“Oh, um…sure,” I muttered. “I mean, of course, sir.”
Mr. Trevino snickered as well, his laugh bearing a close resemblance to Mayra’s.
“Well, it’s a good thing,” he added, “because otherwise I’d have to start charging you cake as couch and TV rental.”
I glanced at Mr. Trevino and then at Mayra. They were both holding in laughter, but I wasn’t completely sure what the joke was. Humor didn’t always come easily to me, and often what I thought was funny wasn’t what others seemed to find humorous. Regardless, Mayra and her father didn’t seem to be laughing at me or anything, so I smiled a little and tried not to think too much about being caught in Mayra’s house by her father.
Really, he didn’t seem to mind.
Several hours and most of a Reds game later, I headed out with the last two pieces of chocolate cake in a small Tupperware container. I got into my car, placed the container on the passenger seat carefully so it wouldn’t fall when I turned corners, and drove myself home with a smile on my face.
What made me the happiest was just how normal it all seemed.
I couldn’t think about anything else, so I went to bed and dreamed of Mayra’s house.
Win.
Chapter 11—Conflict Isn’t My Thing
“Do you want to go over it again?” Mayra asked as she looked over her shoulder and backed out of my driveway.
I had to wonder if she was the most patient person on Earth or if she was just being accommodating to me for some other reason. I poked the little fish shape on the passenger side door of her Porsche and answered in the affirmative.
“We’re not holding anything back,” she told me. “It’s going to be very obvious to everyone in our school who sees us that we’re together. After I park the car, we’ll walk into school together, and I’m going to be holding your hand. We’ll go to your locker. I’m going to give you a kiss on the cheek, and then we’ll go about our day as we usually do. We eat lunch together, go to ecology, and then back to your place for homework, television, and making out on the couch.”
I laughed. She hadn’t thrown in that last part before, but it definitely gave me something to look forward to later because the next few minutes were going to be hard.
“And,” Mayra said with authority, “you are going to be just fine with all of it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive,” she replied.
“And after we get back to my house but before homework?”
“Cake.”
I smiled broadly. It was my favorite part of the whole plan.
“But only if you keep it together today.”
“I know.” I took a deep breath and nodded to myself.
I was going to do this.
For cake.
Mayra sighed and turned onto the street where our school was located. She was quiet for a minute, and I ran over what the first part of the day might be like. I knew people were going to look at us, and I knew they were going to talk and stare and wonder why in the world a girl like Mayra would be with a guy like me. I knew that, and it made me about as nervous as I could be.
“I want to be with you,” Mayra said quietly, and I glanced up at her, wondering if she could read my mind. “Anyone who gives you a chance would know why I’m with you.”
I looked out the passenger window and contemplated a moment.
“A lot of people don’t,” I finally said. “I mean, some have tried, but I can be pretty trying.”
Mayra snickered.
“Yes, you can,” she agreed. “Ultimately you are pretty wonderful, though. You just need to be given the opportunity to show people that. Besides, you don’t realize how the girls in our school talk about you.”