Authors: Zoe Glez
“A
lmost a year and a half, now.”
“I don’t believe this!” h
e exclaims at the same time mom asks “How could you keep this from us?”
“Because you guys don’t listen!” I snap at them
, standing up from my seat. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions and I want this, this is what I love to do. I don’t want a business, nor do I want to be stuck inside a stuffy office signing papers and doing shi— stuff like that. It’s just not my thing,” I say, exasperated.
“You should
have come to us with that, honey,” my mom says, coming to where I am and giving me a side hug.
“The hell she should of have!” my dad exclaims
. “I will not stand for this, Laylah. You are either going back to studying something that could actually land you a real job or I am cutting you out,” he finally exclaims. Ironically, those are the same words he once told my brother.
“Carlos!” both mom and Mama say, the first one in surprise and the last one reprimanding him.
“No! My mind is made up, just as hers seems to be. The decision is yours to make, Laylah,” he says, giving me an ultimatum.
“I’ve been doing this for almo
st a year without your money, Dad. I think we both already know what my decision is,” I tell him, standing up taller, showing him confidence.
He takes a deep breath and says
, “Very well, if that’s your decision. I have never been less proud of you than I am in this moment.” He walks out of the house. My mom gives me a quick hug and kiss before following him, leaving the entire room quiet and full of shock.
“Excuse me,
” I say as I head upstairs for the comfort of my pretend bedroom before I break down in front all of them.
I hear Mama calling after me and Mickey whisp
ering my name as I pass by him. I don’t stop to listen to what they have to say. I know they are concerned, but I just need to leave that god-awful room. As soon as I reach the top of the stairs, I run to the room where I finally break down and cry.
Chapter Eight
W
hat my dad said completely shattered me.
His expectations and wants have always been clear, I’ve just never understood why he won’t accept the choices we make for ourselves. He’s always had this plan for us and the same threats if we don’t follow those plans to a tee. I may have disappointed him, but he has lost my respect. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at my dad the same way again. And, that fact adds more pain to the wound he has left inside my heart.
I’m almost heaving with
the loss of tears and I find myself in that state of in between awake and asleep when I hear the door open. My body and all five senses tell me it’s Mickey.
“Hey, baby, are you awake?” he whispers into the poor
ly lit room. As soon as he sees me, he rushes forward, lays in the bed next to me and holds me. “Shhh…baby. Don’t cry. It breaks me seeing you like this,” he says, kissing me all over my face and rocking me, soothing me.
“Why would he do that? Why can’t he accept the person that I am?” I ask sobbing.
“God only knows, my heaven. I wish I knew the answer to that. I’ve been trying to understand your dad for years and I still don’t get him,” he answers back, stroking my hair, drying what little tears come out of me.
I
rest my head in that perfect spot between his neck and his shoulder that seems to have been made just for me.
“I’m sorry,
” he softly says as he kisses the top of my head.
“For what?” I ask moving my head so I can look at his face.
“If I wouldn’t have pulled that little stunt none of this would’ve happened.” I can hear the sorrow in his voice.
“It would have happened eventually, regardless
. There was no way of stopping this, he will never change his mind about any of this,” I say, stating the painful fact about my father.
“God, baby, t
his is all so fucked up. He made you cry, he turned that gorgeous smile of yours into a frown. Want me to punch him for it? Because I will do it, if you say so, I’ll do it. Without hesitation.”
“That sounds good,” I softly state returning to my perfect spot. “If only we could solve all of our problem with our fists, but we can’t. Violence only creates more problems.”
“You know what? Forget about him. Better yet
, show him you can succeed with or without him. Prove that he was wrong. Prove that there is no reason for him to be disappointed. Prove that you’re the better man…err, woman.”
“Nicely pointed out,
” I tease, already starting to feel better.
“S
hut up,” he says chuckling.
“I’m afraid,
” I say so softly I can barely hear my own voice.
“Of what, my heaven?” he asks
, serious once more.
“I’m afraid that when he finds out about us he would
do anything within his power to break us apart. I’m afraid of losing you,” I confess.
“Not possible. You’re stuck with me,
Laylah Torres. All that’s left is to change that last name of yours. In my opinion, Laylah Vega sounds so much better. You’re mine forever. Never forget that, baby.”
“Maybe we should elope,
” I tell him, completely serious.
“What?” he ask
s as if I were joking.
“I’m serious, D
imps, we should elope. That way it won’t be easy for him or anyone to breaks us apart. We’ve talked before about getting married, why not just do it now?” I rest my back against the headboard of the bed.
“Are you listening to me? Hell,
are you listening to yourself?” he asks, joining me. “Baby, there is nothing in the world that I want more than to marry you. But, I’m not going to do it to just prove a point. When we get married it’s going to be because we love each other and we want to be together til death do us part, not because we are afraid that a third or a fourth party will break us apart. I will marry you, Laylah, but not for the reasons you are suggesting.”
“God! Why do you have to be so insightful?” I
ask him, putting my forehead on his shoulder.
“Insightful?” he teases as he kisses my head. I just nod with my forehead still on his
shoulder. “I love you, Lai, and I want to give you the wedding of your dreams. One that you will remember for the rest of our lives together. All you have to do is say the day and we will do it.”
“I love you too, babe. And soon
, the answer is soon. I just want my proposal first,” I say, kissing his shoulder.
“I think I can manage that.” H
e winks at me.
“D
imps?” I ask after a moment of silence.
“Hmmm?” He drags
us back down to the bed.
“How did you manage getting in here?”
“After you left everyone decided to head to their respective homes and beds. Mama wanted to come inside and check on you, but I wouldn’t let her. I wanted to be the one to make you feel better. I wished I could’ve done it sooner, but I had to wait til the guys were asleep.”
I sigh and say
, “No one else was interested?”
“Well,
Kevin wanted to come up as soon as he heard you slam the door, but Mama told him it was better to give you some space. Mom also wanted to come, but she knew I wouldn’t let anyone else come through that door.”
“Thank you…for everything,
” I softly say with a yawn.
“It’s what I’m here for, baby. To love you unconditionally, to make that beautiful smile of yours shine w
hen a frown has overcome it.” He kisses me on the forehead. “Go to sleep, my heaven,” he whispers in my ear.
“Stay with me,
” I say as I begin to doze off.
“I’m not going anywhere, ever. I love you,
with all my being, baby.” That’s the last thing I remember hearing before falling into a deep sleep.
“Good morning, gorgeous,”
Mickey whispers in my ear, laying a kiss on my temple.
“Morning
,” I reply, a relaxed smile on my face.
“I’ve missed
this.” He tightens the grip he has on me.
“Ditto,
” I say as I stretch.
“How are you
holding up?”
“Better
now that I know that you’re still here.” I turn to my side so I can look at his beautiful face.
“Did you
ever doubt that I would be?” he asks, kissing the tip of my nose.
“Part of me did, b
ut a bigger part of me knew you would never leave me.” I kiss his jaw.
“
Nice to see you catching up.” He smiles.
“How long have you been up?” I ask.
“A while. You know how much I love watching you sleep. It gives me peace.” He shrugs.
“T
hat’s not creepy at all,” I tease.
“Shut up and give
me some sugar, you wise ass.” And so I do. Morning breath be damned, I kiss him like I’ve never kissed him before.
“What is going to be your great escape this morning?” I ask
, breaking our kiss.
“Alright…a
re you ready for this one?” he asks, looking to the sides as if he’s planning some huge conspiracy. I internally laugh at this and reluctantly nod. “Ok…here goes. I get up from the bed, open the door, and walk right into the hall,” he says.
“Smart ass!” I say
, playfully pushing him on the shoulder.
“Kiss me
, woman,” he demands and I happily oblige once again.
He pulls me closer to him and deepens our kiss. I can feel the heat rushing all over my body. Slowly, he moves us so he’s on top of me. With one hand he caresses my cheek, while the other one travels along my body, giving me
goose bumps, before finally resting it on my hip. It feels like our first time. He’s so caring, so loving.
With the hand
that’s placed on my hip he slowly raises my shirt, rubbing my skin with his thumb as he moves up, placing it just under my breast. I want more, I need to feel his skin against mine. My hand grips to the little hair he has at the nape. Needing him closer to me, inside of me. Our bodies start to move in synchronization. All that’s left to do is for us to take our clothes off. I could spend an eternity kissing this man. Lost in him. Just as I’m about to beg him for more, he stops.
“God…I love you!” I
breathlessly say, feeling flushed.
“Good, be
cause I love you, too,” he says giving me a chaste kiss, moving to my side and pulling me toward his chest in a thigh hold. “Next time I won’t be stopping. I want to stay like this forever.”
“Stay with me tonight and every other night from this day forward. I don’t think I could handle anoth
er night without you by my side,” I practically plead.
“I thought you’d
never ask,” he says, letting out a breath full of relief.
Getting Mickey out of the room was easier than I thought.
I had forgotten that the guys practically sleep until noon. After I take a quick shower and get dressed, I head downstairs to get some breakfast. Luckily, Mama and Lola are the only ones in the kitchen. I’m just not ready to confront the rest of the family after what happened last night.
“Morning!” I
exclaim to the two crazy ladies busy preparing breakfast.
“Ay
, mi niña!” Mama says walking towards me for a hug.
“How are you holding up?” Lola exclaims from her spot at the stove where she is stirring some oatmeal.
“Better,” I simply say and kiss my grandma on top of her head. I practically tower over her. God bless her soul.
“Good
. That’s good,” Mama says at the same time Lola says, “Miguel got to you, didn’t he?”
“He sure did,
” I admit, a huge smile on my face.
“You two
got it bad for each other,” Lola says, throwing a wink at me and I smile back at her.
“We sure do,
” Mickey says, scaring the crap out of me. He hugs me from behind and kisses me on the cheek. “So…with what do you two have the pleasure of feeding me this morning?” He lays a sound kiss on his mother’s cheek before moving on to hug Mama.