Tiago Cartel: Dahlias Story

An Encounter Worth Remembering

"Hey Frankie. How's it going today?" Dahlia asked walking into the building carrying more things from her car. She had just gotten back from her second trip to the Home Depot. Frankie came to help her out with the building, although he wanted to do all the heavy work and suggest she just help paint, he started by scraping the old paint off the walls.

"I told you I could do it for you Ms.Dahlia." Frankie said facing the wall while scraping. Frankie was the kind of man that knew everything but said only what needed to be said. If there wasn't anything to talk about he didn't waste his time. With features like Adam Rodriguez, it was hard not to find him attractive but his quietness hid him until he wanted to be seen.

"Oh please. I wouldn't let you do this by yourself." Dahlia responded.

"I went to get some more things because I wanted to make sure we had everything we needed. Im thinking about pizza around lunch time, is that okay with you Frankie?" She continue.

"Yes ma'am. That's fine with me." Frankie replied.

"Great. Because I'm going to need all the friends I can get." She said as she put the supplies down and put her hands on her hips.

There was a nice silence, Dahlia and Frankie were both working and they were working hard enough to where they didn't have to engage in conversation to be entertained. Dahlia went back towards the door to get some blue tape and was distracted by Mariana walking in.

"Mariana." Dahlia said. Mariana said nothing, she didn't wonder how Dahlia knew her name. She figured she'd be doing some asking around.

"It's a pleasure to see you again. I apologize for how I spoke to you yesterday. Is there any way that I can speak to your whoever is in charge?" Dahlia finished.

"You'd like to speak to my boss?" Mariana asked.

"That's what I said." Dahlia replied. She stood up straight dusting her hands off and made eye contact with Mariana.

"Mmk." Mariana said shrugging her shoulders. Mariana turned around to walk out the door but stopped when she heard Dahlia speak again.

"Make sure he comes knowing that I'm not selling my building." Dahlia said. Mariana didn't say anything, she just walked out.

Dahlia got in the house around 8pm and took her clothes off immediately. She smelled like old paint and outside. Frankie was such a big help today, she paid him $200 dollars for today and she planned on paying him like that for the rest of the time being. He was shocked to see that she'd paid him so much so he gave $100 bill back but she insisted, so he kept it. Frankie wasn't in it for the money, he just simply loved helping people out and he waited for someone to buy the building so he could help build it back up.

Dahlia took a deep breath before starting her bath water and went to the cabinet to get a towel to put on the floor. When the bathtub filled up she got in and sat down, putting her head back on the pillow. She could go to sleep right now but she was determined to stay up and enjoy the water.

While soaking inside the tub she thought about herself 5 years ago. How she dreamed of this moment and it was finally happening. She was fixing up a building that belonged to her and would soon serve a great purpose. She smiled to herself and put her head back again.

Diego turned on the street to Dahlias house and thought about what he was doing before going through with it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to show his face to some stranger, of course he did his background check on her and found out everything but working with the police is something that's always found out in the middle when you can run away and lay low or the end when it becomes too late to run.

He took a deep breathe and exited the car. He picked her lock slowly so she wouldn't hear. Humming came from the upstairs part of her home. He looked around at her house and he thought it was beautiful. A part of him couldn't wait to see what the building would look like if her house looked like this. He noticed the marble kitchen island and was impressed by her decor around it. Simple but beautiful. He started to go up the steps to finish what he started. She wanted to see him, so he was going to show himself to her.

When he reached her room the humming grew louder, and as he got closer to the door the humming got closer.

Dahlia released the drain to let the water go out and got out of the bathtub. She continued to hum while wrapping her towel around her body. She exited the bathroom and ran into a 6'4 figure and started to scream.

"Shu-" Diego said trying to quiet her before being hit. He grabbed her hands and tried to restrain her while keeping her towel up because he didn't come to exploit her.

"Be quiet." He said, pinning her again the wall with her hands about her head. He started to see her towel fall and pinned his body up against hers.

Dahlia hadn't had a man touch her in a while and for some reason this strangers body up against hers gave her an unusual rush. She was nervous, tired, and her body couldn't help but to react to the 6'4 Puerto Rican man pinning her against the wall with his tattoos that complimented him perfectly.

"I don't want your towel to fall. When I let you go, fix your towel so we can talk." Diego said.

"Talk about what, you going to prison for breaking and entering?" Dahlia replied. He turned his head for a second then looked back at her.

"You said you wanted to see me. Here I am." He said a different told in his voice.

He started to let her go gently and could see her relax her arms.

"Get dressed." Diego said. She walked towards her dresser while looking back at him. Diego could help but notice her figure. She stood about 5'4, he brown skin was beautiful and soft and she smelt like vanilla. He also noticed her big brown eyes as he had her pinned.

"She is beautiful." He thought to himself.

"I am not selling my building." Dahlia said breaking the silence.

"That building isn't big enough for the both of us." Diego replied.

"I know it isn't because it's mines." Dahlia responded. Dahlia recognized her tone, she was aggressive and mean in her eyes. But, being that he broke into her home she had the right to be. But still for some reason she felt bad.

"Listen, I'm sure you're a great woman but I-"

"I made the money and bought the building. I worked hard, I studied, I cried, I prayed. And I'm not-"

Diego started to tune her out, he was focused on how beautiful she was. On how she spoke when she was passionate about something. She was so beautiful to him that he had an urge to describe it to her.

Dahlia stopped talking for a second because she noticed she was becoming a little too emotional explaining her testimony.

"I think it's time for you to go." Dahlia said.

Diego didn't say anything. Mainly because he thought it was time for him to go too. He inhaled her scent one more time before leaving. It smelled of shea butter, coconut oil, coco butter, and vanilla all in one. He loved it.