New on the block

Jamal

December 28th: 3:30pm
"I can't believe I got stuck working while everyone's out having fun." I complain as I fold the napkins. Someone walks up to the window and without thinking I ask them what they want. "Welcome to Dwayne's Joint, what can I get you today? May I recommend the pulled pork sandwi-" Oh fuck it's Mariana. "Hey Jamal." She smiles. "Hey um... what ugh... what are you doing here?" I try to act cool, it doesn't work. "I over reacted the other day. Monse and Cesar explained... I want to say everything but something tells me it wasn't. Anyways they called and told me the truth, you were just trying to be a good friend... I get that." She smiles. "I thought you hated me." I mumble. "How is that even possible? If you're going on break soon I can hangout for a bit." Mariana says. "Yeah um, I'll go on break right now!" I'm so excited. "Oh wow ok." She laughs. I love her laugh. "So orange hair." I say when I sit on the bench with her. "Yeah, do you like it? I think I want to change it soon." She says. "You look beautiful with any hair color." I'm really not playing it cool right now. "Thanks, I'm really sorry. I don't know how many times I have to say it but once doesn't feel like enough." She looks down at her feet and she clicks her heels. "I turned you down... twice! I get why you got mad." I scoot closer to her and she has a small smile on her face. "Yeah, I thought I got rejected by the cutest guy at our school." I told her the whole story about faking injuries to get out of the games. "You think I'm cute?" I ask. "Isn't it obvious? I've had a crush on you since sixth grade." This is the happiest moment of my life! Note to self: thank Cesar and Monse. "I just admitted that I've liked you for years and you sitting there in silence is kinda freaking me out." She puts her hand on mine and I snap out of whatever trance she put me in when she said she liked me. "I didn't really think I needed to say anything. I can barely speak when I'm around you." I laugh awkwardly. "So, you wanna go on a date?" She asks. "Of course! I mean um... yeah sure, sounds good." I say quickly. "You don't have to do that." She says. "Do what?" "Try and act like you're not excited for stuff. I obviously like you for a reason. You actually show your real self." She says. "Well, if I'm showing my real self then... fuck yeah I want to go on a date with you!" I say excitedly. "Ok, but this time no canceling." She laughs. "I'm not that stupid!" I exclaim. "Six o'clock?" She suggests. "Yeah, send me your address I'll pick you up." It's finally happening!
*Mariana's house: six o'clock*
I knock on the door and she opens it right away. "Hi!" She smiles. "Hey, you ready?" I ask. "Yeah, where do you want to go?" She asks. "I was thinking we could do our seventh grade tradition of eating a tub of ice cream in your backyard." I suggest. "I wish but I don't have any." "I thought you'd say that so." I grab a extra large tub of ice cream from my dad's place from beside me. "You're a genius!" She laughs. We walk into her house and I see her dad and grandpa playing dominios with a few other people. "Hey mr. Rodriguez." I say as we walk by. "Hola." They both say and we laugh. "It's been a long time Jamal." Her dad says, stopping us in our tracks. "Yeah, school's had me pretty busy." I shrug. "So, are you and my princesa dating now or what?" Her grandpa asks. "Umm." I don't know what to says. Mariana looks at me and nods. "Yeah, I guess we are." I say. "You owe me ten dollars papá!" Her dad laughs. "I said before they go to college technically I am right!" Her grandpa insists. "And I said before they turn seventeen! Pay up viejo." I'm so confused. "You're all she ever talks about." Her mom says when she walks in the room. "We got bored of hearing about it so we made it interesting." Her dad shrugs. "Oh my God! You guys are so embarrassing. We'll be outside." She drags me through the kitchen and into the backyard. "So we're dating?" I ask. "It's easier then explaining that we're going on dates but not boyfriend and girlfriend yet." She sounds kind of embarrassed. "I always loved your family." I say. "Seriously, why?" She asks. "You guys are always so happy and together." I shrug. "Yeah, they're pretty amazing. I guess that's what I want when I have a boyfriend... to be happy I mean." She says. "Do I make you happy?" I ask. "Yeah." You make me happy." She says. We look at each other for a minute and I feel my palms sweating. I lean in and kiss her and my stomach feels like it's heating up. It's a short kiss and I'm honestly a little in shock but it was definitely going to be in my top ten moments of my life. "That definitely made me happy." She smiles. "You're such a dork." I kiss her again. "Oh wow coming from the king of dorks himself!" She laughs. "Every king needs a queen!" That was so cheesy. When I see her beautiful smile creep on her face I know it was just the right amount of cheesy. "So, can I finally officially meet your friends?" She asks. "You know my friends." I laugh. "I've known you since sixth grade and I've only met Monse because we have the same gym class." She says. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were embarrassed by me." She adds. "They're kind of... a lot." I sigh. "What do you mean?" She asks. "You'll find out tomorrow." I say.