Sorry for the wait. Hope you like.
Asullen looking Angel greeted us at the door. His head was down, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets, his lower lip protruding in an act of defiance. "Sofi ain't talkin' to me," he muttered when he saw our puzzled expressions.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Bobby advised him with a pat on the back as he walked into the house.
"What's the problem?" I inquired.
"She thinks I'm not spending enough time with her."
"Are you?" asked Jack.
Angel shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know? I could be stuck to her side for 23 out of 24 hours a day and she'd still say I hadn't spent the whole day with her."
"I'm sure you're exaggerating."
He shrugged again. "Anyways, she and Camille made the spaghetti sauce—you two got the pasta?"
"No, I'm carrying around an dish full of pasta for kicks," taunted Jack, whose expression of "how stupid can he be?" made me laugh. Angel just rolled his eyes and closed the door behind us.
"Hi Lily," Sofi greeted me with a hug, "You have to help me with Angel," she whispered in my ear. I just nodded, unsure of what I had just gotten myself into.
"Hey Sofi,"said Jack as he walked in behind me. "Can I put this down somewhere; its starting to get heavy."
Sofi motioned for him to put it on the counter.
"What's this I hear?" taunted Bobby, "Jackie-O ain't strong enough to carry a little pot? Ironic."
I looked up at Jack who was shooting daggers at Bobby with his eyes. Bobby coughed a bit before muttering a few curse words.
"Watch it, Bobby," scolded Camille as she and Jerry came downstairs, "I've got two girls that I intend to raise right."
"Aw, they'll be fine," muttered Angel. "They've got their Dad's drive; ain't nothing gonna stop them."
Jerry nodded in approval but one look from Camille turned his smile into a frown.
"Listen to Cami," he told Angel in a stern voice. Sofi and Camille exchanged weary glances.
"¿Por qué piensan ellos que ellos son más listos que nosotros?" growled Sofi, earning a dirty look from Bobby.
"We no spik Spanish in this house," he said gruffly, prompting Angel to smack him across the head. Jack took my hand and led me into the kitchen.
"Look, about what Bobby said earlier……I used to do that stuff, but not anymore, okay?"
I nodded my head slowly. I hated potheads. HATED them. But Jack…well, he was Jack…and he was clean. He cupped my face in his hands and forced me to look him in the eyes, a very dangerous thing to do.
"I believe you," I murmured. He kissed my nose and pulled back to make sure I was alright.
"Oh, I think I've interrupted something," said a low voice from the doorway. We turned to see Sofi grinning at us. Jack rolled his eyes and muttered something about finding Bobby. Sofi smacked him on the ass with a dishtowel as he left, prompting him to yelp and laugh at the same time.
"So………it's about time, no?" she said with a wink.
I shrugged and tried not to smile, "I haven't known him that long."
She threw her hands up in the air, "Ah! What does that matter? I knew Angel was the one for me the minute I saw him. A pair of stilettos and a Victoria's secret bra later, I had him convinced of it too!"
We burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell Bobby had against her. So why not ask? "Seriously, what's with the war you and Bobby have going?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's so childish—not my fault, of course." I nodded. "I met Bobby in High School and Angel started spending all his free time with me. Bobby didn't like it—Jerry was dating Cami, and Bobby was all alone—so he tried to break us up."
"I guess you got the last laugh, huh?"
Sofi shrugged, "I guess, but it gets so old."
I raised an eyebrow, "You want to make nice?"
She paused and pursed her lips. "Yes and no. I like annoying him—but it bothers Angel a lot more than he lets on. My man isn't too good with his emotions."
"Well, how are you going to start?"
Sofi looked surprised. "ME? I'm not taking the first step, he is!"
I sighed, realizing the plan she'd carved out for me. "Oh no, Sofi, what's my role in all of this?"
"He likes you, and he loves Jack, so whatever you two say to him—"
"No. Jack stays out of this." She paused once more, but this time she nodded approvingly, with just a hint of a smile.
"Okay………but you're in, right?"
"I guess so. Although I gotta say, I'm going to miss hearing the semi-hostile bantering you two have going on. We'll have to find someone else for you guys to make fun of."
She hugged me and left to find Angel. As I watched her go I couldn't help but feel that something was off…………..
I apologize if butchered the Spanish language—it's been a long time since Spanish class, and even then my grammar wasn't so great.
I graduated high school everyone! Woohoo!