Chapter Five
Selene pushed a glass down to one of the patrons of the bar. She sighed and looked down at the champagne that sat under the counter. She was in the mood to grab a bottle and just tilt it straight back and let the drink hit her throat. After that exchange with Adrian and his family, she wasn’t exactly happy. She was the opposite, angry and highly irritated. She had almost thrown a glass of Vodka in a man’s face for trying to look down her shirt. Her emotions were running high and so far, she hadn’t caught sight of Adrian. That was a good thing for her because if she saw him, she wasn’t going to be accountable for what she did to him.
“What can I get you?” she asked the next person without looking up.
“A glass of Danis would be lovely,” the guy said.
She looked up at that. That wasn’t a drink that too many people ordered here. She had only had the pleasure of making it for herself on a few rare occasions. It was one of the only drinks that she drunk. It was a mixture of vodka, grapefruit soda and orange juice. The blend of the three left a slight citrus but tangy taste in the mouth. As she looked up her eyes met Zorro’s. She was slightly surprised. She hadn’t expected him to show up.
“Coming right up,” she said grabbing the three drinks and mixing them together.
She pushed the glass to him and he smiled.
“Thank you, mami,” he said.
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
He was the first person in the bar to thank her. She didn’t know why it shocked her but it did. She found a slight smile on her lips as she looked at him. She couldn’t lie. He was the first man to speak to her with such respect in a long time. Working in the bar she was used to men disrespecting her. Sometimes she fought because of it but most times she just ignored it and seethed quietly. Joe was lenient with her because he knew that she had a low tolerance for disrespect but most times he did all in his power to prevent the fights.
“So how’s your night going, mami?” he asked as she wiped down the counter with a rag.
She put the rag back underneath the counter and regarded him for a moment, her eyes looking into his light brown ones. “It’s going fine,” she said.
He arched an eyebrow. “Why do I not believe that? You look highly irritated and angry. Did one of the men in here do something to you?” he asked looking around at the men at the bar.
She watched as they all looked away hastily, a few even got up and left. She shook her head. Another man with power, even if it was a different kind of power than the power Andrew had it was still potentially dangerous. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to answer his question. She was tempted to rant to him about the arrogance of Adrian and his family. She didn’t have anyone who she really talked to. Besides it wasn’t as if he would be able to do anything about it. She had been fuming over Adrian and his family for the whole shift.
Three hours later she walked back to his end of the bar. He wasn’t the only customer left in the entire place. Joe had blown the air out of her sails, when he told Zorro that he could stay for as long as he wanted. It had been obvious to her that they knew each other. Joe had showed him some respect. She wiped the counter down spraying it with a disinfectant spray. She watched her hands moving the towel on the counter in a circle motion in the silence of the bar.
“Was there anything that you wanted?” she asked pointedly.
For a moment he was silent and she thought that he was deep in thought but he cleared his throat and she looked up. As she watched he rested his chin on one hand watched her intently. A brief smile lingered on his lips before he finished the last of his drink.
“You’re a fascinating woman,” he said rubbing his chin. “You’re head strong, independent, stubborn as hell, and as complex as the structure of the human body. I’ve met a lot of women in my years. Each one has been different in some aspect rather it was the way they walked, the look in their eyes or their personality. I’ve always been able to read women but you I can’t quite put my finger down. There’s something about you, something complex and intriguing.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. What was he getting at? Did he think that just because she had spoken to him earlier that it meant something? She wasn’t easy and just because she had spoken to him didn’t mean anything. She opened her mouth to respond and he lifted his finger.
“I can see the storm clouds gathering in your eyes,” he said chuckling. “I promise you there isn’t any alternate motives coming from me. You intrigue me and I would love to gain the opportunity to get to know you but I know it’s not going to be easy. You’re not interested in a relationship with man and I respect that. However, there isn’t any reason that you and I can’t be friends.”
In his eyes there may have been no reason why they couldn’t be friends, but in hers there were quite a few. The main reason being that he was a man and as far as she could tell men weren’t to be trusted. Men lied, cheated, manipulated and seduced women into scandal, fabrications of relationships and all but too often left them lonely and begging for attention. She wasn’t one of those women. She refused to let another person into her life and take the risk of being left in a plethora of bitterness and hurt. She had already fallen apart and had her life thrown in chaos because of a man. She didn’t need the stress of it.
“Well there are reasons and you’ll just have to respect that I don’t a need anyone in my life—“
He looked at her with an arched eyebrow. “What the deuce do you mean you don’t need anyone? Everyone needs at least one person in their life. Everyone needs one person to help keep them sane and share their secrets with. Having your heart closed to the world is one thing but shutting yourself out from the world is another. Living the life of a loner is unsafe, especially for someone of your young age,” he said with concern. “You could be attacked or killed with your body hidden. No one would ever now until your body was found. There are many reasons that you shouldn’t be alone in life.”
She looked down unwilling to show that she was slightly touched by the fact that he cared enough about her to worry about her safety. No one except her grandmother had cared about her safety. Once she had died she had been left at the hands of her mother and father. Her mother had been strung out on drugs with her side dish and her father had always ranted at her. There were many times that he had told her that she worthless to him, even as a seven year old child.
She hadn’t known how to cook at the time and her mother had gone out with friends to a club. Her grandmother was over a friend’s house. She had been left all alone with him and he had stormed into the kitchen angry. She had looked up with expectant eyes, half hope and half dreading. She knew what to expect from but she had hoped that he would change. Other than her granny he was the only one who was around. Her mother was always out with friends partying and going to other places with men.
She had never told her Dad about her mom and the men that she brought home when he was gone. Sometimes the men would take her mom into the bedroom and close the door. They’d talk and then her mom would giggle while the man laughed. Then weird noises would come from the room and the bed would squeak, later her mom would come out in her robe and run a hand down her cheek caressingly and say, “Selene you’re such a good girl. You always keep my secrets.”
It was the only time that her mother knew of her existence.
“Get up you worthless slut!” he yelled. “You’re just like your mother, always in need but never able to provide.”
She looked down at the table top and hesitantly got back on her feet and stood with shaking legs. She wondered if he was going to call her what he called her mom whenever she didn’t make him food. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back knowing her father would consider them a weakness. He found everything about her a weakness. The fact that she was a female was all that was need to ignite his ammunition. She had always wanted to be loved by him, to have him treat her kindly but it never happened. He always yelled and screamed. It scared her and made her cry.
“Daddy?” she whispered in a low voice.
He snarled. “Quite whining like a little bitch and go get me some food from down the street,” he snapped.
“But Granny said for me not to go out there alone because it was—“
He swung his arm out across the kitchen counter and sent two glass cups falling to the floor. They shattered and broke, lying on the floor shattered into pieces. It was the second time that week that he had broken a set of the China cups.
“I don’t give a fuck what that old hag told you. You get your worthless ass into the living get the money from the table and—“
“That’s granny’s money,” she said innocently.
He snarled and grabbed her arm dragging her through the hall and into the living room. As his nails dug into her arm painfully, she began to quietly sob. Her granny had been saving the money for her birthday which was a few weeks away. She cried quietly as she looked at the money longingly. Her parents would never buy her a gift. Her granny was the only one who did. Her granny kept her Dad at bay and told her stories about people with power. She often enjoyed those stories, imagining that she had the power to make her parents love her.
He released her pushing her over to the table in the middle of the living room. Their house wasn’t much but it worked for them it had two bedrooms, one bathroom and the living, dining room and kitchen. The house wasn’t big enough to entertain but for every sports event her father squeezed all his friends into the house and they would drink. After the game her parents would fight and she would be curled up in a ball in her room crying.
“Get the fucking money and go. Tell the owner that you’re my daughter and that I want my usual drink.”
She nodded tears spilling down her face as she began to slowly drag her feet across the floor. When she reached the front door she opened and stepped outside fear entering her. She didn’t like going to the store for food. The last time she had gone to the store a man had grabbed her and pushed her against the wall as he played with her ponytail. When she moved to leave he had sneered and held her in place. Her granny had saved her. Ever since then she didn’t like going to the store up the street. She thought that the man was going to come after again and—
She shook her head pushing the memory to the back of her mind. Her father was one of the reasons why she didn’t trust men. He had broken her trust, her mom’s and her grandmother’s. He didn’t care about stomping over women to get what he wanted. All he cared about was his beer and sports. He had wanted a son that he could play sports with and instead he had gotten her. It was the reason that he hated her and why he abandoned her within eight months of her being in a relationship with Andrew. He had thought that Andrew’s money was more than enough for her.
“I have my reasons for being alone,” she said. “I’m fine—“
“You know for a woman who’s capable of kicking ass you sure do have a way of running away from risk. Risk is what it all boils down to with you. That bastard in your past must have done a number on you,” he said his eyes flashing. “Take a risk. We don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to. We can take it one step at time, starting with you sitting down and having a few drinks with me.”
She scoffed. “You’ve been drinking all night.”
“Yeah watered down drinks that I told you to give me,” he said with a grin.
She sighed. “I don’t know,” she said surprised that she was actually contemplating it.
She never needed to contemplate rather she wanted to have a drink with a man. She knew the dangers of it and she always rejected it. Yet with him she felt almost in a sense safe. She felt as if she could tell him anything. She didn’t know if it was soulful brown eyes or the fact that he hadn’t tried to hit on her. She wasn’t sure but her gut instinct was telling her that she could trust him. She sighed and tossed the rag on the counter and reached under the counter and grabbed a glass and started to mix together a Danis. She left the bottles sitting on the counter, so that they would be within reach easily. She leaned against the counter and took a sip of the drink, before looking at him.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” she said looking away from the intensity of his brown eyes.
He grinned. “It doesn’t have to,” he said.
They talked for a while about random things and she found herself liking him more and more. As each moment passed she found herself drowning into him. She felt like she could listen to him forever, of course she didn’t tell him that or even show but she was running wild and uninhibited on the inside. He made her feel like she could be the person that she had once been, a slight carefree young girl who was gushing over her first date with a guy.
She sighed and went to the end of the bar, coming out the door. She walked around the counter and sat two stools down from him. As she watched he shrugged and turned so that he faced her. His eyes moved over her figure carelessly and then he was staring into her eyes again. She took a deep drink of the Danis and glared at him. She wasn’t backing down. If he wanted a stare down, he was going to get one. She continued to stare into his eyes determined not to look away. It would be a sign of weakness and she knew it.
He chuckled suddenly and stood as he walked over to the empty bar stool and sat next to her. She was instantly engulfed in his scent. She inhaled it enjoying the masculine scent of something that could have been an Armani scent. She straightened on the stool and took a sip of her drink.
Finally she burst into laughter when he winked in the middle of their stare down. This was preposterous she would never have expected to be at the bar on an early morning drinking and having a stare down with a man. It wasn’t something she would have ever planned but it was fun and completely took her mind off of her past, Adrian and his family and all the other plans in her life. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have someone like him as an associate. He had said friends but that would be too close to letting a man into her life completely. As an associate she would be able to say hi to him and ask him about his life without the worry of him thinking that it was more.
“Why are we doing this?” she asked breathily.
He chuckled and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said staring into her eyes intently.
She looked into the depth of his eyes and found herself crossing her legs as his eyes flared intensely. She looked away biting her bottom lip. “I should go now,” she said finishing the rest of her drink.
She stood slid off the stool and stumbled as her heel caught the leg of the stool. She would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her. She gasped as she felt the heat of his body against hers and felt his muscles. Her hands rested on his chest for a moment and she found herself staring into his eyes. She took a deep breath and her senses were paralyzed by the scent of him. She closed her eyes half expecting him to kiss her. It was what any other guy would have tried. The only difference was that in this instance she was willingly to give into the kiss. In that instance her guard was down, she didn’t know if was because the Danis had gone straight to her head or the fact that he was the most well-mannered man that she had ever met. Either way he was a temptation to her in that moment and she wanted to feel those muscular hands moving down her body as he ravaged her mouth. She could see the image vividly in her mind.
She leaned into him and opened her eyes in surprise when he steadied her carefully, moving her away from him. He stood on his feet and gave her crooked smile bringing one finger to her cheek and softly stroking it. He shook his head. She stepped back in surprise. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. She reeled back into her senses and looked away from him mortified by her actions. He had pushed her away. He had been the one to turn her away. What the hell had she been thinking? Maybe he wasn’t after anything other than her friendship. He didn’t want her. She suddenly felt foolish and horrified at the fact that he had caught her weakness. She had wanted him to kiss her. She had pushed herself toward him like some wanton slut. Just because he was a man with manners didn’t mean that she could feel free to do things like that. She placed the glass on the counter turned on her heel and walked out the door. She didn’t know whether she was angry or hurt. She didn’t know which to think she pulled her cell phone out intent on calling a cab.
She turned as she felt his hand on the small of her back. She refused to look at him embarrassed and slightly rejected. She started to work on putting him back into the place of the rest of the male population. She couldn’t allow him to see that he had affected her with his simple rejection. She faced him with a tilt of her head.
“You’ve probably got a million of other things to do,” she said in a voice as cold as ice.
He winced and looked down at her. “Look, Selene, you’re a woman of taste, expertise, pride, intelligence and determination. You’re audacious. A force to be worked with and I commend you to that. You’re unlike any woman that I’ve ever met and if I had kissed you in there you would have regretted it and placed me under the category of all the men who try and take advantage of you. I don’t want you to think of me like that. I want to earn and gain your respect. I want you to trust me,” he said in a low voice that still held a slight accent.
She rolled her eyes and pushed two on her phone. As the phone rung through to the cab company, she tapped her foot impatiently waiting for someone to pick up. She didn’t say anything to him for a moment. She just looked around noting the dark alley that she used to walk down to get to her old apartment and noticed for the first the beauty of the night. The stars were high in the sky and shone brightly almost as if it was beckoning her. She could remember her grandmother spending nights in the backyard of their house using her books and praying to God in the night. Sure it was a place of darkness and destruction on this end of the city but it still held beauty that tugged at something within her. She sighed as the phone continued to ring.
She hung up and hit redial.
“Selene,” Zorro said.
She looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Don’t worry about anything,” she said with a neutral tone, she shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t care. “You didn’t do anything. There’s nothing to explain.”
He sighed. “I’ll drive you home,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty hard to get a cabbie to come to this end of the city at this time.”
“I’ll wait for the cab,” she replied.
He chuckled and then he took the phone closing it softly and sliding it into her pocket. She rolled her eyes. “I could’ve done that myself. “
“You would have continued to call the cab company,” he said chuckling. “You’re a stubborn woman but it’s admirable.”
She rolled her eyes again. She would have but the cab company wasn’t answering. Either someone was sleeping on the job or they weren’t doing any more runs for the night. It’d be better to just take the ride and get home than to wait here any longer. She knew she was safe as long as he was around but if he wasn’t then there wasn’t any doubt about it she would be defending herself from she miscreant. She was going to have to look into getting a car.
“Fine, but don’t even think about coming to visit me afterwards. I already have a stalker doing that. I don’t need another one.”
He looked surprised. “You have a stalker?” he asked. “That’s not safe. You should have told the cops or something.”
A look of annoyance came across her face.
“Did I mention I have a rich stalker who has enough connections in the city that he basically enforced that I’d be moving into his neighborhood…?”
He shook his head. “You still—“
She cut him off. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I can handle my stalker just fine.”
He shrugged and led her to the car with his hand still resting on the small of her back. She looked at the black Cadillac and whistled. It had tinted window and what looked to be twenty-four inch rims. It was the cleanest car that she had ever seen on this end of town. He opened the passenger door and she slid into the seat putting on her seat belt. She reached to close the door but he beat her to the punch. She shook her head. She wondered who had taught him his manners. He was probably a ladies man with an abundance of hos just waiting to crawl all over him in an attempt to get his money.
He closed his car door and the engine started with a soft pur. She loved that sound on cars. It meant that they were taken care of by their owners and usually meant that they had speed. She had always wanted a sports car. Ah, the joys of just driving freely and enjoying the freedom of it. She looked around the car as he reversed out of the parking lot. His car was surprisingly clean. In the back seat there were a few shirts lying across the seat. A bottle of water was in the cup holder in the front but other than that the car was pretty empty.
She looked out the window and watched as they passed light pole after light pole. She sighed and reached over turning on the radio. Instant the sounds of T.I. filled the car. She gave a slight smile as she listened to “Get Back Up.” She nodded her head to the song. It was an easily relatable song. No one was perfect and mistakes were made all the time but the hard part was getting back up and trying again. No one needed to quit. She got into the song and before she knew it she was singing and rapping the song.
“Ay, ay, ay listen to me
And when they push you down,
You got to get back up
And when they push you down,
You got to get back up
Brush the dirt off your jersey then go for the cup
Or the trophy or the ring, champion no matter what
Cause when you got the belt and the ring
People with ya popping bottles, taking pictures look around
As soon as you fall down all the haters pass a judgment
Surprise, I’m here to show that I’m a rise above this.”
She heard Zorro join in with her and she shook her head holding back a laugh. She wasn’t expecting him to join in with her. As the song finished she pushed her laughter remembering that he had pushed her away and the real reason that she mad. She wasn’t mad at him for being a member of the male species or even a scoundrel. He was disproving that theory with each and every act that he did. He was proving to be a gentleman. She knew that he was a drug dealer but he was showing her a side that she didn’t see in men. He was showing that men could be respectful, reproachful and considerate to a woman.
He was showing himself to be a man of reputed behavior and she liked that. She was well aware that it had only been a day and that he could just be acting as if he were trustworthy and an gentleman but something in her gut told her that she was dealing with the real thing. She was dealing with a man of respect. She sighed and looked out the window realizing that the true reason she was angry at him was because he hadn’t kissed her. She felt that her letting her guard down had been huge and that he should have just kissed her and let her regret it later.
She looked over at him and realized he had no idea where she had moved to he was just driving. “I moved over to Selinsky,” she said.
He whistled. “That’s a good section to move in. Upper middle class blends in with the rich. You must have a decent amount of money to get there.”
“Well it wasn’t that expensive. My stalker and his brother offered me an impossible to resist deal. Fully furnished house, cheap down payment and rent for only $200 a month.”
He whistled again. “That sounds sweet. You easily make that in a night if not more.”
She nodded not saying anything else. It was hard to be rude to someone who returned rudeness with politeness that lacked the flirting quality that was normally there. She didn’t feel overwhelmed as she did with Adrian, Zorro didn’t put intense flirtation and sexuality into their conversations. He was approaching her as a person, not some sex god looking for a new conquest. As they neared Selinsky she instructed him to him to the front of the house. He stopped the car and cut the engine. She moved to open the door and was surprised when he grabbed her arm softly and turned her so that she faced him. She opened her mouth to demand what he was doing but he leaned over to her and his mouth came crashing down over hers.
She gasped as his hands moved down through her hair. His lips moved over hers with an expertise that screamed that he had experience with women. She kissed him back her mouth moving in with his as she gave into the pleasure that she felt from his lips moving over hers. She continued to kiss him wildly her hands clenched his shirt and she felt the bunched up material in her hands as he lifted her over to his side of the car. She was suddenly on his lap and her arms were around his neck as she continued the kiss. His hands were resting on her hips and her hands were in his hair as he slid his tongue into her mouth. She moved her tongue around his sucking on it softly as they continued kissing.
He pulled his head back for a brief five seconds and then he was dominating her mouth again. She moaned into his mouth and continued kissing him arching her body into his. Suddenly she felt a chill go down her spine. She felt the coldness and anger coming from near. She didn’t know how she knew but she knew she was channeling into someone else’s anger and coldness. She pulled away coming to her senses slowly. She looked down at Zorro staring into his expressive brown eyes and saw the pleased look in his, lust and a touch of something else. She moved to get off of him and he leaned forward kissing her briefly.
She moved back to the passenger seat panting slightly as she waited to catch her breath. She looked over at him and he grinned. “Are you angry with me for that?” he asked. “I didn’t do it before because I wasn’t sure how you’d react. You were angry that I didn’t and now I’m just wondering…”
She grinned back. “Nah, I’m not angry but don’t expect it to happen again,” she said. “You were right earlier. I’m not a woman who indulges in passion. I thrive off of logic, time, and processing. I have to be able to evaluate and don’t think that anything else is going to come from this. Just be warned. I don’t need a man in my life.”
He nodded and a brief smile touched his lips. “Of course you don’t need one,” he said. “Just because you don’t need one doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have one or want one in your life even if it’s just a friend.”
“Men aren’t the only ones who can be a girl’s friend,” she responded. “Women can be friends too.”
He shook his head. “You and I both know that women are vindictive, sneaky, deceivers and attention seekers. They always want something from each other and the men they fuck. You’d completely clash with them.”
She opened the car door knowing he was right. Deidre and Carrie had proven that women couldn’t be trusted for anything. Andrew had also proven that men couldn’t be trusted but she had already been used to his ways. It had hurt more than anything to find her best friends in bed with her trifling fiancé. She trusted women even less than she trusted men. They were capable of a lot more hurt then men. Men broke hearts. Females betrayed trust and stomped all over a broken heart.
She slid out of the car and Zorro got out of the car closing his door he walked over to her and walked with her to the front door. They walked up the steps and she looked at him pointedly looking at the car telling him to leave. He had already worked his way over into her thoughts and that alone was dangerous to her ways. She was a woman who hated men and with his manners and her inner gut going into overdrive about him, she was leaving her beliefs and standards behind. It wasn’t safe. He had said that she was afraid of risk and it was true but she had already risked enough tonight. She had made out with him and let her guard down. She’d be sure to put it back in place.
He didn’t need to think that he would be able to just walk into her life. She rubbed her temples as he stood watching her. “You can go home now,” she said. “I’m home safely.”
He shook his head. “You’ve got a stalker. I want to make sure you get in safely. If you want I’ll take a look around,” he offered.
She shook her head. Even if Adrian had found some way in she highly doubted that he would hurt. She thought about it for a moment, she had thought the same thing about Andrew and look where that had gotten her.
“Yeah, I’d appreciate it,” she said unlocking the door and leading him into the house.
They walked through the house and came to the conclusion that no one was there. He walked over to her and reached in her pocket taking her phone out. He inserted his three cell phone numbers into her phone and slid it back into her pocket.
“Call me if need anything and I mean it,” he said leaning to kiss her on the lips, she turned her head and he got her cheek instead.
“Told you not to expect it,” she said.
He chuckled. “As it’s been a true prize is worth fighting for and the best part isn’t winning the prize it’s working to get the prize.”
She smacked his shoulder and pointed to the door, amusement in her eyes. “I’m not a prize or object. Remember that,” she said leading him back over to the door.
He laughed. “Alright I will,” he said walking onto the porch. “Good night, Selene.”
She held a straight face not wanting him to see her smile. “Thank you for the ride and your help,” she said. She started to say good night but she had one question. “Is Zorro really your name or a pet name?”
He laughed huskily. “Why do you think it isn’t?”
She shrugged. “Just curious to know,” she said.
He sighed. “Rafael,” he said. “That’s my christen name. Zorro is my street name. I’ve gotten used to people calling me it. I don’t want my real name mixed in with the streets.”
She nodded. “Good night, Rafael,” she said closing her door.
She smiled widely knowing he couldn’t see it and ran up to her room and jumped onto the bed. It was one of her better nights. It was the first time that she had felt free in a long time. Rafael/Zorro had brought something within her back to life. she didn’t know what it was but she knew one thing. This one night she spent with him made her want to get to know more about him. She actually found herself wanting to spend more time with him. He had made her feel wanted, appreciated, cherished and like a giddy teenager. She didn’t know how he had managed to do it but he had. He had cut a line through her defenses though he’d never know it.
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I need honest opinions. I'm still contemplating about whether this was too soon or not.