Miles
Well, this means I have to make a move on her.
As I finish the last rep of my workout, I get up, and take my phone from my bedside table. I go through my contacts list, and I text her:
Miles - hey Ramona, wanna hang out together?
I put my phone down and waited for her to answer.
I check my phone again after two minutes.
No response.
I waited another five minutes.
I check my messages.
No response.
What is taking her so long?
It does not take this long to answer a text.
After ten minutes of boredom, I get a notification from my phone. I quickly get my phone and check her message.
Ramona - Hey! Sorry for not responding sooner. I was finishing up homework and had my phone on Do Not Disturb. Anyway, what time did you think of hanging out? I'm free for the whole day
I text:
Miles - i was thinking around 1 pm. we can get lunch, and after, we can walk around through stores and then get dinner if that sounds okay with your parents
Bubbles appear on my screen, stop for a second, and resume.
Ramona - I asked them, and they said it's all good! Also, am I coming to your house or are you coming to mine?
Miles - i can come to yours
Ramona - Sweet, it's a date!
Hold on, did she say it's a date?
I was supposed to say that not her.
Bruh.
Ramona - Oop, that slipped out of nowhere. Uhm, would you like it to be a date?
I can feel her being nervous through the screen.
Don't judge me, I know.
Miles - i would like it to be a date, I hope that's cool with your parents
Ramona - I'm pretty sure my parents like you anyway. You have made my parents love you at this point, lol.
That is, score one for me and score zero for Kaleb.
Take that Kaleb.
Miles - that's good for me, right? At least, I won't be attacked by a slipper.
Ramona - Haha, very funny. Maybe you will :)
That was out of pocket.
Miles - wow, I'm offended
Ramona - You should be lol
Damn, feisty much?
Miles - damn, who hurt you
Ramona - My feelings
That got dark quickly.
Miles - uhm, do you want to talk about it?
Ramona - I'll tell you later, I'm much more mysterious that way, lol
Miles - okay, fine with me
Ramona - I'll see you at 1!
Miles - see you then :)
I turn my phone off and go downstairs. I walk into the kitchen area to see my mama cooking.
"Hey Miles, have you finished your homework?" She asks me, giving me a look.
"No... but I'll do it tomorrow," I say in a hopeful tone.
"Tomorrow is Monday." She states.
Damn it.
"Okay, I'll do it right now." I give in and go back upstairs to finish homework.
■ □ □ □ ■
After two hours, I finished my homework. Then, I go back downstairs to tell my mama and Uncle Aaron the news.
I go to the living room, and I catch my mama and Uncle Aaron watching a sports game.
"I have something to tell you guys," I tell them as they bring their attention toward me.
"You broke your punching bag?" Uncle Aaron interjects.
"No, I asked Ramona out on a date today," I replied. My mom looks at me with great joy in her eyes and hugs me.
"¡Oh, esto es asombroso! ¡Deberíamos conocerla! ¡Espera, cena! ¡Podemos cenar en casa todos juntos! ¡Esto es genial!" My mom exclaims with excitement as she gives me the plans later in the evening.
"That's great, ma," I say with a genuine tone as I pat her back.
I hope Ramona is okay with having dinner here.
My ma does make great food.
They're perfect every single time.
"Wonderful, you've gotten your mom high." Uncle Aaron states.
"Don't say it that way. She's just happy for me in a sense." I claim as Uncle Aaron sighs and goes to his room to redesign his old clothing.
■ □ □ □ ■
I get dressed into my favorite purple hoodie and green jacket over it with some black pants and black Nikes.
I grab my wallet and shove it in my right pocket and I spray cologne a little bit onto my clothing.
Then, I go to my mama so she can braid my hair.
I check the time to see it is 12:55 pm.
"Ma, I'm heading out," I say to my mama as she hugs me.
"You be good to her." That's all she says and I leave the house and walk to Ramona's house.
She told me her house wasn't far and I remember where it was to be precise.
In five minutes, I reach her apartment and I ring the doorbell. After ten seconds, the door reveals Ramona in a purple blouse with green jeans and Converse shoes. In her right hand, she's holding a black North Face jacket.
Woah.
She finally chose the right colors, first of all.
"Do I look bad?" Her expression changes into a worried look and starts getting nervous.
"No, no, no. You look beautiful."
Finally, I admit myself that I have fallen for her.
She looks absolutely phenomenal.
Her expression changes into a joyful mood and a shade of pink covers her face.
She closes the door and walks with me to find a restaurant for lunch.
"Oh look, we're matching! Purple and green." Ramona points to my outfit and to hers.
"Oh yeah, that's funny," I say with a chuckle.
"Oh and before I forget, you'll have dinner with us in the evening. My mom insisted." I explain.
"Cool! I can't wait to meet your family." She replies, giving me a big smile.
Her smile is just so... adorable.
"So, what college do you want to get into?" I ask her out of curiosity.
"Columbia University. It's also near so I wouldn't have to go out of the city." She states.
"What about you? Where do you want to go?" She inquires.
"Fordham University, my mom has always wanted me in private schools. So, I just go with the flow." I answer her.
"That's nice." She comments.
We're now past the apartments and into the road of buildings.
I press the walk button and we wait for the sign to show.
"How long have you lived here?" She asks me another question.
"Since I was born, basically," I respond.
"That's a long time."
"What about you?" I ask her.
"Well, I was in Puerto Rico for ten years and I came here when I was fifteen years old to start high school. So two years." She explains her life story.
The sign changes to walk and we walk to the other side.
Wait, she came here when my dad died.
That is such a weird coincidence.
We finally found a restaurant as we were walking, we placed a table of two for ourselves, and the waiter walked us to our table.
Our waiter gives us the menu and I look through the list of meals to eat.
Out of nowhere, I bring up the mysterious question that Ramona recalled in her text message, "So why were your feelings hurting you?"
I can tell her facial expression hardened, then relaxed.
She puts down the menu and speaks the unknown, "Mid-June two years ago, I witnessed the death of my sister, Camila."
Immediately, my heart drops down to the floor.
"Today, she would be in her sophomore year in high school. I just miss her in general. Her laugh. Her kindness towards others. Such a beautiful soul to have around with." Then, she pulls out her phone and scrolls through her camera roll and she finds a photo and shows it to me.
Ramona is on the right eating vanilla ice cream while Camila is on the left eating a handful of chocolate ice cream and staining her face. They were outside by a park.
"She was also a wild goose chase." She laughs at another picture that she remembers. She showed me the photo.
Ramona is running away from Camila in a green field.
She puts her phone away and says, "All that matters is now that she is with God."
"I bet she was an amazing sibling to have, and I bet she still loves you to this day," I state.
Ramona smiles at my comment and takes my hand in hers. "Thank you, Miles. That is really sweet and kind of you."
I bring her hand towards me, and I kiss her hand gently, and I wrap my hand around hers.
After that sappy moment, we ordered our food. She ordered a Quesadilla, and I got Enchiladas. We talked about other things like Marvel, Star Wars, books, and video games.
I think I'll have an amazing life with her.
Woah, what?
Miles, calm down. We're not there yet.
After five minutes, we got our meals, and we ate in silence as there was jazz music in the background.
After twenty minutes, we finished our food and our waiter gave us the bill. As Ramona gets her wallet, I've already paid and given the amount and handed it to the waiter.
The waiter walked away with the bill and Ramona gets her wallet just in time for her to realize the waiter already left.
"Oh, I was going to pay."
"It's okay, I did," I reassured her.
"You didn't have to."
"I did anyway." I smiled at her.
She smiles in appreciation. We decided to leave the restaurant. We gather our belongings, and we walk to the exit, and I hold the door for Ramona.
Ladies first.
We hit the cool breeze wind as we stepped outside.
"Dang, the wind is in a mood today," Ramona states as she wears her jacket that she's been holding on to.
"No shit Sherlock." I abruptly say.
Her facial expression turned into a shocked expression as I had said that.
"Oh, are you not cool with my cursing?" I question her.
"No, no. You can say what you want. I just thought that was out of nowhere." Ramona reassures me, giving me her usual big smile.
"Okay, cool."
We both walk into a clothing brand store, and we look at interesting clothing.
"Don't get lost," I warn Ramona before she goes into the void of clothes.
"I won't." She gives me a heartening smile as she leaves me alone.
■ □ □ □ ■
Author's Note: Heyyy!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this one! This was by far the longest chapter I've written, lol. Also, a heads up, chapter 42 will be the last chapter! Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
Question of the Day: What is your favorite moment in this chapter? :D