Love & Lowriders

Cruising

"Aye Hector, some fools out there talking about a shanking when we all get out in the yard. You hear anything about it?". I looked at Carlos and shook my head, "Nah fool, but that shit don't concern me. I don't beef with anyone. But stay alert homie." I said. I had a bad feeling about this. Switching subjects I continued talking to Carlos about my past.

I was cruising around the block, wind blowing on my face, music bumping out the speakers. Life felt good in this moment. I was so distracted by the moment, I almost ran a stop sign. Coming back to my senses I stopped, flipped my signal and headed towards Sophia's house. As I pulled up outside her little brother stopped drawing on the sidewalk and looked up at me. I guess he was confused as to who's car it was. As I got out he gave me a funny look and said "who'd you steal that from?". I messed up his hair and replied "relax homie, I'm not Shadow.". Shadow was Sophia's oldest brother. He was a gang member who enjoyed being in and out of jail every now and then, mostly for boosting cars. He was actually locked up right now. Shadow was definitely not someone you wanted to mess with. He scares me to be honest, I've seen what he's capable of doing. No-one messed with him or his family, he was well respected on the streets. That's one of the perks of dating Sophia, the homies would keep her safe for Shadow. Which means I was safe with her as well. It was like having Cholo Security.

"I'll be down in a second!" Sophia yelled from the window on the top floor. She slammed the window shut and disappeared behind the curtain. A few seconds later the door flew open and she was walking towards me. She still had not noticed the car. Alex, her little brother, had to jump in and bring up the car. "Do you like it?" he asked. "Like what?" she replied confused. I pulled the keys out of my pocket and glanced at my new ride. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped, "NO WAY! NO WAY BABY! YOU GOT ROSA!" she said excitedly. I smiled and opened her door. She gave me a kiss as she was getting in and just had the biggest smile. Today was gonna be a good day, I could feel it. I closed her door and walked around to the driver side and hopped in. Turned the car on and head to the spot. Jamming oldies, wind flowing, my arm around Sophia, this was a moment in time I'd never forget. As we pulled up to the Spot I slowed down, the Spot was this old parking lot under a bridge that everyone would just come hang out at. The diversity here was just wild. You had the skaters rollin around everywhere, the potheads, the cholos, the preppy kids, the wannabe rappers. It was a place where the beef was left at the entrance. Everyone was peaceful here. I looked at Sophia and asked "you ready?". "ready for what?" she replied. I give her this huge smile and with out warning flipped the switches. The car came to life as the hydrolics began to bounce the car up and down. The smile on her face as she flopped around in her seat was so beautiful. I could hear her laugh, even over the radio and the loud whistling of the cholos and other people admiring the car. This was the girl I loved with all my heart. I parked the car and dropped the switches, having the car practically resting on the ground. We got out and started talking to friends from school who were out there. The way the sunlight reflected off of the chrome seemed magical. It all felt unreal. "Damn bro, that's a sweet ride!" "Where did you get it from?" "aye man, lemme take it for a spin!". I heard just about everything at that moment. It was pretty sweet having the attention. I could see Sophia standing with some of her friends talking, looking this way, and giggling. I knew she was talking about me. Even from this far I could see her eyes looking at me. Those beautiful hazel eyes. I told my friends id be right back and walked towards her. She just stared at me and smiled as I walked up. When I got to her, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. I stared into her eyes and smiled, with her I was at my happiest. "You know I love you, right babe!" she said do smiling. I knew that tone of voice, "what do you want princessa?" I replied grinning. "Lupe is having a party tonight! I know it's not really your thing, but can we go. pleeeaaassseee baby!" she begged. I looked at Lupe and she immediately said "Dont look at me, i'm just having the party!". The girls laughed. I glanced at Sophia, "Anything for you amor, yea we can go.". We stayed at the spot for about another hour or so before we left to get ready for the party. I pulled up to Sophia's house to drop her off and there was three cholos standing outside, like if they were guarding something or someone. I looked at Sophia, she was looking at me already. "Did he get out?". As soon as those words left my mouth, her front door opened and there he was. Shadow.