Chapter 29: The Lucky One
Upon arriving at the lake house, Reina suddenly began to feel foolish. "I don't know if I'm up for this..." she spoke, glancing at Ander with uncertainty as they stood inside at the foyer.
"Why not?" he asked.
"I mean, how many people did you manage to invite anyway? I assume they're all Las Encinas students and, well, I'm not exactly Miss Popularity at school. Even your friends dislike me –"
"Hey party people!" Marina's chirpy voice rang from behind them.
Reina maneuvered with her crutches, slowly spinning around to face Marina. She was shocked to see the person standing next to her.
"Guzmán?" Reina couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
With a friendly smirk on his freckled face, Guzmán replied, "Is that how you greet your guests, Reina? So much warmth."
Marina rolled her eyes and playfully whacked her brother on the chest. "Come on, Guzmán. Help me bring the ice box out. And the food."
"I'll help too," Ander volunteered.
Marina and Guzmán nodded and began retracing their steps to the front door.
Turning to Reina, Ander said, "You just find a comfortable chair to sit in, okay princess?"
"Okay. But you have got to stop calling me that."
"What? Princess? Well, right now you really do look like one," Ander pointed out with a teasing smile.
Reina glanced down self-consciously at her white sparkly cropped halter top and the long pale pink tulle skirt that grazed her ankles.
Did Ander like her outfit? Or thought it was hideous? She couldn't tell.
"You look beautiful," Ander added with a quick smile, as if reading her mind. "All that's missing now is a tiara."
"Oh please. That would be too dramatic, even for me."
Ander chuckled before walking away.
Within an hour, the lake house had transformed into a vibrant yet cozy party space. String lights adorned the walls, ceiling and even around the pool deck outside. Meanwhile, colorful bottles of liquor stood on the bar counter alongside a row of golden goblets as party cups, promising a night of intoxicating drinks.
Polo, Lu and Carla appeared through the door just as Marina was done setting up the array of delicate finger food set up on the dining table.
"Hey guys. Nice tiara, Lu," Ander remarked as he eyed the glimmering, elaborate jewelry piece perched on top of Lu's head.
"Thank you, Ander." Lu beamed. "I just pulled it out from the closet. God knows how long it's been in there. I don't even remember. But yes, isn't it fabulous?"
"You have a tiara in your closet?" Marina asked, laughing.
"Of course," Lu replied haughtily, flipping her long dark hair. "And you don't?" she asked.
Marina shrugged. "No. I should be so ashamed of myself."
Reina had to stifle a giggle. She caught Ander glancing at her and they exchanged amused looks.
"Is it time to get started on drinks?" Carla spoke, eyeing the bar.
"Let's do it," Guzmán said. "Shall we begin with tequila shots? Okay then."
Christian and Samuel showed up not long after with two bottles of absinthe and the party went into full swing then.
Samuel suggested to play Never Have I Ever, to which everyone quickly agreed to.
"We are definitely going to get drunk – fast," Lu muttered.
Carla grinned. "I know. It's hard to think of things that we have not done."
"I look forward to finding out what those things are," Christian piped in, winking at Carla.
"It's always good to discover new stuff," Polo said with a smile at both Carla and Christian.
Marina raised a hand. "On second thought, I'm going to sit out on the game. I think I need to get some fresh air. See you all later."
Reina observed that Marina was looking a little pale and followed her out to the pool deck.
The last vestige of sunlight had just disappeared when the two girls rested their elbows on the railing at the edge of the deck.
"You okay?" Reina asked Marina who looked utterly distracted. Her signature wry smile was missing.
"Yeah. Just started feeling stuffy in there."
Reina shifted her position slightly so that her injured leg was more comfortable. "What's the deal with you and Samuel? Aren't you hooking up with him? Today you barely acknowledged him."
Marina shrugged. "I don't know. Guess I just have a lot on my mind right now..."
"I won't pry. But you know you can always talk to me, right?"
"Samu is a great guy. A really great guy," Marina spoke, thoughtful.
"But...?"
Marina shook her head. "Maybe he's too good for me."
"Bullshit."
Marina blinked in surprise at Reina's reply. "What?"
"That's just something people say," Reina stated, "when they have someone else on their mind."
A soft chuckle. "Perhaps," Marina murmured.
"So who is it?" Reina hoped she sounded nonchalant.
Oh God, please don't let it be Ander. Not that I have any right to be possessive.
"Nano."
The relief and curiosity came in equal parts to Reina. "I don't think I know him."
"Samu's older brother. He was there at the house party that night."
"So you like both brothers? Someone's got a type," Reina teased.
Marina was about to answer when the sound of footsteps caught both their attention.
Swiveling, Reina was startled by the sight of Ander and Kate walking toward her and Marina.
"Hi Reina," Kate said with a quick wave of her hand. "How are you?"
"Umm fine. What are you doing here?" Reina questioned, feeling a little confused.
"I needed to see you. To talk about something urgent."
Reina tilted her head. "How did you even know to find me here?"
Kate replied, "Who else? Christian, of course."
Ander cleared his throat. "Kate has some news about Matteo. And the dare."
"I'll let you guys talk," Marina said, straightening up and making her way past Ander and Kate.
Ander and Kate joined Reina at the railing.
"So what's up?" Reina asked, not liking the somber expression that Kate wore.
Kate glanced at Ander and Reina. "Well I heard that the dare is supposed to involve Matteo and Ander competing to steal the trophy at the Las Encinas year-end party, right?"
Ander nodded.
"Okay, so the thing is, Matteo is just using that as an excuse to enter the school grounds." Kate frowned. "He plans to start a fire and frame Ander for it."
"What?" Ander's eyebrows shot up.
"That's going too far," Reina declared in disgust. "What the fuck is wrong with Matteo?"
"And Noel is backing him up. It's madness. Emi and I have tried to reason with them, but they're too damn stubborn," Kate said, rubbing delicately at her temples.
Reina exhaled. "Thanks for letting me know, Kate. I know we haven't been in touch in a while..."
"No problem. I hope you've been adjusting well at Las Encinas. I'm such a lousy friend – I should've called you when you got into that accident. And then there was the break up with Matteo," Kate told her mournfully.
"It's been crazy times for a lot of us. Don't worry about it," Reina assured her.
Kate flashed a half smile. "I gotta go now. Take care, Reina. And good luck, Ander."
"Thanks Kate," Ander said. "I'll walk you out."
Reina waved goodbye to Kate then resumed her leaning position on the railing, looking out into the calm dark lake.
"So that was some interesting information," Ander spoke, appearing next to Reina a few minutes later.
Reina exhaled loudly. "Yeah." She couldn't help glancing at Ander with concern, wondering how much further things could get out of control.
Ander noticed, shifting his eyes from the waters to her. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"It's all my fault. I started this mess."
"No way. I blame Matteo entirely for this. You don't get to claim any share of the blame."
Reina sighed in protest. "I will continue to blame myself, thank you. Do you think we should call off the whole dare?"
"Well to be honest, I'm thinking of going ahead with it. Thanks to the intel from Kate, I may have an idea to counter Matteo's plan."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Give me a bit of time to figure out the details. But it'll be fine, okay? I promise."
Reina was unable to respond for a moment – too taken in by the way Ander was smiling at her. It didn't escape Reina's attention that he was looking exceptionally sharp in a royal tuxedo tonight – like Prince Charming.
Sure, Reina had dated plenty of good-looking guys. Matteo, for one, was strikingly handsome in a classic way. But there was something more about Ander. He exuded warmth and kindness, and Reina now realized that it made him a hundred times more attractive than Matteo could ever be.
Why did I ever let you go? I'm the world's biggest idiot.
"Rein?" Ander said, leaning closer toward her. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes. It's just that..." Reina licked her lips, wondering if she had the guts to speak her mind. Or her heart, more accurately.
It's just that you have become the most important person in my life, and I don't know what to do about it. I want to protect you from all harm. To celebrate every good thing that comes your way, and to make the bad things better. I want to be there for you through all of it. Will you let me?
"Ander, there you are!"
Argh, who is it now?
Reina turned around at the same time as Ander.
"Omar," Ander said, beaming. "You're late."
Omar had a broad grin on his face. "Just giving you the chance to miss me."
Reina watched as Ander walked over to greet Omar with a peck on the lips.
Reina looked away, her heart plummeting all the way down to her pale gold Tory Burch ballet flats.
How silly she was. Ander already had Omar to make him happy and keep him protected from all harm. She was not needed at all.
Omar was the lucky one.
And all Reina could do was move on and pray that she would find someone more perfect than Ander Muñoz.