At my job, which I have on the weekend at Wawa, I was stacking the grocery store aisle with spaghetti when Hannah tapped me on the shoulder. She had been beside me telling me a whole story that I had zoned out of remembering Raj's smoldering eyes when he kissed me. He had me locked in his stare and I was putty in his hands at the moment. "Hello. Earth to Naira. You're doing it again." She threw a cotton ball at my face, and I glared at her furiously. "Doing what?" I said nonchalantly, continuing to put spaghetti on the counter like nobody's business and like nothing had happened. "You're smiling and humming to yourself. Have you met a guy?"

I put my head up at once, now if there is one thing I don't like it's the rumor that a guy was paying me attention. I told her, "No, I was just doing my work, and doing my job." Laya who was working on the second pile of pickles right next to us blurted out, "It's Raj who she's dreaming about. He's the one she's doing a dance with and who has her eating out of his hand."

I screamed, "Laya! What kind of best friend you are, don't you know that I wanted that to be a secret?" She pretended to look hurt and said, "I don't know why you are trying to be so secretive Naira, we're your best friends. You should be able to tell us this stuff, and the reason that Hannah is curious is that it's all over your face. You keep checking your watch like I said you would do and smiling to yourself, and looking at your face in the mirror. It was bound to be out there, I just forwarded its momentum."

I coiled in retaliation, "Well, can you put a bridge to its momentum before I declare that we are officially not friends anymore."

She replied, "Gee whiz, calm down I'm sworn to secrecy."

I calmly said, "Now, it's nothing of the sort. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

My phone rang in the middle of our conversation and when I checked the caller ID it was Raj!

"Hello," I said huskily and my eyelashes started fluttering, and I giggled. Hannah and Laya's mouth dropped open hysterically and their eyes popped out of their sockets. What was up with them?

"Are you free for practice this afternoon?" Raj said politely.

I informed him, "Let me check my calendar." I pretended to be busy checking something even though I knew without a doubt, that I had nothing planned.

I got back on the phone with him without missing a beat and said, "I'm free, and all yours. I can be ready at 6 o'clock."

She couldn't see him, but he was grinning on the other side of the line. "That's great, I like the sound of that, I'm all yours. Maybe you can show me when we're alone how much we are one." She started to blush and tried to turn her face so that her red cheeks wouldn't show. Her friends glanced at each other curiously. She muttered, "Raj, get serious or I'm hanging up."

"Well, we have thought of a dream scene that we would like to do before we start the whole dance. I'd like to film you doing it! Also, Senor Carlos thought it would be brilliant of us to give an interview on Youtube since the audience requested it."

I pondered over that and cajoled, "It sounds like a fantastic idea. I'll be there soon to help you since it's 6, see you at 7."

He joked, "Thank you, snookums." I laughed because it sounded so old-fashioned and started to gasp in between laughs for breath. "Bye." I hang up the phone and then caught my breath to say, "Laya, Hannah; we have to finish this soon because I have another appointment. So double the work."

Hannah looks at my face and asked, "You got a date?"

I denied her statement, "No, just a business appointment for Youtube. Now, let's get moving, people."

Under her breath, Laya answered back at Hannah, "That's what they all say." They both shared a secret smile and rapidly stack the food items according to protocol.

***********************************************************************************************At Raj's fancy mansion, Laya, Layaysia, and Liliana were in the kitchen gossiping. While Senor Carlos, Naira, and Raj were shooting a video. Senor Carlos was filming them outside and out on the steps near the pool there were rose petals gathered around, "Sit in the middle of them," he told her and did as she was told as Raj the fan, and it blew them around her, and soon the rose petals were flying around her and she smiled happily as they filmed it on the camera. Raj was so taken aback at how beautiful she looked that he was peering at her more intensely than usual, it was like she had come alive for him.

There wouldn't be a more beautiful thing than their video, he bet he would watch it fifty times before it airs. "This is a nice idea." Senor Carlos said and sighed, "Love is beautiful and we want to add romance to it because that's where the money comes in." When he smiled it's as if Raj could see the dollar signs in his eyes.

Raj went in the middle of the roses and encouraged by a flush of passion, kissed her upside down on the steps in the middle of the rose petals. Senor Carlos ran with his camera, and said, "Hold it. It's good." He took a picture. "Good idea, Raj it adds to the novelty of the video." She separated himself from her and raised a questioning brow, "Why did you do that? Did Senor Carlos tell you to?" He answered, "No my instincts did, I was carried away by a wind of desire?" She looked at him and brushed him angrily, "Well stop doing that, because I don't want the whole world seeing us kissing. My sisters & best friend could just walk in on us."

He went straight up to her with eyes lifted up in sincerity. "It's a video, they won't know the difference. Why worry?"

She pointed at herself with emphasis, "No, but I will know the difference, that's more important,  and I'll always feel guilty about it; so cut it out."

He said, "Guilty am I missing something?"

She said, "My friends and family don't know that we're closer than the friend zone, once they find out they will tell my parents who will demand that we marry each other. I don't think I'm ready for that." Then she told him loudly and purposefully trying to show him that they would only get in more trouble if they got closer. "Are you ready for that?"

To her surprise he didn't swallow or get nervous he said, " When I pursue a woman, I don't put boundaries on myself and say, I will not marry this woman, because of society. If I really want a woman, I go after her like a bull and I don't stop until I get her."

Contemplating what that implied, she didn't want to show him what effect it had on her. So she nervously summoned Senor Carlos, "Senor Carlos is that all you want us to do for the video?"

He shook his head, "No, now I want Raj to bend on one knee and ask you to dance, and try to be coquettish and alarmed at the same time." She replied, "Yes sir." Then she fluttered her eyelashes in a coquettish style and then nodded with an alarmed face when he asked her to dance. Laya, Liliana, and Layaysia took that minute to appear. Laya said matter-of-factually "That was the same eyelash fluttering that she did when she talked to him on the phone. You can ask Hannah, it's no lie." Liliana and Layaysia said, "Can you blame her? He's pretty cute, even if our parents won't let us date because of our age, I would still fancy him!"

Before they started Raj politely asked Naira gallantly, "Are you okay with this, am I allowed to put my hand around your waist."

Naira snickered, "Of course, that's the whole part of this dance."

Raj said, "I just wanted to make sure it's okay with you, I don't want to be in court for ual harassment."

She said, "Stop being silly and focus on the music. Remember we're at the Carnival. Hey Carlos, we're ready."

As they danced, Naira wondered if she was being ten times the fool for telling Raj to keep his hands off, oh well; she would just focus on the moment that they had now; as for the future, time would tell. 

Senor Carlos came up to them, "It's time for your part, you must twirl around the lovebirds with your colored umbrellas." They got all glitzy and glittery, Liliana put her head up and said with confidence, "Come on girls, let's shine!" Then Raj picked Naira up and threw her up in the air really high like a baton and caught her efficiently in his arms, and they smiled as more rose petals swirled around them. A few men came with drums and cymbals and started spinning around in a circle and playing with the music. Raj spun Naira around in circles gyrated to the music. All eyes were on them. Then, Naira sat on her throne, during the final performance of Raj and the background dancers. Subsequently, they escorted her off the throne and into the palanquin. 

They all performed according to Senor Carlos' rules then he announced, "That's a wrap!" They all shouted, "Hooray," Then they threw rose petals as a signal of their glory! Naira watched the replay on Youtube, and she couldn't believe that was her. She looked so royal. How did Senor Carlos pull it off? "I want to thank you Carlos for putting me in the video, you made me look fantastic." Carlos exclaimed, "Yes, and you two worked like geniuses I'm glad we could collaborate together. If you're ever looking for someone else to collaborate here's my business cards. Ah, now there's one thing we were supposed to do, the interviews! Makeup, designer, camera come here, we're going to need all of them ready in 15 minutes." 

*************

They put the camera on Raj, Naira, Layayasia, and Liliana. Senor Carlos sat on the chair smiling at them with an effervescence that screamed confidence. In the background played the song, "Sitting Up in My Room Back Here Thinking About You. I must confess, I'm a mess for you." 

 "Hello everybody this is Carlos Media Show and we are going to start by interviewing the two stars of the show Raj and Naira, who have been talked about for their chemistry and heated glances." The two chuckled low in their throats out of embarrassment and had to make a strenuous effort to smile in front of the camera. 

"Raj, how did you set eyes on Naira?" Raj his lips, and Naira gave him a look like don't go there. However Raj smirked and had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and she thought he is so going there. Somebody help me! He said, "Well I met this princess at the high school prom of my friend Chad. I was bored out of my wits listening to immature conversations and horrible music. When she came up with the idea of dancing in Carnival Style. Now I love my culture of back home, and on that day she brought it to me, and I think that's why we click so much. Since I move around all the time, I need that stability and that's what." 

He looked at Naira in the eye and his glance looked so meaningful that she felt like to bare her soul. Since she was on T.V. she had to control that urge and talk normally. Senor Carlos asked her, "What was your impression of Raj, Naira?" She thought about that one and said, "Well I wanted to know him better, because we clicked so much because of our cultures, and so I wanted to talk to him as much as possible."

Senor Carlos said, "That sounds like a wonderful introduction. Now one of the fans have asked you this question, "Naira would you go out with Raj if you had a chance?" There was pin-drop silence in the air, even the maid who was passing by cleaning stopped and stared at them. She said, "Well, this is only a temporary thing, we won't be seeing each other that much anymore once this is through." Raj made a noise in his throat, and he thought, Well if she wasn't going to see him, he would just have to make sure he bumped into her.

Then Senor Carlos asked him the question, "Would you go out with Naira if you had the chance?" He answered honestly, "That's what I'm trying to do at the moment and even though she hasn't warmed up to me now she will later right, snookums." Before she could control herself, Naira raised her heel swiftly and landed it on his toe, and he yelped in front of the camera. Liliana, Layaysia, and Laya burst out laughing. Senor Carlos; however, tried not to laugh and said, "Let's interview the others."

Horrifyingly instead of that being the end of the morbid scene he held his foot in his hand and kept on as he hopped backward, because it hurt so much. He sought for the tile floor to step on, and couldn't regain his balance when he fell smack dab in the pool. Everyone gasped and Naira was feeling guilty watched him fighting the water and trying to get out, and lend him hand but then he grabbed her and threw her in the pool besides him, wet gown and all. "I can't believe you did that!" She exclaimed and tried to throw water on him for payback. Soon she made it over to his side and lay on his lap.  They started laughing on each other's necks and the cameraman got them on camera. So much for keeping their relationship a secret, they just worsened now everyone knew and wouldn't take her words that seriously anymore, but she didn't regret it she hadn't shared a laugh like that in a long time!