Black Magic Woman

***I know this post is a little shorter than normal, but I wanted to post before Monday and I knew I wasn't going to have any more time today to write.

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!



"Got a black magic woman(x2)
I got a black magic woman
Got me so blind I can't see
That she's a black magic woman
She's tryin' to make a devil out of me...
Got your spell on me baby(x2)
Yes you got your spell on me baby
Turning my heart into stone
I need you so bad - magic woman
I can't leave you alone." Black Magic Woman by Santana

“Walter Green?” I asked, confused as I stared at Forrest. That didn’t make any sense. When Coach Green decided he didn’t want to rehab with me anymore, he said it was because he could do it at home. I didn’t think he heard about the rumor back then. If he did, why didn’t he make a complaint? Why now?

Forrest must have read my face. “Let me explain. I just pieced it together last night. He's dating your boss-”

“What?!?” I exclaimed, in disbelief. No way. No fucking way.

“Bear with me Lily.” He stopped me. "Last night all the coaches got together to watch the fight. Walt asked about you. I didn't think much about it considering Darren was questioned. I thought maybe Darren told him but he knew too much."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like you hired a lawyer. There's no way Darren knew that, so I asked him how he knew. That's when he told me he was dating Sandra."

I shook my head. "I don't understand."

"He found out about the rumors because Travis, (the kid that's currently doing rehab at the clinic) and Darren got into an argument about it during off-season."

"So he told Sandra." I pieced it together too. "Do you know how long?" I asked.

"How long what?"

"How long they've been dating?" I clarified.

"I have no idea. He wouldn't say."

"Thanks Forrest. You could have just emailed me this. In fact, I still want you to." I said, thoughtfully. It seemed more and more likely I was going to have to take legal action.

"I wanted to apologize. In person. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." I huffed a sigh.

"It's not just this. It's everything between us. I wish I could be here for you."

"I get it. Your future wife thinks I'm a whore."

"No she doesn't. She's just- insecure."

"Why would she be insecure?" I asked incredulously.

"Because you're the type of woman I would be attracted to. Rachel sees that and it worries her especially with the wedding so close." Forrest confessed.

"Forrest-" I started, then stopped. What the fuck? What do I even say to that?

"After we get married, she'll go back to normal. Then I hope we can be friends again." He said, hopefully.

"We'll see." I said, noncommittally. I didn't know if marriage could just solve everything, but I hoped it did, for Forrest's sake.

"Bye. Thanks again." I said, walking past him pulling Justine into my apartment.

"Let me know if you need anything. Don't hesitate to call."

 I gave him a wave and closed the door.

I went to my room and laid down as I weighed my options in my mind. I understood now why Sandra wouldn't tell me where the accusations came from. He was my patient and Sandra told me he left because he wanted to rehab on his own. If he didn't leave to date her, there would be no good reason for them to stay in touch.

Even if he was just a concerned teacher, Coach Green's word alone shouldn't have been enough to suspend me. Sandra could have come and asked me herself instead of going to Ann. The fact that they were dating changed everything. It made sense now and it was completely unfair to me. Possibly illegal...

I pulled out my phone and called Trevor.

"Mornin'" he mumbled in the phone.

"Afternoon." I returned.

"What are we doing today?"

"Um, hanging out at my place?"

"On my way."

He was over in less than 30 minutes and I told him what Forrest told me.

"Geez Lily. What are you going to do?" Trevor questioned me as we laid in my bed.

"I don't know. My only options are to sue a 17 year old girl or my work. I have to think about it but both of them suck." I admitted.

"I know, but you deserve to clear your name. I'm here for you. Whatever you decide." Trevor hugged me.

"I know." I said, kissing him. "I better call Rocky and see how she's holding up." I said changing the subject. I was sick of thinking about it.

I called her and she told me she was fine. Brandon picked up the majority of his clothes and his gaming system. When I offered to come over, she shot me down.

"The only thing she wants to do is work and hide at home. I get it, but I don't know what to do to help."  I lamented to Trevor when I got off the phone.

"We should just go over there. Maybe invite everyone to her house to help cheer her up."

"No, I don't even know who all knows. I can't just ambush her randomly."

"Not randomly. How bout Cinco de Mayo?" Trevor suggested.

A smile spread across my face. That was freaking brilliant! If she wanted to stay cooped up at home, we would bring the Fiesta to her! I began plotting what I should make and who I should invite.

Surprising Rocky was a risk, but I would take it. At this point, I welcomed her wrath. Anger was better than the defeated, emotionless person she was as of late.

"You are a genius!" I exclaimed to Trevor before throwing myself into planning.

We made a trip to Party city and bought a ton of party supplies. Now that I knew I had a paid suspension, I didn't worry about the money I was spending. I might have to spend my savings on a lawyer, but I wasn't going to worry about that. I was focusing on pinatas, maracas and sombreros.

When I got home, I invited everyone VIA Facebook. I even invited stupid Jackie. I then started planning what food I wanted to make. I was on Pintrest the rest of the evening looking up different ideas.

Monday morning, after Trevor went to work, I finished my grocery list and went shopping. After a couple grocery stores and a liquor store, I had everything gathered besides the meat. I wanted to do a fiesta/bbq and needed carne asade. More specifically, the carne asada I had on Labor Day with Jake’s family.

I called Jasmine to ask where they bought it from. I texted her when she didn't answer. I remembered she, unlike me, had a job to report to. I waited for her to respond.

I was home, had everything put away, responded to inquiry texts about the party, and still had no response from Jasmine. I decided to try my luck with Jake. We had not spoken since the night I called asking about Brandon. I kept my text short and sweet.

Me: Where does your family buy carne asade?

Jake: I get off around 4. I can take you.

Me: Just text me the address

Jake: I don’t know the address. Just how to get there.

I sighed and contemplated it, before I texted him back.

Me: Call me when you’re on your way.

Jake: Ok

I was talking to Trevor on his break when Jasmine texted me back the location of a Meat Market in Irving.

"He's so full of it." I complained of Jake.

"You think he wants to talk to you?" Trevor pondered out loud.

"I don't know why!" I said, defensively.

"Probably about Rocky and Brandon." Trevor chuckled.

I flushed. Oh right. That.

"I can't tell him anything."

"Tell him that." Trevor said. "I gotta go back to work. I'll call you when I get off."

"Rub it in. Just call me a bum." I said, jokingly.

"You're the sexiest bum I've ever seen."



When Jake arrived, I joined him outside his car in my parking lot. He was still wearing his work clothes, including fitted black slacks and a logo-ed blazer. He always looked good in his uniform. I wondered if he still had his gun on him...

 “What are you doing? Get in." Jake said, interrupting my thoughts and leaning over to open the door.

“Is this where we're going?” I asked, holding up my phone and raising my eyebrow at Jake.

He looked at my phone and smirked. “How would I know? I told you I didn't know the address.” he said.

“Bullshit Galaviz.”

He chuckled. “Alright, that’s probably it, but I’m still not 100% sure. Besides, I need to talk to you anyway.”

“About?” I said casually, thinking Trevor was so right.

“You know what.” he said, confirming my thoughts.

“Jake, Brandon won’t even talk to Rocky. What does it look like if I talk to you about it?” I put my hands on my hip.

“Like you’re trying to help a friend, just like me.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Help him how? Start the he-man woman haters club?”

Jake laughed at me. “Don’t make jokes. This is serious.”

"You laughed. I’m dead serious. I know how you handle break ups and cheating. Remember?”

“I've changed.”

“I hope so.” I mumbled.

“You'll never know unless you give me a chance.”

“Ok.” I nodded, getting in the car. I wasn't going to invite him in and I did need the carne asade. "Everything said stays between us?" I asked as I texted Trevor where we were going.

Jake nodded and started the car. "Yes."

"Why won't he talk to her?" I asked Jake when he started driving.

"He was blindsided. He didn't have any clue. I don't think he's ready to hear about what was going on behind his back."

"It was one time- Not an ongoing thing." I defended her.

"When did it happen?"

"February."

"Before he proposed." Jake sighed. "Why did she wait so long to tell him?"

"She just told me a week ago-"

"You knew when they got engaged." Jake confronted me.

"How- I mean- why do you think that?" I stammered.

"You're not an envious person. That whole "it should have been me" routine wasn't you. I knew you weren't happy about it. I understand why now."

"She made a mistake-" I started and stopped when Jake tensed, gripping the wheel.

"Regardless of what happened or why it happened, Brandon needs to talk to Rocky. I think we can both agree on that." I finished.

"Yeah, we do. I'm going to talk to him. No promises."

"Ok."


Trevor text me that he was on his way to my apartment and would see me when I got back. Jake and I arrived at the meat market in Irving. It was a Hispanic grocery store with a little counter serving street tacos in the front. Jake led us to the butcher block in the back while I checked out the aisle we were going down. I grabbed a few things as we made our way to the counter.

Jake asked me how many pounds of the marinated skirt steak I wanted.

"Cinco!" I smiled. "Y dos costillas de cerdo." I told the butcher. He told me it would be a 15 minute wait.

Jake asked if I wanted to grab some food. I agreed and we walked back to the front and ordered tacos.

"Do you need tortillas for tomorrow?" Jake asked as we waited for our food.

"No, I'm good. I have some already."

He shook his head and grabbed tortillas from a cooler. They were still warm.

"Try these." Jake offered, opening the bag. I pulled out a tortilla and took a bite.

"That is amazing." I moaned.

"Much better than what you bought?"

"Whatever." I said, chewing on the food. "These taste a lot like your family's homemade tortillas." I accused after I swallowed.

"They are homemade- just somebody else's home." Jake corrected me.

I laughed and grabbed another bag of tortillas. When our food was ready, we sat down and ate. We focused on our food and didn't speak. By the time we finished, my order was ready. We thanked the butcher and checked out.

On the way back to my apartment, we got stuck in after work traffic. We sat in silence. It was uncomfortable silence for me so I changed the radio station. After I kept clicking through commercials, Jake asked me, "Why don't you play music from your phone?"

"Do you have a AUX cord?" I had to use one in Trevor's car.

"No. You're still using the Galaxy I got you? Just use Bluetooth."

"Awesome! I can work on my Cinco de Mayo playlist."

Jake walked me through it and in no time I had Pitbull playing in the car.

"Not Mexican." Jake commented.

"So? He's sexy."

"Sorry, I thought this was a Cinco de Mayo playlist. Not sexy."

"Good point." I then changed to Enrique Iglesias.

"Where is he from? I know it's not Mexico."

"He's from Spain." I replied.

"Then he can't be on your playlist either."

"Um, how do you think Mexicans came to be? Spaniards and Native Americans." I said, but changed the song to Selena.

"There you go." Jake smiled at me and I smiled back.

I played J-Lo afterwards.

"Just because she played Selena, doesn't mean she can get on the playlist. She's Puerto Rican." Jake shook his head.

"Fuck that, I love J-Lo. She can do no wrong. She's on the playlist! Besides, what do you call a Puerto Rican going south?"

"What?"

"A Mexican." I smiled.

Jake busted out laughing. "That's fucked up."

"I know, but funny." I laughed too.

We were at a standstill on the exit to get back to my apartment so Jake pulled out his phone. Carlos Santana's "Black Magic Woman." started to play I immediately teared up.

"Ohmygod, turn it off." I said, trying to blink away the tears.

"What? You don't like Santana?"

"I do, just any song but this one. It always makes me cry."

Jake laughed until tears escaped from my eyes. He immediately turned it off. "I'm sorry, I thought you were kidding."

"I wasn't. I don't even know why it bothers me so much." I tried to laugh it off as I wiped my eyes.

"When was the first time you heard it?" He asked.

"I don't know. Cam said I heard it in a store once and threw a fit. He said I was like 7. I don't remember it. Maybe my dad refused to buy my something. Like cake." I joked.

Jake just gave me a little smile.

I turned the radio back on for the remainder of the drive. When we got back to my apartment, I saw Trevor's and Jasmine's cars were out front. Jake and I grabbed the bags and went inside. I was greeted by the smell and sight of smoke from the kitchen.

"What the hell?" I asked, joining Trevor and Jasmine in the kitchen.

"Trevor burned a pan!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"After you took the burgers off without telling me." Trevor smiled.

"Are the burgers safe? That's what's important." I joked.

"Yeah, in the microwave."

"You're going to eat again?" Jake asked me.

"Yeah. That's all I do now." I shrugged, looking at the burgers.

"What did y'all eat?" Jasmine asked.

"Tacos at the meat market." I replied.

Jasmine frowned. "And y'all didn't bring us any?"

"I didn't know you were going to be here." Jake replied.

"Where else would I be?" Jasmine questioned.

"Work, Reggie's." Jake said.

What?!? She'd been hanging with her ex? Again?


"Anyway... I have a friend from work I want you to meet..." Jasmine said to Jake changing the subject.

"No. Bye." Jake said.

"Oh, come on Jake! She's gorgeous and fun. I think y'all would get along. Just come to Rocky's house tomorrow." Jasmine pouted, before turning to me. "If that's ok with you."

"Um, sure. Why not?" I said, nervously. That would be awkward as fuck, but I couldn't not invite him, right?

"I have plans." Jake said simply. "See y'all later." He said, turning to leave. Jasmine followed him.

"Are you sure these are ok?" I questioned the funny looking patties.

"Yeah, they're turkey," He informed me

I made a face. "If y'all are going to burn the house down, can y'all at least make it a real burger?"

"Ultimate burger?" Trevor goaded me.

I grinned. I don't even remembered where it started, probably a commercial or tv show we saw in college, but we had a thing where we called random things ultimate. Then listed what made it ultimate. Silly, but always fun.

"12 slices of bacon." I started, in a deep announcer voice.

"6 different cheeses." Trevor added, mimicking my tone.

"And that's only one layer!" I finished.

"Ultimate, ultimate burger!" We sang together before laughing.

"So..." Trevor asked when we stopped laughing. "What did Jake want?

"You were right: he wanted to talk about Rocky and Brandon. He's going to talk to Brandon." I said. "And I got all the meat. We should get started on the ultimate fiesta..." I added quickly.

"3 different margaritas..." He began with a grin.

"One big ass pinata..." I smiled.

"Sombreros all around."

"Ultimate... ultimate Fiesta!" We sang together before laughing again.