Chupar

Cinco

By the time they had quit the desolate town, the sun had risen to its highest point in the pale blue sky, burning their backs with its scorching rays. Catalina could glance up no longer than a few seconds before the blinding glow threatened to rob her of her sight. Sweat cascaded down her armpits and chest, sticking to the white fabric of her blouse and staining it. At first, she kept wiping herself off with the inside of her blouse in hopes of removing the uncomfortable moisture. But after a dozen or more tries, she realized it was a losing battle. Some of the curls that had come undone from her frizzled ponytail now stuck upright in the air. The ones that hadn't clung to the damp skin of her neck and forehead.

Catalina knew she must have looked as miserable as she felt. While on the other hand, the Viper looked as fresh as a spring morning. Except for the beads of sweat running down his neck and brow, his brown locks were not disheveled like hers nor was he red in the face like she was. And she envied him for that.

Despite the long hours in the sun back on the ranch, Catalina could never come to enjoy the sticky sweat and sweltering heat that came with it. Born and raised in the desert, and yet, her body threatened to melt at the slightest increase in temperature.

Looking over her shoulder, Catalina saw the dotted rooftops of the town in the distance. They were nothing more than black specks in the sand. Although it didn't feel like it, they had covered a lot of ground since the afternoon. Already, the sun was beginning to dip behind the mountains.

"You haven't lost them yet, right?" She shifted her body back towards the front.

"Nah. I still see 'em." He pointed to something on the ground, but before Catalina could get a good look, Cortez had already trotted past it.

"It'll be dark soon," she mused as she noted the first traces of twilight. The sun was sinking lower by the second, turning the sky a bloody orange. Even the scorching air didn't burn like before, already beginning to cool with the approach of dusk.

"Yup," he agreed without so much as a glance in her direction.

"Well?" Catalina scowled. "You're a snake in the name only, Viper. You can't see in the dark."

"I know that." The man's shoulders slumped down as if he was deflated by her snide remark. "We're going to have to find somewhere to camp out."

"You mean..." She hesitated, shifting her eyes to the side. "For the night?"

"Yeah." He finally turned to look at her, raising his eyebrow as he did so. "What? Did you think this was going to be some sort of day hike?"

"Well, yes." The girl frowned. "I thought- I thought we would have found this animal already! I mean, it has to be close by, right? If it came to the ranch two nights in a row." Catalina's index and middle fingers hovered in front of the man's face. "And my mother only packed us enough food for lunch. The good thing is we have some leftover, but-"

"Just admit you're nervous about being alone with a man," he interrupted with a smirk. "But you weren't so nervous last night-"

"Oh, be quiet!" She shot him a disgruntled look. "It has nothing to do with that, as much as you wish it did. I'm just worried that my parents will think something happened to me..." She trailed off- her former outrage suddenly fleeing like a thief in the night. Unable to complete the morbid thought and risk offending the man, Catalina quickly shut her mouth.

But the Viper seemed to understand what she meant perfectly. "Yeah," he replied, looking straight ahead.

Clearing her throat, Catalina continued. "I am not my sister. Did you see the way she was looking at you? How she kept glancing at you?" She rolled her eyes at the memory of Isabella's antics the previous night. "I've never seen her so red before."

The Viper whipped his head back around- his eyes widened slightly. "What?"

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't notice?" She leered at him from under the brim of her hat.

He blinked, quickly recovering his cool demeanor with a warm chuckle. "Well, tell your sister I'm flattered. But she isn't my type."

"I don't blame you." She shrugged. "Isabella is a whiny, spoiled child."

The Viper lips cracked into a smile. "That wasn't what I meant."

Now it was Catalina's turn to blink back in confusion. "Then what did you mean?"

He remained quiet and for a brief moment, Catalina thought he might have not heard her. But when he tore his gaze away, she noticed his knuckles clench as they gripped Arizona's pale blonde mane before riding off ahead.

"Hm." Catalina huffed, wondering what that had been about. It had just been a simple question, yet the man seemed to have taken offense to it. As she watched the back of his figure, the sickening thought of what he might have actually meant struck her.

Was it her he was taken with?

The question alone nearly made her vomit her lunch. Involuntary tremors shot through her hands, and a bottomless pit started to form deep within her stomach. It couldn't be her he meant. She couldn't possibly be his type. She was scrawny and plain, nothing like the whores he was probably used to. But most of all, she was still too young. She wasn't yet of marrying age. Sure, an age gap was to be expected between her and her future husband- there was one between her parents. But between her and the Viper would be one of almost twenty years.

"Dammit!" The Viper's sudden outburst shattered the previous silence like a bullet. "I lost them again."

Catalina heaved an exasperated sigh. "Great."

"Well, looks like we'll have to continue this tomorrow." He peered up at the rapidly setting sun- a frown crossing over his face.

Catalina's eyes scanned the barren terrain ahead, seeing nothing but sand and rocks for miles. "We can't just sleep out here."

"Sure we can. I've done it plenty of times before," he said with a shrug.

Ignoring him, she squinted at the worn and windswept roof of a rundown house on the horizon. "Over there."

The Viper turned his gaze towards where she was pointing. "Huh. I mean, yeah. Just have to make sure no one's inside first."

Catalina nodded, never taking her eyes off the shabby abode that resembled more of a shed than a house. "Yeah, I don't think there is."

**

The beaten door swung backward, nearly splintering into pieces as the Viper gave it a rough kick.

"Anyone here?" He called out. After waiting a few seconds for an answer, he glanced behind at Catalina before stepping inside. "Guess not."

Following in after him, Catalina was greeted to a sight unlike one she had ever seen. A thick layer of dust coated the floorboards and what furniture was left. Cobwebs hung from every nook and cranny of the house, swaying from the draft brought in from the open door. Gaping holes ate away at the remaining beams above them, most likely made from years of torrential rainstorms and turbulent winds. Chairs and tables lied the wrong side up- their legs splintered off in the middle.

It was clear no one had lived here for quite some time.

"Well, get comfy." The Viper rounded the corner, returning from the other side of the house. "We're going to be staying here the night."