Chapter 51

David
David and Chloe went to the house and entered through the kitchen door. Alex was with his dad and stepmom, drinking coffee.

“Umberto, how the heck are you?” David asked as he went up to Alex’s dad, who stood, and they hugged. “And Camilla.”

She got up and kissed his cheek.

“This is my friend Chloe. These are Alex and Nat’s parents,” David said. “Are you two going with us to play tourist today?”

“We have some issues on the farm that I have to handle. I’m not sure what Camilla is doing,” Umberto said.

“I’m planning a birthday party.”

“Have some coffee. It’s my dad’s most recent batch,” Alex said.

Fritz and his crew joined them. Nat wasn’t far behind.

“I told the cook we were eating out this morning, if that’s okay?” Alex asked.

“You’re the boss. What are we doing today?” David asked.

“We’re going full-on tourist. The plan is to start with a trek along the Cali River, where we’ll grab some street food. The rest of the day is all things salsa. I booked a class this afternoon to get you up to speed. Then this evening, we’ll hit a salsa show so you can see how it should be done. Finally, we’ll do some club-hopping to test your skills,” Nat shared as the apparent planner of today’s events.

David, not being a coffee drinker, wasn’t sure whether he liked Umberto’s coffee. If he were to drink coffee, he preferred that it be as the Cubans made it: basically espresso on steroids. David felt that coffee had better have a serious kick, or why bother? This was much weaker but had a smooth taste.

“I’m hungry, so let’s get going,” Alex urged.

When they went outside, three cars were waiting: two big black SUVs that bracketed a black limo. That must be the armored car Fritz had demanded.

“That’s the place,” Alex said, pointing to a corner where a couple had set up a food stand.

When they stopped, Alex started to get out but was pushed back into his seat so Fritz and his team could do their job.

“Your security sucks,” Alex mumbled.

“Just slow your roll. They’ll give the all-clear in a minute,” David promised.

When they finally got out, they found a woman working over a charcoal grill, and a man, apparently her husband, bent over a cooler. The woman had round-shaped flatbreads toasting.

“Remember the sandwich yesterday?” Alex asked Chloe.

“You called it arepa.”

“They make a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich that will change your life,” Alex promised.

Nat spoke to the woman in rapid-fire Spanish that David had difficulty keeping up with. She ordered everyone, including all the security guys, a sandwich each.

The woman and her husband got busy cooking as Nat and Alex listed the different activities they could do today.

“Hang on. Did you say there’s a cat park?” David asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Nat said. “It’s called ‘The Cat and His Girlfriends.’”

“It’s a fun tale. There are sculptures along the Cali River,” Alex said.

“The story goes that el gato del rio—the cat of the river, or the river’s cat—was a big male. The first sculpture was a three-ton giant bronze cat donated by Colombian artist Hernando Tejada,” Nat said.

“Ten years later, different artists got together and decided the lonely cat needed some company. So, they created female cats to become his girlfriends. They’re all colorful and different,” Alex finished.

“Do you think they’re twins?” David stage-whispered to Chloe.

“Shut it, Dawson,” Alex said.

The first sandwich was ready, which shut Alex up. When David got his, he had to agree it was a tasty breakfast sandwich. Alex listed all the different fillings they put into these pockets of goodness. He assured David that he would introduce him to as many as he could find.

They walked along the Cali River on a well-maintained walking path and spotted some locals getting their exercise. As they went, they discovered the different cat sculptures. It reminded David of a town not far from his hometown that put large white cows around the town square. A local would claim one and paint it in a wild design and bright colors.

They soon figured out why Nat had planned this trip because there were little shops that she and Chloe just had to check out. David got into the spirit when Nat pointed out that he would have to take souvenirs back home. He liked that it wasn’t as touristy as some places he’d been. Many of the items were made by locals. A few were of excellent quality, obviously created by true artists.

One good aspect of having a security team was you had someone who could help you run your packages back to the car. That way, you didn’t have to lug them around all day.

Nat insisted they go to a park named Parque del Peñon.

In the center was a large fountain with benches for people to sit down and relax. David took a few quick pictures of the exotic plants his dad would love to see. The showstopper was a giant silver-colored palm tree that looked like it was made out of metal.

Then Alex pointed out why Nat had picked this place. All around the area were plenty of places to sit with vendors selling ice cream, raspados—sweet, flavored shaved ices—and cold drinks.

It was at one of those vendors that Alex introduced them to what turned out to be David’s favorite thing so far, champús. It sounded to David like Alex had ordered shampoo for them to drink, so he was skeptical.

He watched them make it, and some of the ingredients were head-scratchers. It started with a lot of ice, and then they added dried corn, pineapple, panela, mashed lulo, cinnamon, cloves, and orange tree leaves. At first, he was hesitant because it looked like a chilled chunky yellow soup. That was until he let Chloe taste his before he was brave enough, and she took it from him.

Alex and David grabbed a bench to people-watch while the girls found another shop to check out.

“So ... you and Chloe?” Alex tentatively asked.

“Are just friends. I’m sort of dating Crystal.”

Alex gave him a pained look.

“You have the worst taste in women. First, it was Lexi, the man-eater. Now you’ve picked Crystal, the gold digger. What’s next, the drama victim? Or, oh, I know, the one who claims you complete her?”

“With Crystal, I’ve gone into it with eyes wide open. It’s more of an arrangement to fend off other people for now. We both just got out of relationships and are nowhere near ready to date someone. So instead of the whole rebound-partner routine, we took matters into our own hands,” David explained.

“Right,” Alex drawled to show he didn’t believe a word of the BS David was selling. “She’s good in bed.”

David shrugged to let Alex guess she was without him having to say it.

“So that means what you did with Chloe wasn’t serious,” Alex stated.

“She has some self-confidence issues. From what I understand, she never dated any guys in high school.”

“She was a late bloomer, but I love her look now. I kinda like skinny,” Alex said. “How did you two hook up?”

“She’s on the rowing team with Cassidy. I’ve been helping Cassidy become a leader, which she totally takes advantage of. One of their team-building activities was a scavenger hunt. The big point-getter was me succumbing to them and allowing them to give me head,” David shared.

“They couldn’t have waited until the fall for that? I would have volunteered to let them all suck my dick.”

David had no doubt about Alex’s proclamation. He might have to get t-shirts made to announce his willingness to receive head.

“Anyway,” David said, ignoring Alex’s comment, “Chloe pulled the ‘I’m a lesbian and want to see what I’m missing’ card. So, I let her.”

“Only the one time?”

“Crystal sort of felt that Chloe needed training, so it happened several times,” David admitted.

“The next girl I’m seriously interested in who gives bad head I am sending to you because Chloe is the best I’ve ever had. Good job, man,” Alex said.

“A lot of that is on Chloe, but thanks, I guess.”

“One last question: since when did you start sharing what happens behind closed doors? I thought that was part of the Dawson Code,” Alex teased.

“Here’s the deal: Chloe is a bit gun-shy when it comes to relationships. I told her she needed to take charge so she feels in control. I want you to pay her a lot of attention and follow her lead,” David said.

Alex was suddenly in his personal space and hugging David fiercely.

“Get off of me,” David grumped.

“You are by far the best friend I’ve ever had. Now, if you’d just bone my sister so she quits obsessing about her V-card, you’ll be up for sainthood.”

“About that...”

“Dude, you’re killing me,” Alex whined.

“I like your sister ... as a friend. It would just be a onetime event, and I would feel horrible if she thought it might lead to more.”

“Just tell her that,” Alex said.

“The problem is that when I have sex with someone, it changes things. I have a side of me that wants to claim all those women as mine. I would make a great old-school Mormon,” David explained.

“What about Chloe?”

“She knows the score. Plus, she told me she wanted to sleep with you. Chloe said she knew I would make her first time go well. She said with you, the two of you would both have been virgins, and it could have gotten awkward. She thinks that after she’s had some experience, she could help guide you better,” David shared.

“You’re so full of shit. You think she’s hot, too,” Alex said to call David on his BS.

“Are you saying you’re not interested?” David fired back.

“Hell, no. I just like watching you squirm.”

“Then be a good little boy and let Chloe make you a man,” David suggested.

“Like I said ... best friend ever.”

All four of them were in high spirits when they made their way to salsa class. David reasoned that since Cali was the birthplace of salsa, it was mandatory that they either learn the dance or go out and wing it.

In high school, he’d ended up in a dance class for his PE elective. The class focused on hip-hop but included some other dances. He hadn’t learned to salsa, but they’d taught him to tango. He’d asked the teacher if they were similar.

She’d said that if a couple appears to be gliding across the floor in an intimate and sensual embrace, that was the tango. Salsa was more of a party, open kind of dance where there’s a lot of spinning and hip wiggling.

He’d later learned to salsa and did more than a bit of it while filming The Royal Palm in Cuba. But that was two years ago, and he’d admit to being a bit rusty.

“Oh, man. David loves to wiggle his hips,” Fritz commented.

’Yep. It was time for new security,’ David decided. He couldn’t really follow through on that because Fritz was right; he did like to wiggle his hips.

Being the smart boy he was, Alex insisted that David dance with his sister.

“You any good at this?” David asked Nat.

“I’ve been dancing the salsa since I could walk. Try to keep up,” she said with a challenging grin.

Their teacher for the class, a young woman with long blond curly hair in a bodysuit, got their attention.

“Let’s get started with the first basic step. Step forward ... one, two ... then back ... one, two, three ... then forward ... one, two, three,” she said to demonstrate.