“Will do.”
“Still, you should get a selfie with him at the very least. Before the announcement. That way, you’ll know you actually went out with him, since it’ll never happen again after that.”
“Are you done?”
Serena giggled. “Yes. Now I’m done.”
Maria noticed a hummingbird sipping from the feeder her mother had hung, hovering in a way that had mesmerized her since she was a young girl. From inside, she could hear her mother quietly singing to herself, and while the aroma of eggs and refried beans should have been making her hungry, she was already a little nervous about the upcoming afternoon. She wondered how much she’d actually be able to eat.
“I’m still kind of surprised at the way he just… told you everything,” Serena finally offered.
“Had you been there, you would have been in shock. Trust me.”
“It’s weird, though. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like that before.”
“You’re telling me.”
Two hours later, Maria was at home, debating what to wear. Serena’s advice sounded in her ear, making the decision a lot more difficult than it should have been. Normally she wouldn’t think twice about it; she’d wear shorts and either a halter or a bikini top, and she certainly wouldn’t have showered beforehand or put on makeup or felt the clawing pangs of nervousness in her belly, but there they were. Standing in front of her chest of drawers, she debated what kind of impression she wanted to make. Bold? Casual? Sexy?
It was a whole lot easier for men, she decided: Throw on a T-shirt, flip-flops, and shorts and head out the door. Meanwhile, she had to debate the length of her shorts, and decide how tight or faded she wanted them to be, or whether she should wear the ones with the sexy tears below the back pockets or go a bit more conservative. And that was just the bottoms; trying to decide on her top was even more difficult, especially since she hadn’t decided whether to wear the bikini or a one-piece underneath. Despite what she’d said to Serena, it was a date, and aside from the fiasco last weekend with Jill and Paul, she hadn’t been on a lot of dates recently. Add in the fact that her thoughts had been drifting to Colin all morning and last night, and the whole thing left her feeling more jittery than ever.
What did she want with him, anyway? Colin was the kind of guy she used to prosecute. Until yesterday, had anyone even suggested that she go out with a guy with his past, she would have laughed aloud or – more likely – been offended. She should have simply said good-bye after he’d walked her to her car last night. The very idea of the two of them going out today was absurd, and yet… she had asked him, and she had trouble remembering exactly how that had happened or what she’d been thinking.