Page 27 of Mutual Discord

Sofia: You would know, viejo.

As far as comebacks went, it was weak to pick on someone’s age, especially when that someone was only a few years older than yourself.

Alex: Calm down, whippersnapper. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I wouldn’t have said anything but I was surprised. I thought you had taste.

Narrowing my eyes, my fingers flew over my keyboard.

Sofia: I have excellent taste, as well you know. Or else we wouldn’t even be friends.

Alex: And my life would be much less bright.

“Are you still talking to Caitlin?”

Only by an act of God did I manage not to jump ten feet in the air at Mamí’s question. I met her gaze where she stood by the sofa. “No, she had to go but she said she’s looking forward to seeing you and Dad.”

My mother nodded and continued into the guest room. She reappeared a moment later, a cardigan draped over her arm. Mamí held it up with a smirk. “It’s getting chilly.”

I snorted. “You always complain it’s chilly when it drops below eighty-five degrees.”

“Because it is,” my mother shot back, defensively. “So are you driving down for homecoming?”

“Yeah. Can I stay with you and Dad?” I was sure I could book a room at the same hotel Caitlin and Alex were staying at, but I didn’t want to have to see them together and allow my intrusive thoughts to wreak havoc on my sensibilities. I tortured myself enough as it was when it came to Alex.

“Ay, por supuesto. You know you don’t have to ask. It will always be your home.” Mamí paused in the kitchen. “¿Esta en dos semanas, sí?”

“Sí.”

“Bien,” she said, turning to rejoin my father outside.

Two weeks to get my head on straight so the next time I saw my best friend, it wasn’t obvious how frequently I thought of her boyfriend.

—

The weeks passed in a blur of filming, editing, and responding to comments. Alex and I exchanged messages sporadically because with the Scorpions in the playoffs, his schedule had been insane. As it was, attending homecoming was only possible for him because the team had a bye week.

While my communications with Alex had tapered, Denise and I managed to grab lunch and met at the gym to work out together a handful of times. I also invited her to join us for the homecoming festivities, but she was on deadline for a project at work and would be in the office all weekend. I was disappointed not to have her company, a fact reiterated now as I sat beside Alex in my Volvo as we made our way down Interstate 10 in Friday afternoon gridlock. A pleasing hint of Alex’s cologne filled my senses with every inhalation, and I wasn’t mad about it.

“Thank you for driving,” he said, extending an open tray of Red Vines in my direction. “Caitlin mentioned that you don’t really like to drive, so I appreciate it.”

Snagging a piece of licorice, I snapped a bite before using it to gesture at the traffic around us. “Driving is not something we’re meant to enjoy. It’s a means to an end and nothing more.”

“A very practical way of looking at it.”

Something in his tone had me glancing at Alex askance, and I found him staring out the windshield with a quirk to his mouth. The amused expression sparked my defensiveness.

“If everyone on the road operated their vehicles with even an ounce of common sense and respect for their fellow drivers, maybe driving wouldn’t be such a frustrating activity.” I thrust my chin toward the minivan in the lane in front of me. “Take this Odyssey, for example. They’re driving in the fast lane but they’re not going fast.”

“They’re going five miles over the speed limit,” Alex pointed out.

My scoff reverberated my throat. “As I said, they’re not going fast. The fast lane is for drivers with ticket money. If you don’t have ticket money, move over.”

And with a few taps on the dashboard screen, “Move Bitch” by Ludacris pounded through my speakers, the music only barely covering Alex’s snicker.

He turned in his seat to watch as I sang the lyrics to the song, the smallest smile playing on his lips as I zipped in and out of traffic, finally turning on the cruise control when we were several miles south of the Phoenix area. The dusty desert interstate stretched out in front of us, and I finally felt I could settle in for the drive.

“You are an intimidating woman, Sofia Mendoza,” Alex murmured. There was admiration in his voice that made my chest light.

“You are not the first person to tell me that,” I said dryly, darting my gaze to him for a moment.