Unbreakable Love

by Yesenia Vargas

  Ariana took a deep breath and walked over to Carlos. Might as well go talk to him. The guy he had been talking to followed him. The rest of the parking lot was still pretty busy. They got out of the way of a car that needed to get past and headed back to his car.

  “Hi,” he said, smiling.

  “Hey,” they both replied.

  “Um, did I make you guys miss your bus?” He looked over at Mayra.

  “Kind of.” Mayra smiled.

  “Oh. Sorry. I thought you guys drove to school.”

  They were at his car now. Ariana responded, “No. I’m getting my license in two months. So until then, it’s the bus.”

  Carlos nodded. There was an awkward moment of silence, and Mayra started up a conversation with Carlos’ friend. Mayra walked away from Carlos, giving her friend some distance, and his friend followed.

  Ariana just looked up at Carlos, and they smiled at each other. He leaned back on his car and crossed his arms.

  Ariana was freaking out inside because she had no idea how to talk to guys. But on the outside, she just couldn’t stop smiling.

  “So how have you been?” he asked. She stood beside him and leaned back on his car like him. Her book bag was getting heavy, and she readjusted it.

  “Good.” She took a deep breath and looked around before sneaking a peek at him. He was looking right at her. “Um, how about you?”

  “Okay.”

  “Just okay?” She looked at him.

  “Yeah. I’ve been thinking, and I’d really like to hang out with you again, if that’s okay.”

  Her smile deflated, but her heart jumped. How could she tell him?

  “You’re not obligated to say yes, you know?” He nudged her shoulder with his.

  “It’s not that. I want to. It’s just that I kinda got in trouble Saturday night for not checking in with my parents when I was at that party, and they’re kind of strict to begin with.”

  She realized she was digging her fingernails into her palms and stopped.

  He nodded.

  “Sorry.” She tried to gauge Carlos.

  “It’s okay. Maybe another time. Like in two years.” He smiled.

  She laughed. “Probably. Two years is probably long enough. But who knows with my parents.”

  She decided to start asking questions because the silence was growing awkward.

  “So do you work or anything? Any sports?”

  “Not right now. I like to work on cars with my dad sometimes. I play a lot of basketball, but I don’t play for the school or anything. Just with the guys. You?”

  “Nope. Not really into sports. My little brother, Jimmy, plays basketball, though.”

  “Your brother’s name is Jimmy?” he said, looking at her.

  She smiled. She got that a lot. “It’s a long story, but basically he was named after a white guy who helped my mom when she going into labor with him.”

  Carlos nodded. “Makes sense. So...”

  “So...” She looked at him, wondering what he was thinking.

  Ariana put down her shoulder bag. Carlos stepped a bit closer. She wondered what time it was. Carlos being so close wasn’t helping her heart rate. Or her state of mind. His shoulder was warm against hers. She realized that this kind of contact was a first for her.

  She looked around and saw Mayra still talking easily with Carlos’ friend. They were at his car. There was lots of laughing going on. Ariana's stomach plummeted. She was a bundle of nerves.

  “I like to dance,” she blurted.

  He laughed a little.

  “I can tell. You’re a great dancer. Hard to keep up with, too.” he said. She exhaled, glad she had at least made him laugh.

  He turned towards her. She had never been this close to a guy before in her life.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “So…since you’ve missed the bus, I’m thinking you need a ride home?”

  “Uh, yeah. I need to get home before the bus so I can at least pretend I was on it. Otherwise, my parents will kill me.”

  “Are they usually home by now?”

  “Most of the time, no. But you never know with them.”

  Carlos jangled his keys. “Let’s go.” The parking lot was mostly empty now. Just about everybody had rushed out of there.

  She hesitated. If her parents saw her come home in a guy’s car…

  But how was she supposed to get home otherwise? A freakin’ taxi?

  “Okay,” she said. “You’re the only choice I have anyway.” She turned to Mayra. “Mayra!” She signaled to her, and Mayra said bye to Carlos’ friend and walked over. The guy got in his car and honked at them as he left the school. Carlos waved and turned to them.

  “Ready?”

  They nodded.

  He smiled. “Carlos’s Taxi Service, coming up.” He stepped away from the car and so did she. He opened the door for her, and she stepped in while Mayra hopped in the back.

  “So where we goin’?” He started the car.

  “Cinderwood.”

  “That makes sense. Cinderella lives in Cinderwood. And your friend?”

  Mayra shook her head but smiled at his joke. “We live on the same street,” Mayra said.

  Carlos drove out the parking lot and turned left. Ariana’s heart hammered inside her chest as she saw the road whiz past her window and noticed Carlos drove with one hand on the wheel. He smiled at her.

  And that was the first time Ariana rode in a guy’s car.

  chapter four

  “So,” Mayra began. Of course her friend would take over the conversation. Ariana shook her head a fraction of an inch but smiled. “What’s your favorite color?”

  “Um,” Carlos said as he glanced at Ariana, who shrugged. “Blue.”

  “Typical.” Mayra leaned back in her seat again.

  “Okay,” Carlos let out slowly. “What’s your favorite color, then?”

  “Magenta,” she replied quickly.

  “And yours?” He looked at Ariana.

  “Purple.”

  Carlos slowed for a red light. She wondered what she should look at, besides him.

  “So do you work?”

  Ariana looked back at Mayra and tried to glare a little without being obvious.

  “I work with my dad and his uncle, mostly on the weekends, at their auto shop fixing cars.”

  “Hm. Good to know for when I finally own a car and it breaks down.”

  Carlos and Ariana laughed as the traffic light turned green and they continued home.

  “And I have to ask,” Mayra said, trailing off, clearly waiting for Carlos’s permission to continue.

  “Please,” Carlos said. Ariana wondered if she heard a tinge of sarcasm in there.

  “Do you like school?”

  “Do you?” He looked at her through the rearview mirror.

  “Don’t answer my question with a question.”

  “Dang, Mayra. Who are you, my mom?” Ariana finally said.

  “It’s okay,” Carlos told her. “No, not always. I don’t like sitting in a desk all day, being lectured at and told what to do. I’d rather work on my own.”

  Mayra finally had nothing else to say, and Ariana tried to steer the conversation back to much less controversial subjects. “You said you have siblings, right?”

  “Yeah,” he said as he kept his eyes on the road. “An older sister and brother. I’m the youngest.”

  “Have you decided if you’re going to college in the fall?” Ariana hoped he didn’t get touchy about this, but she was curious.

  “Still not sure, but I’m applying to Gwinnett Tech. I’m thinking of becoming a mechanic.”

  “That’s cool. You could open your own business. That’s actually what I want to study: business.”

  He nodded.

  A few minutes later, they were in her neighborhood and turning onto her street.

  “You can pull up here,” she said, pointing at Mayra’s house. “It’s actually her house. You know, so my parents don’t flip
out and shoot you or something.”

  “I see. And where do you live? Let me guess…” He looked around. “The blue house?”

  He was talking about the house where an elderly couple lived, two houses down.

  “Wrong. I actually live down the street. Last house,” she said.

  He nodded.

  “For future reference,” Mayra added, as she got out. Ariana didn’t know whether to laugh or blush.

  Ariana’s face decided blushing was the answer, but she managed to smile at Carlos, who winked back. She shook her head and began to get out. Mayra walked a few paces towards her house, pretending to look at something interesting in the branches of a tree.

  “Bye. And thanks for the ride,” she said.

  “No problem.” She was about to close the door when he spoke again. “Hey,” he said. “Can I call you later?”

  She paused with her mouth slightly open, her brain confirming what her ears had just heard.

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, talk to you later, then,” he said with a smile.

  She finally closed the door, and he pulled the car into the street and left. He had good timing—as soon as he drove off, the school bus came down the street, made its stop, and dropped two other neighborhood kids off. Including Jimmy.

  He walked over to her, and Mayra came up beside her.

  “How’d you get home?” he asked. Mayra looked at her. Her friend had never seen Jimmy upset or mad before.

  “A friend brought us home. We missed the bus,” she explained.

  He nodded but his eyes narrowed, and he looked from Mayra to Ariana and back. Somehow, she didn’t think he believed her.

  He glanced at the house. Their parents’ car wasn’t there.

  “Lucky Mom and Dad weren’t home,” he said as he began walking home.

  Mayra looked at her with her eyes raised. Ariana heart was still racing, and she could feel adrenaline coursing through her veins.

  “Text me later?” Mayra asked.

  Ariana nodded and followed Jimmy home.

  ***

  After their short walk home from Mayra’s, Ariana and Jimmy were in the kitchen looking for something to eat. She was relieved that her mom wasn’t home yet.

  She was rummaging through the fridge, looking for stuff to make a sandwich. Jimmy headed to the table with an ice cream bar.

  “So. Who’s the dude?” he asked.

  She froze. “What are you talking about?”

  Jimmy didn’t respond immediately. She had found her sandwich supplies, and her head was getting cold from being inside the fridge, but she was not about to leave her cover behind the door until he spoke.

  “I’m not dumb, Ariana. I saw you talking to him as the bus was leaving the parking lot,” he said. “And I saw the same guy come around the street corner as he was leaving.”

  Gosh, Jimmy was smart. And he wasn’t about to let her off the hook. Should she tell him the truth?

  “He’s the same guy from the party.”

  “I thought so.” He was licking his ice cream bar, looking thoughtful.

  She didn’t know what to say. He wouldn’t rat her out, would he?

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell,” he said. He got up and threw away the ice cream wrapper and headed to his room. He stopped right before he went in. “Oh, and I’m still waiting for that hot date.”

  With that, he closed the door.

  ***

  “Well, you know Jimmy,” she said, shaking her head. “He figured everything out right away. He knew it was the same guy from the party. But he was cool and said he wouldn’t tell Mom and Dad.”

  Ariana was at Mayra’s house, under cover of homework, once again.

  “Nice,” Mayra said. “One less thing to worry about. Maybe he can even help you cover so you can see Carlos.”

  “No way,” she said. Then she remembered the deal she had made with Jimmy about Mayra and decided she may as well tell her now. Knowing the social status Mayra had at school, it would definitely be a big deal that she going on a date with a freshman.

  “Mayra?” she said. “I have something else to tell you.”

  “What? Did Carlos say something about me? Was I talking too much?”

  “No, it has nothing to do with that.” She swung the chair so she was facing the other direction.

  “Then what is it?”

  “Umm, you know how I got permission to go to the party in the first place?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, Jimmy was the one who convinced my parents.” She looked at Mayra. “And he had a price.”

  Mayra looked a bit confused.

  “He wants a date. With you,” she said.

  She still looked confused, like she hadn’t heard things right. “Me? Jimmy wants a date with me?” She started laughing.

  Ariana spun back towards Mayra. “You know he’s been in love with you since like forever.”

  “And you already know I don’t like him like that. But fine. I’ll do it. I’ll go out on a date with your little brother.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Wait. Just like that? You’re not mad at me for agreeing to his deal?”

  “I guess I could be. But nah. If going to that party ended up in a guy actually being interested in you, then this is a small price to pay for that,” she said, laughing again.

  Ariana pretended to be offended and threw a stuffed animal from the desk at Mayra.

  “I’m not that unavailable!”

  “Uh, yeah, you are, actually!”

  They both started laughing hysterically. They heard a thump on the wall from Mayra’s mom, who was trying to sleep before her shift at work, and they put their hands on their mouths to muffle the sound, still giggling.

  ***

  Ariana couldn’t get Carlos out of her head, and she couldn’t believe the good mood she was in. She wanted to talk about him nonstop—when she wasn’t talking to him, of course—but Mayra had a different class last period, so she wouldn’t see her until they were on the bus.

  Ariana walked out into the sunshine and took her usual path to 2305, the bus that would take her back home and away from Carlos. She could see the student parking lot from here. She tried to look for Carlos and his car out of the corner of her eye.

  There he was.

  Maybe he had been looking for her as well because he wasn’t talking with anyone today. He was leaning against his blue car by himself, arms crossed, sleeves still rolled up. He caught her looking and smiled. And winked. Ariana hoped the automatic smile that took over her face looked more sexy than cheesy.

  Then Ariana was at her bus, walking down the aisle towards the back. She found an empty seat and slid in, releasing a loud but pleasant sigh. She looked out the window, biting her lip, already thinking about what her first real kiss would be like. She was just thinking about which way she should turn her head, left or right, when Mayra sat down next to her.

  “Practicing kissing again? Wow. I’m going to pretend we don’t know each other now.” She turned the other direction. Ariana realized she must have been tilting her head absentmindedly.

  “Mayra!” They both broke out laughing. “Seriously. You’re such a loser.” She shoved her playfully.

  “Do you want some real tips?” she asked quietly. Mayra looked at her with a knowing smile.

  “Sure,” she rolled her eyes. “Why not?” But she was listening extra carefully.

  “First of all, don’t be all desperate, like you were just now.” Ariana’s mouth dropped open. “Don’t look at me like that! You so were. You gotta play it cool. Flirt a little, look him in the eye and smile, but let him make the move. Make him work for it. Make him come after you.”

  “Okay…” She nodded.

  “And on the first kiss, don’t let him get his hands all over you. He’ll get the wrong message. Let him hold your hands, your face, or maybe your waist. But definitely not your butt, much less boobs. ‘Kay?”

  “You can rest assured he won’t be t
ouching my butt or boobs.”

  “You just never know with some of these high school guys. They think letting them kiss you is an invitation to have sex with them or something. It’s ridiculous.” Mayra had said that last bit a little too loud, apparently, because the freshman guy in front of them turned around and just stared. Then he slowly turned back around.

  Ariana stared daggers at Mayra.

  “What?” she asked. “I just did that guy a favor. Clued him in on how to get girls!” She leaned forward, making sure he heard her.

  “Stop,” Ariana whispered, flushing red.

  “What the hell are you girls talking about?” Jimmy said. He was right behind them, peeking his head over the back of their seat. He also had the hugest smile on his face. His friend, Ryan, was blushing beside him.

  “Oh my god!” Ariana took Mayra’s science book and put it over her head. Jimmy wouldn’t stop laughing.

  ***

  Ariana walked into the kitchen, noticing her mother was already home, and headed straight to the couch to check her social media accounts and text messages on her phone while Jimmy got something to eat. Her mom walked by and eyed her.

  “So how was your day?” she asked.

  “Good,” Ariana answered, her eyes still glued on her phone. She had to know if he was online.

  “You remember what we said about the Internet, right? Don’t talk to strangers. You never know who they are.”

  Her parents barely knew how to text, but they heard all kinds of things from their friends and the news on the Latino channel. Ariana was just glad she didn’t really know about Facebook and stuff.

  Carlos wasn’t online. She stuffed her phone into her pocket and got up to get some food. She took her time eating, dragging the snack out for twenty minutes until her mother went and did laundry in another room. Then, she logged on to her profile again. Still no Carlos.

  She tensed when she heard a knock at the door, but it turned out to be Ryan. Jimmy headed outside with him to play basketball. She went back to Facebook. He was online. Ariana’s breath stuck in her chest. Should she say something? Within a minute or two, a notification had popped up. It was Carlos!