We started seeing each other last May, shortly before the school year ended. I know I liked him way longer than he liked me. The summer between freshman and sophomore year, he went through a serious growth spurt. Once a short, skinny, ordinary boy that had managed to fly under every girl’s radar; Antonio reemerged as the hottest thing on the map. I remember hearing all the girls talking about him in class that first day back before I’d gotten the chance to see his transformation for myself. Although some of them were more explicit than others, the overall opinion was the same – he was hot!
It turned out that he and I were in the same third hour class, so I didn’t have to wait long for the big reveal; it was Ms. Henderson’s History class as a matter of fact. He was already seated when I entered the room. I stared at him longer than I should’ve, but I couldn’t help it. He was all those things the other girls said he was and then some. I stopped at the teacher’s desk to check the seating chart and felt a little faint when I realized that I was assigned to sit right beside Antonio.
I took to my desk and made a conscious effort not to look his way the entire hour. Fighting the urge to be as conspicuous as all the other girls who’d been drooling over him all day, I was at war with myself. When the bell finally sounded, the battle was lost and I turned in his direction to steal another look just as he was rising up from his seat. I gasped low enough that no one but me would’ve noticed; Antonio had quite literally taken my breath away. He grew at least four inches and had bulked up quite a bit too. His dark brown complexion was flawless and seemed to emit a glow all its own. From that point, he was the only boy I saw anymore. The others faded into the scenery and only served the purpose of creating a backdrop for the work of art that was Antonio.
The remainder of sophomore year went on pretty much as that first day had. I continued to fantasize about him being mine, but he was busy enjoying the suddenly overwhelming amount of attention he was getting from the female population at our school. He dated his share of girls that year, none of which he seemed particularly serious about.
By junior year, I’d put the thought of us being together to the back of my mind, passing it off as nothing more than a fleeting crush. This task was made easier by the disgust that I’d developed watching his dating habits. His love life was a revolving door. One day he’d be with this girl, the next day he was with that one. It was actually quite sickening to witness.
Then, one random day, I was passing him in the hallway and he reached out to grab my hand. Surprised, I turned to look at him, trying all the while to remind myself of his reputation to keep me in touch with reality. And what was I getting excited for? It wasn’t like we’d never spoken before. I’d hoped that my rationale would make him less appealing and give me the strength to hold my composure. No such luck. His gaze was so intense that it was difficult to stare into his eyes for any length of time.
Once he had my attention, Antonio began to speak, “Hey, Sam.” There was a pause while he tried to feel me out. “What’s up?”
I cleared my throat before responding, “Nothing. What’s been up with you?”
Seeing that I was receptive to him, Antonio smiled and released some of the tension from his posture. “Not much. You got plans this weekend?” He asked with an air of confidence in his tone.
“Umm…….Nothing comes to mind. Why?” I asked nervously, anticipating what was coming next.
“Well……I thought you might wanna hang out. You know……do something,” he suggested It took everything in me to keep from smiling from ear to ear and completely losing my cool. I took two deep breaths and then replied, “Yeah…..sure. I’d like that.”