Shall We Dance?

Chapter 2 - Uneasy Feeling

FER

Only two weeks of partial freedom left. I'm even slowly sipping on my beer to enjoy every second of doing little. Once the new season begins it will be production meetings, photo shoots, script sessions, rehearsals, and shows. Once a week, Ale vs. Fer will entertain millions of people as we have done during the past three years.

The sound of a car outside and then doors slamming interrupts my peace. The front door clicks open, and Denise comes inside while rolling a suitcase, a day earlier than expected. She looks exhausted which is weird since she has been at her parents for Christmas and then at a beach resort for the past days. My son Javier walks past her, doesn't even greet me and heads to his bedroom.

"Hello to you too, little prick. Welcome back Denise. How was it? I thought you would be here tomorrow," I greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

"It started fun, then halfway he turned difficult and gave me a big mouth. I had enough and cut the vacation a day short," Denisse glares towards the hallway.

"Hey, Denise! I thought I heard you. You look brown." Ale comes from the TV room. "Did I upset you?"

"Of course not, sweetie. Javi managed to piss me, that's all," Denise complains.

"It doesn't take much to piss you," I tease her while kissing her on the head.

Ale grins and Denise gives me a warning look.

"He has challenged my authority regularly in the last days. Where did my sweet little boy go?" Denise perches herself on a kitchen stool.

"He's 14 years old, that's normal. We were a lot worse at his age," Ale says. "Mama had to go to the school often to talk with my teachers."

I look at my brother and feel pain in my heart at his words. He wasn't a bad kid. It's my fault that things were not normal for him.

"He barely talks to me. All I get are grunts and shrugs. You just saw how he came in and didn't even acknowledged you. He's so damn rude."

"Well, we all know where the rude attitude comes from," Ale points at me with his nose and grins. "You should have seen him yesterday. We had a meet-and-greet at the mall and went to grab a coffee afterwards. He pissed a pretty girl ordering coffee in front of us."

"I'm a certified asshole," I say proudly, trying to forget my feelings and memories, and to lighten the mood.

"You have never been an asshole to me," Denise says.

"That's because you are my best friend and the mother of my child. I care about you."

"You are an asshole to me. What did I do to you?" Ale asks.

I ruffle my brother's hair while laughing and head to the fridge to get us three beers. Denise tells us about the vacation and shows us some pictures on her phone. Javi looks annoyed or miserable in all of them. I know Denise needed this vacation to rest, but I've missed her in the last weeks. She is the voice of reason in my life and my unconditional support.

Most people don't understand why we never got involved in a relationship. Denise and I became best friends when we moved here. I wasn't quite well in my head, but she didn't care. Even when I got her pregnant during a drunken night, things didn't change between us. We love each other, but we have never been in love with each other.

"What about you two?" Denise asks. "What did you do while we were away? You should have come with us. You know my parents love you," she says to me.

"It wasn't possible to go away for so long. We had some small promotional events, but mostly I slept, ate, slept again, watched movies and ate again," I say. "I walked around in boxers and didn't fear of a paparazzo hiding behind bushes to take an unflattering photo of me."