We got out of the parked car, having now arrived at the restaurant. “I can’t wait to eat”, Danisha says. “Me too, I’ve been starving!” I say.

The exterior of the place looks… cozy. The building has a white cobblestone foundation, and the porch had iron railings that were green. It had pronounced wooden corner posts that were a vibrant crimson that matched the tile roofing.

I haven’t eaten anything recently. I haven’t been avoiding it completely, but there wasn’t enough food at Raena’s place.

We walk in and a waitress greets us. “Table for three?” She grabs menus and tells us to follow her. Our table is right near the window. “Thanks,” Rigoberto tells her. The waitress smiles in welcome. “Someone will be with you soon.” She walks away.

Minutes later a waiter shows up. “Welcome to Cantina Caliente. Can I get you started with drinks?” he smiles. “I’ll have water, please,” Rigoberto says. “Strawberry milkshake”, Danisha answers. Then it was my turn. “Pina colada.”

I take out my ID and show him. He nods. “I’ll be back.”

We look through the menu and decide what we want to order as we wait for our drinks to come. Twenty minutes later the waiter comes back and sets our drinks down in front of us. “Ready to order?” he asks, taking out a pen and paper.

“I’ll have the supreme quesadillas.” I say. “Tacos for me”, Danisha responds. “Chili con queso”, pipes in Rigoberto.

“Okay, all set. I’ll be back with your food soon.” Once again, he leaves.

I look at both Danisha and her father. “What makes this place special?” I ask. Rigoberto takes a sip of his drink. “Well, it reminds me of back when my grandfather used to make his food. He passed down his recipes to me but I didn’t have the talent to cook, so I gave them to my brother.”

“So I assume he’s a chef or something, right?”

“Yeah, just about. He brings all the great stuff to the table.” he smiles. “Maybe you could meet him eventually.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” I replied.

Rigoberto tries to touch Kota through his cage.

“He’s adorable! I wish I could keep him!” he laughs. “Maybe he would want to play with a yarn ball or something?” he asks me.

“Maybe another time; my Kota’s got a bad paw right now.” I explain while eating.

“Oh, alright.” Rigoberto replies.

“Hey, dad? Are we getting dessert afterwards?” Danisha asks.

“Are you nuts? No; I don’t have that much with me to spend. Only for lunch. I told you that before we left home.”

“Maybe next time?” she offers. “Maybe,” he says with a shrug.

At last, our food comes on big plates. We talk about several different aspects of our lives and our routines. After about an hour, I feel full and bloated.

I check my phone and the time. No notifications except from Raena. One missed call from 2 hours ago. Oh shit. Well, I can always check in when we get back to the car.

Eventually the other two finish and we leave happily to the car. “I really enjoy the place,” I remarked. “Yeah? I’m glad to hear you liked it.” Rigoberto says. Danisha looks at me.

“Are you going to have to head home when we get back?” she asks. “I think so, because Raena called me.” I say. “Maybe you can stay longer,” she suggests with pleading eyes. “Uh, well, maybe. It’s not like I have a time limit or anything.” I laugh.

I wish I could feel this happy forever. I always liked hanging out with Danisha.

We drive off and head back to the house in silence, with Danisha and I scrolling mindlessly on our socials. I get another call from Raena and decide to answer.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hi, Leah, you could come back now. He’s back but I’m still upstairs. I brought your stuff up here in my room so he doesn’t try to mess with it or anything. I’m sorry I made you leave.” she says sadly.

“Don’t. I won’t take your apology. You had to do what you thought was right.”

“Where are you, with Danisha?” Raena wonders.

“Yeah, I am. I should be home soon.” I reassure her.

“Okay, try to hurry. Please, for me.”

We hang up and Danisha gives me a puzzled look. “What’s new?”

“Just as I thought; she wants me to get back. She’s worried. Well, scared, understandably. And honestly I am not a fan of her husband.”

“Who’s her husband? Like, his name and all.”

“His name’s Harris. Very tall, about six feet two, and works in tech. He’s controlling with her and I don’t like it.”

“Right. You know what you both need to do.” Danisha says.

“I’ll try to do something, and I’ll let you know about it later on, I promise.”

She nods and gets back to scrolling on her phone.

“There’s some asshole riding my ass.” he says angrily. I turn around and notice a familiar car… Marie's car. “Just speed up, Dad.” Danisha says.

Rigoberto switches lanes and I catch a glimpse of her. I feel… a flash of different emotions.

Pain, anger, regret, sorrow. All at the same time in that second.

“Please, can we go a little faster?” I ask. “Sorry, but I don’t want to get a ticket, I’m already going ten over fifty five.” Rigoberto says.

“Maybe try to take a short nap and I’ll let you know when we’re back.” Danisha says. “Lay your head in my lap.”

I slowly get comfortable and lay my head down. Her thighs are nice and warm. I put my hand to rest on one of them as I drift off. I feel her reciprocate my touch when she puts a hand on my waist.

“Leah…,” Danisha whispers. “Get up, you should go now.”

I slowly get up, leaving their car and carrying Kota out with me. The other two came out too.

“I had fun with you both today. Thanks.” I say, hugging both Danisha and Rigoberto.

“Anytime,” he says.

“I’ll text you later on.” Danisha says, kissing my cheek. “Be safe.” They go back in their car and drive away. I head in and start to walk up the stairs.

“Hi Leah, welcome back.” Raena says. “If you want some food, I got plenty of it today.”

“You mean me.” Harris says.

“Hmph.” Raena passive aggressively dismissed him.

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, right. Always him. Anyways, come here.” I go over and she quickly hugs me. “Get yourself in bed if you’re tired. I understand.”

I nod. “Goodnight, you guys.” I head up into Raena’s room, put Kota on my bed, and change into another pair of pajamas. I take my phone and text Danisha that I’m safe.

I end up scrolling on my phone for a while while sitting in bed when I get a text back. “Thanks for letting me know. Also, we should hang out again soon. I’ll be bringing my Dad back to his brother’s next week, if you’d want to go for a ride.”

“Maybe, but I’m about to go to bed. I might dream of you, you know,” I joke.

Danisha sends back three hearts. “I might too, have a good night.”

I plug my phone in to charge and put Kota on my chest before falling asleep.

The next morning, a Monday, I wake up but stay in bed for a little longer before heading downstairs, making sure to take Kota with me so he eats. I see Raena sitting in the living room eating her breakfast while watching a crime show.

“Good morning, hun.” she tells me.

“Hey, morning.”

“Do you want some food?” she motions to the kitchen.

I yawn. “No, I’m good. I ate too much yesterday. I’ll make myself some tea though.” I go into the kitchen and boil some water. I put Kota on the floor right next to the food bowl where he excitedly eats. Aw. I better make sure he gets more grub.

The water clicks and I pour it into my mug, stirring it until the water turns dark then I throw out the tea bag. I stir in some sugar, honey and milk.

I joined Raena in the living room. We watched the show together in silence.

She turns to me. “So what happened yesterday? While you were out.” I tell her about Danisha and how I met her dad.

“I’m sure he’s nice.” she tells me.

“I think maybe Danisha likes me.” I smile. Well, I should assume she was being friendly. You never know, though.

Despite all the years of being with Marie and the horrible experiences with her, I can remember what falling in love was like.

But I don’t want to get my hopes up just to have them crash. I don't know if I'm ready.

“Are you sure? You’ve only hung out a couple times so it seems rather fast for you to come up with that conclusion. You haven’t even known her for that long.” Raena replies. She raises an eyebrow at me.

“Well, maybe. I’ll have to see, but she did kiss my cheek yesterday.”

“Come on! You can’t think in such a way just because of that. That’s common stuff.”

With that said, I’m now confused about my own feelings.