Before she could say another word, Vince hung up. That mother f**ker! He didn’t hang up because he didn’t want to talk to her anymore, but because he was afraid of the things that might spew out of his mouth just thinking about how Ben probably groaned as he felt up his Rosie. One thing was for damn sure: if this guy was going to be around from here on, even if it was just for Candace, Vince was going to make one thing clear. He thought he had already, but apparently this ass**le was going to need it spelled out. Rose was not someone his ogling, f**king ass would be copping a feel on.

Vince knew the whole hugging bullshit was just a sneaky way of doing just that. He’d done it himself a few times, and it’d been done to him by girls plenty of times as well but not since Rose had come in the picture. Vince would be damned if he’d be putting up with that shit. Rose should’ve known any guy putting his hands on her would piss him off but especially this guy.

He walked up the stairs in front of his building still on fire and in no way ready to talk to Rose yet, so he sent her call to voicemail. Looking up from his phone he saw Anita by the bus stop with Cruz, the current neighborhood pusher. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her with him, and he’d warned her he was trouble. Anita assured him Cruz was trying to change and deep inside was a good guy.

Acutely aware that Rose had done the very thing Anita was doing, he didn’t push any further. Rose had given Vince the benefit of the doubt when she’d first met him—even stuck with him after he f**ked up a few more times. Anita wasn’t a dumb girl. She wouldn’t be hanging around someone who might bring trouble around her little brothers.

Vince watched as her brothers exited the school bus. Pepe hopped a few steps in front of them as they all walked down the street, and Cruz gave Beto, who’d just started kindergarten last fall, a piggyback ride. Maybe the guy was changing. Vince usually saw him hanging around thugs or dealing on corners or in parks. Seeing him hanging out with Anita and playing with her brothers was a side of Cruz he would’ve never expected to see.

No sooner had he turned his attention away from Anita and Cruz than thoughts of Ben’s hands on Rose assaulted him again. He slammed the door behind him as he walked into the building. Knowing he had to get it together before he called her back, he tried without success to calm himself.

Hoping a shower would cool him off, Vince took a long one. It did somewhat, but the moment he was dressed and thought about it, he was irritated all over again. What pissed him off most was that Rose was already warning him that this guy would probably be around more from here on. There were a few things Vince had pushed to the back of his head but had never quite forgotten.

One: she mentioned more than once how extremely flattered she’d been to have been asked to the prom by this prick because he was such a hot shot at school. Even though he knew Rose loved him, he had to wonder if she couldn’t secretly be harboring a crush for Mr. Fucking Popular. Two: Not only would Vince never forget the way this guy had looked at her at the park but how he’d added that jab after about calling her when it was all over. Vince was certain the ass**le would like nothing better than get one up on him. He already had by getting that hug from Rose that Vince made clear wasn’t going to fly. The fact that Rose would let him, knowing how Vince felt about him, was the biggest pisser.

Knowing there was no way he could talk to her right now without saying something he might regret, he decided to go hang out with his friends. It’d been a while since he talked to most of them. Between school, work, and driving out to see Rose, he’d pretty much made them last in his list of priorities. Lately, even while at school and work, thoughts of Rose rarely escaped him. Right now he needed to relieve his mind of her at least for a couple of hours.

It wasn’t hard to find them. El Taco Loco up the street where two of his friends now worked was the place to be these days from what Lorenzo told him. “We get all the free chips and salsa we want.” Vince remembered that was what his easily-excited brother had mentioned.

Happy that Lorenzo was there and not somewhere else getting into trouble, Vince decided to treat his brother to dinner. Lately Vince had been pretty tight with his money since he was trying so hard to get the money together for a car. But tonight he was feeling generous. He had almost enough money saved anyway. In the meantime he was still relying on his dad to lend him his car to drive out to see Rose. But he told her just a few more weeks and he’d have his own car.

After catching up with the guys and eating his dinner, Lorenzo stood up and said he was out.

“Where you going?” Vince eyed him.

Lorenzo flashed him a grin and bounced his brows. “I got someone to see.”

Vincent pulled out his phone to check the time and saw the missed calls and unread texts from Rose. The annoyance he’d managed to forget for a while was back. Ignoring it for a moment, he glanced up at Lorenzo. “Get your ass home early, Enzo. Don’t make me come looking for you.”

His brother nodded and saluted him as he walked out of the restaurant. Knowing he had Rose to deal with still, Vince began to wrap it up and finish his food.

Most of the evening Vince thought Alfonso had been eyeing him kind of weird. Now that Lorenzo was gone Vince turned looked up from his plate and caught that same strange leer Alfonso wore on his face all night. “What?”

“Nothin’, I just thought I knew you better is all.”

“What are you talking about?” Vince laughed taking one last bite of his taco. Alfonso laughed now, too and stood up from the booth where he’d been sitting all night. “You still in the market for some wheels?”