A/N: Thanks again for all of the encouragement to keep going! I am so amazed at the number of people who are enjoying this story!

Chapter 14

Saturday, October 7, 1995 (cont'd)

Carlos wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me up the walk to the front door, my dress bag slung over his back. He opened the door and ushered me inside. "Mama!" he called out.

Mrs. Manoso came out of the kitchen and grinned when she saw us. She came up and kissed both of my cheeks. "I have so many choices for you!" she squealed, her eyes twinkling.

I laughed. "That's what Carlos tells me!"

She stuck her tongue out at him and turned back towards me. "These men. They do not understand how important it is to have the right accessories!" She waved her hand at him dismissively. "He and his father have been teasing me for days!"

I smiled. "Well, I really appreciate it! This way I don't have to buy all new jewelry that I'll only wear once."

She spotted the dress bag over Carlos's shoulder and clapped her hands together. "Is that your dress?"

I nodded.

She grabbed the bag from Carlos and waved her hand in a shooing motion at him. "Go find something to do for a little while, Carlitos! We'll be busy!"

He rolled his eyes at us, and I laughed as his mother hustled me up the stairs and into her bedroom. Practically the entire room was covered with costume jewelry. There were necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and even hair clips spread out over the dressers, the desk, and even the bed.

Mrs. Manoso's eyes twinkled. "I'll step out so that you can put on your dress. We have to see what the jewelry will look like with the dress!"

I smiled and nodded, and she backed out of the room. I quickly shed my skirt, turtleneck, and sweater. I pulled out my dress and shimmied into it, pulling it up and over my hips, and sliding my arms through the straps. Once I got it zipped, I quickly folded up my discarded clothes and shoved them into the bottom of the bag. I sat my heels on the floor by the bag, not sure if I really needed to put them on yet or not.

Mrs. Manoso knocked. "Are you ready, carina?" she called through the door.

"Yep! All set!" I answered back.

She opened the door and gasped, her hands going up to her cheeks. "You look so beautiful, Stephanie!"

I blushed. "Thank you!"

She walked over and touched the dress, watching the sequins shimmer. She admired the cut and the color, and then she touched my neck, tsk tsk-ing. "That stupid son of mine!" she growled. "These marks had better fade before next weekend! I want a nice picture of him and his beautiful date all dressed up for their Senior Homecoming!"

I bit my lip, trying not to smile. "I can always cover them up with some concealer if they're still there."

"Still!" she huffed, making her way over to a dresser full of jewelry.

She waved me over. "Take a look, Stephanie. See if anything catches your eye. We can try on everything that you like and see what works the best."

We walked around the room, dismissing necklaces that were the wrong length for the neckline, and trying on ones that looked like they might be close. There were several beautiful ones. Any of them would look good with the dress, but I hadn't found one that I loved until I saw the ones laid out on the bed.

"Oh!" I said breathily as I reached out towards the bed. There was a beautiful set of jewelry- a necklace, earrings, and bracelet that all matched. They were made up of round blue colored "gems" with faux diamonds clustered out around them. Mrs. Manoso helped me fasten the necklace and bracelet, and I put the earrings in.

We both stood grinning like fools in front of the mirror, checking out the complete look. She patted my shoulder. "Definitely this set, Stephanie! The blue matches perfectly!"

I nodded. "And they're just the right size. Big enough to see without being gaudy." The dress itself was so bright and sparkly that anything too big was too much.

"Do you know how you're going to wear your hair yet?"

I chewed on my lower lip. "I hadn't really thought about it. Probably in big banana curls, but I'm not sure if I'll pull it all up or just part of it."

She played with my hair a little, pulling half of it up and leaving the other half to fall below my shoulders. She looked at me thoughtfully for a minute and then walked to her closet and pulled out a small box. She sat the lid on the dresser and pulled out a set of jeweled combs. They were silver with clear and blue colored gems set in them. They were beautiful.

Mrs. Manoso used them to expertly pin back the sides of my hair as I watched in the mirror. It looked perfect!

"Would you like to borrow the combs, too, dear?" she asked quietly.

I blinked at her. "They're beautiful. Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

She smiled. "They haven't been worn in years. I think it's time that they got used again."

"They're yours?" I asked.

She nodded, smiling broadly. "They were my something blue when I married Carlos's father."

I gasped. "They're real?"

"Yes. My parents bought me the diamond and sapphire combs as my wedding present."

I shook my head. "I couldn't! That's too much! What if I lost them or ruined them?"

She just smiled and patted my arm. "None of my girls have ever wanted to wear them. It's a shame to have them just sit in a box. I'd rather have someone wear them and risk something happening to them than just leave them in my closet for the next 40 years."

I bit my lip. "My mother has a beautiful pearl necklace at home. She let my older sister, Valerie, wear it at her first Communion and Prom. She's planning on letting Valerie wear it at her wedding, but she's never offered it to me." I took out the combs and handed them back to Mrs. Manoso. "There's probably a good reason why." I blushed and looked down. "I'm not always the most graceful or careful person. I'd hate for something to happen to them."

She took my hands gently. "Stephanie, I already trust you with something much more important and valuable to me than a pair of diamond and sapphire combs."

I looked up at her with my forehead creased. "You do?"

She smiled gently. "I trust you not to break my Carlito's heart. He is in love with you, Stephanie. I've never seen him like this before." She smiled and got a faraway look on her face. "It reminds me of when Ricardo and I were first dating. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the two of you ended up married someday. If I can trust you with my son, then surely I can trust you with my combs." She placed them back in my hands and closed my fingers around them.

I was shocked. I'd never had such complete acceptance from someone before. Well, maybe from my dad and my Grandma Mazur. I was used to people singing Valerie's praises, not mine.

"Will you wear them?" she asked gently.

I smiled shyly. "I'd love to."

We boxed up the jewelry and the combs that I was going to borrow and put them in the bottom of my dress bag. Then I helped Mrs. Manoso box up all of the rest of the jewelry and separate it into piles - one pile for each person who had sent items.

When we finished, Mrs. Manoso kissed both of my cheeks and walked out so that I could change.

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I walked downstairs, carrying my dress bag carefully over my arm and looked for Carlos. I finally found him in the family room, playing video games with Lester.

Lester looked up as I walked in. "Hey, Beautiful!" he grinned.

Carlos paused the game and stood up to brush a kiss across my lips. I remembered his mother's words, It wouldn't surprise me at all if the two of you end up married someday, and I felt a little flutter in my stomach.

"Did you find jewelry that you liked, Babe?" he asked.

I nodded. "And a set of hair combs."

"I'm not surprised! There was enough stuff up there for thirty girls to wear!"

I punched him lightly on the arm, grinning. I flopped down on the couch. "You guys go ahead and finish your game. After our late night last night and our early morning this morning, I'm exhausted!"

"Take a little nap, Babe." Carlos said. "We'll go out for dinner and a movie when you wake up."

I yawned and nodded. Sounded good to me!

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Maria's POV

After seeing the marks on Stephanie's neck last night, Ricardo and I had waited up for Carlos. When he got home from her house, we sat him down to have a long talk with him.

I was not a fool. Nor was I a prude. There wasn't much that I hadn't done myself or punished one of my children for doing.

I knew that physical intimacy was important in a relationship. It didn't bother me at all if Carlos and Stephanie were affectionate. In fact, I didn't even mind encouraging it a little. I knew that the closeness that comes from snuggling, cuddling, and even a little necking can help a couple grow closer.

As my mother-in-law Rosa told Carlos, "To hell with the saying 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?' You wouldn't buy a car without test-driving it, right? You might as well find out if you're sexually compatible with the person you're planning on spending the rest of your life with!"

I personally agreed with Rosa, but Carlos had been absolutely mortified to hear such things coming out of his grandmother's mouth. "Abuela!" he had moaned, his face buried in his hands. "Stephanie is not that kind of girl!"

Ricardo had pinned Carlos with a stare. "If she's truly not that kind of girl, you make sure that you treat her with respect."

Carlos had nodded. "Yes, sir."

I smiled remembering the look on his face when he had walked in the door last night. My Carlitos was in love!

I hummed happily to myself as I bustled around the kitchen. I just adored Stephanie! She was a sweet girl, a good girl. And most importantly, she loved my Carlitos and made him happy!

I peeked out into the family room. Stephanie was lying down on the couch, napping, while Carlos and Lester played video games. I wanted to smack my forehead. Or better yet, the back of Carlos's head! Estupido!

I walked into the family room, smiling sweetly. "Carlos! Why don't you take Stephanie up to your room to lie down. She would be much more comfortable up there than down here."

Carlos nodded. "You're probably right." He gently picked Stephanie up off of the couch and headed towards his room.

I waited until he was out of the room, and then I turned to Lester. I glared at him. "You. Get out of here."

He grinned at me. "I love you, too, Tia Maria!" he teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm trying to get my Carlitos to spend time with his Stephanie, not play video games with his cousin!"

Lester laughed and shut off the TV and game system. He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Tell Carlos I'll see him later!"

I grinned. "Goodbye, my favorite nephew!"

He laughed as he walked out the front door.

Carlos came back into the room just moments later. "Where'd Lester go?"

I smiled innocently. "He had to help Tia Carolina with something. What are you doing back down here?"

Carlos raised an eyebrow at me. "Where else did you expect me to be?"

"You must be tired, too. You didn't get much sleep last night either. Why don't you go and lie down with Stephanie for a little bit."

Carlos just looked at me. "You want me to go lie down with Stephanie?"

I shrugged. "I trust my son to behave himself in my house. But I do want you to leave your door cracked open."

Carlos stared at me for a minute longer as if trying to read my mind, but I just smiled pleasantly. Finally he shrugged. "OK," and started up the stairs.

"Do you want me to make dinner, or are the two of you going out?"

Carlos paused and looked over the railing. "We'll probably just grab a pizza and head to the movies or something."

I smiled sweetly. "OK. Go take a little rest first."

He just shook his head and kept walking up the stairs. I waited until he was out of sight, and then I did a little victory dance on my way back into the kitchen. I was going to get a new daughter-in-law out of this; I just knew it!

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Steph's POV

I woke up and felt a pair of strong arms circling my waist. I rolled over gently and looked into Carlos's face.

He smiled at me. "Hey." He whispered.

I smiled back. "Hey."

He leaned over and gently kissed my lips. "Mmm," I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He pulled back, his eyes dark and filled with lust. "Babe!" he said huskily. "You're moaning in my bed. You're going to give me ideas!"

I blushed but grinned at him. "I thought you already had ideas. In fact, I thought you said you had 82 ideas of things you wanted to do with me this morning."

He groaned and captured my lips once again, pulling me onto his lap. My short jean skirt was riding up around my hips, and I gasped as I felt his hard length press against my center. I arched back and rubbed against him, and he groaned. "Dios!" he managed to choke out.

His large hand rested on my bottom, pressing me tighter against him. He thrust against me, and instinctively I rocked back against him. The thin cotton of my panties was the only barrier between my skin and his jeans. The rough fabric of his pants was doing incredible things to me, and I whimpered as he ground against me.

He claimed my lips then, thrusting his tongue in my mouth in the same rhythm that his hips were thrusting against mine. I broke away from the kiss, panting, and screamed his name as I felt a gush of wetness fill my panties. Seconds later he thrust against me, calling out my name.

I collapsed against his chest, my heart racing. He gently stroked my hair and whispered Spanish in my ear. Once my breathing was back to normal, he cupped my face in his hands. "God, you're beautiful." He whispered.

I blushed as I looked into his face, so open, so much in love with me. I knew it was the same look that was on my face right now. I buried my face in his shoulder, my cheeks burning.

"Why are you hiding your face from me?"

"Because I'm embarrassed!"

"Why?"

"I don't know what came over me! I've never done something like that before!" I whispered.

He pulled my head back. "Never done what? Had an orgasm?"

I blushed furiously and nodded.

He grinned and captured my lips.

"Then I'm glad you had your first one with me." He paused and looked at me. "Does that mean that you've never…"

I shook my head. "Never." I whispered.

He looked thoughtful, and I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Carlos, would you…" I cleared my throat. "I want you to…" I couldn't finish.

"What, Babe?" he whispered softly.

I shook my head against him. "Never mind."

He put a finger under my chin and tipped it up to look at him. "What do you want? Anything. You can have it." He leaned in and gently kissed my lips.

I felt my face burn, and I buried my face in Carlos's chest. "Would you make love to me?" I whispered.

I felt him jerk underneath me. Obviously that wasn't what he was expecting.

"Not right now." I continued. "But when the timing is right. Do you think that maybe you would…"

He sucked in a deep breath and wrapped his arms around me. He rubbed circles on my back. "You know that it will hurt, right?" he asked softly.

I nodded. Mary Lou had told me bits and pieces about her first time with Lenny.

He pulled back so that he could look into my face. "I don't want to hurt you." His eyes looked anguished.

"So you want me to be with someone else?" I asked matter of factly.

His eyes flashed. "God no!" he growled.

I grabbed his hands in mine and looked down at them. "I trust you, Carlos. I've never trusted anyone as much as I trust you. I know that you'd never hurt me on purpose. I know that you'd be gentle with me, take your time, and go slow. You'd do everything you could to make sure that it felt good." I looked back up at him, and he nodded.

I bit my lip. "Is that a yes?" I asked him.

He pulled me against him and squeezed me tight. "Yeah, Babe." He sighed. "That's a yes."

TBC

Thanks to GabbyDunk who encouraged (pestered) me to get this chapter posted and also messaged back and forth with me to come up with a cutesy nap scene! Thanks for the gentle nudge (shove) to keep going! LOL! ;)

So any thoughts on when would be 'the right time?'