey baby, you sure you wanna do that?" he crooned.
"Ab-so-fuckin-lutely." I said hoarsely. He laughed, but racked the balls.
"How much sweetheart?" He asked, leaning over the table. "30... 50...?"
"Yeah, in pesos," Vince said sarcastically. I shot him a sly smile.
"No Ron... I was thinkin somethin a little higher..." I said, slinking around to him. I sat on the corner of the table nearest him and ran my foot up the outside of his leg. He moved closer, his repulsively obese stature nearly engulfing me. I switched to the inseam of his trousers and kicked off my heels, then used my bare foot to raise his interest.
"A hundred?" he asked breathily. I licked my lips and arched my back to move my face closer to his.
"Nope," I moaned softly, breathing into his ear, "A thousand." He laughed and looked at me for confirmation.
"A thousand dollars?" he said, backing away.
"A thousand dollars?!" Leon screamed. Even Dom's head flipped my way. Vince was grumbling something and Brian's mouth was wide open.
"Yeah, a thousand dollars," I said nonchalantly. I looked at Ron, "You up for it?" He nodded in agreement and racked.
"A thousand bucks," he said, laughing. His crew was overcome with shock, too, as he handed me a cue.
"I dunno about you," I said, leaning over the table, "but I'm ready to stop dickin around." With that said, I kept my head parallel to my stick and the table, but moved my eyes up to look at Ron, then broke, sending a few balls into pockets. His body stiffened as he saw my shot. "Let's play some pool," I purred.
----------------
Part 30
"I hate shopping," Letty whined from the backseat. I looked at her through the rear-view mirror. She had the meanest look on her face and we were just going shopping!
"Don't mind her," Mia said. "She's not really a shopper."
"I noticed," I said.
"Let's just get one thing straight," Letty said, poking her head between me and Mia's seats. "I don't do girly clothes."
"That makes two of us," I said.
"Then we'll get along just fine," she said, patting my shoulder. We laughed and she reached forward, flipping the radio on. There was nothing, but tango music with spanish lyrics and they obviously didn't like it. Letty grabbed my CD case from the backseat and began flipping through it furiously. She grabbed my DMX CD and popped that in, jamming the whole way to the mall.
We pulled into the parking lot of the biggest mall I'd ever been to, got out, and headed in. We headed straight for Hot Topic and Letty stopped right at the entrance. Her mouth was gaping with a little smile. This was obviously her kind of store. We walked around and she grabbed every skirt she saw, every belly top, and all kinds of belts. I was carrying half the stuff she picked out to the dressing room.
"I need more stuff!" she exclaimed.
"No you don't," I laughed, putting all the clothes inside the room and shutting the door. I sighed heavily, out of breath, and headed over to Mia.
"D'ya find anything?" I asked.
"Yeah, just a few hundred less than Letty," she answered, smiling. I laughed as Letty came out with her first outfit on. It was a black leather skirt, a red leather top, and knee-high black boots. She didn't wait for our opinion before stating that she was buying every outfit she had in the dressing room, even though she hadn't even tried them all on! I knew she was my kinda person.
We bought lots of outfits from various stores, but most of them were from Hot Topic. We all shared a common interest in that store. When we left, we were dressed to kill and we all felt like we'd known each other for years. We'd been shopping for about three hours and we left feeling like sisters, especially Letty and I. We acted the same... we were both totally embarassing. That's how we had fun, by embarassing Mia.
When we were heading out the mall with three bags in each hand, it took every ounce of our energy not to smile at all the stares we got from people. We were in a perfect line with me in the middle, Letty on my right and Mia on my left. Our hair blew in the wind behind us and we knew we'd have fun at the upcoming parties at my house.
We got in my car and headed back home. The topic of conversation was either how much Dom hated Brian or me and Leon's relationship. I didn't realize how unprepared I was to answer questions about us. I guess it was because I didn't know how he would have answered them.
"Letty, I'ma have to borrow a pair of them boots," I said, referring to the ones that went up to her knees and had eight large buckles.
"How much you gonna pay me?" she asked. I looked at her through the rear-view mirror and she began laughing.
"I'm just messin with ya," she said. "You can borrow em after I wear em out."
"Funny," I said. We popped DMX in again and listened to it the whole way home.
As we neared, I wondered what Z was doing with the guys... alone with the guys. I knew she wouldn't do anything with Leon cuz I was her sister. I mean, she wouldn't touch him, would she?
"Where is she?!" I yelled, pacing back in forth in my living room in front of Dom and Leon. "She always tells me where she's going!"
"Oh calm down, it's not that big a deal," Dom said. I turned to him with an eyebrow arched and wide eyes.
"Not that big a deal?!" I yelled. "My sister is missing and you think it's not that big a deal?!"
"Calm down," Leon piped up. I turned to him.
"And you... stay out of it," I said.
"You're over-reacting," he said.
"Of course I'm over-reacting!" I continued yelling. "This is my sister we're talkin about here!"
"There's another problem," Dom said. I looked at him, preparing to be annoyed. "We have a party tonight and only three people to run it." My eyes widened and my facial expression softened.
"You and I got a real problem," I said, staring at him.
"Yeah we do," Dom agreed, standing in front of me.
"This is my sister," I said softly. I was almost ready to cry, but there was no way I was going to cry in front of Dom. He looked at me for a minute, never taking his eyes from mine.
"You're amazing," he said thoughtfully.
"What?" I asked.
"You... are... amazing," he repeated. I wanted to know why he made that comment, but a part of me was afraid to ask, so I just let it be.
I knew my sister was ok, she could always take care of herself. I continued to worry, but not as much as I'd started out. I went outside and sat on the edge of our pool with my feet in the water. The party was happening in my house, with no one that lived in my house watching everything that went on. I didn't feel like partying, it wasn't the same without my sister. There was suddenly a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Leon sitting next to me.
"What's up kid?" he asked. I didn't answer as I turned back to looking at the light blue water in the pool. It was fun to look at the water when the pool lights were on. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Don't be stupid," I angrily told him.
"Still worried about your sister?" he asked.
"Yeah," I answered, this time a little softer.
"She's fine, you know she is," he said. I looked at him and it felt like the wind had just been knocked outta me. Leon was gorgeous and I already knew that, but when I looked at him that time, something was
different. His eyes seemed deeper... like I could stare into them for an hour and never found my way out again.
"You should come inside, get your mind off things," he said. I agreed, pulled my feet out the water, and he offered his hand to me. I grabbed it and he yanked me up with a little too much power, we ended up with our fronts pressed together and our faces an inch apart.
"You're beautiful," he said, running his fingers through my hair. Something was weird... I still could barely breathe.
"Uh, let's go," I spat out, yanking my hands from his and walking into the house. I greeted everyone I came in contact with and headed to my room. I changed into a pair of leather hot-pants, a back bustier with a fishnet top over it, and my favorite pair of plastic go-go boots. I fixed my hair, sprayed it down, and headed out to my party.
As I was dancing with various men and women, I could feel Leon's eyes burning into my back every chance he got. And I noticed Dom wasn't even having a good time. All he did was sit on the couch with Vince and drink, and drink, and drink. I didn't know what his problem was and really, I didn't care. He was annoying me to the point where I was about to shoot his foot off. My sister needed to come home immediately.
----------------
Part 27
"Who the hell are you?" a woman asked, standing over me. I opened my eyes and saw her face uncomfortably close to mine. "Oh, you're that Michelle girl that Hector brought back here last night, aren't you?" I looked at her sternly.
"Move," I ordered. I was sleeping soundly, and did not feel like dealing with another of my brother's stupid friends. And especially not some bitchy girl.
"Well," she said rudely, "you're disposable anyways, so be a bitch that's fine." She stood and walked away, joining another woman and a man at the kitchen table. I walked into the kitchen, glaring at the woman who's just been talking to me. I grabbed another Coke and pulled out the remaining chair then took a seat across from her. She looked at me dubiously, as did the other two. I glared at them all and silently went about sipping my Coke.
Minutes later Hector walked in the front door. "Yo!" he called. He ran into the kitchen. "Where's she at?" he looked around quickly, obviously not seeing me.
"Your hoe?" the bitchy girl asked. Hector looked at her with his face
contorted.
"Hector!" I yelled, jumping up. I ran to him with my arms in the air. I mocked the girl from the previous night. He laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist and I wrapped mine around his neck. "Hector!" I wailed, laughing. I looked back at the group, who were just watching.
"Letty, this is my sister," Hector said slowly. The girl looked at me with wide eyes but soon narrowed her gaze hatefully. I returned the death stare.
"You're…" the other girl started. I saw Hector nod his head and smile. "Wow…" she said slowly. I looked uncomfortably from Hector back to the girl.
"Am I?" I asked after a few minutes of deafening silence. The same girl smiled, but didn't let her eyes wander from my face.
"Earth to Mia," the man said, speaking for the first time. I felt like a real outsider, and I wasn't too sure what was going on.
"Well, let's go, no reason to make this last any longer than absolutely necessary," the girl Hector called Letty said. I looked at her, then I looked at my brother.
"Hector?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. My hands found their usual place on my hips as my voice found it's normal, motherly tone.
"Surprise!" he said uncomfortably. My face hardened and I exhaled noticeably.
"Hector…" I repeated. He cracked after a minute and flopped onto a chair.
"Well," he said so quickly I could barely understand him, "I thought that since you're here you could take the rest of the team back with you…" When he ended, it almost sounded like a question.
"Do what?" I asked, full of attitude as usual. We'd grown up speaking Spanish and English, so I was used to hearing him talk fast, but I wanted to assure that I'd heard what I thought.
"I thought that since you're here you could take the rest of the team back with you," he said to me. He turned to face the others, "God, I hate it when people need it spelled out for them!" The Letty girl snickered, and the other two just rolled their eyes.
"No."
"Ahh, Z! You're killin me! Come on! You've got Dom and Leon and Vince already!" I could tell that he immediately regretted mentioning Dom. "Shit Letty, I'm sorry," he groaned. She shook her head and waved her hand, signaling that she was okay.
"What?" I snapped. She looked at me harshly, but I turned back to Hector. "What?" I asked, my voice a little softer. He took a breath and was ready to talk, but Letty interrupted him.
"Nothing," she said roughly. She stood and slammed the chair back under the table and walked to the back of the apartment. We all heard the door slam and a harsh scream. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. I hugged Hector half-heartedly and yanked my keys off of the table and headed toward the door.
"I'll call you from Baja," I said, slipping out the front door. I jogged down the stairs and out to my car.
"Whoa! Did you think I was kidding?" Hector yelled. I rolled my eyes and looked at him. He pleaded with me for another half hour until I finally agreed to help this bunch of his friends out.
"Do you have anymore criminals I need to hide?" I asked as we walked back up into the apartment. He laughed throatily as he opened the door.
"I guess I should introduce you to everybody," he said, laughing. I introduced myself to the man and woman who had been sitting at the table, and lastly to Letty, who finally emerged from Hector's bedroom.
"Well, Mia, Brian, Letty, Z… I guess I'll see you guys soon," Hector said after we loaded the small amount of luggage the group had. I hugged him and slid into the driver's seat. Mia and Brian climbed into the back, which left me up front with Letty. 'Oh joy,' I thought bitterly. We finished our good-byes and took off toward the border. I couldn't wait to see Dom's face when his sister, sworn enemy and ex-girlfriend showed up. I contemplated stopping to buy a camera, but figured it would be best to just drive.
----------------
Part 28
"Who's up for body shots?!" I yelled. The whole crowd cheered. I laughed as I grabbed a shot glass from the cabinets, a bottle of tequilla, a lemon, and the salt. I headed into the living room, bumping in various things on my way, and plopped down on the couch.
"Who's first?" I asked playfully, shaking the tequilla bottle in the air. There was another yell from the crowd before Leon emerged.
"Me," he said proudly, putting his arms in the air. He was a little more than drunk, but it didn't bother me none. I took off my shrit, revealing a white bustier that resembled a bikini top and laid down. Leon licked my stomach before pouring the salt on so it would stay. He placed the lemon in my mouth and poured a shot.
"1... 2... 3..." the crowd yelled. "Body shot!" Leon quickly lapped up the salt on my stomach, downed the shot, and took the lemon from my mouth with a short kiss. There was an applause from the crowd before the next guy stepped up... Dom.
"Dom get outta here," I joked. But he was playfully serious about doing a body shot off my body.
Het set everything up and performed the awkward event. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering he was fucking my sister. Suddenly, the back door slammed and the music stopped. I sat up and watched my sister walk in the room with her famous evil glare. I stood and staggered toward her.
"Hey sis," I slurred as I ran into the same wall that had been causing me problems all night! "Who put that there?!" I yelled.
"Hey Dom," Z yelled, looking passed me. Only her face wasn't as coarse as it usually was, she had this crazy grin and a twinkle in her eye. Either she was about to go psycho on poor Dom or she'd been drinking. By now, Dom was standing next to me.
"Gotta surprise for ya," she continued. A pretty, yet manly woman stepped out from behind my sister.
"How you livin Dom?" she asked, smiling. I looked at Dom and his eyes were big.
"Ok, who are you?" I asked. "And where did this friggin wall come from?" I yelled, grabbing it and attempting to yank it outta my way, but it refused to move.
"Walls, I tell ya," I said, wide-eyed.
"Letty, what're you doing here?" Dom asked, sounding a bit frightened.
"Wait, there's more," Z said excitedly. A very pretty young woman stepped in from the backdoor. She had beautiful, long black hair and a dark complexion.
"Hey Dom," she breathed, obviously forcing herself to smile.
"Mia," Dom happily greeted her. He was ready to hug her just as an incredibly attractive man came in. I looked at Dom and the man and someone could've cut the tension with a knife. Dom glared at him and he began breathing quickly. I knew something was about to happen and I noticed that my sister was smiling, she knew what about to happen and she wanted it to happen! Dom stepped forward and I refused to let anyone ruin my party, so I put my arm around his stomach and gripped his black shirt.
"No," I said, looking at the man. "Let's go. We got a party to enjoy." Dom, for once, listened to me. He was definitely drunk. We walked back into the living room and I flipped on the music. Dom and I danced for a while before Leon just had to cut in, which didn't bother me. I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. What happened after that, I'm not too sure... I think I passed out.
----------------
Part 29
I looked at my house, which had been nearly destroyed by the mass of people. A few partiers remained, having been too fucked up to drive home the night before. I saw a man and woman stumbling over each other and just rolled my eyes and went to my room. To my surprise, my bed was occupied.
"Hey man," I said, pulling the blanket off, "You ain't got to go home but you gotta get outta here." He grumbled, but put his hand up so that I would help him stand. I did, then slammed the door after he exited my room. I dropped onto my bed and fell fast asleep.
"Z!" I heard my sister yell. I sat up with a start and jumped out of bed.
"What?" I screamed back as I walked into the hallway.
"In the kitchen!" she answered. I walked in to see Dom and Brian standing against opposite walls, Mia, Vince, and Letty sitting at the table and Leon's arms around my sister's waist, leaning against the kitchen sink.
"What?" I asked Mercedes bluntly, raising my eyebrows. She shrugged and smiled.
"I just thought you should get up, we've got a busy day ahead of us," She said, leaning back against Leon. I glared at them both, but made my way to the refrigerator.
"Move," I told Brian roughly. He slid out of my way and I grabbed one of the Cokes Hector hooked me up with before we left California. "Mercedes," I ordered, "Now."
She followed me into the living room and we sat on the couch. "Wanna tell me what's goin on?" I asked icily.
"Well," she started with more excitement than I was used to, "first we're gonna go shopping and get some clothes for Letty and Mia since it's way hotter here than in L.A., and then-"
"Whoa, no, hold the phone," I said, crunching my forehead. My head hurt and I just wanted her to slow down. "Shopping with Mia and Letty? No, you go ahead, I'm not goin," I said roughly.
"No, come on Z! You gotta go!" My sister protested with conviction, but I just was not ready for that.
"Nope, nothin doin, sorry Mercedes," I said, walking back to my room before she could say anything. I heard her groan, but soon the three left. Home alone with four men? The possibilities seemed endless.
"Hey Z!" Leon called. I stepped out of my room in a pair of tight, black shorts and one of my sister's shirts, tied at my back.
"Yeah?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. Dom and Brian were still sending death stares to each other as I bent into the fridge to get another Coke. I could feel eyes burning into my flesh and sensed that one set were Dom's, and knew that the other absolutely had better not belong to Leon.
"Well, the boys and I were gonna head down to the basement and play some pool, just wanted to know if you wanted to play," he replied, looking sincere. I tried to keep my cool and prevent the smile that threatened to adorn my face.
"Sure," I said. The sweet tone of my voice shocked all present. Dom's eyes darted to me and I grinned evilly. "Come along," I said seductively as I shuffled outside. The five of us made our way downstairs. Dom busted open a case of beer he'd carried down, while Vince supplied everyone with cigarettes.
"Aright," Leon said, grabbing a cue stick, "Do ya know anything about pool, or are we gonna hafta teach ya?" I shook my head confidently. He winked at me and tossed me a stick.
"Okay, let's play!" Brian said, trying to ease some of the tension. I smiled at him and grabbed the cue ball.
"Aright," I said, "So, I just use this stick thing," I held up the cue stick for emphasis, "To hit this little white ball," I held up the cue ball, "And get the colored ball into the holes, right?" They all looked at me to see if I was serious. "Right?"
"Oh yeah," Vince said seriously, "Just like that."
"Well hell, I can do this," I said. Dom snickered, but I tried to ignore him. "Who goes first?"
"I'll rack, you break," Leon said, gathering the balls.
"Hmm... Okay..." I agreed. He racked the balls and place the cue right in front of me.
"Now, hit the cue ball with the cue stick and send this ball," he pointed to one of the balls, "into this pocket." I nodded and grabbed the cue stick, then laid it awkwardly on the table.
'Good ole Hector,' I thought to myself as I tried to shoot the ball. I hit it at a bad angle and instead of hitting the other balls, I completely sent the cue around them.
"Oops," I said, shrugging. Vince was leaning onto the table now, looking at me and shaking his head. Brian smiled and offered to help me out with my shot, "Nah man, I'm gettin it!" I said when my next shot arrived. Dom snickered and mumbled something to Leon, which made him laugh in return. "What?" I asked as I bent over the table right in front of Vince to take another awkward shot, which also went badly astray.
"Here," Brian said softly, setting up the cue stick for me after Leon sent three balls into the pockets. I watched him as if I were soaking in the information, then pushed him away from the table. He backed up and grabbed another beer. I had a straight line of sight to Dom and saw him almost cringe when Brian was helping me, which made me smile. I adjusted my shirt so that the neckline was just a bit lower so I could attract a little more attention as I took my shot. Another bomb.
"Okay, okay, I think I've got this," I said after another half hour of bad shots.
"What?" The four of them said almost simultaneously. I looked at the table, then each of the men individually and back to the table.
"Yeah, I've got this down," I said, smiling triumphantly. "Okay, let's go play some real pool." I started walking up the stairs. Leon followed me.
"What?" he asked again. I explained about a pool hall that was a few miles away from the house. He wasn't sure if I was serious, but I made myself quite clear.
"Aright boys, behave," I said as we stepped into the smoke-filled place. My lips were drawn into a cat-like grin as I looked around at the tables.
I talked with the manager as Leon and Dom parused the tables, trying to find just the right one. When they finally decided, I sauntered over and watched them play for what seemed like hours. A few men played with the two while Brian, Vince and I watched.
"Hey Z," Vince called. I turned to him and raised my eyebrows. He patted his lap and offered me a seat, to which I replied by laughing.
"Holy Christ," I said after a few more games, "Ya'll are losin somethin awful!" They'd lost a substantial amount of money and I was thrilled.
"Yeah, I think it's time to get outta here, fellas," Brian said, stepping up behind me. I hopped up and onto the table and crossed my legs.
"No, I think you guys need to get your money back," I answered. Leon and Vince agreed, but Dom stayed quiet. I looked at him but quickly turned my attention back to the game that would have to happen.
"And who's gonna win it back?" Dom asked sarcastically, "You?"
"Well... Sure, why not?" I asked. They all looked at me, dumbfounded. "Hey!" I defended, "I told you, I got this down!"
"Oh Jesus," Vince said under his breath. I rolled my eyes, then walked over to the large man that Leon and Dom had lost to. He turned slowly and looked at me.
"What do you want?" he asked. I watched his suit as it stretched around his stocky frame with every word.
"It's a pool hall, what do you think?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. I shifted my weight more evenly on my feet and lifted my chin up.
"Hmm..." he said with much amusement, "How much money you got?"
"All I got is the money you took from my boy Leon," I said confidently. I looked at Leon, who was rubbing his temples. I turned my attention back to the man, and he laughed.
"Well, I'll play you, but what am I gonna get when you lose?" he asked arogantly.
"Don't worry about it," I said in a sexy, low voice, "I won't lose." He laughed and agreed to play.
"Okay sweetie," he said, "How much?"
"Hmm... 20 dollars a ball sound reasonable?" I asked. He nodded and suggested that I break.
I let him rack and I continued playing with the same skill as before. I could feel Leon's cringing with every missed shot. I was so absorbed by my game that I didn't notice the man counting and hit him with the stick as I moved to take an obscenely obvious shot, which, again, I missed. All through the game, we bullshitted and he and his boys hit on me. I could almost see the smoke coming out of Dom's ears and I was enjoying every second. I learned that the man's name was Ron and he was one of the richest men in Mexico.
"Well baby girl," he said after our game was over, "Looks like you lose." Leon was looking at me with wide, infuriated eyes.
"Zoraida," he said through clenched teeth, "Let's go."
"No, no!" I said, "I'm really startin to get the hang of this!" He looked at me incredulously, as did Brian and Vince. Dom tried to play cool by taking a drink from his empty beer bottle. I snickered.
"Ya'll can't leave so soon," Ron said as Leon and Brian started to exit, "I ain't been paid."
"Sir, she doesn't know what she's doin," Brian explained. "She's terrible at pool."
"Hey! I'm right here! I can hear you, ya know!" I exclaimed. "That's it, I'm done fuckin around," I said roughly, "Gimme another one of those stick thingies." Leon rolled his eyes and handed me a cue stick. "Ron, rack em. I'm upin the ante."
"Hey baby, you sure you wanna do that?" he crooned.
"Ab-so-fuckin-lutely." I said hoarsely. He laughed, but racked the balls.
"How much sweetheart?" He asked, leaning over the table. "30... 50...?"
"Yeah, in pesos," Vince said sarcastically. I shot him a sly smile.
"No Ron... I was thinkin somethin a little higher..." I said, slinking around to him. I sat on the corner of the table nearest him and ran my foot up the outside of his leg. He moved closer, his repulsively obese stature nearly engulfing me. I switched to the inseam of his trousers and kicked off my heels, then used my bare foot to raise his interest.
"A hundred?" he asked breathily. I licked my lips and arched my back to move my face closer to his.
"Nope," I moaned softly, breathing into his ear, "A thousand." He laughed and looked at me for confirmation.
"A thousand dollars?" he said, backing away.
"A thousand dollars?!" Leon screamed. Even Dom's head flipped my way. Vince was grumbling something and Brian's mouth was wide open.
"Yeah, a thousand dollars," I said nonchalantly. I looked at Ron, "You up for it?" He nodded in agreement and racked.
"A thousand bucks," he said, laughing. His crew was overcome with shock, too, as he handed me a cue.
"I dunno about you," I said, leaning over the table, "but I'm ready to stop dickin around." With that said, I kept my head parallel to my stick and the table, but moved my eyes up to look at Ron, then broke, sending a few balls into pockets. His body stiffened as he saw my shot. "Let's play some pool," I purred.
----------------
Part 30
"I hate shopping," Letty whined from the backseat. I looked at her through the rear-view mirror. She had the meanest look on her face and we were just going shopping!
"Don't mind her," Mia said. "She's not really a shopper."
"I noticed," I said.
"Let's just get one thing straight," Letty said, poking her head between me and Mia's seats. "I don't do girly clothes."
"That makes two of us," I said.
"Then we'll get along just fine," she said, patting my shoulder. We laughed and she reached forward, flipping the radio on. There was nothing, but tango music with spanish lyrics and they obviously didn't like it. Letty grabbed my CD case from the backseat and began flipping through it furiously. She grabbed my DMX CD and popped that in, jamming the whole way to the mall.
We pulled into the parking lot of the biggest mall I'd ever been to, got out, and headed in. We headed straight for Hot Topic and Letty stopped right at the entrance. Her mouth was gaping with a little smile. This was obviously her kind of store. We walked around and she grabbed every skirt she saw, every belly top, and all kinds of belts. I was carrying half the stuff she picked out to the dressing room.
"I need more stuff!" she exclaimed.
"No you don't," I laughed, putting all the clothes inside the room and shutting the door. I sighed heavily, out of breath, and headed over to Mia.
"D'ya find anything?" I asked.
"Yeah, just a few hundred less than Letty," she answered, smiling. I laughed as Letty came out with her first outfit on. It was a black leather skirt, a red leather top, and knee-high black boots. She didn't wait for our opinion before stating that she was buying every outfit she had in the dressing room, even though she hadn't even tried them all on! I knew she was my kinda person.
We bought lots of outfits from various stores, but most of them were from Hot Topic. We all shared a common interest in that store. When we left, we were dressed to kill and we all felt like we'd known each other for years. We'd been shopping for about three hours and we left feeling like sisters, especially Letty and I. We acted the same... we were both totally embarassing. That's how we had fun, by embarassing Mia.
When we were heading out the mall with three bags in each hand, it took every ounce of our energy not to smile at all the stares we got from people. We were in a perfect line with me in the middle, Letty on my right and Mia on my left. Our hair blew in the wind behind us and we knew we'd have fun at the upcoming parties at my house.
We got in my car and headed back home. The topic of conversation was either how much Dom hated Brian or me and Leon's relationship. I didn't realize how unprepared I was to answer questions about us. I guess it was because I didn't know how he would have answered them.
"Letty, I'ma have to borrow a pair of them boots," I said, referring to the ones that went up to her knees and had eight large buckles.
"How much you gonna pay me?" she asked. I looked at her through the rear-view mirror and she began laughing.
"I'm just messin with ya," she said. "You can borrow em after I wear em out."
"Funny," I said. We popped DMX in again and listened to it the whole way home.
As we neared, I wondered what Z was doing with the guys... alone with the guys. I knew she wouldn't do anything with Leon cuz I was her sister. I mean, she wouldn't touch him, would she?