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Three years ago
"Bubba," my little sister, Valeria, says, running toward me on her wobbly legs. Both of my twin sisters have started to use their legs better, which means they both run toward me when I'm trying to leave the house. I kneel down to hug my sister better, and her twin runs toward me as well.
"Val, no!" Gabriella shouts at her sister and pushes her away from me. I shake my head and say, "Both of you play nice, yeah?"
"She stole my toy," Valeria says, and Gabby shakes her head, putting a finger in her mouth. Lying detected! I shake my head and place a kiss on their foreheads. Today is going to be a big day. I was going to do it today.
"I'm going to kiss Bella today," I tell my sisters in a low whisper, and they both giggle at that. "You guys think she will reciprocate that?" I ask them, playing with the end of Gabby's hair. They both nod eagerly, but apparently it was twin telepathy because, in sync, they both turn around and run away from me.
"I think she will," I whisper to myself, and I can't help but smile. I have been having dreams of my best friend for close to a year now, and I had to do something about it. I couldn't deal with another post-dream heartbreak after realizing it wasn't real.
I stand up and start to head for the door. "Matteo!" I hear my name being shouted and turn around to see my mom running toward me. My sisters are now both sitting in my dad's lap as he attempts to do yoga poses. My dad was one to pick up weird hobbies. My mom smiles when my eyes meet hers, and she holds up a sandbox bag.
"For your girl," she says with a smile, and I can't help but smile as well. I lean closer to her and whisper, "I may kiss her today."
There is a loud yell in my ear, and I have to pull away with a hand on my ear in order to protect my eardrums. "Oh my God!" my mom shouts and then looks over her shoulder. "Baby, listen, Matteo wants to kiss Val."
"No way," my dad says sarcastically, and then cocks his head toward me. "What do you mean? You haven't kissed her yet?"
"No," I answer, and then my dad shakes his head at me. "I sensed that there was a change in your relationships in the past year, but you guys haven't kissed?"
Not since my dreams, no. I shake my head in answer, and my dad offers me a smile. "She will definitely kiss you back; just don't use your tongue for the first few seconds."
"Austin, stop," my mom scolds him. "Why are you talking about how to kiss right now, much less with tongue?"
"Because, Mi Vida, everyone knows Val will kiss back. So now Matteo has to worry about kissing her correctly," my dad says, and my mom shakes her head at him. She turns away from him and places a hand on my shoulder. "It'll be fine, Teo. Just give her a warning before kissing her."
