“El Torero,” the girls yelled out at the same time.
I corralled the girls into the car, and we made our way out to the restaurant on the edge of town. I sat there listening to Maria tell stories about Ronni in college. I hadn’t had any time seeing Ronni interact with anyone else, so watching her get into the groove of things with Maria was amazing. She lit up and came alive, singing, laughing loudly, and drinking margaritas like they were going out of style. After dinner, we were having so much fun that we didn’t want to call it a night. So I let the girls drag me to a salsa club in the underground of San Diego.
When I walked in, I looked around at the dim lights, the red velvet covering everything, and the amazing music that piped through the speakers. I watched as couples adorned in their best clothing moved their bodies in a way you wouldn’t find in most clubs. It almost seemed like they were attached by invisible strings, and when one moved, the other moved as well. Their sleek dancing and erotic moves made for a very interesting show. Maria seemed to frequent the place often, and as soon as she walked in, men were asking her to dance. She laughed loudly as they whispered things in her ear before taking one of their hands and allowing him to lead her out onto the floor. I watched in shock as she moved with ease on the tips of her toes, turning right and left, in and out, and dancing to the music. When the song ended, Ronni and I stood up, clapping and cheering for Maria. She bowed to us from across the floor and picked up with the next song. I turned toward Ronni and leaned in close, brushing her hair away from her ear.
“You are the sexiest woman in this entire building,” I whispered. “Every man in here turned and stared at you as you walked in.”
“You must be a lucky guy,” she said, smiling and laughing.
“You have no idea how lucky I feel,” I replied.
After the club, we took Maria back to the house and then walked across the street to the beach. We laughed and talked about the night’s events and the one and only song I allowed her to pull me out on the floor for. If a man ever felt whiter, it was trying to keep the rhythm on a dance floor with some of the most charismatic men I had ever seen. I could see the laughter from the audience, but I didn’t mind because I could also see the happiness in Ronni’s face. I was willing to try anything if I had her by my side.
We walked through the cool sand, listening to the waves crashing against the shore. It was the perfect night, and although the day had started out a bit rough, it ended in a way I never thought it would. I was free from the stress and craziness of the Landers’s lifestyle. I was free from the desk I had chained myself to for many years, and I was free to love Ronni with no control and no ultimatums.
The wind blew across the beach, and I watched as Ronni took in a deep breath of sea air, letting her hair fly freely behind her. She was sincerely the most amazing woman I had ever met. Things may have looked bleak for many years, but they sure did have a way of turning around quickly. Here I was, standing with the love of my life on a gorgeous beach, getting ready for a new and exciting adventure, with no ties to the past. It was like Ronni’s light was seeping over to me, and I was more than happy to bask in it. She stopped and turned toward the moon, bright in the sky. The waves lapped gently against the shore, and I moved behind her, wrapping my arms around her chest and squeezing tightly.
“Do you think our parents are up there, looking down on us?” she asked.
“Maybe,” I said, smiling. “If they are, I am damn sure of one thing.”
“What’s that?” Ronni asked, turning toward me.
“They are proud of us for what we are accomplishing,” I said, looking up at the moon. “And my mother is more than happy to see that the two people she loved the most found each other in this chaos.”
“That’s how I feel,” she said, laying her head against my chest.
“I promise,” I said, pulling her back and looking into her eyes. “I will never allow anyone to treat you the way that Nick and my father treated you. I will do my best to shield you and protect you from everything bad in this world.”
“I know,” she said confidently. “I never for a second thought any different. I am excited about our future. And I am excited to spend it hand in hand with you.”
My sentiments exactly.
Chapter Twenty
Ronni
I stumbled forward, giggling as Nathan led me blindfolded down the sidewalk. He had blindfolded me even before I got in the car so I really had no idea where I was. I could hear the ocean in the background, smell the salty sea air, but in reality, it was Southern California. I could literally be anywhere.
I held tightly to Nathan’s hand, listening to the people passing us by in the streets. He stopped me for a moment and told me to stand right there. I heard the jingle of keys and the click of a lock in front of me. As he took my arm and led me forward, I shivered in the cold San Diego winter weather. Sure, it was way colder on the East Coast, but to me, this weather felt bitter. As soon as I walked in, warmth surrounded me, and I could smell the scent of lavender all around me. He moved me inside and shut the door behind us before walking back and pulling down my blindfold. I kept my eyes clutched closed for several seconds, almost too excited to open them.
“Okay, you can look now,” he said excitedly.
I opened my eyes and blinked several times before they came back into focus. I scanned the area with wonder. The floors were tiled with black and gray tiling, the racks were a bright white, and the seating throughout was accented with purples and grays. I walked through the large space, imagining our suits and outer wear lining the walls. We had expanded to outer wear when we realized that pushing our label further would only increase revenue. I shook my head, looking around the room, impressed by what I was seeing. Everything was perfectly decorated and brand new. I looked over at Nathan and laughed, giving him a huge hug.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“We are at a strip mall in Ocean Beach,” he said, pointing toward the door. “It’s the closest shopping to the tourist beach and right next to the grocer that the locals use. It is literally the best spot in the entire town. Most of the shops that surround it have been here forever and don’t have plans to move. Your only competition is the beach shop three blocks down, but they don’t specialize in anything. It's pretty much a generic shop with expensive name brand suits. You would be the only designer swimwear and outer wear shop on the strip.”
“Nathan,” I said, shaking my head and running my hand across the counter. “This couldn’t be more perfect if we built it ourselves. It is exactly what we were looking for.”
I walked around the room, taking in every inch of the space. I walked back into the dressing rooms which were split one way for women, the other for men. The deep purple velvet fabrics that acted as doors to the dressing rooms hung across black steel rods and piled down on the floors. The mirrors were tilted just enough to pick up every good angle of the body. There was an area for clients to put the ones they didn’t want, and a rope that went across the entrance so we could check people in and out of the rooms. On the counters were two brand new compu
ters, fully stocked with scanners, bins for hangers, a stack of boxes with our logos for wrapping the suits, and deep lavender paper to wrap them in. I shook my head, realizing that Nathan had really thought of everything, even down to the security system attached to the walls. I walked back over to Nathan and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. I couldn’t believe how perfect everything was.
“You did an amazing job,” I whispered. “I love everything about this.”
“Want to hear a funny story,” he said, chuckling.