His dad had left when he was five. He barely remembered him.
“You want to come to my place, then?” he asked, dreading the idea that she would see the shack he lived in. He knew that her home was much nicer. The Maldonados lived on the outskirts of town in a large home that her dad had inherited from his family.
“What about working here at school?” she asked. “We could meet in the library or outside the cafeteria. There are tables and chairs there.”
They were bolted down, but they were there. “Sure,” he said. “Whatever you want. When can we start?”
“Don’t you have football practice?”
He nodded. “We’re through at five. I could meet you after that.”
She ducked her head. “Okay.”
“Today?”
“Uh-huh.”
It had taken him several weeks of their studying together before he broke through the wall of reserve that was always around her. He discovered that she had a delightful personality and a wonderful sense of humor. He’d fallen for her playfulness, as well as her vulnerability.
She’d been too thin, with thick riotous hair and oversize glasses perched on her nose. Somehow, though, she had a way of looking at him that had made his heart race. He’d never been able to figure out what it was that she did to him.
He couldn’t remember when he first began having erotic thoughts about the girl helping him pass his classes. What would it be like to kiss her? What would she do if he tried to touch her? Would his fantasies be fulfilled if he ever had the chance to make love to her?
For the first time in his life, there was a girl that he thought about more than football or going out and raising hell with his buddies.
Now, months later, they were going out on their first date together.
He gave one last look in the mirror, then walked into the room where his mother sat mending one of his shirts.
“Oh, Joe, you look so handsome!” she said, pressing her hand to her chest. “You take my breath away.”
He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. And thank you for getting Uncle Pete to loan me his car for the night.”
She looked at him over the top of her glasses. “You’d better not let anything happen to it.”
He held up his hand. “I promise. I will take very good care of it.”
Of course the thing was ancient, but it was wheels, which was more than he had. He couldn’t very well ask Elena to walk to the prom with him.
He drove the old Plymouth away from town, eventually turning into the lane that led to Elena’s house. This was the first time he’d ever been to her home. He wasn’t sure what made him more nervous—taking a decent girl out on a date, driving a borrowed car, or having to meet her parents for the first time.
He walked across the small porch and knocked on the front door. Before he could take another deep breath, the door swung open.
Elena had on a slim black dress that was held up by tiny black straps, exposing her shoulders. The dress fit her slim form as though made for her, ending at the toes of her high-heeled shoes. She had her hair piled on her head with curls framing her face. Her glasses perched on her nose.
That was when Joe realized that he was in love with Elena Maldonado.
Elena caught her breath as soon as she saw Joe standing at the door. She’d never seen him in anything but old jeans and faded shirts. She couldn’t believe how different he looked tonight. Older. More sophisticated. To-die-for handsome.
“Come in,” she said, stepping back from the door.
Joe walked past her and she got a whiff of an aftershave lotion she hadn’t known he wore. She wasn’t sure her knees would hold her up. Wouldn’t she feel foolish if she collapsed in his arms before they even got out the door?
She would never forget how he looked in his rented tuxedo. The white ruffled shirt emphasized his dark skin and the suit drew attention to his wide shoulders and slender hips. She felt as though the night had cast a spell on her, and she wondered if this was all a dream.
Going to the senior prom with Joe Sanchez was very special for Elena because it was her very first date, with Joe or anyone else. Meeting him after school and discussing English and history with him certainly didn’t count as dating someone.
Even when he got into the habit of meeting her between classes and walking her to her locker, she hadn’t allowed herself to think he meant anything by it.
However, when he asked her to the prom, her hopes soared. She knew she wasn’t pretty, not like the other girls. Even though she’d gotten her braces off two years before, she was still careful about smiling at people. She didn’t know what to say to the other kids, who seemed so sure of themselves, so she just went to her classes without making eye contact and without speaking to anyone.
But during the three weeks between the time Joe had asked her to go to the prom with him and the prom itself, Elena knew that she had blossomed into another person. She felt popular and attractive for the first time in her life. She’d held her head up and smiled at classmates, who had been startled at first before they had smiled back.
She’d felt more comfortable joining a group in the cafeteria and listening to their conversation. She still didn’t talk much, but she listened and smiled and nodded her head in agreement. And she’d laughed more, because she was happy.
When anyone asked if she was going to the prom, she told them she was going with Joe Sanchez just to watch the expressions of amazement on their faces. Joe had quite a reputation around school. He was known for being a little wild and therefore exciting. He didn’t date girls from the school but had been seen from time to time with older girls who lived in town.
Elena and her mother had driven to San Antonio to find her the perfect gown to wear. It was midnight-black and straight, falling to her ankles with a slit to the knee so she could walk. She’d even worn two-inch heels, mostly so that she wouldn’t trip over the hem of her dress. Her mother had helped her with her hair, pinning it high on her head and letting stray curls tumble around her face and neck.
Of course her glasses didn’t help her glamorous image in the least, but without them she was practically blind. But not even having to wear her hated glasses could detract from her joy when Joe Sanchez saw her for the first time tonight.
He looked stunned. He acted stunned. And as the evening progressed, he didn’t let her get more than two feet away from him.
The only time Elena was uncomfortable was about midway through the dance when three of his buddies came up to them and made joking comments that she didn’t understand and that seemed to upset Joe. She asked him about it later when they were out on the dance floor, but he shrugged off her questions, saying his friends were too stupid to bother with.
Joe had begun to relax and enjoy the dance before the guys had shown up. He didn’t know how they’d managed to be here, since they were all dropouts. These were the guys he’d considered friends until last fall when he’d changed his lifestyle by working hard to
