Page 75 of Yours, For Now

"I told you she was real. What else did you need?" Jake came and kissed me on the cheek as well. Like they had all been trained by this Chilean family in their traditional manners. "You can see for yourself, now."

"I assure you, I'm very real."

"Good." Max nodded and put his hands in his slack pockets. He still wore a casual suit, like he hadn't had a chance to change after office hours. He had a similar build to Gabe, with lighter brown skin and darker hair, and incisive brown eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if we're cursed, all single for so long. That, or I'm right and romance is dead."

"Please." The only man I hadn't met yet joined us. His hair was straight black, his eyes blue like Jake's, and white skin. He also kissed me on the cheek. "Ignore him. He's the cynical one of us. I'm Javier, and I do not think we're all cursed."

"Hi, Javier. I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure there are very good reasons why you're all single."

"Just like there's a good reason why Gabe isn't anymore, right?" Max smirked. "I can't wait to hear the story."

"Anyway," Gabe said. "Now you met my friends. I'm sure you'll find them all a delight, because they will all behave so wonderfully and not bug you at all."

"Oh, I think I'm going to have fun, as long as they can take as good as they like to give." I gave them all my best smile, before Sonia and Raúl called us for dinner.

Chapter 22

Afterthemeal,weall had a drink and played cards. Lina sat next to me the whole time, on an evening where things felt more real than they ever had.

My parents were the first to go to sleep, leaving my friends, Vi, Lina and I by ourselves. We all took our drinks and sat on the deck, sprawling over the outdoor furniture.

"I think it's so sweet that you call Sonia, tía," Lina said to my friends.

"I don't think she could be anything else to me." Jake sipped from his drink. "I've known her for so long."

"The only closer thing would be mom, and that'd be weird," Vi said. "You do have a mom."

"I do, though the Sotomayors feel more like family."

I put an arm around Lina on the couch we shared. "Jake and I have been friends since before we were ten. In many ways, Jake, Vi, and I grew up together. These guys, though," I pointed to Max and Javier with my glass, "they are a later addition."

"But we call her tía as well, just to make her happy." Javier smiled.

"The three of us were kind of adopted by the Sotomayors," Max added. "Jake has been around the longest, compared to Javi and I, who have been around for only ten years. But they've been there for us this whole time."

"Onlyten years?" Lina asked. "That's a long time, no wonder you all seem like family."

"We're all family, no matter how we all got here," I said.

Lina turned to me, her eyes shiny as she gazed at me. "I can feel that. It's wonderful."

"I feel like getting in the hot tub." Vi gazed at all of us in turn. "Anyone else?"

"I'm thinking of going to sleep, actually," Jake said, and Javier nodded.

"What? Why?" Vi asked.

They continued chatting but Lina leaned close and it called for me.

"Where is the hot tub?" Lina asked. "I haven't seen it."

"If you want to get in, we can go change and I'll show you."

Before I knew I'd be sharing a bed with Lina, the expectation of getting to spend time with her in the hot tub had been the highlight of the weekend ahead for me. Now it made me nervous… because I would be sharing a bed with Lina, and enjoying her company while scantily clad could amp up the time in the privacy of our room, rather than simply serve as a lovely memory to keep.

But we changed clothes anyway, taking turns in the bathroom, and I guided Lina to the side deck, where the hot tub lived among the trees. No one else was around.

"Wow." Lina leaned on the deck fence and stared into the forest, then turned to watch me by the hot tub. She arched an eyebrow. "This can hardly be called a hot tub. It's a small swimming pool."