We reach the end first.
“Okay, we need to shuffle to turn around,” I tell him.
In an awkward tango, I guide us around, all the while I’m too aware of the heat of his chest against my back. My heart is knocking hard against my chest, but is that his heart I feel as well, beating with mine?
I have no time to dwell on that as we start to make our way back toward the starting position. Right leg, left leg. Marlon and I are in perfect unison, the perfect pair. The best team.
Marlon’s family are whooping for us. Waving their hands, calling our names, like cheerleaders on the bleachers. Tita Regina is recording us, rallying us. As expected, we reach the end with ease. Marlon’s older cousin and her girlfriend are not far behind us.
Tita Regina approaches us, a grin on her face.
“And the winners are, of course, none other than Marlon and Jaslene!” she announces, as if we were stars of a big sports game.
“The future Salvadors!” Tita Bethany cheers. I dip my head, hoping that no one catches the way my cheeks heat at the comment.
Marlon beams at me, before leaning forward to whisper against my ear, “Promise that when you get married, you won't change your last name. It’d be a shame if the world no longer had the iconic Jaslene Garcia.”
“Jaslene Salvador definitely wouldn’t sound half as good,” I joke, before I realise what the joke implied.
“Jaslene Salvador, huh?” he murmurs.
I swat his face away, mostly because I didn’t want him to see the way my cheeks are heating, or the way my heart tripped on itself the moment his breath brushed against neck.
“That was a hypothetical. Never in a million years would I marry you Marlon Salvador,” I state.
“Hypothetically, you would.”
I swivel around. “Marlon Salvador, you are the last man on this Earth I’deverbe prevailed to marry. Hypothetical or not.”
Marlon smirks at thePride and Prejudicereference.
“I know you’re quoting Elizabeth Bennett to me right now, Garcia,” he leans in close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “But who did she end up marrying at the end?”
The idea of marrying Marlon, or being in any sort of relation with Marlon, has always been an absurd idea to me.
A nightmare. Absolutely implausible.
And yet, the rapid thumping against my chest almost begged to differ.
Twenty Three
When I finally see Kiara and Dianeafter the long weekend on Tuesday morning, it feels as though a lot has transpired since I last saw them.
Kiara and Riley spent most of the weekend together, with their relationship progressing much faster than all of us had thought, with Riley sleeping over at Kiara’s place on Sunday night. Diane and I squeal at the news, yet something deeper within me is plagued by envy.
Kiara and Riley’s relationship follows almost a similar timeline as mine, having both met in the first week of film school. I remind myself that they’ve had more opportunity to interact together, sharing quite a few classes. Still, Riley didn’t lose any time in asking Kiara out, once they both realised they reciprocated each other’s attraction and feelings.
When Kiara asks me how things are going with Rafayel during lunch, I’m once again reluctant. Ria and Marlon’s reactions have lowered my enthusiasm around the entire thing, and while Rafayel and I have been chatting more consistently, the insecurities have been eating at me.
Messaging with him feels stagnant, stuck. He recycles the same compliments, the same pet names, though it’s beginning to leave a sour taste, rather than cause butterflies as it once did. I eventually show them the texts as I did for Ria and Marlon.
The last text from him had beenhaha lolin response to my complaints about the upcoming uni week. What do I even respond to ahaha lol?
“Well, I mean, he’s definitely flirty, meaning he’s into you. How come you don’t look happy about it?”
Diane hands me back my phone, expression unreadable. I shrug, pocketing the phone into my overalls.
“I mean, I don’t know. It’s just, it doesn’t feel like I’m connecting with him?”
