Chapter 9: Time to Ketchup

Tequila sets out to explore America, but her vacation is derailed by some family drama.

If one were to describe San Diego to any newcomers to that city as simply as possible, the best way to do so would be as an amalgamation of three other famous American cities. It has San Francisco's hills, melting pot of cultures, and frigid coastal waters, but with Miami's much warmer climate, sprinkled in with Phoenix's large abundance of cacti, Hispanic people and architecture. This just so happens to be the place where Tequila is kicking off her solo vacation tour of the country. She's checked in for a two-week stay at a resort that's somewhat isolated from the city, hoping to unwind first and foremost as her mother recommended. As much as she hates to admit it, Carmen does have a point, in that it's not healthy to spend all of one's life just working and meeting other people's obligations.

At the moment, Tequila lounges right next to a large, surprisingly uncrowded swimming pool, Bobby Darin's "Beyond The Sea" subtly playing in the background. She's secretly rejoicing at the fact that so few men are present to ogle her, dressed in a Chilean-flag bikini and white floppy hat as she somehow manages to rub sunblock on her own back. She may only stand at 5'2", but the majority of her height is occupied by her legs, which are almost as long as her arms, enabling her to do this without hurting herself. Once she's completely oiled up, she lies back with a content sigh.

"Ah! Okay, so now that I've taken a purely recreational trip all by myself, I might as well cross it off my bucket list," Tequila says as she taps on her phone screen. "Hmm, maybe that's something else I could occupy my time with while Jasper's gone. Especially since some of the items on here are things he'd never agree to."

"Your tequila, ma'am?" a coiffed server approaches, setting down a glass of clear alcohol next to her.

"Not sure if I'm old enough to be called that, but thanks," Tequila snarks as he walks away.

Without wasting another moment, she takes a sip of her drink and feels her pupils dilate, bringing a grin to her face as she quickly guzzles down the rest of the glass.

"Whoa-ho! Now I can see why I'm named after this. Kinda' feel bad for injuring my mom during the pregnancy, though," Tequila says, beaming. "Alrighty then. Try the drink I was named after... check! Now while I'm on a roll, what else can I do?"

A brief pause.

"Oh, I know. Go topless near the water for the first time," she continues as she sits up, reaching for the knotted strings on her back. "Gee, I'm already running out of items on my bucket-list, and I'm only forty-one? Not bad, Tequila. Not bad."

"Hey, Tequila? Is that you?"

Tequila yelps in surprise as a voice abruptly rings out, right before she can take her top off. To her left is a tall, well-built man that she knows very well, clad in a bubblegum-pink corduroy suit with brown leather patches on the elbows and black loafers. It's none other than Felipe Rodriguez, having been able to avoid the draft due to his bad case of asthma. He's her younger brother by seven years, though once again, only a blood test would prove that. He has their mother's swarthy complexion and (formerly) balsamic-colored hair, though he wears his gelled up in a style that most people associate with Superman. He also has a mustache that connects to a cowlicked goatee, and his eyes are a deep blueberry color, presumably due to genetics from that same Irish ancestor.

"Well, what a surprise!" Tequila stands up to hug her brother. "Always nice to see you again!"

"Likewise. But if I may ask, what brings you all the way out here? Another book signing or something?" Felipe asks, his accent not quite as pronounced as his sister's.

"Nope. Just taking a vacation," Tequila replies.

Felipe says nothing, but adopts a smirk as he c***s an eyebrow.

"Well technically, Mom kinda' made me do this because she's worried that I might let my life drift by," Tequila responds. "I honestly thought it was kinda' superfluous at first, but I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Hell, I haven't felt this liberated since I first discovered period underwear."

Felipe bristles at the mention of his mother.

"Typical Mom, always trying to shape our lives to her exact liking even well into our adulthood," he says at last, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, but I squeezed you both out, so you owe me!" Tequila does her best impression of Carmen's voice.

"Heh, more like squeezed you out. I remember being able to casually strut on out due to being the second born," Felipe chuckles, prompting his sister to start belly-laughing.

Lampooning their often paradoxical mother behind her back is one of the siblings' favorite things to do, especially for Felipe, for he is mostly estranged from the family. While he was the ring-bearer at Tequila's wedding, and attended their father's funeral soon after, he rarely if ever attends family reunions outside of that, and even when he does, he's always the target of Carmen's frustrations. Tequila is the only family member he feels comfortable interacting with on anything resembling regularity.

Perhaps this has something to do with his life outside of his family. Felipe runs a sex store that also provides marriage-counseling services, during which the conversations often get explicit, and it seems as though he's seeing a different woman every time he shows his face around his family. Their father, Carlos, expressed his disdain for this a couple of times before his passing, yet chose not to harp on him for it. But Carmen, who is far more set in her ways than her husband ever was, openly abhors this lifestyle. Despite her sex-positive attitude, she believes that intercourse should only be engaged in for pleasure and reproduction, rather than to make a living.

On the contrary to both of their opinions, however, Tequila is indifferent to this lifestyle and often defends her brother whenever he's criticized for it. So long as he isn't harming anyone or breaking the law, why get her panties in a bunch about it? Not that she wears panties that often to begin with.

---

The two eventually find themselves at the maitre'd in the nearby hotel restaurant, a semi-high-end joint whose menu contains an eclectic mix of culinary styles. Tequila reaches into her bag and takes out a fuzzy midnight-blue crop top, slipping it on over the top half of her swimsuit for just a bit more modesty.

"Reservation for Felipe, please?" Felipe asks. "Oh, and do you mind adding another chair to it? I'll pay extra if I have to."

The maitre'd nods in acknowledgement, before a hostess brings the siblings to their table and leaves three menus behind, alongside three glasses of water and cloth-wrapped silverware bundles. Felipe strips off his suit jacket, revealing a button-up vest of the same color and material underneath, alongside a black dress shirt and blood red bowtie. While deciding on what to order, the two continue to chat.

"...and then she had the nerve to complain about me getting my tubes tied!" Tequila says. "Like you've never gotten any minor operations before, Ms. I-got-a-breast-reduction-after-two-kids-even-though-I'm-against-cosmetic-surgery!"

"Lemme guess, she used her high-paying modeling career as an excuse?" Felipe smirks.

"Nah, I never even brought that up with her, but she probably would," Tequila replies. "Frankly, the day when Mom stops being a hypocrite is about as likely to happen as an Owen Wilson film where he doesn't say wow."

"Sorry I'm late, Felipe."

The Rodriguez siblings look up to find a thin woman with khaki hair that forms a woolly curtain around her face. Dressed in a black vinyl skirt and a Daria T-shirt, with the large glasses positioned right across her chest and thus drawing more attention to it.

"Oh, it's no problem," Felipe assures her, before smirking as he lowers his voice. "You'll just have to pay me back later."

Tequila raises an eyebrow at the sound of that statement, but doesn't have much time to mull over it as the conversation picks back up.

"Tequila, this is my girlfriend, Cindy Flores. She's Puerto Rican," Felipe introduces as the two women shake hands. "Cindy, meet my big sister, even though she's four inches shorter than I am."

"Actually he's a bit more than my- uuunnnggghhh..." Cindy moans uncontrollably as she sits down, cutting herself off in the process as her eyes roll back. "Anyway, Felipe's told me a lot about you. I've actually read every single book you've put out."

"Wow, I really appreciate that." Tequila adopts a gentle smile. "Which one's your favorite?"

"I'd probably have to say The Puberty Diaries. Gotta say, I don't think I've ever read anything that hits the nail on the head when it comes to that subject matter," Cindy explains.

"Well hey, what do you expect when it's based on real, personal experiences?" Tequila chuckles.

The conversation between the three acquaintances continues on smoothly until their main course arrives, though not without an occasional moan from Cindy, which sometimes distracts Tequila from whatever she's saying, but brings a small yet noticeable grin to Felipe's face.

"You're at a restaurant this nice, and you ordered a hamburger?" Tequila raises an eyebrow at Cindy's plate.

"What can I say? I'm not the most adventurous eater," Cindy giggles.

"Besides, this hotel is a Simmons-owned property, and everyone knows he only hires the best." Felipe smiles, cutting into his medium-rare ribeye. "So I'm sure it'll be excellent regardless."

"Hate to say it, but I honestly prefer fast food burgers to gourmet ones. There's just something about their simplicity and not knowing what's in them that makes them so enticing," Tequila replies, taking a bite of her shrimp and grits. "Sure, the menu description might be like 'oh, here's a bison burger on a brioche bun with gruyere cheese, onion jam and a fried egg on top', and yet despite how fancy it sounds, it somehow sounds less appetizing."

"Well hey, to each her own," Cindy says, reaching for the ketchup bottle.

Another moment of silence commences, during which everyone takes the time to dig into and ultimately enjoy their food. However, things abruptly pick back up as Cindy moans, right as she's squeezing the bottle of ketchup and accidentally splatters it all over her and Tequila's faces. Meanwhile only a few drops land on Felipe, completely and miraculously missing his clothes.

This time, Cindy's moan is louder and longer than the previous ones, forcing her to stop what she's doing and lean back in order to recollect her bearings. As she sits there panting, Felipe has an uncontrollably wide grin on his features as he struggles to stifle a laugh, oblivious to the stares from various surrounding patrons.

"Okay seriously, what the hell is your problem?!" Tequila asks, exasperated.

Cindy is hardly able to provide a response, still catching her breath after her powerful public orgasm.

"Ladies, why don't you just go to the bathroom and get cleaned up?" Felipe asks upon regaining his composure.

Tequila scoffs and fast-walks to the ladies' room, refusing to look at Cindy, who follows her there. Along the way, she casually glances down at her brother, noticing a small remote in his hand. She's the first to step back out, still flustered despite having cleaned herself up. She swears there's still a bit of ketchup she missed somewhere, but she's more pissed off about the salty smell that lingers on her. With a huff, she sits back down and reluctantly starts eating again.

A few minutes later, Cindy exits the bathroom with a loopy yet satisfied look on her face, holding a damp, purple piece of cloth in her hand as she awkwardly walks back to the table.

"Oh, Felipe~" she croons.

Felipe looks at her as she slides the purple object against the table, which Tequila instantly recognizes as a pair of underwear. She can't believe her eyes. Felipe's been using vibrating panties on his girlfriend. And in public too. For the longest time, she thought it was just a movie, book, or internet thing, but lo and behold, here it is happening right in front of her. She just about chokes on her current bite of food as she pieces the situation together.

"Oh my god, y-you...!" Tequila stutters. "You guys are really doing this out in the open?! You know, Mom might have been right about you after all!"

"Sis, keep your voice down. We don't want to make two scenes in one day," Felipe replies.

"I don't care!" Tequila roars as she grabs her bag and leaves. "I just can't believe you would do something like this in public! We haven't seen each other in months, and you insist on bringing your work into this?!"

Nobody else says a word as she storms off, ignoring the prying eyes that follow her out of the restaurant and into the lobby. After going for so long without her estranged brother, he has the nerve to embarrass her in public? Is he really incapable of pushing his lifestyle aside during family encounters? Right now, Tequila is just too angry to think straight, so her first order of business right now is to make her way back to her suite and calm down.

"Couple of hooligans. Those two deserve each other," she mutters irately.