I stared at my reflection and second guessed my outfit again. The olive-green shirt looked excellent against my brown skin. The clingy material and plunging neckline was sexy and paired well with the dark denim jeans. I turned and stared at how the stretch of the jeans flaunted the roundness of my ass and the thickness of my thighs.

“Meghan?” I called out when I heard footsteps at the other end of the hallway.

I hooked my fingertips into the belt loops and pulled them up just as my bedroom door flew open.

“Oh, I like this!” Meghan gave me an appreciative nod. She leaned against the doorjamb in her casual purple dress, matching sneakers, and jet-black wig. “Do you feel more comfortable now?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I felt too dressed up in everything else.”

“Well, you’ve looked great in everything, so I don’t want to assume anything, but… do we have a winner?”

I nodded, staring at my reflection. “Yes. Final decision.” I turned to face my best friend. “I just didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard.”

And I didn’t want Carlos to think I was getting dressed up for him.

“That necklace with that shirt is hot.” She smiled at me. “And your hair looks so good like that.”

My dark, tightly coiled hair was brushed into a high ponytail that sat on top of my head like a crown. My gold hoops and bracelet sparkled in the light. But the highlight was the small, gold chain that formed a T at the base of my neck before dipping between my breasts, almost to my belly button.

I wiped my palms on the thighs of my jeans. “Thanks. And you look amazing—as always.”

“This is true,” she sang, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “But I understand why you’re nervous…”

It wasn’t that I was nervous about seeing Carlos. It was just a little awkward thinking about seeing him in a dating environment. The idea of having to mix and mingle with him a few feet away, probably watching me, likely judging me, made me feel out of sorts. But it definitely wasn’t because of Carlos himself.

I slipped into my black booties. “Yeah, it’s the—”

“…this is your first assignment,” she explained.

Hesitating slightly, I nodded profusely. “Yeah, the assignment. Exactly. That’s it.”

She gave me a bright smile. “You are going to have fun and you might even meet someone. That’s why this assignment is so perfect for you. You’re getting paid to write about these cool experiences around town that you might have missed out on otherwise. And on top of that, you might meet a man. And the cherry on top is that the man might be Big Dick Carlos.”

“Can we just call him Carlos?” I groaned, masking my giggle as I grabbed my black handbag. “Or better yet, can we just forget he exists?”

“Yes, we can,” she relented as we walked through the living room and out the front door. “But I have two questions.”

“What’s the first one?” I asked as I unlocked my car.

“Be honest… you looked at his dick print again, didn’t you?”

Laughing, I revved my engine. “It was actually too dark when he arrived, so I wasn’t able to see anything—not that I was trying to look, because I wasn’t. And he was leaving when I arrived for the sunset photos.”

“Mm hmm. Second question…”

My lips still curled into a smile, I pulled out of my parking space. “Yes?”

“If you both admitted you didn’t like each other and then you didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the morning, why do you think he walked you to your car?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t given it much thought.” My sentence dissolved as Meghan giggled. My own chuckle made it difficult for me to get the whole statement out of my mouth. “Okay, okay, okay… I thought about it and I don’t know. I got under his skin with the trash comment. So maybe he was trying to prove he’s a gentleman since he thinks I called him trash.”

“Well, he probably thinks that because you did.”

“Like I told him, I said that he was trash adjacent.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “That’s hilarious! What did he say when you said that?”

I smiled, remembering the look on his face. “He was amused. He tried not to be, but he was.”

“That’s too funny.”

“Right? There’s never an audience when I think of good comebacks.” I shook my head as I made my way to the other side of town. “Trash adjacent.”

Pulling out her lipstick, Meghan applied the plum color to her full lips. “Even though birds of a feather flock together, we have to admit that there’s a slim possibility that he isn’t like his friends.”

“This is true. But it’s just as likely that he’s exactly like them.”

She lifted her shoulders. “True. But there’s only one real way to find out.” Grabbing my phone, she scrolled through various podcasts before finding The Lost Boys. “We listened to the latest one?”

“I think so.”

“Oh, wait… there was one posted on Friday night. Have you listened to anymore of their podcasts?”

“No, just the ones that helped me come to the conclusion that they are trash.”

She hit play.

After twenty seconds, she skipped the intro. We listened to them discuss what women need to bring to the table and the difference between a ‘good woman’ and a ‘bad bitch’ and of the two, which is worthy of a date. The podcast was more supporting evidence that The Lost Boys were as bad as their other podcasts painted them to be.

“I can’t take much more of this. This episode might be worse than the other ones…and those were bad,” I groaned.

It was clear that City Boy was the biggest jackass. Country Boy was a slightly less ridiculous version of City Boy, but he still agreed with most of City Boy’s antics. Carlos, better known as Los Cabos, was the voice of reason. Although he still entertained the conversation and laughed at some of the jokes, he never outright said anything that was demeaning. But nevertheless, he silently participated in the degradation.

“Carlos isn’t innocent, but I don’t think we can lump him with his friends,” Meghan stated, leaning to turn the volume down just as we pulled into the parking lot of Pop’s Bar.

“Yeah, like I said… trash adjacent.” I paused. “Although, I am glad he defended the girlfriend of the one caller who—what?” My mouth was agape, and my sentence came to a dramatic stop.

“…written by A. Bishara that has been brought to my attention by one of our loyal listeners, KillerMiller1,” City Boy started, his voice rising with amusement.

“Oh, hell no…” Meghan breathed, her hand covering her mouth.

Clenching my jaw, I braced myself.

“What is this?” Country Boy implored, his deep voice full of faux curiosity.

“Apparently A. Bishara is blaming our show because she can’t get a date,” City Boy yelled, causing Country Boy to laugh. “We said something that offended her delicate sensibilities, and now she’s writing columns about how we are what’s wrong with the modern man. KillerMiller1 attached the article, and he wants to know our thoughts on her calling us, and the men who listen to us, toxic, misguided and communication deficient. Those were her exact words. She said that we feed bad advice to susceptible men!”

“Oh god, here we go,” Country Boy muttered as he laughed. “Here we go!”

“Well, A. Bishara, we are not going to apologize that you can’t get a date. That’s not our issue. Maybe you have a stick up your ass and that’s the problem. So, sure… we aren’t always the most politically correct, and I already issued an apology for my unfortunate comments. But come on… don’t make us the scapegoat for your personal problems, sweetheart.”

“So, you think her issue with us is her lack of a man in her life?” Country Boy asked. “Because this doesn’t sound like the complaints from last week.”

“It’s not. Those were complaints of the offended. This is the ramblings of a basic looking spinster chick—probably a three—who is lonely and is looking for someone to blame for her spinster lifestyle!” City Boy roared, riling himself up. “So, KillerMiller1, to answer your question, my response to A. Bishara is for her to get a life. I have more to say, but I’m going to just leave it there. Los Cabos is shaking his head and mouthing for me to stop.”

“Los Cabos. Always the diplomat,” Country Boy teased.

“What’s the problem?” City Boy asked. “We are answering a listener’s question about an article that talks about us. It’s fair game.”

“You already had to issue an apology this week. Let’s just let this go,” Carlos demanded firmly.

“Well, how about you respond, Los Cabos,” City Boy propositioned.

“Yeah, let’s let our diplomat speak on behalf of the council.”

Carlos cleared his throat. “KillerMiller1, the official Lost Boys response is that A. Bishara is entitled to her opinion—albeit wrong, she’s entitled to it.” He paused before continuing, “I mean, look, we don’t always agree with one another and some of the responses to listeners may toe the line, but we aren’t peddling toxic masculinity. This show is for entertainment purposes only. That is our statement.”

“Los Cabos has spoken!” City Boy let out a chuckle “That’s our official word. But unofficially, A. Bishara still needs to get the stick out of her ass, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. That’s it! I’m done!”

Country Boy laughed. “Unofficially, her inability to get a man isn’t our fault. Officially, no comment.”

“Okay that’s it for tonight. Tune in next week and we’ll answer more of your emails. We’ll have two special guests that you won’t want to miss. I’m City Boy—”

“I’m Country Boy…”

“And I’m Los Cabos.”

“And this is Date Night with the Lost Boys,” the three of them said in unison.

I turned off the podcast and looked at my best friend. “Wow.”

With wide eyes, she just stared at me in disbelief. “Did they really…?”

“They really did. The fact that they dedicated time to me on their show is laughable.” I checked the time and then reapplied my lip gloss. Grabbing my keys, I slipped out of my car. “And it lets me know that I was right about them.”

“It’s no wonder that they keep their faces covered up in all their publicity shots. City Boy is going to get his ass kicked one of these days,” Meghan stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Absolutely.” I agreed as we made our way to the front door of the bar. “But you know what this means, right?”

Wiggling her eyebrows, she answered, “That you’re getting free publicity and that’s going to make you even more successful.”

I stopped in my tracks. “I didn’t even think about that.” Laughing, I started walking again. “I was just thinking about how I know there are people who agree with me who listen to their show. Hopefully they will start holding The Lost Boys accountable as well. And maybe the Date Night listeners who didn’t see their toxicity before, will see it now and will be more mindful of the way they talk to and interact with women.”

“And also, you’re about to get a lot more eyes on your work ahead of your first Re-Mix article!”

I dug my ID out of my bag as we approached the door. “They may have thought they were calling me out, but they were calling attention to my future articles and to the toxicity of their messages.”

Moving her shoulders to the music, Meghan nodded. “This is a win, win for you. Screw them. I can only imagine the stuff they would’ve said if Carlos didn’t issue their official response.”

I rolled my eyes. “Carlos is a piece of work.”

As we entered the moderately crowded bar, she asked, “How do you feel about what Carlos said? It sounds like what he said when you guys were at Re-Mix.”

“Exactly.” I nodded as I scanned the room. “So, I still feel the same way. Just because he walked me to my car doesn’t change anything.”

Lowering her voice as we headed to the team tables, she continued, “I don’t know how to feel. He didn’t talk shit about you like Country Boy and City Boy did, but he didn’t defend you either.”

“Trash adjacent.”

She looked at me. “Are you okay though?”

“Absolutely.” I winked at her.

“Cool. I’m going to be at the bar while you work.”

“You look hot,” I confirmed as she struck a pose.

“As do you.” She blew me an air kiss and then strutted away.

I went to the sign-up sheet and found a group that didn’t have five people yet. After writing my name, I grabbed a nametag and looked for the Sharks. Turning I nearly collided with the man rushing by.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, face twisted in horror. “I didn’t get anything on you, did I?”

Glancing down at my outfit and then back to his handsome face, I smiled. “Nope. Nothing got on me.”

His eyes quickly swooped up and down my body. “It would’ve been a shame if I messed anything up. You look incredible.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“I would shake your hand, but…” He held up the three drinks in his hands. “I’m Mark.”

Mark had shoulder length dreadlocks that were neatly pulled back into a ponytail. His pearly white teeth flashed brilliantly against his mahogany skin tone. He was a few inches taller than me. And with his slim build, snug fitted button-up shirt, and thick rimmed glasses, he was giving me nerdy vibes. And I liked it.

“I’m Akila.” I pointed to his nametag. “You’re on the Daily Double team, I see.”

“I am. But had I known you were coming, I would’ve left my friends behind to become a Shark.”

I laughed. “Well, now I’m your competition.”

“We have five minutes until we start Singles Trivia. If you haven’t signed up, there are still a few teams who need players,” a woman’s voice carried over the hum of the relatively busy bar. “Five minutes!”

“I need to find the Sharks,” I mentioned, looking around for people with similar nametags.

“You’re actually at the table next to me. My friends and I have a team and then two other guys. Follow me.” He leaned over and whispered, “Let me know if you want me to kick one of the guys I don’t know off the team and replace them with you.”

I giggled. “I don’t even know if I want to be on your team.” I quirked my perfectly arched eyebrow. “How do I know you aren’t dead weight?”

He chuckled. “You’re right. But hopefully I can prove to you that I’m an asset and not a liability.” Pointing to the table to my right, he continued, “These are the Sharks.”

I looked at the table of two men, two women and smiled. “Hi!”

“And this is Daily Double.”

I looked to my left and my face froze momentarily.

“Guys, this is Akila. She’s a Shark,” Mark introduced me to his friends before pointing to a pretty, petite woman with large eyes. “This is Tess.” He hesitated when he pointed to the last guy. “And this is… I’m sorry, man. What’s your name again?”

“Carlos,” I blurted out, my entire body on edge.

“Hello, Akila,” Carlos replied, sitting back in his chair.

“You two know each other?” Mark asked.

Staring into the depths of Carlos’s eyes, I rolled my shoulders back. “No.”

The mostly male Daily Double team reacted with “damn” and “oh shit” as I made my way to the only empty chair at the Shark table.

Unfortunately, it was directly facing Carlos.

I sat down and introduced myself to my team. They added my name to our answer sheet and we made small talk. After explaining to my team that the Daily Double team was howling because I declined to join them, I happened to look up.

My stomach flipped.

Licking his lips and shifting in his seat, Carlos was staring directly at me.

Oh shit.

When our eyes locked, I felt it deep in the pit of my stomach. Our attraction to one another was undeniable, but I thought since we clearly didn’t like each other, it wouldn’t be so intense. But even after everything that had happened, there was something about him that my body couldn’t deny. Somehow, even after listening to him and his friends, he made jeans and a perfectly fitted white polo shirt look like the sexiest outfit in the room.

But it was more than that.

A buzzing noise grabbed my attention and I focused my energy where it belonged—on the game.

“Welcome to Singles Trivia Night at Pop’s Bar! I’m your host, Ellie, and we are going to kick off this fresh new event with a few ground rules. There will be two rounds. Only people playing can answer the questions, so those of you at the bar, keep your answers to yourself. First round, you write your answers down. Second round, the top three teams compete by buzzing in. And if need be, there will be a tie-breaker, and the best and brightest will compete for world domination.” She paused. “Just kidding. First place prize is a twenty-five-dollar gift card for each member of your team. Now just be mindful that everyone playing Singles Trivia is single, so make sure you’re scoping the scene. It’s clear that everyone over here looks good…but who has the brains to match? Are you ready?”

I smiled at my teammates. “I’m ready.”

Ellie hit a button that made a loud, buzzing noise. “The first round is a good one… Music from the nineties!”

Everyone cheered.

Regardless of age, everyone seemed to appreciate the music from the nineties.

“Question one,” Ellie began. “Smells Like Teen Spirit was by who?”

“Nirvana,” the older brunette with the pixie cut answered quickly before writing down the answer. She looked up. “You agree, right?”

Excitedly, we agreed.

“Question two…Who burned her football player boyfriend’s house down?”

“Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez,” I answered in unison with the adorable Shark next to me.

“Question three is a little harder,” Ellie teased. “A Whole New World was featured in Aladdin. But which singer joined Regina Belle in making that song a classic?”

“Peabo Bryson,” I whispered excitedly. “My mom loves him.”

Ellie continued, “Question four… Which song warned you to sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight?”

“Enter Sandman,” I blurted out, hearing the song Alex learned on guitar when we were kids. “Metallica.”

The brunette with the pixie cut nodded even though the others looked unconvinced.

“Question five…” Ellie yelled out. “A rap star lost his battle with AIDS in the nineties…”

“Oh, it’s the dude from NWA,” the adorable teammate whispered, closing his eyes. “Easy E!”

Ellie continued, “…He was known as Easy E. What’s his real name?”

The tone and shift in the room was immediate because the questions were definitely getting harder.

Leaning forward, I grinned. “Eric Wright, Easy E.”

“Question six…” Ellie’s voice boomed over the microphone. “Not many people go from drummer to front man and lead singer, but this nineties artist did it. He happened to be part of two different iconic bands that ruled the nineties.”

“It could be a lot of people,” the quiet Shark fretted, running his hand through his hair. “I watched this thing about Sheila E the other night. I don’t know.”

“Is it Travis Barker?” the brunette wondered.

I had no clue.

“Dave Grohl,” the brunette gasped. “It has to be.”

“Oh! Yes! Yes!” the quiet Shark agreed, nodding profusely.

My team cheered, slapping each other’s hands and bumping fists, and we almost missed Ellie dole out the next question.

We answered question after question, feeling confident as we approached the last of twenty. Ellie’s scorekeepers came around and collected all the answer sheets and then calculated the winning scores. Even though those who didn’t move on to the next round were able to mix and mingle, I was having a good time with my team. Also, my competitive spirit was thriving in the environment.

Music played as we laughed and talked, waiting for the points to be tallied. People moved around to the bars, grabbing drinks and food before returning for round two. The adorable Shark was on his way back to our table with a couple bottles of water when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mark waving at me. Grinning, I gave him a friendly wave back. I tried to stop myself, but my eyes inadvertently shifted over to Carlos.

I froze.

A dull ache formed in the depths of me as I watched him watching me. He was turning a beer bottle in his hand as his gaze fixed on me. He didn’t smile as our eyes met. He wasn’t embarrassed to be caught staring. He just continued to look at me as if he were seeing me for the first time.

I swallowed hard.

Ellie cleared her throat in the microphone, startling me. “Time for round two… can we get the Sharks, Daily Double, and Bee-Hive to the front?”

Squealing, I tore my eyes away from the handsome man a few feet away from me and celebrated with my team. We slapped hands and cheered as we made our way to Ellie.

In a lightning round of sorts, we answered questions about history, pop culture, TV shows, sports, and science. We had eight points, Daily Double had eight points, and Bee-Hive had two points. There was only one more question and we needed to answer correctly for the chance to win. All eyes were on us as the entire bar seemed to be invested in the competition.

I happened to notice Carlos smiling at his pretty teammate. She was batting her eyelashes up at him and smiling with her entire face. I looked away and halfway heard something the brunette on my team asked me. Distractedly, I answered her. A high-pitched giggle grabbed my attention and part of me knew what it was, but the other part of me needed confirmation. My eyes darted to Carlos. I saw him smiling as he told her something else that made her toss back her head and laugh.

“What’s wrong?” the quiet Shark asked me, his hazel eyes wide.

Jerking my attention away from the flirting over on Daily Double, I lifted my lips into a smile. “Nothing.”

“You were frowning.”

I shook my head. “Just thinking about what the final question category could be.”

He appeared to believe me as he nodded. “I know,” he mumbled. “It could be anything, but I’m thinking the category has to be movies. I want to be impressive.” Gesturing to the blonde woman who was supportive but hadn’t really known any answers, he gave a tight-lipped smile. “If we win, it’ll give me a good opening line.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but the squeal of the microphone interrupted.

“Final question will determine our winner,” Ellie called out, inciting cheers from the ground, nervous rumbles from the contestants. “The category is… literature.”

My nerves spiked. I was both irritated and impressed by how many questions Carlos answered correctly. But with him being an English teacher, the final category felt primed for him to win.

I can do all things.

Ellie took a dramatic pause. “The Victorian-era romance novel series starring Misery Chastain was written by which author?”

There was a murmur in the crowd, but we were all silently looking at one another. The rest of the Sharks looked confused and then it hit me.

Unfortunately, Daily Double hit the buzzer first.

“Stephen King,” Mark answered confidently.

“I’m sorry,” Ellie replied with a pout. “No.”

I hit our buzzer without consulting with my group. They looked at me expectantly. All eyes in the entire building felt like they were on me. I quickly found Meghan in the crowd and my smile grew.

Throwing my arms in the air, I yelled, “Paul Sheldon!”

“I’m sorry…” Ellie stretched the word out, finishing with a dramatic pause. “The winners are the Sharks!”

The entire bar erupted in cheers and my adorable teammate spun me around before moving on to the others. We all exchanged pleasantries with the other teams and after receiving our gift cards, we were free to mingle with everyone else.

I was heading to the bar to get a drink and jot down some thoughts about my experience so far with Singles Trivia Night when I felt a hand on my elbow. Yanking it out of the grasp, I turned and looked to see who’d grabbed me.

“Hey, sorry,” Mark apologized, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’d called your name five times and I didn’t think you heard me. Just wanted to tell you congratulations.”

“Thank you.” I grinned with pride. “You guys did a good job as well! I guess that was good practice for your Jeopardy-bound friend.”

“If I’m keeping it real, your boy Carlos knew most of the answers. Apparently, he’s a teacher.” He gave me a look. “But I’m sure you knew that.”

I nodded, moving closer to the newly open space at the bar.

Mark moved right along with me. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s up with you two?”

I shook my head and pretended to be confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean, I caught him staring at you a few times, and the way you said you two didn’t know each other seemed deeply personal.” He lifted his hand to catch the attention of the bartender before continuing. “So, I’m just curious…”

“Curious as to why he was staring at me or curious about how we know each other or…?” I cocked my head to the side and waited for him to get to his point. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“Well, it’s obvious why he was staring at you… you’re gorgeous.”

“Thank you.”

He placed his order with the bartender and asked for another bottle of water for me. He turned back toward me. “Are you two dating?”

My eyebrows flew up. “No. Oh no, no, no. Not at all.”

“Okay.” Handing me a bottled water and then sipping his rum and coke, Mark’s smile grew. “Okay, well that’s good to know. I—”

“Excuse me, Akila.” Carlos’s deep voice seemed to emerge out of nowhere as he slid up to the bar.

Something about the way his voice wrapped around my name made my insides tighten. Inhaling sharply, I fixed my gaze on him as he asked for a bottle of water from the bartender. Eyeing his profile, I spoke. “Carlos.”

“Congratulations.” He took the bottled water and then patted Mark on the back. “Even though we technically won, congratulations.”

I felt my eyes bulge. “What?”

“Mark here said Stephen King and technically, he’s right. Stephen King wrote Misery. So…” He lifted his hands and backed away.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be a sore loser.”

“Hey, whatever you have to tell yourself.” He smirked. “Enjoy your night.”

“I don’t have to tell myself anything. Ellie told the entire bar that the Sharks won. But you enjoy your night.”

He looked over at Mark and then back at me. “Okay, Akila.”

I curled my lip in disgust. “Okay, Carlos.”

Carlos looked at Mark. “Good luck.”

“Don’t ‘good luck’ him,” I hissed indignantly. “What is that even supposed to mean?”

“I’m going to let you two work this out,” Mark sighed before turning and walking away.

“Great,” I snapped, glaring at his handsome face. “Thanks a lot.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Turning, Carlos put his back against the bar and looked out into the crowd. “Anyway, you’re supposed to be reporting.”

“Actually, we’re supposed to be experiencing and reporting on the experience.” I took a sip of water. “And anyway, how do you know I wasn’t interviewing him for my article?”

He scoffed. “The way he kept checking you out, there was no way he was just interested in giving an interview.”

“Funny, coming from the same man who was grinning in his teammate’s face.”

He sipped his water. “I was celebrating with my team. But I spent the entire game taking notice of my surroundings, and I saw the way Mark was looking at you.”

“I’m surprised you noticed, given the fact that every time I happened to glance at you, you were staring in my face.” I pursed my lips to accentuate my point.

His eyes darted around even though his face was stone still. “I wasn’t. Not like that anyway.”

I let out a short, dry laugh. “Yes, you were.”

“I admit, I might have glanced at you a few times. But it’s not what you think.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Well, then what was it?”

Licking his lips, he silently assessed my face. The longer he looked at me without saying anything, the more of a pull I felt toward him. Staring into my eyes, his voice sounded huskier. “I was staring because you looked different. That’s all.”

I didn’t expect that answer.

My brows furrowed. “Different? How?”

“You were smiling and having a good time. You weren’t being serious. You just looked happy. And it was beau…” Ripping his eyes away from me, he continued, “It was different. We have work to do.” Pushing off the edge of the bar, he walked away without another word. He didn’t even glance back at me.

“Was that Carlos? In the flesh?” Meghan asked moments later as I glared darts into the back of Carlos’s head.

Tearing my eyes away from him, I turned to my best friend. “Mm hmm.” I rolled my eyes. “I seriously don’t think I can work with him.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I could see the sparks flying between you two from across the room.”

“Those weren’t sparks.”

Smirking, she gave me a look. “Okay, Kiki.”

“Those weren’t sparks!” I argued.

“What was it then?” She put her hand on her hip.

I bit my lip. “Um… the glowing embers from the fiery pits of hell from which he arrived.”

Meghan and I dissolved in a fit of giggles. We laughed so hard that I was able to push down the sparks, the magic, and all the other feelings that Carlos brought out of me.