~ Chapter 32 ~
BEING IN THE CAR with Ashley made me uncomfortable, to say the least. When I got in, she was on the phone with Kabelo. He was on the Bluetooth speakers and as soon as I got into the car, Ashley made it super obvious that I was there.
“Hey, Alvin! I’m on the phone with Kabelo.”
I just waved at her but by the look on her face and the silence of Kabelo, I knew they wanted me to greet him. I couldn’t though. Not after everything that happened, I wasn’t ready.
“Hey, Alvin…I called you,” Kabelo said and boy, did the tension thicken.
“Oh, uh, y-you did? When?”
When? He called me almost every day after the incident. Why was I being stupid? I only made it worse for myself.
“A few minutes ago.”
I pulled out my phone and it turned out that he was the one that called me and not Ashley. “Oh.”
That’s all I could get out. Luckily, Ashley ended the awkwardness between me and Kabelo when she went back to her conversation. I just sat there and listened. I listened to his laughs and her laughs, I listened to the words he was speaking and I witnessed how much they made Ashley smile.
I only wondered how much she made him smile on the other side. Did she make him smile harder than me? For a moment, it was almost like I wasn’t there until Ashley asked me if I had to go to the restroom.
I didn’t but I wanted to get out of the car because for half an hour, I was being put through the ultimate torture. I went to the gas station’s bathroom, locked the door and then stared at myself in the stained mirror.
I looked terrible. My eyes sagged, my hair drooped and my frown was nowhere near turned upside down. I thought that by splashing some warm water on my face, I could wash on a facade but nope, I was still a mess, just wet.
I walked out of the bathroom and made myself smile with the thought of food. I bought a bunch of snacks to keep myself busy on the ride and I knew that Ashley was going to want some so I got extra.
“Damn!” Ashley exclaimed as I tossed in my big ass bag of snacks.
I chuckled as I came in after them. “I went a little overboard, I know but it’s worth it.”
She chuckled as she grabbed a bag of chips from my bag. Then she went back to talking to Kabelo. I sighed before I started my binging.
~x~
“Alvin!” Ashley hollered.
I shot up out of my sleep and hot Cheetos flew everywhere. I turned to Ashley and was met with a slap to the forehead.
“You need to clean that up!”
“Oww! You startled me.”
“We’re here so when you finish cleaning up your mess, meet us at the entrance.”
“Okay.”
I unbuckled my seatbelt and crouched down as soon as I saw Kabelo walking to the car. Ashley must have noticed because she snorted before she got out. I heard her happily greet Kabelo and I could hear them giggling and chatting before they walked off.
I huffed as I cleaned up the Hot Cheetos. As soon as I finished, I got out of the car and took a deep breath. Yeah, I was nervous to see Kabelo and be around him but I had to think more positive. I was going to finally meet the girl who was said to be the one and I needed to be excited. I had to turn my nerves into excitement so I did.
Well, I tried.
I got out of the car, closed the door behind me and threw away my bag of Cheetos in the nearest trash bin. Then, I was on my way to the entrance.
I was walking slow but I wanted to walk fast but I couldn’t or maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough. I tried to smile and get myself together for when I seen them all but I couldn’t. I couldn’t ignore the thumping in my chest and the feeling of nerves coursing through my veins.
I was sweating bullets and the sun wasn’t even on me.
When I got to the entrance though, I didn’t see them at first but then I heard a familiar voice call out my name.
“Alvin!” She hollered.
When I turned around, it was Saya. I smiled. I was smiling. She made me smile. “Saya?” I said as if I was asking a question. She walked over to me and I pulled her into a hug. “So you’re my mystery girl?”
She blushed and nodded as she placed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yup. I’m sorry about ditching you on our first date. I wasn’t feeling too well.”
I couldn’t stop smiling and staring at her. “No, it’s fine.” I then glanced over at Kabelo for a moment and from the looks of it, he didn’t seem too happy about me and Saya being together.
I could tell that he was jealous and it only made me want to hug Saya more and I even went as far as to holding her hand as we went to purchase our wristbands to get in. Don’t get me wrong, I did it because I always wanted to hold Saya’s hand because it was Saya. The girl I’d been after since the first time I visited that coffee shop. The girl I loved to make smile, the girl who met all my requirements and probably my parents since she was A, a girl, and B an Asian girl.
She was the perfect girl for me.
And her name was Saya.
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