The Dancing Torera

55

Anais

Mariela races down the curvy roads of the Spanish countryside, swerving and twisting around every corner.

"He better not interfere when we get there" Mariela huffed.

"You never know with Esteban" I sighed, extending my arm out the window. We pull up to Esteban's estate in the countryside to a slew of photographers waiting at the gates.

"Hey! Hey! Look! It's the Dancing Torerra!!"
They surround Mariela's car, snapping away.

"Hey move! Move out the way!" Mariela barks her commands. They ignore her until I push through the crowd. I wiggle the iron bars of the gates but they wouldn't open.

"Come on, we have to climb the gates around the back" I whisper.
Mariela holds my hand before we break into a sprint. 

"They're getting away!!" The photographers yell, following the both of us at our heel. I take Mariela by the wrist and lead her along the gravel path. Since this wasn't the first time I had to sneak into Estaban's huge estate, I was well acquainted with its layout. The gate that divided the estate from the outside greets my vision.

"Come on! Through there" I tug on Mariela's arm as I hear the footsteps of the press growing closer. We come to the gate and I give Mariela a boost. She struggles with the iron bars but eventually climbs over. Now, it was my turn.

I wedge my feet through the bars, using the friction of the metal as a force to hoist myself.

"Hurry!" Mariela yells as she sees the press. Gracefully I climb the gate, spinning around to the other side before sliding down.

"Drat!" The sea of photographers grumble. They had finally reached us, but they were too late.

Mariela and I stroll around the perimeter of the house until we reach the front doors. We knock on the glass three times before Hector opens up

"Ewww! A rat!" I wrinkle my nose, pushing him to the side.

"Warn us next time before you open the door, Hector!! We just had lunch!" Mariela huffs, pushing past him. I giggled, thankful for her quick wittiness. She always matched my energy and for that I was appreciative.

"What are you two doing here?" Hector asked. His voice was impatient.

"Is there a law that says we can't be here?" I snap my head towards him, challenging him to tell me otherwise.

"I never said that Anais..."

"Gloria!! Gloria!!!" Mariela calls out for her but only silence welcomes us.

"Where's Gloria Hector, we came to see her." I push my hands against my hips, surveying the scenery. I hoped I didn't bump into Esteban.

"She's outside near the pool," Hector says.

"And where is" I lift two hands to my temples, imitating a bull. Hector smirked, pushing his arms against his chest. "Right behind you" he pointed.

My smile disappears as soon as I turn around and face Esteban.

"Oh" I pout. He looked at me, trying to find the right words to say.

"Anais..." he tries to pull me into his arms.

"I came to speak with A Ms. Gloria la Renta."

"More girl talk I suppose?" he says mockingly.

"I guess you can call it that. Usually, people call meetings with their coach business"

"Wait what?" Esteban says through a frown.

"I said meetings with coaches...Oops... " I hit my forehead gently, pretending as if I hadn't purposefully used the title. "Did I forget to tell you el Jefe? Gloria is my coach. You should talk more about your mother's past. You had a diamond sitting right before you!"