Luke and I pulled up to a magnificent house that overlooked a huge lake.
From the small group of people that mingled outside on the lawn, I guessed that the inside was packed. I was so distracted by what I saw that I didn't notice that Luke was holding the car door open for me.
I snapped out of it and got out. I uttered out a quick thank you before walking towards the house. We decided on the way here that we would do pecks on the cheek only and we could hold hands.
I took a deep breath and walked inside the house.
I met Luke's friends, they were nice enough. We drank, talked and danced. Whenever one of Luke's friends asked me to join in when there was a dance battle, I made the excuse of having to either take a phone call or use the restroom.
Who the hell has two dance battles at a party? This isn't a Step Up movie. Halfway through the night I lost track of Luke, Some random guy with the most sleaziest appearance ever slid up next to me.
"Hello, hot stuff. Why are you standing in the corner all alone?" I looked at him confused. I was standing by the food cart in the middle of the deck.
"Actual-" He brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. It took everything in me no to shiver in disgust.
"What do you say about you and me going to a more quiet place to talk." He stroked one of his fingers down my bare arm.
"No." I guess he didn't hear me because he was still standing there leering at me.
"Come on, I can show you a good time. Is it because I'm not a Mexican?" What the fuck is he talking about? Why do white people always assume that I'm Mexican?
"I'm Colombian, you ignoramus. And I said no and I mean NO. Is English hard for you to comprehend? Actually don't answer that because I know that the answer is yes. Get away from me, you greaser wannabe," This asshole is clearly learning impaired because he is still here harassing me. And no one is doing anything to help.
"Is there a problem here?" I have never been so thankful for Luke. I turn around to see Luke standing there with an indecipherable expression, arms crossed.
"Yes the-" He interrupts me again, puts his arm around my waist and pulls me to him.
"Yeah, I already claimed this one. Get lost." I pulled his arm away from my waist and pushed him away from me. I quickly walked to Luke's side. Luke doesn't look amused by this guy's declaration.
"It doesn't look like you claimed her to me. She's been clearly stating for the past five minutes that she's not interested. And like a douche you not only ignored her but you touched her without her permission." The douche laughed at Luke. There was a small crowd forming behind us.
"What are you, her boyfriend?" Some of the people in the crowd groaned in second-hand embarrassment.
"Matter of fact, I am." The douche's smug look fell from his face. He had the nerve to look contrite.
"Um well-" Luke stared him down until he squirmed.
"You should go." Someone said from the crowd. That would be best. He scurried out of the house. The crowd dispersed after that.
Luke turned to me, his eyes showed intense concern. I take his hand in mine and squeeze to reassure him that I was fine now. He took a deep breath and led me inside.
We stayed by each other's side the rest of the night.
The following Monday night, I was nervous as I walked towards the classroom. I wanted to do well.
Luke is writing on the board as I walk in. I take my seat at the very front. He turned around and acknowledged my presence.
"¡Hola!" Luke was so enthused when he says it
"Hola" I say it so awkwardly.
"Today, I want you to tell me what your poem is about and we can start from there." I've worked on five drafts going back and forth in my head about what I want to say.
I took out my laptop, pulled up the poem and gave him a look at it. As I think about what I wrote, I can't help but cringe. I wrote some lovey dovey crap that Jay always gets on me about. I feel self-conscious.
"Okay, I believe that I can teach you how to say this in Spanish in a month's time. For right now, I want to teach you simple things to say in Spanish. It will help you in the long run." I nod. He goes back to the board.
"I want you to repeat after me. Mi nombre es Kevin. Which translates to "My name is Kevin". Your turn." I clear my throat.
"Mi nombre es Kevin." Luke gives me a small smile.
"Very good. There is also an alternate way of saying my name is Kevin. It is " Me llamo Kevin." You don't have to use that phrase if it's too confusing for you. There are some other phrases that I want you to learn like …" He's really good at this. He's almost as good as mom.
He kept me engaged. All of my other Spanish instructors bored me to tears. I can sort of see why he was highly recommended by the other students on campus.
"I'm going to give you some homework. I know, I know. No one likes homework, but for you to be able to be somewhat well versed in Spanish in a month, you need to study. Here are some worksheets, and you should download Duolingo on your phone. I have some assignments that I want you to complete. I want these assignments turned in by the end of the week. I want you to try your best. I'll know if you don't. I'll see you back here at the same time as tomorrow. Buenas noches!" He packed up his things and headed towards the door.
"Buenas noches." First day completed with much error.
I had a skype call with mom tonight.
"Hello, my sweet boy. How have you been?"