Love is Hard

Jose

"Thank you." The cab driver shakes the hand of our ride. I stroll behind Justin, trying not to seem obvious that I'm hiding.
"Oh, come on Izzy. Don't you wanna see your boyfriend?" He laughs while walking towards the building.
"Not with you around." I mutter. I grab onto the hood on his jacket and I protest for him not to make a big deal. When we finally reach the entrance of the garage, I hide behind my brother, knowing he was going to embarrass me.
"CALEB? YOUR GIRL IS HERE!" I feel my heart pound, hitting my chest. I turn and peek over Justin's shoulder. I hear all the men snicker with laughter, but one noise stuck out. It sounded like a piece of something hard against metal.
"Isabelle?" I hear. Caleb comes out out from under an old beat up car and holds his head.
"Son, you don't have to damage the car." An older man teases, places a hand on his shoulder. I step away from my brother and I hug Caleb, feeling all his coworkers eyes on us.
"Their all watching us..." I whisper as they all start back to work.
"Well, it didn't help when I hit my head on the bottom of the car..." He groans, pulling away from my arms.
"Are you okay?" I ask, gently running my hands along his forehead.
"Just another day at work." He mumbles. I take in his look; messy jeans and and old Mikes Body Repair Shoppe.
"Well, don't you look handsome?" I step back, motioning to the old grease stains on his shirt.
"Well. Ya get paid to work, young lady." I hear an old man come behind Caleb. It was the same one who teased him about hitting his head.
"Isabelle, this is Mike." I reach out and shake the older mans hand.
"Nice to meet the lovely lady that this young man talks constantly about." I smile at the thought, and I see Caleb's cheeks faint rosey for a few moments.
"That's so sweet." I whisper, as he stands next to me and intertwines our fingers together.
"Well Caleb, my boy, you gotta fix the broken cab." Caleb let's out a long breath, but covers it with a smile.
"Can I watch?" I ask when Mike had walked towards the open building. "I won't understand anything, but-"
"Of course you can." He let's out a laugh and pulls me into the garage. It looks bigger on the inside than vise versa. I look around and see all the plates, and hub caps that are placed on the wall. The cab was already in position with the hood pulled up and Caleb was looking at what he needed to do first.
"Caleb, I can't believe you haven't introduced me to yo new girl." I hear someone shout behind me. When I turn around his body is only a few paces away, and I naturally take a step back. I back up into Caleb and he mumbles that 'I'm fine'.
"This is Dre. He's my main man here." He slaps hands with his friend and they swing their arms around each other, sending me cheesie smiles.
"Isa-"
"Isabelle, I know. This man talks insanely too much about you." Caleb laughs nervously as he walks in front of the cab once more, but with tools. "But, I have been telling him to get a life outside of work. I can handle him bragging about you." He grips my hand and I feel my body tighten. His lips kiss my hand and I let out a laugh, my body letting go.
"Always flirting; taken or not." I hear Caleb tease his friend.
"See a gorgeous girl? Go after her." He smirks at me, taking his place back to his area.
"Well, this 'Gorgeous Girl' is taken, for sure." I murmur towards Caleb and I notice the smile on his lips.
"You're right about the 'Gorgeous' part..." He whispers, and my cheeks flush. For about five more minutes Caleb trys to find the problem, while the cab driver and Justin join us. "Its an electrical fire under hood." He finally spits out.
"English please." The foreign driver lets out a nervous laugh. How ironic his words were, I had to bite my tongue. His acsent twisted with worry for his crisis problem.
"Your engine is setting your wires on fire." He says, wiping his forehead.
"How long til fixed?" The drivers voice let's out, revealing the thickness.
"A day or two." Caleb runs his hands through his hair while he contemplates. The driver starts to pace, rambling in his foreign language.
"Cost?" He breaks off mid sentence.
"Around eight hundred."
"Can it run?"
"No."
"I only have five hundred." The driver stresses.
"Here." I pull out my wallet. "I have three hundred."
"Ma'am-"
"Please, its Isabelle."
"Jose." He gestures to himself. I hand Caleb my three hundred and I pull Jose aside. "Gracias. May I call you Belle?" He asks.
"Of course." I smile warmly.
"That's my daughters nickname. Since we moved from Mexico, my little Isabella has loved Disney Princesses." I smile at the pride that illuminated his eyes.
"Please, go on." I place my hand gently on his and he smiles at me.
"My wife, Sofia, and I moved here about two years ago. We brought our ninos, Isabella and Carlos."
"How old are your kids?" I ask.
"My Belle is nueve. (9) My Carlos is cinco. (5)" He demonstrated their ages with his fingers.
"Your children sound lovely." I whisper to myself.
"Gracias for helping with my yellow cab." He motions towards the vehicle. I smile at the sight of my brother bothering Caleb as he works.
"No problem. I should be fine this month, might have to cut the snacks though..." I murmur to myself but Jose's thick laugh cuts in.
"Do you and your brother live together?" He looks over at the two boys.
"Yes, Justin lives with me."
"Here," he pulls out a card and hands it to me. "I can give you a ride, no cost." The little square contained a picture of his family, and his driving hours:
Monday-Friday
6:30a.m. - 7:00p.m.
Saturday-Sunday
10:00a.m. - 4:30p.m.
"You have a beautiful family." I smile at him while my finger points to his photographed children and wife.
"Gracias . because of you, I can still feed them." He touches my arm and he walks towards Mike. I finally join Justin and Caleb, and I hear my brother talking about Julie.
"Well, is she a football fan?" Caleb asks while pausing to look at my brother.
"No." He mutters and looks away.
"There's your problem." Caleb laughs, digging his hands back into the engine. I smile at the memory. The thought of us being more alike than I could realize burning in my head.
"We need to get going, we see still got to go grocery shopping." I hit Justin's arm and I hear his phone vibrate angrily. He violently pulls it out and sighs.
"Hello, dear." Sarcasm thick in his voice. "No, Julie, I'm not being smart with-" He runs his fingers over the bridge of his nose. Caleb motions outside and Justin gently hits his arm in gratitude; it was also part of his goodbye, I think. Caleb pulls me closer, his hands finding my waist. I take in his scent and I smile as I look deep into his eyes.
"So where you off to now?" He embraces me into a proper hug.
"I have to make cookies for my cousins kids; I'm babysitting tomorrow."
"That sounds fun..." He murmurs.
"Do you wanna help?" I ask, not meaning to, but not regretting my question.
"Me, with kids?" He pulls away and I see the hint of fear in his hazel eyes.
"You could watch Emma while I take care of Jeremy!" I smile and he pulls a piece of my hair behind my ear.
"How old is Emma?" He questions.
"She is four, Jeremy is seven months. I think I'll care of Jeremy..." I let out a muffled laugh. He lays his head on my chest, and I run my hands through his hair.
"Fine." I hear him mumble when he pulls his eyes to mine. "But only because you asked." He holds me tighter and I connect my lips to his. My hands lay on his cheeks gently, his partly on my back.
"Be at my place around four." I place my head against his forehead, taking in my breaths.
"Wouldn't miss it." He murmurs. Suddenly we're brought back to reality when Mike appears beside us. We pull apart and he smiles.
"Don't stop on my account." His old laugh cuts through the air and I smile nervously. "Your brother is going to hurt himself." He points towards Justin as he paces in the parking lot. I shake my head before finally making my way out to another cab.
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Thank you for reading!
I thought I'd add another character
Comment please!
(Isn't Isabella pretty? I thought it'd be cool for them to have the same name:P)

- Emuna_Jasmine