“Kinda, yeah,” Felix said.
“So…”
“So we dated a while, I offered him an apartment key, and he broke up with me over it.” Felix shrugged. “You know. Completely normal relationship.”
“I really don’t know,” I admitted.
That was the thing I’d been avoiding telling Felix last night, the thing I thought he maybe hadn’tgotyet.
Aside from a few girls I’d dated in high school—and those were definitelyhigh schoolrelationships, not like the kind actual adults had—I hadn’t really…
Ever…
Been in a relationship that involved more than sex.
In my entire life.
Felix was silent for a heartbeat too long.
“You mean that, don’t you? Like, you actuallydon’tknow.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re supposed to break up with people when they offer you a key to their place. I’ve watched enough TV to figure that out,” I said, suddenly defensive.
I’d given too much away, and now I felt naked.
Felix went quiet again, which I was pretty sure he remembered was the best way to make me talk. Never met a silence I didn’t want to fill.
“I never had time,” I said. “Two brothers to raise, Mom to look after, and then by the time everyone was settled, I’d just never gotten around to it… and I guess it was a habit after that. It’s not like… I mean, I’ve been on dates, I’ve seen the same girl for…weeksat a time, sometimes, but I’ve never… uh, wanted to offer my apartment key to anyone before,” I finished, only feelingslightlymore pathetic than I had when I started.
“You’ve never had a serious girlfriend?” Felix asked, somehow managing not to make it sound like a moral judgement.
“No.” I sighed.
Now that I was talking about this, it wasn’t so bad. I’d never reallysaidany of this to anyone—I’d just known it was true. Getting it off my chest was good for me, and I could feel it mending a tear or two in my heart.
Felix was as easy to talk to now as he had been when we were little, and I was just about ready to lean into that.
“So I have no idea how to behave,” I added, bringing us back around to easier topics.
“Well,” Felix began, signaling to turn onto the freeway. “Nothing like learning on the job.”
* * *
Angelica turnedout to be five-four with another six inches of curly hair to add to her height, a brilliant smile, sparkling eyes, and lipstick pretty much the color of blood.
I liked her already.
“Felix!” she enthused as she spotted the two of us, rushing over and pulling him into a hug, pointed nails that matched her lips digging into the back of his shirt.
She pulled back after a quick squeeze from Felix, looking me up and down.
“Damn,” she whispered after a minute, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable elevator eyes I’d gotten from Bianca earlier in the week.Herappreciation made me blush to the tips of my ears.
“All Felix,” I said, gesturing at the forest green shirt and dark jeans he’d somehow found in the back of my wardrobe. The jeans were maybe a half-size too small, pinching at the hips, but Felix assured me they did great things for my ass.
If I stood the wrong way, people could see that I dressed to the left, but he’d insisted that wasalsoa good look on me, and this washisbig night. I was just… decorative.
“He does have some good taste,” Angelica agreed. “But I think there’s some of you in there too, honey.”
