Picture is Lari and Evan :)
Evan woke up with a slight hangover and left Larielle asleep as he went to the bathroom. He pissed and washed his hands before he went back and patted her up for her keys. He found them in her back pocket and went for her car.
While he was at it, he stopped by a mini mart for toiletries and two breakfast bagels before he went back and found Larielle still knocked out.
Shaking his head, he put the food in the kitchen and carried his duffle and the new bag to the bathroom to get cleaned up for the day.
Larielle woke up and rolled off the bed, knocking herself in her already throbbing head. "Evan," she called weakly.
Shaking his head, he turned the water off and got out, drying off before wrapping the towel around his waist.
He helped her up, and she stumbled into the bed. "Yup. No more drinking for you, young lady."
"My daddy is dead," she mumbled at his stern tone.
"Girl, get in the shower 'fo ya mom send SWAT lookin' fuh you."
"Please. She didn't expect us back last night. She was nineteen before too."
"Shower, Lari. And brush your teeth because it don't matter how much I love you, yo breath stank."
She sucked her teeth and went to the shower. "What am I supposed to wear?" she wondered.
"I have your clothes from my house all washed. I got you a toothbrush. Hurry up."
Larielle took a shower and Evan heard her phone ringing. He reached over on the nightstand and answered. "Hullo?"
"Hello? Who is this? Where is Larielle?" Pedro asked.
"In the shower. It's Evan."
"Oh, hey. I was just calling to see if you guys made it home alright?"
"Yep," Evan said shortly. "I'll tell her you called."
Evan hung up the phone and started fixing the bed as his phone began to ring. Didn't people know what time it was?
He looked at the caller ID, and it was Shayla. "Hullo?"
"Your uncle is flying to Florida with you."
"No!" he said hotly. "Why for?"
"Lower your tone. He's just flying there with you. You can still have the house to yourself."
He released a sigh. "Okay, Ma. Whatever. I haffta go."
He hung up the phone and continued his task. Chances were, it was not only Shawn but Bri and Vince too. With that brought Erma and Nurse Carla. Very likely even Dr. Carson.
When Larielle came out, she looked and smelled a lot better than she felt. She held her pounding head. "I need aspirin."
"Medicine cabinet."
She went back into the bathroom and turned on the water as she popped two aspirins in her hand, leaning into the sink to drink the water.
Lari came into the room and climbed back into the bed. "Where are we?"
"Not far from the beach. Come on, baby. I needa get you home. I got us bagels."
"Why? Madre will feed us."
"It'll hold us over and absorb the alcohol in your system. Let's go."
He lifted her up and she dragged her feet as he gathered everything, making sure everything was as he had found it.
In the car, Larielle ate like she would never see another meal and fed Evan while he drove.
When he pulled up to the house, they saw that Coco was already in the kitchen fixing breakfast.
When they stepped inside, Coco spared the couple a glance as they took off their shoes. "Breakfast is almost done," she informed them. "Lari, Pedro called the house this morning. He sounded worried."
"He probably just thought I drove home last night, Madre. No big deal. No preocupe."
After Larielle graduated, her mother let her be an adult. If she didn't come home, that was her business. If she wanted to party, that was her business. All Coco expected was for her daughter to respect her and her house. She couldn't be coming in all hours of the night. So if it was three in the morning, she'd better stay wherever she was. Coco didn't swear and thought it sounded horrible off the lips of a lady. Every time she'd heard her daughter cuss, in English or Spanish, she made her rinse her mouth with dish soap. Coco didn't think her daughter was abstaining from sex, but she knew she didn't want to hear it happen in her house. In fact, she didn't even want the teens sharing a room although Larielle had convinced her to let them.
"Larielle, where were you last night? I'm serious. He sounded worried."
"We went to Evan's house, Mamá. We were fine. Like I said, he probably just thought we drove home."
"Well how did you get to Evan's house, Lari? You wanna be grown, driving drunk is not a grownup decision."
Larielle sighed and rubbed her temples. Evan entered the kitchen and stood closely to Coco, putting a hand on her back and smiling, turning on the charm thick.
"We didn't drive, Mrs. Vasquez. My grandfather left me a house and it was just a couple miles off the beach. We walked there and I made sure Larielle was safe. I would never let anything happen to her. I was sober enough."
"Okay."
"Wow, so he says five petty little sentences... Gah!"
Larielle just turned around and went upstairs, mumbling in Spanish about her mother having a crush on her boyfriend. Evan just laughed and followed her up to her room. The door closed, and he put his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.
"Now, what you got a attitude fuh?" he wondered.
"You cannot date my mother. We're already together. You are stuck with M-E. Understand?"
"You are so cute," he told her, kissing her neck. "Do you think I like your mom?"
She pulled out of his embrace, starting for her closet, shedding her clothes. She reached for a blouse and a varsity jacket before stepping into a fitted pair of cotton dress pants. That girl and all that ass. He was a sucker for it.
"Yes! She might be old, but she is still sexy. Where do you think all this came from?" she asked, motioning to her body.
Evan allowed his eyes to linger over the curvaceous figure she was working with. She had a body worth envying. And as good as she looked, she didn't have a single reason to be worrying. Especially about her old ass mother.
"Your mother, though, Larielle? Honestly," he said, getting up and putting his hands on her waist, pushing her onto the bed, kissing her. "I don't want your mom. You need to calm down," he whispered, kissing her neck. Coco came and knocked on the door. "Breakfast is ready. Lari, Hector is on the telephone for you."
"Who is Hector?" Evan wondered, letting Larielle up.
"My dad's partner. He's like an uncle. Pedro's papa," she told him as they left the room and she took the phone, speaking Spanish to the person on the other line as they headed down the stairs. Larielle was still on the phone while she made Evan's plate and her own. She didn't hang up until she sat down. Then she set the phone in the middle of the table, speaking to Francis and Coco.
Evan sat there, trying to decipher all the Spanish. But it seemed that even four years of Spanish flew out of the window when he was listening to native speakers. He decided not to even ask.
The four of them held hands and said grace over breakfast. Afterwards, Francis had to get to work. He kissed Larielle's forehead and Coco in the mouth, nodding to Evan as he made his way out.
"We're going to go now, Mami," Larielle told Coco, getting up to put the phone back and get her shoes on, picking up her keys. "Come on, Evan," she called.
He followed her to the car. "Where we going, Lari?"
"Somewhere," she said, smiling, leaning over the seat to kiss him before she pulled out.
Larielle drove downtown and stopped in front of a tall building, pulling into the empty spot that said Bellamy Vasquez. "Come on, Evan," she told him, getting out of the car and starting for the glass doors, leading inside.
The receptionist looked up, prepared to help a customer. But when she saw Lari, she smiled with a familiar warmth and got up to come from around the marble counter to hug her. "Well, look who's all grown up. Look at you, girl!" she said.
"Hey, Tamia. This is my boyfriend, Evan."
"Hi, Evan," Tamia greeted, shaking his hand. "This here girl is like my little sister, so don't make me come for you," she warned jokingly, putting her arm around Lari's shoulder.
"You don't have nothing to worry about."
"You here to see Hector?" Tamia asked Larielle.
"Yes, ma'am."
"He's in the office. Go on up. I'll tell his secretary to let him know you're here."
"Thank you."
Larielle pulled Evan to the elevators, leading up to the offices. When the bell dinged on the top floor, Larielle pulled Evan towards Hector's office.
He was standing outside of the door, waiting for the couple. When his eyes landed on Evan, he damn near choked on spit. Small world. Evan didn't see anything about this man to suggest they were related. As far as he knew, this was just a family friend to the Vasquezes.
"Larielle," Hector greeted, moving to hug her and kiss her forehead. "More pretty every time I see you, mija," he told her, pushing her hair back. She smiled.
"This is my boyfriend, Evan. The one I was telling you and Pedro about," she said proudly, grinning wide, her fingers threaded through Evan's.
"Nice to finally meet you, Evan. Lari sings your praises. I hear you want to go into architecture."
"Yes sir," Evan said respectfully. He appreciated Larielle's gesture enough not to make her look bad for bringing him to her father's partner.
"Hey, I'm gonna run to the coffee shop. You want anything, Uncle Hector?"
"Just a black coffee, honey. Thank you."
"No problem. Babe?"
"No, I'm fine."
Larielle left the men alone, and Hector led Evan into his office. Evan looked around at the cozy office with a sleek oak desk in front of a floor to ceiling window. Three of four of the walls were windows. And on the only solid wall hung Hector's diploma and degrees. There were pictures of him and a pretty Latin woman on his desk. There were a few pictures of him and Pedro together.
There was a leather sofa off in the corner in front of the window facing the main road. In front of the desk were two comfortable-looking chairs. There was a small table in the corner with an assortment of snacks and a coffee maker.
"Please, Evan, have a seat," Hector offered, motioning to a chair, moving to sit in his leather chair behind the desk.
Evan sat down and waited for Hector to speak. Hector offered him refreshments, but Evan politely declined. He had just eaten breakfast. A breakfast that Coco had prepared at that. He wouldn't need to eat until lunch.
"I trust Larielle's judgment," Hector started. "And she says you've got talent and heart. I hear you dual enroll."
"Yes sir." Evan told Hector about his course load.
The whole time Evan spoke to Hector, he just looked at this boy in wonder. Seeing so much of Shayla in a face that resembled his own.
"Are you taking any classes this summer?"
"No sir. I need my summer this year. But I did plan on next summer," he admitted.
Hector nodded. "How do you feel about interning here? It would be a paid internship, and when you earn your degree, you can have a position here. Or somewhere else if they make you a better offer. But you'll need to intern somewhere. Where better? Bellamy would have liked you."
Larielle had said that. Coco had said that. Francis had said that. Now Hector had said that. Evan just hoped the man wasn't turning in his grave and these people were right.
"I would like that sir," Evan told him earnestly. Hector smiled, and just like that, Evan had a paid summer internship.
Hector studied the teen in front of him a few seconds more. "Do you have a birthday coming up soon?" he asked.
"Yes sir. I'll be eighteen in a few weeks."
"Where were you born?"
Evan furrowed his brows. "Naples, Florida."
"Your mother is Shayla," Hector said, more to himself.
"You know her?" Evan asked, feeling suspicious.
"We were good friends nineteen years ago. But I fucked up our friendship."
Before anything else could be said, Larielle walked through the door with Hector's coffee and a latte for herself.
"Excuse me a moment.- Where is the bathroom?" Evan asked.
"Through the second door to your right," Hector told him.
Evan left the office and went to rinse his face. Larielle sat down with her coffee, grinning at Hector. "Like'em?" she asked, singing. "Of course you did. And he's going to be working here one day, sitting in my dad's office, designing fancy buildings and being all smart and cute."
Hector chuckled and shook his head. "You really like this boy, don't you, Lari?"
It was all over her face how she felt about Evan. Hector knew she cared about the boy the moment she called. Uncle Hector, oh my God. Okay, I know a boy. He wants to be an architect and he is talented. You need to hire him. Let him be your intern. I promise you won't regret it. Really, he's good. And he'll put in the work that it takes. He's smart. Please, Uncle Hector.
Just off that one conversation, Hector knew the boy meant the world to her. But she called every other day to see when she could bring Evan to him. And today was their day. He wished he had known Larielle was dating his second son. He would have been trying to meet the boy much sooner.
Meanwhile, Evan stepped into the hallway and called Shayla.
"Who is Hector Cabrera?"
There was silence awhile. And then Shayla sighed. "Why?"
"You are not in the position to be asking me questions. Is he my father?"
"Did he say he was? How did you even see him, Evan?"
"He didn't have to say it, Ma. I'm not a little boy, and I'm not stupid. The questions he asked. The way he asked them. He knew Larielle's dad. He got a son, you know."
"I know," she said, sighing. "Evan, it was a long time ago. And I'm not the one you need to be mad at. He wanted to meet you four years ago. Tell him I said congratulations."
Shayla hung up and Evan sighed. He had gone his whole life not wanting to meet his father. And now, the same man he had hoped was dead gave him a job.
When he went back, Hector was seeing Larielle out the office, kissing her cheek. "Bye, Uncle," she sang, making her way to Evan, taking his hand as Hector went back to his work.
Larielle pulled a key from her ring and took Evan to the other office. "This was my daddy's," she said softly, closing the door.
Bellamy's office had only one floor to ceiling window, and his desk rested in front of it. On the walls were also his diploma and degrees as well as certificates. There was a whole wall dedicated to his family pictures. There was a picture of Larielle lying on her daddy's chest as a little girl while they laid in the sand at the beach.
"Come with me, Evan," she said, pulling his hand, leading him through a door and up a stairwell to the roof.
She smiled, pulling him to sit down. "This was my special place," she told him. "Sometimes, when I had a real rough day, if it was warm enough, my daddy let me come up here and just clear my mind."
She smiled as she thought of a time when she was fourteen and was a new freshman. She hated school and came to the office crying. It was October, but the weather was mild. Bellamy started to reach for the key.
"Hey, you are my only child. Promise not to jump? I can't be cleaning up pretty little girls from the concrete now, Lari."
"Come on, Daddy. Just give it." She reached for the key and he held it back.
"Promise, Larielle Celine."
"I promise."
He started to give it to her, and just as she reached for it, he pulled it back. "Promise me, Lari."
"I promise not to jump, Daddy," she said, managing to laugh. Bellamy smiled.
"Daddy's girl," he said, giving her the key.
Larielle knew that even though she didn't have her daddy with her anymore, she was blessed that she had ever had him at all.
Larielle lay her head in Evan's lap, and he stroked her hair. "It's so peaceful up here," she told him, closing her eyes. "Kinda like you can forget the world."
Evan looked around and noticed a flower bed that looked as if it had been perfectly maintained. There were flowers all over the place.
Evan stroked Larielle's hair. He did understand the peace she found here. For a moment, he felt like he could outrun everything too.
Larielle sat up and smiled at Evan, sitting in his lap and kissing him. "Do you want to take me to a carnival tonight, chulo?" she asked, kissing his neck.
"Naw, you ain't giving up the skirt," he told her, patting her ass. She rolled her eyes and got out of his lap, walking towards the ledge and looking down at the passing traffic.
"A'ight li'l baby. Now you really ain't gettin' it."
Evan wondered if she realized what she had just said and how she had just said it. Like Abrielle, she began speaking like her man.
He moved to put his arms around her, brushing his lips on her neck. "I'll take you if you wanna go, ma. I'll even win you some prizes."
She smiled, turning around and putting her arms around his neck. "Promise?"
"I promise."
He leaned down to kiss her. He was glad she was wearing the heels. Her height in relation to him was cute. But leaning down to kiss her all the time... She was short. He was tall. "We can do anything you wanna do, baby. I'll leave it all up to you," he told her, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth.