Carlie
It's her fault, Miss I'm-too-late-to-have-breakfast! Now, because of her, I can't go on a normal vacation with Jackie. Why did Whitney have to ruin every single thing for me? Wasn't it enough that I couldn't eat crap like Mac? Wasn't it enough that I had to be taken care of like a toddler?
"Honey, just go have some sun." Daddy said when I was tapping my feet on the high stool in the kitchen "Go read or listen to some music on the porch."
Yeah. Like it was a spa! Ok, so maybe he was right. It was kinda relaxing. I could focus on my reading and on my music, instead of how screwed up Whitney must be.
"Miss Carlie."
I looked up from my book only to see Mr. Vega getting off his old truck.
"Hi, Mr. Vega." I smiled, getting up my chair "What's wrong with our house, today?"
The man laughed and pulled my hair. He was really nice. Santana was so lucky to have such a cool dad like him around. Not like me, who had two dads, and not even one of them actually cared about me being happy.
"The lawn needs to be mowed." Mr. Vega said "And I have to help your father, Tom, with the phone line in his office. So, I brought my son to help me. Miss Carlie, this is my son Rai."
I looked up. Up and up. Up. Ah. There he is. Wow! Smokin' hot was what Mac would say if she could see him! And wait, she could! Note: text Mac to come here ASAP. As in NOW!
"Hi," I said, and I know I mumbled and looked ridiculous.
The guy said something to his dad in Spanish, and Mr. Vega nodded. The guy picked the rake and began working on the far side of our lawn. Mr. Vega went inside, and only five minutes after I texted Mac, she appeared on the road. I saw her long light brown hair bounced as she ran. Her legs – I think she's growing too fast, she looks more like fifteen than thirteen, damn it! - stopped abruptly when she almost hit the hot guy that was cleaning our lawn.
"Sorry." She muttered, and then widened her blue eyes when she came to sit next to me "Holy crap, Carlie! He's smokin'! Where did you get him?!"
"He's Mr. Vegas's son." I whispered both of us take a seat on the porch's white rail "Man... I hope all the leaves fall on our house this Autumn."
Mac kept her wide eyes on the guy, her pink lips – damn it, why am I the only one who can't wear makeup?! – opened in a wide O when Rai took off his shirt and his flawless tanned abs and muscled back shined in the Autumn sun.
Wow! So many tattoos! His abs were flawless, clean from tattoos except for a small one over his heart, something that we couldn't see from this far. His back, however, was a different story. He had some thick scars over his left shoulder blade, and other a little down, tiny white Os. He had a huge black crow tattooed on his left forearm, and many words on the other one. There was a tiger in his right upper arm and shoulder. This one had colors on, and the tiger's eyes were scary. He had his teeth showing and his claws seemed to tear apart Rai's skin. Frickin' awesome!
No piercings. I actually like piercings. I want to do one when I turn sixteen. And lots of tattoos too!
Whit's such a lucky idiot. If that guy was in my class, I'd never leave school.
"Dude..." Mac whined "He's super-hot! Thank you so much for texting me! I think he's ruined every other guy for me, though."
"Same here" I sighed, and Mac and I gasped as Rai looked at us from over his shoulder.
His grin was so wicked that I actually felt my knees tremble. Man... that guy knew how to make a girl cry Uncle.
He had some faded jeans on, black boots and carried a black crucifix around his neck. Wasn't he cold? It wasn't exactly that cold, granted, but still. I had a long-sleeved shirt on and felt the tingles of the cool air on my skin. Guess when you're that hot, you don't feel it.
Great for us girls!
"Hey."
Ugh! Ice Princess...
"Weren't you doing your homework? Hey, Mac."
"Hi, Whit." My friend greeted, with a pleasant smile; damn, guys were all over her in middle school, just wait when we got to high school... she'll totally ditch me "Carlie said you had a crisis. Are you ok, now?"
"Just fine." My sister assured her, but she kept her half-closed eyes on Rai Vega; yeah, he's hot, sis, and you know it "Why don't you girls go inside and have brunch? Daddy's making some frozen yogurt."
"Not hungry" I said, not even bothering to look at her.
"It's not a suggestion" Whitney said, her voice tense, and then she walked down the porch steps, her sway stiff and determined towards Rai.
"Now I'm really not going away" I heard Mac say, and we both stared at my sister and the hot Vega.
She picked the guy's shirt along the way, and when she got behind him, shoved it in his face. Oh hell! Does she know he's a gang member? I mean, it is public knowledge, right?
"Oh shit!" I heard Mac gasp, and we both lower to hide behind the rail, still keeping our eyes in my sister's outburst "Your sister's either awesome or crazy!"
"Whitney's not awesome. She just thinks she is."
"What the fuck, Copper Girl?" Rai growled and pulled his shirt from my sister's hands "Can't see I'm workin' here?!"
"Only if you're a Chippendale dancer!" She growled.
"What's that?" I asked Mac, and she shrugged.
"I'm better, mamacita." He purred, and Mac and I both sighed "Can't you see it?"
He opened his big and muscled arms wide, to show off his absolutely perfect set of a six-pack! Actually, I think it's an eight-pack!
"Not even bothering looking, Vega. Told you already: you're not my type so put the shirt back on."
Wow! Wait. She told him he's not her type?! Was he into her? Why?! Whitney's as interesting as a mop.
"Can't handle starin' at me, can you?" He purred again, stretching his arms behind his head "Just tell me you want me, chica. No need for talkin' or pretedin' you want a relationship. Horny is horny. And I know you get a tingle deep inside your body every time you look at me."
"Yeah. It's called a gag" Whitney answered, and I would've laughed if I didn't think she was so stupid to ditch such a hunk.
"You're mixin' feelings up." Rai assured her, his big tanned hand pulled softly on a lock of my sister's hair, and I felt my belly clenched, so I bet Whitney was feeling shaken "You're mad for wantin' me. You're angry 'cause you know I could rock your world. It makes you scared that you won't be in control. Face it, mi amor."
"You're gonna face my fist if you don't get your hand off me, Vega" She hissed, so low I almost didn't hear her.
"Holy... mother...! Your sister's so lucky!" Mac moaned, clenching her hands to the rail, like me.
"And she's such an idiot for ditching him!"
"See? Anger. If you didn't give a shit about me, Copper Girl, you would just ignore me. Wouldn't even care if I twirled around naked in our lawn." He assured her, his hand still traveling along my sister's long hair; he felt the layers on his calloused fingers, then tossed it over her shoulder "But you take time to come here and make a scandal 'cause I'm half naked." His tongue made a clicking sound like he was disapproving of what she was doing "Not somethin' a girl who hates me would do. So, you better check that so-called hate of yours for me."
"You must be reading lots of Young-adult novels. This isn't your favorite chick flick, dumbass. I'll tell you one last time: put your clothes on or go drop dead in a ditch somewhere" Whitney grumbled, and Rai took his hand from her hair like it stings.
Even I felt my stomach drop to my feet after my sister's words; God, she could be such a bitch.
"Fuck you." He hissed through his gritted teeth "Don't answer to you."
"I don't know where you've been working lately, but at my house, you put your shirt on, or you get out" Whitney said with an icy voice.
What? Is she crazy?! Yep, she is. Duh.
"I get it. Your dads wouldn't be able to stop themselves and had to check me out" Rai said, his grin was challenging.
Now my stomach fell on the floor for a whole different reason. I felt the hair on my arms go up with the shivers that traveled through my body.
That asshole! That stupid, shitty punk!
"Oh, man..." I heard Mac say, looking at me "Sorry, Carlie. That guy's an asshole."
I got up, preparing to give Mr. I'm-so-hot-and-awesome a piece of my mind when I saw Whitney slap him so hard on his cheek that it hurt even me.
"You're fired. Don't ever step a foot in this house. And if you ever talk to me, look at me or even dream my name, I'm gonna hunt you down, and let you bleed on the street. Then I'll impale you on my lawn."
And like that, she walked inside the house, her feet stomping on the stairs and then on the porch. The door closed so hard that I swear I heard the glass crack.
Rai stood there, on the lawn. Silent. Crap... We were gonna get wiped-out by the Mexican Mob!
Then he looked straight at me. His dark eyes were icy and hard as stone. Shit.
He dropped the rake and left the lawn, by foot. He actually put his shirt on as he left.
"OMG!" Mac whispered next to me "What the hell just happened? Is he coming back with his gang?!"
Hope not. Really hope Whitney knows what she's doing...