My City • •

[rafael inigo echeverría]

If he was honest, Rafael thought that convincing his father and brother to invest in a food truck would take a lot more work. He hadn’t expected them to jump on board with the idea overnight. When they did he definitely hadn’t expected them to let him freely take the thing to New York City. He knew that the two men who worked the shift rotations and helped him out were there not only to help with the business, but also to feed back any outlandish behaviour to his family. Rafael hadn’t told them the truth about why he had come back from LA, they had instead bought his story about college not being right for him, but he knew that they were all aware that he could be a bit of a loose cannon at times. At twenty-one he didn’t want or need to be babysat, but he supposed that his family were never going to abandon him to run wild across America. Part of him wondered what they thought he might do or become, but at the same time he knew that his peaceful relatives - who only raised their voices in the kitchen – would brush him off and tell him to stop being so ridiculous.

It had taken them a few days to get everything set up for business once they brought the truck to the city. Silver chrome with rich green for its main colour, the family name was emblazoned in a fire truck red, outlined in a deep gold, and everything about it was proud. Raffe felt proud to look at it. He was also tired, running on coffee picked up in numerous Starbucks on numerous streets. He had been collecting supplies from the butchers and the grocers they had made deals with prior to this week, and then he had been setting other things up ready for the actual launch. He had a couple of social media pages up and ready to go that were linked to the restaurant back in Arizona. If this took off well enough there was nothing to stop the family purchasing a few more trucks for a few more cities, but Raffe had chosen to come her to get back in touch with Remi. After the last few months he needed her more than he wanted to let on. He was too proud to show weakness, and even to her he wouldn’t tell the truth about what had happened in California.

He decided to do a late night run with the truck, just to get into the swing of things. Like restaurants had soft openings, this could be the same for them. Lunch time tomorrow they’d go for their real opening push, but drunk people and Mexican food…Raffe knew that it would go down well. He parked up the truck and let Martin and Javier start setting up the inside while he wrote the prices and food on the chalkboard menu on the side panelling. He figured they might have a few people drifting their way for now, but the rush if they had one would come later. His thoughts travelled to Remi and he wondered what she was doing now. Feeling mischievous, he sent her a text with nothing more than the street location they were parked up on, and then slipped his phone back into his pocket. If he knew her, she wouldn’t be able to resist finding out what that was all about, and all he had to do was sit on the back step of the truck and wait.

• • •

TAGGED! Remington Aisling York
WORDS! 594!
OUTFIT!  Giddy Guy!
LYRICS! Barlights - - - fun.
NOTES! <3

[Remington Aisling York]

Remi has known she would love New York even before she’d moved there for school. Her mother had taken bother her and Raleigh to the big apple once when she’d had business int he city. They’d been fourteen, not quite old enough to get into any decent sort of trouble but old enough to be awed by the city and it’s life. Her mother had thought Raleigh would be the one to fall in love with the glam of the east coast city but in fact it had been the eldest twin’s heart the city stole. Back then she had only thought that the city would be a place she visited often, having already decided on what she wanted to be when she grew up. Remi had thought her life would lead her to California, where the entertainment industry was huge and she knew with her skill set, she could find work before she even started university.

But Fate had other plans for the eldest twin and Remi found herself enrolled at NYU’s Tisch; a very prestigious arts school. It had been a huge honour and a lot of work that Remi had thrived with. She hadn’t needed a job but found herself one anyway to pass the time between all her classes. Both with school and her extracurricular martial arts and dance classes. She wanted to be a well rounded stunt performer. And that meant constant practice. None of it had ever deterred her though, in fact, she thrived having so much on her plate. It didn’t hurt that it all kept her occupied so her thoughts didn’t drift back to Tuscon constantly. New York was roughly twenty four hundred miles away from her hometown and her problems. New York had become her safe haven away from Raffe since they’d gone their separate ways for school. She missed him naturally, but life moved on and she had to as well.

She thought about the good times as they sweet memories that they were and nothing else. She honestly thought she’d only ever see him again when she made it back to Arizona. So when she’d gotten the mysterious text message from him, she’d naturally been curious. And she could never let it go without looking into it first. She’d been out dancing with some friends from one of her classes when it had come through so it was easy to talk them into going with her to sort out the mystery of the text message. The three of them easily made their way to the address, coming up behind the food truck and Remi stopped dead in her tracks, stunned to see her past in her present. Her friends didn’t notice Remi wasn’t with them, their drunk brains too excited about the Mexican food truck to care they were now a duo instead of a trio. “Raffe?” Remi finally blurted out through the shock of seeing him on the east coast. It had to be a dream and she kept thinking that even as she was rushing forward to throw her arms around his neck. “How?”

Tag || rafael inigo echeverría
Words || 553
Clothes || Lucky Lady
Music || Mmm Girl --Chase Rice
Notes || <3

[rafael inigo echeverría]

Raffe had kind of known that he would end up in the family business. He just didn’t want to be working at the restaurant his whole life when he was the youngest. He would always have been in someone else’s shadow, never really able to do much by himself. The family needed to expand the business for the sake of them all, but obviously it wasn’t an easy step to take. Raffe was actually pretty damn impressed with his idea of a food truck, and it wouldn’t be greasy, out of date, disgusting crap that had in past years been associated with them either. No, he saw his truck as more of a mobile restaurant, which was how he had pitched it to his dad when faces had been pulled at the idea. Ultimately, Raffe knew they wanted to open up more actual restaurants, and he would probably one day be working in one of them, but until then, this was how he had arrived in New York and it really was his own thing.

He knew the recipes, the way things were cooked to make them unique to their business. He might even try out some of his own twists that he added when he was cooking for himself. Raffe had plenty of ideas for them all, but he had to keep reminding himself that it was early days. They were still setting up and getting started. He couldn’t go barging in and changing everything straight away. He had watched his family run the business back home to understand how it operated. Plus, he kind of wanted to stay in New York for at least a little while. If he started running wild with his own decisions and ideas then it would only be a week before he was thrown in the back of the truck and one of the other employees was driving the whole thing back to Arizona where there would be a lecture and a whole new kind of hell waiting for him.

Raffe was kind of nervous waiting for Remi to show. He knew she’d take the bait simply because he knew her. It was in her nature and she couldn’t have ignored something like that. What he didn’t know was if she’d come alone, with friends, or with someone new in her life. He knew her reputation, just like his hadn’t really been wholesome and pure either. He didn’t judge and would never judge, but it could make showing up in New York a damn sight awkward and not really what he had planned for their grand reunion. Raffe grinned when he finally saw Remi and hugged her right before answering anything. It was just good to see her again and he was kind of glad that he had managed to surprise her. “We’re mobile now.” He drummed his knuckles against the side of the food truck. “And someone needs to manage it.” He grinned, hugging her again. The two inside were handling the friends well enough, explaining anything slurred at them. Raffe was glad, because he wanted a bit of time with Remi and didn’t want to have to steal snaps of conversation between fixing up burritos.

• • •

TAGGED! Remington Aisling York
WORDS! 538!
OUTFIT!  Giddy Guy!
LYRICS! Barlights - - - fun.
NOTES! <3

[Remington Aisling York]

There had been too much drama back in Arizona for Remi to stay there. It was even harder to stick around home when she was the only one who knew about her father's secrets. Raffe had known them because Remi had dragged him into them and she would be forever grateful for that but it was her family and ultimately, her burden to carry. And it all meant rarely going home again unless she really had no choice. Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter were those times when she had no choice unless something came up. If she had to work, though her boss was generally good at letting her go home for the holidays or if she had an assignment she just couldn't bring with her then she made her phone call to her mother and sister, made sure they were aware and knew that she would have to ignore all calls from the house because they could be her father.

That part wasn't usually so hard since no one but her father seemed to ever use the house phone. Her mother and Raleigh always called her with their mobiles. And lying to her mother was easier to do over the phone or text message than when she had to do it face to face. Remi was positive her mother knew something was up just as she knew that if she ever told her the truth, Remi wouldn't be to blame for withholding the truth. All blame would fall directly on her father's shoulders. But she might also think that her daughter was protecting her father and that was most definitely not the case. Remi was only keeping the secret because her mother knew nothing about what was going on, at least she hadn't when Remi had found out. So she wanted to protect her mother from a broken heart.

The move to New York had helped with some of it of course, it was easier to keep a secret when you could hang up and blame a tunnel or something equally ridiculous. And these nights out left little room in Remi's head to think about what harm her actions might be causing. She would much rather continue to think she was doing a good thing. Seeing Raffe in the city though brought a lot of it back. All the good of Arizona, yes but those memories she tried to supress, too. It wasn't his fault of course, it was totally hers but that was something she had to deal with. Remi reached out to run her fingers along the truck's door. "It's very impressive." She told him, turning her attention away from the flashy food truck and back at the man who'd brought it to the city to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "What happened to LA? Not that I'm not absolutely thrilled to see you but I thought you would be thriving in the sun and sand."

Tag || rafael inigo echeverría
Words || 490
Clothes || Lucky Lady
Music || Mmm Girl --Chase Rice
Notes || <3

[rafael inigo echeverría]

Raffe was glad to escape Arizona. Lying to his family was not his finest hour, but what other choice did he have? He had already caused his family enough frustration for one lifetime. He had been a little bit more than a mischievous scamp in his youth, and only learning that he wasn’t above the law had forced him to calm down a little. Even that had only really happened in part because he didn’t want to spend his years in a cell, and because he also met Remi. She gave him an excuse to have fun without going too overboard. He still toed the line, but he was less likely to be swayed by bad choices once she came into his life. He couldn’t say it was Remi’s fault he got into trouble at college though. He was old enough to know better then. Still, he would argue that his school had been after an excuse to target him and the moment they found out about that old juvie record they took it and ran until he was on a plane back to Arizona.

He didn’t need that fancy culinary school diploma anyway. He knew everything he was being taught and then some. He had questioned a lot of the things they had said in class, or asked about other techniques and ideas. No one had ever approved of his curious mind, or existing knowledge. It was as though they wanted mute students who would take what they were given and do exactly that and nothing more. Raffe had never been great at that sort of thing. His parents encouraged experimenting in the kitchen, and trying new things. The worst that could happen was a bad dish, and that was hardly the end of the world. Their family business was pretty much built on playing around with herbs and spices, adding something new in and calling it the secret ingredient. College was overrated. Raffe knew his future and he didn’t need a school to help him reach it.

If the food truck part of the business went well, he could call it his own. The restaurants would always be there, but he would like to have something that was entirely his. Something that he could be proud of, and that was different from what they already knew would be handed down through the family line for as long as there was someone to take it. This was his shot. “You can say that once we have a queue down around the block.” Raffe grinned jokingly. He doubted that it would ever be quite so bad, or popular, but he’d like to see a crowd by the truck, or at least a steady stream of customers craving Mexican food. It would give him a chance to make this work, and something to impress his dad with. Without that there was every chance he’d be called home, forced to just slog it out in the kitchen like old times. Raffe didn’t want that. He wanted to live first and this truck was his lifeline for that. “It got boring. Figured I’d trade in the sand and the sun for the bright lights of New York instead.” Another lie, and another stab in the gut as he told it. Raffe couldn’t risk the truth getting back home. He knew Remi was good at keeping secrets, and he trusted her completely, but they were too close to the truck right now, and the men inside the truck were the ones he didn’t trust to keep their mouths shut.

• • •

TAGGED! Remington Aisling York
WORDS! 599!
OUTFIT!  Giddy Guy!
LYRICS! Barlights - - - fun.
NOTES! <3

[Remington Aisling York]

Remi had felt like Raffe had been the only person who really understood her. She hadn't been the easiest person to get along with when she'd been younger and the same could still be said about her now. She was stubborn and temperamental and had mood swings like nobodies business. Even her own twin wasn't like her. They were polar opposites though Remi had always known that she could run to Rayleigh with anything that came up. Everything except the real reason Remi moved to the other side of the country for school. She could have easily gone somewhere closer, she didn't even need the education to go to work for the family business, she would have been given a ground floor position and had been able to work her way up like everyone else.

For Remi, it wasn't about what family could do for her. She didn't want any of that handed to her. She wanted to prove she was worth the risk of hiring her. She was young and fresh and hot headed and easy to trigger. In short, she was a hot fucking mess but she hid it well. Raffe knew why she was the way she was. And that was a relief not needing to hide her emotions. Her friends in New York only knew that she didn't get along with her father and loved her mother dearly. They didn't know what really set her off, why she refused to take his calls or why she was a class A super bitch to him. He didn't pay her tuition, her trust did. And that was something else that pissed him off, she didn't need him. Luckily for him, he had Rayleigh to coddle and Remi had her freedom.

She hadn't thought she would ever see Raffe in the city though; not unless she talked him into visiting her. She would have done easily enough but she hadn't wanted to fuck up his schooling or any potential love interests he'd been working on. They had remained friends but they weren't as close as they'd once been. Remi hated that and wanted to fix it but she thought she would need to surprise him in California or even back in Arizona. Raffe was a real reason to go back and spend time in that hell she had to call her hometown. "Give me ten minutes and your wish shall be my doing." She told him, butchering the line and not giving a single damn about it. She pulled her phone from her pocket and waved it in the air before bringing up her twitter feed and quickly typing out her message. She twisted her phone around so he could see the screen but barely before her thumb hit send and it was done. "Now you'll be busy." She grinned as though she'd won some sort of argument though they hadn't been having one. Remi smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "All those bikini clad bimbos and that sunrise surfing got bland? Don't lie, you missed this ass, didn't you?" She sucked in air, shaking her head in disappointment. "I told you before, I have higher standards now. I don't know if your ass makes the cut anymore." She teased.

Tag || rafael inigo echeverría
Words || 542
Clothes || Lucky Lady
Music || Mmm Girl --Chase Rice
Notes || <3

[rafael inigo echeverría]

Despite the years of grief he had caused his family, Rafael understood just how important they were. If he didn’t care about them he never would have lied to them, or thought up the idea of the food truck to try to impress them. He wanted this idea to work. He wanted to be successful in this venture if only so he could pretend that everything had always been alright. He didn’t want to go down in the family tree as the one who was the screw up. Raffe knew he wasn’t perfect. Hell, he was the first to admit that he was far from it, but he wanted to prove that he could be good at something. He had the ability to cook his family’s best recipes, and food was one of his greatest passions, but he just wasn’t a brilliant law abiding citizen like every parent hopes their son or daughter will be.

Raffe toed that line between right and wrong. He had good morals, but there were times when the lines blurred and he struggled hard. He thought he knew the difference but it wasn’t so easy to work it out. Rafael went into everything with a big heart full of good intentions, but it was so very easy for him to stray from the path and find himself lost in a dark wood. That was when he went on the defensive, forging weapons out of the materials that he found around him. He was very resourceful. Thinking fast was probably one of the only reasons Raffe had actually managed to survive and stay out of any serious trouble for all of these years. He may have lost his place in his perfect college, but it could have been so much worse. He could have been looking at the world from inside a jail cell, or he might have been inside a box six feet under the ground. Both were possible and Raffe knew as much. He had been a real asshole at some points in his life, and if he had acted like that around the wrong people he knew the consequences could have been severe.

Shaking his head, he leaned back against the solid wall of the truck and let out a tired sigh. “You realise that if we do end up with lines around the block I’m actually going to have to work and leave you to fend for yourself?” He raised an eyebrow and smiled softly. It had been a long journey and while Raffe would be thrilled to meet people and get to do what he was so passionate about in the truck he had imagined up for his family, he did want some time with Remi first. Nothing could kill a mood more than the call of a kitchen and hungry drunks in the dead of night. “It is a good ass.” Raffe agreed, tilting his head as though he was contemplating the view it offered him. He grinned, pushing off from the van as he shot her a teasing look Remi would know only too well from their time together. “Please, I know you couldn’t keep your hands off my ass.” He taunted, grinning a boyish grin.

• • •

TAGGED! Remington Aisling York
WORDS! 543!
OUTFIT!  Giddy Guy!
LYRICS! Barlights - - - fun.
NOTES! <3

[Remington Aisling York]

Moving to New York was the best thing Remi could have done. She had needed the distance to cope and really find herself. And she did just that, meeting new people all over the place and finding she had so much in common with the new friends she made. Plus, she wasn't around her father's cheating ways and keeping it from her mother. As far as she knew, he'd given up the second family and everything was good at home. It was just a bump in the road but things were good again; if only. As she'd grown up around the man, she knew better than most that knew him that he was a lying, self-centred bastard who was only after his wife's money and status. It sucked but there was nothing Remi could do about it and not feel bad in the end. She could tell her mother, watch the carnage that would follow or she could keep her mouth shut. Her mother wasn't an idiot, surely she knew and just ignored it because, well, Remi couldn't understand why she would put herself through all that. Maybe it was because her mother had raised them differently that Remi was able to have these opinions on the matter. Of course, she wasn't supposed to know about this family secret either.

It was all so complicated and Remi had a headache every time she even thought about it in passing, like when she spoke to her mother during their daily calls. It was easier now that she'd left the state and moved to the other side of the country but she hated that she was lying to her mother. The woman was Remi's hero, she looked up to the woman who'd raised her and her twin sister. Raleigh was still looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses though so they'd see what happened when she found out the truth. Until then, Remi would let her continue to believe their family was perfect and she was just the "dramatic, creative" one that needed to go across the country to "find herself".

"All my hard work and you wouldn't feed me?" She asked, her eyes wide and far more innocent looking than she really was. "And all this time I thought I meant so much more to you than a hot piece of ass. Shame on me." She continued with a dramatic sigh. She was in school to find herself behind the scenes once she was finished. Sure, she was a damn good actress but she wanted to produce and direct. She didn't want to be a pretty face made up to be the poster on some teenage hormone-driven fool wanted to tape to his ceiling. "Please, this is the best ass you've seen in ages. That wasn't filled with collagen anyway." She added, referring to his time in California where more people were made of plastic than anything else. The grin that curved Remi's lips were wicked and the memories that filled her mind along with it were terribly inappropriate. "That feeling was mutual. Poor Mrs Haines, do you remember her? Walking in on us in that study room. Oops." Remi hadn't thought about that ancient librarian since she'd gasped, held her hand to her chest and rushed from the room.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || rafael inigo echeverría
Words || 549
Clothes ||
Music || Mmm Girl --Chase Rice
Notes || <3