I glance at Diego out of the corner of my eye. He's propped at my computer desk, staring perplexedly at his math homework. I sigh quietly to myself as I realize that this is probably the last time we'll be hanging out like this. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a staring problem?" he blurts, catching me completely off guard.

"What?" I retort as he rolls around in my chair and looks at me. I assess the situation and start having flashbacks to the other night when he was teaching me how to flirt, or more so leading me on. My face begins to burn and he laughs.

"Don't worry. I'll stay on my side of the room," he trails, "unless you want me over there."

I bury my face in my hands and his laughter mocks me. "Stop talking," I complain as I roll onto my stomach and bury my face into my pillow.

"We're still hanging out tomorrow, right?" Diego asks and I roll onto my side.

"Yeah, unless you don't want to," I reply.

"I do," he answers. "Here's the plan. I work tomorrow after school but only until 8. Have your parents drop you off at the plaza at about 7:30; tell them you're spending time with Sage or Diana or something."

"Okay..." I trail. "Why so early?

"Because my job is boring and I like being able to talk to you," he responds. "But I'm not coming back here after school tomorrow."

"Okay," I reply.

"And don't eat anything when you get back," he starts. "We're going to eat."

"Okay," I say, biting back a smile. "What exactly are we doing tomorrow?"

"It's a surprise," he says as he stands up.

"Are we riding your motorcycle?" I ask him. That determines what I do to my hair.

"No," he answers in short.

"Okay," I respond, knowing that if I ask how we're getting around, he won't tell me.

He approaches the door. "Text me if anything comes up," he says as he stands in the doorway.

"I don't have your number," I reply.

"Actually, you do. I put it in your phone a while ago but I figured you either didn't see it or pretended not to," he replies. "Goodnight, Orion." He closes the door and I pull up the contact list on my phone. Diego. Oh.

Later on that night, I approach my parents room and knock on the door lightly. "Come in," my dad calls. I push open the door and peek my head in. They're sitting in bed watching something on television.

"Can I go out tomorrow night?" I ask hopefully. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. If they say no then I'll figure out a way to sneak out. There's no way I'm missing out on an opportunity to hang out with Diego alone away from my family.

"With who? Where? When will you be back?" my dad interrogates.

"My friend Sage-," I start and my parents look at each other.

"Sage?" my mom asks.

"Yeah..." I trail, realizing I should've said Diana. I just figured that at least they wouldn't be able to trace Sage if they needed to. And my brothers don't know her either. "I met her through Diego."

"We're going to go see a movie," I explain. "And we're probably going to get dinner. I'm not sure when we'll get back but I'll call you to let you know."

They look at each other before my mom turns to me and slowly nods. "Yeah, just have fun and be safe." I furrow my eyebrows as I look at them before nodding and closing the door. Be safe? What?

+++

I assess myself in the mirror. The off the shoulder, pink blouse is said to bring out the brown in my eyes (according to my mom) and the ripped jeans make my butt look nice (according to Diana). But is it too much? I don't wear clothes like this everyday so it's noticeable that I'm dressing up. "Am I dressing up too much?" I ask Diana as I hold the phone up in the mirror.

"Not really," she says. "You look good."

"But he didn't say it was a date," I mumble as I look at myself. "Besides, he's getting out of work so he's not going to look his best."

"Oh well. Maybe he'll see how hot you look, man up, and do something about it," she mutters and I roll my eyes.

"Are you sure I'm not too dressed up?" I ask her again. I actually put on makeup- not too much, just some eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss but I went that extra mile. I even went as far as to tie part of my hair back and out of my face.

"You're fine," Diana assures me. My mom calls me from downstairs and I look at the screen of my phone. "Have fun. Let me know how it goes. Kiss him."

"Bye, Diana," I hiss as I hang up and grab my purse. I head downstairs and my mom looks surprised that I put actual effort into my appearance.

"You look very nice," my mom comments and I shrug.

"Thanks," I mutter awkwardly. I press my hands against my thighs as I rock back and forth on my feet. "She's going to pick me up at the coffee shop so..."

"Alright, let's get going," she insists a bit awkwardly. The drive is silent and my mom keeps giving me sideways glances. We arrive at the plaza at 7:36 and I thank my mom as I get out of the car. I wait for her to drive off before stepping into the coffee shop. I'm surprised to find a girl standing behind the counter. Not just any kind of girl: a pretty girl.

"Hi," she greets me with a smile. It takes me a second to smile back. She is much shorter than me, coming in at around 5'2" and her hair is brunette and short. The bob suits her though and gives her a mature but girlish look. Her hair is set back in two braids and earrings climb up her ear. Her eyes, a piercing green color, stare at me expectantly.

"Can I get a medium hot cocoa?" I order quickly, trying to make up for the time I spent examining her. She nods and I watch her bounce around behind the counter. She hesitates for a minute before looking at me sheepishly.

"I'm new; it's only my third day," she explains. I gaze at her as she peeks around the corner and yells Diego's name.

He appears a few seconds later and comes to a halt halfway out the door. He stares at me and blinks a few times. "You look good," he blurts.

The girl behind the counter appears a little startled and I fight the urge to grin. I blush instead and look down. "Thanks," I murmur.

"Yeah...you just..." he says as he looks at me again. "Pretty, you look very pretty."

"Uh..." the new girl interrupts uncomfortably and Diego turns to her.

"Oh yeah, hot cocoa," he says as he shakes his head. "I can get this one. But for reference, we always give her a large hot cocoa, not a medium. She's a regular and Sue likes her."

"Noted," she acknowledges with a nervous smile as she looks at me. Diego shows her step by step how to make the hot cocoa and I glare at the gap between them. She's standing a little too close for my liking.

He spins around and hands me the hot cocoa and she follows behind him like a lost puppy. I look from her to him and back and it takes him a second to catch on. "Oh yeah. Elena, this is Orion. Orion, Elena," he briefly introduces. "You two get acquainted. I have to do some stuff in the back."

His departure leaves an air of awkwardness. I look around the practically empty shop. Aside from an old man sitting at one of the booths, it's just me and Elena. "So you come here often?" she asks before shaking her head. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I just-Diego said you're a regular."

"Yeah..." I trail, giving an awkward laugh. Had it been anyone else, it would've been funny. But for some reason... "I work next door, so I take my breaks here."

"Do you know Diego? Like outside of working next door?" she asks.

"Yeah, we're...friends," I say.

She nods. "Friends?" she elongates the word and it's my turn to nod.

"Why?" I blurt before I can stop myself. Jeez, what has gotten into you, Ri?

"Just wondering," she says, not at all alarmed by the tone of voice I was using.

"Oh, yeah, no, we're just friends," I clarify in hopes that she'll admit that he's cute. "Do you know him outside of work?" I need to stop.

"No, we just met. He's very nice though," she explains as she glances back in the direction he disappeared. 

"Yeah, he is," I reply, looking at her with squinted eyes as I sip my hot cocoa. As the cup lowers from my lips, I can't help myself from continuing. "Cute, too."

She looks at me hesitantly and I try to put on my friendliest smile. She laughs and shakes her head. "Yeah, you can say that," she replies.

I feel a fire burning in my chest as I look down at the ground. "Yeah." I look at my phone and repress the urge to sigh when I see that it's only 7:43.

"Hey, sweetheart," Sue says as she appears from the back room. She's wiping flour off of her black apron. Peeling off a set of gloves and tossing them underneath the counter, she wipes a gray tress behind her ear.

"Hey, Sue," I smile at her. I want to ask why she went and hired someone new, more specifically, a girl. Even more specifically, a pretty girl.

"Elena, can you be a dear and go check to see if Diego needs help back there?" Sue asks and the short brunette nods quickly and disappears into the back. Of course she's so eager to help. I want to ask Sue why couldn't she just let Diego struggle alone in the back. "Why are you all dolled up?" she questions as she turns her attention to me.

"Diego and I are hanging out later," I answer.

"A date?" she asks and I lightly blush as I look out the window.

"No," I say in an embarrassed whisper. Why would she think that?

"Are you sure? I see the way you look at that boy. And I see the way he looks at you," she remarks with a knowing smirk on her lips. 

"We're just friends, Sue," I admit with a swift shake of my head and she laughs.

"I said the same thing about my husband," she replies with a nostalgic smile.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves," I tell Sue with a laugh and she joins in.

8 o'clock comes around and Diego slides the counter and holds out a set of keys. "If you want, you can go get the car started. I'm going to change," he says.

"What car is it?" I ask in confusion. "Description, not actual make."

"Shiny, black, SUV," he replies. "You can't miss it."

"Okay," I say as I walk to the door. I wave at Sue before heading into the chilly October air. Diego is right; I can't possibly miss this car. It stands out among the other five cars in the lot. Given, it's the only black car out here but it's also the most modern car around. I unlock it and get into the passengers seat. I start it and let the car fill with light. I gaze out the window and wait for Diego, ready to get this night started.

Five minutes pass and Diego appears in the front of the coffee shop with Elena beside him. I squint and see a pink item in his hands. It takes me a second to realize it's her phone. Oh, so that's what we do now? She nods at him and waves happily before heading towards a blue jeep a few spots away from us. I watch as Diego approaches me. He gets in and I try to refrain from interrogating him. It's not my place; we're just friends. Just friends going on a date. I try to silence my intrusive thoughts as I stare out the window, but they're working too hard. If I can't get these thoughts under control, this night is going to end badly.