The Real World

 

 

Romero

 

Now that he was eighteen, Romero could be a doorman at his uncles bar. He knew they expected him to be there for good, eventually graduating into working inside when he turned twenty-one, but that wasn’t in his plans. He’d let them down easy when the time came, but for now, he’d enjoy the dancers and waitresses so easily accessible to him.

After high school, he continued to work out, maintaining the physique needed to man the door for unruly drunks who wanted in or needed to be thrown out. He’d been working there all summer.

Romero enjoyed the job. It gave him the experience he needed for what he was planning. While his friends would all be in college, he was doing his own prerequisite work. For years, he’d thought about possibly becoming a cop, then making detective like the ones he saw in movies and on television. But he decided not to go that route. He hated being on a schedule. That was the same reason he decided college wasn’t for him. Unlike Angel and Eric, he barely managed to stay eligible to play football during high school. It wasn’t that the classes were too hard for him. He just never really cared enough to pull top grades.

He’d already knocked out the joke of a test he needed to be licensed as a security guard. Not that his uncles required it, it was just step one of the goals he’d set for himself. Just like the sparring and grappling he’d taken up practicing for over a year now with some of the guys at the gym who did mixed martial arts.

Romero walked into the front room. He could hear Manny in the kitchen with Aida. “I put four meats in Max’s sandwich, sugar.” Aida said. “How many do you want in yours?”

“How ‘bout I put my meat in you.” Manny said, making loud kissing noises and Romero knew his uncle was attacking his girlfriend in the kitchen. Again.

Aida screeched then laughed loudly. Romero frowned. He was seriously going to have to get his own place. “Hey! I could hear you in here!”

“Well cover your ears ‘cause it’s about to get louder.”

He heard Aida laugh, then snort. Romero laughed. Sick bastard. He sat down on the sofa and grabbed the remote. “You want me to fix you a sandwich, Moe?” Aida asked.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.”

Max walked out of the hallway with a newspaper under his arm. “I have the squirts.”

Romero didn’t even look at him, just shook his head, staring at the television. “I need my own place now,” he muttered.

Romero turned off the television and headed back to his room, trying to ignore his uncles, who were still arguing about the shit medicine on their way to the restroom. Manny walked in first. “Holy mother of fuck!”

The whole neighborhood could probably hear them, especially since his uncle had made such a racket opening the bathroom window. His uncles told him months ago that it was okay if he wanted to bring girls home to spend the night—he was a man now. Yeah, he really wanted to bring a girl home to this shit.

Romero grabbed his phone off the dresser. He had a text from Angel’s older brother Alex.

Working out in 20 min at the gym.

He’d sent it ten minutes earlier. Romero grabbed his gym bag and swung it over his shoulder. He squeezed his nose as he walked by the open bathroom door. Max was in there scrubbing the toilet.

What a joke—this guy’s girl was working at a titty bar. What did her boyfriend expect? She wasn’t even all that, but now things were interesting. Manny should know better than to tell him to stay away from someone. What little interest he had in the girl, which was close to zilch, had suddenly spiked.

 

***

 

With summer officially over, the nights were beginning to take on a chill. Romero stood in front of the bar, wishing he’d worn a long sleeve shirt instead of a tank. He hadn’t worked the last two nights, but his uncles had filled him in on Cici’s boyfriend showing up and sitting at the bar while she worked, then trying to attack a guy who got friendly with her. He’d been thrown out and he wasn’t allowed to come back when she was on duty. His money was still good when she wasn’t there.

Cici had smiled at him tonight when she got there. Just like the first few times he’d seen her, he got the distinct feeling her eyes were saying more than her mouth was when she said hello. He was used to it. All these chicks were suffering from daddy-didn’t-love-me syndrome. They were looking for love in the worst of places. He almost felt sorry for them.

He took some solace in knowing that while he’d never promised any of these girls more than a few moments of pure unadulterated fun, he always made sure they were as satisfied as he was. Not that it was important to him really, but nothing turned him on more than to hear a chick moaning in pleasure. Not the fake kind either. He knew the difference. There was no faking the trembling and the out-of-control heartbeat. Hearing and feeling their euphoria was the fucking best.

Cici pointed to the furthest end of the dark parking lot. Perfect.

“Mind if I join you? It’s about time for my break, too.”

“Sure.” Her smile stretched out even more.

Romero radioed in that he was taking a break. In less than two minutes, another security guy came out to cover for him. Never one to beat around the bush, Romero touched Cici’s dark hair as they walked to her car. With the roots showing, he could see it was obviously dyed. “You don’t like the blonde?”

“I change it all the time. I get bored.”

They reached her car. Cici stood against the driver’s door and stared at him. Aware of the time constraint, and not the least bit unsure of what she wanted, he leaned in and kissed her. His uncle’s words rang in his head. Stay away from her. All the motivation he needed. He smiled against her mouth.

As expected, she didn’t protest, instead she opened her lips, welcoming his tongue. He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeper, pushing his body against her. Her hands pulled his shirt out of his pants with an urgency even he wasn’t feeling yet. This was even easier than he’d thought. She started to undo his belt. Instinct made him look up. A guy stalked toward them, his furious eyes bouncing from Cici to Romero.

He wore a dirty mechanic’s uniform. Romero had been around enough drunks to know the guy had been drinking. He lifted his hands in the air and smiled. “You’re not supposed to be here, Fred.”

Romero grabbed his hand and spun him around, throwing him against the car. He held his arm behind his back. “You need to calm down, Fred.”

Fred squirmed but Romero held him tight. Romero frowned when he heard the voices and footsteps behind him. He was hoping this wouldn’t get back to his uncles. Fred stopped squirming. “You gonna be calm?”

The other security guys reached him. “You got things under control?”

“Yeah, we’re good. Right, Fred?”

Fred nodded, staring at Cici. Romero let go of him, and smiled at Cici, whose eyes still looked very frightened. In the next moment, he understood why. Fred backhanded her so hard she flew back more than three feet, hitting the fence behind her and fell to the ground, her purse spilling all its contents everywhere.

“You fucking cu—”

Before he could finish, Romero slammed his fist into Fred’s mouth, blood splattering all over. He got in a few more fists to Fred’s face, before being held back by the other security guards. More people spilled out of the bar and hurried toward them. Romero managed to free his arm and slammed another fist into Fred’s stomach. Someone caught his arm before he could hit him again. “That’s enough, Moe!”

Romero turned to face his uncle, feeling that familiar uncontrollable rage that had only gotten worse lately. “He hit her!”

His uncle turned to Cici, who was picking up her things from the ground. Fred looked up from where he’d doubled over after Romero landed one in his gut. Manny backhanded Fred one time. “You fucking asshole!”

Cici walked around the car. “Get inside, sweetheart.” Manny grabbed Romero by the arm and began walking away. “Get him the fuck out of here guys. He comes back, have him arrested.”

“No, call the cops on his ass now!” Romero yelled.

Manny shook him. “Are you outta your mind? I call the cops now, they’ll take you both in.”

Romero yanked his arm away from his uncle, feeling an immense urge to go back and pound on Fred some more. Manny must’ve seen the look on his face. “Keep walking, boy. Keep that temper of yours under control, son, before it buries you. Don’t you even think about going back there.”

Cici’s sister picked her up at the end of her shift. She said she was going back to her sister’s and not the apartment she shared with Fred. Jesus, she lived with the guy. She looked too young to be in such a serious relationship. Although it was so serious, why the hell had she been moments from pulling Romero out of his pants? That whole night Romero tossed and turned.

She was a no-show the following two shifts. She called a week later to say she wasn’t coming back. Romero already knew it. Though she didn’t tell her uncle, he knew she’d gone back to Fred and he’d made her quit.

Weeks later, Romero still struggled with the fact that if he hadn’t made it his mission that night to bag her, she wouldn’t have gotten slapped. In hindsight, that slap probably wasn’t the first she’d gotten from Fred and definitely wouldn’t be the last. Those kinds of women couldn’t be helped. At least that’s what his grandmother said about his own mom. “Les gusta la mala vida.” They loved the bad life. Yep, Cici had to know the risk she was taking that night, and she’d taken it so eagerly.

After that night, Romero never touched another of his uncle’s employees again. Any time one of them flirted with him now, it brought back the memory of Cici being slapped. It was a memory he’d probably never forget. He couldn’t stand it.

 

 

 

Isabel

 

All summer, Isabel had had her dorm to herself. It was heaven. She’d always been a neat freak, so she dreaded having to share a room with anyone. She’d been warned that fall would be different. With twice the amount of kids enrolling in the fall, there was no chance she was going to keep her room to herself. She could only hope she got someone she got along with.

She was still holding out hope when she got back from her second class and no one was in her room. Then there was a knock at her door. The door opened and in walked a petite blonde girl, with her hair in a ponytail. She read the paper in her hand. “Are you I. Montenegro?”

Isabel nodded as disappointment sunk in. “Isabel.”

“Oh good, then I’m in the right place. I’m Valerie.” She dropped the two bags she carried, then peeked out the door. “This is it, Alex.”

Valerie held the door open. Isabel had seen some muscular guys in her time, but this guy took the cake. Not only did his head nearly hit the doorway, he barely fit through the frame. He carried her luggage in and dropped it just inside the door. He glanced at Isabel who immediately felt inadequately dressed. She’d taken her bra off when she started reading. She hugged herself. “Meet my new roommate, Isabel.”

“Hey, Isabel.” He smiled at her politely, showing off a very nice pair of dimples before turning back to Valerie. “I’ll go get the rest.” He kissed Valerie before walking away.

The rest? With the bags Valerie dropped and the ones her boyfriend dropped, they were up to five. Valerie looked around for a few minutes.

“I take it this is mine, right?” Valerie plopped down on the empty, sheetless bed.

Isabel nodded, still hugging herself. “That whole side is yours.”

Valerie took everything in and was about to say something when Alex walked in with two more bags. “This is it,” he said, dropping them on the already crowded floor.

Valerie stood up and climbed around all the luggage to get to him. She tiptoed to reach him and gave him a peck. “Thank you.”

Her boyfriend wrapped his arms around her, picking her up effortlessly, making her screech. Isabel turned back to her laptop and tried not to think of how invisible she felt. They stood at the door smooching for what seemed like an eternity. Valerie kept giggling because he wouldn’t let her go. “I have to unpack, Alex.”

They went silent for a while. Isabel dare not look up, since they were obviously making out right there in front of her. She could literally hear the exchange of bodily fluids.

“Stop,” she finally heard Valerie whisper. “Alex, we’re not alone.”

Thank you!

Isabel pushed her glasses up a bit and pretended to be engrossed in the screen of her laptop. After an unbelievable few more kisses, Alex finally left.

Valerie closed the door. Now Isabel could look up.

“Sorry about that,” Valerie said, still standing by the door. “He gets a little carried away sometimes.”

Isabel nodded, not sure how else to respond to that. She only prayed this is not what she would have to put up with for the rest of the semester.

“I’ll just unpack and let you do whatever it is that you’re doing.”

Two hours later, Valerie had unpacked most of her stuff, but as far as Isabel could see, she hadn’t really put much of it away. For the past half hour, Valerie had been on the phone with Alex again.

“Yeah, I’m done unpacking.”

Isabel jerked her head up from her book. Most of her things were still all over the floor and she’d stacked a lot of stuff along the walls. They had drawers, bookshelves and a closet. Was she not planning to use any of them?

“No, I’m not coming home this weekend but you can come here.”

Isabel squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

 

*

Two months later, Valerie’s things were pretty much in the same place where she’d unpacked them, and there was never a dull moment. Valerie and her boyfriend had a turbulent relationship. Things were wonderful for a few weeks then Valerie would get into a noticeably bad mood, grumbling that she hated him and slamming things around for days.

Isabel never asked her anything about it. They hadn’t exactly warmed up to each other. Things got tense between them after the few times Isabel had to remind Valerie about not leaving her clothes on the bathroom floor after she showered.

Isabel had a ritual when it came to studying. She needed absolute silence. She’d explained this to Valerie, who said she understood and would try to keep it down, then proceeded to blow-dry her hair.

“I didn’t know you were studying,” she’d responded to Isabel’s complaint. “Who studies on a Friday night anyway?”

After a few more blow-ups, they officially hated each other.

Isabel sat on her bed. It was Friday night and she’d decided not to head home until the next morning. One of her friends told her about a party tonight just off campus, but as usual, she passed. She’d just finished talking to her sister, Gina, who couldn’t believe Isabel was sitting in her dorm room on a Friday night. Isabel had always envied her sister who was not only smart, but always fit right in with the popular, party crowd.

To her surprise, the door opened and in walked Valerie. Ever since the beginning of the semester, Valerie had gone out every weekend and sometimes during the week. She glanced at Isabel, her eyes and nose bright red.

“You okay?”

Valerie shook her head and walked into the restroom. Isabel had witnessed many of Valerie and Alex’s over-the-phone arguments. She’d been mad at him plenty of times, but this was the first time she saw her cry over him, if her tears now in fact were because of him.

Valerie came out of the restroom and pulled a t-shirt out of a bag from the floor. She took the blouse she wore off, and pulled the t-shirt over her head. Isabel had already decided she’d let her be and not pry, until Valerie sat down on her bed and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

Out of pure reaction, because it was what she’d do if it was one of her sisters, Isabel jumped from her bed and sat next to Valerie, putting an arm around her. Valerie leaned against her, welcoming the comfort of Isabel’s gesture.

“I don’t even know why I care anymore,” she said, finally looking up. “It’s not like he’s ever promised me anything.”

Isabel stared at Valerie’s wet face. She grabbed the box of tissue from the desk and handed it to Valerie.

“He does this all the time.” She stopped to blow her nose. “And I pretend like it doesn’t bother me, then I find out the truth and…” she put the tissue to her eyes and took a deep breath. “It hurts like hell.”

Isabel had only been in one relationship in her life. It was long, but boring by most standards. She didn’t have much to offer in the way of advice. “What did he lie about?”

Valerie told her how long she’d been going out with Alex, and that she’d been drooling over him since grade school. Theirs was an open relationship, which Isabel didn’t get. Supposedly, they were both okay with seeing other people. From what little Isabel knew about Alex and the body language she saw when he was with her, he didn’t strike her as someone who would be okay with that kind of understanding. But she listened without interrupting.

“The longer I keep this up, the more it hurts to know I won’t be spending time with him because he’s with someone else. I used to shake it off, but sometimes it really hurts, especially coming off a week like this one.”

“It’s always been like this between us. Either I accept our relationship for what it is—take what he will give me—or walk away and lose him completely.” She took one final deep breath, and wiped her eyes. “I’m done crying. This isn’t the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last.” She gave Isabel a pathetic little smile. “I’m starving. You wanna split a pizza?”

They ordered a large pizza. As tiny as Valerie was, she devoured more than half within minutes. They sat on the floor exchanging stories about high school and their families back home. “You live in La Jolla and you’re paying for a dorm? Isn’t that like twenty minutes away?”

Valerie nodded. “Alex.” Valerie must’ve read the look of confusion on Isabel’s face because she clarified, “I was hoping the time away from home would help me eventually get over him.”

Valerie told her more about her relationship. Isabel told her about her high school sweetheart, Jacob. They talked until almost three in the morning.

“Two and a half years, really?”

“Yeah,” Isabel smiled. “We started going out my sophomore year.”

“So why’d you break up?”

“It wasn’t so much a break up, as it was a to-be-continued type of deal. He enlisted in the Navy. He wanted us to stay together, but I just didn’t think it would work. Plus,” Isabel shrugged. “I was kind of over it already anyway. When he told me about enlisting, I was actually relieved. I’d already started to practice my break-up speech.”

“You weren’t in love with him?”

“I thought I was. But looking back now, I think I was just in love with the idea of being in love, you know? He was my first everything, and even though that was exciting, it was never spectacular. I’ve read so much about that warm fuzzy feeling and how you can hardly wait to see him again—when you’re with them the world seems to stand still.”

Valerie pouted. “I know that feeling.”

Isabel pouted too. “Well at least you’ve felt it. I never did. I think we were just too comfortable with each other from the very beginning. Everything was perfect all the time. I don’t even remember ever arguing with him. We agreed on everything.”

“What about the sex?” Valerie grinned.

“It was okay.” Valerie’s expression made her laugh. “I mean at first, of course it was. We were both each other’s firsts, so that was exciting. But neither of us knew what we were doing, it was always over so fast—never mind-blowing like I’ve read so much and seen in the movies.”

She left the part out about how after two years with him she’d never even had an orgasm. On her own, certainly, but never with him. A big part of the reason was since they were so young, most of the time they were sneaking around so they had to make it quick. That was probably the most exciting thing about it. That she was doing something bad, and though she never admitted it to Jacob she liked being bad sometimes. It was so unlike her she doubted Jacob ever knew how thrilling it had been for her to take such risks.

Isabel didn’t even have to ask, but she did anyway. “How ‘bout you and Alex?”

Valerie smiled so big, and although it made Isabel green with envy, she laughed anyway. She was really enjoying her time with Valerie. If she could get past her roommate’s messy side of the room and her habit of leaving things everywhere, she might actually get used to this.