Chapter 261 - We Must Support Them - mdtres
Roland
"You all gave me so much crap when I married Clari, while you were fooling around with any woman who crossed your path and I stuck with my little cabbage. Now, do you understand me? When you find 'the one,' you don't even think about putting it anywhere your wife doesn't allow."
"You're absolutely right, Daniel. Now it's just Arnold and Raúl left."
"I'll join the club in a few months, Inés," my wife's best friend commented. "Manolo doesn't know yet, but my parents know about my sexuality." We all looked at him.
"My father told me I was dead to him, but my mother is an excellent mom. She just said that if I was happy, then she was too. She only asked me not to disappoint her by prostituting myself, and as long as I didn't become a criminal, she'd be proud of me. Two weeks ago, she met Manolo." Raúl looked at me. "You know how your cousin is, he can win anyone over." I smiled.
"Congratulations. He's been through a lot since he was a kid, always being rejected. He has a wild heart, but he's loyal. Take care of him; you know what I can turn into." We all smiled.
"Don't start with that marriage talk just yet," Arnold commented, looking at his girlfriend.
"Careful, you might lose her if you don't lock it down," I said, and he gave me a strange look.
"She was, is, and always will be my little Tadpole who turned into a beautiful Mermaid with tan skin." We all smiled.
The party was like all the ones we used to have, worthy of who we were. Our women being our queens, the newlyweds went on their honeymoons, one couple to South America and the other to Europe.
The whole family stayed a few more days, while the Sandovals headed back with Arnold and Lupe. The women slept in the bed on the jet. Arnold and I stayed in the seats, talking.
"Simón's report in a few hours will give us a list of people with that tattoo who have been reported at some point in the prisons."
"Yeah."
"Boss, I know you. What's going on?"
"Mojón, I'm only telling you this for now. My instinct tells me your father is behind everything that's happening to us." He turned red and clenched his fists.
"That man doesn't know you're alive; only the Italian and the Japanese know, and now the Turk will too."
"Nikolay isn't trying to get my attention; something tells me he's trying to get yours. This is just a theory, which is why I haven't mentioned it to Simón or Miguel."
"Why do you think that?"
"The last time I met with him to close a deal, when I traveled with Rata and Cebolla, he asked me if Simón would be my successor." I looked at my younger brother. "That time, I told him that in my absence, you were the rightful successor."
……
Guadalupe
It seemed unbelievable that we had been together for four months as a couple. It was April, and we were very focused on our studies, and I was playing the role of his woman. That made me fall even more in love with my güerito. He still hadn't told me he loved me, but he showed his devotion to me. I couldn't wait for him to arrive. I needed to call him. I looked for my phone and saw a message from him.
"Tadpole, I can't travel today."
I felt disappointed; he must be doing that thing he did when he turned into the Mojón. What I heard was that they got involved with someone from Japan, and now they were working with people from Turkey. I called him.
"Hi, honey."
"Tadpole." He sounded serious.
"Is it a bad time to call?"
"Don't take it the wrong way, but yes."
"Don't worry, I understand. I'm sad not to see you. Call me when you can and... I love you." I said it. I had been holding back the urge to say it for days. His silence disappointed me. "Erase my last two words from your memory."
"Okay, we'll talk later, Mermaid."
"God bless you, Güerito."
"Thanks."
I stared at my phone. Don't think anything bad, something must be up. I sighed. My husband wasn't coming home today. I smiled. I left the room and cleaned up the romantic dinner, putting the plates back in the cupboard, the food in the fridge. After tidying up the kitchen, I went to bed. I checked my phone and had no messages. It was too late to call any of the girls to gossip about what was going on.
The week went by, and communication with Arnold decreased. Last weekend, when I went home, I realized they were all distracted, partly because of Inés and partly because of the situation with the Turks. That calmed me down. They didn't ask me where Arnold was, so I deduced that the boss had him working.
At Sunday lunch at Mrs. Consuelo's house, since I was officially the woman of one of that select group of men, I was invited as one of the family, and I loved it. There, I heard that Cherry was also absent. I couldn't demand that he tell me; that had to come from him. But, as the ladies told me in one of the many Sunday conversations...
"We have to be worthy of them," Mrs. Veronica had commented. "We are all under threat, and yet they still convey calm and protection to us. Let's not be a nuisance when we hear them using their nicknames." We understood.
"We can't complain, they have shown us loyalty, though sometimes I get frustrated not knowing what's happening," Diana had commented, holding Augusto in her arms.
"I think that happens to all of us," Luisa said, who was about to give birth.
I smiled at the memory. I already knew what was happening with my little blondie; he was busy with some tasks. I left the university, got in the car, and had so much work to do. I hoped Arnold could come tomorrow; I missed him so much.
When I entered the apartment, I saw his mess and, for the first time, I was so glad about it. I ran to his room, and there he was, packing his clothes into a suitcase. When he saw me, he smiled, and like a monkey, I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist.
"I see you missed me, Tadpole."
I didn't respond; I started kissing him, and in no time, his mouth was on one of my nipples. Desperately, we took off our clothes. There wasn't a day I didn't rejoice in having thrown myself into the love of this man who had become my whole life. His hands roamed all over my body. Those big hands made me feel so small. There wasn't much foreplay; his penis was very hard, and I was like a river inside.
"I'll make it up to you later."
As soon as he said that, he entered me, and I felt complete. He lifted me, and we sat on the bed, my legs around his waist. I started moving the way he liked.
I loved watching him when we did this position. It was a delight to see his excited face. When he was about to release, he would start moving his hands on my buttocks to go deeper and wouldn't stop until he exploded inside me. He never used a condom with me. Then, with his finger, he helped me reach my climax, and I collapsed onto his body. The aftershocks of my orgasm continued to cause tremors.
"You have no idea how much I missed you. You arrived a day early."
He confirmed, stroking my hair. He loved doing that; if it were up to him, he'd spend hours doing it. I wasn't allowed to cut more than an inch when trimming it. He was looking at me differently.
"Is something wrong? I don't want to be an annoying girlfriend..."
"Girlfriend?" I blushed. When would this blondie accept that that's what we are?
"Sorry, I forgot we're just friends with benefits."
We were still catching our breath. I moved to the side; whenever I did that, he closed his eyes. He once told me he didn't like leaving the warmth I provided.
"Can I ask why you're packing?"
"Business," he said, looking toward the bathroom.
"You know you can trust me. Whenever you want to talk, I'm here." I ran my hand over his face and kissed him on the mouth. "Do you want to eat?"
"Yes."
I picked up my clothes and went into the bathroom to freshen up. When I came out, he was dressed to go out.
"Are you leaving so soon? And from the amount of clothes you've packed, I see you're going away for many days," I pouted.
"I'll have dinner and then go, Tadpole." I hugged him by the waist and kissed his chest.
"I'll get dinner ready."
With a heavy heart, I went to make some quick spaghetti Bolognese, one of his favorite dishes. He hadn't said anything, but Arnold had been watching me from the hallway for more than five minutes.
"Love, you have pictures of me." I looked at him and saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I know something's up. I hope you tell me before you leave so I don't drive myself crazy with worry."
"It smells delicious. Thanks for making dinner."
"You know I always do." I served the food and set the plates on the dining table. We sat down, and I smiled at him. "Can't you stay a few more hours with me?"
"Just a couple of hours."
From the way he answered, I felt a void in my chest. Could it be that he's tired of me already? I didn't say anything, just focused on eating. He remained silent, and for someone who loved to eat, he barely touched his favorite dish. I got up and left my plate in the sink.
"Arnold, I understand if you don't want to tell me anything to keep me safe," I said, noticing his clenched jaw and fists. "If you have to go on that mission, it's okay. I won't hold you back with my desire to pamper you. I understand it's important, and my wish to cuddle can wait."
As I said that, I felt a great insecurity. I approached him and gave him a peck on the lips. But something in my soul told me it wasn't about his mission.
"Thanks, Guadalupe."
"Guadalupe?"
He stood up. I watched him disappear into his room, and seconds later, he came out with his suitcase and university bag. Once again, I felt a strange sensation.
"It seems like you're going away for a long time."
The words came out of my mouth. His look was one of sadness, and my heart sank. I frowned.
"Are you coming back?"
He said nothing, took the keys to his truck, and before leaving, he sighed.