Adapting to Eric no longer being in school with her wasn’t easy. He was also going to college and working now, so that made it harder for them to be together as often as Sofia would have liked.
Sofia was a senior now. School was far more demanding, and she was still on the track team. She was not about to give her parents a reason to take back her permission to have a boyfriend, not that at this point anything could keep her and Eric apart. But she liked not having to sneak around, so she spent a lot of time studying.
One of the biggest changes now that Angel and Eric were no longer in school with her was boys were really opening up to Sofia. It was new and exciting, but Eric’s senior ring hung on the chain around her neck, faithfully. Still, that didn’t mean she never flirted. With her brothers gone, she discovered just how big a flirt she could be, and she relished it.
As the year went by, she and Eric fell into a routine. During the week, they saw so much less of each other than they had the year before and that past summer, but it worked out. She was just glad Eric hadn’t gone away to school. She would’ve never lived through that. Even now, she saw less of him during the week, but she saw him at least twice, and they spoke every day, not to mention texted all the time, and of course, they made love frantically every chance they got.
Late her senior year, while Eric was busy cramming for finals, she finally decided to show up and surprise him at his job. He worked in a big home electronics store at the mall. She’d stopped by at his job before, but he was always so busy he hardly had time to visit with her, so she hadn’t dropped in on him in a while. This was the longest they’d gone in a while without seeing each other. He’d been busy cramming for finals all week. She could tell he was a little worried about his grades, so she stayed away and let him study.
It was a Friday night, and the place was busy. It only took her a moment to spot him. He was helping a customer, and she decided to go around the aisle and come up from behind him to surprise him. She strolled up and waited for him to finish with the customer.
The girl he helped looked older than Sofia. Sofia hadn’t paid attention to the conversation until the girl laughed a little too loud. Then Eric laughed with her.
“Eric, you know I’m a tech idiot,” the girl teased. “That software you installed for me on Tuesday is still sitting there on my computer, untouched. You’re gonna have to come over and install this one for me.”
“How hard is it to put the disc in and follow the prompts?”
The girl laughed again, making the hair on Sofia’s arm stand up.
“I could probably drop by on my way home if you want. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“And then you’ll show me how to use it?”
Eric’s laugh was like none Sofia had ever heard. It made her stomach turn. “It’s not that hard, Nicky. But yeah, I can walk you through it.”
“Yay, you’re a doll. I’ll make you fish tacos, and I already have Coronas chilling in the fridge.”
Sofia held her breath. Say you can’t—you won’t.
“Fish tacos and a cold beer? Sounds good.”
Sofia walked away and out of the store, choking in anger. He’d been to this bitch’s house this week to install software, but he hadn’t had time for her all week? He hadn’t called her all day to mention anything about getting together tonight, so she’d assumed he was busy studying again.
She hit the speed dial on her phone and called him. When he didn’t answer, she called right back. Never once this entire time had she questioned Eric’s faithfulness. Sure, she’d worried a little when he started college about all the college girls he’d be meeting, but once he started, and nothing changed between them, she felt certain she could trust him. He’d loved her since they were kids. He told her this all the time. The jealousy burned her up. She called until he answered, pacing outside the store.
“What is it, Sof? I’m working. I’m not supposed to answer my phone.”
“Am I gonna see you tonight?”
He paused. “That’s what you’re calling about?” He paused again for a moment. “I don’t know, babe. I still gotta cram.”
Her stomach bottomed out. Without thinking, the words flew out, “Fuck you, Eric! I hope you enjoy Nicky’s tacos, because I’m never cooking for you again!”
She hung up and wiped her tears. The heartache she felt was suffocating. It took her a while before she realized she was walking in the wrong direction. She spun around and stalked to her car.
***
Sofie’s words were like a bat to Eric’s groin. It took him a moment to recover. When he did, he realized she must’ve been in the store, close enough to hear his conversation.
He tried calling her back several times, but each time it went to voicemail. After working for another half hour, his phone rang again. It was Angel.
“Shit.”
The number-one rule when Alex and Angel had laid down the law about him and Sofia was, “Do not break her heart.” Alex had harped on that more than anything. He’d never even brought up sex. He hurried to the break room to answer it.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“You better hope my sister stops crying before Alex gets home. What the fuck did you do, Eric?”
She was crying? This was worse than he thought. It was only fish tacos!
“Nothing!”
He explained about his friend Nicky, told Angel that Sofia must’ve been there and overheard. “But I swear to God I was just being polite. I would never do anything to hurt Sofia.”
He told him about Sofie’s call, leaving out exactly what she’d said, just said she was harsh. “I really do need to cram, Angel. I just think she’s completely misunderstanding all this.”
Angel’s tone didn’t ease up even after his explanation. “Well, you better fix this, because I’ve never seen her this upset. I don’t like it.”
“I’m on my way.”
Eric told his manager he had an emergency and had to take off early. His dad would kill him if he knew what he was doing. He already warned Eric he had too much going on. School was his first priority then work, and last was his social life. That’s why he’d cut down on his time with Sofia. But he had to fix this, and he had to do it now.
The more he thought about it on his way to her house, the more he realized why she’d been so upset. He turned it around in his head. If it had been him, he’d be incensed. Truthfully, he had been a little flattered with Nicky’s continual flirting, and now he was feeling rotten about it. He took a deep breath before getting out of his car at Sofia’s house.
Angel met him at the door. “I already told her you’re here, but she refuses to come down. Sarah’s in there with her now.”
Eric had no idea what to do. “Can I go up there?”
Angel’s face soured. “Hell no, I’ll go tell her you’re here again and remind her Alex will be home soon.”
Eric stood at the bottom of the staircase, waiting. He looked up when he heard her door open. Angel came out first, followed by Sofia. Even Angel flinched when Sofia yelled, “You’re a liar! You were at her house this week, and you were going there again tonight! But you told me you had to cram!”
Her parents rushed in from the kitchen.
“Sofia, what’s the matter? You’re crying?” Her mom looked up the staircase.
Sofia ignored her mom. “Is that who you were cramming all week, Eric?”
Angel had started down the stairs but stopped at her outburst. “Sofie, calm down. Let him explain.”
“No! Go get your fish tacos, Eric. Tell Nicky you like lots of cabbage!”
“Sof, I can explain. It’s not what you’re thinking. I swear to you.”
Her parents stared at him. As if his heart could take anymore, Alex walked in.
“What’s with all the yelling?” He took one look at Sofia’s face, and his expression immediately went hard. He turned to Eric. “What did you do?”
Mr. Moreno put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Calmado.”
“Nothing,” Sofia said before Eric could respond. She rushed past Angel down the stairs. “It was just a misunderstanding.”
Alex still glared at Eric, but Sofia grabbed Eric’s hand and pulled him toward the front door. “We’ll be outside.”
As soon as they were outside, Sofia let go of his hand. “You’re lucky I didn’t want my brother to blow up.”
“Sof, I swear to you. It’s not what you’re thinking.” His heart was still pummeling against his chest. He knew Sofia could be feisty, but to make such a scene in front of her family? “The software I installed for her on Tuesday was in the store. She brought in her computer. I was only going to stop and install the new one tonight then go straight home. I was not going to hang out with her. You have to believe that, Sof.” He reached his hand out to her, but she backed away. “I love you. I would never do something like that.”
She paced back and forth, hugging herself. Alex stuck his head out the front door. “You okay, Sofie?”
She nodded and wiped her tears away. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Alex glared at Eric then looked back at Sofia. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Alex shot Eric another look before closing the door.
“Don’t ever …” She whispered.
“What?” Eric took a step closer to her.
“Don’t you ever dare cheat on me, Eric Diego.”
He’d never even considered it and ga-damn if he’d ever would now. He reached his hand out and she took it.
“I would never, Sof. You should know that.” He pulled her to him, feeling her arms wrap around him and squeeze him.
“I don’t want you to talk to that girl anymore, and you better never eat any of her food.”
Eric had to smile. He hadn’t even thought of what a big deal that might be, but Sofia had always loved cooking for him. It was their thing. He buried his face in her neck. “I’m sorry I made you so upset. I hate to see you cry.”
Sofia pulled away from him and looked him straight in the eyes. “No more house calls for any of your tech idiotgirlfriends either. Okay?”
Eric kissed her. “I wish you could somehow feel what I feel for you, Sof. You’d never have to worry about me with anyone else.”
“I do feel it. It’s what I feel for you, but you made me question it today.”
“I’m sorry, Sof. I didn’t even do anything, but I’ll say that forever. I’m sorry.”
She rested her head against his chest and sighed. “I feel drained.”
Eric took a deep breath. “Yeah, that makes two of us.”
***
Sofia’s graduation present was a trip to Cancun. Eric seemed thrilled when she said she wanted him to come with her. All her friends were going. It would be a blast.
Sofia had been a little surprised her brothers were actually happy Eric was going, but at almost nineteen, she knew her brothers had to assume they were sexually active. At this point, all they were more worried about was her safety, partying in a foreign country.
The trip was everything she’d hoped for, except for the fact that she was the only one of her girlfriends that brought her boyfriend along. There were a couple of nights her friends were a little miffed that she didn’t hang out with them because they were supposed to be girls’ nights. Still, Sofia and Eric made the most of the trip, and they had the best time ever.
Eric took a break that summer and only took a few classes instead of his usual full load. They were able to spend more time together, and, as always, every moment alone was electrifying.
When summer ended, Sofia concentrated on school. She attended UCSD, the same as Alex and Angel. She dare not go anywhere further. It was bad enough school and his job kept them apart for days at a time now. She couldn’t imagine being away from him for weeks, much less months.
She met Naomi in college. They were both majoring in English Lit. They met in a creative writing class. Naomi was a few years older than Sofia was and already had a baby. She was also a little bitter about the hand she’d been dealt. Only twenty-two, she was a single mom with no family support, but she loved reading and writing, and she was working her way through college. Sofia had to respect that.
Sofia worked at the restaurant when she had the time. Her parents had told her she could put in as many or as little hours as she wanted. She couldn’t even imagine working a regular job, going to school, and raising a baby all by herself.
They went to lunch as they often did. Sofia sat across from Naomi. She’d asked Sofia if she could interview her. Naomi was working on a paper on relationships for Psych class.
Naomi bit into her sandwich before picking up her pen and note pad. “So how did you meet Eric?”
Sofia smiled. “I’ve known him forever.”
“Really? Your whole life?”
Sofia nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. We grew up in the same neighborhood. He lived up the block from me. Still does.” She bit into her own sandwich. Naomi waited for her to continue. When she was done chewing, she swallowed and added, “He’s my brother’s best friend, so he was always around.”
“Wow. That’s so sweet. So was he your first boyfriend?”
Sofia smiled and nodded. “My first everything, actually. I’d never even kissed a boy before him.”
Naomi stared. “You’ve never had any other experiences than with him?”
Sofia thought about it. That was it in a nutshell—she’d never been interested in experiencing anything with anyone else.
“That’s interesting. I’ve been reading a lot about long-term relationships. The ones that I find the most fascinating are the couples that meet and marry after only a very short time, say a week or a month, but are together forever. Then there are the ones like you, who’ve known each other their whole lives and stay together forever. I know you’re still young, so who knows. Personally, I don’t know anyone else, even high school sweethearts, who have stayed together. It seems like too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well.” Naomi sat up. “I’m not saying you will; I’m just saying most couples that start that young eventually start getting bored with the same relationship and start wondering what they missed out on: you know—dating—meeting new people in the real world outside high school.”
The memory of Eric laughing with the girl at the store came to mind. There hadn’t been any more instances since then, but the image was seared in her mind forever.
“In most cases, usually the guy starts to resent all he missed out on.” She tilted her head. “Neither of you has had other relationships outside of each other?”
Sofia smiled big. “Nope, it’s just been me and him all this time.”
Naomi took another bite of her sandwich and wrote something, thinking aloud. “Never even been kissed by anyone else.”
Sofia shook her head. “Nope, and I never wanna be.”
Naomi smiled. “That’s beautiful, but don’t you get curious?”
“About what?”
“I don’t know.” Naomi stared. “I’m just saying don’t you ever get curious about what kissing another guy would be like?”
Sofia shook her head. “Never.”
“That is so amazing.” She held out her hand and gave Sofia a high five. “You go! You and your boyfriend are one in so few.”
Sofia thought about that then remembered Angel and Sarah. “My brother and his girlfriend have been together since high school, and they’re sophomores in college now.”
Naomi’s eyebrows lifted. She lifted her notepad again but waited until she finished chewing, then asked. “Were they each other’s first too?”
Sofia laughed. “I’m pretty sure she was his first real girlfriend, but she was far from his first experience.”
“What about her?”
After thinking about it for a moment, she responded, “I think she said she had gone out with a couple of guys before she met my brother.”
Naomi jotted a few things down on her notepad. “Well, that’s a little different.”
Sofia was beginning to feel annoyed. Who cared if she didn’t have anyone else to compare Eric to? She didn’t want to compare him to anyone. All her friends had these roller-coaster relationships. She and Eric barely had a few minor bumps. They were incredibly happy, and neither could get enough of each other. She bit into a carrot and waited for Naomi’s next question.