Broken Rules (12 page)

 “Alexandra, ask me how many photographers
I’ve sent flowers to. And before you answer, I’ve been shot by a lot of people.
And ask me how many of them, or any of the people I work with have come to my
home and met my family, had dinner with my family twice already.”

 “I get your point, Marco.” She did, but she
also didn’t appreciate being talked to like she was a child.

 “Do you? Because it seems you still have
some,
como se dice
, preconceived notions about me.” His arms were
crossed over his chest, making it clear that the open, affectionate, loving man
of just a few minutes prior was gone.

 “Marco, please. Try to see it from my point
of view. Before I shot you, all I knew about you was what I saw or read, and I
saw you with a different model or actress at club openings and bars every week.
How am I supposed to not let that affect what I know?”

 “I’ve told you, Alexandra. I am not
Hollywood Marco.
Dios
, all of those appearances are staged, they’re for
publicity. You should know that.”

 “No, I shouldn’t. There’s no way I could
know.” She said flatly.

 “You work in the industry! Of course you
know!” he had actually raised his voice.

 “No, Marco. I shoot actors and actresses and
models for some type of art. Either an editorial piece or a marketing campaign,
but everything I do is just art. I don’t get involved in the publicity machine
or anything like that.”

 “But you have to know that those tabloids
that you see those pictures of me at clubs and bars? You have to know that
they’re either staged by my agent and what they print are just lies, or
speculation at best.”

 “Honestly, I don’t read them.”

 “A
y, dios mio
. So you’re judging me
on something you don’t even…” he just shook his head. Then he came over to her,
clasped her hands in his and said, “Look at me, Alexandra.” She looked up into
his sparkling blue eyes. “I am here, with you, right now, because I have
feelings for you. I felt something from the moment I walked onto that soundstage.
This is not what you see in those tabloids. And, as I said, all of that is
staged and fake anyway.” He lifted her hands to his mouth and then said, “
Mi
amor
, please, let’s not ruin this, ok? Last night, this morning. And not
just the sex.” He smiled sexily, and then continued, “you can’t tell me that
this isn’t good, what we have between us.”

Alex smiled. “How did you get to be so comfortable
talking about what you’re feeling? Most men run the other way when women say
the kind of thing you just said.”

 “First of all, I’m not most men.” He winked
playfully. “And second, you’ve met my family. Being raised with all women? I
would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to understand women after living in
that house!
Y mi abuela?
You think she’d let me get away with hiding my
feelings?” he laughed a deep belly laugh at the thought. “You’ve seen how blunt
she is. She just comes right out and talks about things. There’s no hiding from
that!”

Alex listened, and once again, just like the night
before, what she heard made sense. She believed him. She hoped it wasn’t just
because she wanted to.

 “And how do they deal with you being right
all the time?” she asked playfully, hoping he would take her attempt at an
apology.

 “Somehow, they manage to knock me down to
size. Come, let’s go get some food.” He said, holding out his hand for hers.
She put her hand in his.

Before they walked out, she stopped him and said,
“You know, this is going to be difficult for Jesús. He’s not used to seeing me
with anyone. And, he probably heard a lot of what went on last night.” Alex
blushed.

 “I understand,
Corazon
. I’ll take
what he says and does with a grain of salt.”

 “Thank you.” she replied softly as she went
up on her tip toes to give him a kiss on his cheek. He smiled and traced her
cheek with his thumb.

 “I’ll go wait by the car while you get him.
It’ll be better that way.” Marco said as they walked out the door. Alex wanted
to thank him again, but he was already on his way. Perhaps he really did
understand.

Alex knocked on Jesús’ door and her heart started
pounding. She was actually nervous about facing him. She wasn’t sure if it was
because of everything she imagined he heard or just the fact that he knew what
she did. He didn’t answer, so Alex knocked again. She finally looked at her
phone and sure enough, he had texted.

I took a taxi to Teresa’s. We’re hanging out here.

While Alex was somewhat relieved, she knew what
the text meant. When Alex met Marco outside, he asked where Jesús was. Alex
showed him the text and his mouth went flat. She could see his cheeks clench as
he grit his teeth.

This time, she took his hand into hers and lifted
it to her mouth. “Marco, they’re adults too. And, no matter what Jesús might
look like on the outside, his heart is bigger than most. I give you my word,
he’s a good person.”

 “It doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He said
petulantly.

 “And Jesús doesn’t like me with you. So
you’re even.” She had him there and he relaxed a bit.

 “Ok,
vamanos
. But I think it’s best
if we go to my mother’s and have breakfast there.”

Alex laughed, “I’m sure you do.” She said under
her breath as they got into the car and drove to the Flores house.

When they walked in, Alex couldn’t help but be
self-conscious, regardless of what Marco had said. She was still worried that
his mother and grandmother would look at her with disdain. But instead of
getting the reaction she expected, they both embraced her and gave her a kiss
on the cheek right after they did the same to Marco. It was almost as if they
were welcoming her into the family. Alex tried not to overthink it as they all
chatted about this and that. Finally, Marco asked where Teresa and Jesús were.

 “They decided to take a walk. Teresa wanted
to show him some of her favorite places.”
Lydia said innocently and Marco tensed. But this time, it was his
stomach that let out a loud growl.

 “Have you eaten? Dios! This is why you’re
both so skinny! Come, let’s get you both some food!”
Lydia ushered them both into the kitchen,
rambling about what to fix them and how they needed to eat more, and just
general motherly type things which helped disarm and relax Marco.

Alex offered to help Lydia in the kitchen, but she
just waved her off. They sat, sipping their coffee when Patricia slowly pulled
out a chair and joined them. Marco instinctively got up to help her with the
chair, but she swatted at his hand.
“I’m not that old and feeble.”
She
mumbled and Marco just shook his head while Alex smiled. She couldn’t get over
the spitfire that was his grandmother, nor how refreshingly grounded she seemed
to keep him.

 “Alexandra, your view of actors has
changed?”
she came right out and
asked, or stated really, the implication making Alex actually spit her coffee
back into her cup. Marco laughed. Alex looked to Marco to see if he was going
to help her, but no such luck.

 “I don’t know about that,”
Alex paused, letting Marco twist there
. “But I
am starting to understand that Marco isn’t like most actors.”
And then she
added,
“Or like most men.”
She turned to him and smiled sweetly as she
leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. The look he returned was a combination
of gratitude and warmth.

 “
Bueno
.” Was all Patricia replied,
obviously satisfied.

Lydia started bringing out food and for once, she
didn’t need to force seconds. Both Alex and Marco helped themselves, both
clearly hungry.
“Finally, you have a proper appetite!”
Lydia exclaimed
and Alex blushed. Thankfully, she said that before Jesús and Teresa came
walking in.

All three of them, Alex, Marco and Jesús tensed.
The change in the atmosphere was palpable. Alex was sure that Jesús was mad at
both she and Marco after what he must have heard from the night before. She
figured Marco was mad at Jesús for being with Teresa. And Alex, well, she
wasn’t mad at anyone, just embarrassed and uncomfortable.

No one spoke at first, then finally Alex asked
them about their walk. Teresa piped up,
“I showed Jesús where we all went to
school, and my favorite beach and you know, just around the neighborhood.”
She said both proudly and shyly. Then she asked excitedly,
“Jesús thought it
might be ok if I came with you today on your photoshoot?”

Alex was fine with Teresa tagging along on a shoot
like this. But it wasn’t her call. Even though technically it was her shoot,
given the realities and new dynamics, Teresa coming or not had nothing to do
with the shoot itself. She looked to Marco and waited. All eyes were on him. A
beat passed, but then Marco took a breath and said with a genuine smile,
“of
course you can come.”
He relented. Alex knew he wouldn’t, couldn’t say no
to his little sister. Teresa did a small little jump and grabbed Jesús’ hand
for a split second as she looked at him, smiled and squealed softly. He smiled
back at her and squeezed her hand. Alex had never seen him with a girl and witnessing
this sweet display made her heart swell. She hoped that Marco was able to get
past his feelings to see the innocence and joy in what she just saw.

Alex knew today would be their best chance to get
the most coverage before the writer arrived the following day. She leaned over
to Marco and said, “We should probably get going, ok?” He nodded. Alex didn’t
like that she was asking him, like a boyfriend, rather than telling him, like a
photographer would have. But to not acknowledge that the dynamic had changed
would have been ignorant and hurtful. And she’d already hurt him without
meaning to. She didn’t want to create any more waves. More than that, she was
ok with sharing the responsibility, and he seemed to be too.

Marco had rented a boat so that they could travel
to some of the other islands. When they got down to the docks, everyone knew
him and was happy to see him. They also seemed genuinely happy for his success
abroad. Having been a tour guide, he knew his way around the entire chain of
islands. But especially in a place like the docks, he quickly fell back into
what Alex assumed was a role he played for much of his life.

Alex sat back as Marco piloted the boat. It seemed
like at every turn, she was reminded that he was so much more than just a
pretty face. She was starting to think that perhaps there really were 31
flavors of Marco. She had witnessed the sweet, fun, sexy, caring, intense,
familial sides to him. Now, watching him skipper the boat, she saw he was
confident, strong and capable too. She pulled out her camera and started
shooting. She doubted these shots would make it in the piece, but she couldn’t
help herself. She wanted to document everything, not knowing where this
relationship would end up when they got home, she knew that she’d at least have
the photos as mementos if nothing else. When Marco realized she was shooting
him, he started hamming it up for the camera, saluting then putting his hand up
to his forehead and pointing off in the distance as if saying “Land ho!”, then
standing with his hands on his hips like a strong sailor. Then he grabbed a
life saver and put it around his neck, making silly faces. Alex just kept
shooting and shooting, laughing as they went.

When he went back to steering the boat, Alex
turned her camera on Jesús and Teresa, who were so sweet in their still,
somewhat awkwardness around each other. As scary as Jesús looked on the
outside, he was so timid and sweet with Teresa. For a trip that Alex dreaded at
first, it was turning into being so much more than she could have ever
imagined. Not just for her, but for Jesús too. She wasn’t sure if she had ever
seen him so relaxed and happy and couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in
what she was witnessing. She was lost in her thoughts when Jesús turned and came
over to her.

 “I’ll get a shot of you and Marco steering
the boat.” Jesús offered. Alex was shocked but accepted as she handed the
camera to him. As she made her way to the steering wheel, Marco backed up and
put her in between him and the wheel, with his arms around hers. Jesús took a
few shots and then nodded, his signal that he got the shot. Alex was relieved
that it seemed perhaps he was starting to accept their relationship.

Marco took them to Baltra Island to show how
different the topography could be. There, it was flat and arid with cactus and
salt bushes. Then to Bartholomew to show how quickly it could change again,
this island being a volcanic islet. They searched for the infamous penguins who
make their homes there, and once they found them, Alex shot Marco looking like
cross between the penguins and Charlie Chaplin. It seemed no matter what they
did, he was always able to have fun, never taking himself too seriously and
never bristling or questioning Alex’s direction.

Shooting outdoors like this, there wasn’t as much
for Jesús to do as there would be at a studio shoot, but still, he held
reflectors, checked exposure, switched lenses. In short, he did enough to
impress the easily impressionable Teresa. It was clear he enjoyed showing off,
in a very low key, matter-of-fact way, but showing off none the less, for her.
Neither of them said too much to each other, but it was obvious that there was
a mutual attraction, despite the lack of conversation. Alex knew Marco saw it
too, but he chose to ignore it to a certain extent. She wasn’t naïve enough to
think that he liked what he saw, but it seemed that he and Jesús were softening
towards each other. Either that, or they were both more concerned with their
respective women.

When they got back, they picked up all the rest of
the Flores women, and the eight of them went out to dinner. “
Mama, abuela,
you don’t have to cook every night. Let someone else do the work for once
.”
Surprisingly, they accepted his offer.

Once at the restaurant, Lydia even allowed herself
to get a little tipsy, and Alex could tell that Marco was happy to see his mom
relax. Like the other dinners, this one too was loud and animated, but for the
first time, Teresa piped up, telling the rest of the family all about their
day. Alex was happy she joined them. Jesús clearly enjoyed showing off for her,
and she loved every minute of the shoot.

Alex couldn’t be positive, but she was pretty sure
that Jesús and Teresa were holding hands under the table throughout dinner.
Whatever ended up happening between the two of them, Alex knew that the
relationship was a positive one. She was a good, sweet young woman, so innocent
and so unlike most of the women her age in LA. Other than when he was around
her, Alex hadn’t ever seen Jesús let his guard down around anyone. If nothing
else came of their relationship, Alex knew that it proved to Jesús that there
were other good people out there.

By now, Marco was treating Alex as his girlfriend.
He didn’t hold back holding her hand or putting his arm around her, or leaning
over to give her a kiss during dinner. Alex thought she saw Patricia smile when
she looked over to see one of these tender moments, quelling any fears that
Alex had about what his family might think of her. As far as she could tell,
they were just happy to see Marco happy.

That evening, when they got back to the hotel,
Marco went to the front desk while Alex and Jesus unloaded the equipment. When
he came back he sported a knowing grin. After he and Alex went into her room,
he pulled a key out of his pocket and waved it proudly. “
Vamanos
.”

 “Where are we going?”

 “I got us a room at the other end of the
hotel,” he grinned, and Alex couldn’t complain. She knew that Jesús had likely
heard all kinds of moaning and noises she’d rather not think about. Alex shook
her head and grinned right back at him as she grabbed her purse and toothbrush
and then followed him out the door. She was relieved that she wouldn’t have to
worry about Jesús, not that it held her back the night before.

Marco didn’t waste any time once in their new
room.

 “Alexandra, all day I thought about all the
things I wanted to do to you.
Todo el dia, amor
.” Marco’s tone was pure
sex. There were so many things that Alex was coming to like about him, but in
moments like this one, she was reminded of how much she loved that he was such
a man. He oozed masculinity. Not in a sexist way, but in a powerful, strong,
confident way. Working in entertainment, there were so many men who were the
antithesis of masculine. Marco was a man in the best sense of the word.

 “
De veras, Marco? Digame
.”

 “Oh,
amor
, I’m not going to tell you.
I’m going to show you.” he smiled. The playing was almost the best part, she
thought. Almost.

 “First,” he leaned in, and Alex angled her
face up for a kiss, but at the last moment he ducked and caught her neck in his
mouth, making Alex instantly moaned with pleasure.

 “You know, Alexandra,” he purred in between
biting on her neck, sending shivers down her body. “This morning, you started
to run away,” he went back to nibbling. “And I had all day to think about
that.” His lips made their way back to her neck. Alex was melting under his
words and his mouth. The anticipation alone was such a turn on. “And I found a
solution.” He continued to nibble and bite at her neck as his hands moved up
her sides to her breasts. She moaned out loud when he cupped them in his hands.