Chocolate Cherry Cheater Read online

  My face burned, and I knew my Danish complexion betrayed me with a full-coverage pink blush. Seriously, I needed to stop reading so many romance novels. Jake saw me as a friend. Nothing more. Why would he? I wasn’t the adventuresome type. I did my best to avoid conflict and danger when I could avoid them (despite recent events which might make him draw the wrong conclusion about me.)

  A sultry voice rose above the conversational chatter surrounding us. “Jake, is that you?”

  I turned to see a gorgeous brunette walking toward us, her fitted business suit hugging her curves. Not one wrinkle marred the perfection of her ensemble. She walked over the uneven planks in five-inch heels like it was no big deal.

  I looked down at my 501s, vintage t-shirt, and zip-up hooded sweatshirt.

  She reminded me of the popular girl from high school — the one with the perfect teeth, the gorgeous hair, and a body the current styles of clothing always favored. The girl who was nice to me because I occasionally helped her with her homework and school projects (You know, the ones we had to do as a “team” that I always got stuck doing all the work for just so I could get a passing grade? Loved those.)

  She reached out and petted Jake’s arm, squeezing and humming approval when she reached his bicep. “Still as strong as ever. You look amazing, Jake,” she said, leaning in to him.

  Lady growled at her. Good girl.

  Jake didn’t return her smile. He glanced over his shoulder worriedly in time to see Abuelita charging at us.

  He stepped away, holding his hand up like a barrier between them. “I warned you to stay away,” he grumbled to the mystery girl.

  She widened her smile. “Abuelita doesn’t frighten me.”

  “If you knew what was best for you, you would leave right now,” Jake warned.

  The persistent girl reached out, her fingers brushing against his arm again. “Don’t send me away, Jakey. Who is your new friend?” she asked, looking at me. She gave me the once over, trying to intimidate me with her dismissive glance. Part of me wanted to retreat, and the other part of me wanted to fold my arms over my chest and glare at her.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” she insisted.

  Abuelita squeezed herself between Jake and the mystery girl with whom he clearly had a past. Smacking her hand away from where it hovered near Jake’s arm, Abuelita said, “I introduce, you wicked girl. You the cabra. Christina la Cabra.”

  Jake rubbed his temples.

  I tried to remember what cabra meant in English.

  Unfazed, Christina reached her hand out for me to shake. “Abuelita’s sense of humor is as strong as ever, I see. My name is Christina Cabrera. I am the senior reporter at AmbatoVision. You’ve probably seen me on television.”

  I shook her hand like a good sport.

  Before I could say anything, Abuelita said, “We no see you. We watch real reporter on UIO News from the capital.” She stretched herself up to her full height. Though she be but little, she is fierce.

  Tia Rosa, not to be outdone, pushed her horn-rimmed glasses up her nose and huffed in agreement. “We watch good news in Ambato, SierraVista. You know Maria Escobar? She no like you. She nice.”

  Mystery Girl wasn’t fazed, but I had to wonder what she’d done to earn the scorn of both Jimenez sisters. Abuelita hated pretty much everybody, but it took a lot to turn Tia Rosa against anyone.

  Christina smoothed her hair and sneered. “Jake and I were high school sweethearts. We grew up together.” She nudged him playfully on the chest with her French-tipped fingernails.

  Abuelita crowded her away from Jake who stood like a statue with his arms crossed over his chest, still not smiling.

  “The day you leave was the best day of Jake life,” Abuelita said.

  Christina laughed. “I’ve missed you too, Abuelita. Do you still have the restaurant with Sylvia? I’ll have to stop by if I can find the time in my busy schedule.”

  Abuelita’s face pinched together like she’d drunk straight lemonade. “My daughter good businesswoman. She no need me. I help Jessica with her new doughnut shop. She very talented. Maybe you see her on the television?”

  Great. My fifteen minutes of unwanted fame compared to a professional senior reporter.

  Christina narrowed her eyes as she inspected me from the top of my messy bun to the bottom of my shoes again. I wished the volcano would swallow me up.

  Finally, after her critical eye had exposed me completely, Christina said, “Hmm, I can’t say I have, but I’m so busy making a success of my career to notice anything less than spectacular.”

  Ouch. Okay, Christina wasn’t the nice, popular girl from school. She was the mean girl. I really needed to find out what cabra meant.

  Jake wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You wouldn’t know spectacular if she shook your hand. Now, we came here to hike.” He looked pointedly at her flimsy heels, and I became insanely proud of my dusty Converse when I realized there was no way she would join us down the dusty trail to the lagoon.

  He steered me away from Christina, motioning for Abuelita and Tia Rosa to follow, and giving them a stern look when they hesitated.

  I looked over my shoulder to make sure Lady came along and saw the scowl on the reporter’s face — a scowl directed at me.

  When we were out of hearing distance, I asked, “What does cabra mean?”

  Tia Rosa answered. “It mean goat. Christina horrible girl, make Jake miserable.”

  Jake was uncommonly silent. The muscles at his clenched jaw twitched.

  Part of me was dying to know what his past was with Christina. The other part of me was afraid of the answer.

  Chapter 3

  Abuelita grumbled about the bathrooms all the way back to the Jeep.

  “Fifty cent for to use a toilet that no flush!” she complained.

  Tia Rosa explained, “There big barrel with bucket for to flush.”

  Abuelita wasn’t done yet. “Is water for to wash hands. Why they no have water for to flush? Is estúpido,” she exclaimed while Jake rearranged the contents of the backpacks to make room for the picnic of goodies his mom had sent.

  Sylvia was an amazing cook, and my stomach grumbled despite the lingering smell of vinegar. Lady kept her distance, sniffing the fresh mountain air breezing past.

  Tia Rosa looked between me and Jake, grinning suggestively. “We take the basket,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “It’s too heavy and awkward, Tia. It’ll be easier to carry it on our backs.” Jake continued moving things around, mostly into his pack I noticed.

  Tia Rosa peered at him through the thick lenses of her glasses, blinking her magnified eyes. “You think we two old ladies walk down the mountain? No, we ride the horse. We take the basket. You and Jessica walk together.” She wiggled her eyebrows again, just in case Jake hadn’t gotten her hint the first time.

  Before my mortification could spread up to my face again, Jake winked at her, whispering loudly enough for me to hear, “Thank you, Tia, but I don’t need your help.”

  What? Help for what? Or was he just trying to get his interfering aunt to quit trying to get us together? What did he mean? Why did I have to overthink absolutely everything?

  Thankfully, Abuelita distracted my thoughts before I drove myself crazy with uncertainty. Plunking her fists on her bony hips, she said, “Who you call ‘old lady’? I more young than you.”

  “We old, Bertha. We have the wrinkles and the squeaky knees.”

  “I no old until I decide. Old is in the mind.”

  Jake hefted his pack onto his back and handed my much lighter JanSport to me, saying, “Mischief keeps them young.”

  He wrapped his arms around the two sisters, and they beamed up at him adoringly.

  “Is true,” Tia Rosa admitted.

  I snapped a picture of them on my phone, knowing the serene moment wouldn’t last. As I listened to the two sisters bicker the entire way to the corral, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was what awaited me, Jesse
nia, and Jessamyn in our future.

  Abuelita haggled prices with the man in charge, and I snapped Lady’s leash on when she lunged toward the paddock.

  “Careful, Lady. Those hooves are dangerous,” I warned. Lady didn’t jump on people, bark at other dogs, or chase after cars, so it surprised me to learn that horses were her weakness.

  Jake said, “We’d better get going. They’ll reach the bottom before we do.”

  I was happy to get Lady away from the equines. She didn’t stop tugging on her leash until we’d crossed half of the parking area toward the ridge.

  We started down the path, the fine dust poofing around our feet at every step. I wished I’d worn hiking boots instead of sneakers, but they still beat Christina’s high heels. There was no way La Cabra would follow us to the lagoon.

  I peeked up at Jake, inquisitive but not knowing how to ask without sounding too interested. It wasn’t really my business — a truth which did absolutely nothing to tame my curiosity.

  I tried not to stew over it while Jake chatted with the guide manning the booth where hikers had to register before continuing down the trail.

  Before I could muster up enough boldness to ask what I burned to know, Jake snapped his fingers. “Oh, man. We have nothing to drink,” he exclaimed.

  A group of early-bird hikers panted past us, their shirts soaked with sweat and their faces red from the exertion.

  I looked at the incline leading back up to the volcano rim, then down at the lagoon, taking particular note of how tiny the people looked at the distant bottom. My legs quivered at the threat of having to hike even a small portion of the trail twice.

  “Do you want to go back up? I saw a store by the bathrooms,” I asked, then swallowed hard and waited for Jake’s answer.

  Please say no. Please say no.

  “And make you walk back up that? No way,” he replied.

  “Thank you,” I sighed in relief. It’s like he could read my mind.

  “I’ll leave my backpack with you and Lady if you don’t mind waiting for me,” he said, taking off his baseball cap and setting it on top of my head. “I’m sorry this is the only shade I can give you.”

  I was totally okay with that.

  Jake ascended the path at a run. I guess that was the advantage of being an adventure tour guide. He was fit.

  Lady and I stood as close to the mountainside as we could, watching the people go by.

  A family of eight rode past us on horses, their guide leading the way on foot while playing a lively tune on a wooden flute. I tightened my grip on Lady when she looked like she wanted to chase after them.

  There were serious hikers with trekking poles and plastic ponchos. I looked up at the clouds but saw no sign of rain clouds.

  Enthusiastic cultural travelers wore alpaca wool sweaters buckled under fanny packs, their burned faces and bleached hair suggesting they had no idea how intense the sun was at the equator.

  There were the local families, whose kids ran up and down the trail kicking a soccer ball while the parents carried coolers in their arms and babies on their backs.

  Jake had been gone for quite a while, but I was fully entertained people-watching.

  I heard Abuelita and Tia Rosa before I saw them. Abuelita’s sharp voice carried well inside the crater. “Is you fault you make us lose the horse.”

  “I need to use the bathroom,” said Tia Rosa.

  “You always need to use the bathroom.”

  “What happen if there no bathroom at the bottom, huh? What you do?” Tia Rosa retorted.

  “You take too long. And you waste fifty cent for toilet no flush,” Abuelita complained.

  I chuckled when they rounded the corner and saw the source of Abuelita’s discontent. It had two long ears and brayed, jostling Abuelita past us at a bone-jarring trot when it saw Lady.

  Tia Rosa waved from the back of her donkey. “Where Jake go?”

  “He’s getting something to drink,” I answered.

  “Is good. I already thirsty. I eat the dust of the donkey.” She frowned at her sister ahead of her on the path. No matter how hard Abuelita pulled back on the reins, her steed kept going.

  “It no stop!” Abuelita shouted, disappearing around another curve in the trail.

  “Where’s your guide?” I asked.

  Tia Rosa bunched her plump cheeks and huffed. “Bertha no want to pay the full price. Is ten dollar down and ten dollar up. She convince the man to give us good price, but he no come for to guide.”

  She patted her donkey on the neck. “I get the nice donkey. He cute.” Clucking her tongue, Tia Rosa tapped his sides, and he continued rambling down the path.

  I couldn’t see Abuelita, but I heard her voice echoing through the caldera.

  Lady strained against her leash, but I held her back. “Seriously, Lady? Horses and donkeys? Couldn’t you choose something closer to your own size?” I mumbled as another group of hikers rambled by.

  Tia Rosa had just disappeared past the next curve when Jake returned holding a two-liter bottle of mineral water. “Sorry about the wait. This was all they had by the time I made it to the register.”

  “No worries. Did you see Abuelita and Tia Rosa? They had to rent donkeys.”

  He laughed. “Adi’s going to be upset she missed that.”

  “I promised her I’d document today’s excursion. I’ll get pictures.” That is, if we caught up with Abuelita and her speedy donkey…

  We made quick time down the rest of the path until the ground leveled and we reached the beach.

  The sun sparkled off the water of the lagoon. Picnic blankets and tufts of straw-like grass dotted the ground. Kayakers rippled through the lagoon water, splashing each other with their oars. Hikers posed for pictures on the wooden docks floating over the water. There were no trees and very little shade.

  The panorama was beautiful, but the forty-minute hike down the trail meant that the walk up would be brutal. Maybe I should’ve rented a donkey too. I tried not to think too much about it and enjoy my surroundings.

  Jake looked around and pointed to a level patch of grass. “This is a good spot. Are you hungry?”

  “Famished!” I said with more honest enthusiasm than I’d intended as I looked around for Abuelita and Tia Rosa. Where were they?

  “Hey,” Jake said, stepping closer to me with his hands together. “I want to apologize to you. Christina can be mean sometimes, and I didn’t like how she spoke to you. I should have known she would be catty, and I should’ve gotten us out of their sooner.”

  Now was the time. “What’s your history with her anyway?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

  He sighed. “We grew up together in Baños and dated through high school. But we wanted different things out of life. You could say we grew apart.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at his boots.

  While I found his awkwardness endearing, I also knew there was a lot he was leaving out. Hoping to steer the conversation back to safer ground, I asked, “What did you want?”

  “Small town life. I like the calm and closeness of it.”

  “I like that too,” I owned. I loved being able to greet my regular customers by name and ask about their families. It was cozy.

  “Christina didn’t. She wanted bigger and better. She wanted to make her mark on the world, for people to know her name.”

  “It sounds like she’s gotten what she wanted. Being a senior reporter in a city is a big deal.”

  Jake folded his arms over his chest. “She won’t stop until she’s the top reporter in the country. Someday, she’ll report from the capital at UIO News. But her ambition will never allow her to be happy. She’ll always want more because she’s never learned to appreciate what she has.” The bitterness in his tone revealed a good deal more than his words did. Christina hadn’t appreciated him. What kind of crazy woman wouldn’t appreciate Jake?

  “I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say and cursing my curiosity for bringing up such a sor
e subject.

  He uncrossed his arms. “Yeah, well, it didn’t end well, but I’m so glad she’s not in my life anymore. I wish her well, but I also wish her far away from me.”

  Chapter 4

  Abuelita and Tia Rosa hobbled over to Jake, Lady, and me.

  “We tie donkeys to the bush. Now, we eat,” said Abuelita.

  Jake shook his head. “You know, it’ll be a miracle if those donkeys are still there when it’s time to go back up. I hate to say it, Abuelita, but you’ve been had.”

  Abuelita stiffened. “I save ten dollar.”

  He held his hands up. “I hope I’m wrong or your rides are going to leave you both at the bottom of the trail while they run back up to their guide and the hay he feeds them.”

  A vivid scene of us chasing the donkeys back up the mountainside with Lady barking at their heels popped into my head. That would make an excellent addition to The Adventures of Jungle Jane, a growing collection of comics I drew for my family.

  Tia Rosa nudged Jake in the arm. “You tell Jessica about lagoon?”

  Abuelita gathered the backpacks around her and unpacked our picnic on top of the blanket spread over the clumps of grass. She looked up at me. “He tell you is active volcano?”

  I knew my eyes bulged, and I looked down at my feet trying to determine if they were hot because of the intense trek down to the lagoon or because of the molten lava boiling under my sneakers. What was it with Ecuador and its active volcanoes? They were everywhere.

  Jake laid out the paper plates. “Calm down, Abuelita. Technically, yes, it's active. But it’s been dormant for many years. Did you notice how the water is greenish in color? Sometimes, it even looks yellow.”

  I had noticed. I had thought it was some kind of algae. I also noticed how neatly Jake had changed the subject.

  He explained, “That’s because the lagoon is all mineral water. The mix of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide makes it unsuitable to drink, but that’s what gives the water its green tone.”

  I was secretly impressed Jake knew the composition of the water. Logic told me he wouldn’t have brought us here if there was a chance the volcano would explode. Calm and interest emboldened me to ask more. “What does Quilotoa mean?”