“Senorita, please…”
Otiz tried to resist, but Lori quickly moved onto his lap. Otiz froze, sitting on the bed's edge with Lori on top of him.
“Hey… You said you’d stay with me, didn’t you? Why are you so confused?” Lori asked, her eyes heavy-lidded.
“I… I didn’t mean this.” Otiz groaned, gently lowering Lori’s hands from his shoulders. He was trying desperately not to be rough. He had only brought Lori to the hotel because she was severely drunk, intending just to put her to bed, not to wrestle her off him.
But getting Lori to the room was already a miracle. She could barely keep her eyes open, and what brought her back to her senses was accidentally hitting her head on the door. This brief awareness only made things worse, as Lori refused to let go of Otiz.
“Senorita, I…”
“Lori! Why are you acting so formal with me? I’m not Ed! I&
“Will you always be around when Ed is?” Lori asked, leaning on the balcony railing.Otiz was on the terrace, as usual, watching from a distance whenever Ed had an event.After the bar party, they found themselves at another, more formal gathering. Lori detested one of those events, yet she was compelled to attend due to her mother's close relationship with the host. Lori couldn’t even remember what the event was about, but it must have been important since Ed went through the trouble of attending.She hadn’t seen him yet, but if Otiz was around, it was likely Ed was too.“I don’t have to be. I’ll be here if Don Rosas needs me,” Otiz replied politely, lowering the wine glass in his hand.It would be better if he didn’t touch alcohol near Lori. Even now, Otiz wanted to snatch the glass from Lori’s hand and pour it out.“Why are you so loyal to him?” Lori asked curiously. S
"Hai!"Otiz jolted. Someone had just bumped into his back, clearly on purpose, because now a bright face was peeking out from behind his arm.Even the clear blue sky above couldn't match Lori's usual enthusiasm."I didn’t know you played golf, Otiz." Lori was accompanying her father today and found Otiz crouching near one of the holes, measuring the distance to make his next shot."I didn’t know you played golf either," Otiz replied."Not at all. This is… the first time I’ve ever held a club. I’m only here because my dad forced me," Lori complained, showing the golf club in her hand. She was wearing all the right gear, from the hat, clothes, and shoes to the gloves, but it was obvious everything was new."So you’re running away?" Otiz glanced around and didn’t see anyone. As usual, Lori didn’t like being told what to do."Well, if I can. My dad was a bit pushy today. I just hope he does
"Hi, Dad. I didn’t know you were here," Lori said, trying to act casual while assessing her father's face. Was he angry or just normal?He seemed normal; maybe he really hadn't heard her argument with Otiz."I’m here because you weren’t. Why did you disappear? You made Michael confused." Lori's father shifted his slightly stocky body, revealing a very neat man who did indeed look confused. Handsome, smooth, and clean. A typical rich kid."You suddenly disappeared." Michael smiled wryly."I… I went to greet someone. It's just impulsive, so..." Lori lied, of course. She had left Michael because he was boring. His conversation was uninteresting."Greet someone? Who?" Lori’s father looked at Otiz, not recognizing him."This is Otiz Montoya." Lori normally introduced him, but she added something daring."And we’re close." Lori grabbed Otiz's hand and held it, clearly indicating that he was more than jus
“Sorry, I didn't mean to…”“I don't know who you are, and so far, you seem suspicious. I won't bring up the fact that you slept with my daughter, but if you hurt her, I won’t stand by.” Andres threatened.He had apparently overheard the argument between Lori and Otiz earlier but chose to stay silent. However, after seeing Lori cry, Andres believed Otiz was in the wrong.“Sorry, Señor Sallazar. I understand your anger and will explain anything you ask. But later. Right now… I need to go after Lori.” Otiz reluctantly brushed Andres’s hand aside and ran off.Otiz knew what he did was impolite, but he couldn't just leave Lori in that state alone. At the very least, he wanted to apologize.Otiz had never scolded or protested Lori's behavior toward men.The sun shone and moved as usual. The sun was normal, cheerful, and seemingly enjoying the world, but the slightest disturbance
“Oh… you weren’t drunk?” Lori always thought they were drunk, and they accidentally slept together.After that, it was Lori who suggested they just have fun. Otiz agreed, and that was that. There was nothing more to discuss.“Then what?” Lori asked, still not understanding why Otiz was bringing it up in this argument.“I did it because I wanted to, Lori. I agreed to whatever you asked, not just because I wanted to have fun! I was hoping for something to happen.”Lori froze, looking up at Otiz. She searched for what had been hidden all this time.“I... I tried… I wanted to stay close to you... because I wanted to. I stayed even though I knew my hopes would never come true. I was chasing the sun. A sun that was determined to shine for one person—so in love with that one person, even though he were no longer here.”Otiz sighed. He wanted to stop, knowing that whatever he
"Wait, I don't want to cause trouble or make threats. I just want to talk to him," Andreas said, raising his hands. The aggressive demeanor vanished, replaced by panic at Ed's warning.He might not have any business with Ed, but everyone wealthy in Puerto Vallarta or Guadalajara would know what kind of business Ed was involved in besides tequila and how dangerous it was to mess with him."Talk about what?" Ed asked, lowering the tension in the conversation. He still wasn’t going to reveal Otiz's whereabouts until things were clearer."I… It's about Lori. Do you know about their relationship?" Andreas inquired as he rubbed his strained neck. His face was no longer panicked but somber."Lori? And Otiz? Yeah, I know enough." Ed didn’t know, but he didn’t want to admit it.Since the Zurich incident, Ed had sensed they were closer than he had imagined. It's no wonder Ed often notices Otiz glancing at Lori when they're in the sam
"Is Otiz here?" As soon as she saw Ruby appear in the living room, Lori inquired."I already told you he wasn't. Do you want to see Otiz or something?" Ruby was confused.Before coming over, Lori had already asked if Otiz was at the house. Ruby had said no and mentioned that Otiz hadn't even come to drop off AJ."Thank goodness." Lori immediately grabbed Ruby's hand, pulling her back into the bedroom and pushing her down onto the bed, telling her to rest."What is wrong with you?" Ruby, of course, resisted and sat up. Lori had already sat down on the edge of the bed and was covering her face.Her body language clearly showed anxiety and stress."Are you okay? You look..."Ruby wanted to say "terrible," but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Lori was never disheveled. Her taste in dressing and grooming was like Liz’s. But now, the Lori in front of her was wearing something that resembled cartoon-printed pajamas and clear
Otiz tried to chew the food he had just ordered, hoping to taste something savory—or at least salty—but there was nothing. The sausage he bit into tasted no different from water. Bland but textured.“Ck!”Giving up, Otiz pushed the plate aside and grabbed a banana—easier to bite and chew.Otiz forced himself to eat because he needed it. His stomach was starting to hurt after nearly two days of just taking medicine without eating. His fever and cold had passed, but not his sense of taste. Everything still tasted bland. The banana was no different, with no sweetness at all. He just swallowed it without enthusiasm.Otiz lay back down on his bed, closing his eyes without changing his clothes. Because he had just returned from the doctor, he was still fully dressed.In addition to his taste not returning, his body was still weak, and Otiz blamed the group from Italy. It seemed like he had caught a foreign flu virus from the