Not Even Close (A New Generation) Read online

  “Yeah, so?” Nine said loudly. “At least I’m manly enough to admit it.” Both Beast and Byron laughed now. “Seriously, they may be young.” Nine held up two hands moving away from Beast a bit. “And now that you have two daughters you probably don’t wanna hear this, but I’m not sure who’s worse. The groupies or young college girls. ‘Specially ones away from mommy and daddy for the first time. This is their time to get freaky and trust me.” He turned to Byron this time with an arched brow. “Back in the day, long before Dee Dee, I had my share of these so-called little innocent college girls. They may be young but they’re adults now—legal—and dying to live it up.” He nudged Byron now with his elbow. “FYI, out of townies are the best ones to get your freak on with. Kind of like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Those chicks are open to anything. Doesn’t matter what kind of reputation they get because once they’re done with school, they go back to mommy and daddy, start their new careers with a clean slate, and never look back. It’s why so many of them like experimenting in college.” He bounced his brows. “Good way to get some three-way action going.”

  “Alright, alright,” Beast said looking more annoyed than earlier. “Not all girls are the same. Just ‘cause you were always drawn to that type. Until Dee Dee,” he added when Nine began to protest. “Doesn’t mean all college girls are looking to get their freak on. This guy.” Beast shook his head. “Tell ’em, B. How much time did you have to get your freak on when you were going to school full time?”

  Byron thought about that for a moment remembering all those weekends he was up into the wee hours of the morning writing papers and studying for finals.

  “Zero,” he said with a frown knowing that was a bit of an exaggeration since he had gotten his freak on more often than not.

  Then he had to laugh because he was sure what Nine was thinking. Byron remembered also going into college under the assumption that it was going to be one big party. While he had enjoyed his college days, it’d also been a lot of hard work. Still, given Byron’s own experience with the majority of young college freaks, but especially the one he’d deemed different and turned out to be completely wrong about, he wouldn’t bother arguing.

  Byron turned to his brother ignoring the temptation to ask if he could clarify who was getting things signed for daddy and who had the boyfriend. Especially not after Nine’s spiel. Instead, he got right to what he knew his brother would want to know about ASAP—his wife and their temporary sitter. “Checked on Ali like you asked. She’s good but your sitter Natasha’s sick or something.”

  “Sick?” Beast asked peering at him. “She seemed fine this morning when she got there.”

  “Yeah, well you know Ali. Guess Nat’s sniffling and shit got Ali worried about her getting the girls sick, so I told her to go ahead and send Nat home and I’m picking up the girls at school.” He glanced down at his watch. “Matter of fact I gotta go. They’ll be out in about twenty. Don’t worry your housekeeper is with Ali until you get home. I’m taking the girls to eat and the movies, so Ali won’t have to worry about them for at least a few hours.”

  “Thanks, man.” Beast started to dig in his pocket. “Easy on the candy and don’t let Elsie talk you into McDonalds. That kid can live off that crap. They like Olive Garden at least that’s better—”

  “I got it.” Byron shook his head motioning to the money Beast was trying to hand him. “These are my girls too, remember?”

  Beast smiled nodding as he slipped the two fifty’s he’d been ready to hand Byron back into his money clip. “Don’t spoil them too much. Ali says she doesn’t want them to start feeling entitled.”

  “Yeah, does that ever stop you?”

  Turning away with a smirk, Beast didn’t comment as Nine started asking him something about the shop. Byron said his goodbyes and walked away. Nine’s spiel about young college girls was still in his head. It didn’t happen often, but Byron actually had to agree this time about Nine’s theory. He just hated that Nine had dredged up an unsolicited memory. One he’d since buried way back in his head.

  Ever since, he’d sworn off any girls he deemed too young, immature and likelier to put him in a situation like that again. He wasn’t about to allow a repeat of that shit. It’s why he was axing any temptation of getting involved with someone like the little college girl who’d caught his eye today. Especially one who looked young enough to be jailbait. In fact, he shook off all thoughts of her and decided he’d concentrate on the only other thing that ever had him smiling genuinely lately. He’d do just the opposite of what his brother had asked—indulge in some big-time spoiling.

  “Did you know that owls are nocturnal, Uncle B?” Elsa asked as she twirled her pasta with her fork.

  Byron nodded wiping his mouth as he finished chewing. He turned to Lucy whose little brows were furrowed just above her glasses and seemed confused. “Of cose, they’ah not tuhtles. That’s silly.”

  Trying not to laugh outright because he knew from experience sensitive Lucy didn’t appreciate being laughed at, he took a sip of his soda.

  “Not turtles,” Elsa said then giggled. “Nocturnal. It means owls are mostly active at night. Like bats and raccoons. We learned about them last year in the first grade, so you’ll learn about them next year, Lucy.” She turned to Byron with her big front toothless smile. “But we had an assembly in the auditorium today. They brought in animals from the zoo. One of them was an owl.”

  “I didn’t get to go,” Lucy said her bottom lip beginning to tremble.

  “It was only for second and third graders.” Elsa turned back to Byron wide eyed now. “I had no idea owls were that big. He was huge. My teacher called him majestic.”

  “I’ve never seen an owl in puhsun.” Lucy’s eyes welled up and her lip was really going at it now though Byron could see she was trying to hold it together by pressing her little lips together.

  “You just turned five, baby girl.” He reached out for her hand and kissed it. “There’s a lot you haven’t seen or experienced yet. Means you got a lot to look forward to.”

  She reached up to remove her glasses and wiped her eyes nodding softly with a sniffle, then turned to Elsa. “What coluh was he?”

  “Mostly brown but his chest was white.”

  Elsa went on all bright eyed telling them more about the owl and the other animals at the assembly, but Byron was already all over it. It was too late to do it today, but the shop was fully staffed Friday and while Beast might protest at first, Byron was certain his brother would give in to letting these two play hooky from connecting the dot lessons and coloring in the lines for a day at the zoo with Uncle B that Friday. Since spoiling these two little princesses was the only thing that kept a smile on his broody ass these days this was as much for them as it was for him.

  By the time Elsa was done bringing them up to speed about her school’s assembly, Lucy was past her minor meltdown and instead seemed completely captivated by all big sis had to share. Byron hadn’t wasted any time. He’d already purchased tickets to the zoo on his phone as Elsa had spoken. The bigger Elsa smiled as she spoke and wider Lucy’s eyes got, the more upgraded their trip to the zoo had gotten. He’d booked the giraffe feedings, something called Flamingo Mingle and a behind the scenes tour. He still hadn’t gotten their parents’ permission to keep them from school Friday, but Byron would play dirty if he had to. Fridays were short days for them anyway. His plan was to show up early at their place and surprise the girls before they were chauffeured off to school.

  Ali had a stronger backbone than his big pushover brother when it came to the girls. But even she didn’t stand a chance against baby girl’s big emotional eyes. Beast would be toast the moment he’d look into those trembling lips Friday morning, so it was a done deal.

  The movie they watched turned out to be metaphorical and a bit over Lucy’s head. Two stray dogs and a cat went on a journey to each find their way home. It wasn’t until the end when they finally arrived at their destination that the viewer and the
animals realize each needed to resolve some personal struggle, they didn’t even know they were fraught with before they could arrive. The home each one was searching for turned out to be their own personal pet heaven.

  On their drive home, Byron attempted to explain to Lucy about the animals being stuck between life and death because they each had something to overcome before they could get to heaven. Something they needed to learn or finish before they could cross to the other side and be truly happy.

  “Do people have to do that too?” Lucy asked from her booster seat in the back.

  Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Byron’s grip of the steering wheel got a little tighter. “No one really knows what happens when you die. But I suppose it could be true.”

  “But heaven is a real, right?” Elsa who sat next to Lucy was quick to ask. “Daddy says that abuelita is in heaven but is always looking down and watching over all of us.”

  Closing his eyes as they came to a stop, Byron nodded but didn’t comment.

  “Do you think gwahma had something she needed to finish befoh she could cwos to duh udda side, Uncle B?”

  Curse the twist ending to that stupid movie. If Byron had any idea he’d be taking the girls to see a movie that might have them asking these kinds of questions he would’ve never taken them to that one. But he refused to go there and let this line of questioning pull him back into that dark place again. He’d managed to stay out of it for too long now. So, the moment he saw it he switched lanes.

  “I don’t know, baby girl.” He turned into the shopping center. “Who’s up for frozen yogurt?”

  “I am!”

  “I am!”

  He switched the subject easy enough to talk about their favorite flavor yogurts instead. By the time they were in the yogurt shop, Lucy was far more interested in all the different toppings she’d be choosing from and Byron managed to snap out of the mood he’d begun to get sucked into.

  Note to self: Next time he’d take them anywhere, he’d research and read reviews before going into it blindly. Idiot.

  Two

  No Distractions

  Vannah

  “I got them all, Felix, Abel, De La Hoya and even that Beast guy.” Vannah spoke into her earpiece as she hurried to get her clothes out of the washer and into the dryer. “I didn’t bother with the other athletes. Most were Dodgers, Lakers and even a few Raider players but I figured he wouldn’t really be into any of them. And no lie, Nena we were there for over four hours. I was exhausted and starving by the time we were done.”

  “Well, at least you got the most important ones.” Nena chirped happily. “His collection will be complete now. But let’s get to the most important part. Were the guys there as hot as I’ve heard they are?”

  Slowing her pace, Vannah bit her bottom lip feeling her face warm when she remembered the hot guy with the delicious smile, she’d caught staring at her. “Yes,” she said softly even as her sister squealed.

  This had Vannah giggling despite her keeping to herself how she’d totally blown it at the sight of that gorgeous smile aimed directly at her. As usual she’d frozen on the spot and glanced away as soon as she’d been able to gather her wits instead of smiling back. She’d save herself the lecture because she knew her sister would be all over her being so shy and attempting to be more approachable and how a simple smile went such a long way. Vannah knew this already and smiling was hardly an issue for her, but she just couldn’t help freeze up when she was nervous or taken by surprise like she had been that day.

  She didn’t tell her sister about that guy specifically, but she did fill her in on the amount of eye candy they’d seen that day. “I knew it. Aside from all the hot boxers, Tricia was telling me ever since that model Kara what’s-her-face was discovered there by the owner of that modeling agency who was there being trained by their world-famous trainers, the place is just crawling now with aspiring models and actors looking to get discovered.”

  That had Vannah thinking of that perfect smile. She did spot him talking casually with the Beast boxer. Maybe he was famous too? But he hadn’t been mobbed like some of the other athletes there who even when they were on a break from the signings could hardly get a moment’s peace. He’d walked out of there as quietly as any of the other non-famous people. Vannah knew this for a fact, because her eyes had followed him until he was out of sight.

  She sighed even as her sister went on in her usual excited tone. “I’m so going in there the next time I’m in Los Angeles. I heard you can get a one-time free week pass.”

  “You can,” Vannah confirmed. “We all got one and I’m seriously considering just getting a regular pass.”

  She explained about how you didn’t have to sign a contract. You could do it month to month and the student discount made it very reasonable. Something she was counting on since she wasn’t sure how long it’d be before the novelty of being a member of the famous 5th Street gym would dwindle.

  Once off the phone with her sister and all the laundry she wouldn’t be hanging was in the dryer, she tapped her phone screen, and headed back to her dorm room with her basket of clothes. She started hanging the stuff she never put in the dryer on hangers around her dorm room.

  While her parents had insisted on paying for a bigger fancier apartment that would’ve been far more expensive than her dorm, Vannah wasn’t having it. Her parents were paying enough for her tuition since she hadn’t qualified for any tuition aide and despite the scholarship she’d earned, it didn’t cover everything. Besides, she’d always known her mom had met her lifelong best friend in college when they’d been assigned to the same dorm. Her mother had agreed this might be a missed opportunity. Worst case scenario if she got stuck with a roomie who she was just too incompatible with, she could always request a change. “Give it a chance though, baby,” her mom had encouraged. “It’ll take some time to get used to living with a total stranger. I almost didn’t last we were so different, but I’m so glad I did.”

  In the end they did spring for the larger dorm, though it wasn’t much bigger than a two-bedroom apartment, it was still much bigger than some of the ones she’d been privy to when she first took the orientation tour.

  So far, it appeared she’d lucked out with her roomie. At first when Vannah had seen the name of her roommate on her paperwork for the dorm, she’d almost fainted. Xochitl Eztli. What in the world? Vannah had never heard of either first or last name and she hadn’t the faintest how to pronounce both. She had no idea what nationality the roomie she’d be paired up with was, but the school being in the heart of Los Angeles she’d assumed the likelihood it’d be someone Hispanic like herself. Though after doing a quick google search she found out it was an Aztec name which meant she was most likely Hispanic, and how to pronounce the first name—Soh-chee. She practiced quite a bit before that first introduction and held her breath when she responded to Xochitl’s first question as she reached out her hand that first day they met at the dorm. “Yes, I’m Vannah. You must be Soh-chee.”

  Her timid roommate smiled big nodding as if surprised Vannah had gotten it right. Later that evening after both pairs of their overbearing parents had finally left their dorm, they’d laughed about their parents being so similarly over-the-top when it came to them. Like Vannah, Xochitl was the first of her brood to leave for college and was also far more reserved and timid than most other girls on campus seemed to be.

  Xochitl’s first impression of Vannah? “I figured you were Hispanic because of your last name but if I’d had to go just based on your looks and blonde hair, I would’ve thought you definitely had some güera in you.”

  Vannah had laughed and explained her whole life she and her sister had gotten similar comments. Especially growing up in southern California and spending so much time on the beach. In the summer their naturally light highlights would get so light they often surprised people who didn’t know any better when they explained they were one-hundred percent Mexican American.

  She was just explaining to Xo
chitl how she’d finally mastered the laundromat app and how cool it was, when her roommate got a text that had her gasping and bringing her hand over her mouth.

  “What is it?” Vannah asked alarmed.

  Xochitl looked up shaking her head and softening her expression. “Just gossip but it’s juicy. Ms. Thang down at the lab. I told you she was doing more than just flirting with that guy she’s always flipping her hair for and batting her lashes at.”

  Vannah’s eyes went wide as she rushed over and peered over her friend’s shoulder. Ms. Thang was actually Mrs. Diaz one of the administrators who ran the study lab on campus. She was married but forever flirting outrageously with one of the students in particular. Xochitl was convinced they were having an affair.

  “So, what happened?”

  “It’s from Annette,” Xochitl glanced up at Vannah all wide eyed before reading the text out loud to Vannah. “Mrs. Diaz’s husband showed up and they had a near screaming match in the parking lot. It got so bad security was called and her husband was asked to leave before they called the cops.”

  Vannah’s jaw dropped. “He must be on to her.”

  Holding a finger up Xochitl nodded looking even more excited as she read more. “I got it on video, but my phone keeps saying it’s too big to send I’m gonna try to send it in parts. It got pretty crazy. I wonder how he found out.” Tapping away quickly Xochitl text something back then looked up at Vannah and shook her head. “I can’t believe she’d be so blatant about it. I mean we’ve all noticed. How did she think it’d not get back to her husband? That’s just asking for it.”

  She explained it’s what she’d responded to Annette. “My mom’s always said, you’re messing with fire if you decide to sneak around like that,” Vannah said in full agreement with Xochitl. “No matter how easygoing a man is you just never know how he’ll react to something like that. I’ve seen the photo of them on her desk and he looks almost nerdy. Tall, skinny and wears glasses.”