Page 23 of Love and Other Goals

Mateo

Tonight was even better than I imagined. Already looking forward to our next date, Lana.

Smiling to myself, I head up the stairs, where I know my Beefs will be anxiously waiting. Sure enough, as soon as I open the door, they launch themselves at me with hugs and demands for every detail.

Laughing, I hug Teegan and Amaya back and then push them away. “Give me a second, let me take my shoes off.”

“Okay, okay, but at least give me a Taylor song that encapsulates the vibe of the date for our background music,” Teegan demands, phone at the ready in her hand.

I blow out a breath with a smile. “‘Enchanted’,” I say.

“O. M. G. This is going to be the best story EVER,” Teegan squeals as she’s running in place. Golden retrievers have nothing on Teegan’s energy. Amaya shoves her onto her bed, shushing her as Teegan starts the song on repeat and throws her phone to the side. They’re now both sitting, staring in rapt attention.

I take a seat on the bed across from them and fill them in on the evening. They respond with all the appropriate Ooos and Ahhhs as I tell them about all the thought that Mateo had put into the details of the date, the magical setting, and the music. Teegan swoons, hand over heart, when I describe dancing together at sunset—but I leave out the part about Mateo confessing to wanting to kiss me. Some details of our time together are for my heart only.

They can’t believe Mateo knew that tiramisu was my favorite dessert. “Wait, I didn’t even know that,” Amaya says with a furrowed brow.

“LaLa picked that at the Valentine’s Dessert event that Arrow did our sophomore year,” Teegan declares. I blush, realizing that Mateo must have also been paying attention to me that Valentine’s Day.

I share the gist of our answers to each other’s questions during dessert, trying to convey the vibes of our conversation without sharing every intimate detail. Amaya, not one to be easily won over, is beyond impressed with both Mateo’s answers and his thoughtful questions.

“I gotta say, Lana, I have a good feeling about this,” Amaya says.

Teegan sits straight up with her hand out in a scout’s honor pose. “I swear, Beef, if you don’t fall in love with Mateo over this, I am going to on your behalf.”

I hit Teegan with a throw pillow, laughing, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, Teegs. It was just our first date.”

“Well, I say second date because I’m counting coffee as date one, and you’re obviously going to go out again, so I don’t think I’m jumping too far ahead here,” Teegan defends herself.

“Lana’s right. We need to keep our cool,” Amaya inserts, ever the level-headed one. “She still has a lot to get to know about Mateo, not to mention figuring out if their future paths are compatible. And we don’t know yet if the Aaron crush has officially fizzled?” She says the final statement more as a question, looking over at me with an eyebrow raised. Teegan immediately turns to gauge my reaction.

There’s an awkward charge in the air now, that I know is my responsibility to dispel.

After a minute, I clear my throat. “Look, I honestly don’t know what I think about Aaron right now. I’m not even sure how to think about it. I crushed on him for like, forever, but…” I pause, unsure how to continue.

Teegan eventually wades in slowly, “But, you know, Mateo seems great. Really great. And we know he likes you. But Aaron, you know, we don’t even really know for sure what he thinks.”

“Yeah, Lana, the first person to acknowledge to you that Aaron had a crush on you was Mateo,” Amaya says with a hint of sass. “Aaron has never had the guts to shoot straight about your relationship. Mateo is being totally upfront and honest, and I think that’s what you deserve,” she finishes, crossing her arms.

I’m feeling conflicted, because the dregs of years of feelings for Aaron are rising up wanting to defend him. But also…my Beefs aren’t wrong.

The refrain of “Enchanted” cycles through the background noise, and I think about the magic I felt on my date with Mateo, the wonderstruck feeling I had on the drive back home.

I bury my head in my hands for a moment, then finally respond. “I know I’m not going to figure this all out tonight. But I promise, I’m going to sort it out.”

“Aaaand you’re going to go on another date with Mateo, right?” Teegan adds hopefully.

“And I’m going to go on another date with Mateo,” I reassure her. “I’ll cross the what-to-do-with-Aaron bridge when it comes, but no matter what happens with any boys, you two are my for-lifes, okay?”

In bed that night, I’m willing my closed eyes to surrender to sleep, but my mind’s eye is bouncing back and forth between Aaron’s and Mateo’s faces. Ughhh, how am I supposed to sort through a huge pile of old, clingy feelings alongside this little pile of brand-new, glittery feelings?

After several minutes, I stop trying to sort through and instead start to replay my favorite parts of tonight’s date in my mind.

Mateo’s laugh. The soft look on his face when he talked about his family. His profile silhouetted against the setting sun. The warmth that spread through my body when my hand was in his. The intensity in his eyes before he ended our dance. His playfulness and sincerity intermixing our conversation.

I finally drift off into a happy dream.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

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