Boyfriends with Girlfriends (11 page)

“I guess you’ll find out,” Kimiko said with a giggle.

“I need the car this Saturday,” Sergio told his mom and dad over dinner the following night.

“Oh?” his mom asked while serving him rice. “Who are you going out with?”

“Serena. She transferred from Northside. That’s enough.” He stopped his mom from serving him more. “I don’t want to carb out.”

“A new girl?” His dad’s voice perked up. “That’s good news.”

“I’m not really interested in her,” Sergio said, trying to temper his parents’ enthusiasm. “It’s more like a mercy date.”

“You never know,” his mom said, and he thought he saw her lips move in prayer.

When Saturday arrived, she gave him some homemade
churros
to take to Serena, and his dad slipped him a twenty for the date without Sergio even asking for it.

He shared the
churros
with Serena during their drive to the mall, while she talked about all sorts of stuff: how she’d learned to cook stir-fry, and how she missed a deaf friend at her old school, and about a jazz concert she’d gone to. She talked a lot more than Zelda or Lance—a whole lot more—and Sergio felt kind of relieved when the movie finally started.

About fifteen minutes into the film, she slipped her hand into his. But unlike with Lance, his pulse didn’t ratchet up. He didn’t particularly
mind
holding her hand; he just didn’t feel
that way
about her. And during an action sequence, he casually pulled his hand away.

“Did you like it?” she asked after the movie had ended.

“I liked it all right,” he said, standing up to stretch. “And you?”

“Yeah, me too.” As they walked out of the theater, she discussed the different actors, and told him she was writing a screenplay, and explained how she thought screenplays were a lot like poetry.

When they stepped into the lobby, he glanced toward the candy counter. His heart nearly rocketed from his chest. Standing among the snack-buying crowd was Lance, looking as cute as Sergio remembered him—except for the fact he was with some guy.

Was the dude a date? Sergio wanted to say hi to Lance, but not if the guy was a date. That would be too awkward.

Just then, Lance turned in Sergio’s direction. Upon spotting him, he broke into a huge smile.

“Let’s say hi to my friend!” Sergio interrupted Serena and led her toward Lance. “What up, man?”

“Hi,” Lance said, and his glance shifted to Serena, wondering: Was she a friend or a date? Had Sergio gone back to dating girls? Was that why he hadn’t asked him out again? All week long he’d been hoping Sergio would call him, even while he hesitated to make the move himself.

“We just saw the new Tarantino flick,” Sergio said. “What are you guys going to see?”

“The Proposal.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sergio said. “Chick flick, right?”

“Yeah,” Lance said with a bashful grin. “Um . . .” He turned to the guy he was with. “This is my friend, Jamal.”

“Hey,” Jamal said. “How was the Tarantino?” It was the movie he’d wanted to see but Lance had talked him into
The Proposal.

While Serena gave Jamal her rundown of the film, Sergio tried to get a clear vibe about him: Was he a friend-friend of Lance’s or a date-friend? He never considered
that Lance was wondering the same about Serena and him.

He wanted to pull Lance aside and ask:
Why haven’t you called me, man?
But then Lance might ask the same of him. Instead, Sergio smiled awkwardly and Lance smiled awkwardly in return.

Serena finished her movie review and Sergio said, “Well, enjoy the show!”

“Thanks,” Lance said and watched them leave. Where were they going? He wondered: to make out?

“Want some popcorn?” Jamal asked him.

“No, thanks,” Lance mumbled, still watching Sergio.

Sergio peered over his shoulder, wanting to run back and tell Lance, “Hey, call me sometime!”

But not with Jamal there. Instead, he just waved and Lance waved back.

“Do you want to come over to my house for a while?” Serena asked when they got to Sergio’s car.

“Huh?” His mind was still on Lance.

“My parents won’t mind,” Serena said. “They’re cool.” As Sergio drove toward her house, she told him how her parents had met during a high school football game and she was the oldest of three girls, and how the youngest had Down syndrome.

“Sorry to hear it,” Sergio said, half-listening, all the while wishing he’d called Lance after their last date.

“Would you like to come in?” Serena asked when Sergio stopped in front of her house.

“Thanks, but . . .” Even though he’d enjoyed the time
with her, he just wasn’t feeling any hots for her. “. . . Um, I think I’m ready to go home . . . if that’s okay with you.”

“No worries,” Serena said. But she didn’t move to open the door. Instead, she gazed across the seat at him, the quietest she’d been all evening.

He knew what she was waiting for. He wouldn’t have minded kissing her except that it would imply something he didn’t want to imply. On Monday he’d have to face her in school and he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea.

“So . . . ,” she said, making no endeavor to leave, even though he’d left the motor running. “Was that guy in the lobby somebody you went out with?”

“Huh?” Sergio turned to her. “Why do you ask that?”

“I got the vibe. He’s cute. Nice smile. Tall! So, did you two go out?”

“Yeah,” Sergio mumbled, a little embarrassed. “One time.”

“I thought so.” Serena grinned. “Do you have a crush on him?”

“A
crush
?” Sergio shuffled his feet on the floor mat. “No, why?”

“Because your whole face lit up when you saw him. I think he’s got a crush on you, too.”

“You do? What makes you say that?”

“He almost couldn’t take his eyes off you—except when he was trying to figure out who I was.”

“Oh, yeah?” It felt a little weird discussing all this since he hardly knew her. Plus, they were supposedly on a date. Or were they?

“So, was the Jamal guy a date or his boyfriend or something?” Serena asked.

“I’m not sure. I know he doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“Then he’s fair game for you.” Serena gave him a puckish grin. “Call him!” She leaned across the seat, planted a kiss on Sergio’s cheek, and opened the door to get out. “Thanks for a nice evening.”

“Thanks to you, too,” he replied, happy that she wasn’t upset with how their evening had turned out. He waited until she got inside the house and waved goodbye. Then he drove away, his mind returning to Lance. Serena was right: He should call him—and find out his deal with Jamal.

“G
uess what happened?” Lance told Allie over the phone as he headed home from dropping Jamal off. “I ran into Sergio at the movie theater.”

“Oh, yeah?” Allie asked, in the middle of moisturizing before bed.

“Yeah, he was with a girl.
See?
This is the problem with dating someone bi. How am I supposed to know if she was a date or just a friend?”

“Well . . .” Allie rubbed the face cream into her cheeks. “. . . You could ask him.”

“I’m not going to ask him that. I’m still not sure I want to get involved with him.”

“Then why do you care if the girl was a friend or a date?”

Lance thought it over while stopped at a traffic light.

“All right, I’ll call him.” He let out a frustrated groan. “If he doesn’t call me first. So, how was
your
evening?”

“My Saturday night felt a little weird without Chip,” Allie replied. “I went bowling with Megan, Nancy, and Leo. That was fine. But I kept worrying about Chip,
imagining him sitting home alone. I hope he’s okay.”

“He probably went out with his band buddies,” Lance assured her as he turned onto his street. “Question is: Are
you
okay?”

“Yeah. A little sad, but okay. I’m still glad I suggested he and I take a break, to get perspective. You know?”

“Yep,” Lance agreed and pulled into his driveway. “So, pick you up for church tomorrow?”

“Super,” Allie said. “Good night, babe. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Lance whispered.

After hanging up, Allie climbed into bed and reached to turn the lamp off. Across the nightstand, Chip seemed to be staring straight at her from their photo. She turned the picture toward the wall and switched out the light.

Even though Allie and Chip had agreed to take a break, to carry it out at school was a little complicated, especially at lunch, since they both belonged to the same group. Chip still sat beside her, and at times he put his arm around her as though nothing had changed.

“What can I tell him?” Allie asked Lance one afternoon at their lockers. “I still feel guilty about him saying he’ll wait for me.”

“I guess he’s showing you he means it,” Lance said.

Hearing that didn’t help her any. She wasn’t sure what to tell other people, either. When Jenny heard they were taking a break from dating, she pulled Allie aside in the girls’ room.

“What’s going on with you and Chip? Why didn’t
you tell me about it? Is something wrong?” Jenny lowered her voice to a whisper. “Are you seeing someone else?”

“No,” Allie said. “I just need some time to think. That’s all.”

“Well,” Jenny told her, “you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“Thanks,” Allie said, but for now she felt too confused to discuss it with her.

Meanwhile, she continued to chat online with Kimiko.

“I’ve thought about calling her,” Kimiko told Sergio on the bus one day after school. “Maybe she’d want to hang out at the mall or something.”

Kimiko expected Sergio to tease her about the idea but to her surprise, he didn’t.

“Sure,” he muttered, “call her. Why not?”

“You really think I should?” Kimiko asked. Even after the manga convention, she was still skeptical that an A-list girl like Allie would truly want to spend time with her.

“Just do it!” Sergio grumbled. He’d been edgy ever since running into Lance at the movie theater, especially since Lance still hadn’t called him.

That evening, Kimiko closed her bedroom door, jiggled her arms and legs to shake out her nervousness, and dialed Allie’s number.

“Hi!” Allie answered, putting aside her calculus homework. “I was going to call you.”

“You were?” Kimiko asked, adjusting her cap.

“Yeah. Last night I reread
Girl Panic
. I really like it. Oh, and Chip was wowed by the drawing of the girls kissing. Why are straight boys so fascinated by the idea of two girls together?”

“Beats me.” Kimiko pulled her cap off and scratched her head. “Maybe they think two is better than one? Like a harem?”

“Of course I’m no one to talk,” Allie said, “considering that I think the idea of two
guys
making out is hot, hot, hot!”

Kimiko didn’t understand that, either. She put her cap back on and told Allie, “To be honest, I don’t really get why anybody would want to do anything with a guy. I remember the first time I saw a boy’s thing. My mom was giving my little brother a bath, and I thought:
THAT wormy thing is what all the fuss is about?
I burst out laughing.”

“Oh, I think guys’ things are cute.” Allie giggled. “It’s funny how they pop up, like: Boing! There it goes!”

“Well . . .” Kimiko decided to change the subject. “If you liked
Girl Panic
, I can loan you Book Two. Sometimes sequels suck, but these are good.”

“Yeah, I’d love that,” Allie said.

“Okay, well . . .” Kimiko took a breath. “Do you want to, like, hang out sometime? I mean if you’re not too busy—”

“How about Saturday?” Allie said. “In the afternoon? I’ve got a math competition in the morning.”