Mark Ballas had been so welcoming and patient with Sabrina. He didn’t move on until she got it right. Sabrina was a competitive person and he understood that. Kiely and Adrienne had, but not as well as Mark did. She was looking to win, not to fall in love. She wanted to win this with all of her heart and soul, but Mark was overpowering her competitive streak. Sabrina didn’t have time to get distracted by dating and love. It was 9:15 and she was still in her outfit from the dance. Sabrina ran to the bathroom where a change of clothes was sitting on the counter top. She washed up and changed into a cute black spaghetti strapped dress. She kept the same shoes on because they looked good with anything. She put on a gold necklace that her parents gave her for her birthday. Sabrina left her hair the way it was. She didn’t feel like taking it down after being in the hair and make-up department for so long.

“Alright,” Sabrina said as she came out of the bathroom, “how do I look?”

“Great,” Kiely said.

“Let’s go,” her dad, Fred, said to her.
Her dad was Mexican American and her mother was a mix. Sabrina loved her family and wouldn’t change it for anything. She looked at her dad and then at her mom. Sabrina was glad to have the family and friends that she had. They supported her everyday. Now she had a new friend, Mark Ballas.

Sabrina walked in with her dad into the restaurant. Her dad has his arm around her and she had her head against him as they walked in. He kissed her forehead as he went to go and check in. The table was ready and there was no sign of Mark. The hostess sat them down at their table, giving them 5 menus.

“We have one more coming,” Fred said to the waitress.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll bring one for you straight away.”

“Thank you,” he said.
Mark came in and Sabrina went to the front to get him. The hostess was about to ask him if he had a reservation, but Sabrina had grabbed him before she could ask.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey. What took you so long,” she said jokingly.
He laughed. Mark and Sabrina sat down next to each other. Sabrina felt like she was only with Mark. Throughout dinner, Sabrina and Mark were just talking with each other. She felt comfortable with him and trusted him. Mark was an amazing listener and Sabrina would do the same for him. It didn’t seem like an hour passed, but when they finished eating it was 11. Kiely tapped her shoulder.

“Sabrina,” she said, “We’re going to leave.”

“Did we already pay?”

“Yeah, of course we did. Why do you think we are leaving?”

“Oh right.”
Sabrina hadn’t been paying attention. All she had been focused on was Mark and the pasta that she had been eating.

“Come on,” Kiely said as she rolled her eyes.

“Bye Marky,” Sabrina said as Kiely dragged her away.

“Bye, Bri,” he replied.
She didn’t realize that she had called him Marky. It just flowed off her tongue with no thought, but she liked the sound of it. Sabrina, also, liked the sound of him calling her Bri. Kiely, Adrienne, and Sabrina all went to the hotel after Sabrina said goodbye to her parents.

“Can we spend the night in your hotel room,” Adrienne asked.

“Yeah. Def. No problem,” Sabrina said.
They walked up to the elevator and pushed the button to go up. The three girls stood in silence for the elevator doors to open. Sabrina’s mind was focused on Mark and how this was going to be a start of a beautiful friendship or maybe something more.