23. Marisol
Marisol
W as it possible for someone to die from having her heart pound out of her chest? Because at the rate her heart thumped anxiously inside her, she was certain it was trying to separate itself from her body. But it didn’t get really bad until they reached the entrance to her parents' property.
Intimidating iron gates with red brick walls surrounded the entire estate.
The house sat back another half mile from the entrance, nestled behind the sparse forest area.
A black box with a number pad sat right outside the gate.
Cisco’s car came to a rolling stop. She was too busy pulling down her blue dress, making sure it covered the tattoo on her thigh, to notice they’d arrived.
“Passcode?”
His words took a moment to register in her overactive mind. Her leg began to bounce, and she swore the space around her was caging her in, becoming smaller and smaller by the moment. Her heart was thudding so loud, it was the only thing she could concentrate on. Pounding over and over and over?—
“Princesa.” A gentle hand went to her bouncing leg, stalling her movements. She blinked once, the fog in her mind slowly clearing as she looked up to stare into Cisco’s warm brown eyes. They grounded her in a way nothing else could.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, his voice soothing something deep inside her. She might not quite believe him, but she wanted to believe everything would be okay. “It’s just one dinner. We eat their food, and I take you home to Snowball.”
“Right, okay.” She breathed in once before giving him the four-digit passcode. Cisco was quick to type it in. The gates squeaked as they opened, in desperate need of WD-40. The driveway to their house was full of twists and turns, until finally the grand Mediterranean-style villa came into view.
Cisco let out a whistle as he parked behind an older pickup truck. It belonged to Javi, so at least she knew her sister was already here. Maybe seeing her grandchildren would mellow her mom. Not likely, but there was a little hope.
“They’re rich rich,” Cisco said with admiration in his voice. “Damn, Princesa. Did you grow up here?”
Marisol shook her head. “No, they only moved into this house a few years ago. Though my childhood home looked similar. It’s my mother’s favorite architectural design.”
There were no subtleties about the house.
No expense was spared when you ran a thriving winery business.
The interior of the house only proved that.
When Marisol led Cisco inside, they entered the grand foyer with a soaring ceiling.
A massive window at the top bathed the room in natural light.
The curved staircase to their left led up to the guest bedrooms and her father’s office.
Marisol hesitated slightly, gathering the last of her courage, before taking Cisco’s hand.
His warmth felt good, providing her with the strength and security she needed to take the first step down the hall.
She heard high-pitched giggles coming from the outside family room, an enclosed outdoor area her parents enjoyed entertaining in.
It was located next to their outdoor kitchen, overlooking the beautiful landscape of their backyard.
Just last year her parents had finished their pool, complete with a hot tub.
Her father said he had wanted a pool for a long time, but Marisol knew he wasn’t the best swimmer and built the pool for his grandchildren.
Just as she suspected, when she opened the door to the outside living room, her niece and nephew were getting ready to swim, taking advantage of the last hour of sunlight.
Javi struggled with Fabian, trying to put the floats around his chunky arms. Lola rubbed sunscreen into Camilia’s back. Both Javi and Lola were in swimwear.
Marisol was surprised that Lola decided to wear a two-piece.
Not because her sister didn’t look absolutely stunning in a two-piece, but rather because she liked to keep her body covered up when around their mother.
The absolutely unhinged and completely awful things their mother had said to them, but more specifically Lola, over the past few years would leave them both in therapy for the rest of their lives.
Her father turned from his position at the grill when he heard the door shut behind them. His face lit up, and Marisol couldn’t help but smile. For as strained as her relationship with her mother was, her relationship with her father—though not thriving—was still pretty good.
“My girls are here.” He wiped his hands off on the cloth next to his grill before coming over and giving Marisol a hug. He smelled of charcoal and fire. “And who is this? He looks familiar.” He pulled back to look over Cisco.
All eyes were on them now. She felt the curious stare of her sister and brother-in-law.
“Dad, this is Cisco. My—” Her brain went blank.
Her…what? “Friend” wasn’t right. Friends didn’t give each other amazing orgasms or eat them out first thing in the morning.
But was “boyfriend” the right word? They hadn’t talked about labels, but she knew her feelings for him were stronger than any other man she had in her life before.
She certainly couldn’t address him as “lover.” That term seemed dated, and anything involving the L word needed a private conversation that wasn’t in front of parents.
Luckily, she didn’t have to look like a complete fool for long. Cisco offered her father his hand. “I’m the boyfriend. I believe we met at your store not too long ago.”
Her father pondered this before realization dawned. “Ah, yes. The young man interested in the spot next door. How’s that going?” Leave it to her father to always find a way to talk about business.
Cisco, luckily, didn’t seem to mind. “Should be squared away soon. Looks like we’re going to be neighbors.”
“You don’t say? How exciting. What is it you plan on opening? Should I be nervous about competition?” Her father laughed good-naturedly, but Marisol still squirmed uncomfortably.
“Daddy…” she warned.
“Unless you also plan on opening up a tattoo parlor within your store, I think we’re good.” Cisco chuckled, falling into an easy conversation with her father, almost as if they were picking up from the last time they spoke.
“Tía!” Camilia grinned and ran over to Marisol, throwing her arms out for a hug.
No one could be upset or stressed when Camilia came running for a hug. She crouched down to meet her niece, and soon a chubby toddler came running up from behind his sister to join the hug. “Tía! I two!” It had been his go-to phrase since his birthday a few weeks ago.
“Are you going to go swimming with us? Mamá Lola said you weren’t, but I told her I was going to ask you anyway.”
“Your mommy is right. I need to stay back and watch all of your cool tricks,” Marisol said, hoping it would satisfy them.
Camilia contemplated this and finally nodded.
“Okay. Someone needs to take pictures.” She skipped back over to her father.
Fabian was on her heels, always following his big sister around.
It was cute. Camilia was a great big sister, making her look like a natural.
She took her brother’s hand, explaining why he needed to be careful in the pool.
She couldn’t stop her heart from lurching. That was what a big sister should be. Someone who protected their younger sibling. Something she had never done for Lola.
Her sister whispered something to Javi, who nodded.
He caught Marisol’s eye and offered her an amused smile before leading the kids to the pool.
Lola made a beeline for Marisol, taking her hand.
“We’re getting drinks. Be right back!” she called and pulled Marisol inside.
She had only a second to look back at Cisco, but he was still talking with her father. It looked friendly.
She hoped it was.
As soon as the door closed, Lola spun on her. “Who’s that?”
“I thought we were getting drinks.” Marisol walked past her sister to the wine fridge.
“You're stalling,” Lola argued.
She was. But she had good reason to stall. Her relationship was still so new with Cisco. She didn’t want to ruin anything by opening her mouth and saying something wrong .
Lola wasn’t having it. “You have a boyfriend?”
“It’s news to me too.” She shrugged, grabbing a sweet wine. “Drink?”
“No, Javi and I are trying for baby number three. Our last one.”
Marisol’s eyes widened. “What? Really?” Her sister had never mentioned wanting a third baby. Though that was not news she would have shared with her in the first place. She would have told her friends, which made Marisol oddly jealous. It was her own damn fault though.
“Yes. Now back to you. Where did you meet him?”
Marisol knew she wouldn’t be leaving this room until she satisfied her sister’s curiosity.
Apart from Alice, she hadn’t told anyone about Cisco.
Normal siblings talked about this shit, didn’t they?
Maybe it would be good to tell Lola. Especially since she wanted Lola to share important parts of her life with her.
Marisol had to be willing to do the same.
At the very least, it could offer her some perspective.
With her mind made up, she poured herself a glass of wine. The first of many, she was sure. “I met him when getting my tattoo, actually.”
“Really? He was there getting one too?”
“Uh, no. He was the artist. And the owner.”
Lola’s eyes grew comically wide before she burst out in laughter. “Oh my god, Marisol. I didn’t know I was sending you on your first date when I booked the appointment.”
Marisol’s cheeks flamed. “Me either.”
“I didn’t know you were into the tattooed guys. Reminds me a bit of Javi. Should I be nervous?” Lola raised a brow.
All color drained from Marisol’s face as she adamantly shook her head. “No! Of course not. I would never—I mean, I know I did, but I wouldn’t?— ”