Zain
Zain waited outside for Jasmine while she took her surfboard into her apartment. He guessed he should have introduced himself to her parents. But they had just met, and they were only going to his Uncle Miguel’s food truck. His uncle made the best Tostones, Cuban bowls, and Cuban Sandwiches in Miami. He just hoped Jasmine liked Cuban food.
A moment later, she came out the door, still wearing her bikini and sarong, but she had also put on dainty leather sandals and had pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She looked gorgeous. “Ready?”
Zain nodded, smiling. “You know, if you don’t like Cuban food, I can always take you somewhere else.”
Jasmine smiled, shaking her head. “No, I love it.”
“Great!” He started walking in the direction where his uncle always parked. “It’s right around the corner.”
“How far?” she asked, trying to keep up with his long strides.
At that moment, Zain realized how much smaller she was than him. He had to have been at least a foot taller than her. Perfect.
He slowed down inconspicuously so she wouldn’t have to walk so quickly. “So, are you looking forward to going to college?”
She shrugged. “I’m excited about going away and finally having my freedom, but....”
“You’re a little nervous about it, too.”
She nodded, a smile lighting her lips. “Just a little.”
He playfully nudged her shoulder with his. “Well, don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.” They turned a corner and he noticed that a lock of her long hair had fallen across her face. He reached over and gently tucked it behind her ear. “There.” He looked down and she was looking directly into his eyes with trust and interest, and at that moment, he knew he wanted to earn it. He let his hand trail down her arm to her hand and held it, gently pulling her ahead. “It’s right over here.”
Jasmine smiled and nodded but didn’t pull her hand away. He loved the feel of her hand in his, so small and tender, but strong and warm. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for her to meet his favorite uncle. In his culture, family was everything. And even though they had just met, he already wanted her to be a part of it… even if it was just as friends.
“Zain! My favorite nephew!” Uncle Miguel headed toward the side door of the truck. “It’s about time you came see me!”
“Come on,” Zain said to Jasmine, laughing. When they rounded the corner of the food truck, Miguel stepped on the ground. “Uncle Miguel!” Zain gave his uncle a manly handshake.
But his uncle pulled him in for a hug instead. “I’m so glad you’re back!”
“It’s good to be back.” Zain smiled. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see much of you at the party the other night.”
Miguel’s smile touched his eyes, causing them to twinkle. “That’s all right! You had a lot of people to see.” Then he looked over at Jasmine and smiled. “But what I want to know now is why you didn’t bring this lovely lady to the party with you?”
Jasmine giggled, smiling.
“Uncle Miguel, this is Jasmine. Jasmine, this is my Uncle Miguel.” Zain was pleased that Jasmine appeared to like his uncle. “And to answer your question, we had just met that day.”
Miguel’s eyebrows rose nearly into his hairline, looking between them. “Really?”
Zain nodded, smiling. “Yes.” Then he looked down at Jasmine. “She and her family just came into town.”
“Just like someone else I know!” He chuckled as he held his hand out to Jasmine. “Well, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you.”
She offered him her hand and he raised it to his lips and then released her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”
Zain noticed that she was smiling, but clearly taken aback at his uncle being so forward with her. It usually took him a bit to warm up to people. Yet, here he was, treating her as if he had known her for years. Zain guessed that Jasmine just had that kind of way about her and wondered if her family was as affectionate as his.
“So, would you like something to eat?” Miguel asked, looking between them. “I know! How about one of my special Cuban bowls or a Cuban Sandwich?” He shrugged, leaning toward Jasmine conspiratorially. “But I also have hamburgers, if you like boring food.”
Jasmine laughed and looked up at Zain. “What would you recommend?”
Zain was surprised at how poised she was, appearing to be older than her age.
“It’s all good. It just depends upon what you like.” He looked back at his uncle, raising an eyebrow. “But it’s been a while since I’ve had some of your Tostones.”
Miguel laughed, knowing he was hinting. “You got it! What else?”
Zain looked over at Jasmine and smiled. “What would you like?”
She shrugged, clearly enjoying herself. “Why don’t you surprise me?”
Zain smiled, looking over at his uncle. “How about two orders of Tostones and two Cuban Sandwiches?”
“Sounds good!” Miguel started to lift himself back up into the truck, but Zain helped him.
Zain opened his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “We’ll take two sodas, too. I’d like a Pepsi and she’d like....”
“Coke Zero, please,” Jasmine answered.
“Coming right up!” Miguel turned around and his face fell when Zain tried to hand him the bill. “Oh no, returning hero! Your money’s no good here! You know that!”
“You don’t have to do that!” Zain chuckled. “And I’m definitely not a returning hero.”
Miguel leaned in conspiratorially. “Tell that to your aunt... and your mother, your sister... and—”
“Okay, okay!” Zain cut him off, laughing. “I’ll let you treat today on one condition: I treat you to lunch next time.”
Miguel laughed. “Although I appreciate the sentiment, I have a food truck and can eat what I want, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Zain laughed. “Well, I’ll think of something then.”
“Oh! I know!” Miguel’s face lit up as if he just had the idea of the century. “Why not get me tickets to your first professional baseball game in the bigs?”
Zain laughed. “That might be a while. Besides, lots of great baseball players don’t end up going the distance.”
“Which will not be you,” Miguel firmly replied, pointing his finger at him. “You were meant to be a ballplayer.” Then a broad grin spread across his face. “So, is it a deal? Tickets to your first game in the big leagues?”
Zain liked the confidence his uncle always had in him. He reached up and shook his hand. “Uncle Miguel, if I make it to the big leagues, then you can have all the tickets you want.”
Miguel laughed. “You joke but be careful what you offer because I’m going to take you up on it.”
Zain chuckled. “Well, I hope you do. In fact, if I ever get to the big leagues, I’m going to hold you to it.”
“Not ‘if’… ‘when.’” Miguel’s face suddenly turned serious. Then he walked away, still talking. “You joke, but it’s going to happen!”
“So, you want to be a professional baseball player one day?” Jasmine asked, tilting her head to the side.
Zain nodded, smiling. “Yes... one day.”
“For which team?” Jasmine asked, clearly intrigued.
“The St. Louis Cardinals.” Zain sighed as a smile lit his lips. “But right now, I’d play for any team, as long as they were pro.”
Jasmine nodded. “You will one day.”
Zain raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”
She nodded, a broad smile spreading across her face. “I know so.” She shrugged. “Either that or a pro surfer.”
Zain laughed. “A pro surfer, huh?”
“But don’t worry,” she replied. “I’ll be there to cheer you on.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Promise?”
She nodded, smiling. “Promise.”
That was one promise Zain was going to hold her to.
“Yeah, but by then, you’ll be married with four kids and will have forgotten all about me,” she teased in a sing-song voice.
Without thinking, he reached over and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t bet on it.”
JJasmineJasmine was taken aback by Zain’s forwardness at kissing the top of her head. But she didn’t mind. She liked that people in his culture were so friendly and affectionate. But it would take her a bit to get used to. Although her parents were affectionate, it wasn’t like this. But she wasn’t complaining.“Sorry about that,” he replied, seeing her reaction.“I’m not.” She shrugged. “With you, it feels natural.” If any other guy had done that, she would have probably decked him without thinking. But not Zain. He was different. With him, everything was different in ways she couldn’t explain.“Here you go!” Miguel announced, setting two rectangle paper containers lined with thin paper on the counter. “Let me know if you’d like anything else.” Then he smiled at Jasmine. “It’s nice to meet you, miss. Make sure to keep this one out of trouble.” He laughed, pointing his thumb toward Zain.“Okay, okay! Don’t scare her off,” Zain said, taking both containers.Miguel shrugged. “She doesn
ZainAlthough he hated to say goodbye, Zain walked Jasmine back to her parents’ apartment, knowing she couldn’t spend much more time in the sun. As fair as she was, she would fry.“I had a nice time with you today,” he said as they walked toward her door.Jasmine nodded, obviously having had enough outdoor fun. “So did I.” But as they walked toward her door—literally right on the beach—she paused. “Would you like to come in for a while? We can pop some popcorn and watch a movie.”Zain shook his head. “Maybe some other day. But I would like to meet your parents, if that’s okay.” He laughed. “I don’t know what’s customary in your culture, but in my culture, the boy has to meet the girl’s parents before they go on their first date. Then, usually they have to bring along a little sister as a chaperone.”Jasmine’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Seriously? In today’s day and age?”He nodded. “‘Fraid so.”“Well, lucky for you, I don’t have a little sister. I’m an only child. But don’t give my
JasmineOver the next few days, Jasmine and Zain went surfing every day. It was an unspoken, simple vow between them. And Jasmine found that she looked forward to each day, knowing she would spend it with Zain. Then, when it was time to go, she hated to leave his side in the afternoon.“Where are you going?” her mother asked one morning just before she was going out to meet him.“Surfing.” Jasmine was already getting a nice tan from being out in the sun every day. On this day, she wore a floral summer shorts set over her bikini, thankful that her mother had insisted on getting them.Her mother’s lips were set in a straight line. “I don’t want you seeing that boy anymore.”“Mom, he’s a great person.” Jasmine hurried to gather her things, not in the mood to hear her mother’s complaints again. If Zain had been a boy of society from what her parents deemed as a “good family,” her mother wouldn’t be complaining at all. But that was one of the things that Jasmine liked about Zain. He was hi
ZainZain traced a finger over her cheekbone, along her jawline, and then gently cupped her neck with his hand, looking into her eyes. “Tell me.”Her breath quickened, and he knew her resolve was waning. “That’s not fair.”“What?” he asked, his voice low.“You’re using coercion,” Jasmine breathed.Then a broad smile spread across his lips. “Is it working?”Jasmine sighed, and her face suddenly fell. She pushed abruptly away and started backing off. “I’m going home. See you later.” Hot, angry tears began filling her eyes, threatening to spill over as she turned around and hurried away.Zain stood there watching her, stunned beyond all words. Then it hit him. She thought he was playing her. “Jasmine!” He ran after her and caught her arm, quickly turning her around, his eyes filled with shock. “Jasmine, I was only kidding around. I’m so sorry. I’m not a player. I swear.” He reached up to catch a stray tear from under her eye, but she turned away. “Hey, hey!” He looked directly into her e
ZainThen he gently parted her lips with his tongue and taught her how to French kiss, letting his fingers trail over her back. Suddenly, she kissed him with vigor, giving him the best make out session he’d ever had. He pulled back a moment later, breathless.“What’s wrong?” Jasmine asked, running her fingers through the side of his hair, her eyes searching his, filled with concern.Zain took a moment to catch his breath and to calm himself down before things got out of hand. Then he leaned in and gave her another sweet kiss, and said against her lips, “I just don’t want things to get too far out of control.”Jasmine nodded, understanding. She looked into his eyes, her eyelids half closed, looking sexy as hell, which did nothing for his resolve.He smiled. “Just do me a favor. If you ever kiss another guy, don’t kiss him like that unless you want more than you bargained for.”Then her face suddenly became serious as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked deeply into his eyes.
JasmineJasmine held Zain for a long while in the water as the waves washed over them and then gave him another passionate kiss.His lips moved to the tender skin right under her jaw. “Ready to get something to eat?”She laughed, thinking of the adage: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach... and almost-sex. “Yeah. I am.”“Are you okay?” he asked, moving a strand of hair away from her face.She nodded. “I’m fine. You?”He cocked his head to the side. “Yeah. I’m fine.”Then Jasmine thought of something. “Are you going to think differently of me now?”Zain held her close, looking deeply into her eyes. “Never.” Then a crease formed between his eyes. “Do you think differently of me?”Jasmine smiled, shaking her head. “No. Never.”She didn’t want to scare him, but at that moment, she knew it would never be over between them. Jasmine gave him another passionate kiss, her legs still wrapped around his exquisite, naked body, committing every moment to memory. Then she released him,
ZainThe next day, Zain knew that Jasmine wasn’t going to be at the beach, so he opted to go to the batting cages instead, and then spent the rest of the day at home. He almost went to the beach anyway but knew it would remind him too much of Jasmine.Want to go to the batting cages? Zain texted Raphael.Well, hello, stranger, he texted back. To what do I owe this honor?Sorry we haven’t spent any time together yet. Zain sighed. So, do you want to go or not? If Raphael wanted to go, then fine. But he wasn’t going to beg.A moment passed and then Raphael texted, I’ll be there in half an hour.See you there.Zain showered and then dressed in a baseball shirt and shorts, donned a baseball cap, and headed out. It had been a month since he had gone to the batting cages, so it was time. Even though Zain was out for the summer, he needed to make sure to take time to practice. He wondered if Jasmine would like to go with him sometime. He smiled, imagining her in a baseball outfit in a batting
ZainZain turned on the engine and listened as his truck roared to life, knowing he had to get out of there. He turned down the street, thinking of Jasmine. Even though he hadn’t told her that he loved her yet, he did. And somehow, he knew she felt the same.But then again, he had just taught her how to kiss and had given her a taste of love. Zain knew she had a lot more firsts yet to go. He had dated and been with other women before her, but he wanted Jasmine to be his last. Although he was glad that he was the first man she kissed and the first man to give her an orgasm, he wanted to be her first with everything. But she was young and had a lot more life to experience before she settled down... and he didn’t want her to miss out on it because he had taken it from her... robbed her of it. He would never do that to her.But no matter how she felt about him, he loved her, and he would wait until she was ready... if she wanted him.As Zain drove toward the batting cages, he thought of a