THE PAST

Juan knew they were talking about him. First, only June had peeked in his direction, making the hope increase that she had changed her mind, but now her friends were looking at him too. Making him wish that he had never asked her in the first place.

It felt like the umpteenth miscalculation he had made about her. Especially since she had apologized for the fact that her rejection would make him look bad in front of his friends, he thought that meant she was going to keep her refusal to herself. He hadn't taken her for the type of girl to gossip; going around telling everyone she had turned him down. There hadn't been the slightest trace of arrogance in her voice. But he also knew of her blue haired friend. She would find out and spread it around the school; a real news flash that he ‒ the little brother of the infamous Mateo who could always get anyone he wanted ‒ had received his very first rejection.

He could already hear his friends laughing. He would hear it echoing in the halls until the end of the year...

When the buzzer went off, announcing the end of the period, he took his tray to the bin and turned to head for class. Emilio however grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"So, who is it? I saw you looking." At Juan's silence, Emilio smirked. "I knew it was a chick from school! Is it Beth? I got to admit, she's kinda hot."

Juan could barely breathe; a warm glow taking over his cheeks. He was glad that Emilio hadn't thrown these questions at him while the rest of their friends had been around, but he still wished he would drop it.

"Beth?" he repeated a bit dazed. There weren't many people able to send shivers down his spine, but Beth sure could. She scared him. She always looked so erratic, and sometimes there was such a murderous look in his eyes... He wondered if she was saving that deadly glance for him, since Emilio didn't seem bothered by her.

"Beth's got a screw loose, don't ya think?" he muttered, pulling away his arm. He continued his walk to the classrooms, but Emilio kept up effortlessly.

"Can be hot," he said with a smirk. "Then who is it? Damn man, you got your head so high up in the clouds you don't even tell your best friend? Or is it Jordy?! Then I get why you're keeping it to yourself." He laughed. "Dude, if you want her – I'm jumping off a bridge."

Juan thought it would be better to stay silent. There weren't many options left from that table. His friend however had figured that out too.

"I bet it's neither the whale! Is it the other one? Ha, can't think of a chick that has to be more boring in bed!"

"What?" Juan asked in surprise, too overwhelmed to realize what he was saying. "You know...it could be good... just nice and slow..."

Even though Emilio might be willing to have a more experienced girl in bed, Juan liked it better if she was a virgin too. Then at least he couldn't fail too badly – and if he did, well she wouldn't know right?

Emilio chuckled. There was a too wide grin on his face. "Nice and slow, huh?" He pretended to grab someone by the hips and moved his hips in a thrusting motion. "How long have you been jerking off with that fantasy on your mind?"

Juan gritted his teeth and sat down behind a desk at the back of the room. Not that it would help him to get rid off Emilio, who just shoved in next to him. The eyes of his friend darted towards June, who sat on the other side of the room, next to the window with her friend Shawna.

"I never noticed, but she does have a pretty face indeed. But she really needs to wear something more exciting instead of that grey baggy shit, it barely shows anything at all; like c'mon man, is she a nun or something?!" Emilio pulled up the corner of his mouth as he looked at Juan. "So you're going to prom with her?"

Something cold descended in his stomach. The fact that she rejected him just couldn't pass his lips and he just shrugged as he brought his bag closer, pulling out his math books and placing them on the table.

"What's her name again? Something with a 'J', right?"

"June," he answered shortly.

"June and Juan. Dude, that sounds just adorable." Emilio flipped a pen between his fingers and ignored the teacher who started his instruction. "So... nice and slow, huh?" He chuckled.

Juan couldn't stop the images his brain was creating. His hand cupping the side of her face, while his thumb caressed her cheek; her lips formed that beautiful smile, the one that made the blood flow faster through his veins. Very lightly her lips brushed his and after a short kiss he moved his hand across her cheek to her well-formed mouth, his thumb stroking along her bottom lip. She didn't break eye contact as she moved her lips around his thumb and sucked. He became aware of her warm skin up against his chest, what she felt like pressed to his stomach. Slowly he entered her and pulled back again. Her lips parted slightly as her eyes widened; she tilted her head back so that his lips could explore her neck. Instead of allowing his lips to follow the curve of her neck, he kept his eyes locked on her face as it had an almost ecstatic expression across it and all because she liked having him inside her so much.

Juan shifted on his chair because he was getting hard and shook off his daydream before someone could notice. The ever-present smirk on his friend's face however told him he knew exactly what paths his mind had traveled and he could feel the heat flaring across his face again. His eyes shot to June, worried that she had caught him in his fantasy but she was listening to the instructions of their teacher, obviously unaware of his thoughts towards her.

Fortunately. He didn't feel as guilty because he had focused on her face instead of her naked body, even though he had pictured that often enough. But never when she was around, never when there was the chance of being caught.

"Well, I've heard it has its kicks," Emilio mused; he was as always perfectly able to continue a conversation on his own. "Such a good girl... who knows what dirty things you can make her do. Still waters run deep, isn't that what they're always saying?"

"Dude, you never give up, do ya?" Juan replied a bit agitated. "I just asked her to prom. I think she's fucking beautiful and I just wanted to get to know her, that's all." He flipped through his textbook until he found the page where he left off – much further than his classmates – and tried to concentrate on the issues.

Emilio snorted. "I'm your best friend, dude. You should have told me, instead of givin' my mom the chance to pull it out of you. And even then! You lied about it when you told me Mateo was getting you a chick."

Juan rolled his eyes. "You're really making a mountain out of a molehill."

"I'm not. Because I'm a wing man that likes to be prepared." He wiggled his eyebrows. "For if my homie wants a girl, I'm gonna help him with it."