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Chapter 24: Daniel, Part 2
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Juked Chapter 25: Quincy, Part 1
"I'm so glad I got my flu shot," Geni says over the sound of her clippers. "You looked terrible.""Uh-huh." I pretend to ignore her and sweep the hair from my last client into a pile on the floor. Geni's been making it a point to lecture me all week about how dumb it was not to get vaccinated. Never mind that it's the only time I've been sick the entire five years I've known and worked with her."I'm serious," she says. "I've never seen you look so bad. You're lucky Daniel was there to - "Her voice is drowned out when I start up the vacuum to get rid of the hair. The timing doesn't go unnoticed by her, and she glares at me. I glare right back. "I'm just saying," she says as soon as the noise dies down, making me huff in annoyance. She's not going to let this go. "It's a good thing Daniel was there to take care of you. I don't know how I would have been able to do it without him. Don't you think it was dumb for her not to get her flu shot?" she asks her client, Mike."I haven't had a
Juked Chapter 26: Quincy, Part 2
Houston's Latest Heartthrob: The Woman Who Keeps Daniel Zavaro Warm Between the CleatsI snatch the paper from her and scan the article, vaguely aware Geni is reading over my shoulder.Step back ladies. It appears Daniel Zavaro is off the market. Maybe even for good! Last week, the twenty-nine-year-old captain of the Texas Mutiny, and one of last year's most eligible bachelors, was spotted in the company of twenty-five-year-old Quincy Watson, a local hairdresser. Seeing Zavaro with a beautiful woman on his arm isn't anything new, but what is new is his relationship with the seven-month-old nephew Watson has full custody of. Sources tell us that last week, while Watson was apparently recuperating from the flu, Zavaro spent all his free time with the tiny tot, including dropping him off and picking him up from day care."He was a real sweetheart," our anonymous source said in a phone interview. "He doted on baby Chance like he was his own son." Who is this new woman in Zavaro's life
Juked Chapter 27: Daniel, Part 1
I feel really bad about the article in the newspaper. Quincy is taking it like a champ and doesn't seem all that fazed by it, even though I know she's annoyed that several of her new clients seem to be fans. One actually had the nerve to ask her for tickets to a game.Most times fans are great. But in general, people really suck.I was relieved to find out that most of the "source" information came from that Hailey girl at Chance's day care. Quincy said she called a meeting with the director of the facility, and Hailey ended up confessing to the whole thing. She was given a final written warning for her job.That was good enough for Quincy. She didn't want the girl to lose her job but needed to make sure the point about privacy was made. Frankly, I agree with her. And it makes me trust her friendship that much more. Not that I didn't trust her to begin with. It just drives the point home to me again.I can't help feeling partly responsible for the whole thing. I could have let Geni hel
Juked Chapter 28: Daniel, Part 2
"What chase are you talking about, Lalo?" I feel like I should be on alert but not really sure why."Quincy," he begins, "how do you know my brother?""Oh Jesus," I mutter, looking at Quincy. She has a stunned look on her face. "Don't answer that," I tell her. "Back off Eduardo," I say, turning. "I didn't bring her here to be interrogated by you. You're fucking psycho, you know that?""Boys!" Mama yells."I'm sorry. Am I missing something?" Quincy says with obvious confusion.I sigh. "My brother here is a paranoid freak," I say, and he narrows his eyes at me. "He seems to think our relationship is some sort of scam on your part because of my job.""What?" she asks. "Why…?" She looks at him. "Why would you think that about me?""He thinks it about everybody," I say, staring at him. "Somehow he got it in his mind I can't have any friends or ever date anyone without them having nefarious intentions.""He's only trying to protect you," my sister, Erika, says softly from across the room. "
Juked Chapter 29: Quincy
After the nightmare that was meeting Daniel's family, we went back to my place to watch Netflix and chill. And by that I mean we talked, put the baby down for the night, and had sex.Lots of sex.The kind of toe curling, mind-blowing sex romance novels are made of.And Daniel apologized. A lot.I'm slightly embarrassed by the whole thing, sure. I was nervous about meeting them and now, knowing what they think of me, I have no desire to see any of them again. But I'm not really mad. Geni has told me all about the "cleat chasers." Why would his family assume I was anything different? When I expressed that to Daniel, and told him none of it was a deal-breaker for me, he got the strangest look on his face. Almost a mixture of disbelief and awe. Maybe I'm not freaked out about it enough, but I have more important things to do with my time than worry about what his family thinks. I'm not marrying the guy. We're just dating.Actually, I don't really know what we're doing, except hanging out.
Juked Chapter 30: Daniel, Part 1
We won. Took out the Galaxy five to four. Except for our sweeper rolling his ankle when he came down wrong during a head shot, the game went fine. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but we got the job done.I might have had more enthusiasm if I hadn't still been pissed at my family. It's been a week since the showdown at my mom's house, and the only two people to even try to apologize were Blanca and Geovany.This doesn't surprise me. Geovany isn't just my big brother. He's one of my best friends. He knows I'm smarter than everyone gives me credit for.Blanca… well, she knows better than to believe everything you hear. Her ex-husband blasted her publically, not that most people cared, but she lost a lot of friends over his lies about her being a gold-digging whore and cheater. None of it was true, and he basically said as much in court when the divorce finally went through, but the damage had been done. Since then, she's way less quick to judge people, especially other women.Eduardo, thou
Juked Chapter 31: Daniel, Part 2
"Sure, why?" "I get the impression you have something on your mind," I hit the highway and we zip toward the exit to my apartment building. "Are you worried about the baby?""What? Oh no!" she says with a wave of dismissal. "I'm just distracted is all."We are silent while I park in the lot at my building. My place is only ten minutes from the stadium. It's not the fanciest apartment complex, but rent in Houston is really expensive, especially inside the loop. I'm lucky I can afford it. Not all soccer players can. I'm pretty sure the rookies are all driving from at least thirty minutes away and have roommates."So here we are," I say, turning off the engine."No underground parking with a secret passcode to get in?" she jests. "I'm shocked there's not more security."I snicker. "Professional soccer players don't need much security in the States. In Europe or South America, hell yeah, but here, people are more interested in football players." I get out of the car and make my way around
Juked Chapter 32: Quincy, Part 1
"I can't believe Daniel convinced me to do this," I grumble as I push a stroller, carry a collapsible chair over my shoulder, and drag a small cooler through the crowd, trying to find his sister Blanca.The sister I've only met once. The sister that stood there while her other brother berated me.But Daniel agreed to be in his nephew's high school Homecoming Parade as the Master of Ceremonies and he thought the baby would enjoy it, so here we are.I sigh. "Okay, Lucky Ducky. Let me know if you see her," I say to Chance, lifting one shoulder to keep from dropping the chair on my toe again. I feel like an idiot bringing so much stuff with me, but it's October in Houston. That means it's hot and humid, so I needed a lot of supplies. I've read that babies can dehydrate very quickly, and there wasn't enough room in the bottom of the stroller to pack diapers, wipes, changing pad, change of clothes, toys, formula, sunscreen, hats, and several bottles of water. I've turned into a freaking pac
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