Getting It by Alex Sanchez Page A

exclaimed. “You made that? You’re really good.”
    Carlos felt a little weird watching Sal interact with his ma. It didn’t give him the creeps like the time Playboy stared at his ma’s butt as she bent over the dishwasher. And his ma’s liking Sal didn’t feel like she was betraying Carlos’s pa, like when she got cozy with Raúl. But it did make Carlos feel a little insecure. Was his ma starting to like Sal better than him? Even though Carlos felt silly thinking that, it made him eager to get going that morning.
    â€œCome on,” he told Sal as he finished wolfing down his cereal. “Let’s go!”
    â€œYour mom’s really nice,” Sal commented, following Carlos downstairs from the apartment. “So why did your parents split up?”
    Carlos gave an evasive shrug. The only people whom he’d told about the reason for the divorce were his buds.
    But Sal persisted. “You don’t know why your parents broke up?”
    Carlos ignored the question, continuing to resist Sal’s intrusion. Why did Sal always have to try prying him open?
As soon as this makeover is over,
Carlos thought,
it’s really over.
    â€œHey, lookit!” Sal stopped walking. “If you want girls to like you,you’re going to have to learn to open up and trust people.”
    Carlos folded his arms, balking. He saw that Sal’s face had the same stern look as when Carlos hadn’t wanted to reveal his crush on Roxy. If Carlos didn’t open up now, Sal would probably threaten to bail again.
    Carlos glanced down at the sidewalk and said in a low voice, “My pa … got involved with someone else … his secretary … and they had a kid.” He lifted his eyes to gaze defiantly at Sal. “Now you know. Satisfied?”
    â€œOh,” Sal said gently, laying his hand on Carlos’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
    Carlos was keenly aware that it was the first time Sal had touched him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about a gay guy touching him. To complicate matters, abruptly and without warning, he felt himself uncontrollably choking up, about to lose it. But why? He’d never cried about his parents’ divorce before. His ma had done the crying; he’d struggled to be strong for her.
    Now, he swallowed the knot in his throat. “Don’t tell anyone what I told you, okay?”
    â€œI won’t.” Sal gazed at Carlos with that annoying tender look again. “Are you all right?”
    â€œI’m fine.” Carlos squirmed out from under Sal’s hand. “Can we just go?” He started walking again, before Sal could get a chance to notice the tears brimming in his eyes.

Seventeen
    C ARLOS HURRIED TOWARD the bus stop ahead of Sal, fighting back his unexpected tears from telling about his pa and Lupita. He struggled to get a grip by focusing on the project at hand—going clothes shopping. “What mall do you want to go to?”
    â€œNo mall,” Sal called from behind. “We’re going downtown to the thrift stores.”
    â€œHuh?” Carlos stopped short. “Aren’t those stores for poor people? I’m not wearing somebody’s smelly rejects.”
    â€œOh, right.” Sal caught up alongside him. “I forgot.” He gazed down at Carlos’s tennis shoes. “You
never
wear anything smelly.”
    Carlos bristled at the sarcasm, his stifled tears turning to annoyance. “Look, forget it. I don’t feel like going shopping anymore. I don’t have enough money anyway.” He dug into his pocket. “Here.” He shoved the crumpled bills toward Sal. “That’s what I owe you, plus money for today. I’m going home.”
    Sal stared at the cash but refused to take it. “What’s up with you? Forget the money. You don’t have to pay me for today, okay?”
    Carlos held the wad of bills in front of him. Why was Sal suddenly