Have You Ever Been In Love?

Natalia

Alexander arrives at exactly 4:25 pm at the coffee shop. I didn't have time to take a shower, so I just splashed on body spray, applied mascara, and reddish lip gloss. I had some running around to do on campus after my last class. I met with the staff so I could ask for a tutor. I already sense I am going to suck in my Statistics class. Better safe than sorry prompted me to ask for a math tutor.

I did my 5 minutes of make up here, in the bathroom, since I was early. And I bought a papaya-mango smoothie and drank it while waiting for Alexander.

He sees me sitting here and I wave as I stand up to meet him. Alexander is wearing the same clothes from this morning too. Good! That makes me feel better about myself. Not that it matters, this is not a stupid date, I keep reminding myself!

I greet him with a "hey". "Hi again", he says, a little nervous. "Shall we?" I ask him, pointing to the door. "Ah, sure", he says while following me. 

We walk towards the bus stop on this side of campus… in awkward silence.

"So", I finally say, piercing the disturbing silence between us, "we are going to take the bus to get to my buddy's house. He lives downtown with his parents. We practice there because it is the closest place for all of us to meet. Everyone else lives by the beach houses on the other side of the city... and there are no buses heading that way", I say sarcastically. 

"Oh. I have never taken the bus before", Alexander says to me with a serious tone that implies this is somehow supposed to be news to me. I snort. "Really?" 

He senses my sarcasm and shakes his head while I grin. Then, his facial expression softens and he smiles. 

When we get to the bus stop, I see there are a few students waiting too. They all look at the two of us together and I can see their minds trying to make sense of the both of us pairing up. Alexander looks so alien here, compared to most of us, common middle-class working people. In my experience, the people who take the bus here are either young employees of the university, exchange students from abroad and broke people who are able to be here thanks to a scholarship or benefactor, like me.

Alexander shifts uncomfortably, looking at his expensive watch. "It will be here in 10 minutes." I assure him. "Don't worry, you are safe with me", I whisper the last comment to him. He gives me a skeptical look and says "oh, I'm not sure about that, Natalia, I don't suppose you were able to fit your sword and guns in your handbag." I smirk and lean into him to whisper in his ear this time.

His scent hits my nostrils. Man, he smells good! 

"I carry a taser at all times", I whisper in his ear. Alexander flinches and I laugh. I guess he wasn't expecting me to get so near him. He shakes his head, and I can see his cheeks turning a shade of pink. "Okay, believe it or not that makes me feel a lot better." 

His cell phone rings and he answers it, stepping aside a little so he can talk privately.

"I have some things to take care of, like I already told you", he says on the phone. Alexander sighs and then, sounding irritated, he ends the call with a bye. He walks my way to stand next to me and he presses his lips, looking at me with embarrassment written on his face. "Sorry", he says to me, and I don't even know why he is apologizing in the first place. 

"Girlfriend problem?" I ask, raising my eyebrows, with a smirk on my face. He sighs and turns his face the other way, so he doesn't have to look at me. "Ah... well, I wouldn't say girlfriend anymore... but yeah, definitely girl problem."

I'm actually surprised he decided to confide in me, especially when I was only joking to begin with. Without any regard for his discomfort, I stand in front of him, forcing him to make eye contact with me instead of avoiding my face. "You mean after-break-up girl-problem? Like, we need to talk, fix things, kind of problem?" Alexander's lips form a half smile while he looks into my eyes. 

"Exactly that kind of problem", he admits, looking around us and getting uneasy. I can tell he doesn't like discussing his private matters in a public place, even though we are surrounded by strangers, so I drop the subject.

The noise of the bus' engine breaks through the voices of the group next to us, interrupting our sudden silence and the many curious thoughts in my head about Alexander's recent break up.

"Good, the bus is coming", he says to me, looking a little excited or anxious, I can't tell. Once the bus stops, I join the line to get on the bus and Alexander follows behind me. When I get in, I show my pass to the bus driver and then, I pay for Alexander.

Alexander looks confused after the transaction and I keep walking and pick a spot for us to sit down in the middle of the bus. I sit by the window and Alexander sits next to me. "Why didn't you tell me we had to pay for the bus?" I look at him and smile. "Relax, it was only a couple bucks. Anyway, you paid for my breakfast this morning." He relaxes and smiles, resting his head on the back of our seat.

We sit in silence for a few minutes until Alexander's cell phone starts vibrating in his pocket. 

"Aren't you going to answer that?" He closes his eyes in agony and answers "I know who that is and I don't want to keep talking to her." He breathes in slowly and exhales, while getting his cellphone out. I look at his phone and see the name flashing on his screen, Bay, it says... no picture for the contact, just her name. 

He ends the call without answering it and then shuts off his phone. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, nervously, not wanting to intrude, but at the same time desperate for him to confide in me some more. He seems like he wants to talk about it, but he doesn't look at me, instead, he looks straight up front. 

There are not many people around us and everyone is in their own little world, some even have their headphones on. 

Alexander nods and begins to tell me about his problem. "She asked me where our relationship was heading and I told her I didn't know. So she got upset and said we should take a break to find out what I wanted. Well, she's not giving me much of a break when she keeps blowing up my phone and dropping by my house all the time. I mean, it doesn't get more uncomfortable than to have her at every event that involves my family!" 

"Yikes…" I say, thinking of how odd his situation must be. "Yeah, she's the daughter of a very influential attorney in the city, and he is very much involved in my stepfather's campaign", Alexander feels the need to explain. 

"Well that's awkward", I say to him. "How long were you two together?" He thinks for a second and says "forever... too long, like 5 years? I don't even know, we have known each other since high school. I think we started dating in our senior year." 

"A high school sweetheart. That's a long time indeed!" I say to him and he looks at me. "Right? Indeed it is." I smile and he smiles back. Then, he looks away again. "Was Bay your first girlfriend?" I dare to ask. He looks at me again and says "serious girlfriend, yes. Too serious, too young, if you ask me." He looks down after admitting what I think he hasn't said out loud to anyone, by the looks of it.

I tilt my head and say "well, not if you two were really in love. It happens, you know?" Alexander looks at me, curiously. "See, that's the thing. I have never felt that crazy about her, about anyone. Our relationship was more of a convenience. An almost calculated match. We just... Well, it made sense. My family likes her family and we were always stuck with each other."

I laugh, interrupting his sad explanation of their love match.

"I'm sorry, but it sounds depressing, like you were trapped in the relationship." He looks at me a little surprised, his mouth opens up to talk but instead he ends up chuckling. "No, not really, it wasn't like that", he tries to explain.

Alexander fails miserably at his attempt to fix what he said, but he can't shake up how bad the description of his relationship sounded. It takes him a little bit to elaborate, especially since we both can't stop laughing. 

"We were good together", he affirms. It was a smart relationship. We never did any of the stupid things that people who claim to be mad in love do. We have always made rational decisions and it worked fine until she decided to pressure me, questioning our relationship in the future."

I laugh again.

"Do you hear yourself? Oh my goodness! I sure don't want anyone expressing themselves like that about me and my relationship with them, not even my friends. I take it you have never been in love." Alexander stares into my eyes and says "honestly... no. I must say no. How about you, Miss Díaz? Have you ever been in love?" His eyes are fixed on mine and I get nervous. 

"I have... a long time ago", I answer. "Where did that get you? Let me rephrase my question. Was it worth the experience or do you regret it?" I look at our surroundings, outside the bus, breaking eye contact with Alexander. "Oh shoot, we need to get off the bus on the next block!" I blurt out immediately, pulling the cord above us, to signal the bus driver we need to get off the bus promptly. 

"Stand up, we have to start walking to the front of the bus", I instruct Alexander in a rush. "Come on, come on", I insist. "The bus is still moving!" He says to me, looking confused, but still obeying me.

I laugh and say "so! Like the driver is going to wait for your majesty so he can gently stop at your request and then simply stay in idle while you take your precious time to get up and walk out! Rich people", I mumble under my breath. 

I sigh while pushing Alexander and holding on to his shoulders so he can start walking. 

"Sorry", he says as he finally starts moving. We make it to the front and the bus stops at the block I always get off at. The bus driver opens the doors and I say "thanks", following Alexander, who is now catching on to the next step, actually getting off the bus. 

"Wow, that was an adventure!" Alexander says to me, grinning as we get off the bus. "I'm glad you think so", I say sarcastically, as we reach the sidewalk. "Do you have to do this almost every day?" He asks. "Yup. It's really not that bad. It's your fault we almost missed our block." "What? How is that my fault?" He asks, looking a little offended. "Cause, you distracted me", I say to him, while leading the way to my friend's neighborhood. 

"Oh, yeah... that reminds me, you never answered my question." I stay quiet and pretend to have forgotten what he asked me. He stops in front of me, getting in my way so I can't continue walking. I try to pass him, but he keeps blocking me. "Stop teasing me!" I say, trying my best not to smile.

"Nope, we are not moving until you answer me. It's not fair that you got all that insight into my love life and I can't even get an answer from you", he says, standing way too close from me. "Love life? You call your relationship that? Wow, I got news for you, there was not an inch of love in the tragic story you call love life, Mr. Bailey."

I laugh as I try to squeeze myself through his arms, but I don't succeed. 

We look like we are playing basketball and he is doing a hell of a job at guarding me. Alexander traps me in his arms and I find myself pressed against his chest. I stare at him nervously and he turns red, instantly regretting what he just did. "I'm sorry", he says, letting me go. I catch my breath once he lets me go and I try to change the subject by saying my friend's house shouldn't be far from here. 

"We are getting closer to the house. Our band practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 pm, every week. It works well with my work schedule", I say quickly, trying to talk away the awkwardness between us until I finally run out of things to say. From then on, we walk in silence the rest of the way and just before we reach my friend's driveway, I turn to look at him and say "no, I don't regret falling in love, even if it was with the wrong person." 

He stares at me, surprised I finally decided to share that with him. "Thanks for sharing… finally." Alexander says with a smile.

I can see the garage doors already open. Alexander follows me as I walk through the driveway. 

"We practice in the garage because Antonio's parents are rarely home", I explain. They travel a lot for business, so he has the house for himself most of the time. Well, his younger sister also stays here. She's a Freshman in college." 

"Hi guys", I greet my friends as we enter the garage. Most of the crew is already here. "Hey Nat, I see you brought a stray cat with you today", Andre says pointing with his drum sticks towards Alexander. "This is Alexander Bailey. Alexander, that would be Andre." 

Alexander shakes Andre's hand and I point to Antonio. "This is Antonio, our host and guitarist." "Hey, how's it going, man?" Antonio greets Alexander and they shake hands too. "This is our bass player, Ishmael", I continue to introduce Alexander to our band. "Nice meeting you, bro." "Likewise", Alexander says. "And... Well, I suppose we are waiting for Chris, the keyboardist and vocalist." 

"Technically it is not 5pm yet", Alexander points out to me. Everyone looks at him and some of us smile. "I guess you're right", I say. 

"Hey, man, I've seen you before", Andre says to Alexander. "Where have I seen you?" Alexander smiles. "Maybe on the news?" "Holy crap, this is the mayor candidate's son.... um... What's his name? You know, the one with the commercial where he is with his wife... the hot Asian lady and him?" He points at Alexander.

I can see Alexander getting embarrassed. His face is red. He lowers his head and looks at the floor, while saying "Mike Peterson. I am his stepson... and the hot Asian lady is my mom." He corrects Andre. 

"Dang, Andre, you just keep on making good impressions", I say, giggling, but empathizing with Alexander.

"That's you, right?" He asks excitedly as he sings the short jingle of the so-called commercial, "Cause Family comes first!" Andre finishes singing the song. "Right... That's me!" Alexander says laughing. "I'm sorry about your mom, but man, she is... wow, a very attractive lady. Your stepdad is super lucky." Alexander laughs at Andre's out of line compliment and says "thank you".

A car approaches and I see Chris pulling in and parking in the driveway. He turns off the engine and gets out of his car. "Wow, you made it on time!" Antonio yells, giving him crap cause he is always running a few minutes late. "Yeah, let's roll", Chris says while staring at me. 

"Hi Chris." I say. "What's up? Who's this?" He asks, referring to Alexander without even looking at him. As I try to introduce both of them, Chris laughs and says "I'm just messing with you, I already know this is Mike Peterson's stepson and I also know about your weird assignment." He smirks and winks at me. 

"Taylor?" I ask. "Yeah, thank God for little sisters, they tend to spill the beans".

I roll my eyes at him and he extends his hand to Alexander. "Nice having you, man." Alexander shakes his hand and then Chris takes his place at the keyboard. 

Everyone is on their designated spot and I walk to stand in front of the microphone.

"Alexander, I say onto the microphone. You can pull a chair from there and sit down." I point at the chairs piled up by the door that leads inside of the house from the garage. He nods at me, but just stares, with his arms crossed in front of him, as if he was some band recruiter ready to see if we really have talent. "Or not", I say to him.

He smiles at me, and Andre hits his drum sticks signaling us to commence the practice. The guys start playing and I sing. Chris sings along with me in some parts and we look at each other when he does it. We always have fun when we perform, and practice is no different. It's all about the fun for us. That's why we came together in the first place, that and the appreciation for music.

By the time we finish performing, Alexander, who had chosen to sit on one of the chairs I had pointed out earlier, is now standing up, clapping and cheering. The sight of him praising our rehearsal satisfies me greatly, more than it should, if I am being completely honest.

I get together with the guys to make some final changes on the songs and then, I say my goodbyes. 

"Alright, we can head back to school now", I tell Alexander. "That was incredible! You guys sounded great!" He says to me, excitedly. "Thank you!" I say shyly. 

"Nice meeting you guys!" Alexander waves at my friends and they all wave back, but Chris. 

"Yeah!" "Don't be a stranger." "Get home safe", they say to him.

As we walk out of the garage Chris' eyes burn on me. He watches me walk beside Alexander, and I turn my face the other way so I don't have to feel things.

Alexander and I continue walking until we get out of the neighborhood. 

"So, now we head to the same bus stop?" Alexander asks, interrupting my many thoughts and images of Chris looking at me like he wanted me to explain myself to him, and give me a ride, like he usually does... and who knows what else. 

"Yeah, we stand there and wait about 5 to 15 minutes for the bus to arrive, depending on how early or late the buses are running."

We walk in silence to our destination. At the bus stop, Alexander looks at his watch and then at me. "Wow, time really flies when I am with you, it's crazy!" I smile and get a little embarrassed. I can feel my cheeks getting hot as I remember the way I felt being trapped in his arms. The way his hard chest felt on mine.

My stomach growls loud and I get more embarrassed. "Oh-oh, someone is hungry!" Alexander says to me, mocking me. Yes I am, it is past 6 o'clock. I shove his shoulder and he laughs. "What was that for? I'm simply pointing out the obvious. There's no need to attack me. I will not fight you, Miss I-always-carry-a-taser." 

I laugh and he stares at me seriously now. The sudden change in his playful behavior confuses me. It almost seems like Alexander is studying me while I stare back at him.

"What happened between Chris and you? Is that the guy you fell in love with?" He surprises me with the intruding question. "I can see something is bothering you", he adds. "No, Chris is not the guy, but you are right, there was a little fling between us last Winter." Alexander is still staring at me. "Hmm, I can tell it's not over, at least for him", he says without breaking eye contact.

The bus gets here and we get in. Alexander makes sure he gets in first so he can pay for himself. I shake my head and smile seeing how proud of himself he is at the fact he is learning this new system. He picks a spot in the middle and sits by the window, padding the empty space on the seat, jokingly inviting me to sit next to him. 

"Well, well, well…Who are you, Mr. Bailey?" He shrugs and says "life has changed me these past two days." I laugh hysterically and snort. Alexander laughs and makes fun of my snorting.

"In all seriousness, I'm learning a lot from you… So, thank you", he says, looking at me with those gorgeous, intense, black eyes and his sexy smile planted on that perfect face of his. Oh, no... crap! Cut it out Natalia, don't you dare fall for this guy. Never forget what guys like him can do to girls like you!

"What are you thinking?" Alexander asks. "Nothing!" I say too quickly, sounding unnatural, almost suspicious. He looks out the window and says "liar". I stay quiet and my stomach growls again. He chuckles, then looks at me. "Alright, that's it, Missy! I am taking you out to eat once we get back to campus, and you can't say no. If you say no I would be deeply offended, because I know you are super hungry. Besides, I am hungry too. Also, dinner is on me, and I better not hear a thing about it. Okay?" 

"Okay", I say, accepting his invitation. Alexander gives me a victorious look. "Shut up!" I yell. He smiles. "I'm not even talking!" "Aha... I hear you loud and clear Mr.!" Alexander laughs. "Really? What am I saying?" He asks, challenging me. I study him and he stares back at me. He is making me nervous… and I hate that he is making me nervous! 

"You are saying: Yeah, that's what I thought!" 

Alexander grins, biting his lips and nods. "And she can read minds, ladies and gentlemen", he says, sarcastically. I look at his lips and the way he bites them. "Tell me I'm wrong", I dare to say. "You are not", he admits... and we both look away grinning while we ride in silence the rest of the way.