"Don't worry, he'll come around."
Reina tore her eyes away from Ander's and Omar's disappearing figures and focused on Marina. "What?"
"Ander. He can't stay mad at anyone for long," Marina said.
"Well, I may just be the exception. And I can't even blame him," Reina muttered as she threw her gaze upwards.
The night clouds moved to reveal a perfect crescent moon, which reminded her of Ander's tattoo right below his collarbone. The one she'd nibbled the night she was in his room, in an intertwined mess of limbs and sheets.
All of a sudden, she missed Ander terribly. That feeling of reckless abandon. His smiling lips as they kissed, again and again.
But after all that's happened – all that she'd done – what could she do now?
"I've hurt him too many times," Reina admitted to Marina – and to herself.
"You both need a cooling-off period. Give it some time," Marina assured her.
The question is, do I have time?
Reina looked down at the phone in her hand. Matteo had texted just five minutes ago, asking her to meet up.
No doubt that Matteo wanted to know her progress with Ander – but there was nothing to report apart from getting the cold shoulder treatment from him.
Reina didn't know what to reply. Putting away her phone, she said, "Thanks Marina. You've been so nice to me despite – despite everything. I thought you'd hate me for getting your brother involved in the fight too."
Marina snorted. "Guzmán is more than capable of taking care of himself. It was his own decision to join Ander and Polo in fighting the San Patricio students. Now he has a black eye and must live with it."
"So much sisterly love right there," Reina teased.
"He knows I love him. He was the one who believed in me even in my shittiest moments. He convinced our mom and dad to give me a second chance. After I got HIV."
"That's really something. I'm glad Guzmán was so supportive of you. And you know what? I think you're so brave and amazing. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
Marina laughed. "Thanks. The point is – a lot of people deserve a second chance. That includes you, Reina."
Reina shrugged then changed the subject. "Where are you going after this? I think I'm just gonna head home."
"I think I'll go back up to the party," Marina declared. "See if it's any better now that everyone has drank more at this point."
"Okay. Have fun." Reina pushed herself up from the ground and Marina followed suit.
"If I see Bianca again, I'll send her your love," Marina promised with a wide grin.
Reina rolled her eyes. "If by that, you mean a huge punch to her smug face... Then please do."
"There you are," Matteo said with a grin as he waved at her from a corner table.
Reina nodded, tossing her hair as she glanced around. "Did we really have to meet like this though?"
They were at a random casual bar downtown, far from the usual haunts for San Patricio students.
Matteo chuckled, standing up and pulling Reina close. "Well, you know we're supposed to be broken up. I think this is fun. Kind of like a secret rendezvous," he whispered seductively in her ear.
Reina couldn't help smiling. "I guess when you put it that way..." she murmured huskily, hugging him back.
"I ordered you a double gin and tonic," Matteo told her as he released her and beckoned for her to take a seat next to his chair.
"Perfect," she intoned.
"So how was the house party just now at – what's his name again?"
"Samuel," Reina replied.
"Right, Samuel. Whatever. Did you manage to talk to Ander?"
"Somewhat." Reina recalled Ander's frosty tone of voice and the vacant look in his eyes. "There were a lot of people. I mostly hung out with Marina."
Matteo rubbed his chin. "But Marina can't influence Ander... Or can she?"
"Probably not as much as Guzmán and Polo. The three of them are inseparable."
"Then your focus should be to get friendly with those two."
Reina let out a hollow laugh. "Babe, they're super protective of Ander and probably hate my guts more than Ander does."
"There's gotta be something more you can do," Matteo said, exhaling loudly.
"How about you consider calling the whole thing off?" Reina suggested just as her drink arrived. She took a big gulp and gazed at Matteo, who was frowning.
"I'm not going to let Ander off that easily," he insisted.
Reina shrugged. "I don't see how I'm going to get Ander to trust me again. I don't think it's a good idea to try luring him – especially since he seems to be romantically involved with someone now."
She thought about how Omar had been with Ander right before they both left. There was a vibe and it was unlikely to be platonic.
"So what? You've got a hold on Ander. He's like a puppy dog around you."
Reina scoffed. "No he's not."
He's sweet and caring and thoughtful! I don't deserve to even be his friend. If he's happy with Omar, then why should I do something to ruin it?
"You can do it, baby. I have faith in you," Matteo urged.
"I don't want to."
"What do you mean?"
"This whole game is getting fucking tiring. I'm out."
Matteo, who had his arm around her waist, suddenly moved away. "I knew it. You have feelings for Ander, don't you? You had sex with him and you say it meant nothing, but your actions say something else. You don't love me anymore."
Reina sighed. "Don't do that."
"We agreed to stay together. To give our relationship another chance. But I don't know if it's worth it if you're not even going to try.."
"Try what? This has nothing to do with fixing our relationship. You just hate losing. You and your massive ego."
Matteo glanced elsewhere, choosing not to respond.
Reina continued drinking, her heart feeling heavy. Why couldn't things with Matteo go back to being good? Was letting each other go the only option now?
A few minutes later, Reina felt Matteo's hand reaching for hers on the table.
"Look, I'm sorry," he breathed. "I didn't mean all those harsh words."
Reina shrugged moodily. "Can we have a drama-free relationship for once? Unaffected by whatever other shit that's going on?"
"We're good," he promised. "Even though I have it all planned with the dare for Ander... But I don't want to push you into this whole thing, Reina. I know that starting fresh at the shitty Las Encinas school is crazy enough for you. I'm here to make you feel better in any way I can. Okay?"
Matteo moved in and planted a soft, lingering kiss on Reina's lips.
Reina's frustration melted away. Heaving a deep sigh, she said, "Okay. I'll give it a shot with Ander. But no promises, okay?"
"Thanks baby. That's all I could ever ask for."
"I can't believe I'm at a freakin' fundraising car wash," Reina groaned the following Saturday as she stood in the middle of Las Encinas' vast student parking lot.
Marina grinned. "Better believe it, sister. We've been doing this since my first year at Las Encinas. Azucena thinks it'll do us good to go back to those simpler era from the dinosaur age where kids hold these silly things for charity all the time."
"There must be some way I can escape. I feel a very bad stomach ache coming," Reina announced dramatically.
"Nah, that's just a deep sense of dread in the pit of your tummy. We've got about seven more hours of this. The day has just begun."
"Great." Reina pulled down the oversized Versace aviator sunglasses that were perched on her head as the bright morning sun rose higher.
"Here." Marina tossed a sponge at Reina and pointed at a black Jaguar sedan that was driving their way. "Get cleaning."
"Okay, ma'am."
"And be assured that Ander will show up soon enough."
"What? I wasn't looking out for him," Reina protested.
"Oh sure. Whatever you say."
As if on cue, Ander appeared with Christian.
Reina couldn't help noticing how good Ander looked in his light blue Lacoste polo shirt and black shorts.
"Good morning," Ander greeted curtly, avoiding eye contact with Reina.
"Morning, boys," Marina returned with a smile.
"A beautiful day with beautiful ladies. I'm so lucky," Christian said jovially, his arms spread out.
"Just so you know, flattery isn't going to get you out of cleaning," Marina teased.
Christian flashed her a wide grin as he pushed up his shirt sleeves. "Let's get to it then."
For the next two hours, the four of them worked hard at hosing, scrubbing, soaping and wiping.
"Shit, I need a break," Christian exclaimed, throwing down the rag he was using to dry cars.
Marina, who was crouched down cleaning the tire rims of a huge Mercedes 4x4, decided to stop too.
As she stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead, she murmured, "I need an ice cold drink right about now."
"I'll grab some for everyone," Reina volunteered, eager to get away from washing cars – not to mention the awkward silence between Ander and her.
Walking over to the refreshments table set up at the fringe of the parking lot, Reina took several different bottles of soda drinks, placing them in a recyclable tote bag that was offered to her by Juanlu Morales, one of the teachers stationed there.
Reina was about to head back when she spotted a tray of giant cookies on the next table.
"Take some," Juanlu encouraged Reina. "Freshly baked."
"Umm okay, sure." It didn't escape Reina that the cookies were all decorated in pink heart-shaped icing, for some reason. But oh, what the heck, right? It didn't mean anything.
"I'll have one," she told Juanlu.
A moment later, Reina had returned to her carwash team.
"Please say you come bearing liquid nourishment," Christian moaned from where he sat, sprawled on the asphalt.
"Yes." Reina distributed the drinks to Marina, who took one Nestea eagerly and passed the other bottles to Christian and Ander.
"There's also this..." Reina spoke, holding out the cookie that sat on a paper napkin.
Ander looked at her directly for the first time that day, and Reina got distracted to the point of almost forgetting what she was going to say.
Get a grip, girl, Reina chided herself. Since when do you let a guy affect you this much anyway? Lame!
Reina tore her gaze away from Ander and her eyes zeroed in on Christian instead. "I hope you like cookies," she said to Christian.
"Me?" Christian appeared shocked but recovered quickly. "Yeah, I do."
"Great." Reina handed the cookie to him. "The thing is, Christian, I never apologized for being rude to you the other night. At Samuel's house party. You tried to help with some paper towels when that bitch – sorry, Bianca – threw a drink at me. I should've been more appreciative."
Christian was beaming from ear to ear. "Eh, don't worry about it." He took a bite of the cookie before waving it at her. "This is delicious. But a cookie with a pink heart? You're a very lovely girl, Reina, but I'm sorry to deeply devastate you... I need to be loyal to Carla."
Marina nearly spat out her drink, while Ander burst out laughing.
Reina, meanwhile, simply rolled her eyes. "Just eat your cookie, Christian."
Sneaking another glance at Ander as she sipped her drink, Reina was glad to see that he was still wearing an amused smile as he talked to Christian.
There were no promises of course, but Reina felt like the day was going to get better from here on.