🎶Feels like I'm surrounded by clowns and liars ~ P!nk

●Tara Afua Henrie●

The next day...

S-h-a-u-n  P-e-r-e-z

My fingers clacked on the keyboard and finally hit enter.

Google flooded me with tons of results, including interviews, programs and functions he had attended in the past months.

To think that I could've discovered everything about him with a single search had me scowling at the laptop. Why the heck didn't I think of this sooner?

My finger drove the mouse pointer to the scroll bar, scanning through the sea of content. I double-clicked on his Wikipedia profile and the page opened up instantly, giving me all the info I wanted.

Shaun Eduardo Perez (born April 4, 1996) is a Mexican businessman and philanthropist. He is the second son of Mexican billionaire and business tycoon, Romulo Perez, and currently stands as the owner of 'El Cielo de los nino's.

On the side was a picture of him smartly dressed in a black turtleneck, topped with a snakeskin patterned suit. His gray eyes glimmered with a smile that could possibly melt any woman's heart, except mine of course.

Under it was the caption: Perez at the 2018 Met Gala.

Holy crap! He was at the Met Gala? I stared at the caption in disbelief.

Of course, he'd be there. He's a Mexican icon, my subconscious remarked.

I continued reading.

Place of birth – Monterrey, Mexico

Parents – Romulo Perez, Grace Ancira-Perez (deceased), Carmen Perez (step-mother)

Siblings – Declan Perez (half-brother)

I wanted to find out more about his deceased parent. But since the name wasn't hyperlinked, I decided to continue reading. Maybe there would be a hint or something brief about her.

The door leading to the garage squeaked open, and into the kitchen stepped my sister, carrying two bags filled to the brim with groceries. "Hi, hi, hi."

"Hey," I replied. "Need any help with that?"

"Naah. I got it." Pam put the bags on the island, a few paces away from where I sat and proceeded to empty them. "What are you doing?"

"Research."

"Really? On what?"

"Shaun Eduardo Perez." I turned the laptop so she could see the information I had dug up on him.

Pam let out a soft chuckle. "Is it true that you didn't know who he really was until last night?"

"I've been in Mexico for a month and a half, Pam. How was I supposed to know that the business men here like to wear dark casual clothing and pee behind trees?"

"Wait, did that actually happen?" Pam's eyebrows flew up in surprise.

When I simply shrugged, her expression changed to one of sheer amusement.

"Oh my God, that must've been so embarrassing," Pam laughed even harder.

As I turned the laptop back to me, I couldn't help but smile at the memory as it replayed in my head.

"What happened after that?' My sister queried while loading all the vegetables into the fridge.

Opting to leave out the part where I attempted to murder Shaun with my guitar, I spilled out the entire story, including what happened during our last meeting at the park. Pam listened with rapt attention.

"He assured me that he was going to be there, then he just blew me off. Ghosted me for three weeks straight with no explanation whatsoever." I slapped a hand against the island and exhaled. "I don't know what to do, Pam. Last night, the only thing I could think of was how I'd let a liar influence so many of life decisions."

"C'mon T." She sat on the stool next to me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You didn't know. He did apologise for lying, right?"

"Yeah but..." I heaved out a breath. "I don't know what to think of him. The fact that he was able to hide his real identity from me for weeks has got me wondering what if he's hiding something else? What if the things he told me weren't true? What if Declan put him up to this?"

"Did Declan put him up to this?" Pam frowned.

The remorseful look he gave me yesterday before leaving flashed in my mind's eye and I shook my head. "No, I don't think so...I dunno. I just don't know if I can trust him again."

"Oh T..." Pam got off her stool to wrap me in a hug and in the middle of it, the doorbell chimed.

"I'll get it." After giving me a soft pat on the back, Pam made her way out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with the detailed biography of the Hispanic version of Prince Charming.

I double-clicked on his picture, enlarging itself on my screen.

"What do you want from me?" I bent low, staring hard at Shaun, willing him to speak, to give me the answer I wanted. But my train of thought shifted when a breeze carried in the sound of familiar voices and the shuffle of several feet.

"Tara, you have visitors!" Pam yelled.

Curious, since I wasn't expecting anyone, my legs carried me over to the living room where the members of The Stars of the Future had just arrived. Eden was sprawled on the couch like it was her own while Carlos and Jax stood, admiring the family photos on display.

"Wow, this place is really nice. Kinda makes you wish you were part of the family, huh?" I heard Carlos ask Jax before I announced my presence.

"Hey guys." I smiled as their eyes fell on me. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh helloo?" Eden sat up, tone dripping with her usual sass. "Rehearsal?"

My eyes widened at the sight of the time on the wall clock. "Oh shoot." I slapped my forehead. "I totally forgot about it."

"It's fine. It's the least of the reasons why we're here," Jax said then he glanced at my legs, making me conscious of how short my shorts were. Although the t-shirt I wore was huge, this was the least amount of clothing I'd worn in front of them and I sort of felt exposed.

Quickly, I plopped down on the nearest armchair, the one Pam likes so much, and hooked the t-shirt over my knees, stretching the material.

"Don't mind me." Pam waltzed into the living room with a pitcher of *sobolo, three glasses and some cookies on a tray. "Just dropping these off. Help yourselves." She set it down on the center table.

"Oh, don't mind if we do." Carlos was the first to grab the pitcher and Eden snatched up some cookies.

"Thanks Pam. Really appreciate it," Jax shot her a grateful smile as she retreated to the kitchen. He plopped in the seat opposite mine, concern wafting in his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I responded. "Thanks for last night." After Shaun had left, I almost blacked out thanks to the migraine. If Jax wasn't there, I don't know what would have happened.

He simply shrugged with a smile, a little pink staining his cheeks. "Anything for my favourite guitarist."

Carlos poured himself and Eden a tall glass of the red beverage and settled down next to her.

"So...if you're not here for rehearsal, then what brings you all by?" I asked.

"You're not going to believe this but..." Carlos swallowed the rest of the cookies in his mouth. "We're being offered a record deal!"

"Wait, really?" I stared at them in utter shock and amazement.

"Well we're not a hundred percent sure," Jax added but even he couldn't hide his excitement. "But I think it's heading in that direction. Last night after the show, we were approached by a talent agent, Refugio Cervantes. She said she's been watching us play since the beginning of Originally Afro-Mex Night of Music and wants to find out if we'd be interested in working with her label. But because you weren't around, we told her we'd get back to her later. She even left us her business card."

He dug into his jean pocket for the card and passed it over to me.

I scanned the details, my heart racing with excitement and disbelief. "Do you know what this is, guys? It's our big break," I said, barely able to contain my enthusiasm.

Eden nodded, her usual aloof demeanor replaced by a rare, genuine smile. "We've still got to contact her though. I was think maybe we could schedule a meeting with her tomorrow."

"But we wanted to make sure you were on board before we confirmed anything." Jax jumped in.

"Of course I'm on board!" I exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I be on board? This is a dream come true for all of us. We should call her right now."

"Seconded." Carlos leaned to the side and pulled out his phone. I passed him the card and he quickly dialed in the number, putting the call on speakerphone.

My entire body was all jittery with excitement.

This was it. This was what I needed. Everything I'd found out about Shaun had taken a toll and me and I needed something positive to focus on. This opportunity was the perfect distraction, something incredible for all of us.

My eyes shifted to the side, catching a small smile from Jax before the moment was interrupted by Refugio's voice.

*****

*sobolo, a.k.a bissab - a drink made out of bissab leaves, water, sugar, ginger and other ingredients.