Chapter 12
Standing in front of the full-length mirror firmly attached to her closet door, Michelle stared at the reflection of her new bright pink bikini. She had bought it only a few hours earlier, and truly loved how it barely covered the more delicate parts of her slender bronze body.
“I think José might find this a tad irresistible,” she told herself with a smile, before releasing a small, yet impish giggle. “I know if I was him, I would.”
Michelle's mother entered the teddy bear-filled room. “You would what?”
“Oh. Hi, Mom. I didn’t hear you coming,” Michelle said, turning to face her while appearing to be a bit surprised. “I was just talking to myself.”
Ana smiled. “That’s obvious. So what boy are you chasing after now? José?”
“Yes,” Michelle confirmed with a nod. “I’m trying to figure out how I can get him to invite me to Caleb’s Halloween party this upcoming weekend. From what I hear, it’s going to be a blast.”
Ms. Mantez momentarily gazed at her daughter as she folded her arms and sighed. It seemed like her daughter changed boyfriends almost as fast as Ben & Jerry changed their favorite flavor of ice cream. “There’s not going to be any drinking at this party, is there Michelle?”
Michelle gave her mother a false smile, while twisting her middle fingers behind her back. “I don't think so, Mom. But, even if there was, you know I would never touch anything alcoholic, unless I had your and Papa's permission.”
Ana released her breath and gave her attractive daughter a huge motherly-type of grin. “That's my girl. Michelle, you always make me so proud.”
Michelle returned her mother’s grin – and the two of them shared a compassion embrace.
A few moments later, when Ana left the room after stating she needed to get back to planning this evening's meal; Michelle continued her new outfit inspection.
The mirror's vivid reflection clearly emphasized how her two-hands full bosom was rigorously attempting to burst the thin polyester bikini top they were contained in.
“Of course I would never touch anything alcohol,” Michelle repeated to the mirror in an overly obtrusive tone. “I might swallow a drink or two, but definitely never touch the bottle the booze had come in. After all, my parents highly respect me, so I must be a good girl.”
“Why, hello José,” Michelle called out in semi-seductive tone about a half-hour later, upon seeing the brown-haired teen holding a crate of fresh oranges near one of his father’s outdoor-market tables. Noticing how his biceps were slightly bulging, Michelle grinned as her prospective boyfriend accidentally dropped the oversize container he had been carrying onto the outer edge of the wooden display stand.
“Doggone it, Michelle,” he yelled in exasperation. “You made me drop this crate of oranges. … Why don’t you give a guy like me a decent warning when you're about to walk up wearing something like that?”
Michelle let loose a child-like giggle, before deliberately jiggling her almost fully exposed bosom a couple of times in front of him.
“They do tend to get your attention. Don’t they, José?”
José nodded as his mouth opened so wide, a horse fly could have entered.
“Good,” Michelle said, in a fake Marilyn Monroe voice. “So now that I’ve gotten your attention. Do you have any plans for Saturday night, José dear?”
The boy's heart began a hundred yard sprint the second his eyes detected the small, sensual kiss this object of lascivious beauty deliberately placed at the end of the word “dear.”
“Ah,” he involuntarily stuttered as his superglued eyes slowly proceeded to rise above the perfectly formed mountain range directly in front of him, up to the soft, tender lips which patiently awaited his positive reply. “I don’t think so. Why?”
Michelle smiled, and gave the teen a small peck on the cheek. “Well. Since you don't have a girlfriend living around here anymore, I thought maybe the two of us could hook up Saturday. My friend, Caleb, is throwing a Halloween party, and you surely don’t want to spend Halloween all alone. Would you José?”
José could feel his palms rapidly dampening as his body’s internal temperature began to rise, as if someone had placed him over a glowing rotisserie.
His lungs was ready to shout a resounding ‘No. I want to be with you’ in reply, when suddenly, “Hey! Just wait one pea-picking second there, Jose,” his Ego intervened with a loud mental shout, abruptly interrupting his hormone-driven ID. “Aren’t you forgetting something, José? What about Maria? Aren’t we are supposed to be remaining faithful to her?”
“Faithful? You’re actually talking about being faithful?” Jose's ID answered, as if the idea was the dumbest thing it had ever heard. “Just look at this girl, Ego. Her bod is so perfectly shaped she could easily be a supermodel if she wanted to be, and she wants us. Can’t you tell?”
“I can tell,” Jose's Ego replied, releasing a sigh. “Just because I’m not sensual like you are, Mr. One-Large-Hormone, it doesn’t mean I can’t tell if a female likes us.”
“Me? Are you calling me sensual?” A small bulge in the front of Jose’s jeans began to increase.
“No. I don’t want to be alone,” José admitted. “But wouldn’t Maria get upset if she heard that I went out with you? After all, the two of you aren't exactly what I would call best friends.”
“Maria,” Michelle repeated, as if saying the name had placed a taste of Cod-Liver Oil inside her mouth.
Turning toward the beach, she proceeded to gaze at one of the multiple couples sitting near the water's edge, appearing to be enjoying themselves. “Do you actually believe for even one moment that Maria’s just sitting all alone every night, not enjoying all the fun one can have in South Florida?”
Jose's lips closed, and he lowered his head. “No. That would be a bit much to ask of her, especially since she's attending the university there.”
“Maria’s going to school there?” Michelle said, pretending to be angered over this revelation. “Well. If that's true, then mostly likely she's going out almost every night with all the different boys on campus – while totally forgetting about you.”
Jose's pupils widened a couple of millimeters, and he negatively shook his head. “No. You’re definitely wrong, Michelle. Maria's not like you. She's not that kind of girl. In the letter I got from her recently, she did state that she has a male friend she studies with every now and then. However, she strongly assured me that I’m the only “real” man in her life.”
Michelle laughed, a long prolonged laugh. “You sure are naïve, José.”
José turned his head upon hearing the sound of heavy footsteps coming up from behind him. “What do you mean; I'm naïve?” he quickly asked.
“Just what I said,” Michelle said, crossing her arms just below her breasts. “Do you think for one moment Maria's going to tell you that she’s found a new boyfriend? And they’re probably out partying every night, while you’re here in Arica, hanging around the house every night – all alone remaining faithful?”
José lifted his head, so he could stare into his girlfriend's archenemy's eyes.
Such lovely brown eyes.
And even though his mouth opened, not a single word was uttered.