Chapter 4 #3
My stomach drops, and Adriana stiffens.
There was no way I wasn’t going to take that seat.
I was raised to respect my elders, especially ones as kind and generous as him.
Someone who even my own grandmother loved and respected despite the ongoing feud.
I walk over with a racing pulse and weak in the knees.
The smell of salami fills the air, making my stomach growl and reminding me that I haven’t eaten today.
Don Santos looks up at me with the same green eyes as the woman I love, and something inside me steadies.
He studies me like a parent, for a long moment, making me feel exposed. It’s like he could read every mistake since the day I moved onto this block. Then he smiles, showing off his golden tooth. “You two always did make too much noise.”
A ripple of laughter moves through him, but Adri doesn’t laugh, and neither do I.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ficha with a double three, edges worn from what looks like decades of games. Fuck, maybe even generations based on the faded paint and appearance. He sets it on the crate that sits between us.
“This is my last summer tournament,” he says quietly. “And I’m not leaving this world with unfinished business.”
I frown.
Not understanding where he’s going with this, but entertaining it either way. Don Santos looks up at his beloved granddaughter, giving her a warm smile, then back at me.
“You and Yael will plan the block party together. The domino tournament, too.”
Adriana's mouth drops open. “Abuelo, no. I’m sorry, but absolutely not.”
I shake my head, agreeing with her that there’s no way. “Yeah, no. Sorry, Don Santos, that’s not happening.”
His hand lifts, silencing us. “I should’ve done this years ago.” I’m still lost as to what he means, but I stand there listening anyway. His gaze shifts to me, and something in it makes my throat close. “It’s been decided.”
Adriana steps forward, crouching down to his eye level. “Abuelo, you can’t jus—”
“I can. And I did.”
The way he says those words he may as well have been a judge slamming down his gavel. It’s final and unmovable. I can feel the prying eyes of the block and Adriana’s glare, like this is somehow my fault. Of course, I glare right back, not caring that it makes me seem childish.
Don Santos leans back into the wall, his eyes tired. “You two will work together. Whether you like it or not. You have to beat me tonight on Capicú Friday.”
The crowd of neighbors that gathers around us all agrees.
“Ay Dios, esto va a estar caliente,”* a woman says to Miriam, who looks at us with a smirk and a hand on her hip. “Someone needs to get the popcorn, porque esto va a ser un show.” *
Over the chatter, I look over at Don Santos, who is clearly amused. And say, “Get ready to lose, Old Man.”
He laughs at my words. His index finger moves from side to side with each deep chuckle, and that’s his answer—a mockery disguised as humor. Adriana storms closer to me, her body heat radiating to mine.
I should walk away. I should let it go. Ignore the way her green eyes burn into me with a hate that feels too much like desire. Unfortunately, I inherited my father's mouth and my mother’s tenacity, and I remain rooted in place.
“You'd better focus,” she says through gritted teeth. “There’s no way I’m going to be stuck working with you all summer.”
I can't help the way my lips stretch further, amused by her anger. She has no right to, after all, she’s the one who left me. I cock my head to the side, biting down on my lower lip.
“How about this, mama, when you lose to me. I get you all summer?”
Her brows furrow. “What?”
“You heard me, I’ll beat the old man. But when you lose to me, I’ll get you all summer.”
She shakes her head immediately. “No, what the fuck?”
“Afraid to lose? Or afraid of me, I don’t bite, Adri—but I do eat.
” She snickers, despite the red crawling up her neck, and those beautiful eyes narrow into thin slits.
“You can always leave,” I say low enough for only her to hear.
The anger I’ve swallowed for the last five years rises like smoke, choking us both.
“Since running is what you do best, trackstar.”
Adri freezes for a second before doing exactly what she does best. Running.
Turning her back to me. Coward. I keep my mouth pressed into a thin line, keeping it shut before I say something I’ll regret.
Ruben clears his throat beside me. Pulling my gaze from the woman who continues to walk all over my heart.
The very organ that’s pulsing inside my throat.
I swallow hard, my Adam's apple bobbing from the force.
* pendejo - dumbass
* las chimosas del barrio - the noisy neighbors.
* Jamón y queso en pan sobao - Ham and cheese on Sobao bread.
* Asi son las mujeres malas - That’s what bad women are like.
* Suelta, mi hija. - Let go of my daughter.
* Tu ta loco mijo - You crazy boy.
* Dios mío, nina, deja tu frescura - My God, my girl, leave that freshness.
* Déjenme tranquilo - Leave him alone.
* Ven acá, muchacho. - Come here, boy.
* Ay Dios, esto va a estar caliente - Oh god, this is about to be hot.
* porque esto va a ser un show - because this is going to be a show.