Red Collar by Clarissa Cartharn

foolishly given to her boyfriend. He seethed. Kate always had her hair up and tightly wound in a chignon. He hated it. She never wore it loose as she did now. His temples throbbed with chagrin.
    He watched her join her boyfriend in the queue. They were laughing as they shared a joke between themselves. And like an idiot, he had been forlorn about the way things had yielded between them this morning. Kate didn’t care. She was clearly glad to be back with her lover. Bella , he had called her. Only lovers addressed themselves in such endearing terms.
    How could he have been so foolish? Coming all th e way here to buy Kate a cheap tee shirt? He was acting like a possessive lover when Kate didn’t even belong to him. She had warned him that he would never have her heart. He didn’t like it then. And he hated it even more now.
    He waited for them to leave the shop and then rushed out of the cruddy store. Still tensed, he sat heavily into his car. For a long while, he stared silently out his window. He knew his body still yearned for her, to ravish her all over again.
    He turned his engine on and veered roughly out of the car park and towards his home. His swore vehemently under his breath. He would have her, and he would then cast her aside like a bad habit.
     
    *****
     
    “ Cristo! It’s as I imagined,” Lorenzo exclaimed, darting to the back of the dusty store. There were tables scattered randomly about with, their sides hooked by its accompanying chairs. The bar table at the end indicated that the store once operated as a diner.
    Kate marveled at him, watching his dark eyes gleam as he measured the dimensions of the vacant retail outlet.
    After a convincing act with the real estate agent that she was looking into opening a restaurant, they finally managed to get a key and rushed over excitedly to the boarded-up store.
    “You really want to do this ?” she laughed.
    “ Bella dama ,” he hugged her, carrying her off her feet, twirling her in the air. “Thank you so much!”
    She laughed again, blushing.
    He finally let her down and ruffled her hair fondly.
    “Wow, that’s some excitement,” she chuckled.
    “ Si, bella dama ,” he said. “But one day, you will see, I will have a restaurant here. I know because this tells me I will get it.” He pointed to his heart. “If you have the will power, and you work hard for your dreams, nothing will stop you from achieving them.”
    “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
    “ Por favor? Si, bella dama ,” he said, nodding. “That too. Don’t know them fancy lines, but something like that.”
    She smiled. “Why do you always call me dama? Isn’t that some fancy term for ladies of upper class?”
    “ Si ,” he said. “Because when I first saw you, I thought you were very beautiful. Like one of them fancy royals. And you live upstairs like a real royal.”
    She giggled. “Well, thank you, kind sir,” she said in a po sh accent. “But I certainly did look like a drab today. I really appreciate you buying me this tee.”
    He waved his hands. “I did it for me. No way was the real estate agent gonna give you the keys in that shirt you were wearing. And I really wanted to see this place.”
    He glanced at her. “You also should wear your hair down more often. You look very pretty like that.”
    She flushed. “I just thought it might me look much older and confident with it down. Make my act look more believable.”
    He shrugged. “He was hitting on you, senorita . That’s why he gave you the keys.”
    “Well, you better stay close to me when we do return. I’m afraid surviving one pendejo is all I can take in a day.”
    He chuckled. “ Si, senorita .”
    She sighed, her thoughts returning to Clayton.
    “You thinking of your boyfriend again, senorita ?” he asked, frowning.
    She looked down at her hands and leant against a table. “I have to go away for a few days, Lorenzo. And I’m kind of worried for my brothers and sisters who would be all