“Exactly! No time to waste!” I say, and turn toward the door.
“Wait—” Cesar starts, and I turn around, met with a hug that knocks the air out of me.
I hug back, hard.
“Thank you, Yami.” He doesn’t let go for a while, and I don’t either.
“For what?”
He sighs, then pulls away. “Everything. You just do . . . so much for me. I know I don’t deserve it—”
“Yes, you do. . . .”
“—but you should know I appreciate it. A lot. So, thanks . . . ,” he says, looking down at his feet. “Now go fix your hair. You look like a chupacabra.”
“Don’t you ever insult the chupacabra like that ever again!” I say to get a laugh out of him, and I do. I’ll admit my hair is a damn mess right now. I haven’t touched it since waking up. “Love you, ’manito,” I say, giving him another quick hug before finally leaving to get ready.
It takes me almost all day to do my hair and makeup. I do and redo my face three times before I’m satisfied. I’m wearing purple eye shadow and purple lipstick to match my dress. I’m usually pretty confident in how I do my makeup, but today I only care about if Bo thinks I look good. God, she better, after all the effort I’m putting in.
I have to help Cesar get ready, even though he only has to worry about putting on a suit and shoes. He spends almost as long as I do on his hair. He’s mostly checking himself out in the mirror, though. Eye roll.
Gay prom is at seven, so Bo is going to pick up me, Cesar, and Jamal at four thirty for dinner. If anyone is late, it can’t be me and Bo, since Bo is the host.
Mom takes about a million pictures of us before there’s a knock at the door. I look through the peephole and see Jamal fidgeting with the sleeve on his suit. I drag Cesar to the door.
“It’s for you!” I whisper so Jamal can’t hear me, then I push him to the door and leave so they can have a moment.
Mom doesn’t give them any time. She’s right behind Cesar, and she pulls Jamal inside to bombard him with pictures. He’s a little stiff, and clearly nervous because he hasn’t seen my mom since he and I were pretending to be together.
“You look handsome,” she says instead of lecturing him about lying, then hugs him. “I missed you, mijo.”
“I missed you too, Mrs. Flores.” He gives her a squeeze before she pulls him over to Cesar for pictures. It takes Jamal a few minutes before he notices the ring on Cesar’s finger.
He pulls Cesar into a hug that almost looks painful, but Cesar’s hugging back. Jamal takes Cesar’s hand and kisses the ring. I swear I want to melt, they’re so cute. I hope Mom captured that on camera.
When Bo knocks at the door, I grab the earrings I made and rush to answer before my mom can interfere. I close the door behind me so Mom can’t give her the same treatment as Jamal. I hold the earrings behind my back. She’s wearing purple heels and a fitted suit with a purple bustier under it. I think I’m in love. Seriously. I think I might be drooling a little.
Her hand brushes against my neck, and she rests it behind my head and gives me the softest kiss of my life. I can’t breathe until she pulls away.
“I wanted a little bit of that lipstick.” She smacks her lips together. “Also, you look gorgeous.”
I giggle. It’s not like we haven’t kissed before, so I don’t know why I’m so giddy right now.
“I made you something.” I show her the earrings. Hoops with purple Chinese knots inside the holes. “I hope this isn’t weird. But I thought it would be nice to make a cultural present, since we’re both sort of trying to reconnect. It’s hoops because, um, hoops are kind of my thing. And purple is your thing. And the Chinese knot is for good luck! And purple is the color of . . . um . . . romance . . . I’m just realizing how cheesy this is.”