Cody's POV- March 2018

She had cut her hair and all it had done was enhance her natural beauty. The flutters I used to feel when I was around her were in full throttle at the moment. I admit it hurt that Chris got a hug and I got only a 'hi' from her.

"Hey Desi, can I borrow a hoodie?"

Desi stepped out of the kitchen with a surprised look on her face.

"Uh, yeah I have a couple in the closet"

She walked past us and opened the door next to the front door.

"Here you go"

Marisol took the hoodie from her.

"Thank you"

She slipped it on and looked at me.

"So let's go"

I turned around to see Chris, Desiree, and her brother Leo watching us.

"We'll be back. Get dinner started without us"

And just like that, she stepped outside. I followed and closed the door behind her.

"Do you happen to know the area?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, a teammate of mine lives there," I said gesturing at Kike's condo.

She nodded.

"There's a park a couple of minutes away," I told her.

"Well lead the way"

It was a quiet walk.

"You look great" I commented.

Marisol raised an eyebrow before replying,

"Thank you, I see you gained weight"

"30 lbs" I disclosed.

She slowly nodded before stopping.

"You did not make me come outside to the cold to tell me you've gained weight and that I look nice"

Straight to the point.

"I wanted to apologize" I stated.

"For what, exactly?"

Well, there was a lot.

"I never meant to not show up to our date," I told her.

"Yet you did"

"My mom came over" I started.

A smile appeared on her face as she laughed.

"Oh, I know"

I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

The smile on her face disappeared.

"Did your mom not tell you?"

"What exactly should she tell me?" I wondered.

"I called you, a handful of times actually"

"No you didn't," I said.

There were no missed calls on my phone that day.

"I called wondering where you were, and your mom told me you were on a date"

This was the first time I was hearing this. Mom would actually be at tomorrow's game, so I would get my explanation as to why she never told me.

"I sat there for almost two hours, waiting for you to get there. It hit me about an hour in, but I refused to believe that I had gotten stood up"

Her jaw tensed up.

"The waiter, she realized what was happening before I could. When I decided it was best to leave, and give up the table, she made her way over to me and handed me a takeout box"

She laughed and shook her head.

"I decided to leave you a note and made it look like I was leaving with my head up high..with some dignity. Once I was in my car, I drove out and parked about 3 streets down. I cried for about an hour and stuffed my face with the brownie the kind lady had given me"

My breathing hitched as she looked at me dead in the eye.

"I trusted you, and you humiliated me. At the time, I wanted nothing to do with you, but time has passed and I deserve an explanation"

I slowly nodded.

"So talk"

I took a deep breath.

"I never meant to not show up" I started saying.

Marisol cut me off.

"So was I the other girl?"

"No, of course not" I answered.

"But weren't you on a date?"

Well, that was true.

"Yeah, I was on a date" I disclosed.

Zoey ended up becoming my girlfriend, but she was not my girlfriend at that time.

"And that date only happened because my mom would not take no for an answer" I stated.

I needed to know something.

"Did my mom tell you anything?" I wondered.

Marisol's eyes darted away from me.

"What did she tell you?" I rephrased

"She just told me that you were on a date with your girlfriend"

"That's all?" I questioned.

She hesitated.

"Yes"

I didn't ruin my chances with Marisol, my mom did it for me.