I was clearly embarrassed for the entire car ride to the theater. I never backed down on apologizing repeatedly.
"I already told you it was alright like twenty times, Risi."
I pouted. "I feel bad. I didn't mean to come at you like that."
"And you found out that it wasn't me." He chuckled. Not only I would recite apologies, but he thought it was just hysterical how Deborah took such a rediculous measure to obviously break us apart.
And she almost succeeded too.
"My bad though, about havin' you worried and everything though. I broke my phone..."
I now put it in thought to save up to buy him another one. It was just an instinct of me to help others out, especially him.
"It's alright." I warmly smiled, as I peered out of the window to see him driving in to the theater's parking lot.
I stepped out of the car just as Mateo stopped the engine.
I peeked through the trees in the distance, over to the pink, yellow and orange sunset; it brought back memories.
"You like sunsets now?" Melvin, who was my only friend as a child asked toward me, as we dallied pass the armed men, and crime scenes by the end of my block.
It was my ninth birthday, and Melvin had got me hooked onto watching sunsets, one of the reasons because they were beautiful anywhere...literally. You can be at the lowest of the poverty line, or nearly above first class, yet sunsets were always calming, and beautiful.
I innocently nodded, the warm air caressing my skin. "Yea..."
Both of our mothers were just too busy to even acknowledge us. They would always tell us to find something to do, and to be back home before the bright street lights turned on...
I stared down at my feet as we walked, committing to skip over the many old cracks on the sidewalk.
"Football field, birthday girl?" He teased, while I nodded and looked around. The sun was beginning to fade from it's bright blue to it's magnificent pinks, yellow's, and oranges.
The large high school football field was shortly up the block. Once we arrived, we lay in the middle of the field, as our bodies sunk into the green, sprung grass.
It was a perfect view, beyond the clear distance. Of the sunset.
"Melvin," My cheeks had risen into a missing-teethed smile. "You're my bestfriend."
It was a long, calming silence. "You're mine too, Cherry."
I vowed to never forget Melvin. After he was shot I became distant from sunsets, even though I promised myself to keep watching them.
I nearly leaped out of my skin to feel Mateo's soft touch upon my cheek. He was almost calm. "You're crying."
He gently wiped my tears, eyes looking deep into mine.
"I thought about something." I gently whispered.
My warm cheeks were now just held in his palms.
I was feeling all things inside. Tingles, butterflies, affection, warmth, everything...
I had to . . . I needed to . . .
I was so fed up on not letting him know about how I felt. I was too nervous on rejection, or being made fun of...
I wanted him to kiss me.
And he did...
His lips softly traced over mine, and I my body was now filled with such intense eurphoria.
My lips carved perfectly with his.
I've never kissed anyone before, yet it just felt as if I knew what to do.
I didn't want it to end.
I felt affection from him as I gladly sent my own too.
I just didn't want it to end.
"You okay?" I heard his soft voice.
I didn't even realize that our first kiss was over. My mentality was still fixated on how beautiful my own first kiss was, that my eyes were still closed.
It wasn't forced, or for the wrong reasons. It was perfect.
I nodded as I opened my eyes, sniffing away my tears in which he continued to gently wipe with his thumbs. "I'm okay."
