My big brother's huge frame tramps through the door as he lumbers in the house. His muddy boots getting dirt all over the entryway as he leans down to take them off. The bags under his eyes are prominent as he rubs at his back. He looks straight at Maria through bleary eyes and says,
"Hey Pony, hey Soda."
And he keeps walking, he almost makes it to the kitchen before he turns around and points a confused finger at Maria.
"Who..?" He mumbles, a most addled look painting his features.
"It's the gal Steve was talkin' 'bout, the one on the phone." Soda says cheerfully.
"Hi," Maria squeaks, "I'm Maria."
"Hi, um, why… are you here?" He questions.
"Well," her eyes dart to mine, filled with uncertainty, "I came over to hang out with Pony."
"Oh, so you're the girl?" He asks, rubbing his temples, he really don't look too good.
"Yeah, we're dating." She says simply, taking my hand and looking at me with the most adorable smile on her lips.
"So he asked ya. That's awesome Pone."He says, "well I'll be in my room if y'all need anythin'"
And with that he ambles over to his room and we all hear a loud 'Floopmf' as he, presumably, flops face first onto his bed.
My confused gaze shifts from the hallway Darry had retreated into to Soda. He refuses to meet my gaze.
"Hey Soda?" I ask tightly.
"Yeah Pone?" He answers innocently, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes.
"The hell were you talkin' about?"
"Oh, that, that was nothing… ya know, just, uh, coming up with bull… ya know." he tries to come up with excuses but I can see him floundering.
"Don't go blaming your Freudian slip on a whim."
"Freudian what now?"
"Freudian slip," Maria supplies, "It's when you accidentally say what you were really thinking."
"Ain't that interesting, there really is a word for everything. Do ya'll know any other fancy-schmancy words?"
"Don't change the subject Soda!" I say, getting impatient, I squeeze Maria's hand tighter and pull her closer to me.
"Promise you won't be mad?" He asks.
"Promise." I nod, and I feel Maria settling in against me, her back to my chest, and I know that I really won't be mad. After all, how could I be mad when I had Maria sitting so close to me?
"Welllllllll," He drags out the word, stalling for a final moment, "Remember when you were sick? Well, Maria called the house wondering why you hadn't shown up to a date and Steve picked up the phone… after that it was pretty easy to figure out that you had a steady."
"Why didn't you tell me you knew?" I asked, furrowing my brow.
"We figured that you'd tell us on your own time." He shrugged, getting up from the couch, "What do you want for dinner Pone? It's my night to cook."
I can tell from his bright smile that whatever he end up making won't look the way it wa originally intended. I also know that we just bought more food dye so…
"Oh, and Maria, are you staying for dinner?"
"I wouldn't want to intrude," She says quickly, shaking her head, eyes drifting to our connected hands.
"You wouldn't be intruding. I'm sure Darry wouldn't mind another person… hell, most of the time we have at least two other people joining us, and they ain't anywhere near as nice to look at." I smile at her. She smiles back. I squeeze her hand. She squeezes back.
She lifts her eyes from our hands and her gaze is captivating. The orange, glowing sunlight that passes through the window panes paints her face, illuminating her skin in a way which made her look bewitching in a way that I'd never seen a girl look. I stare at her. She stares back. The way that she bites her bottom lip entrances me. The way she shifts forward mesmerizes me. The eager look in her eye catches my breath in my throat. But the feeling of true bliss doesn't overcome me until her soft lips press against mine.
My hand lay awkwardly at my side until Maria guides it to her waist. We let go of each other's hands and my newly freed fingers make their way to the back of her neck, keeping her pressed up against me. Her arm snakes around my neck and a hand makes its way to my shoulder. Our lips become more frantic as they press against each other.
I feel stirring deep inside me, low down inside me. This new feeling splinters my absorption into her soft, warm, sweet, incred-... her lips. I drag my hand up her waist, the feeling of her warm skin under the fabric of her shirt making my heart race. I'm sure she can hear my pumping heart as my hand brushes against her chest. I'm quick to move my hand to her shoulder and pull away.
My eyes are wide, as are hers. We stare at each other. Our slightly labored breaths mixing together as I let these newly emerging feelings blossom inside me. My hands itch to go back to where they were, drag back down her body and to her waist. My mind keeps replaying the feeling of her leg against mine and her hand squeezing my shoulder.
I'm broken out of my reverie by a loud clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, a cacophonous and very needed reminder that my brother is just behind the wall in the next room. The usual dissonant sounds that accompany his disastrous cooking, if you can even call it that, clutter the house.
Before long Darry stumbles out of the hallway,
"The hell are you doin' Soda?" He squaks from the doorway.
"Making chicken!" Soda yells back, far too loudly for someone less than 5 feet away.
"And the hell are you yellin' for? I'm right here, ya don't need to holler." He berates, shooting Soda a look filled with familiar annoyance, though laughter is clear in his eyes.
We realize our moment had passed, we have to scoot slightly away from each other. Our Fingers find each others and we hold on tightly as Darry engages us in polite conversation. He asked us about when we officially got together. Maria's surprised look was beyond amusing as she found out that Darry had helped me with planning how I'd ask her.
"Why'd you need to plan it?" Was her confused question.
"I just really wanted you to say yes," I reply, using my free hand to scratch my suddenly itchy neck.
"I would've said yes no matter what way you asked," she says, and the smile on my face and the lightness in my chest can't be held at bay, "Really, I'm just happy you want to be with me."
I smile, a real, genuine smile, and she smiles back with the same ardor. As I gaze into the seemingly endlessly deep orbs that are her eyes I feel like I could get lost. I feel like I do when I see a sunset, entranced, enthralled, content.
"Dinner!" Soda's loud voice makes me jump, making Maria laugh.
We slowly stand up and meander our way to the table and sit in the mismatched chairs. I sit next to Maria, our fingers touching discreetly under the table. For the most part, dinner was filled with jokes and laughter and embarrassing anecdotes about my childhood, but by far my favorite part was right at the beginning.
"What is that?" Her quiet voice draws my attention from Darry's laughter. Her wide eyes are locked on Soda's blue chicken and mashed potatoes that were almost the same color as the green beans sitting next to them.
"Chicken." I look at her plainly, "Soda likes to get creative with food dye, I promise it ain't poison."
Her light chuckle and amused smile make it impossible to look away. Distantly, I can hear my brothers asking me a question but I don't answer right away. We eat, and talk, and talk and eat, and I smile the entire time. I have some of my favorite people in the world, my brothers, and a girl who makes me so happy I feel like I could burst.
Darry offers to drive us, but we share a look and say that we'll walk instead.
"Remember a jacket! It's real cold out Pone!" Darry yells after my jacketless frame.
I shiver as we meander, hand in hand, back to her house. The trip which is almost familiar seems to be lengthened tenfold by the cold bite of the winter air on my skin. When we turn onto her street, the orange glow of the streetlights casting an orange halo on Maria's skin and I wish i had longer to stare at the golden affect before we reach her front door.
"They're nice, your brothers I mean," She says, turning to me in front of her door.
"Yeah, they're something alright," I answer, smiling. My hand trailing up her arm all the way to her cheek, looking at the goosebumps I leave in their trail.
"I should go in, Maggie's probably waiting for me," She says, though her lips meet mine.
"Yeah, you probably should." She doesn't.
"I really do have to go now," She insists, and it's the dark sky that convinces me she's right, but that doesn't mean I want to leave the haven of her warm, soft lips.
"Goodbye." She looks up at me with her brilliant blue eyes.
"Bye, I'll cya soon?" I ask tentatively, my gaze dancing across her beauteous figure.
"Definitely." She nods and opens the door, heading inside with swaying hips while I start the cold journey back to my house.