Romero (The Moreno Brothers #4) von Elizabeth Reyes

Romero

Manny was on his third disposable camera. His girlfriend Aida stood next to him, wearing a dress that looked like he just picked her up on a street corner.

“Can you wind up your plastic camera a little faster so we can get out of here?” Max said. “It’s hotter than shit out here.”

“Shut up and get in there, will you? I’m sending every damn one of these to Cousin Lou in Texas. That asshole didn’t think we could raise this kid.” He smiled at Romero, and if Romero didn’t know any better, he’d think Manny was getting choked up again. Jesus. “C’mon smile, will you?”

Romero’s uncles had always insisted he use their first names.

“You know, if you break down and buy a digital camera like everyone else, you can send them to him tonight in an email,” Max said.

Manny took a few more pictures. Romero got tired of telling him about his finger on the lens. Let him be pissed about it when he got all the pictures back. All he could think of was getting the hell out of there to go party with his friends.

“I can do the same with these as soon as I get them back. They give you a disc over at the drug store, smartass. Besides why would I buy a digital camera when I got a load of these?”

Romero frowned. His uncles had plenty of friends with “connections.” They constantly hooked him up with things that fell off of delivery trucks in exchange for favors. Because of the business his uncles ran, they had plenty of favors to barter with that those types of guys would really enjoy. The latest hookup had been a few dozen boxes of disposable cameras. “Are we done?” Romero asked.

“Yeah, with this one.” Manny dumped the camera in a tote and pulled out another brand new disposable camera. “Go get your friends. I want a few with them in it.”

Romero began to protest, but it was pointless. If he didn’t obey, his uncle was bound to start yelling for his friends to get their asses over here anyway. Rather than endure another one of their usual public scenes, he complied. “All right, I’ll go get them, but make it fast because I got somewhere to be.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll go when I say you go. We’re going to dinner, remember? I didn’t get all dolled up for nothing.”

Aida fixed his uncle’s bright red tie. Both his uncles had worn suits for the occasion. As usual, their choice in clothes didn’t disappoint. Manny, a heavyset man, was in a white suit with a black shirt and bright red tie. Max looked like something out of a zoot suit movie. But it was all good. Romero was used to this. This was nothing compared to the matching powder blue suits they’d worn to his middle school graduation and the scuffle they started in the crowd during the ceremony. “That fat bitch got right in front of me just as I was taking the picture!” was Manny’s argument.

That fat bitch’s husband didn’t take too kindly to his uncle’s foul mouth, and it was on.

As he walked through the crowd of bodies, many still in their graduation robes, he spotted Claire—sweet, quiet, bookish Claire. Ever since the tenth grade when he’d caught her trying not to laugh at one of his lewd remarks, she’d been on his get-to-know list. Up until then, he’d only had a to-do list when it came to girls. In fact, there were only two girls on his get-to-know list ever. Ironically, the other one, Libby, was a lot like Claire. Only unlike Claire, he’d never gotten the feeling Libby might actually be attracted to him, except for the few times he caught her staring and he thought she might’ve blushed. Unfortunately, they’d been in class, and she’d spun her head around so fast he wasn’t able to tell. Another unfortunate thing about her was she’d moved away a year ago.

He’d been surprised to see Claire in the Forensic Science class he’d taken this past semester on the weekends as part of their school’s regional occupational program. He hadn’t told anyone about the class. Not even his uncles knew. He’d told them he enrolled in a weekend program but said it was a weight-training thing.

Like in school, he hadn’t expected to have much interaction with Claire, until they were partnered up on a project. There was no denying the attraction she tried so desperately to hide. He saw right through her. Even now, it made him smile at the times that he’d broken through that sweet innocent wall of hers and gotten her to admit a thing or two—like when he teased her about being so holier-than-thou she’d probably never even had a naughty dream. Not only did she admit to having had some, but they hadn’t all been about her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend—that wiped the smile right off his face. He’d waited too damn long to get to know her, and by the time he started talking to her in the ROP class, she was taken. If she had wanted to, it wouldn’t have been the first time that Romero had borrowed a little time with someone else’s girl. Only thing was, with Claire, he hadn’t been too sure that he could handle sharing her. He never got a chance to find out though.

As strong as he felt her attraction had been, she wasn’t the cheating type, and apparently things between her and her boyfriend were pretty serious. Of course, that only made Romero want her more. What had really thrown him was when he smugly asked her if any of those dreams had been of him. He completely expected her to blush and deny it vehemently. Instead, sweet innocent Claire smiled the wickedest smile that nearly made him blush, and she pled the fifth.

But even that didn’t top what he remembered most fondly about her. With all the suggestive teasing he’d done, he expected more demure responses. But after they finished up their project, instead of demure, she’d teased him right back, calling him closet smart. For some reason, that always shut him right up.

Romero slowed down, watching her pose for a picture with a woman he could only imagine was her mom. She noticed him after the picture had been taken and smiled, making Romero breathe in deeply. He smiled back and began walking toward her. She’d only taken a few steps when her boyfriend stepped in front of her with a bouquet of flowers. The moment was over, and he decided to walk away.

He rounded up his two best friends: Eric Diego and Angel Moreno. “Don’t ask me why, but Manny wants pictures with you guys in ’em. Let’s get this over with. The sooner we’re done, the faster I can get dinner with them out of the way, and we can meet up.”

“No fights this time, huh?” Angel smirked.

“Shit, we’re not out of here yet.” Romero laughed.

They posed for a few hundred more shots, and the whole time Manny came up with more reasons why he had to take another.

“Do you have to make that face in every picture? This isn’t a mug shot. Max, will it kill you to fucking smile in just one of these? Stop with the tough guy poses, Moe. No one’s buying that shit.”

Eric and Angel stifled in laughs. Romero had always gone by his last name to everyone else but his uncles. His first name was Ramon, though he’d never gone by it. Manny and Max both called him Monie when he was a kid. Over the years it morphed into Moe. His uncles loved introducing themselves as Manny, Max, and Moe any chance they got. They thought it was cool, but Romero knew people’s first thought, especially considering his two uncle’s appearances was the Three Stooges.

They finally got out of there and went to the Lucky Dragon for dinner. Besides his friend Angel’s family’s upscale Mexican restaurant, this was the only other fancy restaurant his uncles liked going to. They’d gone there for so many years the owners knew them well. The owner’s name was Pak Mi, and even after all these years, it never got old. “Pak Mi? No Pak you!” Then his uncles would go into a fit of laughter as if it were the first time they used that one.

After plowing through his food, Romero checked his phone again and replied to a text from Eric.

“Put that shit away, will you?” Manny pointed his chopsticks at Romero’s cell. “How many times do I have to tell you, not during dinner?”

“But I’m done.” Romero continued to text.

“Take that thing from him,” Manny said to Max.

Romero scooted out of the booth before Max could reach for his phone. He leaned in and hugged Manny and then Max then smiled and nodded at Aida. “Eric is outside—party time.” He grinned. “Thanks for dinner. Don’t wait up.”

“Hey, Moe,” Manny called out as he began to walk away. “You got condoms. Use them.”

Romero turned to the women in the next booth who looked up at him after hearing his uncle’s loud statement. He smiled and winked. “Don’t worry. I always do.”

Angel’s family went all out as usual. They owned a restaurant and closed it up for the evening just for the occasion. They’d party there for a while because they could sneak the free liquor from the bar and then move on to after parties.

His two best friends couldn’t be more different from him, but they’d been his best friends since they were kids, and they’d always gotten along great. Romero knew if he hadn’t lived up the street from them, they would’ve never been as tight they were now. That’s how different they were.

Angel came from a big family—two brothers and a sister, and his parents owned one of the most renowned restaurants in La Jolla. His two older brothers were in college on full scholarships. Angel was on the same path. He’d been the star football player most of the four years in high school. The only time he hadn’t been in the spotlight was when his brothers were in it.

Eric was an only child, so he could relate to Romero in that sense, but that’s where any similarity in their family lifestyle ended. Eric’s dad was a businessman and the epitome of class. He jetted all over the world, was well-read and educated. Both Eric and Angel’s futures were carefully planned. They’d be attending college in the fall and knew exactly where they were going.

Romero, on the other hand, hadn’t even looked into college. His uncles were under the impression that he’d join the family business. But Romero had other plans—plans he hadn’t shared with anyone.

His uncles, while a little rough around the edges, were good guys—now. They’d come a long way from their days of being thugs. His grandmother told him stories when he was younger. They ran with the worst of them and got his dad, their youngest brother, involved. Then his dad was arrested for drug trafficking—something to which his brothers introduced him. Romero was just a baby. His grandmother said his uncles, full of regret, decided to turn over a new leaf, lead a life on the straight and narrow.

They gave up trafficking for gambling on the ponies in Del Mar. Manny was surprisingly lucky. He planned on saving up his winnings and opening up his own business. Then a few years later, his uncles decided they needed to step up and be the role models they never were to their younger brother. So they gave up the life of gambling for a more respectable way of life—they opened up a titty bar.

Romero’s dad was supposed to do fifteen years in the can, but he was out on parole earlier that year. Just a few months later, he was back in for possession. The judge wasn’t messing around either since he was still on parole—slapped another ten-year sentence on him. Romero didn’t care. He’d never known his old man anyway. As far as he was concerned, his uncles and grandmother were the only parents he ever had.

Romero would’ve never believed his graduation night would turn into this. Because Angel had met and fallen completely head over balls for the new chick in school senior year, she’d be coming along with them to party as she had for months. Even worse? Now that Angel’s highly guarded younger sister Sofia had turned seventeen, she was allowed to date. Eric had staked his claim immediately. Not that they hadn’t been sneaking around for months, but now they’d be at the party out in the open for everyone to see they were a bona fide couple.

Romero couldn’t understand how anyone would want to get tied down so young. He lived to get wasted and bag a new piece of ass every chance he got. That was the whole reason why he joined the football team to begin with. Ever since he’d made the starting line up and started bulking up, he never left a party without knowing he was getting laid, or at least blown by some of the girls who still tried to act like doing that was somehow more respectable than going all the way. Either way, it was a happy ending and he’d take it.

They were at a backyard party for over an hour, and Romero had already thrown a few back. Eric and Angel were too busy honeymooning to even get a buzz. Romero kicked it with some of the other football players. Ozzie, a third stringer but a good buddy of Romero’s, brought a bottle of Jack Daniels. “Your dad actually bought you this shit?”

Ozzie smiled, taking a swig then looking like he might throw up in his mouth. Romero laughed. Ozzie was no drinker. This was going to get ugly. “Give me that.”

Ozzie handed him the bottle. Romero took a drink and grimaced as the warm liquid slid down, burning his throat in the process. “Smooth,” he said in a voice so hoarse the guys laughed.

Running into Claire and her boyfriend again at the party was an unpleasant surprise. He’d only seen her at these types of parties a handful of times—each time with her boyfriend, a basketball player who had frat boy written all over him. They were made for each other. What surprised him even more was her walking away from her boyfriend to come over and say hello to him.

“I was gonna say hello to you today when I saw you after graduation, but you walked away.”

Romero glanced at her boyfriend, who looked in their direction but avoided eye contact. Smart guy, because the liquor only intensified his regret of waiting too long to get to know Claire. It wouldn’t take much now for Romero to snap. “Yeah, well, you looked busy.”

She shrugged. “Anyway, I just wanted to say congrats.” She leaned in and whispered, “Mr. Closet Smart. I’m sure you have big plans.”

Of course, Claire would be the only one who’d think that. “I have a few,” he smiled. “What about you?”

One of the girls in the group with her boyfriend called out for her. Figures her coward ass boyfriend wouldn’t even look their way, pretending he wasn’t the one who’d put the girl up to calling for Claire. Claire turned and nodded.

“Looks like you’re missed already.”

She rolled her eyes. “Best of luck to you, Romero. I know you’ll be successful at whatever you end up doing.”

“Thanks,” he smiled, “and I know you will too.”

He watched her walk back to her group, and her boyfriend wrapped his arms around her as soon as she reached him.

A couple of hours later, Romero was behind the garage with his hand down a cheerleader’s pants. His fingers found their way to a spot that made her gasp, and she moaned, spreading her legs a little further. He kissed her even deeper.

“Romero,” she spoke in his mouth.

He tried but couldn’t remember her name. “Hmm.”

“I’ve only done it once.”

“Nice,” he said, sucking her neck. “We’ll get a few more in tonight.”

“Right here?”

Romero stopped for a moment and looked at her. He hadn’t really planned on doing it there. Usually, this was just the starter. They could head to the beach or a backseat later, but something about her anxious eyes told him she might change her mind.

He took the few steps over to reach for the back door of the garage. One turn, and it opened. Romero smiled. There had to be a car in there. He pulled her by the hand, and she followed willingly. A peek inside, and he realized this was better than he thought—an SUV, and the windows were open. He turned back to her with a smirk. “Happy Graduation, sexy girl.” He would’ve added her name instead of the endearment if he’d remembered it.

Isabel

Isabel summed up her valedictory address with a smile. She glanced at her father who was behind the video camera that sat on a tripod just below the stage. He stood tall and proud, clapping. Her mother and siblings stood with everyone else to applaud the speech she’d worked on for weeks. The immense relief of getting it over with was more than reward enough.

The last month and a half, she’d been a wreck. The only one of her siblings who hadn’t made Valedictorian was her brother Art, but then he’d gone to a highly regarded military school and had graduated with honors, so that seemed acceptable enough. Isabel had struggled the last few months with her AP classes becoming increasingly difficult. She was so worried that her scores on her finals wouldn’t be enough. As relieved as she was that this was finally over, she knew this was only the beginning.

Both her oldest sister Pat and her brother Art were following her father’s example and going into law. Her father was a criminal judge. Her other sister, Gina, had just transferred to Cornell and knew before she even graduated from high school that she’d be majoring in civil engineering.

Isabel was still undecided about her major. Her mother had been a schoolteacher for years before being diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. Thankfully, she’d beat it. Even after the chemo taking so much from her mother and her father insisting she not go back to work, her mother insisted she had to.

Growing up, Isabel heard all the stories her mother told her about her students. She seemed to revel in it. Even though her dad often made cracks about how unappreciated teachers were for all the hard work they did, Isabel noted how he never came home speaking fondly of his day at work, as her mother did so often. As much as her sister was pushing for her to go into law—maybe someday between them they could start their own firm—Isabel’s heart was leaning towards her mother’s first love: teaching.

After the ceremony, they went out for a swanky dinner in Laguna at one of her dad’s favorite restaurants. A few of her friends had mentioned getting together later that evening to celebrate, but Isabel had plans early the next morning. Even though she was attending the University of San Diego, just over an hour away from her home in Laguna Beach, she would be staying in a dorm. Even more than her parents, her sister Pat had always pushed her to excel. She did it all through grade school and high school. Unlike her brother, who was going to Loyola, Pat was studying close by and living at home. Isabel needed to get away. Already, because of their insistence and because none of them had taken the summer off after high school, she was enrolled in summer school. Both her father and sister Pat had been hammering at her for months now, “Knock it out, no sense in wasting time.”

So tomorrow was orientation, and her summer classes started in a week.

“I’m really proud of you, Isabel.” Her father squeezed her hand during dinner. It was rare for her father to say anything heartfelt. It almost brought a tear to her eye.

“Yeah,” Pat added, “and you were worried about not making Valedictorian.” Her sister rolled her eyes. “I knew you had it in you, Bell. You just have to believe in yourself more.”

Isabel smiled. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Now the real fun begins,” Gina said, “college life and college men.” Her eyebrows bounced up and down.

Her mom chuckled. “Just don’t get too caught up in that stuff and let your grades slip.”

“I won’t.” Isabel couldn’t even imagine getting caught up in that. She had one boyfriend all through high school. The rest of the time, she spent most of her weekends studying and reading. Just like tonight, while everyone else was out celebrating graduation, she’d be hitting the hay early.

“Art, I thought you were bringing Sabrina to dinner tonight.” Her mom said, taking a sip of her wine.

Art shrugged. “Changed my mind.”

“Why?” Her mom asked.

“Is she still working at the Quick Mart?” Pat asked, with a smirk.

“She’s putting herself through school, Patricia.”

Isabel chewed slowly, taking in the glare her brother gave Pat.

“It was just a question.”

“Yeah, well those kinds of sarcastic questions are the reason I didn’t want to bring her.”

Pat’s eyes opened wide as if his comment surprised her. “It’s nothing personal, Art. You should know by now, no one will ever be good enough for my little brother, least of all some trailer trash working at the Quick Mart.”

“Pat,” her mother warned.

“I’m just—”

“Oh, but that arrogant asshole you’re dating—”

“Hey!” Her mom reached over and swatted Art on the back of the head. “I will not have that kind of language at the dinner table.”

“Your mother is right,” her father added. “Lower your voice and apologize to your sister.”

Art apologized through his teeth, though it was anything but sincere. That pretty much ended any mood for small talk between her siblings. Her father asked Gina about her flight itinerary. Everyone agreed to keep their schedules open to be there to see her off since she’d be gone for months. Isabel never understood why Gina had chosen to go so far to school. As much as her family could drive her nutty sometimes, they meant the world to her, and she’d miss them terribly if she was ever away from them for that long.

Even now that she’d be staying at a dorm, she was still close enough that she could drive back on a whim if she ever needed to.