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"Well, it's definitely the best section in the whole factory. I love being there."

Laia nods with a smile and looks at the line where the parking lot meets the sea.

"When do you get your car?"

"End of this week or the beginning of next," Claudia answers.

They stop beside their cars and unlock them at the same time.

"You don't have to follow me—I'm not going to Barcelona."

"You're not?" Laia says, surprised.

"I'm having dinner with my aunt and I'll probably sleep at her place tonight. No point driving back and forth to Barcelona."

Laia bites her lip to keep from smiling.

"That's a good plan, for sure."

"I guess so." Claudia tucks her hands into her back pockets, and Laia loses the ability to breathe when she sees her slim figure and the line of her chest, more pronounced by the position. "Actually, it doesn't make much sense for you to follow me for the next two weeks either. I'm not planning on going out anymore. While I'm with Remei I want to learn, and I need a clear head. Besides, the reports don't seem worth much at this point—after the other day, my parents have probably already concluded that I'm hopeless, that I'll keep being the walking disaster that embarrasses them right to the end."

"Don't say that."

"I don't care." Claudia shrugs, because since she decided to open up to her aunt and let everything out, these last few days she's started to see things from a different angle. "I'll finish out the contract I signed, because that's what lets me stay there with Remei a little longer"—she nods toward the factory—"and when it's done I'll figure out what comes next."

"That's really good," Laia says, genuinely glad to see her motivated. "So you're really not going out at all?" she asks, trying to sound casual.

Claudia shakes her head.

"No. I need to stop and think about other things. I think I'll survive," she jokes, and Laia's mouth opens and closes. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You were going to say something. Say it."

Laia crosses her arms and looks at the ground for a moment.

"Nadia—don't you want to see her?" she says, almost whispering, lifting her gaze very slowly as color floods her cheeks and Claudia raises an eyebrow.

"There's nothing going on between me and Nadia, Laia. By now you should have a pretty clear picture of that. We're just friends who use each other to—" She stops before finishing the sentence.

"You sleep with her when you need someone to touch you. Yeah, I got it."

Claudia's mouth falls open, but she doesn't look away from the woman in front of her.

"Is there something else you want to say, Laia?"

"No," she answers abruptly, almost cutting her off. "Well, yes," she corrects herself, swallowing.

"And what is it?"

Laia takes a deep breath and steels herself.

"Go out with me—I mean, when you want someone to touch you, don't call her. Call me." She turns red as a cherry and lets out a frustrated sigh.

"You want me to use you instead of her? Is that what you're saying?" Claudia frowns, not quite following what's happening.

"Yes, I mean, no—" Laia is shaking and her voice comes out unsteady, but she's already jumped and she's not stopping now. "I don't just want that. I don't want you to use me. What I want is for you to go out with me, to choose me instead of everyone else. I know I don't have your status, that I don't dress the way the women in your world dress, that I haven't even finished school, but—"