My Summer's Dilemma

The past two weeks with the Makruver family has been better than I thought. Michael got the message that I don’t plan on getting along with him anytime soon, so he backed off, but I could tell that he’s going to try again. Mandisa has been trying to get on my good side as well, and I guess it’s working for her. Amunet asked me to join the two of them at the mall last Friday and it was kind of cool. I've also had the opportunity to get to know a few things about Giselle from working with her. I know now that she moved here to Newton from Asheville, North Carolina. She said that it’s a nice mix of city and land. I also learned that she is an only child, takes an annual vacation to California, and she loves to be outdoors

Since it's another Friday, I want to ask Giselle to go out with me tonight. Maybe to some restaurant in town or that lake house that she was talking about. First though, there’s work.

I hop out of bed and hit the buzzer on my alarm clock before it starts to ring. I make my way to the bathroom and waste no time getting into the shower. Today is a big day, I want to make sure to get to work just a bit earlier than Giselle, to show her I mean business. When I’m done I dry off then run back to my room and get dressed. Before heading out I check myself out in the mirror: and I look good. I point at my reflection and wink before running out.

When I get to the kitchen Mandisa greets me and gushes about how surprised she is about me being up early. I explain to her about my plans for tonight and make myself a sandwich for the way. I give her a wave then hop onto the bike that Michael gave me a few days ago; He didn't think I was ready to drive out here.

I park my bike in the shack behind the shop then let myself in from the back door. Of course, Giselle already beat me here. She was sitting at the register drinking from a mug. She watched me as I walked toward her with a sly smile on her face.

“Wow, someone is early.”

“Yeah, I didn't want to start my day with an angry boss,” I joke.

“Angry? I don’t get angry,” she chuckled.

She handed me another cup that was on the counter and got up from the stool.

“I picked up some coffee for us, there are doughnuts on my bench, if you want any.”

“Treating me to breakfast so soon, Giselle? That’s so kind of you,” I smirk.

“No no,” she shook her head, “we do this every Friday so don’t flatter yourself.”

“Whatever,” I say, sticking a strawberry frosted doughnut into my mouth.

By the end of the work day I was exhausted; I guess people loved to go tool shopping on Fridays around here. Giselle was calculating today’s profit as I approached her.

“You need something?” She asked, not even looking up at me.

“Actually yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight. Maybe see a movie, get a bite-”

“There’s a party at the lake house today,” she interrupted, putting her notepad down and looking up at me, “you could join me if you want to.”

I scratched my neck and bit my lip, hating my failed attempt.

“Yeah sure, we could do that.”

“Great,” she smiled. She opened the drawer under the counter and stuck the notepad and pen in. Then she locked the cash drawer with a small key that she grabbed from her pocket and put that in the drawer as well. “So I’ll see you there.”

“Wait, I can’t at least pick you up?”

“Why would you need to pick me up?” she asked, getting up. “Oh right, you don’t know your way to the lake house.”

“Yeah..That’s it,” I mumble.

“Alrighty, so pick me up at around eight. Amunet will show you the way; she’s going to the party too.”

“Okay,” I say as I walk to the back door, “see you in a bit.”

I pedal my way out of the shack and down the road to the house. I have about four hours until I have to pick Giselle up, what the heck am I suppose to do in the mean time? This place is still fairly new to me; I have no idea what to do around here. I guess I could ask Amunet where the best spots in this town are.

After hours of TV and trying out a new video game that I got, I finally get dressed and walk over to the house to check on Amunet. She was sitting in the kitchen with her mom and Nick, munching on chips.

“Hey, why wasn't I invited?” I mock sob.

Amunet laughs, “Are you ready to go?”

I nod and look over at Nick who greets me with a nod. What, does this guy not speak?

I stray behind on our way to Giselle’s house, watching Nick’s interactions with my sister. He seemed to be a nice guy I guess. I couldn't really hear the conversation they were having, I just noticed occasional outbursts of laughter from my sister, which comforted me a bit. At least his hands weren't trailing all over her like I expected him to do. We come to a stop in front of a pale yellowed colored ranch-style house. Amunet nudges me to ask for Giselle at the door. I give her a look as I go up the stairs and knock on the door. Giselle's mom opens the door, her face lighting up when she sees us.
My ‘polite in front of parents’ side of me takes over for a second.

“Hello, how are you this evening?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” she smiles, “You must be Kenneth.”

She sticks out her hand for me to shake it, so I take it and give it a friendly shake then drop my hand to my pocket. I pull out daisy that I had picked earlier and hand it to her. It still had all its petals on it, I had just slid it in to make sure it kept neat.

“That’s so sweet of you,” she said as she grabbed it. She called for Giselle to come down and turned to me with her finger pointed in my face. “Just letting you know, I won’t fall for any game that you try to play with my daughter, so you better think twice before making a quick move on her. Got it?”

Cracking a smile, I keep at my false front.

“Yes ma’am. Believe me, I'm not that type of guy.”

“You’re exactly that type of guy, I know about boys like you. I was a teenager too, once upon a time.”

I gulp down an insult and nod.

“Okay, ma’am. I can assure you though that-”

“Hey Kenny, are ya’ ready to go?” Giselle asks, approaching the door.

I take one good look at her and take a mental note of her mom’s wisdom in this situation. Giselle looks like a total babe; it’s going to be hard keeping my hands to myself. But if I can accomplish making her mom feel like a jerk for saying those things to me, then it can wait.

“Have a good night…” I trail off.

“Mrs. Navarro,” Giselle helps finish for me.

“Right,” I smile at her.

“Okay, have fun sweetie,” her mom calls after us as we walk down the stairs.

When her mom closes the door, Amunet and Nick start to speed up in front of us. I shake my head, ready to catch up to them, but Giselle tugs my arm to keep me behind.

“Just leave them, he’s a nice kid.”

“Better be,” I mutter under my breath.

On our way to the lake house we engage in a casual conversation, getting to know each other a little better. Amunet gives us looks along the way, Nick feeding in to the smirks occasionally as well. When we get to the place, it had beaten my expectations. It was hooked up, looking like a teen club, but also a hangout spot. It didn't seam like nothing bad happened here, so it made me feel safe that Amunet came here multiple times with her boyfriend. We make our way to the little bar area; which got me excited for a second, before I found out that they don’t serve alcohol. Bummer. Giselle orders us a couple of cokes, sending Hellos around. I got a sudden pang of jealousy, which I shouldn't since she’s known these people for a few years now. I notice the ‘bartender’ flirting with her, getting me a bit upset. I remind myself though that she isn't mine, just yet. So I let it slide.

She turns to me and grabs my hand.

“Let’s head over to the roof, it’s my favorite spot in this place.”

“What, you don’t want to dance?”

“Psh, no. you’re not ready for that yet,” she laughs.

She leads me up the spiral stairs to the attic, then pushes on a small door. She crawls out and then waves at me to follow after her. I was completely amazed at the sight of the stars. My home city, San Jose isn't like New York City, but we definitely didn't see as many stars as the people do out here.

“It’s beautiful, isn't it?”

I look over to her, loving the way she looked in exact moment. The lighter streaks in her hair stood out with the moonlight on them, and her eyes really sparkled with her smile.

“You've got that right,” I sighed.

This weird feeling crept in, something I don’t remember feeling before. I suddenly found myself leaning closer to her, and her giving in. our lips lightly pressed together, her arms wrapping around her neck. I cupped her face, deepening the kiss, but she pulled apart after a few moments.

“Not so far, mister reputation,” she whispered. I raised my eyebrow, wondering how she could have known about that side of me. “I know more about you than you think, so don’t push it.”

She leaned back and sighed, grabbing my hand. This girl is confusing, but I like it.