Chapter 8
Camilla was ready for this. She felt it in her bones.
Lulu had been the one to set her on this path, and after their first date, she’d started to realize how right she was. Sitting on the park bench, she could see a future that didn’t involve her working her life away. She liked sitting in the sun with Abel, his hands intertwined with hers. She liked that Charlie felt completely happy to see him and wanted to interact with him as much as possible. Never had Camilla felt so certain that there really was life after tragedy.
And it was going to begin with dancing. What she’d told Abel about her love of dancing was true. Before Carlos got sick, dancing was the way that they connected for date night. It made sense for them because it had been how they met. Carlos loved to dance, and so did Camilla. The night they met, she’d been out with her friends, and he’d asked her to dance with him. The rest, as they say, was history.
The dance club where she met Abel was as much of a club as it had been a small warehouse back in her youth. When Camilla was young, it was well known that the old warehouse was where her peers would go and party sometimes. She, of course, had been too young to have experienced it personally, but everyone in school knew it was the place to be on a Saturday night. Eventually, some developers got hip to that knowledge and turned it into a legitimate club.
All while she had been rebuilding her father’s business, she’d heard about the renovations, and a small part of her heart nagged relentlessly inside her. That small part of her wanted to go there, just to see if it was going to be as fun as the old clubs she and Carlos used to go to. However, work, her restaurant, and her grief held her back. Days turned to weeks turned to months, and before she knew it, she was barely thinking about dancing anymore. That trend was about to end, however.
A few hours after they closed the restaurant, she was riding in the back of an Uber. As the car cruised down the club’s street, she was amazed to see all the activity around it. The parking lot across the street was nearly full, and the street itself seemed to be busy with people making their way to the thumping music just beyond the large metal doors.
Camilla had chosen a flowy red dress with a halter top that exposed her graceful neck and rounded shoulders as well as pushed her cleavage up. Admittedly, she was feeling a little exposed, but at the same time, she felt really beautiful. She’d done up her hair in a million ringlets, and her makeup was strategically chosen to highlight the blue in her eyes. When she looked at herself in the mirror one last time before leaving her house, she imagined herself twirling on the dance floor the way she had so many years before.
Lulu had gleefully offered to sit with Charlie while she went out. When she saw her walking out in her dress, her eyes got as large as the broad smile on her face.
“Look at you,” she said. “He is going to flip!”
Camilla certainly hoped so.
An hour later, she got out of her Uber and stepped onto the sidewalk just as a group of young men walked past. They all caught sight of her at once, and three of them stumbled. The first one just gaped stupidly as his friends fell over themselves. Camilla watched them walk past and smiled involuntarily. So this is what it feels like to be the prettiest girl in the room.“Camilla.” She turned to see Abel jogging up to her. He was wearing a casual but nice-looking jacket with black slacks and shiny-looking shoes. His hair was neatly combed and gelled so that it had a tousled yet organized look around his gentle face. He stopped as soon as he got close to her, his eyes roaming her body. He snapped his fingers while shaking his hand like he’d just touched something hot.
“Ooh,” he said. He then took her by the hand, kissing it. “You look like a dream.”
“Thanks,” she responded. The flush in her face was moving down her neck now. She imagined she was as red as her dress. His dark eyes continued to look her over, visually devouring her.
“You ready to dance?” he asked her.
“I am,” she responded. “Think you can keep up?”
He laughed out loud. “You have no idea who you’re talking to. Back in the day, I could dance all night.”
“That was ten years ago,” she said smartly. “I’m pretty sure I can dance circles around you now.”
“I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” His smile was like sunshine, and she wanted to bathe in it. He put his arm out to her. “Shall we?”
She hooked her arm in his, and the two walked to the front door and into the club.
The sound of cumbia music surrounded her as they walked through the door. Lights bounced around the large dance floor as a small sea of bodies moved to the music. Abel and Camilla stood there for a moment, taking in the sights. For all of Camilla’s talk, she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed just looking at all the couples out on the dance floor. The bar was closest to them, right by the door, and the bartenders were moving like assembly line workers trying to get drinks out to the crowd surrounding them.
“Do you want something to drink?” Abel asked loudly, trying to get his voice to climb over the sound of the music.
Camilla shook her head. “I don’t drink.”
“Neither do I,” he said. “Maybe we should start?”
He was raising an eyebrow at her. He was just as nervous as she was. She squeezed his arm, feeling a little like they were standing on the edge of a diving board. “Maybe after.”
She smiled up at him and that seemed to shake away his nerves. “Okay,” he said. “Be careful, though. I’ve been known to cut a mean rug.”
She started to walk, but he stopped. “Hey, so…if I told you that I was a good dancer back in the day, but I haven’t danced in public in a long time, would you hold it against me?”
She got up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Just let me lead,” she said, pulling him along.
They stepped onto the dance floor, and Camilla immediately started swaying to the music, letting her hips swing with the beat. Abel watched her for a moment, his face going pink around his cheeks. Then she reached out to him and pulled him close, moving her body against his.
“Come on,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Just stick your leg in between mine.”
“What?” he said with a chuckle.
She nodded down for emphasis. “Stand with your leg between mine. That way, you can follow me without stomping on my feet.”
He nodded and stood with his leg between hers and put his hands on her hips. As she moved, he followed, keeping the beat with her as the jumping rhythm bounced around them. She noticed that he was looking down at his feet, so she touched his chin, pulling it up until he was looking at her.
“Keep your eyes on me,” she said. “That’s it.”
He was smiling, and she felt him relax into the dance. He was a little awkward, but he wasn’t completely rhythmless. In fact, the longer they danced, the more natural it was beginning to feel. Before long, he gained more confidence. He spun Camilla around the dance floor like he’d been dancing his entire life.
“Told you,” he said to her. “I’m a born dancer.”
She laughed, and the two of them danced until they started to lose their breath. Two, three, four songs went by before Camilla started to feel like she couldn’t dance anymore. She just kind of fell into Abel’s arms, laughing and panting all at once.
“Are we having fun?” he asked, and she nodded enthusiastically. The music changed to a slow song, and Camilla pulled away, thinking that he would be too worn out to continue. He held her fast, however, and pulled her close.
“One more,” he said.
She smiled and fell into the slow, rocking beat of the song. The beautiful voice of the female singing soared over their heads. I could fall in love…
“Camilla,” he asked her. “Do you…do you really want this? To be with me, I mean?”
She crinkled her nose at him. “That’s a weird question to ask.”
“I know. I just…this whole thing feels so good, you know? I don’t want it to end.”
“Neither do I.”
He paused, an entire world going on behind his eyes. “Camilla—”
She put her finger to his lips to silence him. “Just dance with me, okay? We can figure out the rest later.”
He looked down at her, his brown eyes smoldering. “You’re really something, Ms. Nunez.”
She smiled. Then she pulled him down to her and kissed him, long and deep. The world fell away around them, and for a moment, they were suspended together outside of time. His kiss was electric, vibrating through her skin and making her heart skip a beat. Her hands reached up, her fingers intertwining themselves in his dark locks.
He was it. This was the man for her. She had no doubts about it. She never thought she’d find love again in this lifetime.
In the next moment, she was pushed away from him. An intrusive hand grabbed hold of her and pushed her backward, making her stumble a few steps. The fantasy was over, and she was standing in the cold, watching as Rafael grabbed Abel by the collar.
“I told you!” he shouted. “I said to stay away from her!”
He pushed Abel hard, sending him backward across the dance floor. Abel stared up at him, stunned and confused. “Rafael! What the—”
“You weren’t supposed to keep going out with her! What’s wrong with you?!”
Camilla spotted the bouncers by the door, alerted to the commotion. She jumped in front of Rafael. “What are you doing? What’s the matter with you?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” said Abel. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Hey, hey,” said Camilla. “Let’s not do this in here, okay? Let’s just talk this out. Outside.”
They looked at each other over Camilla’s head, then Abel took a step back, glancing over his shoulder as if he could sense trouble coming.
“All right,” he said. “Come on.”
The three of them walked back through the club and left through the front door. They weren’t even two steps out on the sidewalk before Rafael pushed him in the back, sending him stumbling.
“Hey!” said Camilla. She grabbed Rafael’s arm to pull him back, but he yanked it away from her, advancing on Abel.
“I told you, Abel. I told you to leave her alone!”
Abel scowled at him with anger and confusion on his face. “Yo, back off me, man!”
“Back off? BACK OFF?! After everything, you still want to go out with her?? Are you out of your mind?”
“Are you?? What is wrong with you, man?”
“I put in too much time with her for you to come and mess it all up,” Rafael shouted. “Spending time with her at church and at the restaurant and prayer meetings, you think you can just swoop in and—”
“Whoa, whoa,” said Abel. “Are you serious right now? What are you even talking about?”
Camilla could do nothing but watch in stunned horror. Rafael…? He was a friend. He’d always been just her friend. This couldn’t be real.
“She’s my girl,” he said. “Mine. I laid the groundwork with her so she’d give you that job when you got out. And now you think you can just walk all over me like this?? You ungrateful dirtbag. This is how you do me after everything I’ve done for you?”
Abel just stared in disbelief at him, unable to speak or even move. Rafael suddenly whirled around to Camilla.
“Do you remember all those times in church,” he said, his eyes pleading with her, trying to will her to share his memory. “You and me praying together. You would be right next to me and, and your hand would touch mine and—”
“Oh, my God, Rafael!” She shook her head, stepping away from him. “That’s not what that was about!”
“You want me, Camilla. Not him. Not him. I am the better man.”
Abel stepped in, taking Camilla by the hand and pulling her away. “Let’s go,” he said.Rafael grabbed him by the shirt and punched him, sending him to the pavement. Abel got up an instant later and lunged at him, driving his shoulder into his brother’s stomach and sending him tumbling onto the concrete.
“Stop it!” Camilla shouted as the two of them rolled around, punching one another. “Stop it!” She ran over to them and grabbed Abel, pulling him away from Rafael. The two brothers got to their feet, and she stood between them, holding Abel back while Rafael paced the pavement, nursing his swelling lip.
“He’s a killer, you know!” he shouted at her.
Camilla just stared, and Abel shouted at him, “Go sleep it off. You’re either out of your mind or you’re stone drunk.”
Rafael stopped, looking Camilla in the eye. “July 10th, ten years ago. Your father was killed in a poker game by some kid. That’s what your mother told you, right? It was some gangbanger. A kid from the neighborhood. Well, that poker game was at my house, and that kid was my brother.”
She shook her head. “No, no. Abel…Abel wouldn’t—”
“He was charged with manslaughter,” Rafael went on. “He’s the guy that killed your father, Camilla. That’s why he’s the wrong one for you. That’s why you can’t be with him.” A dead silence swirled between the three of them, and Camilla’s blood suddenly went cold.
“Why…?” she said, turning fully to Rafael. “Why would you say that? Why would you say that about your own brother?”
“Because it’s the truth,” he said. He looked down at her like a wounded creature, bruised face and pleading brown eyes. “He killed your dad, Camilla. He shot him down in cold blood—”
“You son of a—” Abel lunged at him, but Camilla pushed him back.
“Stop it!” She looked up at him, the hurt starting to pierce her heart. “Just stop it!” Abel stood there, his eyes jumping from her to Rafael quickly. She stepped into his line of sight, stopping him with her own gaze.
“Is it true?”
She watched as Abel’s anger drained out of him. He looked away from her for a moment and swore. She touched his hand, bringing him back to her. “Is that what you went to jail for?” she pressed.
He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t. “Camilla, it’s why I went to jail, but it isn’t like he says.”
“But that’s what happened? You went to jail for murdering my father.”
“No, no. I didn’t kill him. I…I went to jail for it, but I didn’t—”
“Stop,” she said. She could hear her voice starting to break. “Just…stop.” She glanced at Rafael then back to Abel, and it felt like her heart was bleeding.
“Camilla,” said Abel. “I promise—”
“Don’t. Don’t promise me anything. Please.” She stepped away from him, then tore her eyes away as she walked past him, pulling out her phone to order an Uber. She heard him calling for her, but she didn’t dare turn around. She walked away, tears running down her face and sobs in her chest. When the car finally pulled up to take her home, she disintegrated, weeping in the back seat all the way home.