Lifeline (Marc Guiu)

Chapter 22

As part of her plan to not make the same mistakes again, Alicia had decided to tell Victoria about her date. Her friend was over the moon when She heard the news.

"Oh Ali! I'm so happy. And Mario looks so cute. I'm sure the date will be great".

"You seem more excited about it than me", joked Alicia.
"I probably am. You never fully told me about that guy who hurt you but...I can tell how much you went through, Ali. And I respect that you wanted to keep that to yourself but I also want to help you. And I want you to be happy. Mario can make you happy".

"I hope he can".

Victoria drove Alicia to the cinema as part of their plan to make Alicia's parents believe she was going to watch a movie with her friend. And she also wanted to see Mario.

"He's really cute!", she squealed.

"Ok, chill. Or I'll tell Fermín you're looking at other guys".

"Fer will want to meet Mario too and give him the big brother talk, just so you know".

"I already have an older brother", reminded her Alicia.

"Tell that to Fermín", she shrugged. "Anyway, go now! He's waiting for you. Watch a horror movie so you can hug him when you're scared".

Alicia shook her head. "I'll talk to you later".

"Oh, you will. I want all the details".

"Sure".

Alicia got out of the car and walked to where Mario was standing. He looked really cute and had clearly dressed for the occasion. Alicia tried to look cute too but wasn't sure her facial expressions were going to collaborate.

"Hey".

"Oh, hi Ali!", he said, hugging her. "I was waiting for you to pick a movie".

"Umm...there are quite a few good ones we could watch. You can choose".

"You sure?"

"Yeah", reassured him Alicia. "I don't mind".

"They're showing the Harry Potter movies again. I wasn't alive when the first one was in cinemas, should we watch that?"

"Of course. That sounds fun".

After buying the tickets, they got some popcorn and drinks to have while watching the movie and Alicia excused herself to go to the bathroom before the movie started. When she got out of the cubicle, she washed her hands and noticed how they shook.

"Stop it!", she whispered. "It's just a date. Stop being so stupid".

Mario was waiting outside of the bathroom, holding all of their stuff and Alicia took their drinks to help him.

"Thank you. Should we go find our seats?"

"Yes. Let's go".

It was a nice time. The movie was good, but they already knew that. The popcorn was alright. Alicia preferred the one they made at home but she wasn't picky and going to complain. And the company was good too.

But she couldn't help compare. Obviously, they were at the cinema and not at home. But Mario was so quiet, while Marc wouldn't shut up while they watched movies. Alicia didn't mind it. She loved talking while watching movies too and had laughed so hard at some of Marc's comments. When he noticed that, he kept making the same silly comments just to see her laugh again. But Alicia didn't notice that. There had been so many things she didn't notice...

"I saw an Italian restaurant a few streets away. We could walk there and then I'll drive you home".

"Sounds good", told him Alicia and they started to walk to the restaurant.

"I'm having a good time. What about you?"

Alicia smiled, even if she didn't fully believe that smile, and nodded. "Me too".

While they walked, Mario grabbed Alicia's hand to hold it and she held her breath for a few seconds. Holding hands felt...wrong. But it wasn't like Mario was forcing her to do anything. He was just testing the waters and Alicia didn't want to be mean to him when he was being so nice. So she held his hand while Mario walked them to the restaurant.

"I'll just have a pizza", said Mario. "You?"

"The veggie lasagna sounds good. My mum makes it sometimes".

The waiter took their orders and came back with their food a few minutes later.

"Can I have a bite of the lasagna?", asked Mario.

"I don't see why not".

Alicia cut a piece for Mario to try and he nodded while he was chewing it. "Nice. Is it as good as your mum's?"

"No. But it's really nice".

"Maybe one day I'll try your mum's lasagna to compare them".

Alicia nodded and looked down at her food. That was going a bit too fast...but she wasn't going to ruin the date just because she was terrified.

Mario had promised to drive Alicia home but he was planning on parking a few streets away from her house and then drive slowly while she walked to make sure she made it back home safely without her parents spotting him.

"That was nice...today, I meant", said Mario when he parked.

"It was. Thank you. For making the day nice".

He laughed and Alicia felt something in her stomach. Nerves. Not butterflies. Not what she felt when she was with Marc.

"You don't need to feel nervous around me, Ali. I won't pressure you into doing anything. I'm fine going slow. I see you're the kind of girl who would prefer that".

"Sorry".

"Don't apologize", he told her, holding her hand and making the nerves worse. Even though he meant for the touch to be soothing. "I mean, I would have loved a good night kiss but I'm a patient man".

Alicia could tell Mario meant that to be a joke. But a part of her wondered how it would be to kiss him. To kiss someone who wasn't Marc to hopefully get the memory of kissing him out of her mind. So she leaned forward and kissed Mario.

He was surprised of her reaction but soon started to kiss her back, placing his hand on her cheek to hold her face softly. But then he noticed something was wrong.

"Are you crying?"

"No", she said, while trying to get rid of the tears using the back of her hand. "I'm fine".

"If you don't want to do this...I told you I wasn't going to pressure you".

"It's...I'm sorry. It's not fair to you. I'm just on this date to forget someone else".

"Well, you clearly haven't forgotten him".

Mario was clearly hurt but trying not to show it. "I'm sorry...".

"Hey, it's ok. Just keep trying to forget that guy while we're friends and maybe one day you can fully give this a try".

"You're too kind".

"Well", he chuckled. "I really like you so...but I get it. I've been heartbroken in the past. It's rough".

"Yeah. I...I'll go home now".

"Sure. I'll follow you to make sure you get there fine".

"Thanks".

The worst part of the night wasn't upsetting Mario. It was explaining to Victoria that the date had gone wrong and that Alicia wasn't going to go on any dates anytime soon. She couldn't because Mario was right. Alicia needed to forget Marc first.