“I am disappointed in myself too,” I admit, my shoulders sagging.
Mateo looks increasingly horrified.
“You are new to being a boyfriend,” Papa says.
“Mateo, you must make sure that you stay overnight tonight,” Mama says.
“Well—”
“He will,” I say.
“Okay,” Mateo agrees.
My family walks Mateo and me back to my apartment, like last night. We take the elevator up, then hang out in the living room.
My family has booked their flight back to Germany at the end of this week, and they want to spend as much of their remaining time as possible with Mateo and me.
Mateo
Florian’s family finally leaves, and Florian and I are alone in the apartment. Florian’s family probably expects us to be doing bedtime activities again.
I glance at Florian. Will he want me to stay the night? Will he want… that?
“I will order you an Uber.” Florian taps his phone. “I am sorry I did not think to do that last night.”
Right.
He doesn’t want me to stay. That’s… well, of course he doesn’t. He’s a man who just discovered that he announced he was in love with a random staff member at his workplace.
“I can take the bus,” I say. “It isn’t an issue.”
He narrows his eyes.
I rise. “I’ll, uh?—”
“Wait. I need to order you a ride. What is your address?”
I sigh. “I can order one myself. You already paid for dinner.”
I don’t like paying for a rideshare. It’s silly when the bus is available. It feels overly luxurious and ridiculous. But I don’t like Florian paying for me. I share an apartment with my sister in a triple decker. I won’t become impoverished by paying $40. I just don’t want to do so.
I feel his eyes on me. And even though he did not go to Harvard like his parents, even though he is not studying bacteria under a microscope like his sister, his gaze has that same intensity. I shift my feet. I don’t like feeling like a particularly complex problem set.
“Mateo, you are a great help to me. I do not want you to be tired for your work tomorrow. What if your massages are less strong? The team has a game tomorrow night. Do I want the Blizzards to blame me? Please, Mateo. Give me your address.”
“Fine.” I recite my address, and Florian beams at me happily.
And then he sends me away in an Uber Black.
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Mateo
Someone knocks on the massage room door, and I go to answer it.
It’s Annika.
