“What is it?” she asked.
He smiled, taking a drink of his. “Margarita. It’s good. Try it.”
She just looked at it.
“I promise one drink won’t get you drunk,” he laughed. “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get you a bottle of water.”
She took a sip. It was cold and sweet and kind of tangy. She could taste the alcohol in it too, but it was nothing like beer.
“It’s good,” she said and took a bigger sip.
“Told you so,” he said, drinking his margarita.
Mayra and Marcos came towards them. Mayra was fanning herself too. Marcos wiped sweat off his brow. Carlos winked at him.
“I need a couple of those,” Marcos said, pointing at their drinks.
“Me too,” said Mayra.
Carlos gave his drink to Ariana. “Be right back, guys,” he said, walking off.
“Great party, right?” asked Mayra. They were just about yelling.
“Definitely,” she replied. “Do you know what time it is, though?”
“Hold on.” She turned to Marcos, who seemed distracted by some girl-on-girl dancing going on in front of him. Mayra punched him in the shoulder.
“I said what time is it?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, sorry.” He took his phone out of his pocket. “It’s 1:47.” He put his phone back and went back to enjoying his show.
“What a pig,” Mayra said. “He’s a great dancer, but a pig.”
“And kinda hot,” she hinted.
“True,” she said, looking at him. “But you can tell he’s not boyfriend material at all.” She turned back to her. “You think we need to head home soon?”
“Yeah. I should be home in an hour or so. Don’t want to test my luck.”
Mayra nodded. “Meanwhile, we might as well have a little more fun. The night is still young.” She moved her hips to the beat of the music.
Carlos came back with their drinks. Mayra took a couple of swigs, grabbed Marcos, who was still carrying his drink, and headed back to the dance floor.
She laughed as they left. She drank more of the margarita. She had almost finished it.
Carlos read her mind. “You want another one?”
She shook her head. She was already feeling a bit tipsy. She had never really drank before. “We should be leaving soon. Like in an hour, so I can be home in plenty of time,” she told him in his ear.
He nodded. “It’s hot in here. You want to go get some air with me?”
She nodded and he took her hand, leading her outside.
It was a lot cooler out there. The air felt really good against her skin.
“I should go check my phone,” she said. They headed to his car. Luckily, there was nothing new on her phone. She sat in the passenger seat, closed the door, and closed her eyes. She was starting to get sleepy. Carlos sat in the driver’s seat. He took her hand, rubbing it with his thumb. He closed his door too, leaving his window cracked, and leaned over her. She felt his lips on her neck, leaving it wet with his taste. She groaned without meaning to.
“You like that?” he whispered. She could smell the drink he’d had on his breath.
“Yeah,” she whispered back. He moved further down to her collarbone. Oh God, she thought. She felt warm all the way to her toes.
She was not sleepy anymore.
***
She was glad Carlos’ car had tinted windows because she didn’t want to have to worry about other people seeing what they were doing.
“You want to go to the back?” he asked quietly.
Her heart was hammering. She wanted to say yes, and she wanted to say no. Did it mean they would have sex? They had only been going out for a little over a month. Wasn’t that too fast?
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he said, looking up at her. “I didn’t mean we had to go all the way or anything. We can just keep doing this.”
He was right. They just needed more room. Besides, they never had alone time like this. She wanted him to touch her and kiss her. Not go all the way yet. But other things…
“Okay,” she said.
He helped her maneuver her way to the back seat, and he did the same. She sat down nervously. Should she have lied down? What was she supposed to do?
He brushed her hair away from her face, and she looked at his lips. They were slightly open, inviting her to touch them with her own. She could hear his breathing, unlike when they had been at the party. He scooted closer to her and slowly came closer until his lips were on hers and they were kissing.
The longer they kissed, the hungrier they seemed for each other. He moved to her neck. Then his fingers were on the strap of her dress, and then the strap wasn’t on her shoulder anymore. She closed her eyes, enjoying what he was doing. She tried not to groan.
She thought that it was amazing that another person could cause this kind of reaction in her, make her body feel this way. His mouth crept lower and lower until both straps of her dress were off, but her dress was still on.
She wanted to feel him too, take off his shirt and feel his chest. She brought his face back up to hers, and she tasted his mouth again. She loved the feel of his stubble on her cheeks.
She began kissing his neck, taking in his cologne. It had quickly become her favorite smell. He pulled her onto his lap, and she began pulling up his shirt. His hands were on her thighs, her butt, her waist. They wouldn’t stop moving, grabbing, squeezing. She managed to pry his hands away from her body long enough to take off his shirt. He looked incredible. His abs were defined, and his skin was perfectly tan.
She noticed his necklace, the one he never took off. She had never gotten a good look at it because he always had it tucked in his shirt. Now she saw it had an angel wing on it. She held it in her hand. She looked at him. He stared back, looking up at her.
“This is nice. Where’d you get it?” she said. Her voice was only loud enough for him to hear.
Carlos took the angel wing and looked at it. “Someone gave it to me a long time ago.”
“You never take it off?”
He shrugged. “How about we get back to where we were?” He smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back.
He took her hands in his and brought them around his shoulders. He ran his hands up and down the sides of her torso, and she shivered.
She kissed him again, more to give herself time to get rid of her nerves than anything. She could feel him beneath her, his physical reaction. She pulled away from his lips and moved down his chest. His hands were underneath her dress now, and she didn’t make a move to stop him. She felt nervous about taking this step with him, but her body didn’t feel any hesitation. She came back up to look at him. It was dark, but she could clearly see the look on his face.
Desire. Love. His hands came out of her dress and traveled up to her chest. They stopped there, gently feeling and rubbing. She was speechless, it felt so good. A groan escaped her mouth, and it was followed by one of Carlos’s. He made to pull down her dress, but she stopped him. Her hands clenched his at the top of her dress and her stomach did a flip.
No matter how good it felt to have his hands all over her, she realized suddenly that she wasn’t ready for this. For him to see her completely, even halfway.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Carlos whispered. His hands were still entangled in hers.
She sighed. “I don’t want to do this here.” She climbed out of his lap. “And it’s getting late. I need to get home.” She reached for her phone, which was still in the front passenger seat. “It’s almost three. By the time you drop me off, it’ll almost be four. We need to go.” She texted Mayra to meet them at the car.
Carlos got up, sighing, and put on his shirt again. “Okay. You letting Mayra know?”
She nodded. She looked at him. He seemed disappointed. Definitely quiet. She fixed her dress and climbed into the front seat. He did the same.
“You okay?” she asked. “Are you mad?” Ariana wasn’t sure w
hy her voice cracked or why there were tears in her eyes.
He looked at her and gave her a kiss and hug. “Of course I’m okay. How could I ever be mad at you?”
She gave him a small smile and texted Mayra again that it was time to go. A few minutes later, Mayra and Marcos appeared at the car and piled in, and Carlos left.
Not too long after, they were pulling into Mayra’s driveway. Ariana gave Carlos a kiss goodbye, and he and Marcos drove off.
“Well, that was fun,” Mayra said. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, it was nice,” Ariana said.
“You guys disappeared for a while.” Mayra winked as they began walking up her driveway.
“Nothing happened.”
“Okay.” Mayra smiled at her as she drew out the word.
Ariana rolled her eyes and began walking down the block, towards her house. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.”
chapter ten
The next afternoon, Jimmy and Ariana were watching TV in Jimmy’s room when her parents got home from their weekend errands. They could see them turn onto the block out the window. They quickly noticed something odd, though.
Her dad’s truck was pulling a car behind it. It was a small, black four-door. The paint could use a little help, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.
Ariana gasped, and Jimmy screamed wildly as they jumped off the bed and ran outside barefoot.
She screamed as her dad parked and got out of the truck. Her mom came up behind them, having already parked in the garage.
“What are you yelling about?” her dad asked, trying to keep a smile off his face.
“Is that my car?” She was jumping up and down. She walked around it. It wasn’t a brand spanking new or anything, but it wasn’t a piece of crap either. It was okay, especially for a high school student desperate to not ride the school bus anymore.
“Why do you think this is yours? I never said that,” her dad said. Except he was practically laughing now. Jimmy opened the door and got in the passenger side. Ariana opened the driver’s door and shut it behind her.
She and Jimmy looked at each other, smiling the biggest smiles ever. Ariana squealed.
She got out, ran to her dad, and gave him a hug. He hugged her back. “Do you like it?”
“I love it, Dad! Thanks.” She hugged her mom. “Can I take it for a drive?”
“Let me get it unhooked first,” he said with a smile. Ariana jumped up and down, and she and Jimmy ran inside to get their shoes. She ran to her room for her wallet, which had her driving permit inside. She just couldn’t believe it! She had a freakin’ car! She couldn’t wait to tell Mayra.
She ran back outside. Jimmy was already there. “How sweet is this?” he said. Her dad had already unhooked it from his truck, and he’d backed the car down the driveway a bit. He got out of the car and handed her the keys.
“There will be rules. This doesn’t mean you get to go out at any time or wherever you want. It’s mainly for getting to school and back and taking Jimmy to his tryouts and games and all that, as both you promised. After you pass the driving test.”
They nodded. She hoped they would let Mayra tag along whenever they used the car or that they would let them go to the movies once in a while. But she wasn’t about to ask right now. She didn’t want to hear the word no and mess all of this up. For now, she could live with the rules.
Her dad went around to the other side of the car and got in. Jimmy hopped in the back along with her mom, and she got in the front and turned on the car.
“Check your mirrors. Adjust the seat if you have to,” her dad instructed.
She did.
“Now back up carefully out the driveway.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. “I know what I’m doing, Dad.” Even then she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.
She put the car in reverse and used her mirrors to back out of the driveway, turning as she pulled into the street so she could drive towards Mayra’s house and out of the neighborhood.
She honked as she passed Mayra’s house and slowed down. No luck, though, so she kept going.
Twenty minutes later, they were home again. She pulled in neatly and parked, turning off the car.
They got out and stood there, admiring it.
“What do you think?” her mom asked.
“I love it. It’s perfect. Is it okay if Mayra rides with us to school?”
Her parents shifted and looked at each other. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You haven’t even passed the test so you can get your license.”
“After I get my license.”
“We’ll see.”
“When can I take the test? Can we practice again tomorrow?”
“I can’t tomorrow. I have to work late,” her dad said.
“Mom? Can you take me?”
She nodded. “Okay. After I get dinner started tomorrow, we’ll go.”
They started to walk inside.
“Pretty soon, I’ll be getting my permit, and then I can drive it.” Jimmy looked at their dad. “How much was the car, Dad?” Jimmy asked.
“Let’s just say I expect you two to take good care of me when I’m retired.”
***
“So guess what happened the other day? I forgot to tell you the other night.”
Ariana was talking to Carlos on her phone. She had gotten home from school a couple of hours ago, but both her parents had called to say they would be getting home late. She wouldn’t get to practice driving after all, probably.
She and Jimmy were on the couch.
“What?” Carlos asked.
Jimmy’s phone buzzed with a text from someone, and he glanced at Ariana. He practically ran to his room and shut the door behind him.
Maybe Jimmy is finally moving on from Mayra, she thought. And maybe he’d finally get off her case.
“Ariana?” It was Carlos.
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “So guess who is the proud owner of a semi-new car?”
“Your parents ended up getting you a car after all?”
She was pleased at his surprised voice.
“Seriously? Does this mean you’re allowed to be somewhere else besides school and your house now?” He sounded happy.
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe. First I have to get my license before they’ll even consider any of that. And they’re considering letting me use it for school and taking Jimmy to his basketball tryouts.”
“Your brother’s trying out for basketball? I saw him play once when I was in the school gym. He’ll make JV for sure.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. A couple of my friends are also in his P.E. class, and they’ve mentioned how good he is.”
“Well, he’s aiming to make varsity.”
“Wow. He has a chance. Can’t guarantee he’ll make it, though. It’s tough.”
“I know. That’s what I told him.” A thought came into her head, and she said it out loud. “Hey, why haven’t you ever tried out for the basketball team? If you’re as good as you say you are, you should be on varsity yourself.”
Silence.
She didn’t think she’d said it in a mean way.
“Not my thing,” he said finally.
“Why not?” she asked. It didn’t make sense. From what he said, he sounded pretty good.
“Because it’s not, okay?” His tone had changed. “Besides, it’s none of your business.”
She didn’t know what to say. Had he just yelled at her?
“Sorry,” she managed.
“Whatever. I gotta go.”
She looked at her phone, not believing he had just hung up on her.
***
Ariana had been practicing extra hard for her driving test, spending most evenings driving around town with her parents. The driving also helped to get her mind off of Carlos. Ever since he had hung up on her a few days ago, he hadn’t called or texted, and he had been avoiding her in the hallways at school, even though h
er birthday was in just three days.
She drove her dad’s truck out of their neighborhood and towards town. He was in the passenger seat, and Jimmy was in the back. Her dad was still working on getting tags for her car.
She had gotten the hang of the driving part. What was killing her was the parking. She had yet to master parking in reverse and the cursed parallel parking.
She wondered who the hell needed to parallel park. If for some reason that was the only kind of spot she could find, she’d rather circle the damn block until someone left and there was a regular parking spot available.
The truth was that she wasn’t actually frustrated with her upcoming driving test and her inability to park as much as she was frustrated with something else. Carlos.
They reached the town square, where there were a few empty parallel parking spots. She went for a spot in between two cars.
“You’re about to drive on the sidewalk!” her dad yelled, looking behind him and out the window. She heard the tires scrape against the sidewalk. Jimmy was looking out the window, watching as the car rolled up onto the curb.
“Shi—” Her dad stared at her. “Oot,” she finished. She tried for fifteen more minutes. Her dad even switched with her, and she watched as he slid into the spot with ease. She tried again and came about two centimeters from hitting the car in front of them.
He shook his head. “Let’s just head home.”
Jimmy spoke up from the back. He shut his cell phone. “Dad, can I drive?”
Their dad looked at him. “Just from here to the gas station around the block.”
He and Ariana switched places, and Jimmy maneuvered out of the mess she had parked herself into and took them to get gas. She hated how driving seemed so easy to him. He could probably pass the test right now. But he would just be getting his permit in the spring.
She checked her phone as Jimmy drove. Still nothing. She had no idea what Carlos’s problem had been. Mayra had said to just let him cool off and not be the first to apologize or even initiate contact. But it had grown more difficult with each passing day. It took everything inside her not to send him a simple text.
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