Page 25 of Bang Buddies With Benefits
“My sister, Angélica,” Cat continued, and I noted the h sound in place of a g as she moved onto her brother-in-law, and their baby, Gabby, who had a shock of dark hair and giant chubby cheeks. “And I’m sure you remember Mariana’s mother, Yolanda. Lorenzo is her husband, and you’ve also met my mother, Rosa.”
“Nice to meet all of you,” I said with a nod, doing my best to commit names and faces. The fact there wasn’t an empty chair next to Rosa made me think Cat’s dad wasn’t expected to attend, and I racked my brain, trying to remember if she’d ever mentioned him before. Was he not around? Had he passed away? I didn’t dare ask, and now avoiding certain subjects was biting me in the ass, leaving me feeling super unprepared.
Then Catalina added she’d introduce me to the other half of her family later, and that feeling only grew. Already the names and faces were blurring together.
As the waiters began circling the tables with trays of food, my gaze turned upward, to all the purple paper flowers dangling from strings of lights. “Was your quinceañera this…”
“Elaborate?” Cat filled in for me, which was better than the “over-the-top” or “as grand as a wedding” options I’d debated between. “Yes.”
“You should’ve seen Catalina on her big day.” Rosa threw a hand to her chest as she beamed at her daughter. “She looked so beautiful.”
I draped my arm over the back of Cat’s chair. “That doesn’t surprise me. She always looks beautiful.”
Several of the women at the table sighed. Even Gabby grinned at me, all gums save two top teeth that’d popped through.
Catalina, on the other hand, glared at me as if complementing her equated to treason in her book.
“What?” I mouthed.
“This is why we’re such great friends,” Catalina enunciated the words and patted my shoulder, a little harder than necessary. “When I need an ego boost, Zac’s always there for me.”
Right. I’d already forgotten. Probably becausefriendsso didn’t fit us. It never had and never would. Our relationship had always been based on the physical, although we’d definitely grown more genial toward each other over the past couple of weeks.
Friends.No matter how many times it rang through my brain, I still fought the urge to make a sour face. I could have female friends—hell, Zoie and I were friends. So why did it grate at me for Catalina to refer to us as such? A mystery to be solved later, when there weren’t a dozen other people staring.
“Here. See for yourself.” Rosa shoved her phone in my face, and it took my eyes a couple seconds to focus. Fifteen-year-old Catalina’s edges were softer, her expression open, so much happiness shining through that it leapt through the screen.
“May I?” I asked, taking the phone from Rosa’s palm to study the image closer. The top of Catalina’s red dress was beaded, the skirt as full as the one her cousin had on today. Her dark, nearly black locks were half up and half down, curls, curls everywhere. It was like looking at a stranger and a former acquaintance, and regardless of not knowing that version of the woman beside me, a tight band formed around my chest, nostalgia with a hint of grief.
There was a time when she’d been softer and less cynical? That dimple was the same, though, and that caused a swirl of affection for both the younger and current versions of Catalina Mendes, Attorney at Law.
“¡Ay, Mamá! Seriously?” Catalina reached for the phone, and I lifted my shoulder and blocked as I switched hands, holding out my arm so I could continue to flip through the pictures.
Luckily, Rosa came in for the assist, swiping to continue the slide show. “Here she is with her attendants, and this…”
Another swipe revealed the younger version of Catalina, her cheeriness on a whole new level as she peered up at the dude with a tight grip on her hand.
Her other palm rested flat against his chest, her crimson fingernails standing out against his white shirt, black vest, and yep, that was definitely a color-coordinated red tie. Buddy gazed back at her with equal zeal, and what was with the foreign burning sensation in my gut?
Not jealousy—it couldn’t be. Not over some teenage boy holding Cat’s hand, or how she looked at him as though the whole world revolved around him and only him.
“Why do you still have that picture on your phone?” Catalina reached over me, her breasts grazing the side of my head as she hit a button that made the screen go black. “Too far,” she said, and I was about to defend myself until I realized she’d aimed the words at her mother.
“Oy vey, mija. You haven’t told him about—?”
“Remember how we talked about boundaries? Please put the phone away, unless you’re planning on aiming it at Mariana and taking pictures for her—this is her special day.”
I wasn’t sure what that was all about, only that Catalina obviously didn’t want me to find out. As she kept reiterating, that wasn’t what she and I were about. The two of us liked to keep that separation between church and state, so to speak. It kept our escapades light and easy, no getting too entangled or dealing with heavy emotions that brought about complications.
It’s for the best,I told myself, while also doing my best to convince myself it was the way I still wanted it. That statement should be true, too. But there was a big difference between sticking to light topics and shoving me into the darkness and keeping me there.
Maybe coming along with her today was a bad idea. Catalina hadn’t been totally sold on the idea in the first place, and I’d hate to lose what we did have over family events, even if it meant she couldn’t be my wing woman for my brother’s wedding and pre-wedding festivities.
I guess I should choose one or the other. Hours upon hours of passive aggressive jabs thrown my way, or one non-stop day filled with them?
If all else failed, I could find a random person to take to the wedding.
Yeah, like that won’t cause even more drama. Claim Cat’s my girlfriend while we plan the wedding, only to show up with someone else and look as fickle and flighty as they claim I am.
