One hour.
Two hours.
No sign of Carlos.Was he angry at me? What was it with dudes anyway?You don't say you like them back and they get mad at you.They spiral.Wait,Carlos said he wanted me.That was more than just liking me.I drew the curtains of the room to reveal the darkness that was looming over the city.Yet,Carlos had abandoned me in that villa.So much for a first date,huh!
"Hey,dinner is ready,"a voice announced and I turned to check whether he was really there or his voice was just but a figment of my imagination. "Carlos,"I found myself calling out his name gently as my feet carried me across the room to stand two steps away from him. "Care to join me?"He sweetly asked.I quickly nodded."I'd love to,"I added in a whisper. I put on my robe and followed him to the dining room."You ordered quesadillas?I love them!"I almost jumped up and down in excitement. "No,I cooked this,"he said.Carlos Gomez could cook.Great.
"Wow!I didn't know you cooked,"I said. "I know how to treat a woman,"he said and pulled a seat for me to sit.I smiled inwardly at his use of the word woman.He didn't see me as a teenager with drug problems.He saw me as a woman. He served us blended pineapple juice to go with the quesadillas.He sat across me at the table and immediately digged into his food with a fork. "Eat.You'll need it for the next part.I'm about to burden you,"he said before putting a piece of the quesadilla into his mouth.He dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin-still keeping his eyes on me."By all means,burden me,"I gave him the go ahead."Don't shed any tears.If you do,I'm making love to you right on this table,"he said and I wondered how he managed to keep a straight face while saying all the nasty stuff. I could feel goosebumps forming on my skin just from his words. "I mentioned I had an abusive step-father.He would come home drunk and beat us up.My mom and I.That's why I have scars on my body that I tried to cover up with tattoos.He died when I was fourteen.Drug overdose.Eva,I was an angry child growing up.I hated my real father for abandoning me and letting that monster raise me.I went to Juvie when I was seventeen for beating up a kid and putting him in a coma.It was then that I met Xavi.He didn't know I existed.All those years,my mom lied to me.I thought my real father hated me yet he didn't even know I existed.But meeting him,it didn't make me feel better.I hated that he was rich and I had been struggling all my life.I left Juvie after a year and I gave dad a chance.He payed for my college and promised to give me a job after I was done with college.So,tell me,what part of that screams I'm too good for you?If anything,I'm damaged goods,"he said."Maybe I'm the one who doesn't deserve you and not the other way round,"he added. I couldn't hold myself back anymore,so I let my tears flow freely down my cheeks.He knew I was going to cry even before he told the story.I hated that all that happened to someone I loved.There,I admitted it to myself.I loved him.To hell with competing with him!To hell with envying him!He needed loving and he deserved it. "I'm sorry,I need to use the washroom,"I said and left as fast as I could to have a good cry alone. What kind of father beat up his wife and little kid?I was glad he was dead.That monster did not deserve to breathe the same air that Carlos breathed.He didn't deserve to live to see him excel.I washed my face with the cold water in an attempt to numb the pain that I was feeling.My heart ached for little Carlos and I felt like I could get sick from thinking about it too much.I went back to the table and Carlos was still eating his food.How was he so unaffected by what he had just told me? "Are you okay?"He asked me. "I'm sorry you went through all that,"I said to him. "Eva,it's okay.I mean,it's not my favorite thing ever but it happened.It's in the past but I like you a little too much to hide it from you.So enough with the- you don't deserve me -bullshit,"he said and got up from his seat. He wrapped his arms around my body and my palms cupped his chin in preparedness for a kiss. "You cried,"he whispered with his head hovering above mine.I liked him that close.It was comforting.