Butterflies were running through my stomach, making me feel like I needed to vomit. I stared out of the passenger window before closing my eyes. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and give it a soothing rub. "It's going to be fun, baby girl," Mia told me comfortably.

We were on our way to my family's BBQ. For the first time, I was going to face my biological mother and father. It made me anxious. What if they were uptight or super weird? My father had his own small gang, what if he was an asshole? What if he was a cold bastard? I literally knew nothing about them except for the little bit of information that Camilo had given me about them. What if he was only telling me the good stuff and hiding all the bad? F-ck, we needed to turn around. I couldn't do this. I thought I was ready but I wasn't.

"This was a horrible idea," I told Mia as I turned towards her.

Her eyes were on the road but she had a comforting smile on her face. "Girl, we're basically already here. Somebody's blasting Chantaje. That's your people, girl!" I snickered as my butterflies slowly went away. There was a reason why I decided to ask Mia to come along to my family's BBQ. She was like my family so it was only right that met my biological family with me. "Girl, if you have a cousin that looks like Maluma I'm going to marry into the family. Your brother actually looks just like him."

"Ugh, don't ruin Maluma for me. My man doesn't look like my brother. Plus, my brother also has a wife so let's not stir up any drama, b-tch," I told her with a laugh.

"Well, the point is, your brother's fine. You're fine. I'm sure you have plenty of fine cousins to choose from."

Once we got in the neighborhood, all we had to do was follow Maluma's voice which was a very good f-cking sign. After Drake, Maluma was my second celebrity crush. Mia and I sang along to the songs until we finally pulled up in front of a house. People were filled all through the house, the front yard and back yard. It looked like a f-cking block party.

When we stepped onto the yard, it wasn't anything unfamiliar for me. It was just like the parties that Mia and her family threw. The older men were starting at us as if we were a full course meal and as if we would actually be interested in them. Kids were running around us, pushing past between apologies and giggles. Nearly every adult had some kind of alcoholic beverage in their hands. We hadn't even been there for a full minute and Mia had found a cooler and grabbed herself a Corona. There was nothing but laughing, dancing, drinking and a lot petty yet harmless arguments.

I spotted my brother and his wife surrounding the DJ. When I approached them, I listened to them make music requests. "That's enough Maluma! We've played five songs by him in a row," Gabriela told the DJ.

"No, man. Play some more Maluma tracks or switch it up with some J Balvin," Camilo urged the DJ.

"Why are you so obsessed with Colombian bad boys? You know Colombians aren't the only ones that make Latin music, right?"

"I know that, but we do it the best."

Gabriela scoffed at her husband with disgust. "First, how are you going to be so disrespectful? Have you ever heard of f-cking Selena?"

Camilo rolled his eyes, ignored his wife and turned to the DJ. "Just play some J Balvin, man."

Gabriela was about to argue some more but then Mia and I caught her attention. Camilo found us watching and laughing at their conversation as well. "You made it," Gabriela said as she pulled me into a warm hug. She held me as if she knew me for most of her life but we had never seen each other face to face in our life. I laughed and hugged her back. "You're so gorgeous. How are you this ugly one's sister?"

Camilo smacked his lips as he pulled me into a hug right after his wife. He gave Mia a dap and clinked their Corona's bottles together. "Nice of you to show up, Camila. What's up, Mia?"

"Nothing much, I just don't respect how you tried to diss the iconic Selena," Mia shot towards my brother. That gained her a high-five from Gabriela.

"Majority of people at this party are Mexican. They don't want to hear nothing but f-cking Maluma songs. I tried to tell him that but he's so stuck in his poor music choice ways. Me, a Mexican woman, knows what to play at a party with a majority of my people," Gabriela continued to plea her case.

"Same, girl. I know exactly what to play to get this party started! My family throws so many f-cking parties that I could DJ this place with my eyes closed," Mia agreed with a shrug.

Camilo wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Camila, come on, you have to be on my side, right?"

I quickly shook my head and laughed. "Sorry, bro, but I was brought up by Mia's family. I don't know too much about Colombian music or culture so I'm going to have to agree with Mia and Gabriela. And Maluma and J Balvin are little too modern. There's people of all ages here. We have to hit them with some old school hits."

Gabriela pulled me from Camilo's grasp and wrapped her arms around both Mia and me. "You see, women know best. DJ, play some motherf-cking Selena. Take us back!" The DJ nodded and as soon as he put on a Selena song, people screamed with surprise and rushed to start dancing. Gabriela smirked and blew her nails. "Men know nothing."

"Okay, you guys were right but the young people were lit when Maluma was playing. But f-ck it, Camila, are you ready to meet my parents? They're around back and they're really excited to see you. They kept asking me when you were going to show up. Oh, excuse my manners, do you want a drink? Food? We have plenty of f-cking food."

"I better not drink before I meet our parents. I don't want to put on a bad impression," I told Camilo honestly.

Camilo nodded his head understandingly before motioning for us to follow him. We walked to the backyard of the house where it seemed like people were more thinned out. At a long table, there was a group of men sitting and one woman. It seemed like they were having a serious conversation as the woman nodded her head to the music. I knew just from looking at her that she was my mother. F-ck, the resemblance was uncanny. F-ck genetics were really shaking up my world. I thought I would never see my biological parents but there they were right there in front of me.

"Sh-t, fool. They look just like you," Mia said in shock.

"I know, right," I said back in astonishment. We probably sounded like two idiots.

Camilo chuckled at the both of us. "Well, do you want to meet them now or what? Are you ready?"

There was no need in prolonging the situation. It had been twenty-two years, it was time to be reunited with them. "¡Vámonos!"

When we approached the table, it seemed like my father automatically looked up. A slow smile spread across his face as he quickly stood up. Next, I caught my mother's attention. She let out a shriek as she hopped up as well. I had a nervous yet genuine smile on my face as they rushed up to me. They took turns giving me tight hugs and kisses on the cheek. I laughed and accepted them. It was all love and I had nothing against it. They were my parents after all.

The men that was sitting around the table slowly dispersed realizing that we were having an intimate moment. My father pulled away from the hug and put his hands on my shoulders. He let out a deep and happy sigh. "I thought I would never see you again, Camila. It's been twenty-two years. We have so much to catch up on as a family."

"Your father's right. We thought you wouldn't want to see us and we couldn't blame you if you didn't. We shouldn't have gave you away but you had such a great life so far because of it. You've had opportunities that Camilo has never had. It makes this reunion even the more special," my mother said as she tucked loose strands of my hair behind my ear. "You're so beautiful. You look just like my mother. Your hair is so healthy, thick and gorgeous. I remember when my hair was like that. You remind me of my youth."

I don't know what my mother was talking about. She still had a healthy head full of hair and was gorgeous for someone of her age and so was my father. They were aging gracefully and I saw so much of me in them. When I looked into my mother's eyes, I saw my own. When I stared at my father's cheekbones, it was like a reflection of my own. F-ck, these were my parents. They made me. A smile came upon my face and I let a tear shed. "The past doesn't matter. I'm so happy to be here with you two now."

"You don't know how happy this makes us, Camila. Seeing that you're healthy and doing well for yourself brings so much joy to our hearts. And you're right, the past doesn't matter. We're together now and I'm not letting you back out of our lives," my father told me as he wiped away my single tear. "You're so gorgeous. And who's this?" My father directed his head over to Mia who was standing to the side and crying herself. She was being more emotional than me. Camilo was laughing at her as she dabbed at her eyes.

"Mia's my best friend. She's like a sister to me. We've known each other since we can remember. Her and her family taught me Spanish. Because of them I wasn't whitewashed and I'm pretty cultured in Mexican culture. I was just telling Camilo that I don't know much about Colombia or Colombian culture but I'm sure you guys can help me out."

"Don't worry, you'll get a good taste of some pure-bred Colombian culture when you come to one of the real family gatherings. This is just a kickback but wait until we get everyone from our side of the family together. You're going to be overwhelmed, kid," Camilo jumped into the conversation.

"Oh, wow, I can't wait," I told him somewhat sarcastically. He laughed at me and rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Mia. You're welcomed into the family," my father told Mia as he walked over to hug her as well. "I know you girls are hungry. You should eat."

"I'll go grab you girls some food," my mom insisted as if she was some kind of maid. No way was I going to let her go out of her way while Mia and I were completely capable.

"No, it's fine. I can go and-"

"No, Camila. You girls sit down and talk with your father. I'll be right back," my mother said as she softly smacked my shoulder.

"Damn, Mama. You're already hitting her," Camilo joked. My mom hushed him and scurried off to get Mia and I food. "You know what's not fair. You never got an ass whooping from these two. I had hundreds."

"Don't worry. She had her fair share from my mom. My mom beat Camila and I with her chanclas more times than she wore them." Well, I guess Mia was calling me Camila now too. That was certainly weird. It was going to take me a while to get used to it.

Camilo chuckled. "What the hell did you two get into to deserve ass whoopings?"

"I don't want to tell you in front of dad," I told Camilo quietly even though I was giggling. The things Mia and I did when we were younger were definitely worthy of some kind of punishment.

It didn't take long for me to get comfortable with my parents. Honestly, I thought I would call them by their first names but within hours I was comfortable enough to call them 'Mama' and "Papi" which was what Camilo called them. They were genuinely nice and answered any questions that they thought that I might have had. They tried to explain themselves for giving me away but I kind of didn't want to hear it. I was mad when I first found out but now I was fine with it. In a way, I was kind of blessed that they gave me away. I would've never met Mia...or Andy for that matter.

Upon Camilo's request, the DJ began playing more modern songs. Camilo forced me to dance as they played the songs he requested. He was teaching me all the dances that I didn't know. First, he would demonstrate with Gabriela and then grab my hands and dance with me as Gabriela danced with Mia. I knew Mia was probably having a heart attack. Gabriela was hot as hell and it seemed like Mia was getting gayer by the day. The intimate dances were probably making her lose her mind.

Mia and I were quick learners. We were always the best dancers at the parties we went to but everyone was impressed with our skills. Once we got comfortable enough, we started dancing with other people. I found myself dancing with a random guy. Everything was nice. He had a nice beard, beautiful dark eyes, a muscular build and man, was he tall. A tall, gorgeous man that could actually move was rare. The dancing was innocent. I made sure he didn't get too handsy and made sure my own hands didn't wander anywhere even though they wanted to.

After we danced to a couple songs, I slowly backed away from him. He laughed and looked at me as if he was offended. "No more dancing?"

"Dude, you're probably my cousin. And I'm with someone," I told him jokingly.

He showed me his pearly white teeth and scratched the back of his neck. "Andy?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "I work with your father. He told me that you were dating Andy De Palma. She's pretty badass. She's a boss."

"Yeah, she's cool," I told him awkwardly. It was kind of weird talking about Andy when we weren't exactly on good terms. I didn't know what to say, to be honest.

"Oh well, I'm Luis. It was nice dancing with you, Camila. You have some really..." he bit his lip and laughed. "Well, let's just say you can dance very well." He licked his lips and gave me this sexy stare that caught me off guard. I bit the inside of my cheek and he stepped closer to me. "We're not cousins, by the way."

Was he hitting on me? He had balls. My father was basically his boss and my girlfriend could easily have him killed. He was gorgeous and everything but I wasn't about to get caught up in any more drama. Lucky for me, Camilo walked up and patted Luis on the back. "Why are you aggravating my sister, Luis?"

Camilo tried to make it seem chill but he was giving Luis a cold stare. Luis quickly shook his head and looked over to the bar. "No, man. I was just about to get a drink."

"Good." Luis gave me one last look before walking away from us. Once he walked away, Camilo was giving me a judgmental look.

"Why are you giving me that face?"

"You guys were really going in."

"What? I didn't even let him touch me."

Camilo laughed and crossed his arms. "Really now? His hands were squeezing areas that would get him killed if Andy was here. The last thing I need is beef with Andy. You put an idea in that boy's head. Luis is crazy as f-ck! He may look good or whatever but that man is one of the most psychotic people I know. You need to stay away from him, for your safety and Andy's too."

"I mean, of course. I wasn't going to have sex with him or anything. We were dancing and I swear, I made sure he didn't get too handsy. It was friendly. That's all. I don't want any drama." Camilo covered his face with his hands before dropping them to his side. The dancing really stressed him out. I didn't see the big deal.

"Damn."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just stay away from him, Camila. I'll handle things."

Even though, I didn't get the big fuss. I nodded my head. "I'll stay away."

-

Do you think Delaney's family is chill?

How do you feel about this Luis character?