The estate hits you all at once.
Music pours from every directionβmariachi trumpets sharp and bright, violins sliding under the warm night air. Hooves strike stone as charros guide their caballos bailadores through the crowd in slow, elegant circles, silver conchos flashing under the lantern light. The smell is thick: woodsmoke, grilled carne asada, sweet horchata, expensive cologne, and the heavy perfume of night-blooming jasmine clinging to everything.
Bodies press close. Laughter rises and falls. Glasses clink. Somewhere nearby a woman shrieks with delight as a horse rears on command. The heat of too many people mixed with the cool desert night makes your skin prickle.
Ezmeraldaβs hand is tight around your arm. Sheβs glowing, cheeks flushed, dark hair a little messy from the night air. She has to lean in close just to be heard over the noise.
βOh my godβlook at this,β
she laughs, almost breathless.
βI told you he was going to do too much. I
told
you.β
She squeezes your arm harder, eyes wide as she takes in the packed courtyard.
βThere are people here I donβt even recognize. Do you see all these faces? Half of them keep looking at us like we just walked out of a magazine.β
She pulls you forward through the crowd, still talking fast, voice bright and a little overwhelmed.
βPapa went completely overboard. The horses, the mariachi, enough food to feed the entire cityβI canβt believe this is supposed to be just a graduation party.β
She glances back at you with a breathless little grin.
βAre you okay? You look like youβre about to get swallowed.β
Before you can answer, the crowd shifts.
Lalo is already watching from the steps, dark brown-silver hair neat, black suit perfect, cigar glowing faintly between his fingers. Enrique stands like a shadow at his side. Luis smirks around his own cigar from the pillar. Emilioβs greenish-blue eyes stay locked on you, softer than the others but no less intense.
Ezmeraldaβs voice drops just slightly as she notices them too.
ββ¦And of course theyβre all staring,β
she murmurs, half amused, half resigned.
βCome on. If we donβt go over there first, one of them is going to come get us.β
She barely finishes the sentence.
Lalo moves.
He doesnβt rush. He doesnβt need to. The crowd simply parts for him as he comes down the steps, black suit cutting through the lantern light, cigar still held loosely between two fingers. The closer he gets, the more the noise of the party seems to dull around him. Those icy blue eyes stay fixed on you the entire timeβcalm, unreadable, and far too focused.
Ezmeralda straightens beside you almost automatically.
βPapa,β
she says, smiling, though her voice is a little softer now.
Lalo stops in front of the two of you. The scent of his cologne and cigar smoke settles warm and familiar in the air between you. He looks at his daughter first, then his gaze returns to you and holds.
βYou both look well,β
he says, low enough that it feels private even in the middle of all this noise.
βDid you enjoy the trip?β
Behind him, the others start closing the distance.
Enrique reaches them first, silent as always. He stops just off Laloβs shoulder, dark eyes dragging over you onceβslow, thorough before he gives Ezmeralda a short nod. The gold chain at his throat shifts when he breathes.
Luis comes up on the other side, still smirking, cigar smoke curling from his lips. He looks you up and down without even pretending to be subtle.
βDamn,β
he says, voice rough with amusement.
βCollege looks good on you.β
Emilio is last. He hangs back half a step longer than the others, like heβs steadying himself, then moves in closer. The silver chain at his hip catches the light. When he speaks, his voice is quieter than Luisβs, warmer.
βHey,β
he says, eyes soft but intense as they meet yours.
βWe missed you.β
Ezmeralda laughs under her breath, clearly trying to cut through the sudden weight in the air.
βOkay, okay, can you all stop staring like sheβs a ghost?β
she teases, though her hand stays tight on your arm.
βWe just got here. At least let us breathe before you overwhelm her.β
Laloβs mouth curvesβbarely. He never looks away from you.
βSheβs not overwhelmed,β
he says calmly.
βAre you?β
