Saturday rolled around and Octavia woke up excitedly. Raven made plans to pick up Octavia from her apartment and drive to the festival from there. Octavia and Raven talked or text every day the entire week since they saw each other at the gun range. Throughout the week, Raven learned how dedicated Octavia was to school since the only times she was able to talk to her was in the evenings when she didn't have class or early in the morning before class started. She admired Octavia for working so hard on her studies. However, Octavia often times pulled herself from her studying to talk to Raven. It was always worth it because she felt like she could talk to Raven about almost anything.
As Octavia got dressed, she thought about how Raven told her that the only place she ever showed up on time was to work and that she was notorious for always being late anywhere else. Therefore, she figured she had a few extra minutes to get ready. This gave her time to look perfect.
As Raven got ready, she decided to wear her hair down instead of the usual ponytail. She wanted to look really special today and was nervous about seeing Octavia since the gun range. She discovered that Octavia was a bit more outspoken than herself and she practice in her mind what she would say to Octavia as they were at the festival. As Raven was gussying up, she looked at the clock and saw that she was already 10 minutes late for picking up Octavia. She grabbed her keys and headed out the door.
When she arrived Octavias apartment, she gave her a call to let her know she was outside. Octavia merged from her apartment a few seconds later and walk towards the car. Raven noticed that she was wearing a knee length light yellow dress with buttons down the front. Her hair was down in slightly curled and she had on gorgeous red lipstick. She looks beautiful Raven thought to herself.
Octavia opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. As soon as she sat down, Raven could smell the sweet fruity perfume that Octavia wore.
"Hey Raven," Octavia said happily. "Oh my God, I absolutely love this song!"
On the speakers in her car, Raven was playing Wanderlust by the Weeknd.
"Is this the remix from Majestic Casual?" Octavia asked as she turned up the volume.
"Yeah, it is," Raven replied. "I'm surprised you know about this song, not very many people do."
"Oh I love the majestic casual channel on YouTube," Octavia said dancing to the song in the car.
As Raven drove off, her and Octavia sang and danced in the car to the song playing. When the song was over, Octavia turned down the speakers for a bit to ask Raven a question.
"So what are the types of music do you like?" Octavia asked curiously.
"I love reggaeton, hip hop, r&b, electronic, and pop." Raven replied.
"What is reggaeton," Octavia asked.
"It's a type of Spanish music," Raven answered. "Pass my phone and I'll play a song for you."
Raven scrolled through her phone and started playing the song Sunset, by Nicky Jam & Farruko.
"Oh, I actually really like this," Octavia said as she moved her body to the song.
After about halfway through the song, Raven turned back down the stereo and asked Octavia the same question.
"So what about you, Octavia? What types of music do you listen to?"
"I like some of the same things you like. Pop, electric, hip-hop , but I also love country music" Octavia stressed smiling.
"Eww country music? How could you, do this to me Octavia?" Raven teased.
"Trust me, by the end of this month I'm going to have you hooked on country music," Octavia promised
"Oh I'd like to see you try," Raven laughed. "There's no way in a million years you'll get me to like country"
"Oh, we'll definitely see about that," Octavia smiled.
Soon they finally arrived and both girls got out of the car. When Raven got out of the car this was Octavias chance to get a full view of her. She noticed that Ravens hair was down and it lay beautifully. She wore a loose shirt that had the Cuban colors and it was tucked into her circle skirt, which was black. A perfect ensemble.
Octavia and Raven walked toward the entrance of the festival. As they walked in, it was already packed with tons of people everywhere. In the middle of the festival were tents lined with many local and international food vendors. The vendors passed out samples of their authentic Cuban food. They both could smell the delicious aroma of spices infused with Spanish, Caribbean, and African flavors. They tried a variety of food such as Arroz con pollo, boliche, empanadas, and patatas fritas.
Around the perimeter of the festival was the parade. Raven grabbed Octavias hand and walked quickly to find a spot to watch the parade. Octavia found a single empty chair and sat in it. She then motioned for Raven to sit in her lap. When Raven sat down, Octavia wrapped her arms around her waist. Raven then place her arms on Octavias. The parade was full of colorful floats with many people waving the flag of Cuba. They threw candy, beads, and other goodies out into the crowd as the children ran to catch them. Raven managed to catch a couple of mini Cuban flags connected to a stick and gave one to Octavia. They both cheered and waved us the band marched down the parade and blasted Spanish music. They watched dancers of the parade as they shook their hips to the upbeat music.
After the parade, Raven and Octavia headed over to the left side of the festival where there were bands playing and people dancing on the designated dance floors. There were several stages set up for the different artists. Some of the artist who were playing included Yankee daddy, Timbalive, and Albita. They also had a stage dedicated to the music of Celia Cruz.
"Octavia! I love this song!" Raven shrieked. "Dance with me!"
Raven grabbed Octavias hands and pulled her to the dance floor.
"But I don't know how to dance," Octavia claimed.
"Yeah right," Raven said sarcastically. "I just saw you dancing in the car."
"But I don't know how to dance to salsa." Octavia revealed.
"Then I'll teach you," Raven offered "Just follow my lead."
Raven put one hand on her waist and the other hand held Octavia's hand. Octavia placed her free hand on the Ravens shoulder. Raven was actually a really great dancer and She did not let her leg brace tear her from freely moving her hips and body. Octavia really admired her for this. Since Raven was an astounding dancer, it was easy for Octavia to follow her lead. The dancing was very light and fun as Raven spun her and circles.
"You're getting the hang of it," Raven giggled.
Octavia and Raven danced for about four songs. Eventually, Raven needed to take a break because of her leg brace, so then they headed to the right side of the festival near at the carnival. As they stood in line to get on the ferris wheel, they held hands. As they were standing in line, Octavia noticed the scar on Ravens arm. It was the scar that Raven got from sliding down the drains of the apartment the previous week.
"What happened here?" Octavia asked concerned.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just bumped myself is all." Raven said trying to brush it off and change the subject.
"It doesn't look like nothing," Octavia replied, getting a closer look. "How exactly did this happen?"
"Uhhh, I..." Raven was at a loss for words and was trying to think of something quick. "At the gun range, I was placing a few guns on the top shelf and the shelf actually collapsed and fell on top of my arm. When it fell, it banged up my arm pretty badly."
"Aww I'm sorry Raven," Octavia said sweetly. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've been your nurse for the day."
"Well, I didn't want to bother you," Raven lied. "I knew that you were very busy with school this past week."
"No Rae, it wouldn't have bothered me," Octavia said comforting Raven. "You should tell me things like this ok? It won't bother me at all."
"Ok, I'm sorry Octavia," Raven said feeling extremely guilty for lying.
She wanted to tell Octavia the truth but she was afraid that if she knew, Octavia wouldn't see her the same. She was afraid that Octavia wouldn't want to talk to her or see her again. She loved being around Octavia and she didn't want it to end.
Octavia pulled Raven into a hug. "You can always tell me anything Raven. I'm here for you."
It was Raven and Octavias turn to get on the ferris wheel. When they sat down Octavia scooted closer to Raven and Raven put her arm around Octavias shoulders. As the ferris wheel rolled up, they were able to see the entire city. It was such a beautiful sight. But it wasn't as beautiful as the girl sitting next to her, Raven thought to herself.
She contemplated on whether or not she should tell Octavia the truth. She trusted Octavia and felt that maybe she should be open with her about everything.
As Raven stared at Octavia, Octavia turned her had and stare back. Raven looked at the most stunning green eyes she had ever seen. Octavia smiled and Raven looked down shyly. Octavia lifted her chin and bought her head closer the Ravens. She could feel her breath.
Octavia pressed her lips against Raven to seal their first kiss. It was very soft and gentle as Raven could feel her body melt.
In that moment, time stopped. There was nothing else that mattered in the world. There was nothing more important to either of them, then that kiss.