His head dropped and he nuzzled my neck with his nose then his mouth was there and my arms went tighter.
I turned my lips to his ear and whispered, “I won’t wear that skirt again but anything else, Hector, you have to let me be me. And the jerks can be jerks and they can think what they want but we’ll just come home and watch the game.”
Again, he didn’t answer.
Instead, his face came out of my neck and he kissed me, slow and sweet.
And, I figured, with his reaction, my instincts were right.
When his head moved away an inch, he looked in my eyes and asked softly, “Which Sadie is this?”
I felt my mouth form a little grin and I answered honestly, “I’ve no idea. I haven’t met her yet.”
He touched his forehead to mine a nanosecond. Then Smooth Move Hector did a push up, our bodies disconnected but his arm came around my lower back, he lifted me to him until my limbs wrapped tight around his body. His arm went away and he yanked down the covers under us and settled me in the bed. He joined me, snapping the covers back over us. His hands went into my camisole, he tugged it up and off and tossed it to the side of the bed. He finished by rolling us, him to his back, me tucked to his side and he settled the covers up around his stomach and under my armpit.
I put my head on chest, wrapped my arm around his belly and fell asleep watching football.
*
Hector
Hector pulled gently away from Sadie’s sleeping body, got out of bed, leaned back in and tucked the covers around her.
He walked to the bathroom, took a shower, shaved and went back to the bedroom.
He dressed with his eyes on Sadie to make sure she didn’t wake and because she looked cute when she slept, hands tucked under her cheek, her thick, soft, wild hair everywhere. Her scarred cheek was against the pillow which Hector thought was a good thing. She seemed not to notice it anymore or she’d put it somewhere in her head where she didn’t think about it. But every once in awhile the sight of it and the reason it was there crept into Hector’s consciousness and it would serve as an angry reminder. This was happening a lot less lately but when it did, it didn’t lose any of its intensity.
Once dressed, he leaned in and kissed the top of Sadie’s head.
She didn’t stir.
Then he went downstairs.
He made coffee, flipped the switch on the coffeemaker, wrote a note for Sadie and went upstairs and put it on the pillow. He was walking back downstairs when the knock came at the door.
He opened the door to see Bobby.
“Hombre,” he said, Bobby jutted out his chin and stepped in. Hector closed the door and went on, “Sadie’s sleepin’.”
“Got coffee?” Bobby asked.
Hector led the way to the kitchen, poured a mug for Bobby and a travel mug for himself. Bobby walked with him to the front door.
“Cell contact okay?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah,” Hector replied.
“You thinkin’ positive thoughts?” Bobby went on.
“No,” Hector responded.
His first errand that day was unpleasant but unavoidable.
Bobby nodded.
Hector walked out into the pre-dawn morning, got in the Bronco, started it up and drove to Vance’s house.
Just before Max was born, Vance and Jules had moved from her small duplex to a three bedroom bungalow with a white picket fence that was four doors down from Indy and Lee’s place but still only a block away from Jules’s Uncle Nick.
Hector parked in front of their house and had a hand on the door handle when he saw Vance exit the house and stop. Jules was there, holding a coffee mug and wearing a robe. Her hair was down and mussed and she looked half asleep. She lifted a hand to wave at Hector. He gave her a chin lift and settled back in his seat. Then she tilted her face to Vance who accepted her invitation and bent his head to her.
Hector looked away.
Minutes later, Vance opened the door, slid in, put his travel mug between his knees and buckled up.
Hector took off.
“This gonna go well?” Vance asked the windshield.
Hector didn’t take his eyes from the road. “I’m thinkin’, no.”
“How far you gonna push it?” Vance asked.
“As far as I have to.”
Vance didn’t respond and the conversation died, both men lost in their own thoughts.
It took an hour and a half to drive to the prison. Hector had called in a few markers or a few more markers. This business with Sadie was draining his reserves but he also didn’t give a fuck.
They were met at the entrance and taken to a room. Bars on the windows, a couch, a table, two chairs. They stayed standing and waited, silent.
Less than ten minutes later, the door opened and Seth Townsend walked in with a security guard.
He took one look at Hector, not even glancing at Vance, and he turned to the security guard.
“Take me back.”
The security guard’s eyes moved to Hector, he closed the door and stood in front of it.