“You are the one who said you didn’t know anything about sex and dating,” she said. “If that were the truth, how do you know if we have talked about it or not?”
Twisting my neck around to look up, I scowled at her. Bethany remained unfazed as she looked down at me with her eyebrow raised. I rolled my eyes and looked back toward the television. It was off now, but I stared at the blank screen anyway.
“Did you ever ask her to go to dinner?”
I shook my head.
/> “We were going to practice that.”
“I don’t want to,” I told her.
She scratched gently against my scalp.
“Of course you don’t want to,” she said. “No one wants to, but if you want to ask her out, how else are you going to get ready?”
“Maybe I won’t ask her out,” I said.
“You changed your mind?”
I shrugged again.
“You know I have a bag full of cupcakes up there,” Bethany said. “Red velvet cupcakes.”
“With cream cheese icing?”
“Yep.”
My gaze darted to hers briefly.
“Sprinkles?”
“The tiny dark red ones,” she said. “The kind that match the color of the cake.”
She didn’t play fair. At all.
“Fine.” I sighed. “It’s just that…everything is just right as it is now. If I get my car back, then there isn’t a reason for her to come over anymore. The same goes for asking her out. Right now, she’s here with me every day after school. What if I ask her out and she says no? She might get mad and not ever come over again. What if she says yes but then has a horrible time?”
“Have you kissed her?” Bethany asked.
“What?” I replied as I gathered myself again. “No!”
“Would you like to?”
“I…I…I don’t know.”
“Come on, Matthew.” Bethany continued to press for an answer. “Close your eyes for a minute.”
I scowled at her again.
“You want those cupcakes?”
I growled under my breath but did as she said.
“Now think about kissing her,” Bethany said quietly. “Just keep your eyes closed, and think about it.”
Her suggestion was enough to get my mind going.
In my head, Beth’s hands become Mayra’s, and she is here with me on the loveseat. I turn over and actually look into her deep brown eyes—keeping my focus on them for far longer than I really would be able to do. I sit up slowly, moving closer and closer to her until our lips touch. Hers are warm and soft, and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest.