Yara started laughing. “I wish I’d taken a video of that. Your acting is worse than a low-budget web series.”
Lola couldn’t argue with that. “Why are you here bothering me right before the school day starts?” she asked even though this had quickly become their semi-daily tradition. Yara would show up with coffee for them both on the days Lola didn’t have morning meetings and they’d sit in Lola’s classroom and talk.
“Don’t try to change the subject.” Yara took a sip from her rose-gold bejeweled thermos. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you two snuggling up in the alley at the protest and holding hands on the night we don’t speak of.”
Lola opened her mouth to explain what really happened at the protest, but then closed it. She didn’t think Saint would want anyone knowing about his panic attack. As for the night they didn’t speak of, that Yara just had just spoken of, Lola had no explanation for holding his hand at the bar beyond just the feeling that she had to. She didn’t think that would help her case, so she kept quiet.
“All those sparks flying between you two.”
“Sparks? What sparks? There are no sparks.” She was lying through her teeth, of course. There were definitely sparks. Unwanted sparks, but sparks nonetheless. It had always been that way between them.
Yara laughed. “Next time you are going to try to act, warn me so I can pull out my phone.”
“Asshat,” Lola mumbled.
“Plus, I remember back in the day when you two would snuggle up all over El Centro when you thought no one was looking.”
Again. Saint had always been the cautious one. If it had been up to Lola, they would’ve been making out all over the city. She pushed away the automatic sting she felt whenever she thought about that time.
Instead, she tried to go back and look at things through the lens Saint had given her during their talk. She believed him when he told her that he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with her like she’d originally thought. She’d seen the confusion, shock, then offense on his face when she confronted him. Realizing she hadn’t been so dumb to love him back then had gone a long way in soothing old hurts she’d thought long scarred over. However, the fact remained that he’d been selfish. He’d only thought about his feelings, his convenience, his goals, his future, and his desire to save her. He hadn’t thought about what she wanted, what she felt about the situation, or what her plans were. He’d just assumed that she would follow along, grateful for his love and care, like an accessory on his arm. “Well, that was a long time ago.”
“You know what they say, donde hubo fuego...” Yara waggled her eyebrows at Lola.
Lola shook her head back and forth quickly. “No. Aquí no hay cenizas.” Lola lifted her hand and began ticking things off with her fingers. “His grandpa tried to poison mine, his daughter won’t talk to me, his uncle’s company is destroying the shelter that we love, and he is in charge of that project, so I think it’s safe to say that this old flame has died completely and the ashes have blown away.” Not to mention the fact that he’d specifically said he wanted to be friends. Friends not lovers.
“And yet you still say his name like a dreamy teen thinking about their celebrity crush.”
Lola was literally saved by the bell when it went off signaling that it was time to go pick up her class from their designated arrival spot. She hopped up. “As fun as this inquisition has been, I have to go get my babies.”
“And I have to go meet with Fonseca about how we are going to fund a new shelter.” Yara collected her things and together they walked toward the door. “But before I go, let me just point out that for someone claiming that the past is dead and buried, you have sure put a lot of thought into why this won’t work.” She sashayed out the door that led to the front of the building.
Lola scowled while locking the door behind her. Yara was way off base. She had to be, because only an idiot would entertain the idea of her and Saint getting together. It would never work between them. Saint liked to play the savior. He wanted someone he had to save and that was not her. Lola saved herself. She always had and she always would.
Instead of continuing to think about it, Lola went to the back of the school to meet her class at their lineup spot. When she arrived she saw Rosie standing at the front of the line with Kamilah.
After their encounter at the old folks home, Kamilah had begun dropping Rosie off in the mornings. They chatted a bit and were friendly. Lola liked Saint’s sister. Lola had come to understand that Kamilah was the closest thing to a mother that Rosie had. She dropped her off every morning, picked her up almost every afternoon, and it was clear they had a relationship that was closer than a typical aunt and niece. For that reason alone Lola liked her. On top of that, Kamilah seemed like someone she could actually be friends with.
“Good morning, Rosie. You and your tía look too cool for school.”
They matched. It was adorable. They each wore a striped shirt and jeans with a green utility jacket and sneakers. Their curly hair was down and freshly styled although Rosie sported a headband with a large off-center bow. Oh, and they both seemed to be wearing the same nude color lip gloss.
Rosie tucked herself closer to Kamilah’s leg, but she smiled at Lola, which was always a win.
“Good morning,” Kamilah said. She was holding a large cup of what Lola had to assume was iced coffee. She looked tired and she seemed dispirited. Lola was used to her energy bouncing off the walls like one of the kids every morning. “She picked my outfit today, as you can see.” She smiled, but it was a pale comparison to the bright smile she usually flashed at everyone. She took a large pull from her straw.
“Is everything okay? You seem not yourself today.”
Kamilah looked briefly taken aback, but she answered anyway. Exploded really. She hardly breathed as she said, “I’m fine. It’s just running a new restaurant while planning a wedding is about as easy as I thought it would be—aka not at all easy. And my fiancé would gladly elope if it meant that he’d get out of participating in his own wedding, so he’s not the most helpful. Of course, my mother would love to take over planning the whole thing, but then we’d all go poor and have to live on the streets because it would be super extra and also probably tacky. And everything would be so much better if I could just talk to my best friend, but she won’t return any of my texts or calls even though I’ve apologized a million times. It’s like she’s disappeared off the earth, but all her mom will tell me is that she is off finding herself.” She barked out the most insincere laugh Lola had ever heard. “But yeah. I’m totally fine.” She chugged the rest of her coffee. “I wish there was whiskey in here,” she muttered to herself.
Wow. Okay. That was more than Lola expected and she wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. It was clear that Kamilah had needed to vent, so Lola said what she wanted people to tell her when she was venting. “That sucks. I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of that.”
Kamilah nodded. “Thank you.” She took another drink from her cup and scowled down at it when all she sucked up was air. She let out a disappointed huff and then looked back at Lola. “Anyway, I’ve heard through the family grapevine that you’ve been hanging out with my brother and that you two have something of a history.”
Oh shit.Lola couldn’t read her tone or her expression, so she just nodded.
Kamilah smiled and it was a lot closer to her normal beam. “Good. He spends too much time alone or trying to wrangle us gaggle of psychos into some semblance of order. He needs someone normal in his life.”
Lola winced inwardly. There was no way in hell she could be described as normal. Her life had been the very opposite of normal from the moment she was born, and she’d chosen a path that would ensure it continued that way. She was a poorly banked fire at the best of times—the tiniest bit of friction could easily get that flame roaring again. The last thing she wanted was for Saint or Rosie to get burned.
