"Are you sure this party isn't going to be a waste of time?" I asked Dinah, doing my makeup in front of my dresser.
"Girl, you know we're only going to this party so you finally have a chance to step your game up to Y/N." Dinah replied, adjusting her heels. "What happened to the flirty Camila from high school?"
"But she's not like the people from high school, Dinah!" I exclaimed. "She's different. You'll know it when you meet her."
Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. I went to go open it up, and there she was. She was wearing a baby blue button up shirt and a pair of well-fitting slacks. Her black converse stood out from her palm trees socks.
"I didn't know there was an elevator, so I walked up a bunch of stairs." She flashed a smile. I laughed as she came in.
"How was work today?" I asked.
"It was a lot busier than usual." Y/N replied. "I don't know what happened. For some reason, it was like packed when I left."
"Maybe the public is coming to their senses." I offered. "Maybe they're starting to realize how awesome of a place it is."
Throughout the week, I visited Y/N at work every day. I came in and browsed, although my main intention was going to talk to her. She loved the shop so much, and if she was passionate about it, I was passionate about it.
"Oh, you must be Y/N!" Dinah came in, shaking her hand. "I'm Dinah, Camila's roomie. She talks about you all the time."
"Dinah!" I exclaimed. "Go get your purse."
Dinah giggled, going to get her purse from the other room.
"So," Y/N began. "You talk about me?"
"That's classified information," I told her, coming over to adjust her collar. "Are you drinking tonight?"
"Probably not." Y/N confessed.
"If you're not drinking, I'm not drinking." I put my arm around her neck.
"Mila not drinking at a party?" Dinah came back in. "That's new."
"We'll still have fun, Dinah." I turned to Y/N, smiling. "Who's party is this again?"
"He's a rapper. You wouldn't know him." Dinah explained, grabbing her keys.
"Dinah works in the music industry." I told Y/N. "She's really good."
"Chancho, don't flatter me. You know I love it, though, so keep going." Dinah said.
"Chancho?" Y/N asked about the nickname.
"Oh! Story time." Dinah smiled. "When Camila and I were little, we used to make videos for this series we did called The Cheechee and Chancho Show. I was Cheechee- the star, the only fully-developed character. Chancho just rode on my success."
"If it makes you feel better, I haven't stopped." I joked.
"It's nice to know Camila has always been dramatic." Y/N teased, getting a laugh out of Dinah.
"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Dinah confessed, locking the apartment door as we all exited. She tapped her phone and called an Uber.Y/N and I sat together on this big chair in the lobby, while Dinah stood up, looking outside for the Uber.
"So, Y/N, what are your intentions with my Camila?" Dinah asked, looking up from her phone. I turned to her, looking at how her face turned from calm to slightly nervous.
"I just like spending time with her." Y/N explained. "I think she's really smart and inquisitive and I want to get her to know better as long as she wants the same thing. And- um- she's really pretty."I blushed at this. Dinah put her phone down.
"Okay, wow. That was a pretty good answer." Her phone vibrated. "The Uber's here! I call shotgun, which leaves enough room for you two in the back."
"DINAH!" I yelled, watching my sassy best friend walk towards the black car. "Shall we?" Y/N asked, waiting for me to get up.
The car ride there was eventful. Dinah was asking Y/N tons of questions, and I was trying to make sure she wasn't feeling too overwhelmed. Though Dinah could be really protective sometimes, I didn't want to pressure her into anything yet. We still have a lot to learn about each other.We pulled up to the party and we took another elevator to the penthouse suite of a hotel. When we got to the door, Dinah knocked and we were greeted by a man with dreadlocks and a fedora.
"Ty!" Dinah greeted. "These are my friends, Camila and Y/N."
"Pleasure to meet you, ladies." Ty shook our hands. "Feel free to get some drinks. If not, the balcony and the master bedroom are open."
"Cool. Thanks, man." Y/N cooly responded, grabbing my hand by habit. "Uh, is this okay? I just didn't wanna lose you in the crowd of people."
"This is nice. Don't worry." I smiled.
We went over to the kitchen and tried to find something non-alcoholic to drink. In the end, our only option was water with crushed ice. We then sat together on a couch in the living room, watching couples dance to bass boosted rap music. Suddenly, Y/N got up and offered me her hand.
"May I have this dance?" She asked.
"Do you know how to dance?" I asked back."Well, no. But-"
"No, it's okay." I interjected. "I'm going to teach you."
I stood up with her and made our way to the dance floor.
"Alright. You're gonna put one hand around my waist, and I'm gonna put one around your neck." I explained, moving her arm. "Got it?"
"Yes ma'am." She blushed.
"Good. Now... you just sway, I guess."
"What?" She couldn't hear me over the blasting speakers.
"SWAY!" I shouted. "Just like rock back and forth. Just like- hold on."I grabbed her hips, helping her get into the rhythm of the song.
"Sorry. I was just trying to help." I apologized, forgetting about boundaries for a hot second.
"No, don't be. Am I getting the hang of it now?" She asked, trying to replicate what I was trying to teach her a moment before.
"You're a fast learner." I smiled. We danced together for an hour or two, and then I decided that I needed some fresh air. I led Y/N up to the master bedroom upstairs so we could get on the balcony.
"Have you ever been in penthouse suite?" I asked her, opening the door to a thankfully empty room.
"No. Never." She shook her head, walking in.
"It's like you're standing on the top of the world." I explained. "Like nothing can hurt you." Y/N took off her shoes and jumped on the bed.
"You don't know what's been done in that bed." I blurted out. Y/N gave me a look, and then we laughed together.
"You're right." She stated. "So, any luck with schools?"
"I'm looking at Fordham right now, but I don't know. I wanna double major in Creative Writing and Business, and start my own publishing firm." Y/N got up, putting her shoes back on and going to the balcony.
"No family franchising business for you?" She chuckled, drinking a cup of water. Y/N leaned over the edge of the balcony.
"They really want me to do my own thing, as nice as it would be." I joined her outside, overlooking the edge of the city. "What about you? Are you gonna inherit the bookstore?"
"Ideally, no." She confided. "But probably. My mom doesn't want to sell it, so it'll either end up to me or Lauren."
"Lauren? Is that your sister?"
"No. She works at the store with me."
"Are you guys close?"
"Sometimes. She says a lot of things that can contradict that."
"So what is she, then?"I saw her take a deep breath in. "Right now, she's my friend. And I want nothing more than that." She could tell I wasn't entirely convinced. She walked over, getting closer to me and resting her arm over the ledge.
"There is no one I would rather be with right now." She smiled. "And if I need to spend a good chunk of my time convincing you of this, so be it."
I couldn't stop staring at her lips. I leaned it, and then took a step back. I don't want to be reading everything wrong. Not again.
"Is it okay if I do this?" I asked hesitantly. She nodded, and suddenly I slowly crashed into her. In that moment, something in my head told me everything was going to be okay. It felt like my past was suddenly locked in a bank vault. I wasn't my parents. I wasn't going to be my parents. Whatever I did in high school wasn't me. This was a new chapter, and I was ready to wake up from the deep sleep I was in from being the girl I was pretending to be. We broke apart, and everything was silent for a while.
"Camila?" She touched my arm gently. "Can we talk about what just happened?"
"Yeah, of course." I sat down on the bed, going back inside. "You can tell me if you didn't like it."
"I didn't like it." She stated. "I loved it."
"Y/N, I'm sorry- what?"
"I loved it. I love kissing you." She walked in front of me. "And I would like to kiss you again."
I watched as she leaned in closer, only to hear the door burst open as our faces were inches apart. Dinah appeared in the doorway.
"Oh. OH! I'm so sorry." Dinah burst out laughing.
"Can I help you?" I sarcastically responded."Yeah, I need to tell you something." Her tone suddenly changed. I walked outside to join her in the hallway.
"What's up?"
"He's here."My body tensed up. I didn't think I would see him again, certainly not in the city.
"I thought they shipped him back to where he came from." I said through gritted teeth.
"Me too." Dinah told me. "Hey, we can leave if you want."
"I don't want to see him. Not tonight." I stared back at Y/N. I was so into her. She was something that I needed. I didn't know what it was yet, though.
"Call another Uber."
Dinah went back downstairs.
"Everything okay?" Y/N asked. "You seem tense."
"Don't worry about it." I accidentally snapped. Taking a deep breath, I regrouped myself.
"There's someone here, and I need to leave because of them." I explained. "And if you stick around, I'll tell you all about."She looked at me, slowly nodding. She suddenly raised her hand, clenching her first and suddenly raising her pinky.
"Promise." She stated proudly. I giggled, forgetting about what happened before.
"Promise." I locked her pinky with mine and leaned in. She pulled me closer, and I immediately decided that my new focus was shifted. I had to do whatever I could to keep this amazing person in my life. We broke apart, and Dinah came up as we walked downstairs to the Uber.
But, he was like a tiger in a jungle. He always knew how to find me.
"You and I need to talk." I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned around.
"What the fuck do you want, Matthew?" I asked.
"I lost my teaching job, Camila." He explained, on the verge of tears.
"Good. You deserve it." Dinah said.
"My rent is months behind." He pleaded. "This is not the way I wanted her to be raised."
"Camila," Y/N interjected. "Is this guy bothering you? We can leave if you want."
I turned back to her, grabbed her neck, and kissed her cheek.
"Wait outside for the car."
"Mila-" Dinah began.
"Go." I demanded. The two left, and Matthew rolled his eyes.
"A BROOKLYNITE? Wow, Camila."
"I left you years ago, Matthew."
"You left me- and our baby girl."
"The one my parents didn't let me keep?" I shouted. "Sorry I was still underage and you broke a fucking law!"
"I'm not here to fight with you." He surrendered. "I'm here to ask for your help."
"Okay."
"I have no money to raise Fiona."
"We had a deal." I shoved him. "You wanted a life for us that I couldn't give you. There's so much I want to get done, and I'm not ready to be a wife." Matthew stepped closer to me.
"Then you shouldn't have asked for it."
I slapped him hard across the face. He stumbled back, looking up at me.
"Give it a week. Think about it." Matthew told me. "Otherwise, I'm shipping her across the pond to live with my folks."Matthew handed me his business card, and disappeared into the crowd.
I stared at the number, shoving the business card into my purse and running out the door to catch the Uber.