I nodded and made my own plate, taking a look at Cruz.
“I committed my life to saving yours,” my mom continued. “Meeting Ivan felt like meeting an angel because I wasn’t alone. When we decided to get married, I slept better at night knowing you would have a brother. Someone to be your family after I’m gone, one day.” She looked up to Cruz, and then to Ivan, before finally settling her eyes on me. “I’m not okay with…whatever this is…but I’m not going to lose you over your choices, either.”
The rest of the meal was silent, no one having anything else to add to an already tumultuous situation. But when we were back in the living room and sitting all together, I decided to rip the band aid off of one more thing.
“I’m going to stay with Cruz until I figure out what Miami has in store for me.” I grabbed his hand and held it in my lap, hoping they understood that it wasn’t a sibling roommate thing.
Ivan’s eyes shot up and he looked between Cruz and Mom, waiting to see if either of them were going to say anything. If it hadn’t been such an uneasy subject, I would have laughed.
It felt like forever, but eventually my mom sighed. “And you will drink your water?”
Cruz snorted and shook his head in irony. “If y’all had told me the importance of her hydration, I would have drilled her a well.”
“I’ll drink my water, Mom,” I assured her as she tried to smile at Cruz.
“And log your heart rates?” Mom asked again, to cover all the bases.
“Mom,” I laughed, “I’ll do better, I promise.”
She started crying again, but I knew it was just a lot for her to accept. Deep down, I think she thought I would come home after a few weeks in Miami and decide the big city wasn’t for me. But even without Cruz coming for me, I was going back.
In fact, I couldn’t wait to get back to the warm Miami nights.
* * *
We stayed one night with my mom and Ivan, in separate beds, in our old rooms, then left for the airport. Cruz had a private jet waiting to take us straight to Miami, and that included taking anything I felt I needed right away.
My mom was still struggling with the fact that Cruz and I were together, but Ivan seemed to be coming around to the idea quickly. When he gave me a hug goodbye, I made him promise to take care of my mom, and he laughed like that was never even a question.
“I always have, and I always will,” he said to me.
For some reason, I felt shy with Cruz once we were alone again. We had decided to be together, but everything felt different. There was a difference between being the girl in his bed, and being the girl in his heart.
“You’ve always been here,”he said to me, tapping his chest where his heart was.“The only difference is, I am admitting it to us both.”
After a few days of adjusting and getting settled, Cruz started his offseason workouts and minicamps, and I started my job at David Castillo Gallery. It went as well as could be expected considering it was my second choice in careers, but I knew I would be good at what they wanted me to do.
I came home each night of my first week, and told Cruz all about my day. Then he told me about his workouts while I cooked dinner.
Cruz had been used to eating out, but my diet played a huge role in my health. So he made sure the cabinets and fridge were stocked with everything I could possibly need. It made finding something to cook super easy, and since I loved cooking, I immediately fell into the role.
The only thing we hadn’t done since we got back was make love. Cruz had been worried my heart couldn’t take it, which caused our first fight. It was exactly why I didn’t tell him about my heart in the first place. If he started acting like I was made of glass, I wouldn’t be able to take it.
Thankfully, he calmed down, and we agreed to take things slow. He showed me some papers my mom slid him before we left, that were instructions from my doctors. No physical activity for four weeks was the requirement. I was sure my mom handed those to him thinking he would just focus on the food guide, but not Cruz. He zeroed in on the activity suggestion, and was taking it as far as he could.
Four weeks after my hospital stay, I walked in the door from work to find Cruz in the living room kicking a ball from his knees to his feet, and back to his knees with impressive precision. I set my bag on the counter in the kitchen and kept walking toward him, completely turned on from watching him do what he did best.
“Didn’t you get enough of that at workouts today?” I laughed. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Oh,” he laughed, and then grabbed the ball with his hands. He tossed it to me and I caught it as he added, “I brought that home for you.”
“Me?” I turned it over in my hands, trying to catch on to whatever game he was playing.
When I looked up, I realized his t-shirt said “Property of Lily” with an arrow pointing toward his groin. I laughed, about to ask him where the hell he got that shirt, but he stopped me before I could say anything. “Yes you. We are having more soccer lessons.”
He pulled me closer to him and started unbuttoning the suit jacket I wore to work, quickly discarding it onto the couch behind him. Then he unbuckled my pants and let them fall to the floor, making me step out of the wide leg. I was left in nothing but a silver silk camisole, a pink thong, and silver pumps.
“I need to tell you something.” He took the ball from my hands and kicked it a few times before kissing my lips. “I love you.”