“That’s very generous of you,” Anthony said, leaning closer, “but I’d much rather go with my boyfriend.”
Cameron smiled bashfully before kissing him.
Anthony pulled back and glanced at the backseat again. “Wanna get out of here?” he suggested.
“What about your party?” Cameron asked.
“Right, right,” Anthony said casually. “Although you will need a ride home later. And it is my birthday.”
Cameron laughed. “Okay,” he said bravely. “Count on it.”
— — —
Silvia didn’t dislike dancing exactly. But as someone who had spent her life avoiding notice, her first instinct wasn’t to boogie in public spaces. Not like her boyfriend did. Omar was never very inhibited, and it really paid off in situations like these, because he was quite the dancer. And he always made her feel like she was doing well, grinning at her nonstop as if she were the belle of the ball. He certainly wasn’t looking anywhere else.
“Damn,” Omar said as another song ended. He tugged on the front of the black thermal shirt he wore to let more air in. “This is some high energy stuff! I’m gonna switch to a T-shirt. Wanna come with?”
“To your house?” she asked in confusion.
“Nah. I always leave stuff here when staying the night. Anthony practically collects it. He’s bound to have an old shirt of mine in his room.”
She followed him upstairs, grateful for a quiet moment together. Especially with her family’s future so uncertain. If they did move, such opportunities would be rare, if they happened at all.
“Ever been in here?” Omar asked as they entered Anthony’s bedroom.
“Yeah. We’ve hung out a couple times.”
“Is it wrong that I’m jealous? I mean, I know he’s gay, but that’s time we could have spent together instead.”
“No, that’s not weird,” she said, since it echoed her own thoughts. In more than one way. “I felt a little jealous recently.”
“Oh yeah?” Omar asked before ducking into a closet. “How come?”
She waited until he reappeared, wanting to see his face. And his bare chest, as it turned out, since he’d taken off his shirt and found another that he hadn’t put on yet. He had a nice body. From all the skateboarding, she assumed. Silvia wasn’t the only person who had noticed.
“Faith Song,” she said, watching him closely for a reaction.
Omar didn’t seem startled, as if he’d been caught. Instead he groaned. “Yeah, I think she has a thing for me. Wait, who told you about that?”
“Keisha Hart. She saw you holding hands with her.”
“No,” Omar said firmly. “Faith was holding my hand. It was one-sided, believe me. Her and her sister were dragging me around and asking me to film them. It just kind of happened. I know that sounds like bullshit, but it’s true.”
“That’s fine,” Silvia said, having no reason to doubt him. “I just felt a little jealous when I heard about it.”
“Why would Keisha tell you anyway?” Omar grumbled. “She must think I’m the kind of scuzzball who cheats on his girl.”
“Not really.” Silvia hadn’t gotten that impression. Keisha hadn’t accused Omar of indiscretion or suggested they break up. “It was more of a warning,” Silvia explained. “She thinks Faith is interested in you. And that she didn’t know about me yet.”
“I told her right away!” Omar said, pulling on a Metallica T-shirt. “You’re right that she didn’t know before, but when Keisha brought it up, I told Faith how much I love you. Right in front of her!”
That was sweet. “I’m not accusing you of anything. When guys flirt with me—”
“Wait, what?”
“Girls get more unwanted attention than you probably realize,” Silvia explained patiently. “When that happens to me, I make sure to tell them upfront that I’m already seeing someone. So the next time some girl gets grabby with you, find an excuse to mention me. That’s all I’m saying.”
Omar exhaled. “I’ll have to be on guard, now that—” He glanced at her self-consciously and clamped his mouth shut.
“Now that what?” she pressed.
“Girls can tell, can’t they? When a guy is having sex?”
“I mean, considering the level of involvement, I should hope so.”
“Huh?” He thought about it and laughed. “No, I mean in general. Because ever since Valentine’s Day, the Song sisters have been all over me, and some girl smiled at me in the cafeteria the other day.”
Silvia squinted. “Wait, you think we can magically sense when a boy has had sex before? And even if we could, why would that turn us on?”
“I don’t know,” Omar replied sheepishly. “I figured you activated my pheromones or something.”
Silvia laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Those girls are flirting with you because you’re handsome.”
“I am?” he asked before grinning. “I mean, my mom always says that, but she kind of has to since she’s the one who made me.”
Silvia shook her head, feeling a surge of affection for him. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe a little. Either way, the next time a girl makes eyes at me, I’m going to tell her all about you.”
“Good.”
“And uh… you’ll do the same? We could get lockets with our photos inside and wear them open all the time.”
“I think we can simply keep trusting each other,” Silvia said, kissing him before they left the room together.
They ran into Mindy on the way down the stairs. “Omar!” she said. “I was just looking for you.”
“See?” Omar whispered. “This is what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t think she’s flirting with you,” Silvia said, barely repressing a smile.
“What?!” Mindy cried. “Gross! I wanted to talk to you about dancing. You’re really good.”
“You shouldn’t be surprised,” Omar said as they continued downstairs as a group. “We’ve shaken our booties together. Remember that double date we went on?”
“How could I forget?” Mindy muttered.
“Oh right. The dress.”
“Anyway,” her best friend said, as if forcing herself to continue. “My theater group is holding auditions and we don’t have nearly enough dancers. It wouldn’t be a speaking part, so I can basically guarantee that you’d get it.”
“Uhhhhh, no thanks,” Omar replied. “I’m not into that sort of thing. And I wouldn’t have time anyway. I usually work after school.”
“Crap,” Mindy said while slowly deflating.
They stopped near a table loaded with snacks, which was fine with Silvia, because it meant she could munch on chips while watching them negotiate.
“You could ask Diego,” Omar suggested. “Everyone talks about how good he was in the last play.”
“Yeah, but can he dance?”
“Hell yeah!” Omar said. “There was this one time, at the pool, when we were trying to impress this group of girls, and uh…” He trailed off and looked at Silvia with a wince. “You know what? It doesn’t matter.”