Thank you for betaing, MsSchneehiede!
"Can I talk to you both about something private?" Maritza asks shyly. She's accompanying Karla to get their toenails done at Aleida's salon while Blanca's working at Friendly's and Raiza is at Farah's house, playing with her and Alison. Before they all left for their respective destinations, Maritza had snuck the cash she made into her mother's purse.
"Sure!" Karla says pleasantly.
"Go ahead, nena," Aleida chimes in. She starts giving Karla a pedicure while Maritza's feet soak in the tub. Maritza's so relieved the salon is empty. She had asked to come along with Karla at a slow time on purpose.
"Um...so, I didn't wanna tell Mami, so por favor, no se lo digas a ella, pero tuve sexo por primera vez." Maritza chuckles and feels herself blushing. Karla smiles gently and Aleida beams.
don't tell her, but I had sex for the first time
"Oh...we won't, but...you were safe, right?" Karla wonders aloud, and Maritza nods slightly, staring at the black pentagrams she'd drawn on her hands.
"Dime, how was it?" Aleida asks eagerly.
Tell me
"Mind blowing!" Maritza gushes, and the women squeal in excitement for her. "I had an amazing orgasm. He even used a condom he got from the school nurse! He was hella careful about that. Also because I'm tiny...and he was like, holy fuck, gigantic, his cock, at least."
"Um, you were just a little too graphic in your wording, but that's excellent, he was good to you, sounds like! I'm just surprised...I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Karla murmurs. "Surely your mamá would've mentioned it..."
"Oh! Uh, well..." Maritza isn't sure how to respond to this. "He was a good friend that I hadn't spent a lot of time with...and just today, we discovered we were equally into the other...and we wanted to try...making love. Neither one of us had done it, we were dying to know what it was like. I knew it would be magical with him, though, ¡lo sabía!"
I knew it!
"That certainly is special," Aleida comments. "It's better than mine. You can blame my no-good motha for that, though. I was forced into prostitution to support us when I was your age. A little younger, actually, maybe fourteen."
Maritza's relieved she isn't eating or drinking anything, or she surely would've choked on it. "Wow...I'm sorry to hear that, Aleida. I don't exactly blame my mami for us being poor, though..."
"Well, that's because she didn't make you sell yourself to creepy pedophiles."
"Yeah," Maritza agrees. "She'd never do that. Your mom sounds like a fuckin' bitch."
"She was. Too bad she never got arrested."
Maritza gives Aleida a sympathetic smile. "Mm-hm."
"I'm just happy she ain't around no more." Aleida focuses on brushing turquoise blue paint on Karla's toenails.
"That's good." Maritza glances over at Karla. "How was yours? If you don't mind me asking...?"
Karla sighs loudly and a flash of darkness crosses her face as she grimaces. "It sucked. I had no idea what was going on," she mumbles.
Maritza frowns. "Lo siento. Being a small girl's gotta be difficult when it comes to having sex. I'm totally with you on that one. I'm just glad my guy was muy amable. It barely stung."
very gentle
"I'm even littler than you...so it did hurt." The woman in the other chair brightens up again. "However, my husband was the best I'd ever had. I consider him my first, even if he technically wasn't."
"Aww...how did you meet him?" Maritza wants to know.
Karla gets a faraway look in her eyes and she smiles dreamily. "Ramón and I met in English class sophomore year. Diane Vause-now Ford-was our teacher, and she seated us in alphabetical order. Our last names were very similar...my maiden name is Córdon. I was next to him." Karla gazes up at the ceiling and giggles. "He was always making me laugh, I remember. He had the most awesome jokes. His sense of humor still hasn't gone away. I was so timid at first, even flinching when he passed me things our teacher was handing out...but he somehow got me to open up and talk to him. He was from El Salvador, too...he had just moved to America. That man's got a way of making me feel calm and special...ever since we were fifteen. After being friends for maybe six months or so, he got me flowers and we started dating when we turned sixteen, he was willing to wait until I was ready. I'd honestly never seen a dude take a relationship so slowly."
Karla's story is so cute and it makes Maritza swoon. She hopes she finds someone like that someday. "Mmm, that's so romantic! He sounds totally sweet," Maritza says enthusiastically. "How long you guys been married?"
"Since a year before Benji was born. We wanted to be sure we were meant to be together forever before having a child. I'd never want to be pregnant and have el hombre leave me. Too many women I know have gone through that."
Aleida nods. "Mm-hm, including me and Gloria, like, maybe twice, and Diane and Theresa, once. Stupid ass motherfuckers!"
"That's so great for you, Karla! Ugh, yeah, how horrible that they left the rest of y'all in the dust like that. Theresa...Flaca's mom, you mean?" Maritza had always been curious about Flaca's dad, but she has an idea now.
"Yep. Total mysoginist...knocks up a chick and ditches her 'cause she had a girl. Of course, el cabrón visits his sons...but never his daughter. He came back to Theresa a while after they had Flaca in hopes she'd give him a boy this time, he apologized, he, at least, pretended he loved Flaca until he couldn't take it no more, I guess. Theresa finally put her foot down when Flaca was three and a half and demanded he pay equal attention to all their children, and he admitted he just did not want a little girl around because he wouldn't be able to do manly things with her as she grew. She told him to do whatever the fuck he wanted, but to quit making Flaca think her papá actually cared about her, so in response, the cold-as-ice pendejo left," Aleida reports while painting purple polish on Maritza's toenails.
Maritza's heart cracks for her friend and her eyes well up with tears as she presses her hand to her heart. "Poor Flaquita," she murmurs.
"I know," Karla agrees. "I can't imagine anyone holding their precious little one and thinking anything negative. Unless Flaca's told you, though, pretend you didn't just hear that, I'm sure she wants to keep it to herself."
"Okay, I won't mention it unless she says something," Maritza says. "She seems fine without him. Like, she doesn't talk about wanting a father figure or nothin'."
"It's 'cause she don't need that asshole," Aleida mutters. "Probably forgot all about him..."
"I could maybe help her find her mom a Prince Charming like you got, Karla. I want them both to be happy."
"You don't need a man for that, sweetheart, trust me," Karla points out. "It's just a bonus if one happens to come along. I love Ramón and I feel lucky to have him!"
"You should, you're living every straight and bi woman's dream," Aleida murmurs.
"You would too, if you would just choose Leon instead of always vacillating between him and that loser Cesar!" Karla exclaims and Maritza snickers behind her palm until Aleida swats her foot.
"Bitch, it's a hard decision, por favor cállate," Aleida snaps, but Karla gives her the hand while rolling her eyes. Maritza presses her lips together and shakes her head at their drama.
"So, can I have some advice, Karla?" Maritza asks as Aleida works on inserting Kleenex between each of their toes to keep them separate and then sliding flip-flops on their feet.
"On what?"
"Being a short girl in a tall guy world. Like...doin' it with a dude twice your size and much heavier. You know how that is."
"Ramón and I are actually close in height...he's only five seven, so I go up to his eyes if I'm not wearing high heels. He is a lot stronger than me, though, he usually lifts me up on the counter and we kiss. He says he doesn't want me to get kinks in my neck!" Karla beams, as does Maritza. "Basically, though...you mostly would wanna be on top, but if you're on the bottom, make damn well sure he's not laying on you! Don't worry if you bleed during consensual sex...that's normal and he'll stop if he's a decent person. It just means he got too into his hard thrusting and you can tell him to take it down a few notches. Uh, what else? Oh yeah, it's okay if you can't get...all the way...around him while doing oral." Maritza giggles awkwardly. "Just go as much as you're able to... simply your tongue swirling around the tip could get him-"
"Okay, ¡basta!" Maritza shouts, her cheeks burning in embarrassment. "Mami already gave me that part of the talk. That was humiliating enough when I was eleven. Seriously, tu amiga should be a porn author or somethin'. Her dreams turn really weird when she talks to herself about what she and her partner wanna do to each other. One time, I had to wake her up 'cause she was moaning loudly about him being a unicorn and her a sprite...somebody in her head was givin' her a damn good orgasm."
Aleida cracks up. "She wanna fuck Diablo, no doubt!"
"Ay, coño, that's nasty, though! Luckily her naughty words are in Spanish, so Raiza can't understand it yet...mi hermanita ain't fluent like I almost am, pero...I'd just watch a dirty movie if I wanted to hear that shit!"
my little sister
Karla groans and covers her face. "Lo siento, Maritza. You're only sixteen, I probably shouldn't have said that much...I wasn't sure how far you went, and I don't want you to gag, that's all. Your...passionate...experiences, all of them, ought to be amazing. Everyone deserves that. I know Blanca can't help what she does in her sleep...pero, I didn't need to know that. I get where she's coming from, though. The poor woman hasn't ever had a nice person in her bed."
"Yeah, Blanca gotta get laid," Aleida mutters.
"Aleida, not in front of her daughter," Karla hisses. "Maritza's not even ready for Blanca to have a boyfriend."
Maritza points at Karla. "What she said. Al mismo tiempo, sin embargo, quiero que ella sea felíz."
At the same time, though, I want her to be happy.
"Ah, querida, so do I," Karla says as they both pay Aleida.
"Same here," Aleida murmurs.
"Well, gracias!" Maritza chirps.
"De nada."
"Yeah, thanks, you did a great job!" Karla puts in.
"Yo, ¡no hay problema!"
"¡Me encanta esto!" Karla says happily.
I love this!
"Me, too!" Maritza concurs. "I can't wait to wear open-toed shoes! I hear guys love seeing pretty toes in sandals or five-inch heels."
"Yeah, especially ones with foot fetishes," Aleida grumbles, making Maritza shudder involuntarily. She would hate anyone touching her in places that aren't meant to be erogenous zones. "My bestie Gloria had somebody like that. She gave him-"
"Aleida!" Karla snaps, shaking her head no. "Basta."
"No, dime sobre Gloria," Maritza practically begs. Karla raises an eyebrow up at her. "What? I'm interested, this sounds hilarious." It could also help her in her job later on, but she of course isn't going to mention that.
tell me about
"Ella masajeó su pene con los pies," Aleida responds and Karla imitates retching.
She massaged his penis with her feet.
"Wouldn't that give m-her, foot cramps?" Maritza hopes nobody noticed her almost slipping up. She'd disguised it as clearing her throat.
"Yeah...it did, pero it also strengthened her calf muscles, makin' em look like those of a speed skater's." Aleida lifts her shoulders up and down and Maritza grins while nodding.
"Pero, young lady, muchachos con fetiches extraños are pretty gross and raise red flags sometimes. The wrong ones can get awfully violent if you don't give into their disgusting demands," Karla warns her. "So, stay away from them, ¿entiendes?"
boys with strange fetishes
Maritza nods. "Okay. I will."
"Besides that, you don't need to think about all this too much...you're just a high school girl. You got your whole life ahead of you, and you don't need to rush to have as much action as you can before you graduate," Karla continues, pursing her lips as she side-eyes Aleida, not looking at all pleased. "You don't need to know every little thing at once. Learn as you grow."
"Alright, got it." Maritza says. "Gracias por el consejo, las dos. It was greatly appreciated."
Thank you for the advice, both of you.
"De nada," the women say in unison and put their arms around her as they leave Aleida's salon. "Don't choke on big black cocks," Aleida adds in a hushed voice for only Maritza to hear, and the latter giggles hysterically.
Karla gasps. "¿Qué? What did you say to her?"
"Oh, nothin'," Maritza tells her, trying to hide her smirk. She's glad when Karla doesn't press her on the matter, because it's not important.
"How much do I owe ya?" Blanca wants to know. She and the girls had been making their apartment look nice for the next tenants and she'd had to ask Diablo to replace one of the broken windows that freezing Saturday afternoon.
"It's on the house," he assures her, probably noticing the frantic look on her face as she's breathing heavily and counting the few ten dollar bills she has. "Seriamente, don't worry about the cost. No es tu culpa que un rayo rompiera tu ventana."
Seriously. It's not your fault that lightning exploded your glass window.
"Oh, gracias a Dios," Blanca mumbles, sighing with relief and blinking a few times to hold back her tears. She swallows a lump threatening to crawl up her throat. She puts her cash back into her wallet and he places his hand on her shoulder. She leans into his touch and he puts his arm fully around her, hugging her to his side for a second or two. "Lo siento that I don't have insurance, though, you did all this work for nada..." Blanca stares at the floor, mortified. She'd never wanted to be a damsel in distress needing the prince to save her, and yet here she is.
"Está bien, Blanca, I promise. Me alegro de que tú y tus hijas estéis seguras."
It's okay. I'm just glad you and your daughters are safe.
She wonders if there's a double meaning behind his words. He's obviously referring to them not having been harmed from the exploding glass window since they weren't home, but he could also be talking about their escape from the monster who haunts their nightmares. There's no way he could know for sure, though.
"Oh, same here. Muchas gracias." Blanca grins at Diablo in his red and black flannel top and jeans, and she's suddenly delighted to be alone with him, as she doesn't want her girls to see them chatting so amiably just yet. She'd let Maritza hang out with Flaca for a few hours while Karla took Raiza back to the Córdova home, since her daughters didn't need to be there while Diablo was doing his handyman stuff. She'd just wanted them to help her vacuum and dust surfaces and wash the mirrors and countertop. Raiza was all too eager to wipe down the low coffee table in front of the couch and dust chairs, while Maritza seemed in too much of a hurry to get her own chores done. Blanca had told her to do an excellent job, as it's common courtesy, so Maritza did the best she could, in Blanca's opinion.
His shirt looks so sexy on him, the way it's ripped at the armholes, as if he'd torn his sleeves off. His jeans fit him just right and she couldn't quit staring at him as he worked. She can't stop thinking about how he's as handsome as he is kind, and she's weak in the knees just taking in his appearance.
Same here. Thank you so much.
He holds her icy hands in his warm, calloused ones and it's so comforting. "De nada. Dios mío, these feel like ice cubes," he points out.
"Sí, I don't own gloves, at least no useful ones. Karla got stuck in traffic while taking me here and I was just a little ways away from my apartment. I saw your truck and I didn't wanna keep you waiting...so as I salí de su auto, I was about to put my gloves back on when they dropped in slush, almost fell through the gutter, so they're wet and dirty at the moment. Karla's gonna wash 'em. It saves money to put my hands in my pockets and this is just temporary..." Blanca's teeth chatter and she bounces on the balls of her feet to keep the blood flowing. Even in her many layers of clothing, including leggings under her jeans, a scarf around her neck, and a beanie on her head, she's frozen. She wants UGG boots like she's seen women and girls wearing in Queens, but they're too expensive, and her puffy jacket is still soaked from the flood to wear. It's hanging up on Karla's shower rack, drip-drying. She has on Karla's outside jacket, but the sleeves are a little too short, so the frosty air just goes right through the material. She didn't have the heart to tell her best friend this, though. Also, to be fair, most of her clothing is very thin and the sweaters have holes in them.
got out of her car
"I'll buy you some pairs, heat goes out of the extremities first. There's still a deathly chill in here, no wonder you've kept yourself bundled up. The damn heater must not be working." For a second, she's shocked that he's now just noticed that it's quite cold in the apartment, but then again, he'd just been doing hard manual labor. Of course he'd be sweating.
"Sí...lo siento," she apologizes. "We have blankets...but they're at Karla's. We slept over there last night."
"It's okay, I'll fix the heater." He doesn't even seem mad. "I can make you some nice hot tea as well, if you'd like. What's your favorite flavor?" He heads towards the kitchen where she knows nothing will work. She'd been hoping just to keep the apartment looking like they still live there, so that's why she hasn't sold any of the furniture yet.
"Gracias. Peppermint, pero..."
"Hm?"
"Our electricity got shut off," she admits. "Nada funciona aquí, y...it's gonna be a fortune."
Nothing works in here.
He digs his wallet out of his pocket, but she stops him. "Blanca, déjame ayudarte con esto. Por favor. I care too much about you."
let me help you with this. Please.
"No necesito tu dinero. I didn't let Karla help me either. Sólo tengo que trabajar más. I got some jobs lined up already...trabajando con personas mayores, working in the school cafeteria...and you know Friendly's."
I don't need your money. I just have to work more...working with old people
Diablo puts on his leather jacket and leads her to the couch. They sit down together, their knees touching. "You can't live without electricity. Necesitas ducharte, necesitas comer, necesitas refugio y no puedes vivir sólo de agua."
You need to shower, you need to eat, you need shelter, and you can't just live on water.
"I'm getting my paycheck from Diane very soon, and I'm working longer hours there, too, like on weekends. I'll probably have to stay over at the old farts' houses, too... and get more money. It'll be okay, Diablo. I'm fine. Honest. I'll probably get that electricity bill paid within the next week, but in the meantime, we're rooming with the Córdovas. We'll be alright." She's assuring herself of that as much as she is Diablo.
"De acuerdo, pero si necesitas mi ayuda para algo, cualquier cosa, no dudes en llamarme. Hell, I don't care if you're pounding on my door at three in the morning, I'll answer and let you and your girls in."
Okay, but if you need my help for something, anything, don't hesitate to call me.
Blanca nods, beaming. She hugs herself and leans into him. "Gracias. ¡Es bueno saber que siempre puedo contar contigo!"
Good to know I can always count on you!
"Of course, Blanca."
She inhales and lets out a frigid, shaky breath. "Can you hold me? Just for a minute."
"Por supuesto." He embraces her and she sighs with content. She buries her face into his chest so he can't see the anguish on her features. She smiles through her distress and falls more and more in love with him as the seconds pass.
Of course.
"I wasn't too nervous, given that was my first time," Maritza says as she ambles the streets with Flaca. "It was total bliss, like a dream where I don't wanna wake up."
"Ay, no wonder you're so flushed…" Flaca grins. "When are you gonna see him again?" The taller girl gasps excitedly. "You two wanna go on a double date with me and Ian tonight? We're goin' to Dave and Busters and he's driving! Unless your hottie wants to? You can totally ask him. I don't give a shit, I just wanna go out with my chiquita and our boys."
It takes Maritza a second to figure out that Flaca thinks she's still with Darius. "Um...él no es mi novio. No lo hicimos oficial. No voy a volver con él, it pains me to say."
He's not my boyfriend. We didn't make it official. I'm not going back to him
"Why ain't you going back to him? Era desmiado grande for your petite body?"
Was he too large
"Sí," Maritza confesses. "Unfortunately, I can't give a blowjob to a nine inch dick. I gagged a couple of times and gave up. Plus…he couldn't go all the way in me, which was fine, but I felt bad that I was so pequeña!"
Flaca sighs. "Lo siento, pero you don't gotta fuck your boyfriend, ¿ya sabes? Ambos pueden hablar, besarse, abrazarse, bailar...yadda yadda."
you know? You both can just talk, kiss, hug, dance...
"Nah...he's nice, encantador y todo, él es super caliente, pero, no quiero un novio," Maritza states. She wills herself not to cry, because she really does want someone to call her own so badly, and he seemed like such a perfect match for her.
charming and all, he's super hot, but I don't want a boyfriend
"Okay, that's fine. Whatever you're cool with." Flaca puts her hands up in surrender. "I just wanted you to find love like I did and meet my special guy. Everyone knows him except you, and I don't want you to feel left out."
"I could third wheel..."
Flaca's phone buzzes and she checks it. "Shit, we had this planned for weeks," she growls under her breath. "Idiot gringo canceled on me."
A sharp pang of sadness hits Maritza. "Lo siento, Flaca. ¿Por qué?"
She purses her dark red lips and shrugs. "Mierda, no lo sé."
Shit, I don't know
Maritza loops her arm through Flaca's. "Well, how about after we chill at Dave and Busters, a sleepover and my favorite movie, Stepmom? It'd be at Karla's house, though, so I'd have to ask if you can join us and if she can give us a ride."
"Hmm...sounds good! Does it have Salma? Or at least music by The Smiths? There Is A Light that Never Goes Out..."
"No, Susan Sarandon y Julia Roberts, pero es excelente. ¡Créeme!" Maritza insists.
but it's excellent. Trust me!
Flaca smiles. "Okay. Gracias para la invitación."
Thanks for the invitation.
Maritza beams back at her. "Anytime. Girl, I always got your back."
"Yo también guardaré tus espaldas," Flaca murmurs.
I got yours too.
Thank you for reading and reviewing: A Star in my Universe, MsSchneehiede, Juliette45, and VeraRose19!