“I will. Oh, and my shift ends at ten tomorrow. Want to grab drinks?”
“Woo, drinks on a Monday night. What a party girl.”
Sara was standing now, and I threw my water bottle at her, which, of course, she caught before walking away with it.
Dad would take the news well. I had no doubt about that. He would actually be very proud Dr. Medina was so interested in my work. Most fathers wouldn’t know the first thing to do about their daughter having an idol as strange as Dr. Medina, but Dad always understood and fostered my drive. I think he always realized how important Dr. Medina’s work was to me. To a certain extent, his work was also important to Dad.
Still, I didn’t want Sara or anyone there to suggest anything nefarious. It was strictly a professional relationship. One that I was getting very excited about. If Dr. Medina had been a woman, no one would have questioned my interest in her mentorship.
When I got home, I pulled my cell phone from my leggings pocket and texted Dad that I wanted to have breakfast with him.
Dad:Claro, mija!I’ll cook for us. Smile emoji, laugh-cry emoji, wide grin emoji.
I shook my head with a laugh.
Me:I’ll be there in about an hour.
Dad:Besos.
I drank a tall glass of water and picked out my clothes before heading into the shower.
It was unclear to me if it was the endorphin high from the run, the conversation I’d had with Sara about Dr. Medina, or the steam fogging up the glass shower door, but I couldn’t tear my thoughts away from him. It would be hard for anyone with a pulse not to notice how handsome he was.
I lathered my body with soap as I thought of his gaze and those dark eyes roaming the conference room and landing on my face. He had rolled up his sleeves, revealing muscular, veiny forearms, and I bit my lip at the memory. I remembered his lips grazing his finger as he hinted at our secret—a secret we now shared.
Bringing my hands to my breasts, I circled my nipple gently. The hot water ran down my body, gliding the suds away from my skin. A flashback of his gaze with those dark eyes entered my brain, and my hand trailed away from my breast and down my soft stomach. I could nearly hear his voice in my head with that slight Spanish accent. The image of him taking off his tie and rolling up his sleeves would be etched on my brain forever—that handsome of a man starting to undress? I’d nearly reached my goal between my thighs when I snapped out of it.
What are you doing, Carolina?I slapped my own hand with a reprimand. I had just texted myfatherof all people with those very hands.
It had to be the suggestiveness of everyone around me. I had been a fangirl, and Valentina, Sara, even Keach, would all use that to insinuate something inappropriate. I didn’t like him like that; I was only susceptible to those jerks placing ideas in my head.
But who was I kidding? I was lying to myself. I found Hector Medina very attractive. I needed to stop thinking of him that way.
I washed my hair much too vigorously and turned on the news to turn off my body as I got dressed in my standard jeans and white t-shirt. I didn’t brush my hair. All that went on my face was sunscreen and lip balm before I grabbed my car keys.
The smell ofchilaquileshit my nostrils the second I entered Dad’s tiny house. It was as if he could read Sara’s mind. My mouth watered, and I felt only the slightest bit guilty about Sara not joining us for breakfast. This was probably the only time during our entire friendship that I had uninvited her from my family table.
Before me, Dad set a heaping plate of the reason I’ll never have a body like Sara’s:chilaquiles, fried beans with a fried egg on top, and avocado slices. I loved this man so much I could cry.
“Gracias,Papi,” I said.
“Que gracias, ni que nada. I’m not the one you need to thank.” I rolled my eyes but took his hands in mine—his head already bowed. He said grace in Spanish and finished it off with a cross over his chest. “Amen.”
“Amen,” I echoed if only to appease him.
We ate, and we chatted about work, mostly.
My dad had ownedTavo’s Auto Repairsince before I was born, and though it was hard work, I knew he loved his job. “How’s work?” I asked.
“It’s doing great. I’m getting older though, and I have to tell you, I couldn’t do it anymore without Ramiro’s help running the business side of things. He’s a great manager.”
I ignored the comment about Ramiro; at this point, I was used to him mentioning Ramirocasuallyto me, always making sure not to leave out his many amazing qualities. As if I hadn’t known Ramiro my entire life. I shook my head.
When we finally finished our breakfast, I refilled our coffees and sat back down to give him my news.
“Papi,”I said. “Do you remember that doctor I used to look up to back when I was starting to think about going to med school?”
“Hector Medina,” he said right away. “How could I forget?”