Dating Aaron & Other Forbidden Things - Yesenia Vargas Page 0,2

tell I wasn’t going to get anywhere else with him. Oh well. Dad was like that. Pretty closed off and stubborn. He wasn’t one to talk much, just lecture as needed.

By the fall, Mom and Dad would have no choice but to get me a car, though. David wouldn’t be around to take me to school anymore.

I’d just have to be patient until then, even if I did ache to have the freedom that David did. Like going out with his friends. I was only allowed to do that sometimes or if he was there to keep me safe.

Just then, my brother came out of the house, a basketball in hand. “Hey, sis.”

I turned and looked up at him. Even though we were only a year or so apart, he stood a broad and wide six feet tall compared to my curvy but much smaller five foot six. “Off to practice free throws? Your first away game is coming up, right?”

“That’s right,” he said, walking past me with a wink. “Gotta practice if I’m gonna make MVP this year.”

I smirked, letting my gaze follow. Then I saw Aaron walking towards us from his house.

David waved at him. They headed towards the basketball hoop they had set up down at the cul-de-sac.

Before following my brother, Aaron gave me a small wave. I did the same and turned away, hardly looking at him.

Both David and Aaron had been on the football team last season, both of them on the defensive team.

They did a lot together. Aaron even rode with us to school and then back home after cheer and basketball practice since Ben wasn’t on the team this year.

So I was around Aaron. A lot. One way or another.

Last semester, I’d love it. This semester, not so much.

Ever since the winter dance, it didn’t make my crush on him any easier to push away.

But it was something I had to do, no matter how much I saw him.

Even if he still made my heart race, Aaron Garcia was the one guy I could not have.

2

Several days later, I ran around the neighborhood, determined to sweat and work out despite cheer practice being canceled last minute.

It wasn’t just discipline.

Just like doing backflips, I loved running.

I loved feeling the power in my leg muscles.

As humans, we’d never have the ability to fly, but we could come kind of close through running.

Sprinting, hitting the pavement, and using your entire body to power you forward.

There was nothing else like it.

This was also the reason I almost crashed into Aaron just as I was running past his house.

Because of the sun having set, the sky getting darker, and my own deep concentration, I completely missed him.

He stepped out from the other side of the trash can he had apparently just rolled out.

I screamed, managing to come to a stop just before crashing into his chest.

My hand came right up to it, ready to soften the blow of my body hitting his. His chest was firm and warm. I pulled back my hand and took a small step back.

Slowly, I looked up at him while taking out an earbud. My chest rose and fell quickly, more from adrenaline than anything.

He looked down at me too, also taking out an earbud. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” Aaron said, voice etched with concern.

I shook my head. “It was my fault. I didn’t even see you.”

Normally, the sun made his hazel eyes shine like honey, but it was getting darker outside by the minute.

This was what I got for waiting so long to go on this run.

I took a step back and glanced away, still working on catching my breath. “Well, I’ll see ya.”

Aaron didn’t make a move to leave. “It’s not safe to run out here by yourself,” he told me.

I shrugged. “I can take care of myself.”

He smiled. “I know. All the same, though, maybe I’ll come with you.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, unable to meet his eyes. “It’s okay. I’m just about done. I bet you have stuff to do.” I hated how uncomfortable I felt around him. That had never been the case.

Now he shrugged. “Not really. Besides, it wouldn’t feel right leaving you out here by yourself when it’s getting dark.”

He turned so he was facing the direction I’d been going. I began walking alongside him. At least he was already in gym shorts and a t-shirt with cut-off sleeves. And even though my brain refused to admit that I was