It turned out my idea of a day in bed and Cassidy’s were very different. First, I had to talk to her, do her nails, and give her a massage. If this was what girls did on sleepovers, count me out. Then she wanted us to do facials. The sad part was she pointed out I had everything we needed. I tried to defend myself by saying Adrienne made me get the stuff and use it, but Cassidy called me a girl.
After that, we finally got naked and took a lousy shower so we could wash our hair and use my conditioner. I offered a sexier version, but she offered to make me cry, so I behaved.
Cassidy then made me do her makeup. Tracy, who was now dead to me, had told the girls about me doing her makeup when she was depressed. Just because I picked up some skills while modeling, that didn’t give me expert status. But when we were done, Cassidy did look good.
Cassidy told me she was going to her room to put on dressier clothes because I was taking her out. As I finished getting dressed, I got a call on the room phone.
“Mr. Dawson, your car is here,” the front desk said.
“Please tell them I’ll be right down.”
I walked down the hall and knocked on Cassidy’s door. She was ready, and she looked great. When we got downstairs, I was in for a revelation. My date tonight wasn’t Cassidy, it was Sarita. With her was Luis. We took a cab to Paz’s place. Once we were seated, Paz came out to greet us. This time it was Luis’s turn to be made fun of.
“And here we thought my baby brother was scared to come out of the closet. We all love him, but oh, the shame it would bring the family. I can’t tell you what a relief it is that he found himself a beard.”
You have to understand that in Cuba, guys are macho, or so they imagine. His big brother was pushing buttons that only a big brother can get away with. Luis turned bright red, and I was worried he might take a swing at Paz. Thankfully, Cassidy read the situation.
“I think he’s man enough for me.”
Luis puffed up, and his brother laughed.
“You’re surely going to warn her about his drooling problem,” Sarita goaded her older brother.
“I expect she can handle him,” he replied.
“Paz,” he said, putting his hand out to shake Cassidy’s.
“Cassidy,” she responded with a bright smile.
“What’s good tonight?” I asked to save Luis any more grief from his siblings.
“I’ll have them bring out the
Dinner was another hit. Pargo relleno was a stuffed red snapper with lobster, shrimp, and ham ground up and cooked in it. They cooked the fish on a bed of potatoes and had onions and peppers on top.
After dinner, Paz came back out with a bottle of rum and cigars. He sat down with us.
“I want to introduce you to the Cuban practice of
Sarita explained to me that when her uncles came to visit, this was what their family did. When she was younger, she would get a sip of her dad’s rum, and he would let her have a puff or two on his cigar. It brought back fond family memories for her and her brothers.
Sarita said there wasn’t an English translation for sobremesa, that the ‘over the table’ explanation didn’t adequately describe it. She better described it as time spent in conversation, digesting, relaxing, enjoying each other’s company, and certainly not rushing after a meal. Her family added the rum and cigars. I opted out of smoking a cigar, and after I had a small amount of rum, I switched to Cuban coffee. Honestly, the rum might have been better for me, but I was still in training.
Cassidy should have stopped at one as well. Luis wasn’t happy when she climbed into my lap.
“Take me home,” she ordered.
“I think we’d better go. I have a feeling that I’ll have to work tomorrow.”
“Come to practice tomorrow, if you can,” Luis offered.
“And after, we can go do something,” Sarita said.
“I think she wuves you,” Cassidy teased.
“Don’t get my brothers started,” Sarita added.
“Yeah, I was right. Time to get her home,” I said, scooping my little ninja up.
I enjoyed hanging out with Sarita and her brothers. Paz’s little hole-in-the-wall joint had the best food in Havana, as far as I was concerned.
◊◊◊
After I poured Cassidy into my bed, I called Maria Dowe, the girl I’d met in LA who wanted to get into porn. I reckoned she’d be up because of the time difference. She’d sent me a text saying she had big news.
Yes, Cassidy was in my bed. My drunk little ninja insisted, and I wasn’t about to argue with her. It was better that I keep an eye on her, anyway. While she snuggled down under the covers, I got a bottle of water and aspirin and set them on the nightstand. I also got her a garbage can in case she had an emergency during the night.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Maria answered my call.
“Did you get the job?” I asked.
