The Mail Boy

Chapter 3

"Remember, try to be home before the carriage turns back into a pumpkin," Mom told me as I grabbed my purse from the kitchen counter.

"I'll try, but only if Price Charming lets me leave that soon," I winked. Mom laughed and kissed me on the cheek.

"Have fun, dear," she said. I smiled and grabbed my keys, hopping out the door and to my car. I started the engine turned the radio up, pulling out of my driveway.

"I've got them moves like Jagger. I've got them moves like Jagger. I've got them mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-oves like Jagger!" I sang at the top of my lungs in a horribly off-pitch voice. I nodded my head along to the beat of the song as I drove the short distance to Maya's house.

When I got there, I parked in the drive way and then hopped out of the car, fixing my dress and checking my teeth in the side mirror to make sure there wasn't any lip color on them. When I was satisfied with my appearance, I went up to the front door. I rang the doorbell. Behind the rippled glass window of the front door, I saw a shadow approaching the door to open it.

I blushed when I saw who it was.

Jake.

He opened the door, a warm smile on his face.

"Hey, Vicky," he said as I stepped inside. I blushed further. Jake was the only person that called me Vicky. I personally hated the nickname. I preferred Tori. But Jake could call me Butt-Face for all I cared, as long as he addressed me.

"Hi Jake!" I replied brightly as he shut the door behind me.

I was right. He was tanned. The slight orange-ish tint to his skin made his blue eyes shine even more, making them more noticeable.

"How are you?" he asked, smiling kindly at me.

"I'm well," I replied. "What about you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I'm still fighting off jet lag, so if I fall asleep during dinner, you'll know why," he said, winking at me. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Jake! Stop flirting mercilessly with my friend!" I heard Maya yell. She appeared in the hallway, looking pretty as always in a white and blue floral cotton summer dress.

"I can't help it. She's just so darn fanciful," Jake said in mock Southern accent. I knew he was kidding around, but I felt my cheeks burn anyway.

"Well, isn't he just a doll?" I replied, in a similar fake Southern-belle accent. He chuckled, the laugh reaching his gorgeous eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Real cute," Maya said, rolling her eyes. She took my hand and we all walked into the large kitchen. Maya's mother was cooking something that smelled delicious.

"Hi Maria," I said when I entered the kitchen.

"Tori, sweetie! I'm so glad you could make it!" Maria, Maya's mother, exclaimed. She extended out an arm and pulled me into a warm, motherly embrace. I smiled and nodded at the salsa that she was stirring in the pan.

"That smells amazing," I said.

"Family recipe," she winked.

Maya's mother was from Nicaragua. She was a gorgeous Latina, with pale olive colored skin and dark brown hair that her children inherited. Maya's father was originally from Germany, hence Maya and Jake's blue eyes.

"Did you need help with anything?" I asked.

"Oh, that's all right, mi hija," Maria said, patting my cheek with her free hand. "Maya! Jake! You should take a lesson from Tori. She's so helpful and kind," she called out to her children.