Free Avra's God by Ann Lee Miller

Thank God, Cisco
wasn’t in a position to notice. She heard him take a deep
breath.
    “So, Avra, what’s it gonna be? You up for
going out with me?” He rolled to his side and faced her, propping
his head on his hand. “You got the whole scoop on Cisco
Carter.”
    “Yes, I’ll go out with you.” Her eyes
skittered away from him.
    Cisco let out a deep breath. “Man, Avra, you
are one hard chick to ask out.”
    Her gaze slipped back to him. Cisco reached
over and tucked her hair behind one ear. The intimacy of his touch
buzzed through her.
    “Avra.” He matched her serious tone. “I don’t
want you to ever think I’m out of your league. That’s why I
subjected you to my family. I’m white trash, Spic white trash.
You’re like—” He waved his hand in the air between them, searching
for the right word. “—royalty. I’m the one who’s way out of my
league.”
    She smiled. “Thanks for showing me your
life.” She sat up cross-legged. “I want to be honest with you,
too.”
    “Honesty’s a good thing.”
    “This is really embarrassing.” She tore grass
up and let it fall into a pile under her fingers. “I’ve never gone
out with anyone before.”
    “And your point is?”
    She darted a look at him. “My point is, I
don’t have a clue what people do when they go out.”
    “Neither do I. I’ve been with a lot of girls,
but I’ve never had a girlfriend. It’ll be an adventure.” He held
his hand out to her. Avra laid her hand in his. His fingers closed
around hers. “We’ll figure it out.”
    The warmth of Cisco’s hand suffused her in an
unfamiliar euphoria. He’d called her his girlfriend.
    Cisco pulled her to her feet. They strolled
toward the stubby palms dotting the parking lot behind the football
stadium. “I like this.” He held up their intertwined fingers.
    Cisco stroked her hand with his thumb,
shooting warning flares up her arm. Would he pressure her for sex?
A cloud traveled across the sun, putting them in shadow. She
shivered and pushed away the fear. If it happened, she’d deal with
it then.
    She checked the time on her phone. “I have to
get home.”
    Cisco frowned, then seemed to shake off his
disappointment. “Beat you to the Geo.”
    They took off running.
    Cisco bent at the waist, hands on his knees,
panting beside the car. “You can really book. I haven’t had to run
that hard since football.”
    “Maybe you better get in shape if you’re
going out with a soccer jock.”
    Cisco’s breathing slowed to normal. “Hey, I
won, didn’t I?”
    “Barely.”
    “What? I was ahead by two yards.”
    She stared him down.
    “Feet. So, maybe I should play more
basketball. I knew you’d be good for me.” He opened her door.
“Thanks for saying ‘yes.’ I’m a happy guy.”
    Her world tilted.
     
    As she and Cisco pulled up in front of her
house, Kurt and Drew tossed a football in the yard. Dad trimmed a
bush beside the porch steps. A tape measure bulged in his back
pocket.
    “Hey, Cisco,” Drew yelled, “throw some
ball?”
    “I’m in.” Cisco came around the car and let
her out. He stood in the open door boxing her in.
    “I have to go.”
    “Sit with you at church tomorrow?”
    “Sure.”
    Cisco leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
“Bye.”
    The snap of the football being passed back
and forth stopped for an instant, and she heard it hit the ground
and bounce again. She didn’t need to look at her brothers to know
they’d seen the whole thing. Kurt and Drew would tease her
mercilessly—and it would be so worth it.
    Cisco jogged toward the boys and scooped up
the ball.
    Her dad chuckled as she ran up the front
steps. “Guess you said you’d go out with him, huh?”
    The screen door banged behind her. Her heart
still raced. The guy had guts—kissing her in front of all the male
members of her family. And they’d known this was coming before she
did. She touched her cheek where Cisco had kissed it.
    Wordless thanks welled up in her to God.
    Something