Following Brent

Chapter 7

Dylan took the pizza out and started fixing up the table. "Where's Rob, anyway?"

"He's taking a bath. He had football practice," Zee replied before looking back at me and saying, "So, have you unpacked yet?"

"Nope. Why?"

She beamed. "It's the perfect icebreaker girl-to-girl bonding time! Vamanos!" she said, pulling me to my room.

I laughed at her energy, knowing in my gut that I was going to love this girl. Entering my room, my eyes landed on the two luggages and the enormous pile of clothes I left on the floor when I was looking for clothes to wear earlier that day. I let out a sigh, set down my decorations on the floor next to my new study table, and turned to Zee.

"We should get started. En seguida. Like, now," she said, staring at the mess, eyes wide and mouth agape.

I bit my lip and nodded. We sat beside the mess on my floor and began folding my clothes. "So how long have you been in England?" I awkwardly asked, attempting to make small talk. I was never good at this kind of thing, but I hated awkward silences.

"Five years. I didn't plan on staying this long originally, actually."

"Oh? Why did you stay, then?"

Blushing, she smiled. "I met Rob."

My heart tickled at the sight of the dreamy expression on her face. It was the look of youth at its best. The look that said 'I'm in love and nothing in this world can make me feel as happy as he does.' That was the look I yearned for. That was the look every girl yearned for. Guilt immediately consumed me when I felt a trickle of uncontrollable envy in my heart. As pathetic as it might have sounded, I couldn't deny how much I wanted what she had.

I sighed, hiding my slight jealousy with a smile. It wasn't Zee's fault guys never noticed me. "Was it love at first sight?"

She snorted. "Ay, I wish, amiga," she spoke. "But no, it wasn't love at first sight. Not for him, at least."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if you wanna know, I'll have to tell you the whole story."

I gestured at the mountain of unfolded clothes in front of us and said, "We've got time."

Smirking, she replied, "True." We continued folding as she began her tale. "I grew up in East LA with my four older sisters, my parents, and the rest of my family. If I name them all, we'll be here all night." She smiled at the thought before going back to the story. "Three of my sisters already had families, which left me and our eldest sister, Catalina, to be the only single ladies in the family. They put a lot of pressure on Catalina to find a husband, and it wasn't long before they put it on me as well."

"How old were you?" I interrupted.

"I was 18," she replied. I frowned. That wasn't old enough to get married. When she saw the look on my face, she clarified, "They didn't expect me to get a husband like they expected from Catalina. But because I hadn't had a boyfriend since forever, it scared them. They thought I'd take as long as Catalina did to get a soulmate. So, they kind of rushed me."

I nodded in understanding. "Ah."

"I was fresh out of high school and I was looking for a job. Like many other girls my age, I dreamed of becoming a broadway actress. One day, we got a call from a family friend, whose son was my age and was apparently muy caliente,"

I interrupted again. "Muy caliente?" I said, pronouncing the words awfully.

Smiling, she explained, "They said he was hot."