The Dancing Torera

58

Night of the party

"Thé dancing Torerra" I recognize the Presidente's voice and turn to face him.

"Mr. Presidente" I forced a fake smile. He invites himself to kiss each side of my cheeks before inviting me to dance. Rio's 200k check still burned a hole through my purse. I don't know why, but I was curious to know more about the mysterious man named Rio.
The Presidente barely held my attention as he spun me across the dance floor.

"I pity the old Anais. Scared docile. I dust his coat off before tightening his tie. I would have been shaking in my boots right now." We continue dancing as another song plays. His hand was moving tenaciously low.

"Hopefully, I would not be the cause?" He frowns and dips me low before guiding me back up. He smirked, imagining the endless possibilities of where the night would go.

None of them would come to fruition.

"Here's what you're going to do for me Mr. Presedente. You're going to give me 80k in sponsorships and deals. Every match I sell out? You get 30%"

"45%" He returns.

"40%" I charge.

He smirks and shrugs. "Fine."

"Now all that's left is that pesky law. The one about females being banned from being torerras?" I clued him in.

"The very law I wrote into fruition"

"Shame" I tsk. I drag my hand higher to the knot of his tie, and tighten it before staring into his eyes.

"Outlaw it. Reverse it. Do whatever you need to do to make it happen"

"All these demands Torerra." He coughs between a choke. I guess my grip was a bit tight. "What's in it for mi Bonita?"

"Think of the revenue I can bring for Espana? It would look good on your political campaign and you'll get the female vote. Plus, you will make history."

He pondered and thought about it. "Nothing else?"

"Well, I can't sleep with you. Think about your poor, beautiful wife. I mean I would hate to tear a family apart."

"You won't be" he bends to kiss my neck. I block his attempt and smile.

"Look, if you ask her and she's okay with it? Sure" I shrugged unconvincingly.

He laughs lazily, pulling my jaw to his. I didn't know you had such a sense of humor.

"I am hardly the joking type Mr. Presidente" I smirk, ingenuity filling my core.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do."

"You can do a lot Presidente. Which is exactly why I came to you.
Make it happen"

——

A week after the party/present day

"Come on Anais! You got it!"Gloria claps. I hold up my red cape and swipe it against my nose. The black bull passes me narrowly. Sweat drops down my temples as I stand straight. The bright heat of the sun makes me burn with warmth. I had been practicing since dawn and the hot rays of the sun had me parched.

The bull charged at me and I dodge it again.

"Yes!" I smile. It comes back around. I had teased it enough so I thought it better to start dancing, using the length of my dress to tempt it. It sways to the left ad right, not knowing where to go nor which way to look. It charges at me but instantly stops once I hold out my hand.

"Sit" I point to the ground. The bull sits on the ground obediently.

"Good boy." The stable hands run in and come take it away.

"Anais that was amazing!" Sofia snaps, loading her camera with a new film. Mariela and I had met Sofia at the Presidente's party where she expressed her admiration for my journey and begged to be my historian. I excitedly agreed.

"Thank you, Sofia!"

Gloria looks at me still amazed and confused. "That was the 7th new bull we trained with and everyone came under your spell?" She walks over and wipes my face with care.

"That's good right?"

"It's amazing!" Gloria smiles. She fist bumps me and comes into the ring giving me a few pointers and correcting my form. "So when you bring your arm up? Make sure your fingers are pointed to the floor. Your eyes must never leave the ground. Your nose should always be parallel to the ground." I nodded, taking heed of her instructions. She shows me a few more times before a new bull is brought out.

____

Practice was finally done and I take a moment to catch my breath, putting my arm over my eyes in tiredness. Mariela was in the bleachers calculating numbers and figuring out ticket sales.

"How many tickets?"I ask Mariela as I plop down next to her.

"1000!! The arena holds 800! We sold out"

"WOW!" I was nervous but excited at the same time.

"There is only one issue" Mariela frowns, closing the books out.

"What?" Her tone didn't sound as strong as before.

"Rio is the one who bought them all"

"What" I screamed sitting up from my position. "But why would Rio--" I halt my words and try not to smile as I think of his act of kindness. Or was it kindness? Did he buy them to assure his endorsement?

"Be careful of Rio amiga," Mariela warns.

"I don't even know who he is"

"He's danger. Wild. Makes his own rules. Forbidden fruits create many jams" She hums. I laugh at the quote but frown.

"He'll be at the conference for the sponsors tomorrow. I'll talk to him."

Mariela smirks and nods.

Author Note:

Me: Idk, once you've read one mafia story, you've read them all.

Also me: turns a plain story into a mafia story