Chapter 32

Sitting in the passenger seat of Ana’s teal Honda Civic hatchback, Calvin tugged lightly on the skirt cotton blend black dress they had just purchased.Without turning his head in Ana’s direction, he watched the attractive latina out of the corner of his eye as she tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the music. “Ana Maria?” He said her name in a way to indicate he had a question.

The rhythmic tapping stopped as Ana threw a sideways glance at Clara, the use of her full first name having her pay much less attention to the road ahead of them. An amused smirk came to her face. "Ana Maria?" she repeated, her tone full of dramatic flair. She let out a sarcastic laugh. "Dios mío, only my mother and my pain-in-the-ass brother call me that. So, what gives, flaquita?"

Actually turning, Calvin felt the seat belt pull on his feminine chest. ‘Why am I acting so timid? It's not like me to let others take the lead…and yet… I’m just so out of it.’ He thought, blinking. All Ana saw was her friend turning to her and fluttering her lashes, acting all innocent, making her feel like the girl was like the little sister she never had. Lightly shaking his head, not fully sure why he said her name like that he tried to lock in to get the answer he initially wanted. “You have not told me where we are going. Whose dinner party is this?"

Ana turned her eyes back to the road, the smirk softening into a knowing smile as she navigated the hatchback onto the highway. "We are heading up to the wealthy side of town," Ana explained, waving a hand vaguely toward the horizon. "You actually know them, not sure if you met them though…"

Calvin’s stomach performed a slow, uncomfortable roll. “I know them? Who are they?”

Holding one finger up in front of Clara, Ana waged it back and forth without looking in her direction. "Let's do this. If you ask properly and I mean in Spanish, I might tell you."

Gritting his teeth, Calvin stared at the wagging finger. A brief spark of his old arrogance flared up. ‘I don’t beg for basic information or play childish games!’ He thought, but the spark that caused his pride to flair took a back seat to his desire to actually get the information. He was sure If he didn't play along, Ana would stubbornly let him walk into this gig entirely blind.

Digging into the meager vocabulary he had picked up over the last few weeks, he played along. "Por favor..." he started, his breathy alto voice sounding genuinely pathetic as he stumbled through the mental translation.

When Clara paused, Ana rolled her hand to try and encourage her to keep going. "Quién..." She offered dragging out the word, to try and help. “It means who. So Quién es, would be who is. While ¿Quiénes son? Would be, who are they, for a plural.”

Hurumphing, Calvin turned back to face forward, not even a little amused at the vocab lesson. "Por favor, Vete a la mierda.”

Jerking her head back, Ana opened eyes wide, her amused grin only growing. “Please fuck off?” she asked, clarifying what Clara said before practically cackling with laughter.

The laughter was so boisterous that soon it had Cal scoffing in amusement before he joined her in laughing. When it died down he looked back to the young woman lightly touching her thigh a bit of his old self unconsciously skiing in. “Soo… Where are we going again?”

Turning on her blinker, Ana changed lanes, hardly registering her friend's touch. To her, it was just a casual, tactile gesture from a fellow girl. "Nice try, flaquita," Ana said, the lingering amusement clear in her voice. "A deal is a deal. Even with my super helpful, incredibly generous tutoring, you still chose to be lazy instead of following directions."

"I tried," Calvin grumbled, pulling his hand back brushing the long hair out of his face. "Doesn't the attempt count for anything?"

"Nope! You failed the test, so you don't get the spoilers," Ana said in a sing-song tone, tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Letting out a breathy huff of frustration, his anxiety spiking. As a leader, he never walked into a room without a strategy, and a clear understanding of the power dynamics. "So I'm just supposed to show up and wing it? Ana, I don't know what I’m doing."

"Oh, relax, you'll be fine," Ana assured a bit dismissively, feeling as if Clara was acting a bit dramatic. She waved off the girl’s panic with a flick of her wrist. "It's a gorgeous place. Huge house, fancy neighborhood. The hostess is actually really nice, or is at least better at pretending to be than Mr. Bennent. She pays well and she’s generous with the tips. You’ll probably recognize her anyway."

"What about me?” He squeeked, a spike of panic hitting him.

It was Ana’s turn to touch Clara, patting her knee. “Flaquita… I said, Bennent…” She drew the name out. “Not Bent. I think it's time you tell me your real last name.”

The panic that came to him hearing his last name didn’t go away from Ana’s clarification. ‘My real last name?!’ He mentally questioned, the question repeating several times before he found his vision blurring as tears filled his eyes. Despite his attempts to hold it in, the tears didn't just start; they spilled over into uncontrollable sobs.

"Whoa, hey, hey," Ana said, the teasing tone vanishing from her voice. She reached across the console, her hand finding Clara’s and giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze. "Breathe, Cariño. It’s okay."

But Calvin couldn't stop. The exhaustion, the trauma of the holding cell, the loss of his identity, and the sheer terror of being outed all collided, forcing sobs out of his throat.

"Okay, hold on," Ana murmured gently. She checked her mirrors and threw on her hazard lights, before pulling the car onto the shoulder of the road. Putting the car in park, she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over the center console, wrapping her arms around the trembling, feminized man.

Without thinking, Calvin collapsed into her, his hands coming up to grip her as he buried his face into her shoulder, sobbing into the fabric. He tried to force words out, to form a coherent lie, but his vocal cords were locked in a spasm of grief.

"Shhh, I’ve got you," Ana cooed, her hand rubbing slow, soothing circles into her back. As she held her crying friend, pieces clicked together in her mind. The lack of Spanish. The hesitation weeks ago when she asked where Clara came from. The obvious fake last name. "Oh, Cariño... you really don't know it, do you?"

Calvin froze slightly against her shoulder, his breath hitching as he tried to process her assumption all he could do was hold her tighter as he cried, his emotions not in his control.

"It's okay," Ana whispered, misinterpreting their silence as confirmation. She squeezed them tighter, the two of them tightly clinging to one another. "You don't have to know where you come from to know who you are. And honestly? Bent isn't a bad name for a flaquita with such a great ass."

The absurdity of the comment pierced right through Calvin's mental breakdown. He sniffled, pulling his tear-streaked face back from her shoulder. He blinked his wet, heavy lashes at her, his innate vanity completely short-circuiting his grief. "I do?"

Ana let out an affectionate laugh, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from Clara’s cheek with her thumb. "Oh, please. If I wasn't so confident in myself, a skinny little thing like you walking around with that kind of shape would make me incredibly jealous."

A genuine smile tugged at Calvin's plump lips. It was a bizarre, surreal comfort, but it grounded him. He looked at the beautiful Latina, his old appreciation for women filtering through the odd bond they were forming. "Well... you have a great ass, too."

The latina’s eyes sparkled with mirth as she settled back into the driver's seat and reached for her seatbelt. "I know I do, flaquita. Now dry your eyes and tell me how your makeup is still perfect. We have rich people to serve."

Taking a few deep breaths, he flipped the visor down, catching a look at himself in the small mirror. Thanks to that dreadful salon his face was still devoid of his beard and the minimal semi permanent makeup still looked perfect. Wiping his face he pushed the visor back up. “Confession… I don’t know how to do makeup… What you see is semi permanent.”

Ana’s eyebrows rose, more pieces clicking together in her head to form a heartbreaking picture. A girl who didn't know her own last name and had to rely on salon quality semi makeup because they had no mother or sister around to teach her how to hold a mascara wand. ‘Foster care, or maybe something even worse?’ She questioned internally. Deciding not to pry and risk triggering another meltdown, Ana gave Clara a decisive nod.

"Alright. That settles it," Ana declared, shifting the car back into drive and pulling away from the shoulder of the road.

"Settles what?" Calvin asked, sniffling one last time.

"I'm officially adopting you as my little sister," Ana said, an easy grin spreading across her face. "It’s a known fact that it is an extrovert's sworn duty to adopt at least one introvert. It keeps the universe balanced."

Calvin blinked, utterly bewildered by the sudden declaration of the change in their relationship. ‘She thinks I’m an introvert?’ He thought he voiced a question "Adopted?"

"Sí. And as your new big sister, I am laying down your first official ground rule," Ana continued, her tone dropping into deadpan seriousness as she navigated back into traffic. "My brother…I saw how the two of you were acting. Do not let him charm you into going out with him."

Waving his hands back and forth he was about to tell her how far off the mark she was but the idea of dating another man momentarily short-circuited his brain all over again, the phantom taste of cum coming to his mouth. "I wasn't planning on it."

"Good. Keep it that way," Ana said, waving a hand. "I love him to death, and yes, he is devastatingly handsome as I am hot and he is ambitious... but…h Some days I think he is as sharp as a marble. I swear, there is absolutely nothing but elevator music playing behind those pretty eyes."

Snorting, a genuine chuckle escaped Calvin's lips, the tension fully bleeding away. It was a bizarre, surreal comfort, but sitting in the passenger seat of the cheap hatchback, he felt oddly grounded.

"Noted," Calvin said softly, leaning back in the seat.

"Good," Ana smiled, Now… in addition to your vocabulary lesions, we are going to start makeup and hair lesions. Bueno?”

Leaning his head against the glass, Calvin watched the passing scenery, nursing his aching feet in his new pumps. His exhausted mind was too focused on Ana's weirdly comforting adoption comment to grasp much of what she was saying. “Sí, sí...rápido ¡Vamos!” He said waving his hand to the road ahead of them without moving his gaze from the window he was leaning against.

“Okay, only a few more minutes and we will be at Miss Abrams’s place.” Ana said giving away the secret she was keeping without thinking about it after her friend agreed with her plan so rapidly.

Sitting up abruptly in his seat, Calvin actually paid attention to where they were on the highway. They were one exit away from his place.