No Me Sueltes

Reggaeton Lento

"So, have you decided yet?"

Joel looks straight into the camera, elbows on the table with his face in his hands as he leans forward. He's just about vibrating with excitement to the point where I'm surprised that he's not causing seismic activity.

"Jesus, Joel. We've been on Facetime for what, maybe five minutes and you're already asking me about the tour?"

"Yes. Come on Lay, have you at least made a decision? This way I can tell Clara if we need to book flights and get you hotel rooms for the cities." Joel sounds almost like a little kid again with how excited he is.

I sigh and Joel's face instantly falls. "Listen, I'm really sorry, but-"

"You can't come?"

"Are you gonna let me finish?" I question. Joel throws his hands up in surrender, the precipitated disappointment still evident on his face.

"Sorry, sorry. Sigue hablando."

"So basically, there's a lot going on with my classes and I don't want to get too far behind with trying to graduate on time from school and when I talked to my advisor, he said that it'll be really difficult but that I can take my classes for the winter semester online if I need to and if I really work hard to keep up with my work and I'm really sorry but you're gonna be stuck with me for-"

"Wait wait wait," Joel holds a hand up to the camera, his previously disappointed features now showcasing a stunning smile that was practically stretching from ear to ear. "Are you saying that you can come with us? For at least the US part of the tour and maybe Europe?" Finally unable to help myself, the smile I'd been holding in spreads across my face.

"Surprise?"

"Aah, mi vida, you are such a pain in my ass and I love you for it. We're gonna have so much fun!" Joel chuckles. "By the way, that was so mean of you to pretend you were saying no."

Joel shakes his head slightly, still grinning as he runs a hand through his curls. I feign shock, my right hand flying to my chest as I furrow my eyebrows together and open my mouth.

"Me? Mean? You know I would never, especially not to my bestest friend in the world," I say.

"You say that like it's a joke, but you know it's true. At least, it better be."

"God, Joel, you need so much validation."

"You're so mean today, Leah, and for what?" He smiles and leans forward, resting his chin on his knuckles. "If only my mom knew, she wouldn't invite you over for tacos anymore."

I gasp. "She wouldn't. You wouldn't!"

Joel just leans back in his chair and smirks. He knows how much I love his mom's and his Ama's tacos, so it only comes up when we're really teasing each other, which means that my validation joke probably wasn't the best choice. Honestly, if it came from anyone else, the reaction probably wouldn't have been as calm.

"Something's bothering you," I say in a sing-songy voice, causing Joel to roll his eyes and scratch the back of his neck. "And don't even try to deny it, 'cause that's your tell."

"I do not have a tell!" Joel insists, furrowing his eyebrows together. "And what did I even do?"

I smile at his obliviousness. "I can't tell you, cause then you'll make an effort not to do it." And it's kind of cute when you do it. "Anyways," I make sure to draw out the word, "what's bothering you? Is it something with the tour? Are you homesick right now? Did you get into a fight with one of the boys? Is it stress with the tour coming up? No, wait, I asked that already. Something with an interview? Are you reading the fan comments again? Is it something with management?"