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The mum

"Hi mum."

Like she told me her mum was on the balcony enjoying the sun, they live in the first floor of the same residential apartment building that my cousins, five minutes walk from my home.

"Hi baby, love your new dress, who is the designer?"

" Do you like it? It is an exclusive for me, sorry but no copies were made. Mum this is Daniel, Miguel and Paulo's cousin and he is the talented designer behind of my new dress."-she said with a mischievous smile.

That's when I thought the lady was going to throw me the vase on the balcony next to her, but instead, she smiled and said.-" Talented and cute... that's my girl!!"-

Are you f*****g kidding me????

“Come on mum stop with that you're going to traumatize him and I even like this one."- K said while winking to me.

"Come up and bring your friend".

"Daniel, the crazy woman that looks like me is Meg my mum".

She really look like Kayla only the skin is lighter and the eyes are blue and not green.

"Hi Daniel nice to meet you, so you were the brother assigned yesterday? Aren't you Liz's brother?”

"No mum, he doesn't fit the profile for the service, and yes he is!"

I almost choked, and then I realized of course Liz must know K Liz used to be on Miguel's gang.

"Why? Does he like the product?"her mum blinked

My God these two are going to kill me.

"Something like that, now that's enough give the guy a break, his mum is Scottish you know?

" Really, how didn’t we knew Liz's mum was Scothish?? Daniel I'm on your corner but you know your cousin's and Leo are going to make your life a living hell right?? I'm not sure why, but they think that no boy is good enough for Kayla, which if you think about the way they treat women is not even difficult to understand. I know the girl I raised and I trust her 100%, if she wants to be with you it's because she saw something in you, besides your mum is Scottish you can only be a good kid. “she smiled.

"Thanks Meg it was a pleasure to meet you"- I said smiling at her.

"Come on Daniel I'll take you to the door and save you from this crazy person." K. took my hand and took me to the door.I said goodbye to her, I hugged her and kissed her on the top of the head and went back home.

When I arrived I had a package in the mail sent by my sister, I had already forgotten that she has to been kept up to date with the news. I took the package and went up to the office. It's amazing how the hell didn't they gotten tired yet. The new big news is that after several shows that did not sold out, Silver Moon are in negotiations with Danny Fraser's agent, so he can return to the band after recovering from the nervous breakdown he suffered from overwork.

Apparently I'm even writing some new songs for the new band album that should be released in the next summer both in USA and UK.

Are they f*****g kidding??

I also got a letter from my agent he already sent me several emails but he cannot reach me, and he hope that through my family this letter will reach me. After all, at least parts of the news are real, Label is really in touch with him and they are offering everything I asked for in the last 7 years and a few more things I never thought of. Poor William is really desperate to contact me. I'm going to send an email to Liz so she can resend it from the computer in London to him. I cannot run the risk of having any connection with the Algarve or my peace ends, and now even less, I cannot drag K to this hell.

I wrote the e-mail explaining to Will my intention to fly solo from now on and saying that from the old team he would be the only person I would like to take with me, if he wants, I also told him that I had gone back to writing and planned to go in to the studio around March or April.

Also told I still didn't know if I was going to record in the UK or in the USA, but

depending on how things were going, I soon will decide, and I was going to do things differently anyway. From now on I would record the album, go on the road for 3 to 4 months, and stop until recording the next one unless there was a special event. And in the periods that I am out I will disappear from the surface of the earth as I'm doing now, because I need my space.

About the Label I told him to drop it.

Then I called to Liz to have a chat with her how didn't I remember K if they seem to know each other, she answered me at the second ring. " Danny boy you are alive??"

"Funny! How are you guys?" I asked

"We are ok, and what about you Danny? I feel so bad that we can't be there with you, are the guys being helpful?"

" Actually I'm having lots of fun around here, they really know how to live, don't they?- I ask smirking

" You can be sure of that, I spoke with Miguel yesterday he told me that you are spending some time with him and my guys, the putos like you guys used to call us!" - she laughed

"Well now it's a bit different everyone hang-out together" -I tried to explain

"I know Danny has been like that for the past few years is just that you hadn't been around. We have been missing you, you know?"- she said in a low voice

" I was missing myself to sis. I called to ask you something else. Do you know why I can't remember this girl, she is Miguel's friend and she knows you, her name is Kayla?"I asked

" K? I think she only moved there after you stopped going with us for holidays, but she's our mum's favorite person in the world I think she would trade both of us for her any day of the week. But why are you asking me about K?? Danny please she's a really nice girl, don't even think about that, she's not one of your sluts." -She was getting pissed with me now.

" Hey Liz is nothing like that, take it easy. I'm not sure what's going on with me but I really like to be around her she has a strange effect on me it calms me down is relaxing, she doesn't even have to touch me or speak with me just standing near. It's the stupidest thing ever I can't fully explain it"- I tried to made her understand

And then she just start shouting out -" Mum you aren't going to believe this, your son is in love!!"

"Liz, please!"- I pleaded to her, and could hear my mum “Really?? And who is the victim?"

That's how good they think of me...

" That's the part you're going to love, it's K!! Mum K!!" - as Liz told that to my mum there was total silence I could hear the footsteps of my mum when she approached the phone, and then

she spooked

"Daniel Fraser Lourenço be absolutely sure about what your next move will be that

girl is not one of your toy girls, she deserves someone that treasures her and that really know what he wants, don't you dare to ruin that girl's life. Do you have any idea about the potential that girl has? Do you know she will go in to med school next September to Coimbra University no less, it's just the hardest to get in and that with only 16 years old and all that while working her ass off, because she as a asshole as a father. If you ruin that for her I'll be really mad at you Daniel"

- I don't think my mother was ever as serious as she was at that moment.

"Mum, like I just told Liz I think I like her!"- I tried to argue

"Didn't you hear me Daniel, I don't care about what you think if you are not absolutely sure of it stop with it now, you hear me!"- She screamed at me, then somehow she calmed herself and told me- " Danny please be absolutely sure, if you really are in love with this girl and she falls for you I will be the happiest mum ever but if you are not absolutely sure just let her go and don't try to add her up to your conquests, please Danny. Love you son!"- And with that she hung up the

phone, what the hell was that, one thing I realized after this conversation with my mum there's so much I don’t know about K.

After that I just went back to my computer there were lots of email since I arrived I haven’t seen my e-mail and it seems like the whole planet tried to contact me, I took the opportunity to read some but I didn’t reply to any so as not to

risk being able to locate the computer in some way I must have taken longer than I thought, because when I realized Kayla was already looking for me.

"Daniel"

"Up here K"

"Hi, do you always leave your door open?"

"Was it?"- I asked as I pulled her onto my lap

"What do you think?" -she replied as she put her arms around my neck.

I kissed her jaw and her neck and hold her really close.

"You know he doesn't even look like you?" she said pointing to the magazine on the table.

"Honey you know that's me right?"

" No it isn't, look at his eyes, now look at your eyes on that mirror on the back, you see the difference? He is dead!! He was there but it was just a shell, there was nothing there, you weren't there".

I looked at the photo and she was right, I remember when the picture was taken, I was totally drugged, I had to lean against the wall to stand.

" But I find you in some pictures when I came up the stairs, in those are you in all of them, even in that one were you are playing guitar with a girl clinging to you on each side". she said laughing

"Oh that one, I was 15, I was on the top of my game back then. But you know maybe you're right it is me but I wasn't there."

“ I'm always right, but I thought we had agreed that I neither wanted nor needed to know or see. What I don't see doesn't hurt me and seeing you like this, doesn't do me any good. Let’s go and do some salad and

bake potatoes. Pedro will bring the sardines thawed and ready to grill.

I stayed there just looking at her, thinking how am I going to do this? Imagine that those hyenas find that I am in the Algarve, and I am starting a relationship with a 16 year old girl, in Portugal there is no problem, but in the USA oh my God!!If we ever want to come clean , we’ll have to wait until she’s 18. Thank God we are in Europe and we only have 9 days left for the 16th birthday.

"Daniel, I forgot to tell you something"

" Yes?"

"Remember, when I told you I normally spend Christmas in Scotland?"She said in a sad voice.

"No, really??"

"Yes, and the worst part is that I'm leaving tomorrow night and will be back only

on the 26th"she hugged me and I kissed the her forehead.

"Ok, Let's make the most of the time we have until you go, when do you have to leave today?"

"I don't have if I don't want to!"

"Are you saying you can sleep here with me?"

"Precisely, being sleep, the key word!!" she said laughing.

"Daniel just another thing, I think for now we should keep the guys in the dark, no one needs to know we don't need to take their s**t for now."

"Are you sure? I don't give a s**t about them!!"

" Let's give them some time to get use to see us spending more time as friends!"

" Ok"

" After lunch I'll pretend to go home but will be in the garage until everyone is gone"

" This is going to be fun"

Door bells

"Hi Pedro, Miguel, Silvia how are you guys?

"Hi, Daniel, K, you are already here? How's that possible? You are always late." said Miguel

" I'm hungry, that's why!!

" Hi Daniel, this is my sister Ana, Ana this is Daniel the guy I told you about."

"Hi Daniel, is a real pleasure to final meet you, love your place!"

What the hell this girl is almost meowing while kissing me in the corner of my lips.

"Hi Ana" I said while giving a step back and looking at K, who is talking to Silvia and gives me a side look with a wink.

K.

When I asked Daniel to leave our relationship in secret for know I already knew that there would be girls throwing themselves at him, what I was not expecting, it was that literally 10 minutes after our conversation Ana was offering herself to him in front of me, f**k that is not good, this is going to be a long lunch...

"Who's going to be the grill man?"- I asked

"If you help me I can do it!!" -said Daniel

"I can help you Daniel, hon." -said Ana, this is going to be just great.

"Paulo won't come?" – I asked Pedro

"He was getting ready to come."- said Silvia

Great that means that he isn't as pissed as this morning

I set the table with Silvia while the boys took care of the drinks, and Daniel and Ana grilled the sardines, with Ana not missing a chance to rub and touch Daniel. The poor guy didn't know what to do anymore.

Just before we started eating Paulo arrived with the conquest of the week, when he saw Ana with Daniel and me in a conversation with Miguel, that got him in to a very good mood and it could have been a pleasant afternoon, but Ana was going a bit beyond reasonable, the games under the table were a little too much. Thank God Silvia noticed and did something about it.

"Sorry Ana, but do you think that is appropriated? You are making me feel uncomfortable" -Silvia said really pissed looking Ana straight in the eyes. I love my friend.

"What are you talking about?" -Ana using her must innocent voice

"Do you really want me to tell what I'm talking about, because I will, no problem at all. I do like you, but sometimes I don't know what goes on that mind of your".

"Ok guys this was fun, but I have to get going. I have to go packing, I'm leaving tomorrow so you guys can get rid of me for a few days."I said this looking at Paulo. " Who's helping me cleaning this up?"

"Let's do it, also have to go, need to get something from the post office" Daniel said following me and being followed by Ana to the kitchen.

" Do you know we're it is, I can go there with you?"said Ana

Ok that's it

" Really Ana the guys family is from this town he spent all his childhood holidays In this place and you want to show him where the post office is?? Let me save you some time, the room is up stairs on the right!"- I said looking straight at Ana while left the dishes in the washbasin.

Daniel was beside me and hugged me, and whispered in my ear:

“You don't have to go through this, just say it”.

I looked up to his eyes give him a smile and leave to go outside and finish cleaning the table, but the other were already coming with the rest of the dishes.

So, I went back inside and helped clean up the kitchen, making sure to be the first to leave, so I be able to enter the garage and wait for Daniel to go pick me up after everyone had gone.

Daniel

When K asked me to keep us in secret I didn't like it very much but I agreed, but half-hour later I'm already regretting it. Pedro brought his sister, and I think there's something wrong with this girl she seems to be in heat for God sake, at the beginning K was taking it quite well, much better that I would that's for sure, but then it was way over the top, thanks God Silvia noticed because I think the girl would had give me a f*****g hand job under the table.

Then on the kitchen when there was only the 3 of us K just couldn't take it anymore, Ana's face when I hugged K was priceless.

After K. left it took forever to get rid of the others, until I grabbed the key to the Jeep and said I needed to get out. That's when Ana told that she wanted to come with me, I let her move a little away from the others towards me so they wouldn't hear and when she was close to me I looked and said to her "What didn't you understand about what happened in the kitchen just now?"

"Are you Kidding, K?" she said

"Sorry? Why do you think you can speak like that about her, like you are above her in some way?" - now I was really pissed.

"Not that, everyone loves her, is just that she's a kid!''

"Is she? The only problem I see is that she doesn't feel the same way about me. But that doesn't mean I'm going to full around with all the girls that throw themselves to me, bye Ana, I have things to do.

"Hey Daniel, good luck, hope she changes her mind, we all like that kid and you seem to be a great guy, but you know what? Don't lose your hope the way she snapped back at me maybe there's something there. By the way keep that out of Paulo's eyes or you are f****d ,"she said while walking, I think this will do the trick I didn’t said I’m with K but it will keep her out off me.

" Hi babe, do you wanna go somewhere?" I asked when got in the Jeep where she was.

"Where?"

"No idea?"

" We still have an hour and a half until sunset. have you ever been to Cacela a Velha?"

"No, let's go then".

We took 45m to get there the place is amazing is this small town of white and blue housed in the top of a hill with an amazing view over Ria Formosa and a breathtaking Sunset from the old fort.

" Ok, just calling my mum." She took her cell phone and called- "Mum I'm with Daniel we're going to Cacela a Velha I'll stay with him, if someone asks for me, I arrived with a bad belly and fell asleep. I love you too."

" You know you and your mum have a strange relationship?"

"Why?"- She looks puzzled

"I am not complaining, but normally mothers do not let their 16 year old daughters sleep at their boyfriends' house, even less when they live by themselves."- I said

"There are only 2 rules between I and my mum, we never lie and she always knows where I'm all the time. As for the rest she always showed me the right and the wrong but she always told me that my life was my on, and that it is the only one that is given to me so I make my path not her, the choices are mine. And life is to live to the fullest each day as if it were going to end tomorrow, Carpe Diem"- she said leaning against the wall of the old fortress, with the last rays of sunlight reflecting on her hair and skin, she is just perfect.

"Carpe Diem, ah ?? How does a girl who believes in this creed reach 16 years old without ever being kissed?"-Is going to be so hard to resist this girl.

" Better yet how is it that this girl who happens to be not even 16 years old, is in a car with a super hot guy of 24 years and has not been kissed yet??"she smirked moistened the lips

"This is very easy to explain, because if I am going to have the privilege of being your first kiss I want it to be perfect, that regardless of what may happen to us, in a few years time when you remember your first kiss I want you to remember me with affection and remember how much I cared about you, because I really do. I've only known you for so long but it's such a big part of me that it scares me, the power I'm putting in your hands."

She hugged me, stood on tiptoe, put her arms around my neck and pulled slightly towards her, kissing my face.'" Daniel it doesn't matter where, how, when, why, the only thing that do matter to me for that first kiss to be special is who, and that is standing just in front of me."

"Hi, sorry do you speak English?" a lady asked us

" Hi, yes I do, may I help you?" k reply

"My daughters were commenting that your boyfriend is very similar to a singer in a band that they are fans, do you think they could take a picture of you two with them. “- the lady asked

"Well let me ask him as he doesn't speak any English. She turns to me. E então o que me dizes? Fazes o gosto às miúdas? Queres que lhes pergunte alguma coisa?

(So, what do you say? Do you want to please the girls? Do you want me to ask them something?) My girl is a genius pretending that I didn’t spoke English...

Pergunta quem é? E o que pensam da pessoa? Vais ter um ataque cardíaco!!

( Ask who he is? What do they think from him? You'll going to have a heart attack)

"Yes of course let’s take the photo! But you girls will have to tell me who that guy is that looks like my boyfriend?”_ K said excited for the girls.

The girls came to us and we took some pictures, they were from Newark and were on vacation, they had been at the band's last concert in New York on September 20 before the big bang as they called it, said Danny Fraser recently seemed lost, but the band without him was nothing they even got K to listen to some Silver Moon songs and showed pictures and videos they had on the show's in their mobile phone. They were hoping that maybe Danny Fraser could return by himself because they didn't think he would get back with the band after what he said at his birthday party on national TV. They were speaking for at least 20 minutes and I was standing there pretending that I didn't understand a word; It was at the least hilarious.

In the end she said goodbye to the couple and the girls and told them that the British guy may be cute but her Portuguese one was way hotter, and they all laugh.

The sun had already set and it was starting to get cold, I pulled sher under my arm and we started walking towards the Jeep. "Where do you want to go to dinner baby?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow; do you think we could just grab something on the way to your home, maybe some takeaway piripiri chicken, what do you think??"

"You and I on our on at my house?? Oh yes I'm on it!! Takeaway it will be, the one on the way to Quarteira?"

"Yes, please!"

On the drive back, she leaned against me and I hugged her, taking my arm only when I needed to change gears. We did not speak for the entire duration of the return trip, she seemed lost in her world. When we arrived she took a backpack and headed up stairs asking if it was ok for her to take a shower, I said yes and went to set the table. 15 minutes later she was coming down the stairs using one of my Nirvana T-shirts. "Sorry didn't remember to bring a pj!" she pointed at the shirt.

"No problem, it looks way better on you anyway" This girl is going to be the death of me everything in her sets me on fire.

I approached her and gave her my hand to bring her to the table, pulled out the chair for her to sit and sat beside her. "So, are you going to tell me what you were thinking about during the return trip?"

" You notice that ah?"

"I was able to hear your brain spinning!" I raised my eyebrows smiling at her.

She gave me a small smile "You know this is my favorite piripiri chicken"

"No I didn't knew that, and also don't know why you don’t want to tell me what I asked you before!! I said in a small voice

"That song yesterday that is you!!" She said with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, babe come here why are you feeling sad?" I knelt down next to her, grabbed her hands and kissed them" Sweetheart you can speak to me let me know what's on your head".

"Daniel, I don't even know what to think! Yesterday when you told me about Danny Fraser I thought I could just ignore that part of your life, but today when talking to those girls I realized that Danny is just a Daniel who lost his way. I felt so sorry for that poor kid..." tears falling from her beautiful eyes.

"You shouldn't be sad about nothing that happened, that was what brought me here to you, and being here with you is all I ever needed I just never knew it.”-I whispered to her hear.

"About the music am I right?" she asks

"You are, but now I already have what I was missing! That was you, so there's nothing sad about it, is a song about change not sadness!" - I explained to her.

" Don't know if I can really understand that. You had what so many people work so hard to get and most of them never achieve and you just don't want it, don't you think that with time you will miss that live style, the attention, glamour?" she asked

"The only thing I missed all those years was my freedom, and I'm not giving that away anymore. Movie??"- I asked trying to take her mind from there.

"Yep!!"

"Ok, let’s see what my folks have, only s**t babe half of those movies are from when I and Liz were kids!!"- I exclaimed when looked at the movies

"There's one I love, I use to watch it with my mum all the time when I was growing up" she was jumping with excitement

" You are still growing up..." I smirked rolling my eyes

"Oh honey don't put your hopes to high, you are going to be stuck with a mini-Meg" she laugh out loud.

"That’s true you two look so much alike, what do you have from your dad?"

"Nothing, and you should be thanking to God for that." she give me a naughty smile "No, for real I have a mix of his eyes and his skin I don't burn has easily as mum, and as you may have noticed I have a Latino type more curves then I wish for". She said making a face.

I picked her up and laid her on the couch "Are you Kidding??? For me you have all the right curves in all the right places, you are just beautiful!! The perfect mixture between Celtic and Lusitano. Absolut perfection, lets see what you had chose. Uhhh, Dirty Dancing??Do you believe that I never watched this movie?"

"It's really cheesy but you'll love it, you'll fell a true connection with Patrick Swayze!" She laugh

"Will I babe??"I cuddle her in my lap, fixed a lock of hair behind her ear and kiss her forehead.