Watching Alex second guess himself was a funny sight because he was contemplating so hard that we could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Once I deemed Javi capable of keeping his hands to himself, I let go of him.
Javi draped his arm on the top of my head. "He’s not so bad when he isn’t running his mouth."
“My mouth is my best quality.”
My statement was innocent, it was intended to be snarky and playful. I hadn’t caught the innuendo before the words came out of my mouth. When I did, my mouth went agape and my rival cocked his head to the side.
“It is, isn’t it?” He wiggled his brows.
Heat rose to my cheeks and I smoothed my hand over my hair awkwardly. Damn me and my speaking before thinking.
“Okay, ew,” Alex said blandly. He then threw his hands to the side dramatically. "I'm still so lost."
"Don't be lost, be found!" Millie said cheerfully.
I laughed. "Wise words from a wise girl."
Alex was still visibly lost but the grin that was steadily creeping onto his face told me it was not the bad kind of confusion. He still wanted an explanation, though. "Are either of you going to elaborate or…"
I was about to give Alex some sort of answer, but before I could my attention was stolen. I gasped when I spotted something on the counter. "Is that a chocolate fountain?"
Alex glanced at it like he just realized it was there. "Oh, it is."
"Why do you have this?" I took a few steps closer to get a better look at it. There was no chocolate flowing on it, probably because it looked like it had just been taken out of the box. The sight of something as simple as a fountain that chocolate flows off of was not that fascinating but I found the fact that he owned one cool.
"Impulse buy." He rubbed the back of his neck, guilty of the unusual purchase. "It was on sale and seemed like a good idea at the time. It really wasn’t because after we use it once I don’t see us ever using it again."
Alex held the box and inspected it. "There's a lot of random shit in this apartment because I always buy stuff I shouldn’t. It's a little bit of a problem, but it's hard to not buy stuff when you get a good deal."
"It'll make a cool party decoration." Javier shrugged.
"I guess." Alex picked up the kid sized shoes that were creating a tripping hazard on the floor. "Hey, speaking of parties. I'm having a New Year's Eve party this year."
New Year's Eve was only a few weeks away. We were right in the heat of the holiday season, a season I tried to gloss through as seamlessly as possible. New Years had completely slipped my mind.
“Well—it’s Killian’s party. He came up with the idea and invited the guests, I just planned it." He tossed the shoes into the corner of the room. “I’m not that hyped for it because parties aren’t really my scene, so it’ll be cool if you guys are there to make it more enjoyable.”
I wasn't opposed to going. In fact, I seriously wanted to go. What better way to get my mind off the shitty holiday season than to have fun at a college party? Not only that, but it would also be a great introduction to the college world since I would be attending one the next fall.
Javier seemed indifferent to the offer at first, but when his eyes locked with mine his expression changed. His eyes watched me pointedly as he shifted his weight onto his other leg.
He averted his gaze. "Sure, Alex, we’ll see."
‘We'll see’ was usually code for ‘I’m not going but I don’t want to straight-up tell you no.’ Javi’s lips were pressed into a thin, straight line and his mind seemed to be wandering elsewhere. It was a big contrast from his demeanor a mere twenty seconds before.
We spent another hour with Alex and his niece. In that time Alex told us more about his plans for the party, Millie showed us her dance moves that she said she would show off at said party, and Alex had to let her down and tell her that she could not attend. After a couple minutes of back-and-forth between them, Millie came to the conclusion that she would throw a party ten times better than Alex’s and that he would not be invited.
After saying our goodbyes and leaving the building, Javier and I walked to the car. It was silent between us and I was itching to ask about his dismissive and uncomfortable response about the party. His teeth grinded together while he watched me from the corner of his eyes.
"Why the hard pass on the invite?" I brought it up as casually as I could because I did not want to come across as obsessive. It was only a party, after all.
His response was simple. "I don't want to go."
"Okay,” I drawled. I didn't mind not going, I just wanted to know why he was so quickly adamant about not attending our friends' party. “But why? You all of a sudden don’t like them? If so, that’s fine. I can go alone, but I wanted you to be there.”
Javier folded his arms and leaned against the bike, his expression neutral. "I don't want you to go either."
I waited for him to elaborate but he didn't. "Uh, why not?"
