The Feria by Julia Bade Page A

Xavier and Soledad had grown inseparable. Whether or not this was normal for people in love, Soledad did not know, but she would spend every hour of every day with him if she were permitted to. They attended church together, they attended parties, they swam, they talked, many nights had been spent under the stars where Soledad fell asleep in the comfort and peace of Xavier’s arms. Lastly, they helped the old ladies fix up Abuelita’s property. They were free to do anything they wanted. She would walk with Xavier on grocery deliveries. The feria was on break before its last leg that would end with the beginning of fall. The timing of everything could not have been more perfect. Xavier and Soledad walked hand in hand, fingers entwined, down the dirt path toward her abuelita ’s. These last few weeks had been the most precious days of her life.
    Xavier was now so much a part of her that the mere thought of pursuing Stanford now scared her, instead of inspiring her like it used to. Everything had changed since she’d met him. There had never been an exact answer as to how this summer romance would end, or how it would move forward. She’d always tried to live in the moment, and when this affair first began, the end had seemed nowhere in sight. Now, realistically, she’d soon have to go home to El Paso, she’d have to go away for college, and Xavier would have to eventually leave on the feria’s next run, and honestly, their lives had two options: move forward together, or accept it as it was and let go. That last thought made her chest feel tight. Not an option . She pushed the troubling thoughts away, as well as the lingering demands of her father, insisting that she needed to come home. He’d said it was urgent, but if it truly were, he’d have already come to get her. What possibly helped that situation was the fact that she had convinced her mother that Abuelita needed her help and she’d return to El Paso as soon as she was done.
    Soledad only realized she was fighting an internal battle minutes later when she noticed neither of them had spoken.
    She broke the silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence by any means, but she loved to hear Xavier’s voice. “Tonight I’m going to cook for you.”
    “Wow, I’m honored.”
    “You’re sarcastic.”
    Xavier stopped walking, lowered his face to look into her eyes. “No, no really. I’ve never had a girl kiss me before. I mean cook for me before!” His charming laugh danced all around them.
    “Well, I think you’re lying on both counts. One, I’m positive about.” She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth on his. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and draw her closer to him. Their tongues danced. She reached both arms up and around his neck and pressed her mouth harder into his.
    They were quickly getting carried away. This seemed to happen more and more often now as they spent time together. They’d both invented ways to help them cool off before things went too far, even though Soledad could not help but notice the ocean of trees off the path that could easily have concealed them, had they decided to give into the temptation to go further.
    “You up for a run?” Xavier asked, panting.
    “Well, I’m told that I’m pretty fast,” she said with a smirk.
    “Is that a challenge? So a race, then? What if I win?”
    “You won’t.”
    “If you win, how will you know if it wasn’t because I let you?”
    “Because you would never disrespect me like that.”
    He realized she’d taken the words right out of his head. “That is the genuine truth. So ... I guess you’d better start running!” He pecked her on the lips and darted off.
    “Cheater!” she yelled and took off after him.
    They both laughed all the way. They rolled out of the path and onto the main road in front of her grandmother’s house like two out-of-control tumbleweeds blown out of the El Paso desert. They joined hands.
    Xavier was still chortling, but Soledad stopped in