Jaiden examined Patricia who was happily sipping her tea. She seemed far too innocent for his stepfamily.
Brandon was glaring at him. "So, this is where you live? Out of all cities?"
"I've had my ups and downs, but this is home now." Jaiden said lightly.
Brandon scoffed a little. "Home? And how are you making money?"
Jaiden raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying."
"I doubt you can hold a real job. So, you're probably doing something underhanded like being a gangbanger or pushing drugs."
This drew out another laugh from Nate, enough to clutch his sides. "You have watched too much Breaking Bad."
Jaiden laughed as well. "I have had a stable career since I was 19. I'm good here."
But Tracy let out a condescending chortle. "That's doubtful. You're not fit to do anything worthwhile."
"Why? Because I didn't go to prep school or college like Brandon?" Jaiden said as he leaned back in him the chair with an eyebrow raised.
"Exactly. All you did was fight in high school and then you disappeared doing god knows what in Mexico." Brandon said.
"I never went to Mexico. I've been staying here in New Mexico. Someone with a fancy education should know their basic fifty states, right?" He leaned back and crossed his arms, showing off his bulging arms. "You make me out as some hooligan, but I never initiated a single fight, but I did defend myself when needed. What's more is that I am doing well for myself. I didn't need Brandon's pointless degrees or Tracy's money, because I reached my goals through hard work and dedication."
"You don't know anything about hard work or dedication." Tracy said.
Patricia looked nervously between the group of people. "What do you do for your job?" She asked him with genuine curiosity.
Jaiden was surprised that Patricia asked. No one from his family has bothered to ask without sarcasm or an insult. "I work in law enforcement."
Brandon rolled his eyes. "You getting arrested is not a 'career in law enforcement'."
Patricia gasped. "Brandon, stop."
Brandon didn't seem to like her talking back and took a menacing step towards her, and she tried to shrink back into the cough. Jaiden was immediately on the defensive because he did not like her reaction. He was on his feet and stared down Brandon. He was much larger than before and overwhelmed Brandon's weak build.
Brandon faltered for a moment and stepped back.
Jaiden took a breath to calm himself down and bit his tongue. He wanted to lash out. Hell, he wanted a fight. He felt his anger rising the more he thought about it. He should have turned back around. He should have stayed with Toni.
Tracy huffed. "We're doing lunch now. There's a cute little place down the road. Come with us."
Jaiden hesitated but nodded in the end. "Fine. We'll meet you there."
Tracy rolled her eyes. "The restaurant is named Maria's. Be there in an hour and don't be late."
At least there was a bright side to lunch. Maria's was a popular spot for the precinct. At least he will be in familiar territory.
Jaiden continued to hold his tongue and nodded. He helped Patricia stand and she gave him a grateful look.
When they left Jaiden groaned and fell back on the couch. "This was not the plan for the day."
"I hate to sound like a dick, but your stepmom's a real bitch." Nate muttered.
Jaiden laughed. "She used to be tolerable but who knows what happened over the years. Silence was the only way we got along in the end."
"You know I'm not going today, right?"
Jaiden laughed. "It's cute that you think you have a choice. You're backing me up in there."
Nate gave him a pleading look but was ignored by Jaiden. "Can't you take Toni?"
Jaiden groaned again. "Even if I didn't fuck it up today, I would never subject him to a session with Tracy and Brandon."
Nate fell on the couch next to him. "Wait! Fucked up? You have to spill everything. What happened? What's he like? How was the sex? Fucked it up?"
Jaiden threw a throw pillow at him. "No way in hell are we talking about this."
He got up and started to head to his room to get ready.
Nate was next to him within moments. "Please Jaiden! After talking about him nonstop for two months, I have to know."
"You have been talking about him nonstop." Jaiden responded with a laugh.
Nate didn't stop and sat stubbornly on his bed. "And you have been fantasizing about him nonstop."
When Jaiden didn't fight him, he spoke up again. "Come on. Was it at least worth the pining?"
"I wasn't pining."
"You were absolutely pining."
Jaiden groaned. "Just drop it please."
"Nope. If I am going to deal with lunch today with that bruja and her spawn, then I need answers." Nate said with his arms crossed.
Jaiden was going to fight him but stopped. He sighed and gave in. "You have one question."
"How was the sex?" Nate grinned.
Jaiden flushed a little and rubbed his face in embarrassment. Of course, this would be the question he asked. "Phenomenal. I'm going to be sore for days."
"Sore... wait... you bottomed? You never bottom." Nate said.
Jaiden frowned. "I feel like you know way too much about my sex life."
"More like your lack of a sex life." Nate grumbled.
Jaiden punched his arm. "Besides, I've bottomed before."
Nate shook his head. "Rarely."
Jaiden sighed. "If someone like Toni took control in the bedroom, you would bottom too. Seriously, that man is something else."
"And you're going to see him again?" Nate asked with a stupid grin.
"I... don't think so. I sort of pushed him away." Jaiden said with a frown.
Nate stood up and grabbed his shoulder. "No, Jaiden. You didn't."
Jaiden sighed. "I panicked."
"But he was everything! Looks - check. Accent - check. Phenomenal sex - double check. How could you just walk away from that?"
"I don't know." He said quietly.
But he knew why. He kept seeing the grieving Valeria and his broken father, and their pain was unbearable. And then he recalled every man who walked out on him after giving him the ultimatum, their relationship, or his career. He chose his career every single time. Would Toni do the same, with an opportunity laying in front of him? And would he choose Toni over his own job? That blurry line terrified him. It made it real.
"If we happen to run into each other again, I'll believe that the universe is telling me to stop pussyfooting around." Jaiden said as he ran a hand through his hair.
Nate frowned. "Sure."
"What does that supposed to mean?"
Nate sighed. "I know I joke about getting laid, but you have the unhealthy habit of only pursuing assholes. You chose to have one-night stands, or you deal with a cheater for a couple of weeks. You shut down and become emotionally detached from anyone who might be good for you. Ever since Carlos-"
"Stop." Jaiden said, wincing as he heard the name.
"No. Ever since Carlos, you have been so focused on the worst possible outcome that you have closed yourself off to any outcome."
Jaiden sighed, hating when Nate called him on his bullshit. "I know."
Nate placed his hands on Jaiden's shoulders. "I have been your friend for years, and that's because I'm a persistent idiot. All I'm asking is that you try to have an open mind."
"Thanks Nate." He was sincere. He knew how much Nate worried about him and wanted him to be happy. He smiled a little at his friend. "But let's focus on one problem at time, though."
Nate groaned. "I hate that you're putting me through this."
Jaiden dressed simply in nice pants and a black button down. He put a little product in his hair to control the longer waves. He threw on his brown leather jacket out of habit and sighed as he and Nate left the apartment.
"Can I slash your tires, so we have an excuse to get out of this?" Jaiden asked as they sat in the car.
Nate was silent for a moment. "Yes. Slash them."
Jaiden laughed. "Fuck. Let's just get this over with."
They parked and they exchanged exasperated sighs before they exited the car. Jaiden saw the group waiting by the hostess.
Jaiden greeted Patricia and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Hola, Patricia." and Nate followed suit. They both ignored Tracy and Brandon.
"Jaiden, it's been a while, no?" The hostess said with a bright smile.
Jaiden smiled back and greeted her with a small kiss her on the cheek as well. "Hey Maria, it has been. How's the family?"
"Busy as ever. Esta es tu familia?" She asked, nodding towards the group.
Jaiden gave a half nod, not really wanting to acknowledge Tracy and Brandon as his family.
"Follow me. I have a table set up." She led them to the table and hugged Jaiden before he sat down.
The waitress came quickly to their table to take their orders. Tracy pursed her lips. "Patricia and I will have margaritas."
Patricia looked nervous. "Actually, I was just thinking a water."
"Try an agua fresca. It may not have alcohol but it's tastier than a margarita, and they have the best here." Jaiden said quickly.
Patricia mouthed a "thank you" and told the waitress what she wanted.
When they got to Jaiden, he smiled a little. "Do you have a Milagro Añejo Tequila?"
She nodded and wrote it down.
Tracy scoffed. "Tequila? Really?"
He ignored her and turned towards Patricia. "So, what do you do for a living?"
She blushed from the attention. "I'm a first-grade teacher, but I've taken a leave for a bit."
"That's amazing." Jaiden said happily.
"She should be retiring once I get my promotion." Brandon said while puffing out his chest.
Jaiden raised an eyebrow. "Why should she retire?"
"She should be taking care of the house, not a group of unruly children." Brandon huffed.
Jaiden's glare sharpen but held back his words. He shouldn't start a fight in here.
Nate leaned over. "No one will find his body in the Mesa."
Jaiden laughed and hit his shoulder. The drinks were set on the table and Jaiden ran his fingers over his glass, smiling lightly. He sipped the tequila and closed his eyes with satisfaction as he felt the heat on his tongue. He recalled how it tasted on Toni's lips.
The dinner atmosphere was awkward, to say the least. The conversations being held were primary between Brandon and Tracy, who are bragging about all his accomplishments. But they were ignored by Jaiden, who was carrying on his own discussion with Patricia and Nate.
Finally done with overhearing their obnoxious bragging, Jaiden turned to them. "So why are you here?"
"What the hell?" Brandon pretended to be offended. "You refused to go to our engagement party, so we took the time to introduce you to Patricia. We didn't expect you to be such an ass about it."
"I'm thrilled to have met Patricia, but there is more to this story." Jaiden said with a shrug. "We have had radio silence for years, so it's obvious you want something."
"We wanted to know how much you're contributing to the wedding." Tracy said without hesitation.
"Tracy!" Patricia called out.
Jaiden laughed a little. "I don't know how much a gangbanger like me can contribute."
"We're fine with money." Patricia said firmly, but she immediately faltered when Brandon gave her a dark look.
Nate was next to Jaiden with clenched fists because he caught the exchange. "Jaiden."
"Lo vi." Jaiden said, indicating he saw the same fear that Nate picked up.
He turned back to Tracy and Brandon. "If Patricia truly wants to marry this asshole, then just send me how much you need. I'm sure I can swing it."
He figured he could try to talk to Patricia on her own to gage her true feelings. But he was already sick of this interaction and needed a break. "I'll be right back."
He got up and gave Nate a look to make sure he kept an eye on Patricia and left to the front. He talked to Maria for a moment and paid their bill. As he was walking back, he paused at the bar and looked at the bottles.
"Need another tequila?" The bartender asked.
Jaiden looked over and saw the man bent over a drink he was mixing. The dim lighting and his longer hair obscured his face. Jaiden paused because he saw something shimmer on his neck. He quickly pulled his eyes away when he realized it was a large scar and didn't want to be caught staring. He frowned a little, feeling sympathy for the man because at least he could hide his own scars. Billy hated the scars on his chest and thought they were disturbing, so he hardly took his shirt off around him, but Toni accepted them. In fact, he had his own scars. His own stories. He didn't realize how much he wanted to learn those stories, but he ran away from that.
He pulled himself from his melancholy. "Perhaps." He finally answered.
The bartender nodded. "Let me know when you decide on something, detective."
Detective? Jaiden was taken back by the bartender's familiarity with him. "Do we know each other?"
The bartender laughed, and for some reason it put Jaiden on edge. "I've worked here for a while, so I recognize you."
"I see." He still felt uneasy about being recognized, especially at a bar. He had been to Maria's often with the precinct, and now was worried that he spent too much time at the bar which allowed him to be recognized so easily. Perhaps he didn't need another drink.
He looked back and saw Nate standing up and giving him a desperate look and their waitress running off in tears. Jaiden sighed. "On second thought, I'll have to decline that drink. Thanks anyway."
He walked away, internally swearing to himself that he needed to stop drinking so much. But he regretted his sobriety when he walked up to Tracy in the middle of another rant. "...I'm just talking about maintaining an image. It's definitely going to reflect my tip."
He slipped on his jacket. "It's a good thing I already paid then."
Nate immediately stood up, and the others followed suit. They started to head out while Brandon and Tracy followed with a menacing glare.