Page 3 of Seductive Desires

“I thought gay guys were supposed to be better at this stuff.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Don’t stereotype, Mari. I thought Latinas knew how to dance.”

I gasped, glaring at him. “Hey!”

He finally made his way over to me, leaning against the counter at my side. “I’m so screwed. Can you even get a reservation this late? It’s two days away!”

I shrugged. “I’m sure if you really wanted to, you’d find a way. But is that what he would want?”

He laid his head against my shoulder and I patted it lightly. “Any suggestions or should I just start prepping to move in with you?”

I laughed. “You know I’d let you move in if you needed to but let’s not go off the deep end just yet. Tell you what, tomorrow we will go shopping for the gala and find a good idea for Andrew too. He’s not that fussy, I’m sure we can find something he’ll like.”

ChapterTwo

“It’s too tight.”I tugged at the dress helplessly.

“It is not! You’ve got curves, mamacita. Embrace them!” Carlos was spinning on my desk chair in my bedroom, sneaking into my snack drawer when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. It was the night of the gala and I was already sick to my stomach. I hated events like these. My father and stepmother made me go to them when I was younger and I always stuck out like a sore thumb. It was lucky they were on vacation and wouldn’t be there. I’d never hear the end of it from my stepmother wearing this outfit. She always said I was thirty pounds too heavy and this dress showed off every pound.

It was tight until mid thigh where it flared out down to my toes. I kept it pretty simple, the only real decorations were the beading on the straps and around the neckline but it was royal blue and the skirt flowed when I walked so I felt really classy. I was going to go for something cheaper but when I fell in love with this dress, Carlos demanded to pay. He said it was a work event so he had to provide the dress. I loved it so much I didn’t even fight him on it. It was the nicest thing I would probably ever own.

My hair I kept in a low bun on the side. It was hard to do much with my thick dark curls so I didn’t focus on it much. I stuck a pretty blue butterfly clip in the bun and called it a day. It was my mother’s and I always wore it to special occasions. It was like bringing her with me.

My makeup was light and simple. Carlos said I didn’t need much because I was going for the classic look anyway. When I finally looked in the mirror, I sighed. My stepmother would throw an absolute fit. I grinned. Screw you, Susan.

Throwing open the bathroom door, I leaned dramatically on the frame. “Well? Am I red carpet ready?”

Andrew whistled. He was laying on my bed, flipping through one of the many magazines Carlos had brought for reference. He had agreed to come over and help when Carlos mentioned what was going on. Carlos is great, but his style is sometimes a little too…artistic.

“You look perfect. You’re going to knock their socks off.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going there to knock any socks off. I just don’t want to look out of place. I hate sticking out.”

I spent most of my life sticking out. After my mom died, CPS dropped me off on the doorstep of a father I had never met. He had a whole different family, with a wife and four step kids, all blonde with green eyes. And here was his illegitimate daughter, a terrified seven year old who looked more like the gardener’s daughter than his. His wife made us do a paternity test but when it proved to be true she tried to have me sent away anyway. My father refused, said it would look bad given that he was trying to run for city council at the time. Instead, they told everyone they took in a child in need. He never once admitted that I was actually his. Affair babies didn’t bring in votes.

In all the family photos, I was the odd one out. They all had perfect straight hair, I had wild dark curls. They were thin and athletic, I clung to my baby fat for a lot longer than most and my latina curves showed up early. The only similarity I shared with anyone in my new family is that I had my father’s dark blue eyes. It used to bother me, not looking like them. I wanted nothing more than to fit in. Even my school was predominantly white. I only learned to love my culture once I left home at sixteen and moved to a neighborhood that was a lot more down to earth.

Now, being Latina was a big part of my life and I did everything I could to learn about it. I still felt like I was playing catch up with my own culture and I had to fight off the voice of my stepmother in my head telling me how awful I looked but I love who I am.

“You look perfect. Come on, I ordered you an Uber. I went crazy and ordered you an Uber black so you wouldn’t feel like you had to sneak in the back.”

Carlos was getting antsy. He had the whole evening planned for him and Andrew but he made sure to come here first and help me get ready. He’s the best.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. Geez.”

They both laughed, looping their arms in mine as we made our way down the stairs and out of the apartment. It was on the cooler side because of the wind and rain but the event was inside so I didn’t bother to bring a jacket. It would ruin the look anyway.

“Have fun and text me when you get home, okay?”

I waved, dropping into the backseat. Hopefully tonight went well for Carlos too and he wouldn’t get any of my messages until tomorrow morning.

I pickedat my nails on the way to the gala. Imposter syndrome was riding me hard and I had no idea what was going to happen when I got there. I never went to events this big. I sighed, watching the city fly past. The gala itself was downtown on the pier. I luckily got the lay of the land yesterday when we stopped in to make sure the art was set up how Carlos wanted it. It wasn’t the main event but he still wanted to make sure it looked right.

There was a long line of cars waiting to drop off their patrons so I decided to let the Uber go at the end of the block and just walk. I didn’t want to go down the obnoxious red carpet anyway. There were paparazzi everywhere and I wasn’t going anywhere near that. Instead, I slipped off to the side, behind the paparazzi and the craziness that was the guests arriving.

The venue was gorgeous. The ballroom was lit with different shades of blue and purple, and different artist’s pieces spread around the room. There was a large stage which I had to go speak on in front of everyone later, I tried not to vomit at the thought, and tall tables throughout. I wasn’t the first to arrive, thankfully, so there were already plenty of people milling about looking at art and drinking. Right in the center was a huge circular bar with a display in the middle marking the event. I went there first, snagging a glass of champagne and chugging it down. The bartender looked at me funny but smirked when I gave him back the glass.

I took the second glass slower, wandering a bit. I tended to hover near Carlos’s art for the most part because if anyone asked me about it, I might actually have something to contribute. A band played on the stage, keeping the mood upbeat as more people spilled into the ballroom. My eyes strayed more than once to the buffet table they were setting up on the other side of the ballroom. I told myself I would avoid it until more people showed up but I could see the food from here and it looked delicious.

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