Last Kiss Goodbye • Teenage Juice Ortiz

20 - An Unexpected Twist

Edited

THE PAST

Juan had pictured the evening going differently. At least he hadn't expected that his date would be so persistent that she barely let him breathe. Twice now, she had tried to kiss him; both times the message that he didn't want her, didn't seem to land. Actually, if he was being honest he just wanted to push her to the side, but he kept thinking about June's words. He had meant what he had said; that he wasn't like his brother, but now it was making him feel compelled to stay with Anna. But his thoughts weren't with the girl at all. Again and again his eyes were looking for June, searching for her in the crowd. She looked so beautiful tonight, the dress made her look so good. He kept imagining she was the one he was holding, but that daydream burst quickly every time.

Anna and June were nothing alike.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Being disrupted from his thoughts, he looked aside. He felt overwhelmed as he looked at Jordy, who had also put a hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Hey missy, can I borrow this handsome guy from you for a while?"

"No," Anna snapped. "Go find your own date."

Juan suppressed a sigh, wondering why the hell his brother had brought him this date. She was good looking, but that was the only positive thing he could think of.

"Anna..." he said, hesitating. "We don't have to dance together the whole night, right? You could go talk and dance with other people; you're outgoing enough to do that, right?"

She squeezed her eyes in frustration as her brows crinkled. "You really want me to go? Because of this parrot over here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "We can meet up again later?"

The idea of dancing with Jordy made him a little nervous – he never knew what to think of that girl. But she was June's best friend, so there was a chance that her attention had something to do with her. His eyes fluttered through the room to see where she was. It felt like a stone was descending in his stomach when he saw that she was dancing with Rodey again. He didn't trust the guy at all. For the first half hour he had seen them dancing, the footballer had sent him some provoking looks, all with a smug smile plastered across his lips. As if he knew June had turned him down.

The whole evening Juan had been afraid that the boy would take advantage of June's insecurities. Aside from the fact that he just couldn't take his eyes off her due to how beautiful she looked tonight, Rodey was his biggest concern. He wanted to make sure the guy wasn't crossing any boundaries, especially if June wasn't confident enough to show him when he stepped over a line, like the time Emilio had wrapped his arm around her.

Suddenly Anna let go of him, jarring him from his thoughts. She glared at Jordy, who just smirked and swung her arms around his neck. A sweet scent surrounded him, too sweet for his taste. She was wearing a green dress in a leopard print; it weirdly matched with her hair, since she had shaved part of her hair off and painted leopard spots in its place.

"When are you going to ask my friend to dance?" she asked.

A bit ashamed, Juan dropped his eyes. Despite his intention to ask June, he still lacked the courage. He was too afraid to mess things up again; that he would step on her dress or would cause her to stumble. He wanted to spare her the humiliation of being with him.

"You don't dare, do you?"

He shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

Jordy laughed. "Oh, you're such a cute couple! Both so hopelessly in love!"