Wait for It

by Mariana Zapata

What a bunch of horny bitches.

“I give up. Jesus—” “Abuelita said you’re not supposed to be saying that,” Lou corrected me from his spot the furthest away from my face. “I know what Abuelita says,” I groaned as the elbow over my pubic bone pressed down on it again, making me cringe and try to buck Josh off. “But you know what else Abuelita says? Don’t be a snitch.” “She doesn’t say that,” Josh argued, crushing my mams.

“Did he write my name on the invitation?” I couldn’t hold it. I burst out laughing. “Yes.” I could see the corners of his mouth twitch up a little more. “It said Dal-ass on it. That’s how he wrote it. D-a-l-a-s-s. Dalass.”

He wasn’t wearing any shoes, and I noticed how big his feet were.

gurl ???? *crying emojis*

Real love was gritty. The real kind of love never quit. Someone who loved you would do what’s best for you; they’d stand up for you and sacrifice. Someone who loved you would face any inconvenience willingly. You didn’t know what love was until someone was willing to give up what they loved the most for you. But it was also never letting them make that choice, either.

I felt stupid, and I hated feeling stupid unless I was doing it on purpose.

“Stop being stubborn. It isn’t him. And even if it was, I pressed charges against him. He went to jail for a few months—” “Jail?” He turned around slowly to face me. His face… I’d never seen anything like it before, and I hoped I never did again. He was shaking. “Tell me what his name is, and I’ll put him six feet in the ground.”

“Bad things happen all the time, and we can’t control them. You’ll never know how sorry I am that you’ve had to learn that the hard way. But I love you, and we can’t be scared of shit we can’t do anything about. We can just be happy to be alive and enjoy what we have. I don’t know if something bad will happen to me now or fifty years from now, but I would do anything to stay with you two.” I touched his cheek and watched him let out a shaky exhale. “And like my grandma used to tell me, the devil will probably kick me out of hell the day I die. I won’t go anywhere without a fight.”

“I’ve seen you in your underwear and combed nits out of your hair, baby. I think we’re past that.”

“I like your cap,” I told him honestly. The emerald green made his hazel eyes pop like crazy. Plus, it was just fucking cute. “Did Miss Pearl make it for you?” “I made it,” he said with a twist to his mouth. “She taught me how.” The stupid smile that came over my face had me staring at him in awe. I even slapped my hand right over the left side of my chest. “Are you real?” Dallas tapped my chin. “I’ll knit you one, Peach.”

A man who KNITS??? Holy crap I think I'm in love

“I’m not a brat.” Louie was still hung up and outraged. I pointed my finger at him. “You’re a tattletale, that’s what you are. Nosey Rosie. What did I tell you about snitches?” “You love them?”

“Positive.” His eyes went from one of mine to the other, even and patient. “Of all the houses you could’ve bought, you got the one across the street from me. Of all the sports Josh might have played, it was baseball and I happened to coach his age group. You were meant to be in my life.”

“There’re lots of pretty girls here to dance with too,” I said like a complete idiot, even though my stomach started hurting immediately afterward. His eyebrow arched upward as his hand curled over my shoulder, touchy, touchy, touchy. “Are there?” “Yeah.” “That’s nice for everybody else,” he said, drawing me toward him.

“Kid, you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”

“You two are… savage. You’re honest, and you’re loyal and love the shit out of things. Both of you give everything to what you care about. I love it.”

“Don’t thank me.” “Okay, you can thank me,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out something pink. Dallas reached up over my head so quickly, I couldn’t get a good look at it until his fingers grazed the sides of my face and something came down over my hair. His eyes flicked down to mine as he settled the pink material over the hair I’d left down and curled. “I made you a cap.” And he smiled as he said it, his palms curving downward to cup my cheeks. All I could do was blink. “Pink like Princess Peach.” I swallowed, hard. “If you’re trying to get laid, we have to wait until everyone leaves,” I whispered. Dallas grinned and I did too. “Thank you,” I told him. “I can’t believe you knit me one.”

And that's true love, honey