Unbreakable Love

by Yesenia Vargas

  “Let’s sit down,” Ariana said. She grabbed his hand, and he followed her to the couch. They took a seat, thighs touching.

  How were they going to figure this out?

  She heard him sigh. “We can make this work, right?” she asked.

  “Of course we’ll make it work.”

  Their foreheads touched.

  “So what do you want to do?” she asked with her eyes closed.

  “When are your parents gonna be home?”

  “Couple hours, maybe less.”

  “You want to go for a ride with me?”

  “Seriously? Yeah,” she said, a huge smile on her face.

  “Let’s go.” He took her hand and led her out of the house and to his car.

  ***

  He opened the door for her, and she slipped inside, but not before he gave her another kiss, a sweet one this time.

  He went around the front, shut his door once he was inside, and turned on his car.

  “So where are we going?” Ariana asked. She was excited but hoped it wasn’t too far away. She didn’t want to push her luck.

  “It’s a surprise,” he said, backing out of the driveway. He took her hand. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

  She squeezed his hand back, a little anxious about where he might be taking her.

  He turned on the radio to a hip hop station.

  “So what have you been up to today?” she asked.

  “Just hanging out with the guys. Played a little basketball this morning. We crushed the other team. I totally blocked this huge guy, by the way. Washed my car. Thought about you. How about you?”

  “Nothing. Boring stuff. Just at home. I wish I had a car,” she said.

  “Your birthday’s coming up, right? You can get your driver’s license.”

  “Yeah, but I might not get a car. It all depends on my parents, and if they feel like giving me one. I told them I don’t want a party or anything. I just want a car. And it kinda seemed like they were seriously thinking about it. But now, with all the arguments and stuff, I honestly don’t know.”

  He nodded. “Well, you’ll have me. Admit it. I’m the best birthday gift you could get.” He smiled.

  She laughed. “Definitely. I’m just tired of always being told what to do. Well, what not to do, I guess. I just want to have a little fun.” She thought for a moment. “Are your parents strict? Or were they?”

  “Not really. As long as they know where I’m at, they don’t care. But I guess I’ve been really independent since I was young. My sister and brother are a lot older than me, so they had moved out by the time I was really growing up. Didn’t have many rules, and with my part-time job helping my uncle sometimes, I pay for my own things.”

  “I wish I was like that. Maybe when I get a car, I’ll get a job.” It must be awesome getting a paycheck, she thought.

  They pulled up to a restaurant named Laredo’s.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked. “I didn’t have lunch. But more importantly than that, I wanted to take you out on a real date.”

  Ariana felt butterflies in her stomach, and she stopped herself from wrapping her arms around him. “I didn’t have lunch either. And I would love to go out on a date with you,” she said.

  A little part of her was terrified of running into her parents somehow, but the huge part of her, the one that was having a blast, pushed that thought away.

  What were the odds?

  They got out of the car and went into the restaurant. Carlos opened the door for her, and the hostess welcomed them.

  “Just the two of you?”

  They nodded.

  “Follow me,” she said, grabbing two menus and silverware and walking to the back of the restaurant.

  “Here you are. Enjoy.” She smiled and left.

  They thanked her and sat down together in the booth.

  Carlos put his arm around her waist and began planting little kisses on her neck. “If I had been smart, I would have taken you back to my house,” he whispered.

  Ariana gave a small laugh. “Girl’s gotta eat.”

  The server arrived to get their drink orders and left again.

  “We should probably start thinking about what we want to eat.” She opened the menu. “What are you gonna get?”

  “You,” he said, nibbling on her ear. Holy cow, that felt good, she thought. She felt a shiver go down her spine.

  “Carlos. Not here,” she said, laughing. “Here.” She handed him his menu. He opened it up—but not before kissing her cheek.

  She finally picked a quesadilla, and Carlos decided on a huge burrito. The server arrived again, taking their menus after they had ordered.

  They sipped on their drinks and ate tortilla chips and salsa. She loved this place. She had only come a couple of times with Jimmy and her parents.

  Shortly after they ordered, their food arrived. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. Her mouth watered just looking at the food.

  “This looks so good,” she said, looking at Carlos.

  “Yep. Let’s eat.”

  Halfway through their respective meals, Carlos fed Ariana a piece of burrito. “That’s really good,” she said. She gave him a piece of her quesadilla.

  “Hm. Yours too,” he said, chewing. She stared at him, not believing he looked so hot just eating, when she noticed something behind him. Or rather, two someones.

  Her parents.

  “Holy shit.”

  ***

  “What? Do I have something on my face or something?” Carlos asked. He wiped at his face with his napkin while Ariana tried keeping her head low, hoping her parents didn’t notice her.

  “What is it?” Carlos asked, turning around for a split second.

  “My parents. They’re over there.” She looked down at her food.

  He risked another glance behind him. “Lady with purple shirt and guy with the checkered shirt?”

  She nodded. She took another look. Her parents were saying something, and her mom was shaking her head at the hostess

  “I guess they got hungry too.” He turned back to her. “Let’s just finish eating and leave. I bet they won’t even notice us.”

  The hostess led her mom and dad to another part of the restaurant. But she realized her parents might still be able to see them when they were leaving.

  “No wonder they didn’t eat before they left. They must have gone to make the water payment and come straight here before doing the shopping,” she said, mostly to herself.

  She felt knots in her stomach. How had this taken such a turn for the worst?

  She looked at Carlos and knew he could see her panicking.

  “Hey.” He grabbed her hand. “It’s okay. They didn’t see us. We’re good. Let’s finish up, and we’ll get out of here. I’ll take you back to Mayra’s house.”

  She nodded and continued eating, although she wasn’t very hungry anymore. After she finished, she took a long swig of her soda, needing the caffeine and the burn down her throat.

  They paid, left a tip, and got out of the booth to head out.

  Ariana couldn’t have been any more nervous. Carlos walked on her left side so that he was in between Ariana and her parents’ line of view. She kept her head down, and Carlos wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her towards the door.

  Finally, they were outside the restaurant and at his car. He opened the passenger door for her, shut it, and quickly went around to the other side.

  They were back at Mayra’s house in record time, it seemed. They stayed in the car for a few minutes, still feeling the rush of adrenaline from what had happened at the restaurant.

  “So I’m guessing they didn’t see us or there probably would have been a car chase,” he said, smiling.

  She laughed, mostly from sheer relief. “Yeah, thank God,” she said. They leaned their heads back in their seats and sighed. “That was crazy. They hardly ever go out to dinner and much less without us. Maybe they just didn’t want to come home yet.”
r />   He shrugged.

  “Want to go in for a little bit? At this rate, they’re probably still eating.”

  He nodded and got out. Ariana didn’t bother waiting for him to come around and open her door. They went inside and sat down on the couch. Mayra must have still been upstairs watching her movie. They hadn’t been gone too long.

  “Did you have a good time?” Carlos asked. He was already stroking her leg.

  “Other than practically running into my parents? Yes. I had an awesome time. Thanks,” she said, looking at him.

  “Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

  “Yeah. We’ll figure it out.”

  She could see him staring at her lips. She put her arms around his shoulders. They began kissing. It was a good thing they’d each had one of Carlos’ mints.

  Ariana thought how amazing it was how quickly two people could get comfortable with each other. The other day she had been nervous about their hands touching, and now her hands were on his chest and his hands were on the small of her back, inching down with every minute that passed.

  She didn’t stop him.

  It felt right. She knew they were going to have to talk about boundaries and all that, but right now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment. Carlos was kissing her neck, and she was feeling incredibly hot and feverish when she noticed the clock on the wall.

  “What time did we get here?” she whispered.

  He sighed. “I don’t know. Like fifteen minutes ago.” He spoke between kisses, clearly unwilling to stop, even for a moment. She couldn’t help but giggle when he brushed a ticklish spot on her neck.

  “You should really get going,” she said.

  “Do you want me to go?” She could barely hear the question.

  “No. But my parents are going to be home soon, and I have to be home before that happens. If we get caught now, imagine how much harder it’s going to be for us.”

  Her comment made him stop, and she almost wished she hadn’t said anything. She needed his kisses, his hugs.

  He must have needed her too because he started kissing her on the lips again. She kissed him back, more intensely this time, because she knew their time was running out. A few minutes later, they finally pulled apart and got up. She walked him to the door.

  “Text me later?” she asked as he stepped out.

  “Definitely.” He leaned in for one more kiss before leaving.

  She shut the door, glanced at the clock, and ran up the stairs.

  Mayra was lying in bed with a fresh bowl of ice cream. She heard Carlos start up his car and leave.

  “Want some?”

  “No thanks. Thank you, though, for letting me do this.” She gave her a hug.

  “How was it? Your first kiss and all?” She had a wicked smile on her face. “You’re still a virgin, right?”

  “Mayra, what do you think we did? Yes, I’m still a virgin. We just kissed and stuff.”

  “And stuff.” She raised her eyebrows at her with a knowing smile. Ariana hit her with a pillow.

  “He took me out to eat.”

  “I wondered why it got so quiet.”

  “Guess what happened?”

  “What?” She sat up, raising a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth.

  “We freakin’ saw my parents at the restaurant.”

  “No way,” she said, wiping the spoon clean with her mouth before grabbing another spoonful.

  “We’re lucky we got out without them seeing us. Speaking of which, I need to go because they’re probably almost home,” she said, checking the time on her phone.

  “What? You gotta tell me everything else that happened.” She nudged her playfully.

  “I’ll text you when I get home.”

  “Fine. Ask your parents if you can come over when they get home.”

  “Okay. But Jimmy’s gonna be like ‘you owe me.’” She rolled her eyes, getting up from Mayra’s bed.

  “Don’t worry about him. I’ll have a talk with him about it.”

  “Eww.”

  “What?”

  “Sometimes I have a feeling you guys are gonna end up together. I don’t know why.” She shook her head.

  “What’s wrong with that? He’s cute. Give him another year or two, and he’s gonna be boyfriend material.”

  “Once again, ew.” Ariana was at her door now. “See you later. Thanks again.”

  “Bye,” she said, clicking play on the remote and turning back to her movie.

  ***

  Ariana opened the front door and walked into Jimmy’s room. He was still watching TV.

  “I’m home.” She noticed right away that his curtains were open and the blinds were set so he could look perfectly out the window and down the street. He never had the windows open—his room was like a cave. She shut her mouth when he turned to look at her.

  “How was your date?”

  He knew. She decided that there was no point in denying anything. Not to Jimmy. It would only make things worse.

  “Are you gonna tell Mom and Dad?” she asked.

  He was back to staring at the TV. He sighed. “So you’re Carlos’ girlfriend now?”

  “Are we just gonna keep asking each other questions without answering them?”

  “Fine. You go first. Are you Carlos’ girlfriend now?” This time, he looked at her right in the eye.

  “Yes.” She sat down on his bed, and he stared.

  “I just hope one day I don’t have to tell you I told you so.” He turned down the TV.

  “You won’t.” She stared back, holding his gaze. “Are you telling Mom and Dad?”

  “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t. If this were a different guy, then I probably wouldn’t care. But it’s Carlos Herrera. He’s not a good guy. He’s had a gazillion girlfriends and always dumps ‘em after he gets what he wants.” His voice squeaked at the end.

  “He’s not like that.” Ariana’s tone was enough to get him to be quiet for a second. “You want a good reason? Here’s one. How about it’s none of your business. How about you try to see what he’s like, maybe actually get to know him, before you make judgments?”

  Jimmy’s mouth opened and closed. He took a deep breath and looked out the window. He shook his head. He looked back at her.

  “Okay. I’ll give him a chance. But if I find out that he did something to you, he’s gonna be sorry. I don’t care if he’s older. I’m taller. I’ll kick his ass.”

  She found herself smiling. Smiling because her little freshman brother just threatened to kick her senior boyfriend’s ass. She laughed out loud.

  “Gee, thanks!” he said, but he was laughing too.

  “I love you,” she said, hugging him.

  “Yeah, yeah, who doesn’t?” But she could tell he wanted to say it too.

  “Thank you for keeping this secret for me. You’ll see that Carlos is a great guy. Mom and Dad just don’t understand that right now. I’m going to show them that I’m old enough to go out and have a boyfriend. Right now, I’ll just see Carlos on my own, but soon, I won’t have to keep it from them anymore.”

  “I’m still not saying I like it. I still think it’s a bad idea for you to have a boyfriend, no matter who, behind their backs. If they ever find out, you’ll be in so much trouble.”

  She didn’t even want to think about that.

  “But since we’re sharing secrets and getting all gooey-lovey, I might as well go ahead and tell you something.”

  “You have a girlfriend?”

  “No,” he said. “You know I love Mayra.” He said it like she was stupid or something.

  “Then what is it?” She couldn’t even guess what he was about to say.

  “I’m trying out for the basketball team. Ryan says I’m good, and he thinks I might even make varsity.”

  “As a freshman? Is Ryan trying out too?” She admitted to herself that Jimmy was pretty good, incredibly good, and he’d had a growth spurt in the last few months. He was a good bit taller than Mayra now, and she was a
few inches taller than Ariana at five feet and six inches. But their school was known for its basketball team.

  “Yep and yep.”

  “I know you’ll make JV, but varsity?” she asked.

  “Extremely difficult, but not impossible. So in exchange for me keeping your dirty little secret, I need you to help me with something.”

  “Name it.”

  “Help me convince Mom and Dad to let me try out.”

  “I don’t see why they wouldn’t let you.”

  “I’m gonna need rides to practices and games and stuff. Sometimes right after school when they’re working. Sometimes later when they’re just getting out of work. I need a stable ride. I was thinking maybe I could get one of the guys to take me and bring me home. I’m not sure they’ll love that idea, though.”

  “No, I have a better idea.”

  chapter eight

  Ariana gave Carlos a peck on the cheek. “Bye.”

  “I’ll text you later,” Carlos said as he hugged her goodbye.

  “Okay.” Ariana looked over her shoulder as she walked towards the bus with Mayra.

  “So cute,” Mayra said.

  Over a week had passed since Jimmy and Ariana had talked about their plan. She hadn’t gone out with Carlos again, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to. They just hadn’t had a good opportunity. But her parents couldn’t prevent her from seeing him at school.

  Still, it wasn’t the same. They were always in a rush to be somewhere else, whether it was Carlos who needed to be in a class across campus or Ariana who needed to get on the bus, pronto.

  “Guess whose birthday is in less than two weeks?” Ariana asked.

  “No idea.” Mayra responded in a deadpan as they got on the bus.

  “Have you gotten my present yet?” Ariana asked as they took a seat. Mayra slid in after her.

  “More important than that, do you think you’re gonna get a car after all?”

  Ariana looked out the window. “I don’t know. I hope so. I’m kind of tired of riding the yellow cheese wagon.”