Girl Crush | Alex Alvarez

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓: 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

"Hey, I think I just got asked out."

"Oh, my God. Reject him, reject him now!" Elena covered her eyes as she pointed at my phone. I shrugged, leaving the message on seen as Elena did a final test on Lydia's new remote-controlled curtains. "I'll let him live for now."

"Not the best idea. You see when I was your age, the men on the street would just drool seeing me, and if I didn't reject them, they would not stop sending flowers to my house. I got so tired of them that I became allergic."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better or is this one of those times where you tell me your childhood was better than mine?" I asked with a frown. Lydia shrugged. "A story can be two things!"

"Right, just like we have two suns."

"Yes, we do, one for the sunrise and one for the sunset." Lydia smiled as she cha-cha'd her way to the kitchen. Elena's jaw dropped open. "Abuelita, you don't think there are two suns, do you?"

"Of course, there isn't. You know me...always humoristico." Lydia looked away as she saw the incredulous looks on our faces. Maybe the poor lady believed that there were two suns—she was entitled to her opinion. Plus, there might be a solar system with two suns. "Heads up, Alex has this insane need to stock up on Butterfingers so I wouldn't finish them if I were you."

"Pobrecito, he does so much." My heart fluttered as I thought about yesterday. I almost confessed my undying love for him, but I got the closure I needed—we were just friends. The same guy who managed to fail his literature paper told me that we were gonna be alright. I wasn't the worst liar—how hard could it be to hide stuff from everyone else? Just have to keep my mouth shut and hold back some tears—not that big of a deal. Penelope entered with Alex and raved on about the Mattheo guy she clearly liked. "And then, oh my God, Mattheo did this funny Nikki impersonation—' hi, I'm Nikki, I'm terrible.' You gotta see him do it!"

"Enough about Mattheo already. Just admit it, you like him."

"Aw, Pen's growing up." I cooed as Penelope rolled her eyes. "Of course I like him, he's my buddy."

"No, but you like him. You guys should have seen her, smiling and laughing."

"Ooh, Penelope and Mattheo sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. This is never getting old—it was even better than the time we started calling goofy Alex Alebob RoundPanties. "No one's kissing—especially not any of you. I'm not letting that happen when I'm here."

Alex and I shared a look of derision as Elena spoke. "So, what's wrong with this Mattheo?"

"Nothing, he's just not my type. He's nice, he's kind of a dork—like he's definitely been stuffed in a locker," Penelope admitted as she grabbed a cup of coffee from the kitchen. There was nothing wrong with Mattheo—Sam was my lab partner almost every year and every time I'd been to their house, Mattheo was just perfect. He was so amazingly perfect that I was happy that Penelope definitely had repressed feelings for him. "So, what does this Mattheo do?"

Penelope hesitated. "He's an accountant."

"Ay."

"No, it's fine. It's just," Pen paused to think for a while, "I like a guy who can handle his business—someone who can take charge when I need him to. And look, he just doesn't give me that...ugh."

"Stop that!" We yelled as I buried my face in Alex's shoulder, peeking out slowly as Lydia spoke. "I get it—I would look across the room at your father and go...ay."

"Stop making sounds and moving!" Alex pleaded as he shielded me from the promiscuous women in the room. I laughed as the two of them shut up. "Now that it's over, I kinda dig it."

"I know, it's a feeling you get in your stomach. It's deep, it's physical, and once you get it you can't ignore it."

"Yeah, I get that when I eat soft cheese," Schneider added as he fixed his handyman belt on his waist. "Anyway, Mattheo and me, no, never gonna happen."

"You're in the friend zone anyway. Can't crawl out of that."

"I could if I wanted to. I have a foolproof move I've been using since high school. Spill a little liquid on the girls," Penelope instructed as she patted water on her chest, "Then suddenly, my eyes are no longer up here."

"Does it work?" I asked curiously. Pen laughed. "It always wor—no, no. It's an adults-only thing—don't try it. Don't you dare, Stella." 

"Oh, my God, let me live!"