Fiction/Young Adult/Betrayal

Worth the Risk — Chapter Twelve

Are you willing to lose it all

“You can pull in over there.” Marcus pointed to a space in between two other cars.

I could parallel park—not great, but I was able to do it. I didn’t know how well I would perform with so many people watching me, but I gave it a try.

The Jag slid in quite smoothly, and Marcus gave a little whistle.

“Very impressive. I thought for sure you wouldn’t know how to park since you have other people do it for you all the time.”

He was lucky he was smiling and joking around or else I would’ve had to smack him silly.

“There are so many things I can do that you don’t know about.” I winked at him and exited the car.

“You’ll have to show me someday.” Marcus came around the car and stood beside me. His hand automatically went to my ass and began a light massage.

I took hold of his hand and kept it still. I didn’t remove it from my ass but kept it in a position so that it wouldn’t get me too stimulated since we were out here in public. “Someday.”

“Cuz, what’s up with this?"

A guy that looked to be about a year or two older came up to us. He was followed by three other men who looked to be about the same age. I could tell he and Marcus were related by the fact they looked almost identical.

This guy gave Marcus a bro-like-type short hug, then stepped back as if he were checking me out “Who’s this?”

“Chelsey.” Marcus’s hand went from my ass to the small of my back. “This is my cousin, Ronald.”

“Hi.” I smiled and held out my hand as I was introduced to the first person I’d met from Marcus’s family.

Ronald looked at my hand like it was going to bite him or something. Maybe this was the wrong thing to do in this culture. Wasn’t a smile and a handshake like a universally known sign of friendship?

Finally, after staring at my hand for several seconds, Ronald took mine into his and held it to his lips. He softly kissed it and placed it back on my side. “Pleasure to meet you, Chelsey. Where are you from?”

“Does it matter?” Marcus interjected before I got a word out.

“Just asking, bro. She has this nice car and all.”

“We go to school together.” Apparently, Marcus didn’t want him to know where I was from.

“Oh.” Ronald’s gaze went from me to Marcus. ‘So, ese, you’re hooking up with the wealthy bitches over there.”

“Fuck you, Ronald.” Marcus took my hand and led me away from the group of guys.

I looked back over my shoulder as Marcus pulled me along the sidewalk. The gang was still standing together, arms crossed over their chests, obviously talking about me and him.

Was this the type of conflict we were always going to be in if we wanted to stay together?

Maybe he did have it as bad as I did with people not accepting because we came from different backgrounds.

We still wanted to be a couple, though.

Was it all going to be worth it? All the hassle we are going through—was it all going to be worth it when this was all over at the end of the school year?

“It might not be as quiet as your house, can you bear with it for a minute or so?"

I looked forward and away from the stares of the other guys as Marcus stopped outside a house. It was smaller than my guest house, slightly deteriorating, and quite bustling with all the noise coming out of it. I assumed this must be his house as he walked up to the porch that had two broken steps leading to it and opened the front door.

He yelled out in Spanish that he was home and that he had a friend with him.

I followed him back to the small hallway leading to the kitchen, a beautiful aroma was fanning from the area.

A lady yelled back she was in the kitchen cooking up their dinner meal.

A young boy, around the age of thirteen, skirted past us in the hallway. He fist-bumped with Marcus and gave me a stare as he passed. After checking me out head to toe, his eyes darted back to Marcus.

“Dude, you have to come look at this. Mario just texted me a Jag is sitting outside.” He tugged on Marcus’s shirt for him to follow as he ran out the front door.

“Is it going to be okay out there?”

Marcus nodded. “Not too many Jags show up in our neighborhood. Mario’s probably going to take about a hundred pictures of it. C’mon, let’s get the meet and greet over.”

“Marcus.” A middle-aged lady stood in front of the stove, stirring something in a pot that had a spicy yet sweet scent to it. “Grab me the bottle of hot sauce out of the cupboard.”

Marcus squeezed his way around the three other ladies who were seated at the table, each stirring around something inside a bowl. One looked a lot older than the rest, another seemed older than his mom but not by much, and the other looked to be between ten and twelve years of age.

“Mama.” Marcus placed the bottle on the stove and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “This is Chelsey Winters. We go to school together.”

After Marcus announced my name, they all paused what they were doing and looked over at me standing on the border of the kitchen entrance.

Maybe the curiosity stemmed from the fact I was a girl and they expected a boy when Marcus announced a friend was over, or it could be they recognized my last name and maybe knew of my parents or the company.

“Winters. Isn’t that the last name of those big shots that own a quarter of the city?” One lady at the table looked me up and down, then glanced over to Marcus for an answer.

“Yes, Grandma. This is their daughter.”

The one I now knew was Marcus’s grandmother, shot her eyes back at me with an ugly glare. She let out a humph and went back to stirring whatever was in her bowl.

“Will your friend be joining us for dinner?” Marcus’s mom wiped her hands on her apron and stepped forward with her hand placed outward. “I’m Marissa, Marcus’s mother.”

Her hand grasped mine firmly as I extended mine to meet hers. I think she was setting the tone, this was her house, her son, and most likely I was not very welcomed.

“I’m very pleased to meet you.” I acted as cordially as I could in this situation. I didn’t want to start on the wrong foot with Marcus’s family.

“Likewise.”

Another snort of displeasure came from one of the two ladies seated at the table. Neither one looked my way, so I was unsure who made the noise.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I have to go. It was nice to meet you.” I didn’t wait for Marcus’s lead as I gave a final wave and turned back in the direction I’d come from.

I heard Marcus’s loud whisper, in Spanish, of course, to his mom and other female relatives about how rudely they acted. One of the women spoke back, saying he shouldn’t have brought me here and asking what the hell he was getting involved with once again.

“Chelsey.” Marcus had grabbed hold of my hand before I made it to the door. “You don’t have to go yet.”

“I have to. It’s going to take me at least two hours with traffic.” As much as I should’ve, I didn’t pull my hand away from his.

“So.” Marcus walked me backward until I was up against the wall. “You can stay overnight like I did.” He nibbled on my neck and let his hand, the one that wasn’t holding mine, skim along the side of my body.

I glanced over his shoulder to make sure we didn’t have an audience standing at the kitchen entrance, so far, it was all clear.

“I can’t, we have school tomorrow.” A small moan escaped from deep in my throat as he traced over my breast.

“We can skip.” Marcus’s breathing stepped up in pace as he continued to assault my neck and sensitive collarbone area.

“Jesus Christ, Marcus. You have a fuckin bedroom.”

The sound of another female voice stopped any erotic sensations I was feeling. Marcus stopped kissing me and turned to face our intruder.

“Maybe I should move it to the couch like you always do.”

The girl Marcus spoke to stood inside the front door entrance. She had long black hair that was pulled back with one single braid. Her dark eyes looked at me with intensity and curiosity, all at the same time. She had to be another relative, most likely a sister, since she was as beautiful as Marcus was handsome. She was petite, but I saw the muscles flex in her biceps whenever she twitched her arms.

The girls from this neighborhood were about as tough as the guys. The ones I’d seen, this girl and Gabby’s crew, looked like they’d been in their share of fights and could handle their own against any girl or guy.

“Chelsey, this is my sister, Alana.” Marcus introduced me to another relative.

“Chelsey,” Alana said my name like it had a foul taste in her mouth. “Where are you from?”

“Not jail like your last boyfriend.” Marcus intercepted the question that was meant for me.

“Shut the fuck up, Marcus. We just happened to get back together today.” Alana walked past us, slapping her brother on the way through. “Mama.” She screamed out to her mom down the short hallway. “Marcus is doing nasty things with that girl up against the wall.” Alana whipped her head back around and stuck her tongue out at us, waggling it back and forth.

Two seconds later, Marcus’s mom waited at the entrance of the kitchen. She went off on him in Spanish about how he needed to conduct himself better and shouldn’t be doing anything out in the open like that, specifically with me.

He spoke back to her using the same language, telling her I was quite fluent in Spanish and had understood everything she said.

His mom’s face took on a paler appearance, and she wouldn’t meet my eyes. She said she had to get back to dinner work and didn’t have time for his nonsense.

Alana smirked at us like she’d won round one of whatever battle had begun, then waved as she trotted back to the kitchen with the other females.

“Yeah, well, I better go.”

This time, Marcus didn’t try to stop me as I walked out the front door.

He walked me back to my car, which, surprisingly, was still there. The younger boy that had been in the house earlier was on the sidewalk still taking pictures like Marcus said he would. He had two other boys with him who kept getting closer to the car, but not so much that they could touch it.

"Hey!" Marcus shouted out to them before we came upon them. “Chelsey wants to get into her car without taking you three along.”

“This is your girl’s car?” Marcus’s cousin stopped in front of us on the sidewalk.

“Yeah. Why?” Marcus took the key from my hand and pressed the button so it would unlock.

“Damn, did you ride in it yet?” Now the younger boy was all excited and inquisitive when he found out Marcus had a connection to my car.

“I drove it.”

“Dude, no way.” Marcus’s cousin high-fived his friends like he was the one who had just walked away with the prize of driving a Jaguar.

“It’s just a car, guys.” I had to remind them that it was only a vehicle, nothing special.

Well, at least in my neck of the woods it wasn’t.

The three younger boys laughed and shook their heads.

“Well, Chelsey.” Marcus’s cousin put his arm around my shoulder. “We.” He glanced at the guys around him and the ones further down the sidewalk. “We don’t have cars like that around here. A good day is if one makes it to the store and back. I’ll take the car off your hands any day.”

Marcus picked his cousin’s arm off me and pushed him away. “Don’t you have some dolls to go play with or something?”

His cousin looked at his cell phone. “Shit. Larissa is coming over in ten. Gotta go and get ready for some hot times.” He thrust his hips back and forth, making his friends laugh at the insinuation he was making. “Later.” The younger boy took off on a jog, weaving in and out of everyone else on the sidewalk.

“Don’t you guys have something else to do?” Marcus questioned the two boys who were still standing around.

“Nope, not really.” One of the boys shook their head.

Marcus stomped his foot at them like he was going to attack, and they both took off running down the sidewalk in the direction the other boy had gone.

After the boys had gotten a few houses down, he turned back towards me. “Are you going to be alright driving back home?”

“I have my GPS, so I should be okay.”

Marcus took a step closer and backed me up to the side of the car. "You could still stay here.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me closer to his body.

I giggled. It wasn’t like I’d gotten a warm welcome from the family members I’d met.

“What’s so funny?” The look on his face displayed curiosity about what I was laughing about.

“I don’t think your family likes me much.” I positioned myself away from him so I could better see him. His handsomeness still took my breath away. He was the dark, mysterious type I never wanted to get involved with, yet I wanted to know everything about him.

“Why would you say that? They only know your name, not who you are.” Marcus brought me closer to him and nuzzled my neck with his lips.

“Just the looks and way everyone spoke. I can usually tell when I’m not liked.”

“I like you.” He assaulted my neck and shoulders with kisses until I gasped when he hit a tender spot. Marcus chuckled and lifted his head. “I guess you’re still leaving.”

“Yeah, I have too.” I opened my car door. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

Marcus nodded. “The day after that.” His lips tenderly touched mine. “The next day.” This time, the kiss lasted a second longer. “One more chance to stay?” The kiss made my knees buckle. His tongue skimmed across my lips as if it were pleading to be let in. How could I not oblige when the feeling felt so right.

I loved how he made me feel, even with a kiss. Our tongues danced around with one another like it was a tango only meant for us. His fingers ran through my hair and pulled my head closer so there was no space between us. I couldn’t breathe and my lungs begged for oxygen, but I didn’t want this kiss to end.

Before I completely blacked out from lack of air, I placed my hands on Marcus’s chest. “I have to go.”

His breathing was labored, his eyes were closed, and a hint of redness shone out from his tanned skin from our little make-out session right here out on the street in broad daylight.

Marcus laid his forehead against mine and kissed the tip of my nose. “Okay.” He gave me one last soft kiss, then backed away.

I got into my car, put my home address into the GPS, gave a small wave, and then drove away.

This boy was tearing down every wall I had built up to keep my focus where it needed to be. It took every bit of sanity to not run back into the house and curl up with him like we’d done once before.

‘This can’t happen, Chelsey. We are two worlds apart, and it will never work.’

I turned on the radio, but not even the hottest hits of the day could take my mind off the guy who was twisting my world upside down.