Broken Rules (6 page)

They loaded all of their equipment and bags into a
rented SUV and Marco got into the driver’s seat. “You’re driving?” Alex asked.
She already knew that, like with the shoot at his house, Marco didn’t want
anyone more than necessary at his family’s home. She admired that he seemed to
want to keep his private life private, or at least as normal as possible. Which
meant no manager, stylist, or any handler of any kind. Alex had agreed that so
long as the wardrobe they had agreed upon was there, and without really needing
any type of makeup, they could easily get by being a very lean team. Any
retouching could be done in post. But based on what God had given this man, he
wouldn’t need much.

 “
Por supesto!
Why wouldn’t I drive?
This is my home, and I was a tour guide, remember? Who better to lead the way?”
He smiled as he looked over to Alex in the passenger seat. Naturally, Jesús was
in the back seat. Alex noted the interesting shift in power so far throughout
the trip. More than that, she was shocked Marco was driving. Most stars would
never dream of driving themselves much less the photographer and her assistant.
Alex wondered if it were just because they were on such a small island or if
this was normal for Marco.

 “Do you have a driver at home?” Alex asked a
bit sheepishly. Marco burst out laughing.

 “
Dios mio!
You think I’m Hollywood
Marco?” Alex shrugged giving him her answer. He took her hand brought it up to
his lips, giving it a kiss, which prompted Jesús to clear his throat as a
reminder that he was right there. He chuckled and then said, “Alexandra,
yo
soy Marco Flores de San Cristobal del Galapagos.
No soy
Hollywood
Marco, ok?” she nodded and he continued, “I can’t wait for you to meet my
mother and grandmother!” he laughed again at the thought, “If they ever thought
I did something as
tonto
as hire a driver when I have perfectly working
arms and legs, they’d,
ay, dios mio
, I don’t know what they’d do. They’d
probably break all of them just so I’d actually need a driver!” he continued
laughing and shaking his head at the thought.

Alex wasn’t sure how he hadn’t yet let Hollywood
affect him, if that truly was the case. She still wasn’t sure if this small
town boy act was just that. But so far, everything she had seen of him was so
good natured and playful, well of course except for the competition with Jesús,
but she chalked that up to boys being boys. So far, she hadn’t seen any of the
drama or arrogance that typically came along with fame and stardom. She wasn’t
naïve enough to think that he hadn’t let the industry get to him at all, and
she reminded herself that he is an actor, and his job is getting people to
believe he’s something and someone he’s not.

They drove a short way out of town to what seemed
like a residential neighborhood, though everything was so small, residential
was probably the wrong way to describe it. Local was more apt. Alex didn’t see any
tourists around when they stopped at a small restaurant that was tucked just
off the road. It had a thatched roof and a couple tables in front, but Alex
could see from the road that the restaurant sat on one of the many long
stretches of beach even though you couldn’t see the beach from the outside as
the view was eclipsed by trees on either side of the structure. The three of
them got out of the car and for the first time since landing, Alex allowed
herself to actually relax and take in her surroundings. The island was
beautiful, what she saw of it so far. Very small town and tropical. Very
simple. Having grown up in Los Angeles, she couldn’t imagine growing up
somewhere like this. More than that, she couldn’t imagine the culture shock of
growing up here and then moving somewhere like LA. She was looking forward to
talking with the writer and hearing Marco’s story. Then again, she was here
with him and his family, maybe she’d find out first hand.

They walked into the little restaurant,
Nuestra
Casita
, and Alex just stopped for a moment taking it all in. The entire
back of the restaurant was open, revealing the white sand beach that it sat on,
and the crystal clear blue water. She looked at Marco, who was watching her for
her expression. He had a huge grin on his face, “
Te gustas?”
he almost
whispered. It seemed like he was holding his breath as he waited for her reply.

 “It’s beautiful, Marco.” She said
reverentially. The minute the words were out, he exhaled, as if relieved that
he had pleased her. Which, given where they were, wasn’t difficult. It was just
spectacular. So pristine and calm. She looked out at the water and then back at
him wondering whether which was bluer, his eyes or the water.

 “
Como ti, Corazon
.” He winked. It was
really hard not to fall for his charms, especially here. But luckily? Jesús was
here with them, grounding Alex. It was very hard to flirt with him by her side,
which was probably a pretty good thing.

 “
Marco! Look at you! How are you? Long
time, Mr. Hollywood
!” the older gentleman exclaimed when he came out from
the kitchen to greet them. Marco laughed as they embraced and patted each other
vigorously on the back. They chatted for a while like old friends as Alex and
Jesús walked out to the patio.

 “Look at this, Jesús! Can you imagine
growing up here?” She asked rhetorically before she realized what she had said.
He just shook his head no. She had an idea what he was thinking, having grown
up in East LA with nothing but concrete around him. It was ironic, growing up
in LA only 20 or so miles from the beach, but feeling like he was land locked.

Jesús mumbled, “Lucky bastard.” Alex chuckled and
then grabbed his arm pulling him to her side said, “Thank you Jesús, for
earlier. I really… that’s never happened to me before.” He nodded and put an
awkward arm around her giving her a little squeeze. Alex knew that showing
emotion wasn’t Jesús’ strong suit. Just this little display was far more than
he was comfortable with. Over the years she had tried to show him that it was
ok to feel, to hug, and he was definitely more affectionate with her now than
he ever had been before, but showing affection was still very far outside his
comfort zone. He preferred to show his love, and she knew that he loved her, by
always being there for her, by working hard, by being completely loyal to her.
It was a silent show of affection and love, but she knew it was there and she
never took him for granted. As strong and mean-looking as he was, she knew that
emotionally he was very, very fragile.

From behind them, she heard Marco, “
Esteban,
mis amigos Alexandra y Jesús.”
Marco beamed, it was clear he was happy to
be home, and it was hard not to be happy in a place like this. There was also a
pride and comfort that Alex could feel. Esteban, the owner, shook Alex’s hand,
and then regarded Jesús, his tattooed covered arms and scowl really put a lot
of people off, but he shook his hand as well, “
Con mucho gusto
.” Esteban
smiled at them both and then gestured to the tables, “
Sienten. Sienten. Que
quieren beber? Comer?
” Marco ordered for the table, telling them that the
ceviche and sea cucumber were local traditions, then he leaned over so that
only Alex could hear and said with boyish charm and a wink, “And it’s said that
the sea cucumber is an aphrodisiac, Alexandra.” Alex chuckled, rolled her eyes
and laughed. After the panic attack and all the emotions that the flight
triggered, she certainly wasn’t going to let a little flirting by a gorgeous
man upset her.

Alex asked, “And to drink? Remember, I need a
drink Marco. Badly.”

 “
Ten paciencia, Corazon
. You already
got sick once today. You don’t have any food in your stomach, and we’re in no
rush.
Relajate y disfruta,
ok?” he said so sweetly. Alex was surprised
that this actor could be so caring. She was also surprised he knew what
happened in the bathroom at the airport.

 “You knew I got sick in the airport?”

Marco laughed, “Well, when a man takes a woman
into the women’s room, and that man looks like Jesús, no offense,” he looked at
Jesús who shrugged, “people tend to talk. That’s why I ran into the bathroom.
You two gave all the women quite a scare!” Alex nodded and realized what they
must have looked like. The whole episode was such a blur she hadn’t really had
time to think about it. “You’re feeling better now,
Corazon
?”

Alex nodded, “Yes, much. Thank you, Marco.” She
gave him a soft smile.

He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze and
said simply, “Good.”

Alex took a deep breath, “I know I owe you an
explanation,” but before she could finish, Marco interrupted,

 “You don’t owe me anything, Alexandra. If
you want to tell me, tell me. When you’re ready. But for now, let’s enjoy the
view and relax for a bit. We’ll have a little something to eat and drink and
then I’ll show you around the island before we go to my mother’s, ok?” Alex
nodded. It was so odd having these conversations with Marco knowing that Jesús
was right there. As close as Alex was to Jesús, she felt like she was having an
intimate conversation with Marco, and with Jesús there listening, it was an odd
dynamic. But perhaps a good reminder that her conversations with Marco
shouldn’t be intimate. Then again, being as flirty as he was, Alex had a
feeling that would be very difficult. 

The food came and Marco chatted easily about the
islands, growing up there and where would be some good places to shoot. He
finally ordered some passion fruit cocktails for the three of them, though
after one sip, Jesús ordered himself a beer. He didn’t like the fruity girly
drink, and he certainly didn’t like another man ordering for him. Marco
shrugged it off, reminding Alex once again how easy-going he could be.

The drinks were deceptively sweet, masking just
how strong they were. After one and a half, Alex was buzzed and found herself
giggling at Marco’s little jokes. “You are relaxed now,
Corazon
?” he
smiled at her. She knew she was grinning at him, but she couldn’t help it.

 “Mmmhmm. Very relaxed.” She closed her eyes
and leaned her head back taking in a deep breath. She wanted to leave the
anxiety and sadness of her parents’ death behind, but she wanted to tell Marco.
She felt if she did it now, and did it quickly, she could move on with the rest
of the trip. She opened her eyes and found him staring at her. Now was as good
a time as any. “Marco,” she started, “when I was 16, my parents died in a small
commuter plane crash.” Her heart started pounding as she said those words. She
took another deep breath and continued, “I have never been on a small plane
because of that, and I promised myself I never would.”

 “
Corazon
, then why did you? You
should have said something, we could have worked something out. You didn’t have
to come here!” he said with such care and concern.

 “I couldn’t turn down this job, or this
opportunity. It would have been very bad for my career. And I was flattered
that you wanted me to shoot you. There was no time to negotiate it all happened
so fast, and the story was already set, I couldn’t change it.” He opened his
mouth to say something but Alex shook her head. She wanted to finish this
conversation. “It really didn’t hit me until we were about to board. I had
tried to convince myself that I could handle it,” she chuckled, “but I guess my
body had other plans.” He smiled softly. “Anyway, that’s what that was all
about. It’s not something I enjoy talking about but I wanted to tell you why
all of that happened. We’re here now and that’s behind me. I’d like to move
forward, ok?”

 “Thank you for telling me, Alexandra. I am
so sorry that you lost your parents at such a young age.” Alex nodded, she had
tears in her eyes thinking about her folks. Jesús had been quiet, but seeing
her getting teary worried him.

 “Alex? You ok?” She nodded and sniffled a
bit, smiled at him and then said,

 “Ok, you guys ready to go? Marco, you’ll
show us around this beautiful island of yours?” Alex was eager to change the
subject and get up and get moving before things became too morose.

 “Si, Corazon! Vamanos!”

Marco drove them around the island, pointing out
various beaches, including which ones were best for snorkeling and diving,
where the large sea lion colonies were, red and blue footed boobies and
tortoises. They got out a few times to look at various views, but it was clear
Marco was anxious to see his mother and family. He explained that they would
meet his family, where Alex could capture some photos if she liked, and then he
would take them to their hotel after.

By the time they got to the Flores’ house, Alex
was exhausted and hoped that meeting them would be quick. After everything, she
was looking forward to an early night’s sleep.

When they walked into the house, the aromas of
home cooking hit Alex hard. Spices and warmth filled the air. That, and a lot
of female voices and music, so loud and immersed in conversation that Marco’s
mom and sisters didn’t even realize they were in the house until the three of
them walked into the kitchen. When they saw him, his mother Lydia broke into a
huge grin, putting down her knife and walking towards Marco exclaiming, “
Mihijo!
Ay, look at you, come here! Oh, you, you’re too skinny, mihijo! Oh I’ve missed
you so much
!” pulling him into a big hug, then pushing him back while still
holding onto his shoulders, and then exclaiming how handsome, yet too skinny
again, and pulled him back into a hug rocking back and forth. Next was his
grandmother Patricia, a shorter, plumper, greyer version of his mother. Alex
could see that her fingers were stiff with arthritis and she moved slowly, but
some of the comments coming out of her mouth, calling Marco Mr. Hollywood and
chiding him for it being so long in between visits, and also calling him too
flaco
,
Alex could tell she was a spitfire. Marco then hugged his three sisters.

Through it all, Alex and Jesús hung back in the
doorway taking it all in. This type of family was foreign to both of them. Alex
didn’t really have any family to speak of, and even though Jesús did, there
wasn’t one tenth the love and warmth in his family that there was here. Alex
was starting to wonder if Marco’s charm wasn’t just an act. She could see, even
from this brief interaction, that he was raised with love and support.

Patricia, the grandmother, finally said, “
Well,
Mr. Hollywood, have you lost all your manners already? Aren’t you going to
introduce us to your friends? Leaving them standing there like that
…
tsk-tsk-tsk
.”
She shook her head, and to emphasize the point, she reached up and hit him on
the back of his head which made everyone chuckle, even Jesús.

 “Mama, abuela, this is Alexandra, the
photographer for the story I was telling you about, and her assistant, Jesús.
Alexandra, Jesús, this is my mother Lydia, my grandmother Patricia, and my
sisters Christina, Maria and Teresa.
” They all exchanged smiles and hellos, with Patricia calling both Alex
and Jesús
flaco
as well. 

They were a striking family, everyone had those
beautiful crystal clear blue eyes and jet black hair, except for Patricia’s who
had greyed. The eldest, Christina, was warm and friendly. Maria, the middle
sister was a little stand-offish, and Teresa was shy. She looked down a lot, but
Alex caught her looking up at Jesús when she thought no one else was looking.

They stood around chatting, catching up for a
little bit when Alex asked Marco if it would be ok if she shot some of this. He
asked all the women and there was suddenly a flurry of “
I need to brush my
hair and change my clothes and put on lipstick
…” Alex broke in, “
You all
are beautiful just the way you are. Please, if it would be ok with you, I’d
love to capture the real Flores family, not some made up version. Would that be
ok? We can do a proper portrait tomorrow or the next day, but I think Marco’s
fans would like to see this side of him
.”

 “
Mama, Alexandra is right, the piece
they’re doing, they want it to be about my life, my upbringing. Ok?”
he
shot a pleading look.

His
abuela
was quick to answer,
“Does
that look work with all those women in Hollywood, Marco?”
again everyone
got a kick out of her.

 “
I don’t even have to work that hard,
abuela
.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes muttering “
dios mio!”

Alex laughed and pulled her camera out. They were
obviously going to be shooting with available lighting, but Jesús did some
exposure tests to see what they were working with. Alex started shooting and
everyone was so stiff, like they were pretending to cook and talk. After a
couple shots, Alex said, “
Ladies, and Marco, pretend I’m not here. Please,
just go about your cooking and talking. I’ll show you all the shots after and
we’ll make sure we only pick ones you’re comfortable with, ok?”
They nodded
and mumbled and started cooking and talking for a few minutes before Alex
started shooting again. She let them get comfortable and then began. After a
little while, they almost forgot she was there and were laughing and talking
and at least a few times, Alex got his
abuela
hitting the back of his
head, clearly a favorite show of affection for him. She got Marco kissing the
top of his mother’s head, Christina sticking her tongue out at him, Maria
rolling her eyes, and Teresa barely peeking above her eyelashes, all as they
cooked, talked, laughed, and fell into what were clearly their comfortable
roles as a family.

They had been in the kitchen for close to an hour
when Alex pulled Marco aside and said, “I think we have enough and now’s
probably a good stopping point so that we can get back to the hotel and you can
be back here by the time dinner’s ready.”

Marco knitted his eyebrows and looked almost hurt,
“You weren’t planning on having dinner with us?”

Alex was taken aback, “I, um, just figured you’d
want some time alone with your family. We’ve already intruded enough.” She
found herself apologizing.

Marco turned to his mother and said almost
chidingly, “
Mama, please tell Alexandra that she and Jesús are staying for
dinner
.”

Lyida looked at Alex and with an expression that
said it all, said,
“Well of course they are, why wouldn’t they? Now Jesús,
you can go help Teresa set the table, she’ll show you where everything is, and
you can help pull out a couple more chairs.
” Teresa immediately blushed and
could barely look Jesús in the eye, but Jesús just nodded and followed Teresa.

With Jesús out of the kitchen, Marco turned Alex
towards him, tilted her chin up so she was looking up into his eyes and then
then leaned down and planted a feather light kiss on Alex’s lips, “I’m glad
you’re staying for dinner,
Corazon
.” He smiled. Alex knew she was bright
red. Did he really just kiss her? And in front of his whole family? She just
nodded and smiled. Finally, Maria cleared her throat and broke them out of
their moment.

The meal was great. Everyone laughing and talking
over each other. Even after second helpings, both Lydia and Patricia tried to
get Marco and Alex to eat more. They convinced Jesús to have thirds and Alex
was pretty sure that they felt they won. Jesús and Teresa didn’t contribute
much to the conversation, but she saw them looking at each other throughout the
meal. So did Marco, and it was clear he wasn’t too happy about that. Every time
he saw Teresa peek out from under her eyelashes at Jesús, Alex could see
Marco’s mouth go into a flat, disapproving line. She thought it both sweet, how
over protective he was of his baby sister, as well as couldn’t help but be
insulted as to what he must have thought about Jesús. But they were just looks
across a table, nothing to worry about, yet.

At one point, being the no-nonsense woman that she
was, Patricia asked Jesús why he had so many tattoos. The table got quiet,
sensing this was a taboo subject. In fact, even Alex had never asked him
fearing what she might hear. But she, and the rest of the table was surprised
when, after he looked down, then shrugged and answered, “
When I got most of
them, I didn’t like who I was, and I guess I was trying to hide myself from the
rest of the world.
” He shrugged and then added, “
or turn me into someone
I wasn’t.
” Everyone at the table stopped, no one was expecting such a
sincere response from the, until then, mostly silent Jesús.

But Patricia wasn’t one to be deterred, “
Do you
regret having them?
”

Jesús smiled and shrugged again, “
They’re part
of who I am now. A lot of them are from a past that isn’t me anymore, but you
can’t erase your past. I just happen to be reminded of that every day.
” He
held out his arms as a way of showing the visual reminders. Patricia seemed
satisfied and nodded.

The Teresa chimed in and said softly, “
I like
the way they look
.” Giving a shy smile which made Jesús smile and Marco
frown. Lydia suggested they clear the plates and get coffee going for dessert.
Alex tried to stifle a yawn, but wasn’t very successful. Marco saw it and
leaned over “
Eres, cansada, Corazon
?”

Alex nodded, “It’s been a really long day.” And
smiled softly.

 “
Mama, I’m going to take Alexandra and Jesús
back to the hotel. We’ve had a long day and we’re going to be working tomorrow.
I’ll be back soon
.” Alex shot him a look of thanks, and then she and Jesús
said their thanks for the dinner and bid everyone good night.

When they got to the hotel, Marco insisted on
helping Alex with her luggage to her room. She and Jesús had rooms next to each
other in the small, plantation-style hotel. They both had balconies and views
of the water, and while modest, the rooms were clean and quaint.

It was clear that Marco wasn’t going to be saying
goodbye to Alex in the hallway as he physically walked her luggage into her
room. For the first time since meeting, they were alone together and Alex was
suddenly very aware of this fact. Marco put down the last piece of equipment
and then walked over to Alex. She was about to say something, when he smiled
and said, “This is the first time I’ve had you all to myself, Alexandra.”

 “That’s because we’re working together,
Marco.” Alex smiled back, tilting her head to look up at him as he was now just
inches from her.

 “
Si, Corazon,
I know that. But I’d
like to be doing more than just working together,” he said as he traced his
hand down her cheek, along her collarbone and down her shoulder, “Wouldn’t
you?” he asked seemingly rhetorically as he brushed her hair back and leaned
down to kiss her neck. Alex inhaled sharply when his lips touched her neck and
she could feel him smile, “Is that a yes?” he chuckled.

Alex pulled back and said in a breathy pant, “No,
Marco. That’s not a yes.” Which wasn’t even convincing to her.

 “
Porque no
,
Corazon
?” he
asked, walking her backwards, his hands brushing her hair off her face. When
Alex’s back hit the wall, he leaned down again and pressed his whole body
against hers, she sighed, he felt so good she instinctively lifted her hands up
to his shoulders and looked up to him as he leaned down and this time kissed
her on the lips. She couldn’t help but open her lips and let him in. He pulled
her closer to him with one hand around her back and the other grabbing the back
of her hair as their kiss became more and more passionate. They started
devouring each other, his rough stubble rubbing against her lips, their tongues
lapping at each other, their lips moving in unison like they couldn’t get
enough. At 37, Alex had been with enough men to know that even just kissing
Marco was different. Was it him? Was it his ‘technique’? Whatever it was, Alex
had never before felt her body respond this way, this immediately, to any other
man. Yet in her mind, she knew she shouldn’t be doing this.

Finally, Alex pulled back, and panting said,
“Marco,” he started nibbling at her neck as she tried to talk, “Marco, we can’t
do this.” He bit her neck and she moaned loudly, pressing herself into him
harder, feeling his erection through his pants.

 “Why not,
mi amor
?” he asked softly
against her neck.

 “Because, we’re working together.” She tried
to emphasize the word ‘working’ but all she got out of him was an, “mmmhmm” as
he continued biting her neck finding that sensitive spot that sent shivers all
throughout her body. He trailed up her neck and back to her mouth and started
kissing her again, while his hand moved around to her front, under her shirt
and up to her breast. He slid his hand under her bra and found her nipple,
which he started playing with, making Alex moan even louder. She grabbed onto
him feeling his body beneath her hands. After shooting him without his shirt,
she knew that he was all muscle, but seeing it and feeling it were two
completely different things. The man felt like a god, and it was only his back
that she had her hands on. She knew the rest of him would feel just as good.
Better.

 “Mmmm, you like that,
mi amor
?” he
asked as he kissed her and continued to play with her nipple.

 “Marco,” she said and then he pinched harder
eliciting yet another uncontrollable moan, though she was able to whisper, “you
have to stop,” he pulled back, looking down at her, smiling that mischievous
smile but keeping her nipple in his hand.