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Fuck, it’s hot.
When Tío Ernesto had mentioned that there’d been a string of robberies at the market where the Reyes family had been selling meat and fresh produce for years, both Carlos and his dad had offered to assist him with this weekend’s sales.
Andrea Reyes had simply rolled her eyes at them and thrown up her hands.
“We are here to visit family, mi amor . You’re on vacation. We’re not here for you to catch the Great Market Thief of 2021”, she had said.
“But,” Gabriel Reyes had said. “What if I want to use my vacation to catch the Great Market Thief? Which is a terrible name by the way.”
Carlos could feel his mother’s eyes on him but a small smile was pulling at the corners of his mouth. Market Thief or not, it would be fun to spend a day at one of the biggest markets in Harris County with his dad and his uncle.
However now that Carlos has been standing out here for several hours, he has some regrets.
He’s sweating an embarrassing amount at this point and didn’t realize until about an hour ago that he forgot to pack a water bottle. The zinc sunscreen his cousin had smeared on his face this morning had never fully rubbed in so he has streaks of white across his cheeks. His dad and his uncle are deep in a conversation about some of the cattle having lower yield this season.
Carlos is hot. And he’s bored.
So he starts people watching. Might as well, he thinks. Technically they are on the lookout for a Market Thief.
It’s maybe twenty minutes later that he spots him. A stunningly handsome man that looks woefully out of place in his patterned button down and nice jeans. The sun is hitting his hair in a way that makes the edges look almost a deep gold, and he’s got a tint of pink on his cheeks. He must not have a cousin at home who cares so deeply about skin protection.
A city boy through and through, Carlos muses as the man he has his eye on makes his way toward his farm stand.
His dad breaks off from his conversation with Ernesto and gives him a look. Carlos rolls his eyes at him. He’ll handle this.
Carlos puts on his best customer service persona and leans against the farmstand counter. He may be a sweaty mess, and he can feel dirt clinging to him, but this shirt does make his arms look damn good so he may as well use this whole look to his advantage.
The man in front of him looks him up and down and smirks at him.
“You look a little lost,” Carlos says.
“That obvious, huh?” He says back. “I’m looking for Tía Carmen’s farm stand. You wouldn’t happen to have directions would ya, handsome?”
Carlos feels his face heat up and feels his dad’s and Ernesto’s attention squared firmly on this exchange. He leans just a little bit over the counter, and he doesn’t think he imagines that the action is mirrored back at him.
“Tía Carmen’s stand is two rows over. If you head up to the end cap there, just make a left and go down the second row. She’s in the middle, you can’t miss her.”
“A left? Alright, I think I can manage that.” His eyes are shining in the sun and the pink sunburn on his cheeks makes Carlos want to pull him over the counter and kiss him right here in the middle of the market. Which. Is pretty bold. And not usually something he’d do in front of his father. So he tries to shake the thought away.
“Careful,” Carlos says. “This market has a bit of a funny layout, so if you make a right, you’ll end up right back here with me.”
“Wouldn’t be the worst thing.” The wink thrown in Carlos’ direction makes his face heat again. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
Carlos immediately misses the sight of pink cheeks and sparkling green eyes as soon as it’s no longer in front of him.
“You should have asked him to stay, mijo. You two were flirting something fierce.” his dad says from behind him.
“He might come back,” Carlos points out. “I didn’t want him to miss out on Tía Carmen’s tamales.”
“You could have gone with him then,” Gabriel says with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m here with you and Tío,” Carlos shrugs.
“Hm,” is all his dad says.
The stand is busy for a while. His uncle makes a joke that Carlos’ biceps must have helped pull in potential customers because even several of his regulars have made comments about the handsome man at the end of the counter.
After about an hour, his aunt texts him.
Carlitos, the text says, why did you send this handsome man my way?? You should have let him stay and flirt with you.
Carlos looks at his uncle.
“Did you text Carmen?” he asks.
Ernesto shakes his head as another text comes in.
He won’t stop talking about you and your pretty brown eyes.
Carlos feels his blush rise to the roots of his hair.
I tried to tell him how to find you again, but he says you already gave him directions. ;)
And sure enough, there he is, with his printed shirt, his dark jeans, his pink cheeks, his green eyes. Carlos’ breath catches like he’s seeing him again for the first time. Maybe it’s the Texas heat playing tricks on him, but he’s certain this man in front of him is the man of every dream he’s ever had. Sometimes it just takes one look, and he’s back in a dimly lit bar, line dancing with the most beautiful man he’s ever seen.
TK tosses a cold water bottle in his direction.
“Can you cool yourself down?” TK says with a grin as he hops onto the counter. “I don’t wanna have to beat these market girls off with a stick because they can’t handle the sight of your sweaty arms.”
Behind them, Gabriel throws back his head and laughs.
Carlos rolls his eyes, slots himself between TK’s legs, and yanks his collar to pull him close. Their lips meet in a hard kiss, their teeth click, and TK is practically laughing into his mouth. It’s not a great kiss, but anyone who sees them like this is bound to see the level of familiarity and comfort the kiss broadcasts.
“You are a menace,” Carlos breathes, his lips barely parted from TK’s.
“This lost city boy look really does it for you, huh?” TK teases.
“No,” Carlos shakes his head a couple times. He rests his forehead on TK’s. “Everything about you right now is doing it for me.”
“TK,” Gabriel interrupts them and they both startle just a little. For a second there it was just the two of them in this busy market. “When did you get here, son? You were out like a light when Carlos and I left this morning.”
TK keeps his hands resting on Carlos’ shoulders when he looks over at Gabriel.
“Andrea brought me. We checked out some of the other stalls for a little while and then spent some time over in the antiques section before I came to bother you.”
Carlos doesn’t miss the way his dad’s eyes brighten when TK says his mother’s name even if he himself is a little caught up in the idea of TK and his mother spending time in this market together.
“Andrea is here?”
“Yeah, she and Carmen are trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight with some of the things we got.”
TK and his mother picking out ingredients to make dinner with later. Carlos’ heart might burst. There was a time when he’d never imagined anything close to this for his future. But here he is, and here they are, and he almost can’t believe it even though it’s happening right in front of him. His dad is beaming, his mom and his aunt are probably gossiping about them at this very minute, and TK’s got his arms around him and he just looks so happy. So comfortable. So beautiful.
Carlos rubs a thumb lightly over TK’s burnt cheeks and says, “you forgot sunscreen, cariño.”
TK scrunches his nose.
“I always forget,” he replies. “And you weren’t there to remind me, so who’s fault is it really?”
“Oh no,” Carlos laughs. “Still yours babe.”
Suddenly, his dad tenses, and Carlos pulls away from TK to scan the surrounding area.
“Do you hear that?” Gabriel says.
“Hear what?”
“It sounds like sirens.”
“Oh! Yes. By the way,” TK says and bites his lip when suddenly all the attention is back in him. “The Market Thief has been caught. You mom sent me over here to tell you.”
“What?!” Carlos and his dad ask in unison.
“Yeah he tried to steal stuff from Carmen. Andrea gave him a very stern talking to, and I think maybe she found some zip ties? It was pretty badass. Anyway the local police are on their way.”
Gabriel looks concerned at TK’s words, but Carlos starts laughing. Of course his mother caught what ever dumb kid was swiping stuff from the local merchants.
TK spots the concerned look on his dad’s face and immediately switches gears.
“Now that that’s settled though,” TK says with a grin. “I’d like to know if I can borrow this very handsome market man for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Sure, sure,” his dad says distractedly.
TK hops off the counter and pulls Carlos around the back of the market stall.
“Let’s go check out the antiques, babe. I think I saw a cool shelf we can make out behind.”
His dad and his uncle burst out laughing.
“TK,” Carlos warns.
“I mean,” TK says loudly. “I think I saw some cool stuff we can get for the new place!”
TK winks at him and pulls at his hand.
“Don’t get too lost there boys.”
TK shakes his head and bumps his shoulder into Carlos’.
“I’m not too worried,” he says, mostly to Carlos. “You gave me pretty good directions earlier.”
Thank god for good directions, Carlos thinks. He threads his fingers through TK’s and they slowly make their way through the market together.