He’d already knocked out the joke of a test he needed to be licensed as a security guard. Not that his uncles required it, it was just step one of the goals he’d set for himself. Just like the sparring and grappling he’d taken up practicing for over a year now with some of the guys at the gym who did mixed martial arts.

Romero walked into the front room. He could hear Manny in the kitchen with Aida. “I put four meats in Max’s sandwich, sugar.” Aida said. “How many do you want in yours?”

“How ‘bout I put my meat in you.” Manny said, making loud kissing noises and Romero knew his uncle was attacking his girlfriend in the kitchen. Again.

Aida screeched then laughed loudly. Romero frowned. He was seriously going to have to get his own place. “Hey! I could hear you in here!”

“Well cover your ears ‘cause it’s about to get louder.”

He heard Aida laugh, then snort. Romero laughed. Sick bastard. He sat down on the sofa and grabbed the remote. “You want me to fix you a sandwich, Moe?” Aida asked.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.”

Max walked out of the hallway with a newspaper under his arm. “I have the squirts.”

Romero didn’t even look at him, just shook his head, staring at the television. “I need my own place now,” he muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

His uncle walked toward the kitchen. “Don’t we have medicine for the shits?”

Romero tried concentrating on the reality show on criminal investigations. But his uncles, as usual, were too loud.

“It’s in the bathroom,” Manny said.

“No it’s not, I didn’t see it.”

“It’s right there in the cabinet. I had the shits the other night, too. I took some.”

“I’m telling you it’s not there.”

Romero turned off the television and headed back to his room, trying to ignore his uncles, who were still arguing about the shit medicine on their way to the restroom. Manny walked in first. “Holy mother of f**k!”

“I told you, I’m sick! What did you expect, roses?”

“Well, can you open a ga-damn window for the love of Christ!”

Romero rushed by the open door, holding his nose. “And you left your splatteration all over the toilet, you sick f**k!”

“I couldn’t find the brush to clean it!”

The whole neighborhood could probably hear them, especially since his uncle had made such a racket opening the bathroom window. His uncles told him months ago that it was okay if he wanted to bring girls home to spend the night—he was a man now. Yeah, he really wanted to bring a girl home to this shit.

Romero grabbed his phone off the dresser. He had a text from Angel’s older brother Alex.

Working out in 20 min at the gym.

He’d sent it ten minutes earlier. Romero grabbed his gym bag and swung it over his shoulder. He squeezed his nose as he walked by the open bathroom door. Max was in there scrubbing the toilet.

“I’m outta here, Max. See you tonight.”

He walked through the kitchen to get to the back door. Manny and Aida were eating at the table. “Where you going?”

“Gym.” Romero took an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and bit into it.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

Romero stopped at the door and turned around. “So talk.”

“Did you bang that new girl, Cici, already?”

Romero smirked, “Not yet.”

“She’s got a crazy-as-shit boyfriend.”

“And?”

“Stay away from her. I don’t want any trouble.”

Romero laughed and opened the back door. “All right, Manny. Whatever you say.”

What a joke—this guy’s girl was working at a titty bar. What did her boyfriend expect? She wasn’t even all that, but now things were interesting. Manny should know better than to tell him to stay away from someone. What little interest he had in the girl, which was close to zilch, had suddenly spiked.

***

With summer officially over, the nights were beginning to take on a chill. Romero stood in front of the bar, wishing he’d worn a long sleeve shirt instead of a tank. He hadn’t worked the last two nights, but his uncles had filled him in on Cici’s boyfriend showing up and sitting at the bar while she worked, then trying to attack a guy who got friendly with her. He’d been thrown out and he wasn’t allowed to come back when she was on duty. His money was still good when she wasn’t there.

Cici had smiled at him tonight when she got there. Just like the first few times he’d seen her, he got the distinct feeling her eyes were saying more than her mouth was when she said hello. He was used to it. All these chicks were suffering from daddy-didn’t-love-me syndrome. They were looking for love in the worst of places. He almost felt sorry for them.

He took some solace in knowing that while he’d never promised any of these girls more than a few moments of pure unadulterated fun, he always made sure they were as satisfied as he was. Not that it was important to him really, but nothing turned him on more than to hear a chick moaning in pleasure. Not the fake kind either. He knew the difference. There was no faking the trembling and the out-of-control heartbeat. Hearing and feeling their euphoria was the f**king best.

Cici walked out the door and gave him that smile again. Her perfume was overpowering, as usual. “Break time?”