This Thing Called Love: A Novella ✔️

Thirteen - Leo

I can't go through with it. I try to play it cool, maintaining a polite level of distance, but the guilt is too much to take. There's no way I can let Molly sit in my truck and pretend like I'm indifferent. And the blush that creeps across her cheeks when I comment on her dress tells me how pleased she is that I noticed.

This whole situation sucks.

When I pull up to Uncle Alejandro and Aunt Marisol's Cape Cod Molly's eyes go wide. "This is the party?" she says, observing the dozens of cars lining both sides of the street. "Who'd they invite, the Miami Dolphins?"

I laugh. "Don't let the twins hear you say that. They already think their sixteenth birthday should be observed as a national holiday." I park the truck and kill the engine. "Are you ready?"

"But there are so many people." When Molly turns to me, her face goes pale. "I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Why not? They're going to be your family soon. Don't you want to meet them?"

"Well, yes. But—" She pauses. "I can count my family members on one hand. But yours—yours can fill up the Hard Rock Stadium."

It's an exaggeration, but not by much. I don't know many people with families the size of mine. When the De la Mora's get together—which is more often than not—we're a force to be reckoned with.

Molly sniffles next to me. "What if they don't like me?"

She can't be serious. "They're going to love you."

Molly's fingers inch down the length of Sonny's back. She takes a shaky breath and turns back to the party. It's an outdoor cookout with rectangle tables set up in the side yard next to the house. A mob of happy relatives fill most of the seats and mill around Uncle Alejandro as he barbecues pork on the grill. Like every family gathering, the rhythmic patterns of contemporary salsa music bellow through the speakers parked on the back deck.

As Molly opens the door, she gives me one last look. "Please don't abandon me."

Her desperate expression tugs at my heart. "I won't. I promise."

With a satisfied nod, she hooks Sonny to his leash and hops out of the truck, slinging a lightweight purse over her freckled shoulder. When I meet them on the sidewalk, I once again marvel at how pretty she is. The delicate material of her sundress caresses her curves and ripples around her calves, while her blonde hair spills past her shoulders in golden waves. For the millionth time, I push the thought of how lucky Val is to the back of my mind.

The closer we get to the party, the harder Sonny tugs on the leash. He's bouncing along the sidewalk, tail wagging and lips pulling into his signature grin. "Want me to take him?"

Molly gives me a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Our fingers brush together as she passes over the leash and my muscles spark with the urge to take hold of her hand. It surprises me, but it surprises Molly more, like the jolt really happened and it wasn't just my imagination.

We're still staring at each other, bewildered, when someone calls my name. "Leonardo De la Mora, come give your mother a hug."

I tear my eyes away from Molly and force a good-natured laugh. "Si, Mamá."

Sonny lets out a bark and pulls me toward my mother's waiting arms. She sighs once she has me in her gasp. "Another week safe at work. The good Lord has once again answered my prayers."

"Mamá, I'll be fine. You worry too much."

"It's my job to worry." She smiles when she pulls away. "This must be Molly?"