Hector (31 page)

As he crawled through the traffic near the house party where Nestor
said the keg party was, Hector was already grinding his teeth. He had time to
think of what exactly he’d say to her when he got there, but what he wanted to
say versus what he could were so far apart that just coming after her almost
felt wrong. Then he remembered the real urgency in getting to her, and that
pushed any and all hesitation aside. All he could think of was all the other
Nestors
that would be there, counting on the girls getting
too drunk and losing their inhibitions.

It was pathetic really. The only reason Hector went to keg
parties was for the booze because they didn’t card you, not to get laid. First
of all, Abel had always put the ultimate fear in him that too many things could
go wrong if you fucked a drunk girl: One: she could later claim it was date
rape, and in a way, it sort of
was
. Two: typically if
you’re partying with someone who’s that drunk, it means you’re pretty hammered
yourself, which would then lead to sloppy sex, and sloppy sex could mean
forgetting to use protection or putting it on wrong. If that happened, you had
STD’s and pregnancies to think about. No fucking thanks.

But aside from all that, Hector completely agreed with Abel that
it was a douche thing to do. Besides, sloppy, drunk girls were not his thing.

Hector finally found a parking spot around the corner from the
party. He jumped out of his truck in a hurry. As he stalked down the sidewalk
and into the driveway of the house, he realized this was insane. He couldn’t
possibly protect her from every asshole at every party she ever went to. But he
had a feeling she’d showed up at 5
^th
Street for him tonight. He
still didn’t know what her intentions could’ve been exactly. But he didn’t
think that it was something she’d done on a whim. So now he felt responsible
for anything that happened to her tonight, especially in his neighborhood. He
knew for a fact she wasn’t from around here.

He spotted Drew first. Her platinum-blond hair was hard to miss
in the crowd of all brunettes and a few bottle blondes. She was dancing, but
the place was so crowded she and the guy she danced with were off to the side.
Walking toward Drew, he still wasn’t sure what he’d say to Charlee, but alarms
were going off already because, even as he glanced around, he didn’t see her
anywhere.

Drew’s back was to him, so she didn’t see him when he stopped
right next to her. The second her dance turn brought her around to face him,
she stopped. Glad to see that Drew didn’t appear drunk at all and wasn’t even
holding a cup, he felt relief set in. Maybe they’d decided not to drink
tonight. It would be the smart thing to do since Charlee said she stayed at
Drew’s house and Walter mentioned that was all the way in Burbank. That was another
reason why Hector suspected they hadn’t driven all this way just to watch a
fight and then party in East L.A.

She put her fist at her waist. “Don’t tell me you’re here looking
for Charlee.”

Hector had barely been able to hear, so with that in mind, he
took a few steps to get closer so he wouldn’t have to yell and leaned forward a
little. “I came here looking for both of you, actually.”

Her jaw dropped and she backed up. “You have
got
to be kidding me. What is it with you? Is one girl at a time
not good enough for the boxing stud?”

It took a second for the implication to sink in, and when he
realized how she would come to that conclusion, he almost laughed. “No. That’s
not what I meant at all.” She glared at him still but waited for him to explain
further. “I was just checking up to make sure you girls were okay.” He pointed
at her empty hands. “But you’re not drinking. You two should be all right
then.” He leaned in again because he could tell she was straining to catch
everything he was saying. “I said if you two aren’t drinking you should be
okay. There are a lot of guys counting on girls overdoing it with the bottomless
keg.”

There was a noticeable flicker in her eyes, and she glanced
around. “Well, I’m not, but Charlee was.”

Immediately, Hector looked around too, and then he looked back at
Drew. “Where is she?”

Drew stood on her tiptoes now, stretching her neck. “She was
dancing, but she stopped drinking a while ago. We got rid of our cups.”

Hector stopped stretching his own neck to glance back at Drew.
“We?
I thought you said you weren’t drinking.”

“I wasn’t. She was drinking both cups.” She stopped talking then
turned to Hector again, the alarm in her eyes an obvious sign she was as
anxious as Hector now felt. Charlee had been drinking enough for two? “She said
she was fine,” Drew said, but even she didn’t sound as if she believed that now.

“So where is she?”

“I don’t know!” She turned to the guy she’d been dancing with who
now stood there checking his phone. “Do you see them, Joseph?”

Them?
The guy looked around but shook his head. Drew pulled her own phone out now
from her pocket and started dialing. “She was over there the last time I saw
them—dancing.”

“
Who’s
them? Who is she with?” Hector
already had a feeling he knew, but even though it was unlikely, he wanted to
rule out it wasn’t someone she already knew.

“Raul,” Drew said, frowning as she hung up the phone. “She’s not
answering.”

“Who’s Raul?” Hector asked without even looking back at Drew. He
was busy still scanning the party, but there were too many dark corners.

“He’s a guy we met tonight who asked her to dance—his friend.”

Hector stopped searching and turned back to see Drew pointing at
Joseph. His eyes zoomed in on Joseph, who for some reason looked nervous. “Raul’s
your friend?” Hector asked him. Joseph nodded. “Call him. Get him on the phone
now
.”

It wasn’t a request, and Joseph got that loud and clear, because
he was already doing something on his phone.

“There she is!” Drew said, pointing. “Oh, shit.”

“What?” Hector asked, looking in the direction Drew had pointed.

“She wasn’t that drunk earlier.” Drew was already moving through
the crowd.

Hector followed her and then he saw Charlee. She was dancing and
sort of hanging on some guy who also looked drunk but not nearly as drunk as
Charlee. Hector practically pushed his way through the crowd now to get to her,
and the way he was feeling, if anyone had a problem with it, he’d gladly unload
some of what he could feel building inside him already.

As they got closer, Hector could see Charlee still held a red cup
in her hand. The guy took Charlee by the other hand and started walking toward
the side of the house just as Drew reached them. “Where are you going, Charlee?”

Charlee spun around, nearly losing her balance, but she held on
to the guy’s hand for support. She laughed, bringing her cup up to cover her
mouth. When she was done giggling, she waved the cup at Raul. “Raul here is
going to show me his van,” she slurred. “He said it’s just outside.”

“No, he’s not.” Both Drew and Hector said at the same time.

Almost in slow motion, Charlee brought her attention to Hector.
She hadn’t even noticed him standing next to Drew. She stared at him for a
moment, confused, as if she were trying to figure out or remember who he was.

Drew took the cup from
Charlee’s
hand.
“And why are you still drinking? I thought you’d said you had enough?” She
smelled the contents of the cup and looked back at Raul accusingly. “What is
this?”

“Jack and Coke.”
Raul said, opening his
vest to show off the flask in the inside pocket.

Charlee was still staring at Hector curiously then shook her head
and turned back to Drew with a big smile. “Yes, and Raul said it wouldn’t make
me wanna have to run to the restroom so much.” She stopped then looked back at
Hector again and lowered her voice. “Is that really him, or am I seeing
things?”

Drew’s entire body slumped. “Oh my God, Charlee, how much of this
crap did you drink? Yes, it’s really him.”

Charlee tilted her head then pouted. “You make me sad.” She said it
so simply Hector wasn’t so sure what to make of it.

“All right, don’t say anything else, Charlee, or you’ll be
regretting it tomorrow,” Drew warned then turned to Hector. “You just ignore
anything she says right now. Obviously she’s drunk as shit.” She then turned
and glared at Raul. “Was that the plan? To get her wasted so you could take her
back to your van?”

Raul lifted his free hand in the air. “Whoa! No, no, no. Back up.
It’s not even like that.” Suddenly, the guy didn’t seem nearly as drunk as he
appeared to be moments earlier. That flask wasn’t very big at all, and if
Hector had to bet on it, based on how drunk each was, Raul had made sure Charlee
drank most of it. “I told her about the sound system in my van,” the guy
continued with fervor. “
She
said she
wanted to hear it.”

“Yeah!”
Charlee did a little dance,
grabbing Drew’s hand. “I wanna hear it.”

“No!” Drew was firm.

“She’s a big girl,” Raul said. “If she wants to—”

“She’s not going with you, dude.” Hector said as calmly as he
could, but he’d had just about enough of this guy. It wouldn’t take much now to
make Hector blow. The fact alone that the douche was still holding her hand was
enough to drive Hector nuts. If this guy thought Hector was about to let him
take Charlee to his van, he was out of his mind.

Since Raul was a pretty big guy himself, it didn’t surprise
Hector that he immediately took a defensive stance. “And who are you?”

“I’m her friend,” Hector said, still speaking in as calm a voice
as he could. “And I’m gonna say this one last time. She’s
not
going with you.”

That caught Raul off guard because he cocked his head back then
laughed. He swung
Charlee’s
hand in his and smiled at
her then blew a kiss. “I say if she wants to then—”

In the same second, Hector grabbed Raul’s neck with one hand
squeezing hard and the front of his shirt with the other. He got about an inch
away from Raul’s reddening face and looked him square in the eyes. “Look at me,
asshole. Does it look as if you’re gonna take her back to your fucking van?”
Raul clawed at Hector’s hand desperately, which only made Hector squeeze
harder. “You really think I’m gonna let this shit happen?” Hector squeezed even
harder now making Raul’s eyes bulge now. “Do you!”

“Okay, okay!” Drew said, anxiously pulling at Hector’s arms. “He’s
not! You can let go of him now. He’s turning purple!”

“Get the fuck out of here.” Hector said, finally releasing him
with a shove.

Raul keeled over, coughing for a few seconds before walking back
toward the party. Wisely, he didn’t bother to even look in
Charlee’s
direction again. Only then did Hector notice the crowd that had gathered around
and Charlee, who seemed frozen in place staring at him wide-eyed. A guy with a
flashlight came by, flashing it at everyone.

“All right, move it along before someone calls the cops and gets
us shut down.” Everyone started moving, including Hector and both girls.

As much as he was dying to, Hector didn’t dare ask Charlee what
she’d meant about him making her sad. She probably didn’t even remember saying it
anymore, much less why. Plus Drew was right. Charlee was drunk. Nothing she
said now should count. Although his mother always said that drunks don’t lie.

Drew had begun to scold Charlee about almost walking out with
Raul but then put her arm around her shoulder and leaned her head against hers.
“It was my fault actually. I should’ve never left you alone with him.”

For a drunk, Charlee was surprisingly quiet, and whatever she did
say, she said it too low for Hector to hear. He walked next to them as they
whispered some things louder than others. “Are you sure you’re not feeling like
you’re gonna be sick?” Drew asked as they reached a car they stopped next to.

Charlee shook her head then whispered something again inaudible
to Hector.

“Yeah,” Drew said, opening the passenger door to her car and then
leaning in and opening the glove compartment. She pulled something out then
came up and handed Charlee a stick of gum. She turned to Hector and offered him
one.

Hector took it then watched as Charlee stuck the gum in her mouth
then patted her pockets. “Oh my
God,
Drew.
My phone.”
She started to take a few steps and quickly
tripped.

Hector reached out and held her up. “Careful.”

Charlee glanced at him then back at Drew. “I gotta go get my
phone. I think I left it in the restroom.”

“You’re not going back in that party, Charlee.” Drew took Charlee
by the arm. “
C’mere
. Sit down.” She held the car door
open for her.

“But my phone.”
Charlee protested.

“I’ll go get it for her.” Hector offered.

Drew looked up at him and shook her head. “Oh, no, you won’t.
Raul and all his friends are still in there.”

“So what?”
Hector said, feeling that
familiar heat again that he’d felt when he saw Charlee with him.

Drew rolled her eyes. “
I’ll
go get it, but you’ll need to stay here and keep an eye on her.”

She hurried off before Hector could protest. Hector watched her
until she disappeared into the backyard. When he glanced back at Charlee, she
was leaning over with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Her
“you make me sad” comment was the first thing that came to mind as his heart
sped up.

“Hey,” he walked over and squatted next to the open door. “You
okay?” She nodded but didn’t lift her face away from her hands. “Are . . . Are
you crying?”

She didn’t respond at all to that. Almost afraid to, he touched
her leg with his fingers but couldn’t think of anything else to say.