13 Julian
Julian
I’m all business when we meet the next day at school during our lunch break, which seems to throw Leti for a loop for some reason.
After entering my tiny portable, glancing around at the string lights and motivational posters on the walls, she glances at me with a quizzical brow when I hold out my hand.
“Phone.”
This arrangement between us may have started out lighthearted enough, but I can’t get her words from yesterday out of my head.
I’m not sure I’d call us friends now—she wouldn’t—but it’s clear something’s changed between us.
She opened up to me, and I have a feeling that’s not something she does very often.
Which is why I’m more determined than ever to prove her fears are unfounded and find someone great for her.
Leti, on the other hand, is staring at me like an alien landed on school premises.
“What happened to ‘hello’?” She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against my desk. “No ‘it’s nice to see you again, Leti,’ ‘how’s your day been so far, Leti—’”
“Yeah, yeah. Pleasantry, pleasantry.” I wave her off and hold out my hand again. “We fell behind yesterday and we only have thirty minutes, which isn’t a whole lot of time for the amount of catching up we have to do. Enough small talk. Hand it over.”
With a huff, she pulls up a chair as we log into her accounts from her phone and mine for optimal screen viewing and go over a few responses to some of the messages she’s already received and craft two more for the ones who haven’t reached out yet.
While we’re waiting for replies, Leti opens a bag of Hot Cheetos and asks if I want one. I barely look at her as I say, “I’m good,” and then pick up her phone again, left leg shaking in anticipation. Why is no one replying yet?
“Julian saying no to food? I’m shocked.” She pops a Cheeto into her mouth, the delicious-sounding crunch almost tempting enough to change my mind.
As if she can read my thoughts, she tears off a piece of her paper towel and empties a small pile from the bag.
Just as she pushes the stack of chips my way, I make a grab for one.
“That’s what I thought.” I don’t have to look up to see the satisfied smirk on her face.
“Which of your matches do you like the most so far?” I ask, popping another chip into my mouth. “Personally, I can see you best with this one.” I set down the phone displaying Nathaniel’s profile.
“The hiker?” Her nose scrunches in that adorable way of hers. “He seems like the kinda guy who’d wake me up at five a.m. for a ten-mile run.”
“True, but don’t miss the bigger picture here.” I point to his occupation. “He works at the Whataburger corporate office. That basically means free Whataburger for life.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s no mistaking the upward twitch of her lips. She’s amused.
“That is so not what that means.” She laughs. “But I’m listening. Make your pitch.”
“How can you say no to this face?” I swipe the screen to a photo of a brown beagle licking Nathaniel’s face while he smiles into the camera. It’s a great smile too. “Forget the guy. Date him to win custody of this little guy.”
“I am not swindling the man out of his dog! Though, I have to admit he is super cute.” She stares down at the picture, something disturbingly like yearning burning in her brown eyes.
Does she mean the dog, or Nathaniel? I quickly stamp down the spike of jealousy threatening to choke me—where the hell did that come from? —and return to the topic at hand.
“She,” I correct. “And her name is Marley. Unless you were referring to Nathaniel, who’s also not bad himself.”
“Stop it, Marley’s such a cute name,” she gushes before shoving the phone away. “Enough! My parents never let me have a pet growing up. If you keep this up, I’m gonna make a stop at the animal shelter after work, and Bella will kill me if I come home with a dog.”
“No comment on the man’s appearance,” I note, glancing over at her as the jealousy immediately dissipates. “Ouch. I’d hate to be Nathaniel.”
“He’s…fine.” She shrugs. “That’s a lot of North Face for me. We’re in Texas. It’s cold here for one month. Give me a break.”
“All right, I’ll keep looking,” I tell her. “But at least wait until he replies before writing him off.”
“So, when am I allowed to take over your dating accounts?” she asks after a few minutes of silence as I start swiping through profiles.
She should be doing the same. We have two screens and only ten more minutes before the bell rings, and instead she’s wasting time asking ludicrous questions.
Instead of telling her as much, I nod at my phone in her hand, where the screen has gone dark.
“Have at it.”
“You really should have a passcode on this thing.”
Distantly, I can make out the disappointment in her tone, but I’m too focused on the next profile. There’s potential here, but I need her opinion first.
“Julian—”
“How do you feel about accountants? On the surface they sound pretty boring, but this one—” I let out a yelp when she jabs an index finger into my side. “Leti, what the hell?!”
“Are you ticklish?” Her smile is all deviousness. I grab her hand before she has the chance to poke me again, because I cannot deal with this right now.
“I’m trying find your soulmate here.” This girl has the audacity to pout. “We had an agreement. Why are you distracting me?”
“I’m bored.” She shrugs. “Do you want to go get ice cream? The football coach always keeps the freezer in the teacher’s lounge stocked.”
“Leticia Maldonado, you are an enigma, you know that?” Between the tickling, pouting, and invasive questions, I don’t know what to make of this woman.
Yesterday, she was as prickly as ever. Picking fights to delay my taking over her dating apps and arguing with the decisions I made every step of the way. Today, she’s…
different. “You grumble like an old man when I tease you—then you flip the script when I try to be serious.”
“‘Serious’ isn’t your style, sunshine boy. And you’re not allowed to use my full name. That right is reserved for my mom when she’s mad at me.” She glances up at me when I don’t say anything, brow arching. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Leticia, I think you like me more than you’re willing to let on.” I poke her back in the same place, and she yelps and skirts away from me. “You’re not so grumbly beneath that facade, are you?”
“I’m always grumbly.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “That’s why I had to snap you out of it. There’s only room for one grumpy bitch, and that’s me.”
“My grumpy girl.” I throw an arm around her shoulders and ruffle her hair good-naturedly. It’s nothing more than friendly, even if my heart is still thundering from the contact. We return to normal when I pull my arm away.
A notification banner appears at the top of her phone screen. Nathaniel has replied and is already suggesting they start brainstorming their first date. “What are you doing?” she asks when I start typing. I hold out the phone for her after hitting send.
The only way I’m ever going hiking with you is if Marley comes too.
“Please tell me you did not sign me up to go hiking with a literal stranger.” Her eyes narrow on me as the bell rings. “Julian!”
“Wait, wait, he’s typing.” I grab her arm as she stands from the chair. Any second now, my fifth-period students are going to come stomping up the ramp. We need to wrap this up, stat.
That’s totally fair
How about we work up to that?
My go-to first date is dinner and ice cream.
“You were just talking about ice cream.” I hand her the phone back. “Sounds meant to be to me.”
“That, or my government-issued spy agent told him the perfect thing to say.” She sighs. “I should head back. I think I can handle the conversation from here.”
“Be nice to him.” I point a stern finger at her. “This could be the one, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She waves me off as the first flood of students make their way inside.
I make eye contact with Andy before her gaze shifts to Leti, amusement quirking her lips. Oh lord. Andy is my sassiest student by far, and the last thing I need is for her to get the wrong idea about what’s going on here.
“What are you doing here, Mrs. M.?” She opens her arms for a hug, which Leti avoids by placing an open palm on the student’s forehead and gently pushing her away. Not a hugger. Noted.
“There’ll be none of that,” Leti says once Andy’s grin morphs into a pout. “The last time you hugged me, I got the flu.”
“You let a student hug you?” I huff a laugh. “That’s surprising.”
“Despite what you may believe, I do own a beating heart.” She rolls her eyes at me before turning back to Andy. “By the way, it’s Miss not Mrs. There’s no ring on this finger.” She holds up her left hand and waggles her bare ring finger.
“What a coincidence. Mr. Gutierrez isn’t wearing a ring either.”
Leti is unfazed as she stares my student down, eyes narrowing in a way that is growing more and more familiar.
“What! I’m just saying—”
“Andy, sit down,” I tell her before placing a hand on Leti’s back. “Come on, I’ll walk you out before the interrogation starts.”
“Good call.” She hides a smirk behind her hand. “I forgot how nosy that one gets.”
“Oh, they’re all nosy little busybodies.” I laugh. “How do you know Andy?”
“I subbed her English class for a week last year.” She stops outside my classroom as I hold the door open with a brick. It’s all they gave me on orientation day. “She’s a riot, but she’s a good kid.”
“Seems like it.” I blow out a breath, lowering my voice so no one passing by can hear. “Let me know how it goes with Nathaniel.”
“Hmm, I’ll think about it.” She smirks at my unamused expression. After a bit of pouting on my end, she says, “I’ll give you the full breakdown tomorrow.”
“Can’t wait.”