Translation of Love

The breakfast rush is in full swing when we finally make it to Laura’s Café. Jordan is already there and waiting for us in a booth, coffee in hand. I slide into the booth across from her. Victor slides in after me, effectively blocking me in.

“Hi, I’m Victor,” he says, stretching his hand out to shake hers.

Jordan is beaming. She takes his hand and shakes it. “Hi, Victor. I’m Jordan, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too,” he replies.

She looks at me with a Cheshire cat smile planted on her face. “Hey, Elle. You’re quiet this morning. Rough night?”

I narrow my eyes and give her my best death glare. I can feel the crimson in my cheeks and Victor chuckles. I aim my glare toward him. “You think she’s funny?”

He puts his arm around me and kisses my forehead but says nothing, As usual, my body has a mind of its own and melts into his. I look back to Jordan and her eyes have gone soft.

“You guys are cute together,” she says quietly. I know what she’s thinking. She’s thinking that I’ve found someone special and she’s hoping that I’ll just let myself be happy. Well, it’s easier said than done. Getting my mind to shut out all of the negativity and doubt is becoming a full time job.

The waitress makes her way over to our table. “Good morning, what can I get you all?”

Jordan goes first. “I’ll have a refill on my coffee and the short stack of buttermilk pancakes.”

“I’d like a large orange juice and a western omelet, please,” I say.

“Make that two,” says Victor, giving me a squeeze. The waitress writes down our order and walks back towards the kitchen.

“You guys even order the same thing. Adorable!” Jordan gushes.

“Jordan stop,” I say

“Don’t mind her,” Jordan says, pointing her head in my direction. “She just can’t stand when she’s the center of attention.”

Victor smiles at her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Elle tells me that you’re recording a new album. That must be cool, huh?”

His face lights up at the mention of recording music. It’s easy to see how much he loves making music. “I am, and it’s very cool. Some musicians like being on the road all the time, traveling to different countries, performing live. For me, it’s the creative process that I love, making music from scratch. I go into the studio and I can just create. It’s amazing.”

I like hearing him talk about what he does. It shows off a side of him that’s passionate. It almost makes me jealous because I have very little in my life that I’m passionate about. I was so caught up in what he was saying, that I didn’t even think about what came out of my mouth next.

“That’s really great, Babe.”

Now I just want to die. I just called Victor, Babe. The guy who I’ve know just over a week. The strange thing is that it just flowed out of my mouth like it was the most natural thing in the world to call him that. At my endearment, he tightens his hold on me and kisses my hair. I look over at Jordan and her eyes have gone wide with shock. I’m pretty sure mine match hers.

Jordan senses my panic and breaks the silence. “It sounds amazing. I wish I had a creative side like you.”

“You and Ellie are welcome to come into the studio with me whenever you want.”

“Really?” Jordan and I both ask in unison. We look at each other and bust out laughing.

Victor looks between the two of us and laughs. “Yup, you two are definitely best friends.”

After breakfast, Victor and I head towards his car so we can go back to my place. I realize that I haven’t had my morning cup of coffee yet and now I’m craving one.

“Hey, can we go get some coffee. I’m kinda craving a latte.”

“Sure.” He moves to open the door for me and I stop him.

“Let’s walk. There’s one just up the street.”

He smiles. “Lead the way, Babe.”

Niecy’s coffee shop is a small coffee house in the main part of town. It’s a popular tourist hangout, especially in the summer months when Niecy hosts Karaoke nights, poetry readings, and open mic nights. It’s also popular because it’s the only place around to get specialty coffee unless you count the big chain brand outside of town.

Victor holds the door open for me and ushers me inside without ever letting go of my hand. The thought of him always holding onto me makes me smile. I remember when I met him at that bookstore last week, I was so caught up by his good looks but I never would have pegged him as the affectionate type. He leads me to the back of the line and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest. I can’t believe I’m standing here, out in public, hugging him but the truth is, I love it. I love how affectionate he is with me and how considerate he is. As much as it scares me, I’m starting to let go and soak up the attention. I find that I’m allowing myself to get lost in him more and more.

“Elle?” I hear my name called out and I freeze in a moment of sheer panic. Oh my God, please tell me it’s not…I lift my head from Victor’s chest and turn to see my dad standing in front of us with coffee in hand.

“Dad?!” At the sound of my voice, Victor stiffens up as well and releases his hold on me. I’m thinking that’s a smart move on his part. The look on my father’s face is positively glacial. I walk to him and give him a hug and a kiss. “What are you doing here?”

“Same thing you’re doing here, Kiddo. Who’s your friend?” he says, pointing his head in Victor’s direction. I think I might pass out at any moment. As a matter of fact, I’m hoping I pass out. That would be easier than this.

“Dad this is my…” Victor interrupts me, walking over to my side, he holds out his hand and says, “Boyfriend. Victor Garza, sir. How are you?”

Boyfriend? Really? I can barely admit to myself that I like him and now he’s calling himself my boyfriend. If I wasn’t so preoccupied with making sure Dad doesn’t kill Victor, I might actually have a panic attack.

Dad looks down at Victor’s hand, contemplating whether he should take it or leave him hanging. He decides not to be a jerk and shakes his hand. “I’m Joe, Elle’s dad,” he says. He looks at Victor from head to toe. I know this look. It’s the badass police detective look. “You know what’s funny, son? Elle never mentioned having a boyfriend.”

“Dad!” I nearly yell.

“What? You haven’t!”

“No, it’s okay. We’re fairly new.”

“I see.” He turns back to me. “I called you last night.” His statement holds a hint of accusation in it. He’s wondering if I spent the night with Victor.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry, I was gonna call you back this morning. Is everything alright?”

“Gavin and Gemma are coming for dinner tonight. I was calling to extend an invitation to you.”

I want to have dinner with my family but Victor went through all this trouble to spend the weekend with me. I wouldn’t feel right about leaving him now. “Dad, Victor and I have plans tonight.”

Victor chimes in. “It’s okay. You should go have dinner with your family, we can do something after.”

“That won’t be necessary.” We both look at Dad. “You should come meet the rest of the family. Elle hasn’t bought someone home in a long time. I’m sure her brother will want to meet you too.”

Victor grabs my hand. “In that case, I’d love to go. Thank you.”

Dad’s gaze drops to our linked hands. “Right. Dinner’s at six,” he says, turning on his heel and walking out the door.

This just keeps getting better. I don’t know if I can go through with introducing Victor to my family. That would make it into something that I know I’m not ready for. I agreed to get to know him better. I didn’t agree to kissing, touching, meeting friends and family, and I most certainly did not agree to be his girlfriend. It’s just all happening too fast, but every time I want to pump the brakes, he does something that makes me forget. He brings out sides of me that I thought were gone. I didn’t think I wanted them back but it feels good to let loose a little.

“Are you freaking out?” Victor’s voice brings me out of my mental rant.

“Umm. Yeah, just a bit.”

“Babe. It’ll be fine.”

“Did you see him? If looks could kill, you’d be dead.”

He lets out a chuckle. “You’re his only daughter. He’ll come around.” I just look at him, shaking my head in disbelief. He pulls my hand. “Come on, let’s get our coffee and get you home.”

As promised, Victor takes me home after our coffee run and unexpected meeting of the father. I was quiet the whole drive over. I tried my best to relax but I was still on edge. The thought of introducing a man who I barely know to my family is sending me into full panic mode. I know that if they give him a chance, my family will eventually like Victor, but meeting them is a big step and I’m just now starting to come to terms with the fact that this might go somewhere beyond a few dates. That’s if I can get out of my head long enough to allow it. I begin sorting through the stack of mail that’s been sitting on my dining room table for days. Victor picks up on my mood and calls me out on it.

“You’re panicking, aren’t you?” he asks, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“What? No!” I lie. I don’t want to alarm him. I am panicking but I’m not ready to throw in the towel and revert to my normal behavior. I promised myself I would try and come hell or high water that’s what I’m going to do.

“Having a relationship doesn’t come easy to everyone. I get that. You can be honest with me, Ellie. I’m not gonna think any less of you.”

I can’t be honest with myself half of the time, how can I be honest with him? I know that I’m not ready to bare my soul to him. Definitely not today, maybe never, but I have to give him something. I don’t want to chase him away, not after what we shared this morning. I take a seat at the table next to him. “Okay, I’m kind of panicking, but it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. You know that I haven’t dated in a long time, and for a while, I didn’t think I’d ever be ready to date again.” I take a breath and continue. “I didn’t have the best experiences in the past and…”

“It put you off to dating,” he says, finishing my thought.

“Yes. Then I met you and you have been nothing short of amazing, and I want to try. I do. But sometimes I panic a little.”

“So why didn’t you say something to me sooner?”

“Well, at first, I just didn’t think this would go any further than a date or two, but I ended up liking you and I guess I just didn’t wanna scare you off.” I can’t believe I’m opening up like this. He’s like a truth serum to me.

“You’re not gonna scare me off.” He turns his head, briefly looking out the window. When he turns back to me, I can see the uncertainty in his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

My heart rate increases. I always dread situations like these. Heart to hearts are not my thing. “Yes.”

“This morning, when I…I went to far, didn’t I?”

I suck in my breath. This is exactly what I didn’t want. I don’t want my fears and insecurities to fall onto him. I need to reassure him, to show him that it’s okay, that I really do like him. He’s the reason I’ve come this far and if he pulls back, there’s no telling what might happen. I just know that at this moment, I don’t wanna go backwards. I get up, move to him, lowering myself onto his lap, circling my arms around his neck. He reciprocates by sliding his arms around my waist. I put my forehead against his and decide that if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna go all in. “Baby,” I whisper. “This morning, was…” I smile, and bring my lips down to his, placing a gentle kiss there. “It was amazing. You didn’t go too far. It was perfect.”

Victor smiles against my lips. “It was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.” He kisses me, sending electric currents pulsing through every surface of my body. He’s pulling me further in, making himself my center of gravity. No one has ever been able to calm my nerves like this. He pulls away, resting his forehead in the crook of my neck. “If you don’t want me to go tonight, I understand. I can go back to the hotel and you can come by after.”

He’s such a good guy, I’m truly starting to believe it. “No. I want you to come. Hopefully, my family will be on their best behavior but I can’t make any promises.”

He lifts his head and tilts it up to look at me. “They don’t have to be on their best behavior. One day you’ll meet my family and God only knows how they’ll act.”

I smile down at him. “One family at a time. Deal?”

“Deal, should we shake on it?” I shake my head. “No? What then.”

I run my tongue against his bottom lip. “Kiss me,” I say, He gives me his mouth and takes mine in return. I don’t recognize myself anymore. This is more like the girl I was pre-Brian, before all of the lies, and hurt. I thought that she was gone, lost to me forever. Perhaps I was wrong.