Chapter 10: Confrontation

“Where have you been young lady?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and saw my mom standing in the middle of the living room. Her arms were folded in front of her chest and she had her poker face on. Uh-oh. Was she mad? I just got home from Glace’s place and a glance at my wristwatch told me that it was after 6pm. I’m dead meat.

I took a large gulp of air and smiled sheepishly at my mom. “Sorry mom. I didn’t think it would be this late. Glace and I were talking and the time kind of slipped my mind.”

“You’re grounded,” she said. “I need to confiscate your phone. No TV for a week. And also, you’re not allowed to go to Frio’s house again.”

My face fell. “Oh my gosh mom! Please don’t do this,” I whined. I could handle the TV part since I’d rather read books. But the Frio thing bothered me. I really liked Glace. More than I should actually, so the thought of not going back to her place bummed me out.

My mom uncrossed her arms and gave me a smirk. “What are you whining for? Is it because of Frio?” I walked to the sofa and sat on it before answering her question. “Yes it’s because of her mom.” My eyes went to her face and she grinned widely.

“You do know that I’m kidding right sweetie?” she said. Mom followed me to the sofa and sat gracefully to my left. “You’re not grounded Dulce but we need to talk.”

“About what?” I asked innocently.

“About Frio of course,” she said with a shrug. “Are you in love with her? I remember you calling her Glace. Does that mean that she’s that girl we’ve been talking about?”

I reached for the pillow on my right and hugged it. All the while I was thinking of a reply. There was no use hiding it from my mom anyway so I might as well spill the beans. “Yes mom, she’s that girl. She introduced herself as Glace and I found out later on that she’s a celebrity.” I hid my face behind the pillow. “It’s too early to be in love with her, but lately she’s all I can think of.”

“Why not pursue her Dulce? Frio is a great kid. With her character, it’s very easy to forget that she’s a celebrity.” Mom removed the pillow in front of my face and looked seriously at me. “She can be good for you. And besides, I think she likes you too.”

My face heat up at her revelation. “You’re just saying that because I’m your daughter.”

She shook her head. “No sweetie. When she came over here two weeks ago, she asked me a couple of things about you. She wanted to know about your favorite food, the things you liked, and she seemed really interested on you. Come to think of it, she even asked me about your childhood which was weird.”

I arched an eyebrow at her. “What did she particularly ask about?” Mom’s face frowned in concentration. “She wanted to know what kind of kid you were when you were 7 years old. She also asked to see your childhood pictures.”

I shrugged. “Maybe she likes children.”

Mom looked me in the eyes. “Probably,” she said. “So you see Dulce? She has a thing for you.”

“But she said she’s already in love with someone.” I caught the disappointment in my own voice.

“You’ll never truly know unless you try. Just give it a shot honey. Who knows? Maybe she’s the person that you’ve been waiting for. I’m not saying that you steal her away from another girl because that’s just wrong. But if she’s single, you can always pursue her.”

I sighed. “I have no chance mom. She’s a celebrity and I’m just plain old me.” Mom clicked her tongue and leaned in for a hug. “You have much to learn about the world sweetie,” she said. “Celebrities are people too. They get embarrassed, feel shy, and they definitely fall in love. Frio is no exception. She may look all that but deep inside she’s just like you.”

“I’ll remember that mom,” I mumbled.

She ended the embrace and smiled warmly at me. “I almost forgot to tell you that I started dating again.”

“That’s great! Just promise me one thing.”

“What?” she said with a laugh.

“Don’t forget about dad. Even if you meet an awesome dude, always remember daddy okay?”

“You know I won’t.”

After my heart to heart talk with my mom, I went to my room and shut myself in. I didn’t talk to anyone during the weekend. Different thoughts were running in my head and I felt that it was best to recuperate, take my time, and just think.

My mobile was turned off so I didn’t see if Tim and Patty messaged, if Denise was trying to pester me, or if Glace called to see how I was doing. By Monday morning at school, I was refreshed and ready to take on the challenges of the day.

I slid on my seat and turned on my right to face Tim and Patty who were currently looking at me with guilty expressions on their faces. “Girl I’m so sorry,” Tim started.

“You better be,” I answered with a poker face. “Do you have any idea what happened to me at that party? Kevin cornered me and. . .” I looked around and leaned nearer to Tim. “Denise nearly had her way with me,” I said in a hushed tone.

Tim gasped loudly. “What the hell happened?!”

I explained everything that occurred, from how Denise spiked my drink to how she hauled me all the way to the guest room. I left the part about Glace taking me home and me waking up in my undergarments inside her room. That bit was between me and her. All I told them was Glace walked in the room and rescued me.

Tim shuddered in disgust and anger. “I swear… I want to punch Denise in the face.” Patty touched his arm from the other side and shook her head. “That won’t be good Tim,” she said. “You’ll just get suspended and her boyfriend will pummel you.”

Tim sat up straight in his chair and narrowed his chinky eyes. The action nearly made his pupils disappear. “Uhm Patty,” he said. “In case you haven’t noticed, I can go head to head with anyone in this school. I may be a you-know-what but I’m also a six foot three dude who goes to the gym constantly. I’ll put both James and his biatch to the hospital.”

Patty frowned. “You want to fight again?”

I stared at both of them. “Wait. What do you mean again?”

At my question, Tim lowered his head while Patty proceeded to explain. “We weren’t able to come to your rescue at the party because Tim here,” she elbowed him hard, “had a fight with someone. Right Timmy?” Her voice dripped of sarcasm.

“Look at me,” I said to Tim. When he raised his head, I noticed the fading bruises near his right temple. I wasn’t able to catch it earlier. “Who did you fight with? This is so unlike you,” I said with concern.

He shrugged and averted my gaze. “Drop it Dulce.”

“Don’t hide it from her,” Patty chimed in and stared passed Tim and straight in my eyes. “He punched Kevin in the face for saying something dirty about you.”

I felt my jaw clench in frustration. “Me? What did he say?”

Tim growled low. “He said you look very fuc. . . errr yummy. And he can’t wait to eat you.” He sighed. “I overheard him talking to his friends. You know I can’t let that slide Dulce. I just had to beat the guy up.”

“And he beat you too,” Patty said. “It’s a good thing Fabio was there to help him or the whole basketball team would have kicked him to the curb.”

“Fabio the Judo guy?” I asked. “Mr. Dark, tall, and handsome?”

Tim smirked and had a self-satisfied look in his face. “If you’re talking about that Latino guy with curly dark hair and kissable lips, then yes it’s the same Fabio.”

“Oh. . . That’s good Tim,” I said while nodding. Fabio was a black belt in Judo and won the national tournament last year so everyone was scared to fight him. “Did you thank him for helping you?”

“Totally!” Tim gushed. “I gave him my number.”

My mouth opened in surprise. “He’s like you?”

“Girl he’s gayer then me,” he said excitedly. “But nobody knows that of course. We’re going to start seeing each other. I can’t wait.”

“I’m happy for you,” I said with a smile. “But I’m pissed off because of the whole Kevin thing. Like duh! I’m not going to have sex anytime soon. At least not with a guy.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about him. Now that Fabio is on our side, Kevin will think twice before he says anything again.”

The bell rang loudly cutting our conversation short. Before the teacher came in, Glace walked briskly inside the classroom and slid next to my seat. She always arrived just when the bell rings. Maybe she did that on purpose to avoid her fans from cornering her inside the classroom. Our eyes met before we stared straight in front. My stomach fluttered like always.

After the final bell rang, Glace jogged out of the classroom. As usual, all her fans trailed behind her. They always wanted to be near her and they didn’t tire of stalking her in school. I feel sorry for her but at the same time I was glad that she enrolled here and not in some private high school somewhere.

When everyone left including Tim and Patty, I finally grabbed my things and made my way to the locker. I was in no mood to hang out after school so I made this lame excuse to my two best friends so they’d go home without me.

Someone hugged me from behind just as I was stuffing my books inside my locker. From the scent alone, I already knew it was Denise. I shut the locker and pried her arms from my body before turning to her. She immediately said her piece.

“Babe, are you mad at me?”

I stared at her wide eyes and peach colored lips and shook my head. “No Denise. I’m not mad at you. I’m completely disgusted,” I said in an even tone.

She pouted and reached for me but I sidestepped and avoided her. “Babe!” she whined. “I just wanted to be with you. You said you liked me too.”

“That was before Denise. You almost raped me! How do you expect me to like you now?” I cut my eyes at her. “You’re crazy,” I said before turning away. She grabbed my shoulders and swung my body to face her.

If I don’t do anything, she’ll never leave me alone. I raised my hands to her arms and pushed her against the locker. Nobody was in sight so the clanging sound we made when her back hit the metal doors of the locker didn’t bother me. Her eyes widened and looked me in total surprise.

I removed my hands from her arms and placed it on either side of her face. When she didn’t speak up, I grabbed the opportunity to lean my face near her and consume her in my mouth. She made a moaning sound as I nibbled on her lower lip and slipped my tongue inside her mouth.

I pressed my whole body to her and pinched her butt which made her groan low. As if that wasn’t enough, my hands travelled to her stomach and I raised her top slightly and traced my fingers on her smooth skin. When she was about to do the same, I ended the kiss and stared hard at her.

I whispered, “Did that scratch your itch Denise? Or maybe you wanted something more? Don’t make me hate you. I’ll use you and spit you out if you do.” I watched as she tried to catch her breath and stared at me in confusion. “Leave. Me. Alone,” I said through clenched teeth and walked away. She didn’t follow me. She was probably shocked at such development. I didn’t want to do it but she left me no choice.

When I rounded the corner, I came face to face with Glace. It looked like she saw the whole thing with Denise. Inevitably our gaze locked. We were so close that I saw my reflection in her coffee colored eyes. I also noticed something there. Something I haven’t seen before. A guarded look.

It wasn’t long before she turned around and left me standing there. What was I to do but follow her? “Glace,” I said while walking briskly, trying to catch up.

She didn’t stop and continued heading down the empty halls. By now the school was empty except for her, me, and the guards for all I cared. In a few strides I was able to reach her and touch her right elbow making her stop. She didn’t turn in my direction and just looked ahead silently.

I was the one who went in front of her. Once I did, I was stunned to see her biting her lower lips and staring at the floor while looking conflicted. “Glace,” I said softly. “Why did you run away?”

She took a sharp intake of breath and finally met my eyes. The things I saw there scared the hell out of me. She didn’t appear mad and she wasn’t crying either. But though her expression was of nonchalance, her eyes said it all. She was hurt. Period. And deep inside I blamed myself for it. Though I didn’t know how and when I did it to her.

All I knew was that she was hurting and I was there, and I needed to do something somehow to wipe that emotion in her eyes. “Glace,” I said as gently as I could. “Did I do something to you?”

Her full lips opened. “Can you hug me Dulce?” Her voice cracked and I didn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say. “Please. I won’t ask for anything else. I just need a hug from you,” her voice shook.

Without another question I closed the distance between us and engulfed her in a warm embrace. She was taller than me by an inch so she had the opportunity to place her head slightly against my right shoulder. Her body trembled as I pressed my front to her. She kept her hands to her side while I stroked her back gently with mine.

I wasn’t a big hugger but for some reason I really loved embracing her. She was warm- almost feverish against me. Her creamy scent lingered in my nose and it made me think of my favorite desert. I didn’t notice it before but she was delicate and feminine. Both of us were soft but her vulnerability at the moment made me want to protect her.

Hugging her was like coming home after a long and tiring journey. No other words could describe it. As I felt her relax in my arms, she raised her left hand and stroked my hair. I sighed in contentment.

“You’re such a handful,” she murmured.

“Did I do something Glace?”

“Mmmmm,” was all she replied.

The embrace continued a little longer than expected and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hated to admit it but Glace frightened me. She made me feel like a train wreck. It wasn’t the fact that it felt perfect when my hands fit the curve of her small yet shapely hips or the way her soft breast brushed against mine.

It wasn’t because it felt like her elegant body was made for me or due to the fact that her beauty left me gasping for air. No. It was more than that.

Because here and now, I knew that I’m beginning to feel something for her. I also realized that if I fall in this moment, she wouldn’t be there to catch me. And that is what terrified me the most.