My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 45

"California?!" I cheered, throwing my arms around Santo's neck, hugging him tight. He chuckled and hugged me back.

"I knew you'd love it."

"Babe, this is amazing! I love you so much!" I practically yelled.

"I love you too, baby girl."

We got all of our luggage, then got into one of the two cars Santo had rented. He bought two in case any of us wanted to go to separate places. He helped me get both of the carseats adjusted correctly before helping my buckle the kids in.

We made a plan to go to the hotel, unpack and relax for a few minutes, and then go to dinner. The hotel we were staying at was right along the beach, we had the perfect view of the ocean. I turned around and pecked Santo's lips, which took him by surprise, and turned into a real kiss.

"Mm, babe, what's this for?" Santo asked through the kiss.

"Cause, I love you." I answered, not pulling away just yet.

After about five minutes, we both broke apart for air. Santo looked at me for a while, then a smile appeared on his face as he pecked my lips over and over again. "I love you too." He said in-between kisses.

We went to dinner at some Chinese food place. We ordered lots of dirty rice, sweet and sour chicken, and Crab Rangoon's. We decided to eat there, instead of sit around at the hotel and eat. Santo went to grab a napkin, but his hand hit the pepper shaker, nocking it over. The top fell off and pepper spilt on the table.

"Shit." He whispered.

"Oh, daddy did a bad word, mommy." Kaden told me, her little hands covering her mouth and her eyes wide. I laughed a little.

"What should I do?" I asked her.

"Him needs soap." Kaden nods, satisfied with her answer.

"How about daddy says sorry and doesn't get soap?" Santo asked, cleaning up the pepper the best he could.

"Nope, daddy has to get da soap, its da rule." Kaden disagreed. "Mommy got to give you da soap."

"What if daddy gives you candy?" He negotiated.

"Nope. Its da rule, daddy." Kaden told him.

Mama and Pops were on the other side of the table, trying to contain their laughter as Kaden and Santo went back and forth with this.

"Mamaw, tell daddy him has to have soap in his mouf for doing a bad word." Kaden told Mama.

"I agree with Kaden, son." Mama told him, trying to be serious.

"See, mommy, him needs the soap." Kaden told me.

"Okay, let's go, you have to get the soap." I said, pulling Santo up with me as I stood.

We walked towards the bathroom area, not going in either bathroom, just standing the hall. "So, how long does it take to do this soap thing?" Santo asked.

"Well, the soap has to be in your mouth for no less than a minute, and I would never leave it in for more than five." I answered.

"Well, what can we talk about in five minutes?" Santo asked, pulling me closer. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder.

"Ya know, we could talk about school. Are we still gonna sign the kids up for the daycare thing?" I looked up at him. "You know, while we're in school?"

"Yeah, unless we could find a super cheap babysitter. Like five bucks an hour cheap." Santo smiled a little.

"How come you took us on this trip?" I asked.