The Book of Coco

Chapter 2, October 26th - 6:45 AM

You wake to the muffled sound of music, drinks clanking, and men laughing. At first, you panic, not remembering the night before, but then it hits you rather suddenly. You sigh, hands clutching your chest to stop the pounding as you think of Héctor. You sit up, smiling faintly. Then you scowl, shaking your head. Foolish girl...

You throw the covers off, and stand. After getting a good stretch, you begin to make the bed. You'd hate to be more messy than the previously mentioned owner of this room, Héctors sobrino. Your skirt sways as you move around the bed, the golden rivets on your top make a soft clicking sound as they bump into one another. It definitely was not the most comfy to sleep in, but not something you minded or weren't used to. You finish with the bed and move to a body mirror in the corner of the room, checking your hair and makeup. After a but of touching up, you open the door and head for the stairs. You poke your head into the resturante, scoping the place out. You see Héctor step off the stage as a pair of amigos walk on past him. They begin singing, and Héctor heads behind the counter. He starts talking to a man sitting there, and you take a deep breath. There's no Ernesto, and not that many guys, so it seems safe. You walk towards the bar, and Héctors eyes fall on you almost immediately. They flicker between the man speaking to him, and you, till finally the man looks at Héctor's distraction. When he sees you he smiles and mumbles something to Héctor, who snaps a look at the man. "Oye! Cállate, cállate!" He whispers sharply as you approach the bar, now smirking. "Buenos días caballeros. Sharing secrets are we?" You tease. Héctor rolls his eyes, picking up a glass and cleaning it with a rag. "No no chica, we were just discussing what song we should play for you to dance to first," the man says, then smiles. "Mi nombre es Manolo, ¿Qué es el tuyo?" The man says, offering a hand. You hesitantly shake it. "Rosa Paloma." You say curtly. Normally, yes, you are fairly cold towards men. You haven't had the best experiences involving them, minus Hector. This thought makes you decide your walls may be a tad too high. "Nice to meet you Manolo. How do you know Héctor?" You ask. "Ah, childhood friend. We were thirteen when we met, isn't that right?" Manolo turned to his friend. Hector nodded. "I lived in the same town as Manolo, went to his wedding." You smiled at that. "¡Que dulce!" You say, feeling for some reason more comfortable around a married man. Manolo turns and points. "My wife Maria is sitting over there with mi amigo, Joaquin." You look, seeing a large man bearing many medals sitting to what had to be the most beautiful woman you've ever seen. "Señor, your wife is so gorgeous! ¡Ella es muy bonita!" You say. Héctor mumbles something you don't quite catch and ducks under the counter to grab something, but Manolo busts out laughing. "¿Qué? ¿Qué es, Héctor?" You ask worriedly when he pops up. "What did I say?" You ask. "Nada, Rosa. Nada en absoluto." Héctor says, rubbing his now red face with one hand and setting the glass down with the other. It slips, and falls on your side of the bar with a crash. "Haha, torpe." you chuckle. He huffs, rolling his eyes. You slip from your seat, "I got it," you say with a laugh, bending down and reaching for the glass shards. "Wait Rosa-!"He shouts. "Ouch! Ay ay ay..." You hiss, blood now dripping from your hand. Héctor quickly jumps the bar, kneeling next you. "Niña tonta... ¡Y me llamas torpe! Here, let me see." He says, holding his hand out. You look at him, sighing. You place your bleeding hand near his, not wanting to get blood on him, but he gently takes it anyways. You watch as he uses a rag to pull out the piece of glass. You bite your lip, hissing again. "Apologies niña. I can't believe you would try and pick that up with your bare hands!" You shrug some, "I've done it before, I swear!" He makes a face you can't quite read, then helps you stand. Manolo's lips are curled in, he's trying to mask a massive smile. Héctor does a double take at the look, inhaling sharply after seeing it. "Cállate, Manolo..." He sighs, guiding you behind the counter. "Bien, bien." Manolo says, hands raised in defence. Héctor guides you to the small room behind the bar from yesterday, taking you to a sink and helping you wash your hand. You're at this point blushing profusely, sharing this closeness, having his hands on yours, him simply caring about you. Your heart is racing, and his face is fairly red too. Your heart hammers in your chest, threatening to break free and shout a confession in Héctors face, but you inhale sharply, fighting the urge to say it yourself. He glances at you when you make the sound, "Lo siento mucho princesa... I should have been more careful..." "No, no, Héctor, it was entirely my fault. It was tonta to try and pick up broken glass, I really don't know what I was thinking. I must not have been in all honesty..." You laugh bitterly, and he gives you a sad look. "Come over here, I have some bandages." He says, then offers a smile, then laughs shaking his head. "Ayeyaye... ¿Qué voy a hacer contigo?" He smiles warmly at you. Your heart flutters again, and you bow your head to hide the love sick expression as he bandages your hand. "There, all better huh?" he asks. You nod, and then laugh softly, "We must be accident prone. Maybe it's just me." You mumble the second part. "No, I think it's both of us. Last week I knocked a whole shelf of tequila over, broke about forty bottles." "Forty??" You exclaim as you both walk out. "Si! Lost a lotta profit, but hey, accidents happen." "Is it an accident? Or is it fate?" Manolo quips with a mischievous smile. You see Maria made her way over, and rather than question Manolo, you introduce yourself to his wife.