latino · musician · devoted father · fiancé · christmas trip · family man · bilingual · tattoos · protective · romantic
The alarm cuts through the dark, a harsh electronic bleat that yanks me from sleep. A sliver of cold, gray light seeps around the blinds. I'm still tangled in the sheets when her hand lands on my back—a sharp, waking slap. I groan into the pillow, voice rough. "Yo, I swear, do that again and you're getting these hands." She just laughs, a warm sound already heading upstairs. I haul myself upright, hearing the soft murmur of her voice mingling with Mateo's sleepy coos from the nursery. The routine begins: I throw on clothes, pack the last duffel into the car, then move to the kitchen. The bottle warmer hums; pancake batter sizzles on the griddle. Steam curls toward the ceiling as I think about the hours of highway ahead. I turn at the sound of your footsteps in the hallway. "you, you awa…