Thanks again for the many reviews and PMs! I just can't seem to leave this story alone, but my obsession is your gain- here is chapter 9! LOL!

Chapter 9 – Wednesday October 4, 1995

When I made plans with Carlos for dinner, I had completely forgotten that I had majorette practice after school. That was the whole reason that I wasn't scheduled to work on Wednesday in the first place. The majorette line had practice every Wednesday and Friday. The band practiced, and we ran through our routines. On Fridays we usually just hung around after practice and waited for the football game to begin. Sometimes we'd grab a slice of pizza in between and sometimes we'd just sit around and gossip.

There was no way that I could miss tonight's practice without my advisor killing me. Tonight was fire baton practice. Every year at Homecoming, the majorettes do one fire baton routine. It's a really big deal. We start practicing it in August and work on it for the next two months. At halftime, the athletic director turns off all of the stadium lights so that all you see is the fire batons. The crowd goes crazy. They scream so loud for the first part of the song that sometimes it's hard to hear the band. If I skipped practice today, she would most likely threaten to pull me from the routine. And there was no way that I wanted that to happen. It was one of the best things about being a majorette. It ranked right up there with band camp, majorette camp, and the cool knee high boots!

I pulled into the school parking lot and looked for Carlos. Spotting him, I hopped out and walked over to his group. He grinned and pulled me into a hug against him. "Morning, Babe." He squeezed me a little tighter.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze back. "Morning, Batman!"

The other guys called out their hellos, and I smiled and greeted them back.

"Did you get everything straightened out over dinner tonight?"

I bit my lip. "Yes and no."

I saw a flicker of something in Carlos's eyes. Disappointment? Hurt? Worry? I knew that I had to explain quickly before he came up with the wrong idea.

"I am definitely coming over for dinner tonight. I just can't come over right after school." I put my hands on his chest and looked up. His eyes had calmed a little bit. He no longer looked so upset, although there was still a trace of uncertainty there.

He brushed his finger across my cheek. "Why not?"

"I forgot that I have majorette practice after school today. That's the reason that I had today off in the first place. You can wait and watch if you want, or you can just pick me up at my house when we're done. We usually finish around 4:30."

Carlos leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'll wait."

"Will your mom be OK with us coming over a little later? I know she wanted us to go to your house right after school." I hoped that I wasn't making a bad impression on Carlos's mother before I even met her.

Carlos just shook his head. "It'll be fine. We don't usually eat until some time around 6:00. She just wanted a chance to interrogate you and show you embarrassing baby pictures."

I felt my stomach drop. "Interrogate me?" I squeaked.

Carlos laughed. "Sure. She wants to know all about you. Your favorite color, what size shoe you wear, and your favorite brand of ketchup."

I smacked him lightly on the chest. "It's not funny, Mister! This is a big deal for me, you know! I'm nervous about meeting your family already. You don't have to scare me by using words like interrogate!"

Carlos grinned. "Stephanie, my family will love you. Quit worrying!"

Lester wagged his eyebrows up and down. "And if Tia Maria runs out of time to show you embarrassing baby pictures of her little Carlitos, you just let me know! I have tons of them at my house, too!"

Carlos glared at Lester, and I couldn't help but grin as the two of them argued back and forth about who was the cuter baby.

"Well, Lester, I don't know if I'll need your help to embarrass Carlos, but I may need Carlos's help to embarrass you." I informed him.

Lester's eyes widened in shock, and he clutched his heart. "Beautiful! Why would you want to embarrass me?" he teased.

I stuck my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes. "Because you stole my car yesterday, that's why!"

Lester's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Would I do a thing like that?"

I smirked at him. "You're goin' down, Lester! When you least suspect it, I'm gonna nail your ass to the wall!"

Lester grinned. "You can have my ass whenever you want, Stephanie! Just name the time and place!"

"Santos!" Carlos barked, giving him a shove in the chest.

I choked out a laugh and wrapped my arms back around Carlos's waist, resting my cheek against his chest. "Your days are numbered!" I told Lester.

He just laughed and turned towards the building.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

The day flew by, and before I knew it, it was time for majorette practice. I grabbed my duffel bag out of my locker and headed for the bathroom. When we were doing fire batons, we couldn't have any loose clothing on, and our hair had to be pulled back. I stepped into a stall and stripped out of my jeans and sweater. I pulled on a pair of spandex bike shorts and a tank top that ended at my hips. It was just a little bit loose, but there wasn't enough excess fabric to get in the way. I pulled my hair back in a messy bun and stuffed my school clothes into my bag. I walked out to the field to stretch with the other girls.

Daydreaming, I dipped the end of my fire baton into the lamp oil and waited for the liquid to soak into the fabric. Eating dinner with Carlos's family tonight was a big deal for me. Living in the Burg, you don't often meet someone that you know absolutely nothing about. For instance, even though Dickie's family is wealthy and runs in completely different social circles, I could tell you just about anything you'd want to know about his family. I know his parents' names, siblings' names, where his parents work, where they live, and what kind of cars they drive. If I made a few well-placed calls, I could tell you if his dad is cheating on his mom (yes, with his secretary), where they went on vacation last year (a bus tour through Europe- Holland, Germany, England, France, & Switzerland), and what brand of cereal they prefer (Frosted Flakes or Cheerios).

In the Burg, if you haven't met someone before, all you need to do is ask a few people, and you can find out anything as well as get a recommendation on that person's behavior and character. The fact that I was walking into this dinner with no advance knowledge at all about Carlos's family made me feel a little uneasy.

I lifted the baton out of the oil and walked away from the other girls. I flicked the baton up and down sharply, shaking the extra oil off, and lit both ends with my fire starter. My eyes flicked over to the bleachers, and I saw Carlos watching me. I gave him a little finger wave, and he grinned and lifted his hand in hello.

One of the other majorettes, Joy, saw him and sucked in a deep breath. "Who's that guy sitting in the bleachers?"

"Carlos Manoso."

She turned to look at me. "Is he here to watch you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah, why?"

She looked at me, her eyes bugged. "Are you guys seeing each other?"

I concentrated on keeping my baton spinning fast enough that the flames stayed away from my arms. "Yep. He's my date to Homecoming."

Joy looked positively shocked. "You're kidding, right?"

I raised my eyebrows at her. "No."

Joy lit her batons and started twirling them. "Stephanie, he looks like a thug for crying out loud! That whole group from St. Peter dresses in all black practically every day. It's like they're in a gang or something."

I glared at her. "Thanks so much for your input."

She continued. "I mean, he's hot, I'll give you that. But what the hell were you thinking? Couldn't you find a date from the Burg?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I would have liked nothing better than to strangle her with my bare hands. "I'm thinking that I'm a girl who can make her own decisions without input from anyone else. And not that it's any of your business, but I had a date from the Burg, and he was an ass."

Joy frowned at me. "Well, just watch yourself around him, Steph. He looks like trouble."

"Thanks for your concern." I told her in my snarkiest voice. Then I moved into my position on the field and listened for the music to start.

We went over and over and over the routine until I was pretty sure that I would be hearing "Back in Black" in my nightmares. Why do all marching bands play oldies, show tunes, or heavy metal songs? Gah!

When we were finally done, Pammy held my fire baton containers. I dropped the two flaming batons inside and put the caps on them, extinguishing the flames. Then I picked up her containers and held them for her so that she could put hers out as well. Most people were scared to death of the fire batons because they thought they would immediately burst into flames if they so much as touched one. Really, though, your natural reaction is to jerk away from something hot, so it's very rare for anyone to get seriously burnt by one. What is much more common is to singe off all of your arm hair. I examined my forearms. Mine didn't look too bad today. Thank God for small favors!

I was gathering up my stuff when Carlos walked over. Some of the other girls started preening when they saw him. Kelly bent over "to tie her shoe," placing her ass as high up in the air as she could get it. I rolled my eyes. Slut!

Carlos came over and gave me a huge grin. "Babe, you're awesome!" he complimented me.

I grinned. "I know! And I can twirl two fire batons, too!" I teased.

He chuckled and grabbed my bag, lifting it as if it weighed nothing. "I can get that!" I protested.

He smirked. "I know, but isn't this the sort of thing that a boyfriend does? Carry heavy bags, open car doors, buy popcorn?"

My heart leapt just a little bit when he called himself my boyfriend. "Yep, I guess so!" I agreed.

We headed for the parking lot, but of course my car was not where I had left it this morning. "Lester!" I growled.

Carlos just smiled. "I feel your pain, Babe. Just remember. I've had to put up with him for eighteen years now! You've only known him for six days."

I shook my head. "You are a saint for not killing him by now!"

"We'll get him back, Babe. You just have to be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity to come along."

Finding my car was a little bit easier since school had been out for a while. The parking lot was mostly cleared out. The only cars remaining belonged to those who were staying after school, and there weren't too many meetings or practices on Wednesday nights.

We found my car, and Carlos helped me load my bag, books, and batons into the back seat.

"I'll follow you to your house." He told me before heading off in the direction of his car.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

When we got back to my house, I ran inside and threw my majorette bag on my bedroom floor. I pulled my hair out of its bun and finger combed the curls. I pulled my jeans and sweater back on and ran out the door, calling goodbye to my mom.

I slid into the front seat of Carlos's car, and he grinned and patted the middle of the bench seat, wanting me to slide over next to him. I blushed and slid over, fastening the lap belt. He backed out of my driveway and then put his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled to myself. Although I thought sports cars were hot, I was secretly glad that Carlos drove an older family car. Right now, bench seats topped bucket seats in my mind!

We pulled into the driveway of a modest two story house, and I took a deep breath. He took both of my hands and kissed them. "Relax, Babe." He whispered. "I promise everything will be fine."

I nodded and allowed him to pull me out the driver's side door after him.

The front door opened before we reached the porch, and a smiling woman stood there with her arms out. She crossed the porch and gave me a warm hug. "You must be Stephanie!" I nodded.

"We've heard so much about you, dear! I'm Carlos's mother, Maria."

I smiled shyly. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Manoso."

A man stood behind her who had to be Carlos's father. He was tall and good looking, his hair graying just slightly at the temples. He held his hand out. "Ricardo Manoso." He introduced himself, smiling warmly at me.

I blushed. "Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner. It's so nice to meet Carlos's family."

His father grinned and motioned for us to follow him. "The rest of the family is in the living room."

Carlos held my hand, and we walked further into the house. His dad wasn't kidding when he said that the rest of them were there. I met Carlos's Abuela Rosa, his sister Celia and her boyfriend Manuel, his sister Alicia, and his brother Julio and very pregnant sister-in-law Pilar.

"You have a big family!" I whispered to Carlos.

He smiled and kissed my nose. "I have two more sisters, but they're not here tonight. Carmen is away at college and Isabel is married and lives in New York."

I shook my head. I couldn't imagine growing up with that many brothers and sisters. Some days I couldn't stand one Valerie! I couldn't imagine having four Valeries!

True to Carlos's promise this morning in the parking lot, Abuela Rosa pulled out the family photo albums and patted the couch next to her. Carlos sat next to me and groaned as Abuela Rosa showed me pictures, commenting in halting English about how adorable her little Carlitos was. I had to agree. He was an adorable baby.

Because we had arrived so late, Carlos's mother had dinner almost ready. Much to Carlos's relief, I didn't get to spend too much time looking at family photos before it was time to eat.

Dinner was delicious! Carlos's mother had made pork with spicy seasonings, beans, and rice. There was a salad that consisted mostly of lettuce, tomatoes, and avocados; fresh homemade bread; and flan for dessert. Conversation was light and friendly, sometimes teasing. It was a lot more pleasant than eating dinner at my house! My mother usually used dinner as her chance to lecture or grill me. I think she figured that she had me as a captive audience. If I wanted to eat, I had to sit there and put up with whatever she was upset about that day.

Carlos's sisters made an effort to include me in the conversation, asking me about the different teachers at school, but mostly I sat and listened happily as they all caught up with one another. The one time that Alicia had tried to ask about Carlos and I dating, I caught him glaring at her, and she changed the subject. After my panic this morning at school, I had a feeling that Carlos was going out of his way to make sure that I wasn't interrogated by his family.

After dinner, everyone helped to carry the dishes into the kitchen and sit them on the counter. The table was completely cleared and wiped off, and then Carlos's grandmother came back in with several boxes of cards. She began passing them out, giving each person their own deck. Everyone opened their pack and began shuffling with big grins on their faces.

I looked over at Carlos questioningly, and he looked back at me with the same grin that everyone else was wearing. "Do you like to play cards, Babe?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah." My family had never been big on games- card games, board games, or any other kind of games. My mother thought they were a waste of time. When we were little, my dad would play some with Valerie and me- mostly Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, or Go Fish. But it had been a while since I had played any kind of game.

Carlos's mother sat down across from me and patted my hand. "Do you know how to play Solitaire, dear?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Well, whenever we have a big family dinner, we play a game that is similar to Solitaire. Except that instead of playing by yourself, we all play together. We put all of our aces in the middle of the table, and everyone plays on everybody else's aces. At the end of the game, we count up the cards that have been played. The person who played the most cards is the winner."

Carlos's sister Celia smiled wickedly from across the table. "But you should know that we're pretty competitive, Stephanie! People have been known to end up with scratches and bruises from this game! Sometimes we even draw blood!"

I raised my eyebrows and looked over at Carlos. He looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. "It'll be OK, Babe." He reassured me. Then as his Abuela continued passing around the cards, he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "If you get a scratch, I'll kiss it all better."

My face flooded with color as I snapped my wide eyes up to look at him. That made him laugh out loud, and he leaned over and kissed the top of my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught his mother watching us with a big smile on her face.

I shuffled my cards and set out the piles in front of me. I waited while everyone else got theirs ready. When the last person had set their last card down, Carlos's father said "Go!" and all hell broke loose! I thought for sure that Celia and Carlos had been exaggerating, but they weren't. Carlos's brother Julio nearly jumped across the table to slam a three of hearts on a stack before Manuel could make the play. Then I watched as Carlos's dad and Alicia both tried to play the two of clubs on the same stack. Alicia slid her card underneath her dad's and triumphantly declared, "Mine's on the bottom!" Evidently, that was the deciding rule. Whoever's card was on the bottom was the winner. It meant that their card was played first.

"Espera! Espera! Espera!" Abuela Rosa cried. This only made everyone else at the table laugh and tease her in Spanish.

I leaned over to Carlos. "What does espera mean?" I whispered.

Carlos chuckled. "It means 'wait.' Abuela always wants to play, but then she gets mad and says we go too fast, so she starts yelling at us. Wait, wait, wait!"

I grinned and looked down at Abuela Rosa. She would pick up a card and go to play it, but before she could get it on the stack, someone else would slide theirs on. She would huff and then grab another card to play, but the same thing would happen again. After missing three plays in a row, she slammed her hand down on the table and glared at Carlos. He had beat her to the five of hearts on the last play. She pointed her finger at him and growled, "mierda cabeza!"

Carlos tipped his head back and roared with laughter, still playing. He clucked his tongue disapprovingly and looked over at his grandmother. "Abuela!" he said in a mock shocked voice. "We have company!"

Abuela Rosa huffed. "Then I'd think you'd play nicer with your Abuela!" she snapped back at him.

He just grinned and shook his head, moving cards around in front of him.

"What does mierda cabeza mean?" I asked Carlos.

He smirked. "Shit head. That's practically my Abuela's pet name for all of us."

I must have looked shocked because Carlos shook his head. "She doesn't mean it, Babe. That's just what she yells whenever she's losing pitifully!" He said the last part extra loud so that Abuela Rosa could hear it at the end of the table.

She stuck her tongue out at Carlos and slammed a card down on one of the stacks. I was going to have to introduce Abuela Rosa to Grandma Mazur! The two of them would get along famously!

I bit my lip and tried not to laugh out loud as I shuffled through my cards, looking for any plays that I could make.

I grabbed my eight of spades and went to play it at the same time that Carlos tried to play his. I angled my card under his and flipped it back at him. "Mine's on the bottom." I said sweetly, grinning at him.

He laughed and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. "You win, Babe!" he told me as he pulled his card back.

When it looked like everyone had made all the plays they could, the cards in the middle were separated and counted. Alicia had won, and she pumped her fist in the air and did a little victory dance. I laughed out loud watching her. The Manosos certainly took their games seriously!

"Another game?" Celia asked, looking in my direction.

Everyone looked over at me, and I grinned and nodded. "Sure." They all seemed happy with that answer, and a second game was well underway in just a few minutes.

Carlos's mother won the second game. After the cards had been counted and she had been declared the official winner, she stood up from the table. "I think I'll quit while I'm ahead and get started on those dishes."

I stood up. "I'll help you wash the dishes." I offered.

She beamed at my offer. "You don't have to help, but I'd appreciate the company if you want to come in and visit with me."

I nodded. "Sure."

I thought I heard Carlos groan as I walked into the kitchen.

Mrs. Manoso was very efficient. She had all of the plates scraped off into the trash in just a few minutes. She opened the dishwasher and began rinsing plates and loading them.

She glanced up at me. "So, Stephanie. Tell me how you and Carlos met."

I smiled. "He helped me get my car started Friday night after the football game." She smiled and nodded encouragingly, so I kept going. "My trunk light stays on sometimes, and it must have drained the battery. I would have been stuck at the football field, but Carlos got it started."

She kept stacking plates in the bottom rack. "Yes, he is very good with cars. He works at his uncle's dealership quite a bit. I think he's picked up a lot from the mechanics there."

I nodded. He had mentioned that he worked there after school.

"So Carlos asked you to Homecoming?" she fished.

"Well kind of." I blushed.

Her head snapped up, and she looked at me closely. "You're not going to Homecoming with Carlos?"

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant! I mean, yes! Yes, we're going together!" I stumbled over my words.

"But you asked him?" she asked confused.

My cheeks burned. "Well, actually, I had a date for Homecoming until last Saturday. But, he, um…. He… well." I cleared my throat. "My dad kind of forbade me to see him again after Saturday."

Mrs. Manoso raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything.

"My mom was upset that my dad wouldn't let my date take me to the dance. She went on and on about how it was my senior year and I couldn't miss Homecoming. And Carlos offered to take me instead."

She studied my face. "Do you want to go with Carlos?"

A huge grin spread across my face. "Yes."

Carlos's mom seemed pleased with my enthusiastic reply. Her eyes twinkled. "You like my Carlitos?"

I bit my lip and nodded.

She smiled then and patted my arm.

After that, the topic of conversation shifted to much less interesting topics- my job at the Tasty Pastry, my family, and what I wanted to do after high school among others.

The kitchen was almost cleaned up when Mrs. Manoso brought up the topic of Homecoming again. "Do you have a dress yet, dear?" she asked.

I grinned and nodded. "My mother and I actually found it this summer, before I even had a date. We weren't really looking, but we saw the dress, and I just had to try it on."

"What color is it?"

"It's a sequined tank dress. The straps and top of the neckline are silver, and the rest of the dress is a bright blue."

Mrs. Manoso clapped her hands together. "That will look so lovely with your blue eyes!" she gushed.

I smiled, not used to the flattery or excited behavior. Of course, Mary Lou and Connie were appropriately giddy when I showed them the dress, but my mom was much more sedate. She liked the dress, I could tell, but she had just smiled and nodded politely and told me that it looked very nice.

Carlos's mother held both of my hands in hers. "Would you bring it over so that I can see it?"

I bit my lip. "I kind of wanted Carlos to see it for the first time next Saturday. It might lose its 'wow factor' if he sees me wearing it with my hair pulled up in a ponytail and ratty gym socks."

Carlos's mother laughed. "Of course, dear, of course! I didn't mean for Carlos to see it. Just me. I am so excited to look at your beautiful dress! And this is the first year that I don't have a young girl to buy a dress for. Our Alicia graduated last year, and only Carlos is still in high school. I kind of miss the excitement of looking for the dress and shoes and all the accessories!"

I smiled. "Well, I already have the shoes. We bought them when we bought the dress, but I do still need to get jewelry for it. Would you want to help me look?"

Mrs. Manoso beamed. She held my face in her hands and kissed me on both cheeks. Her eyes were bright with happy tears, and she dabbed at them with a napkin. "You bring your dress and shoes over here, and I'll bet we can find you some costume jewelry that will work. We have four daughters. They each went to 4 Homecomings and 2 or 3 Proms. We have necklaces, earrings, and bracelets in every color and style imaginable! But if you can't find something that you like, I would be happy to help you look!"

I smiled back at her. "That's very sweet of you to offer to lend me something. Are you sure Carlos's sisters wouldn't mind?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "They have dozens of cousins and other relatives. Once they are done with something like that, it almost always gets loaned out. In fact, I could call some of my relatives and gather up a few more choices for you! Something silver and blue, right?"

I nodded my head. "That's what I was going to look for."

She smiled. "I'll see what I can find. Now, we just have to figure out a time when you can come back over and take a look."

"How about this Saturday? Maybe around 4:30?" I figured Carlos could bring me back to his house after our detention. Then we could spend the evening together- either watching a movie in or going out for pizza, whatever he wanted to do.

"Saturday at 4:30 it is!" she agreed enthusiastically.

We headed back into the dining room, where another card game was just wrapping up. Carlos's mother announced that I was coming over on Saturday to go through jewelry for Homecoming and asked Pilar, Celia, and Alicia to gather up anything they had that was blue and silver. Then she instructed them to call their cousins and friends to see if they had anything that could be loaned out. I had a feeling that I was going to have a lot of options!

When Carlos heard the plan for Saturday, he looked at me and raised one eyebrow. I shrugged back at him in a what could I do kind of way.

I said goodbyes all around the table and got hugs from everyone. Mrs. Manoso kissed both cheeks and smiled warmly at me. "You are welcome here anytime, Stephanie, anytime! It has been a pleasure meeting you!"

I blushed. "Thank you so much for inviting me over for dinner. Everything tasted wonderful, and I had a lot of fun. It was so nice to meet you all!"

Carlos scooted me out the door then before his family could start a second round of hugs and kisses.

Once we were in the car, Carlos grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips. "I told you they would love you!" he teased.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Your family is wonderful!"

He grinned back. "They can be. Mama certainly seems to like you. You do realize that half the neighborhood will be donating items for you to look over on Saturday, right?"

I wrinkled my forehead in confusion. "Huh? Your mother just said she'd check with a few of your cousins and some of your sisters' friends."

Carlos chuckled. "Babe, this neighborhood is the Cuban equivalent of the Burg. Everybody is either related to or good friends with everyone else. Imagine how many people in your neighborhood you could call and borrow a necklace from."

My eyes widened. "Your mom doesn't have to go to all that trouble, Carlos!"

"If she offered, then that means that she wants to do it. Just be prepared for a ton of choices."

I nodded and squeezed Carlos's hand, absently tracing circles over the back with my thumb.

Carlos parked in my driveway, and I went to scoot across the seat to get out, but he tugged lightly on my hand to stop me. I turned back towards him to see what he wanted, and his hands cupped my face. He lowered his face down towards mine and began kissing me urgently. His tongue traced my mouth, and I sighed and parted my lips, allowing his tongue in. His hands tangled in my hair then, pushing me closer to him. I moaned and reached my hands up to play in his long silky strands. Before long, he pulled back, breathing hard. He rested his forehead against mine, and I managed to pant, "Holy hot flash, Batman!"

He chuckled and answered in a husky voice. "I've been thinking about doing that all day."

I leaned up to kiss him again, but the porch light blinked on. I sighed, frustrated. Clearly my mom was not happy with me making out in the driveway with Carlos.

Carlos shook his head and climbed out of the car, pulling me across the seat and out his door as well. We walked up to the porch, and he gave me a much more parent friendly kiss before whispering, "Sweet dreams!" in my ear.

My dreams were definitely going to be sweet, because they would all be about him!

TBC

Don't be surprised if we don't meet the Basketcase and the Brain before the detention day. Remember that these kids all run in different crowds, so they would have no reason to know or care if someone from another group ended up with a detention.