to get serviced.”
“Nah,” Orlando said, checking her out—out of habit. “No worries. Shop ain’t going anywhere. I’m just moving out of that place up there.”
The girl glanced up at the window on the second floor he’d motioned to and nodded. He watched as she walked back into the shop. She was wearing workout apparel. There was no missing how top heavy she was. She also had a nice full ass but otherwise was just another typical-looking full-figured Hispanic girl, like many in this area of Boyle Heights. It was crazy how being a dad changed his outlook on life. Before he knew he had a kid, his biggest concerns were making money, staying in shape, and getting laid. Even a girl like this one, who he knew he’d have no trouble getting hard for, despite her lack of wow, he would’ve at least flirted with. But for the past three months, his mind had been preoccupied with far bigger things. Ever since they’d confirmed he was Little O’s dad, it’d been at the forefront of Orlando’s mind from the moment he woke until the moment he passed out each night. It was the craziest thing how quickly that baby had changed his life. The morning the baby was left at Orlando’s door, he’d woken a single man with zero desire or plans to commit to so much as a relationship any time soon. Much less a family.
By the next day he was dying to know the results of the paternity test. The second he was told the paternity test was positive, he’d lived and breathed trying to get his boy back. In less than a few weeks, he’d had absolutely no qualms about digging deep into his life savings—borrowing if he had to—to make sure he got him back.
The last three months had been an absolute roller coaster: from the bliss he felt every time he got to visit him and hold him to the agony of having to say good-bye until the next time. He’d never felt anger and frustration the way he’d felt trying to get through all the red tape. He’d even rushed through the home-buying process when he was told his living quarters were not a safe environment for a child. He was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and he’d be damned if he’d let them come up with even one more reason why he couldn’t bring his son home already. With that thought, he hurried back to piling boxes in the truck so he could move into his new place ASAP. After about a half hour more of piling boxes, he was down to his wife-beater shirt and jeans. His beanie hung out of his back pocket now. He was just about ready to strip out of that shirt too but didn’t. Since he’d run out of water and was getting thirsty, he decided to take a break. When he walked into the shop, he was surprised to see the girl who questioned him outside still there waiting. She and only one other person sat in the waiting area. The man was preoccupied reading one of the magazines on the small corner table while she stared at her phone screen. She glanced up and did a double take when she saw him. The way she eyed his sweaty bare arms and shoulders wasn’t missed, but she glanced away quickly. “You still here?” he asked with a smirk as he walked behind the counter. “What’re you getting serviced? I got a little pull around here.”
“An oil change,” she said a bit guarded. “But there were a few people before me.”
A mixture of caution and nerves danced in her eyes. As she looked back at him, he noticed something else in those big almost startled eyes he couldn’t quite put his finger on—anticipation? Whatever it was, it caught his attention in a strange way.
It had him inadvertently thinking of something else. Orlando had calmed quite a bit about the prospect of being a father. It’d helped him think a little clearer about his initial willingness to go along with Felicia jumping the gun on their relationship. So, he’d since put the brakes on things between them. With everything he’d been doing to ready himself to be a dad, and the shop being so damn busy, the time he spent with Felicia had been severely cut back anyway. He still saw her every once in a while, but it was hardly what he’d