Matt's shady business tends to rub me in the wrong direction and to be honest it's really scary. The Vazquez's haven't had easy lives. It's hard to judge them quickly or blame them for how they found a way to survive. All the warning bells are telling me to stay away and yet I have a desire to experience the danger. I hail a cab and give him the address. We pull up outside of Matt's house and I could hear music thumping down the street. I half expected him to be alone having a quiet evening, possibly in his pool deep in thought, but there is a party in full swing.
I round the side of the house and spot him quickly. My blood boils as I see him but I still can't help but feel a little bit jealous. He's sitting surrounded by girls in bikinis with a glass of tequila in his hand by the pool. So this is what he likes? A swarm of easy bimbos after his money. The cliché is very disappointing. The Matt that confided in me all those weeks ago is gone, replaced by this egotistical asshole. Why does Mark try to protect him? I walk over to him using all my will power not to punch him in the face, or at least push him in the pool. Instead I grab the glass out of his hand and slam it on the table next to him. The look on his face changes, he smirks at me, which pisses me off even more.
"Angel, happy to see that you could join us!" He said.
"I see you've taken up the harem as usual, even if it is just for the night."
He smiles at me.
"I don't give a damn about your party and we need to talk!" I say loudly.
Matt's expression changes. A lot of people look in our direction. They must wonder who I am to take such a tone with the great Matt Vazquez. Matt stands calmly retrieving his glass off the table, he knows our conversation is going to be lively. He gestures for me to follow him.
"What Ana?" His voice is annoyed.
"Don't speak to me like that. I thought you were going to stop this."
"Did you come here to lecture me or make a scene?" He asks.
"I came to talk to you, I didn't expect you to be surrounded by all of THIS." I wave my arms toward the party.
"What do you want to know." He knows that I'm not leaving until I get answers.
"You are such an arrogant son of a bitch!"
"I don't see how that's a question Ana." His jaw tenses. "Don't push it!"
"Awe, did I strike a nerve."
Matt glares at me and drags me a little further away.
"Your brother is really depressed; did you know about that?" I ask him
"Yes, I'm aware. Thanks."
"You really weren't affected by leaving. I mean look around."
"What would you know about how I feel Ana? You know nothing about me. You have done nothing but judge me since we first met. You string me along and pretend to be my friend just because you are with my brother. You are clearly not interested in me. It hurts me to see Mark like this. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want him in the middle of it. I love my brother, he doesn't deserve to be as depressed as he is. Who the fuck do you think I am Ana?" Matt throws his hands around and rolls his eyes as he speaks. He brushed his hand through his hair, very annoyed with me, but I don't really care. "And you know what, all of this, was so I could take my mind off things and just relax for a while. Sometimes you need a day for yourself. Other times you throw a party to forget what you can't have!"
"Oh, so you have your way with a bunch of easy girls that are after your money. Strange way to forget! I almost believed you when you said you were through with all of this. And to say that I judged you or I'm stringing you along is complete bullshit! I have been more than patient with you while you have played games with me. I had an interest in you and you gave up! You had a chance to be with me but instead you let your little brother push you around. I never said I didn't want to be with you."
"That's fucking bull shit." He throws his hands up in the air and begins walking away into the house. "For your information, I have dialed it down more then you would ever know. What's this party have to do with anything? You're acting like a psycho Ana!"
I follow him. Talking behind him as he goes in. "It's easy to be the tough guy with a hard life act. You pretend that all you know is sex, violence, and fighting. But I see right through you. You're just a scared little boy looking for a way out."
He turns back to me, his face inches from mine. He speaks through clenched teeth in a hushed tone.
"Jesus fucking Christ Ana! What do you want from me? Why did you even come here?"
"What did you mean when you said you sorted things out?" I ask.
"Follow me." His eyes shift around as he walks away.
He leads me up to his bedroom. I can't help but watch his back move as he walks, like Mark without the scar. Perfection, like the rest of him.
"Have a seat." He says to me as I enter the room behind him.
"No thanks, I don't plan on staying." I cross my arms going to the balcony doors.
Matt pours himself a drink. "Do you want some?"
"No, that's a bad idea waiting to happen."
He shrugs and turns back to watch what he is doing. He takes a drink before turning back to me twirling the liquid in his glass.
"The guy that took my brother, he had an accident. The police discovered a large amount of narcotics in his car. They put him away for drug trafficking. He will be behind bars for a long time."
"Was it really an accident, that just seems to easy?"
"Yes, that's what it appeared to be. I forgot nothing is simple with you. You know everything, are you happy?"
Somebody interrupts us knocking on the door. He looks at me sideways for a moment and opens the door to some guy. They exchange words quickly and I don't hear them over the sound of the party below. Matt closes the door and walks toward me like a predator towards his prey. He has a different, baleful look in his eye. He sets his glass down on the table and continues to encroach on my space. A smile crosses his lips.
"You really need to stop barging into my house like this. What exactly do you want from me?" He asks.
I back through the balcony doors. He continues to get closer to me. My back presses against the guardrail. There is nowhere left to go. My heart is pounding hard, he stirs something inside me. I suddenly feel very uneasy about being alone with him, very vulnerable. He grabs the rail on either side of me brushing against my body. He brings his face close to mine. I quickly duck under his arm and walk back in the bedroom. He stands there looking down on his party as if he were a god.
"I'm not one of your whores Matt!" I yell at him.
He looks at me tilting his head and smirking.
"I know, none of them would've come up here."
"Ok Mr. special status where do you take them then?"
"I have other rooms for that. In here it's different. And you know how I feel about you. You know that you are special to me."
"You didn't answer my question. Did you set him up?" I press.
"You don't need to know."
"Actually, I think I do. I need to know everything. I know you had something to do with it. Did you plant the drugs or something?"
"You watch to many movies angel!" He laughs.
"How come the cops were there?"
"They have been trying to catch him for years."
"Why did the police show up and search the car?"
"Because they knew who he was."
"I don't believe that, not for a minute. I think you told them. There is no way they showed up by chance."
"You are very clever but they were doing their job." His eyes glimmer as he stares at me. "I knew what and when things were happening. I just made sure the right people were where they needed to be when they needed to be there."
"What happens when he figures out you set them up?"
"They won't find out. My source isn't going to give away his source."
"And your deal with his father?"
"Our deal ended when the pinch puta touched my brother. But daddy doesn't have to know. In the future you need to learn to be more discreet. Talking about things like this in public gets people killed."
He's not wrong. I could have put us all in danger.
"I'm sorry. I needed you to explain, that's just how I am." I say.
"Ana, my life is in many ways like this party, temporary, superficial, and lively. I'm not proud of it all."
"You can't complain about making bad decisions."
He looks at me with hurt and anger in his eyes. "I will always be the bad guy to you, won't I?"
"You get to be the bad guy until you learn to change your ways. If you really love your brother the way you say you do, you'll find a way. Which brings me to my next question. What happened when you and Mark left? Why has he been so depressed?"
Matt walks toward me stopping just in front of me.
"My brother isn't any different than he was before. He just needs to be alone sometimes."
"There is something deeper than a need to be alone. Like old demons or something. He won't talk to me about it."
"Men don't talk about things Ana, we just need to be alone to think it through. And if we do talk about it it's to our best friend, not our girlfriend."
"Some men just need to say what's on their minds so the people who care about them can help them work it out."
Matt laughs at me mockingly.
"Do you really have to be an asshole all the time?" I ask.
"You are to kind Ana?"
"I'm done talking Matt, I think it's time I go home." I begin to walk to the door.
"My brother didn't give you what you wanted last night did he?" Matt says keeping his back turned.
"What did you just say to me?" I turn back to him quickly.
"Your little reunion in front of your building last night. I thought he was going to do you just to keep the peace." Matt swirls the liquid once again before taking a drink.
I instinctively do what I have wanted to do several times. I go back to him and slap him across the face so hard it causes him to turn his head away from me. He looks back at me like he seen a ghost. I feel good about what just happened. It's been a long time coming.
"How dare you talk about Mark and my intimacy! It doesn't concern you."
He grabs my hand as I attempt to slap him again. His eyes darken, and he pushes me against the wall hard. He holds tightly to my wrist above my head. I struggle against him but I can't break his grip. His body presses against mine blocking my movements.
"Let go of me." I say through clenched teeth.
He stands in front of me breathing heavily, only a few inches from me. I am reminded of the first time we met as his scent fills my nose. I turn my face away from him and attempt to break free. I don't know if it's the anger, Adrenaline, Or something else entirely. My head says push him away, my body presses against his asking for more.
"Let go of me!" I say more sternly.
"No female has ever dared to hit me before."
"Again, I'm not one of your bitches Matt. I'm not scared of you."
There is fire in my eyes. My heart is pounding. As they say... All is fair in love and war.
"Unless being smacked is your thing." I say.
Matt's tension mingles with my desire for more. Matt stares at me, each breath shorter than the last. My heart is pounding in my chest. Regardless of the anger I feel I can't take my eyes off of his. He quickly leans in and aggressively presses his lips to mine. He grabs a handful of my hair as I struggle to get away. He turns suddenly pushing me toward the bed.
"I want you Ana."
I bring my knee up hitting him in the groin. He retaliates, slapping my face with the back of his hand. We scuffle for a moment and he knocks me to the bed climbing on top of me quickly. He pins my hands above my head. He stares at me for a moment.
"Ana?" A voice says from the door.
My heart sinks. I know that voice.
A very confused looking Mark has appears from the shadows. Matt looks up at him distracted. I quickly bring my knee up once again but much harder this time. As my knee strikes, he falls on top of me in pain losing his grip on my hands. I push him off of me quickly and jump off the bed.
"Don't you ever touch me like that again!"
Tears fill my eyes as I scream at him, he's taken me to that dark place in my past. I turn away to run out of the room. Mark grabs my arm as I run past him.
"Ana what the hell is going on?" Mark asks. His face is filled with hurt and confusion. "Why are you in my brother's bedroom? Are you screwing with me?!" His voice is almost angry.
"No, of course not. It's not what you think. Matt called me and told me that he sorted out the problem with the guy that took you and I came here for answers."
"Matt what did you do?!" Mark asks his brother angrily.
"I didn't think your psycho girlfriend would show up at my house demanding answers after I called for you." Matt answers.
"When you call my phone I'm generally who you speak to. I told you he left." I yell at Matt.
Matt glares at me. I know I'm not making things easy for him but given the circumstances and what he just tried to do to me I don't particularly care.
"Look Mark, you didn't have your phone, I figured you'd still be with her. I called to tell you." Matt says picking himself up off the bed.
"What the hell is this? What were you doing when I walked in?" Mark asks.
"Your brother attacked me." I say.
"Because your girlfriend slapped me." Matt says, directing his comment to me.
"You deserved it, you had no right to speak to me the way you did." I say back, taking a few steps toward him.
"You shouldn't have showed up at my house Ana!" He walks toward me yelling. "You have no reason to keep showing up like this."
Matt is standing with in arms reach now.
"If you would have answered your phone or explained what the hell you were talking about the first time, I wouldn't be here!" I say and push his shoulders.
He takes a step back.
"If you weren't a nosy bitch, I wouldn't have had to explain!"
I bring my hand up slapping him again. God it feels so good to do that.
"I can't believe this is the thanks I get for fixing the problem!" Matt yells at me clenching his fists.
Mark quickly steps between us before his brother can retaliate.
"Stop fighting!" Mark says frustrated.
I don't listen, as usual.
"So, what? We are supposed to be grateful now? Grateful that Mark almost miss the birth of our children? Grateful that our boss has been touching me inappropriately because my boyfriend wasn't there to stop him? We are supposed to be grateful that you separated us when we needed each other most?!"
"Ana stop!" Mark yells at me. "This is not the way to solve our problems."
"You know what, fuck this. I'm leaving." I turn to walk out of the room. Mark catches my hand.
"Ana don't leave. Go downstairs and wait for me. I will join you after I talk to my brother." He's calm while he talks. Matt sighs and rolls his eyes.
"I fucking get it. I'm going!" I say.
"Ana, please."
"Message received!" I yell ignoring him.
"Wait for me."
I don't say anything. Instead I walk out of the room in a huff. I punch the wall just outside the bedroom putting a hole in it.
"Are you fucking serious Ana?" Matt yells at me coming out of the bedroom.
"Matt go back in the room." Mark says forcing his brother back.
I keep walking, raising my middle finger at him and not looking back. "Go fuck yourself Matt!"
I hear Mark chuckle as I go down the stairs.
Now I have to wait for Mark in the middle of a stupid party with people I don't fucking know. Great!
I grab a glass from the pyramid at the bottom of the stairs and down it all in one. It burns going down. A guy stares at me as if he was challenging me to do it again. I grab another glass, it burns the same as the first going down. I'm pretty pissed right now. All I want to do is break things. I want to break Matt's things.
"Let it go!" The man says. "Whatever has you so incredibly pissed off, let it go! This is a party, go have a good time."
He's right. Why should I always be so obedient, reasonable, and calm. I need to be carefree. Strangely he looks very familiar. He reminds me of my childhood doctor.
He takes my hand pulling me to dance by the pool. I let myself go to the rhythm of the music and dance with him. I swing my hips side to side. The man still has a hold of my hand. We dance for a while and a smile comes to my face as I begin to relax.
"What's your name!" He asks shouting over the music.
"Ana, what's yours?"
"Michael!"
We keep dancing. It's just a coincidence that he has the same name too. There are a few different women walking around with trays of drinks. Every time one of them passes us I grab a glass and down it in one go. The more she walks past me the more I like her, she quickly becomes my party buddy.
A girl walks over to us taking me away from Michael. She's wearing short shorts, a crop top, and stilettos. Her tiny body shakes and wiggles. She's dancing very seductively. I love how her hair falls around her shoulders. I wonder if Mark likes blondes? I go with the flow dancing with her. Our bodies are pressed together. As we dance I realize there are several male's eyes on us. We grind against each other catching more and more lustful gazes. After my dance partner leaves Michael moves back in to dance with me. Two other guys also move in trying to push up against me. Michael tells them to find a different dance partner. Michael presses himself against my back and puts his hands on my hips. He guides my hips left to right. I'm having fun with him.
"Do you have your phone?" He asks.
I pull my phone out of the pocket of my jeans. He grabs my phone and puts his number in.
"You should call me sometime!" I smile at him.
We continue dancing. Suddenly he moves away to quickly to be of his own accord. I feel very familiar hands wrapped around my body sliding over my hips. I am overwhelmed with a scent of citrus, leather, and pepper spices. I know exactly who it is.
"Take a walk!" Mark's voice is clear and authoritative.
"Do you know him?" Michael asks.
I nod. "My boyfriend."
"Okay, See you later Ana!" Michael says.
He walks behind Mark and gestures for me to call him. I throw myself into Mark's arms putting my hands on the back of his neck and I press my lips to his.
"Ana what the fuck are you doing." Mark says pulling away.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm having fun!"
"What's obvious is there are guys hanging all over you!" Mark glares at some of my ex-dance partners.
He's so sexy when he's jealous.
"Good thing you came to rescue me!" I stuff my phone in the pocket of his jacket.
He stares in to my eyes for a moment. He looks like he is trying to read my mind. He seems to be a little angry.
"What have you been drinking?" He asks.
Just then my party friend comes along with her tray.
"This." I say taking a glass and throwing it back in one go.
Mark looks at me surprised. He grabs the glass from my hand smelling it.
"Is this all it takes to get you drunk?" He asks.
"I just wanted to have a little fun. Is that a crime?" My legs start swaying from left to right. My voice sounds funny and my perception seems to be off a little bit. "So, tell me Mr. perfect aren't you supposed to be fixing your motorcycle."
My stomach seems angry all the sudden. Maybe I had one to many. Mark is supporting me. If he lets go, I know I'm done for.
"I did work on my bike, but I needed to talk to my brother."
"Ah, Yes Matt. Matt has gone and done it again, cause you can always count on Matt to mess everything up." I try to imitate him the best I can and bust up laughing.
"Ana your making a spectacle of yourself."
"Ana, you're making a spectacle of yourself." I mock him. "Nobody is watching me. Everyone is having fun!"
"Ana your drunk, I'm taking you home."
"No." I say pulling away from him a little.
As I pull out of his arms I lose my balance and fall in the pool. My only thought, oh no! I know I messed up instantly. As my body hits the water I sober up a little bit. My feet touch the floor and I stand quickly.
"Are you freaking serious Ana?" I yell at myself.
I look up to Mark who stands on the edge of the pool laughing.
"Stop, it's not funny." I say laughing because he was.
He wipes tears from the corner of his eyes.
"Ana, if you wanted to swim all you had to do is ask." He says mockingly.
"Do you want to join me?"
"No, I like the view from up here."
He walks closer to the edge of the pool. I do the same. He offers me his hand. I follow his eyes. My white tank top has become very transparent.
"Mark!" I exclaim.
"What?"
I cover my breasts with my hands.
"Come on." He says stretching his hand down. I grab his hand and he easily pulls me out of the pool. He takes his jacket off and wraps it around my shoulders.
I decide he needs to swim too. With one quick skillful move I push him in. I jump in after him letting his jacket fall to the ground. I smile in triumph as I emerge from the water. I bite my lip as he tries to take hold of my waist.
"I'm going to get you back for that." He says. His eyes have a certain gleam that makes him look like a predator as he walks toward me.
"Your adorable." I say.
"And she sticking to her guns."
"Yep, just watch me. An eye for and eye. A tooth for a tooth."
My back bumps the edge. Mark grabs hold of me sweeping my feet out from under me. I plunge under the water. I don't resurface next to him. Instead I chose to knock him down by grabbing his ankles and pulling. We resurface laughing. Mark holds me against him, his hands on my waist. I instinctively wrap my legs around his hips. He moves his hands down my thighs.
I cling to him as he climbs out of the pool. He sets me down and swiftly pushes me back in. Pay back at its finest.
"Mark!"
"You pushed me in so..." Mark smiles at me then, he pulls me back out.
"And I would do it again." I threaten. My breasts press against him. I look into his eyes like there is nobody here but us.
"You just don't like losing." He says.
I kiss him, and he kisses back holding me tighter. This is my favorite place in the world, here in his arms. Goosebumps begin to form on my arms.
"Are you cold angel?" He asks.
"Yes, but I feel good in your arms. It's not so bad here."
"As long as I can feel your body against mine I could be anywhere angel. Let's go in and get warm."
"You know I can't swim and nice boys don't try to drown their girlfriends."
"I feel I should remind you that I am a bad boy. You said so."
Mark hands me a towel off of a chair next to the pool. I wrap it around me. He grabs his jacket and we walk in Matt's house, we go up the stairs in to Matt's bedroom.
"What happened to you?" Matt asks looking us up and down as we drag water through his house.
"Ana slipped and fell in your pool." Mark answers.
"And you did too? Fully clothed?" Matt asks.
"Yep, you should try it some time."
Mark has my hand and leads me in to Matt's bathroom.
"Stay here a for a minute. I'll go get you some dry clothes." Mark kisses me.
Matt stares at me as I try to dry my hair off a bit.
"What do you want Matt? We've both said enough for one night don't you think." I rub myself dry the best I can with the towel.
"Not everything revolves around you Ana." Matt said.
Matt lays back on his bed and stares at the ceiling as Mark comes back in the room. I can see the marks on his face from where I slapped him and feel a little guilty. He pushes me into the bathroom holding his duffel bag and we begin taking our clothes off. Shirtless Mark is super sexy but being with wet shirtless Mark is like being with a Greek god. He takes my shirt from me twisting it tightly to wring the water out over the sink.
"There is a dress in my duffel bag that you can wear. These can stay here until they dry out a bit."
"Is this mine?" I ask and answer my own question. "This is mine, where did you get this?" I hold up my sweater dress.
"It's been in my bag since we left the cabin. I just kept forgetting I had it."
"Uh huh? I don't believe that." I look at him suspiciously.
"Angel I'm not some sort of creepy stocker that kept your dress for six months while I was away, just so I had something of yours that smelled like you because I missed you so much."
I can understand that. I have several items of clothing that belong to him at my apartment. I also have one of his brothers' blazers that I have had since I was attacked all those months ago.
"I think that's exactly what happened. I might need to hire some protection to keep me safe from my stocker."
"I might be able to help you with that." He smiles.
I walk back over to him wearing nothing but my underclothes. I press myself against him. I wrap my arms around his shoulders pulling myself up on my toes.
"I'm sure we can work something out." I kiss his lips.
He lifts me up setting me on top of the counter and puts his hands high on my thighs as I wrap my legs around him. I tip my head back closing my eyes as Mark's lips wonder down my body. I pull him back up kissing his lips. He kisses me back for a moment and continues his mission down my belly. As he kisses the inside of my thigh I begin feeling really awkward knowing that Matt is no more than fifty feet from us.
"Mark, stop." I said
He looks up at me.
"What's wrong angel?"
His breathing is heavy.
"I'm not comfortable doing this here."
"Do you want me to take you home?"
"Yes." I said.
"Ok angel, I'll call us a cab." He kisses me lustfully. We put our clothes on and exit the bathroom. Matt is laying on his bed texting somebody. He looks upset. I think I ruined his night by coming to his house. If he would have just answered I wouldn't have shown up at his party.
"That was fast." Matt says.
He tosses his phone in the night table drawer. The three of us walk downstairs.
Matt walks past me giving me a look. He walks toward a pretty brunette that is eyeing his bare tattooed chest and muscles. She slides a hand around his neck and giggles as Matt whispers in her ear. He puts an arm around her waist. He glances over at me reminding me that this is what his world is. It's a little pathetic but I think he's trying to make me jealous. I could care less about that girl. I wonder if he likes going from one girl to another.
Mark's phone buzzes. The car is here. I take Mark's hand and he leads me away. I look back at Matt. His eyes sadden as we leave.
There is nothing super special about this cab ride, except for my super-hot boyfriend with one thing on his mind. I pretty sure I caught the driver watching us more than once.