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Diego
April toldme she was wearing a mauve dress. I didn’t know what that meant, but the woman at the flower shop did. She made a corsage with several different colors and grayish-purple ribbons. I carried the plastic box out to my car and drove back to the house to get ready for the dance.
I knew April and Sadie were getting ready together, but guys didn’t really do that. I’d see Xander and Terrell when we got to the dance. I pulled up to the house, expecting to go to my bedroom and get ready until Mom forced me to take some pictures.
Instead, I saw a cherry-red car in the driveway that hadn’t been there in weeks. Grinning, I got out of my car and jogged up the front steps, taking two at a time. When I walked through the front door, I spotted Des sitting at the kitchen island across from my mom.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, jogging to her and wrapping her in a hug.
She squeezed me back, laughing. “That’s quite the welcome.”
“I missed you,” I admitted. “Figured you were too busy being famous to remember us.”
She punched my arm. “Couldn’t forget you even if I wanted to. Especially with Mom calling to tell me you have agirlfriendnow and you never bothered to tell me!”
“Crap.” Why hadn’t I called her?
Mom answered for me, saying, “He’s been all heart-eyed ever since she moved to town.”
I raised my eyebrows at Mom. “How much do you know about her?” I couldn’t remember saying too much.
Mom smiled. “Us moms in the neighborhood, we talk. Mrs. Gartel said she saw you giving April a surf lesson and that you two seemedverycozy. Then April’s mom called me to make sure your outfits would match.” Her eyes lit with humor. “Wonder why she wouldn’t expect a teenage boy to know what color mauve is.”
My ears and cheeks and neck grew hot. Sometimes I got so caught up in what I was doing I forgot about the world around me. “Did you tell Mrs. Gartel to mind her business?”
“Diego,” Mom admonished, smiling all the while.
Des pouted. “Why do I know less than Mrs. Gartel? Tell me everything, Di.”
“I have to get ready for the dance. Come downstairs with me and we’ll talk.”
Mom waved us goodbye, and my big sister and I went downstairs. All our younger siblings were playing a musical video game, Marisol standing at the front of the room, a microphone in her hands as she absolutely butchered a pop song. We walked into my room, closing the door to the music. “She did not get her talent from you,” I said with a laugh.
Giggling, Des said, “There are some things I don’t miss.”
“Uh huh,” I said, knowing she missed our family dearly. She called our mom almost every day from her new apartment near the recording studio.
I went to my closet, pulling out the dress shirt and pants I planned to wear for the dance, along with a blazer, a black belt, and tie.
“Nice fit,” Des said approvingly.
“You think?” I just hoped April would like it.
“Black on black? It’s classic,” she said. “Now tell me about this girl that has you nervous for the first time in your life.”
My ears got hot, remembering that call I made to her. No one could ever accuse my sister of being subtle. And she’d never pass up a chance to sayI told you so.“Her name is April.”
“April.” She said her name like she was trying it out. “I like that. But I already knew her name. Along with everything else on her social media profile. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Creepy much?” I teased, pulling off my T-shirt and changing into a black undershirt. But to be fair, I’d done the same thing. I didn’t care to admit how many times I’d lain in my bed at night, just scrolling through her profile pictures.
Des asked, “What about her hobbies? What does she like to do?”
“She’s flexible,” I said. At my sister’s raising eyebrows, I hurriedly added, “She’s the kind of girl that goes with the flow.”
Des nodded. “What kinds of things do you do together?”
“Mostly study,” I admitted. “But we went on a rafting trip with some of my friends... I gave her a surf lesson, but everyone already knows that. We hang out at Waldo’s, text sometimes in the evenings. And then the dance tonight.”
