A/N : Hope you all enjoy. I'm just proof reading the next chapter, so that should be up in a couple of hours! Please review!
Chapter 4 (April's POV)
It was just passed the lunchtime rush. I had finished cleaning the Café up, and now I was out the back, preparing for next week. Andy was occupied watching movies on his laptop, and I was elbow deep in cookie dough. Now business was picking up, I liked to at least have a stash of dough cut out and on a baking sheet, ready to be put into the oven when needed.
I heard the familiar sound of Coco's Harley pull up at the same time as Andy, who let out an excited cheer.
"Go on, unlock the door then," I said, indicating the bolt on the front door. I always locked it once the café closed at lunchtime. The last thing I needed was someone trying to break in, when all I had to defend us was hands covered in flour and a rolling pin.
"Hey Leti, Coco!" I could hear Andy chatting happily to our visitors, as the front door banged shut. "Ma is in the back. She's making her famous snicker cookies!" I heard their footsteps walking through the café, so I quickly grabbed a towel, wiping my hands on it.
"Hey!" I greeted Leti, who came through the door first. She smiled at me, her dark hair twisted up for once in a bun, and she was wearing jeans and a hoody. Very practical and it made me smile.
"Hey April. Thanks for letting me do this," she said, and I tutted at her.
"Don't be silly. I'm glad of the help! Aprons are over there," I told her, pointing to a clean pile on the countertop. "You'll need one!"
"Hey, don't eat them, they're not ready yet," I said to Coco, catching him with his hand inching towards some undecorated brownies.
"My bad," he said, looking guilty for being caught. "It smells good in here."
"Yeah, that'll be the cookies," I told him, smiling, but he shook his head.
"Yeah… that's it," he said, smiling crookedly, and I blushed. Though I had spent the majority of last night tossing and turning in bed, thinking about the way he had kissed me, I wasn't mentally prepared for the possibility of flirting today. Especially in front of Leti.
"Ew, can you guys get a room?" She said, crinkling up her nose. I tutted at her sass.
"Well, you can get started by washing the dishes in that sink, cheeky," I told her, pointing at the pile of dishes on the side. "When you're done, I'm gonna teach you how to make cupcakes." I expected her to complain, but she just nodded.
"Cool," she said, heading straight over to the sink. Coco and I exchanged a surprised glance.
"What time do you want me to come pick her up? Got some things to do for the club this afternoon," He asked, as I walked him out to his bike.
"Don't worry about it, I'll drop her back to the clubhouse when we're done," I told him, "I've got my car today. Besides, I think Andy wants to bring his new favourite people some signature snacks from April's." I laughed, thinking about how Andy had gone on about it all this morning.
"Sounds good," he laughed, before suddenly looking nervous.
"What's the matter, Coco?" I asked, reaching out to him without even thinking about it. My hand found his and our fingers laced together. He looked at our hands for a minute, before his dark eyes met mine.
"Shit uh…I just wondered if maybe… after you come to the clubhouse tonight, you might wanna hang? Maybe get something to eat?" He asked awkwardly, and I smiled at his nervousness.
"Johnny El Coco Cruz, are you asking me out on a date?" I asked him boldly, and he shrugged, his brown eyes catching mine again.
"Yeah… guess so. Unless you don't wanna, of course…" He muttered and I grinned, leaning over to peck him quickly on the lips.
"I'd love to," I told him, "that's if your daughter doesn't burn my business down in the next six hours." He laughed at that.
"No fucking promises," he laughed, "You were the one who wanted to hire her!"
"Get out of here," I teased, as he got on his bike. "I'll see you later!"
"Adios, preciosa," he winked, backing out of his spot and tearing down the road.
Leti and I actually had a really good afternoon together. I noticed that, when she put her mind to something, she was a hard worker and a quick learner. She shrugged when I commented on it.
"People take one look at me and think a certain thing," She explained, bent over the frosting table putting finishing touches on her batch of salted caramel cupcakes. "I actually like to learn new things… I've just never had anyone to teach me before. Unless you count Celia teaching me how to attract men with money," she added, and I avoided commenting.
"Well, now you can take some of these goodies that you've made to the clubhouse and show the guys there's a culinary genius in the making," I told her, and she smiled.
"I'll just settle for being the genius's assistant… if I passed," she said, shyly, "this was a trial, right? Did I do ok?" It suddenly occurred to me that this might be the first time in her life that Leti had ever received praise. The conversation reminded me very much of a similar conversation I'd had with a certain biker the night before. Like father, like daughter.
"No, Leti, this wasn't a trial," I laughed, coming around the table to stand next to her. "I offered you a job here and I meant it. I need an extra pair of hands, sometimes in the back baking, sometimes serving customers, and sometimes looking out for Andy. I was going to put an advert out in a week or so anyway, but I'd much rather have someone I trust and someone whose company I enjoy."
"Really? Great," She smiled. Despite the fact we were both covered in cake batter, I wrapped my arms around her. She responded after a minute.
"You did real good today, mija," I told her honestly. "Now, go and get cleaned up whilst I balance the register." She nodded, stepping into the bathroom. I counted out the register, taking out Leti's wages and placing it on the side. I had just hung up my apron when she came out of the bathroom, and I indicated the money.
"I earned all this today?" She asked incredulously, looking at the notes. I laughed.
"That's only minimum wage for 5 hours hun," I told her. "I'm not gonna rip you off, I'll pay you a fair wage, as long as you work hard. Once business is off the ground, we may even talk about a little raise," I said, trying to keep her positive.
"Nah, that's ok," she shrugged, "I just like this. Coming here, doing something. Having a place to go."
"You can always come here if you need a place to go," I told her. "You don't even have to be working. If you need space to do homework or just get away for a while, you can always come and have a hot chocolate here."
"Or milk and cookies," Andy piped up from the corner, grinning cheekily. We both laughed at him.
"Thank you, April," she said, smiling awkwardly. "It's ok you know…"
"What is?" I asked her, confused.
"If you want to date my dad. I'm cool with it," she said bluntly, making me tut at her boldness. "Although… you may want to get changed. You look kind of a mess. No offense," she added, and I laughed. She was right. I was covered in god knows what, after the amount of baking we had done this afternoon.
"You're right. Tell you what, grab a couple of the takeout boxes from the side and fill them up for the guys. You can pick what's in there. I'll go and get changed," I told her, mentally thanking myself for having the sense to keep a change of decent clothes at the shop, since the last time we were invited to a Mayan party last-minute.
I went into the bathroom, pulling on a clean pair of skinny jeans and a tight black top with rips in it. I paired it with my dark green boots, running a brush through my hair and quickly applying some mascara and lip gloss. I was ready in five minutes.
"Wow you look real pretty, ma," Andy told me, when I entered the shop again.
"Why thank you, kind sir," I joked, kissing him on the top of the head. He was standing with Leti, his stuff all packed away. Leti was carrying two heaving boxes of treats, which I knew would be well-received by the Mayans. I took one of the boxes from her, and she held a thumbs-up sign to my outfit, winking.
I had a feeling this arrangement was going to work out rather well.
I pulled into the clubhouse lot, waving at Chucky as he opened the gates to us. I parked next to EZ's trailer, helping Leti take the boxes out of the back. Andy had already run ahead up the steps.
"Hey Angel!" Andy grinned, as he passed him leaving the clubhouse.
"Whoa, hey little man, what's happening?" He asked, but Andy had already sped through the open door into the clubhouse.
"Well, ok then," he said to himself, shaking his head and smiling.
"Sorry about that," I apologised, as Leti and I walked up the steps. "He gets excited to be here."
"It's cool, no sweat," he shrugged. "What's that you got there?"
"Just some treats Leti made today," I explained, "we thought you guys might enjoy them."
"Damn, we got pretty ladies around here and they can cook? It's our lucky night," he flirted, nodding to EZ as he emerged from his trailer. I laughed and Leti blushed.
"Yeah, don't let Coco hear you talking to his girls like that," EZ teased and I rolled my eyes. I guess word had somehow spread about me and Coco. Fantastic.
"Hey look, we gotta head out to our pops for a bit. You make sure you same some of those for us, you hear?" Angel instructed, pointing at the boxes.
"Sure," I laughed, "I'll pop some in the trailer for you. Say hi to your dad for me!"
"Will do. See you around, April," EZ nodded, smiling at us, before they both took off out of the lot.
I looked back at Leti, noticing how unusually quiet she was being. She was looking in the direction of the gate, where the Reyes boys had just departed. She blushed when she looked me and saw me staring at her.
"Oh, I see," I chuckled, "I guess he is pretty EZ on the eye." I laughed at my own joke.
"Shut up," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. She pulled open the clubhouse door and we went inside.
The place was pretty quiet, with only the sweet butts cleaning the tables. Chucky had found his way behind the bar.
"Where is everyone?" Leti asked Chucky, as he handed her a bottle of coke and me a cup of coffee.
"Templo," he answered, "Johnny and Creeper have been in there a while with Obispo and El Padrino."
"Cool, thanks Chucky," I said, shooting him a smile. He nodded, going back to stocking the bar.
"I guess we'll just wait then," Leti said, popping the boxes on top of the bar. "You wanna play pool?"
"Sure," I said.
I set up the table and Leti broke. She had a pretty accurate eye, another surprise to me. She shrugged when I mentioned it, after she spotted 3 stripes in a row.
"Guess it comes from my dad," she said, "he was a sniper in the marines and all."
"Huh. I didn't know that," I said. It suddenly made sense why he was such an asset to the club.
"Yeah, he's pretty good," she shrugged. "I'd never play pool with him; he wipes the floor with everyone."
"I hope you're talking about me, Leticia," a voice suddenly called. We turned around to see the guys leaving temple, Coco in the lead. He grinned at us both.
"I don't think your big head can take anymore compliments, Coco," she sassed him, laying her cue down.
"How was your first shift?" He asked her.
"Good," she smiled. "Brought you back some treats to try." She walked over to the boxes, opening them up to show all the guys.
"Very nice sweetheart," Bishop praised, leaning over to grab one of the brownies.
"Guess she didn't burn your kitchen down then?" Coco joked at me, taking a bite out of a cookie. "Damn, this shit is good." Leti glowed at the praise, making me smile.
"I'll have you know she did a great job," I told him, meaning every word. "I'm glad of the help and the company."
"Great, does that mean we can expect these regularly then?" He asked, surprising me with a wink. I smiled at him, noticing out of the corner of my eye that Marcus was watching our exchange.
"You ready to go?" Coco asked quietly and I shrugged.
"I was going to ask EZ to watch Andy, but he and angel went to their dad's..." I explained, not wanting to cancel, but I didn't want to assume that the other guys would take him.
"I'll watch him," Leti shrugged, eavesdropping on our conversation. "It's not like I'm going anywhere. Besides, I told him we could play hide and seek."
"Are you sure?" I asked, biting my lip. It wasn't that I didn't trust her but looking after my 10-year-old was a big responsibility for a girl of 16.
"Just go already," Bishop answered, rolling his eyes. "I'll make sure there's always a patch here until you get back, sweetheart."
"Thanks bishop," I said, kissing his cheek. Coco offered me his hand when Marcus spoke for the first time.
"Coco? A word, brother," he instructed, walking back into Templo. Coco and I exchanged a look before he followed El Padrino, closing the door behind him.
"Oh shit," Leti said, " is that bad?"
I fucking hope not, I thought.
(Coco's POV)
I followed El Padrino into Templo, taking my regular seat at the table. Marcus sat at the head of the table, in Bishop's seat. He pulled out a cigar, lighting it. I took the indication, lighting up a cigarette of my own.
"What's on your mind?" I asked him. I could guess where this conversation was headed, and I respected it. We owed this club to El Padrino and he had all my respect. I was hoping there wasn't going to be a problem with where I was hoping to go with April.
I don't know what made her different. Since getting back from Iraq… I had no time for women. All the bitching and expectations- Where were you last night? Why didn't you call? I was worried – I couldn't deal with that shit. I tried, with both of the women I had kids with after Leti came along, but I couldn't balance it. My life with the Mayans… I had to focus. I was all in and I felt like there was no room for anything else. And everything I touched besides the club always got fucked up in some way. So, I got by like every other one of us did; a lot of booze and nights at Vickie's to blow off steam when needed.
But then Leti came back into my life. It made me think about having more… being more than just one of the Santo Padre bikers. Don't get me wrong, Mayans were my life. My family. But I had a kid again… and things were going ok. I wasn't fucking up as much. In a weird way, maybe I was even doing some good with her. Leti made me wanna do good, so I could do right by her as her dad. That made me think though… what if I could do good in other ways too? Maybe I didn't have to be alone every fucking night after a long day on the road. Maybe I could have someone to come home to. It would have to be the right chick though… someone who understood the life.
And then I met April. All puffy eyes and wild wavy hair, desperate to find her son. Who just had to be an Alvarez, of all people. I knew the smart play was to stay away, to avoid awkward fucking conversation like the one I was about to have. But there was just something about her… it made me keep wanting to come back to her. She knew this life. She had loved a guy in this life. And she had made it out. Sure, she had been hurt by this life. But it hadn't broken her. She was tough as nails, which was hot as fuck. I just… enjoyed being around her. It was weird and I didn't get it. But I didn't question it. Can't dwell on shit like that, it just fucks you up.
"Something tells me you've got your eye on the mother of my grandson," Marcus said slowly, puffing on his cigar. "You looking to tap that?" I took a drag of my cigarette, staying calm. I knew he was baiting me.
"Man, it's not like that," I answered, just as slow. "There's something about her… she's different. I don't want to fuck and chuck. She ain't no plaything." I had had my fair share of temporary girls in the past. April definitely didn't fit that description.
"No, she's not," he agreed. "Look Coco, I'm going to be straight with you. If you're serious about her, you have my blessing, 'mano. But, if this is some game to you, it ends now."
"It's not a game, Padrino," I insisted, snuffing out my butt in frustration. "It's new, we ain't even been on a date yet. But it ain't no game."
"You asked her out on a date?" He asked, sounding surprised. I couldn't help but chuckle, slightly embarrassed. This wasn't exactly the stuff usually talked about in Templo.
"Yah," I admitted, "I asked her to dinner. She's the kinda girl that you do that shit with. I don't know Padrino…. It's early days. I've fucked up in the past and something about her makes me not wanna fuck up. And I don't care if I sound like a pussy saying this shit to you, 'cause I'd rather you hear the truth and it's all straight with us, brother. If I wanted a fuck, I'd go to Vickie's. I wouldn't pick the mother of your grandson." I took a deep breath, wanting my words to come across in the way I meant them. "We're just getting to know each other. I don't know if it'll work. I hope it does. But I wouldn't put her, Andy, or the club through this if I thought it couldn't."
There was silence for a minute, as Marcus contemplated my words. He finished his cigar, leaving it in the ash tray, and stood up. I followed suit. He walked over to me and held his hand out, nodding his approval. I shook his hand, and we embraced.
"Take care of her, brother," He told me, "or you'll answer to me."
I nodded. I wouldn't have it any other way.
