Locked Out of Spring Break (REWRITING)

Chapter 5: Smacking Butts

Here you go! 

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Luciana's mouth dropped, as my face reddened. 

"He should've kissed your lips instead."

My face became a deeper crimson. "He won?" 

"Well, he's your boyfriend now."

"He beat me," I mutter.

She waves her hand in front of my face. "Hello? He's all yours." 

"He actually won."

She flicks my ear, gaining my attention. "He's your boyfriend now," she repeats again.

"Not for a good reason," I remind, "I didn't even agree to it."

"But, your heart did," Luci remarks, "You know you want him." 

I almost make a face at her, but I stop myself. "The same way you want Ken?" 

She groans, "Shut up." 

"He loves you and you love him," I taunt. 

She sighs, sniffing the perfume. 

"That perfume sure looks expensive."

"It has to be," she sprays some into the air, inhaling it. "Look at how fancy the box looks." 

I babble, "I know that was worth a lot of hours at Grammerdom's." 

"He has a part-time job?" she asks, curiously. 

"Two part-time jobs actually," I respond, "He also works at Gante Deli too and as a student-aide at this school. So, I guess he pretty much has three jobs."

Her eyes grow big. "Three?" 

"It's all to support his family." 

"Isn't he rich?" 

I shake my head. "No, Luci. He lives with his single mom, three younger brothers and a sister." 

She guiltily eyes the perfume. "And why would he buy me this expensive gift? It looks like it cost hundreds of dollars." 

"$400 to be exact." She shoots me a look of astonishment. "What? I saw it at Wynter Express, when my aunt forced me to go inside with her."

"He went in a store like that?" She gapes at the perfume. "It must have been weird going into a girly store like that, with the bras and lingerie at every corner." She punches my arm. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before I went all bitch-mode on him?" 

I shrug. "I didn't know he would buy something like that for you and it's not my fault you judged him. Also, it's your job to find out important things like that about him yourself." 

"Can you blame me though?" she exclaims, taking a bite from her banana. "He has excellent grades, great attendance, name brand clothes—"

"That he works for," I remind. "Why were you so cold to him, Luci? Are you trying to make him hate you?" 

She breaks eye contact and sighs deeply. "His name is Ken for a reason, right?" 

"So you are," I conclude. 

"I'm telling you right now, Rico," she starts, "He would get hurt much worse if we were to be in a relationship and he met my family."

"That's only if you let him."

"Rico, you don't understand." She adds, "Remember when you met them?"

"Yeah. They seemed—"

"They said, 'Don't you even think about dating that boy,'" she imitates her parent's deep Indian accents. "Then I spent almost twenty minutes trying to explain to them that you're only my best friend and that you're gay. "