It All Started With A Payback

Twenty-One: Welcome to the Family

Skill and stamina: he thought he had both. Playing basketball with Tori's cousins proved him wrong. He was physically exhausted and emotionally battered, but seeing how happy he made Tori by agreeing to meet her relatives was more than enough compensation for his bruised ego.

He knew, the moment every member of Alexa's family enveloped Tori in an excited embrace, how important it was to develop some sort of camaraderie with her cousins as well as gain the approval of her Uncle and Aunt. That being the case, playing basketball with them whether he liked it or not, whether he was good at it or he sucked; was a forgone conclusion.

Not more than once did he wish that he had paid more attention to the rudiments of basketball and at least joined his college buddies whenever they played it during weekends. He fell on his ass several times and was called an idiot twice by one of Alexa's older brothers. It was Dylan, they were on the same team.

It was embarrassing to say the least. He wasn't into basketball and he didn't even like watching it. Alexa's brothers on the other hand, seemed to love it and were really good at it.

When Dylan passed the ball to him he was able to catch it, only problem was, he headed for the ring with a goal in mind: to impress Tori. So there he was, running as fast as he could towards the ring to shoot the ball when he heard protests from the opposing team.

"Where did you find this idiot, Tori?" Dylan asked, pointing his thumb behind him towards Louie's direction. Dylan scratched his head then pointed an accusing finger at Tori and Alexa, "The two of you better stop bringing your boyfriends to our game especially if they are going to be on my team!" He continued complaining.

"For the last time Mike isn't my boyfriend!" Alexa protested, pertaining to her bestfriend, whom Louie thought was actually good enough at the game they were playing.

"Come on, give Louie a break he's not used to playing basketball." Tori said in his defense the same time Alexa spoke.

"No shit!" Carlos, the third brother among the four men said while grinning from ear to ear. "Let me guess, you're more of a football guy." He didn't wait for Louie to answer, "The way you were hugging the basketball, bet you thought you were running for a touchdown." He said, continuing to deflate his ego." He tapped Louie's back, "Man, am I glad you're not on my team!"

All of them were competitive but they were joking around with each other endlessly. Except for the eldest brother, all of them were loud and rowdy. And he liked all of them immensely.

He liked Alexa's entire family actually. They received him warmly when Tori introduced him to them. The men treated him and Mike as if they were a part of the family.

Tori already mentioned before that her mother and Alexa's father were siblings. When he got to sit down on the table with them for dinner, he discovered for himself why Tori was so fond of them.

The Mendoza family was so different from the one he was raised in. Conversation was flowing in steady stream as they happily enjoyed the food prepared by Tori's Aunt. He recalled how talking and laughing were prohibited over the dinner table at their home, if it can be called that, when he was still living with his family in the states.

The difference without a doubt lay with the head of the families. While his father was cold, Alexa's was warm. Uncle Ben listened with interest to the stories being exchanged among his five children, he would even sometimes pitch in a comment, an anecdote or a funny story.

Their mothers were alike, they try to put on a strict front but their eyes would glimmer in amusement whenever one of their kids did or say something naughty.

He surmised Tori would have been so much happier here if her father had just entrusted her with the Mendozas when Tori's mother passed away. The man made it pretty damn clear anyway that he didn't care for his daughter. This was the kind of family Tori deserved, not the one she grew up in.

On the one hand, he couldn't help but wonder for the second time, if she had been raised here he wouldn't even have met her, gotten to know her and fallen in love with her.

Tori's hand on his knee brought his attention back, he gazed at the woman who always managed to make him warm, mushy and since he was no saint, lustful at times (if they were alone, that is). No, even if Tori moved in with the Mendozas, fate would bring them together...the rest was up to them.

He would love her not because he was destined to, but because Tori was the kind of woman a man couldn't help falling in love with. Then he would have moved mountains and parted oceans just to make her fall hard head over heels in love with him as he undoubtedly would with her.

"You two look so good together." Aunt Amelia gushed, her chin perched on the heel of her palm as she stared at them.

He blushed, he actually freaking blushed. Dylan snickered. Carlos snorted. Aunt Amelia glowered at the two and they promptly sobered up.

Angelo, the oldest spoke. "Yeah, they look good together. But you better not mess with her because if you do..." The other three men slammed their fists into their open palms. They were grinning but what they wanted to say was clearly written in their eyes.

He pinned his gaze on Tori again and gave her a crooked smile, "I'm sure Tori herself will beat the sh----," he slanted a glance at Aunt Amelia, "Crap, I meant crap, out of me." That had everyone laughing.

He covered Tori's hand that was still resting on his knee and threaded his fingers with hers. "And I have no intention of messing with her," he continued in a serious tone as he looked at Angelo straight in the eyes.

"Okay then," Bryan spoke, "I guess we can whip your sorry ass again next time."

"Hey, he has to be on your team next time!" Dylan didn't waste any second voicing his protest.

"Louie," Uncle Ben's voice cut through the commotion. "Feel free to join Tori whenever she comes by to visit."

"I will," he glanced at the four men with a lopsided grin. "When they're not around."