"Hey," he greets me happily. It appears as though he'd changed into a decorative, short sleeve button up and a pair of light blue jeans. He tosses his work clothes into the backseat and tousles his hair. Offering me a large smile, he puts on his seatbelt and places his phone into an open spot between us.

"Hi," I mumble dryly and he furrows his eyebrows.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, trying to sound a bit more cheerful. "Just hungry."

"I know just the spot," he  assures me. He pulls out of the parking spot and drives in the direction of the mystery location. His phone lights up and I look at him to see if he noticed. His eyes are trained on the road.

"You got a text," I inform him, knowing I should just mind my business and keep my eyes locked on the passing trees.

"From who?" he asks and I give him an irritated look.

"Are you sure I won't see something I don't want to see?" I retort and he furrows his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" he questions.

"Nothing," I say as I grab his phone and look at the notifications. "It's from Elena."

"What does it say?" he asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"'It's Elena. Here's my number, just so you have it,'" I read out and he nods. I put his phone down a bit harder than intended and he glances at me as we reach a stoplight.

"Are you okay?" he repeats and I nod.

"I'm fine," I tell him. "Do you want me to text her back for you?"

"So you can throw my phone across the car? No thanks," he mumbles. "Besides, what could I possibly reply to that?"

"I don't know," I reply quietly. "Maybe you want to start a conversation with her. She thinks you're cute, by the way."

"What? How do you even know that?" he questions me in utter confusion. He glances at me shortly as he grips the steering wheel with one hand. The other rests on his leg comfortably.

"She asked if I know you outside of working next door, to which I replied that we're friends, then she said 'just friends?' I said yes. I asked if she knows you outside of work and she said no but that you're nice and I said that you're cute and she agreed," I explain in a long huff.

"Wait, wait, wait..." he trails as he squints at the road as if replaying what I said in his head. "You think I'm cute?" A grin spreads across his face and I roll my eyes and drag my hands down my face.

"That's not the point!" I retort. "She thinks you're cute."

"That's not the point," he corrects me. "You think I'm cute."

"We're not talking about me! We're talking about her!" I respond.

"Why are we even talking about her?" he queries.

"Because she thinks you're cute," I snap.

"Why aren't we talking about you? You think I'm cute," he retorts.

"Because I said we're not," I state firmly.  "The topic under discussion is that she thinks you're cute."

"I don't care," he replies. "She could think I'm drop dead hot and I wouldn't care."

"Whatever," I sigh. "I mean, you care enough to get her number."

"First of all, it was her idea. Second of all, it's only so we can trade shifts if we need to," he explains. "Are you jealous?"

"No," I reply as I sink back in my seat as my face reddens. Of course I'm jealous. She's so pretty and petite and girlish and she just looks like the type of girl I could see Diego with.

"You're so jealous," he laughs loudly.

"I'm not!" I retort.

"Yeah, you are!" he continues to laugh.

I cross my arms and glare out the window. His fits of laughter turn into chuckles as we pull into a parking lot. He looks at me and smiles. "I hope you're in the mood for pizza."

Pizza does sound delicious. I get out of the car and follow him as he leads the way to the small restaurant. "You get to build your own pizza pie," he explains. I give him a fleeting glance as I watch him start the process. By the time he's finished, a small pizza is going into the oven and he is staring at it excitedly. It's my turn and I speak in short bursts, picking the plainest pizza possible.

Our pizzas finish around the same time and are delivered to us on silver pans. We pick out sodas and sit down to eat. I stare at my food and Diego nudges my foot with his. I ignore it. He kicks it again and I continue to disregard him. "Come on, please don't be mad at me," he pleads and I sigh.

"I'm not mad at you," I explain. "I'm mad at myself."

"Why?" he asks.

"Because you're right!" I respond as I lift up a slice of pizza and take a huge bite. I chew it angrily and he watches me patiently. I take a large sip of my drink. "I am jealous. And I don't know why."

"I mean, I have an idea why," he says with a shrug. I can tell he's enjoying this entire conversation. "Look at this face. You said it yourself, I'm cute. Of course you'd be jealous if some other girl noticed that."

I sigh loudly as I stare at the ceiling. It's bad because he's right. "I need to get that emotion in check," I explain in exasperation.

"Luckily I've mastered the art of brooding silently and mentally punishing myself for not being good enough," he informs me as he takes a large bite of a slice.

"What?" I ask and he laughs and shakes his head. "When have you ever been jealous? Wait, never mind. Don't answer that."

"Why not?" he asks.

"I don't want to hear stories of your exes," I respond bluntly.

He laughs loudly. "Wow, I never would've anticipated you to be such a jealous type."

"Fine, whatever, tell me your stories. I don't care," I snap.

"No, it's fine. I'll let you brood and mope," he replies.

I sigh again. "I hate you," I mutter.

"No you don't," he answers. "You think I'm cute."

"Ugh," I complain and he laughs.

"I'm flattered," he answers. "And I think it goes without saying that I think you're pretty cute, too."

I glare at him as I continue eating and soon enough, we're both full on pizza and soda. We head to the register to pay and Diego looks at the card in my hands. "I got it," he says and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I can pay for myself...or for both of us," I tell him.

"I know you can. But I want to pay for you. Think of it as me making up for the teasing I made you endure on the way here," he replies. "And then consider the movie tickets payment as me making up for the teasing you're going to endure for the rest of the night. Besides, I invited you out; it's my responsibility to pay. You'll get your chance whenever you ask me out, if you have the balls."

I slap him in the arm with a grin on my face. "Hey! Watch it," I warn as I narrow my eyes at him. He gives me a large smile in return as he signs the receipt and leaves the building. We head back to the car and he opens the door for me. I want to sigh loudly at his chivalry. He's making me feel like this is more and more of a date with every passing moment. "Where to now?" I ask.

"You'll see," he says. We drive for a few more minutes but the only things I can see out the window are other passing cars and trees. It's too dark for me to try to detect where we are. "We're going to get there early because I'm a little rusty with backing in. I haven't really driven a car since I got my license. But I figure we can just talk while we wait."

I look at him and furrow my eyebrows. "How old are you?"

"117," he answers and I snort loudly. "I'm just messing with you. I was trying to be like Edward from Twilight. I'm almost 18."

My eyes widen a bit. "When are you turning 18?" I ask him.

"On November 23rd," he answers with a nod. "What about you?"

"I'm turning 17 on October 19th," I inform him.

"That's coming up," he reminds me. "I have to get you something."

"No you don't," I retort.

"You're right," he replies. "But I want to."

"Diego," I start, prepared to argue.

"We're here!" he exclaims and I look to see a lit up sign. A drive in theater? I furrow my eyebrows and he smiles at me. "Too cliche?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No, it's fine," I comfort him.

After we get our tickets (to some rom-com), Diego finds a spot and backs in so that the trunk is facing the screen. "M'lady," he says as he opens the door for me. I roll my eyes but cant fight the smile that forms on my face. He presses a button and the door slowly opens. I see pillows and blankets decorating the trunk, along with chips, candy, and sodas. My eyebrows raise as I look at him. "I know how this may look but I promise I'm not going to try anything," he tells me as he puts his hands up.

"I wasn't even thinking about that," I say and my face burns a bit at the idea of him 'trying something.' Now I'm thinking about it, though. I decide to change the subject before things can get weird. "I was just surprised you went all out like this."

''Yeah..." he trails as he looks at the blankets. "Normally we'd have to park in the back because of how big the truck is but apparently this place might be going out of business because no one comes so they said we can park wherever."

"Whose car is this, by the way?" I ask as we both stand two feet away from the open trunk, awkwardly waiting for the other to make a move to get in.

"My dad's," he answers with a nod as he admires it, "I'm not exactly supposed to be driving it. In fact, he'd probably have a heart attack if he found out it wasn't in the garage. But...let's keep that between us."

I nod slowly before walking to the car and sitting down. I pull myself further into the trunk and cover my legs with a stray blanket. I rest my back against a pillow and smile at him. He stares at me with a smile on his face and I pat the spot beside me, looking at him expectantly. He bites his lip before sighing and walking over. He gets in and looks at me. "I'm going to have to ask you to give me that blanket; it's my favorite," he says.

"How about we share it?" I ask, gripping the soft quilt in my hands. He sighs in agreement as he takes a little more than half of it. I glare at him playfully and go to snatch it back. "Sharing means even distribution."

"Maybe if you weren't a foot away from me, you'd get even distribution," he says and I narrow my eyes.

"I was sitting here first. You decided to sit a foot away, so you move closer," I say snappily. He stares at me with lifted brows before realizing I'm not giving in.

"How about this?" he proposes and before I can even tune into the potential deal, he's reaching under the blanket and grabbing my crossed legs. He yanks me closer to him in one swift motion. I open my mouth in shock before closing it and nodding.

"That works," I reply as I shift into a more comfortable position.

"Yeah," he says with a smirk. "It did."

"So why'd you choose this movie?" I ask. It's been out on DVD for a while now. "Love and Lust?"

"Because it's good," he replies and I don't bother asking whether or not he's seen it. I can already tell by the excited look on his face that it's probably one of his favorites. And he made fun of me for reading romance novels. 

Twenty minutes later, the movie starts and I can see that Diego was right about this place going out of business soon. The rest of the drive-in is empty aside from the people in the booth a long ways back. We stop talking and set our eyes on the film. We occasionally speak, making a slick comment about something stupid the characters do.

"This always happens," he complains, "the guy always messes up and loses the girl and then they fix it. Why can't the girl mess up?"

"Or why can't they just fix their problems before they escalate to that point?" I reply.

He looks at me. "You read so much romance but you don't realize it; they have to go through turmoil to know if they're really compatible."

I roll my eyes as we tune back into the movie. A few minutes later, a very heated, passionate scene comes on and I scratch my neck as I look away. "Well this is awkward," I mumble.

"Just a little," he replies as he looks at me. We laugh when we hear the sensual noises from the surround sound speakers.

"Finally," I gasp when the scene changes.

"Was it making you uncomfortable?" he asks with a smirk and a childish laugh.

"Shut up," I retort. He stretches out as much as his lanky body can in the trunk. His legs rest on the interior walls and his head lay on my lap.

"You can put your hands down, you know," he says with a laugh. My arms are just hovering in the air because I'm not sure where to place them. He reaches up and grabs my hands, holding them in both of his. He places them on his face and smiles into my palm. I allow my fingers to trace his face; they run along his eyebrow and down his nose, as well as his jaw line and cheekbone. I don't stop at his lips and instead, drag his bottom lip down with my finger. I'm surprised at how soft it is and I suddenly have the urge to test them out with mine. I cringe at my own thoughts and decide to move my hands and run them through his hair. "My legs are starting to hurt." He slowly sits back up and stretches out his back and legs.

I stare at him as he watches the movie. He grins at something the characters say and looks at me to see if I heard it. I roll my eyes when he complains that I'm not paying attention. I put my hand between us and he nudges it with his own. I look at him to see if he was trying to gain my attention only to find him wriggling his eyebrows as he holds his hand out. I sigh and extend my own, allowing our fingers to interlock. He rubs circles on the back of my hand with his thumb and I stare at our intertwined hands with a smile. Rather than breaking our hold for a second, he twists his entire body to grab a soda with his free hand. I snort in laughter as something cracks and he looks down at his torso in a worried state.

I want to kiss him. Tonight. I'm going to kiss him tonight. I just need to figure out a way to let him know that I want to without outright saying it and making things awkward. I figure that initiating more physical contact is the first step. I shift closer to him and place my head on his shoulder. He doesn't say anything or move uncomfortably so I leave it there, sniffing occasionally to inhale his scent. It makes my head spin and I close my eyes for a second. This boy is going to drive me crazy, I know it. I tilt my head and begin blowing on his neck. He shivers and turns to look at me. I pull my face away and smirk at him, hoping he gets the glazed over look in his eyes. 

He scans my face as I stare at him, biting my lip slowly. His eyes watch my mouth as my teeth slowly release my lip. He locks eyes with me again before blinking out of his stupor and looking down at his hands. I repress the urge to sigh and instead, go for a more direct approach. I reach my finger out and place it underneath his chin. I move his face back to it's original position and shake my head a little as if asking what he's waiting for. He stares at me for a little while, looking between both of my eyes nervously. His chest is rising and falling at a rapid pace as he rings his hands together.

"Just so we're on the same page, do you want me to kiss you?" he asks.

I roll my eyes and nod. "Yes."

"Like right now?" he asks.

"Yes," I say again.

"Okay, so I'm going to kiss you," he tells me.

"That's what I want," I reply and he leans in a little faster than I expect. Our lips collide and I'm hit with a storm of butterflies in my stomach. I don't hesitate to wrap my arms around his neck. His hands are on my waist with a sense of urgency as we try to get as close to each other as possible. His tongue is exploring my mouth meanwhile my chest feels like it's on fire. I begin laying down for a more comfortable position and he follows suit, settling between my legs as we continue to breathe each other. A few minutes pass and I pull away to catch my breath. He looks at me nervously, exploring my face with his eyes urgently.

"Are you okay?" he asks, exhaling heavily. I nod, incapable of speaking. I grin and rest my head back on the floor of the truck. He gives a breathy laugh before leading a trail of kisses down my jawline. "Is..this...okay?" he asks between kisses. I nod and tilt my head to give him the room to continue. He begins kissing and sucking a specific part of my neck. I don't complain and instead, run my fingers through his hair as he does so. This goes on for a few minutes before we're both disrupted by a ringing phone. He tries to continue on, probably too lost in what he was doing to stop, but I manage to whisper his name.

"Diego," I say and he sits up. "I think my phone is ringing." We begin searching for it and I see that it's my mom. I answer frantically, trying my best to sound calm and collected. "Hey," I greet her.

"Hey, is the movie over yet?" she asks and I blink a few times.

"Yeah, we're just getting a bite to eat and then she's going to drop me off. Is that okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be up in my room working on some stuff. Just let me know when you get in," she responds. "Love you."

"Love you, too," I tell her before hanging up.

"We have to get going?" he asks and I nod.

We silently get out of the car, both of us processing what just happened. He shuts the trunk and walks me to the car door, opening it for me before jogging around. I sit in silence until he gets in. He looks at me in the light of the car and his mouth opens slightly. "Orion," he starts.

"Look, I know what just happened. I wanted it to happen. I am happy that it happened. But can we please talk about it tomorrow?" I ask.

He stares at me for a second. "Yeah, but that's not what I was going to say."

"What?" I ask.

"You kind of have a...I kind of gave you a...there's a...you have a hickey," he finally manages to say and I quickly lower the mirror and examine the reddish purple spot on my neck. It's the size of a grape and is about an inch over my collarbone.

"Oh my gosh, what do I do?" I ask him.

"Makeup?" he suggests, sounding unsure.

"Oh yeah, let's stop at Sephora on the way back!" I retort. "I have to go see my mom like this."

"Let me just..." he trails as he grabs my hair and tries to put it in front of my neck. "Just don't move your head, like, at all." I sigh loudly and he looks at me apologetically. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay. Don't apologize," I tell him. "Next time, just...be more careful."

He looks at me with wide eyes. "Next time?"

"That's not what I meant," I start but he's already smirking at me and I sigh loudly. "Just get us out of here."