Wildcard [ÉLITE]

―vii.

The weeks passed at a snail's pace. Daniela distanced herself from her former friends even more than she already had. Cayetana became the only person she talked to daily, and as the weeks passed, Polo began to warm up to her as well. Sometimes Dani forgot, for a moment, what she was doing. It was so easy to fall into old habits. Polo was just the boy who'd been dating her best friend as long as she could remember.

But Daniela never forgot for long. It would hit her sometimes, over dinner, while the three of them were laughing at a joke. She had to fight to keep the smile on her face. But as far as she could tell, neither had noticed, especially not Cayetana.

The blonde came over nearly every night, to study or just to chat. They went to parties, with and without Polo. Dancing together in the midst of the crowd, both of them could forget who they were and what secrets they had to keep.

The worst thing, for Daniela, was keeping Valerio at arms length. She'd made it clear to Cayetana, right off the bat, that they were close. But even with that, Daniela still couldn't let it seem like anything more than flirtation. He was her friend, but he'd never know her secrets. Though they never spoke of it, she knew it made Caye feel safer. If Dani told her things she'd never tell Valerio, then Caye didn't fear her own secrets getting spread.

It was the longest three weeks of Dani's life.

Then one night they were out at a bar, after three hours of shopping. The car was filled with bags; Dani had showered Cayetana with gifts. The glasses of cava at each boutique stop had ensured that after one or two, Caye couldn't say no. They found themselves in a lounge down the street from the last shop. Dani sipped from her drink, just enough to make Caye believe they were matched one-for-one.

"I can't believe you were ever friends with Carla," Caye remarked. "She's such a bitch."

Dani almost snorted. "Sure, but for a while, she was the bitch we knew and loved. Especially when Lu came, it was like battle of the alpha female. But, I'd known Carla since we were little. It never occurred to me to distrust her, we were best friends."

"That must have been terrible, knowing your best friend betrayed you..."

"Sure, but I had Marina. As we grew up, the two of us got closer. Carla had Polo, which meant no matter how close we all were, we came second to her relationship. Marina set me up with her brother, and we always joked that we'd be sisters one day. While Carla was off playing house, we were planning our own futures."

"God, I wish I had a sister. Or a best friend."

Dani smiled, the sort of smile that said she didn't quite get it. "You have Polo. Isn't he enough?"

"He's been there for me through everything," Cayetana admitted. "I really do love him, I can't imagine where I'd be without him. But still, a girlfriend? Someone to share everything with, good and bad..."

Daniela reached across the table, and took Caye's hand. "I'm not Lucrecia, and you're not Carla. I know who you are, and I don't give a shit. We need each other."

Cayetana grinned. "You're so right, Dani."

Dani picked up her drink and declared a toast, "To friends who put up with each other's shit." Caye giggled and clinked her glass against Daniela's. While the blonde knocked her drink back, Dani only took a sip. She signaled to the bartender to bring them another round.

Two bars later, Cayetana was decidedly wasted. Dani had learned from years of watching drunk people, how to act. Between Caye's intoxication, and Daniela's own acting skills, the blonde was none the wiser. They left the city, moving away from the glossy, sophisticated lounges. Their next haunts were warmer and more familiar local pubs.