A Flair For The Dramatic

A few days had passed and it was finally the weekend. Not much had happened in that time. The guys were practicing, I'd gotten stuck on the last level of Sly Cooper, and Saturday, the day Tony and I were supposed to hang out together, was getting closer. We agreed on doing something simple: getting lunch and going for a walk.

Saturday morning, I'd woken up early enough to make sure I had time to get ready. He was coming over at 1:00, so 11 was what I set my alarm for. Two hours would be good enough.

I hadn't told Jaime about Tony and I hanging out, and I doubted Tony did, either. Granted, we were just hanging out as friends, but I knew that I definitely didn't want Jaime to become overprotective in the time that I had here. Instead, I told him that a friend and ex-coworker was coming to visit from my old town, and was picking me up to go shopping. He'd believed me, he didn't have a reason to, but I felt bad betraying his trust.

I tried to push my more nervous thoughts away, and slipped on a nice outfit of skinny jeans, an Of Mice & Men T-shirt, a pair of black Toms and a gray beanie. I put on my makeup and waited for Tony to pull up to the house.

Jaime had just gotten up and was in the shower, so I'd doubted he'd pay much attention to the car or its driver.

Soon enough, I saw him, and hurried out of the house, not taking any chances by moving slowly. Tony noticed my urgency, and backed out of the driveway faster than average, making a slight squealing sound on the pavement.

We were going to get lunch first, at a small cafe downtown. He parked the car and we got out, and I admired the handiwork of the small wooden sign out front announcing our location. He opened the door for me, making me blush, and we took a seat next to the window.

"So, what's new?" he asked, glancing from my face to the table.

"Nothing, really. I'm going to start looking for jobs around here, and then maybe an apartment, but that's about it," I said, resting my head on my palm. He nodded.

"Yeah, are you still gonna be a tattoo artist?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"That's what I'm hoping," I said, laughing lightly. I really was hoping, too. That was something I loved doing, I hated having it taken away from me.

We got up and ordered our pastries and coffee, leaning against the little counter to continue our small talk. "So, if you had to choose between wearing clothes only made of waffles, or hair made of spaghetti, which would you choose?" I asked. I always came up with silly scenarios like this, it was just entertaining to do.

He raised his eyebrow. "Uh..." he began. I started to get nervous that I'd freaked him out, because I can tend to do that on accident. "I guess spaghetti for hair cus I could hide it with a hood or hat or something," he said, laughing. "What even made you ask that?"

"I just like asking silly questions. If you're gonna be my friend, you'll have to get used to that," I explained. He nodded, smiling, as we got our food and headed back to the table.

I picked off pieces of my cinnamon roll, popping them into my mouth as I tried to steal glances at Tony's features. His face was soft and rounded, and his lips were full and kissable. His brow was bent slightly as if he was deep in thought. I admired the little braid that hung gently over his shoulder, and the way he smelled of cologne. I wished that I could walk around the table to him, sit on his lap with my head buried in his chest and his arms around me, and just lose myself in him. I could already look forever at the dark brown of his eyes, and my heart jumped in my chest when they flickered over to me.

"How's your cinnamon bun?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I smiled and swallowed the piece in my mouth before answering.

"It's delicious. How's your banana bread?" I asked as he picked away crumbs of it, only taking a bite occasionally.

"It's not bad, I like it, I'm just not really hungry," he said as he pushed the plate to the side. I nodded, stealing a bite of his food. He laughed at me, and I couldn't help but laugh in return.

Soon, we got up to leave on our adventure of walking around town. I knew exactly where I wanted to take him. "Come on, I know a place to go," I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. I heard him chuckling as I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, so I reached up and playfully smacked his head.

"Oh no you don't," he said at my smack, and he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" I squealed when I could manage a breath from how much I was laughing. He kept going for a bit before setting me down gently. I fixed my clothes and raised my eyebrow with a smirk before shaking my head and continuing to where we were going.

We continued to play around on the way, bumping into each other on purpose and messing up each other's hair. Finally, I saw the destination I had in mind: the park. There were some kids dotting the equipment, but I saw two open swings with no one lingering around them and knew this was the perfect opportunity.

I led Tony to the swings and sat down on one, and he followed my lead. "Really?" he asked, laughing. "The park, just to sit on swings? This was your grand idea?"

I nodded. "Yep. I love swings," I said, looking pleasantly at the park scenery. We sat quietly for a few minutes, rocking back and forth.

"I really like you, Ana," he said lightly on the edge of his breath. My cheeks reddened as I absorbed his words and savored them.

"I really like you too, Tony," I answered, glancing at him from the corner of my gaze. We sat for a little while longer before the quiet was interrupted by some kids blaring Mexican music. Tony sighed with agitation, but I jumped at the opportunity. I stood up, feeling his eyes on me, and turned towards him to hold out my hand. He raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Come on, dance with me," I said, and he reached for my outstretched hand. I pulled him up, and he smoothed his hair as if he wasn't sure what to do.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at his embarrassment. I began to move my hips to the beat of the music, swaying back and forth. I could feel his gaze run over my body, and I knew I must've been doing a good job. I held out my hands again, and he took hold of them. I swayed my arms, picking up my feet to the rhythm. He followed my lead, and soon we were dancing, just the two of us, with not a care in the world.

The music shut off after a little bit, surely due to the nagging of a parent, but we continued dancing to the beat in our heads. He stopped suddenly, and I paused, wondering if something was wrong. I looked up at him, and my heart began to race as I realized how close our faces were. He bent down just a little, and kissed me. His lips were soft and warm, leaving tingles on my mouth when he pulled away. He scratched the back of his head, clearly embarrassed, and mumbled a soft apology.

"Don't be sorry," I said, grinning like an idiot. "I really enjoyed that." With that, he kissed me again, and every worry that had weighed on me melted away.

We soon made our way back to the car, the sexual tension radiating between us. I doubted we'd do anything about it any time soon, but I ran my eyes over his muscles anyway. The only thought that could last in my head was how much I wanted him. Not even just in a sexual way, although that was a big part of it. I wanted to be held by him, to grin into his neck because I know that he's mine, to twirl his braid around my finger, to spend time with him. I just wanted him, and all of him at that.

We drove home with music playing, not saying anything to each other. I could tell he was deep in thought, and I hoped it was about me. I wanted to make the best possible impression on him, to last in his mind as a girl he could fall in love with.

He dropped me off, pecking me quickly on the lips. "I really hope we can do this again. I liked being with you, and I think we should do it more often," he said with a soft smile. I nodded in agreement.

"Definitely, I really liked it too," I said. He reached into the glove compartment, looking for something. He finally pulled out a piece of paper, and flipped it over so the blank part was showing. He tore off a piece to write on and grabbed a pen, scribbling something onto it before folding it up and handing it to me.

"That's my number, you should definitely text me," he said, and I grinned again at the thought of being able to talk to him later tonight, even if it was only through text. We waved goodbye to each other, and he sped off. I put his number in my pocket before heading inside. Jaime was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal, and he glanced up as I approached.

"Hey, sis, how'd it go? Did you have fun?" he asked, a mouthful of lucky charms.

"Yeah, I had a great time. I found some things that I liked, but I decided not to buy anything. I still want to save money for an apartment," I explained, remembering I'd told him I was going shopping with a friend. He nodded.

"Alright, but you know you can stay here for as long as you want, right? No need to hurry out," he said, looking sad at the thought that I wanted to leave.

"Yeah, I know, and I really appreciate it. I just want to be prepared for the future, that's all," I said as I turned to go to my room.

"Mariana..." he said as I started to walk away. I turned, wondering what he wanted. "I love you." He grinned before sticking out his tongue.

"I love you too, Hime," I said, smiling and rolling my eyes as I turned back around. He was a good brother, and I'd miss him when I moved out. I got to my room and plopped myself onto the bed, exhausted even though it wasn't even late. I pulled off my shoes and wrapped my blanket over my head, tucking myself into a burrito of comfort. I let myself fall asleep, with Tony's smile as the last image in my mind.