Page 158 of Through My Window
“You don’t have to thank us for anything,” Apolo says. “Thanks to you for inviting us.”
My aunt Carmen, of course, cannot keep quiet.
“Raquel, baby, where are your manners?”
And so begins that awkward moment when you have to introduce your beautiful boyfriend and his siblings to your family.
“Apolo, Ares, and Artemis, these are my aunts Carmen and Maria, and my cousins: Cecilia, Camila, Yenny, Vanessa, Lilia, and Esther.”
After all the protocol, and my cousins half fainting, the Hidalgos cross over to a group where Dean and other guys are talking.
My cousin lets out a shriek.
“Oh my God, Raquel!” Camila exclaims. “Your boyfriend is . . . I can’t explain it.” Cecilia is mute. My aunt Carmen says nothing either. My aunts wander off to talk, leaving me to the large group of girls alone.
“Apolo. . . . Even his name is pretty.” Camila sighs, grabbing my shoulders. “Does he have a girlfriend?”
My eyes meet Dani’s. She seems pretty annoyed at Camila’s interest.
“Oh, I think he does have a girlfriend,” Dani interjects.
“Oh no.” Camilla pouts. “Of course he has a girlfriend. How could that cute, beautiful thing not have a girlfriend?” she asks, staring at Apolo.
Yenny takes a sip of the lightly spiked fruit drink we prepared.
“Fuck relationships, I’d give anything to fuck the oldest brother.”
“Yenny!” Cecilia spits out her drink. I can’t help but smile. Vanessa gives Yenny a high five.
“You read my mind. One night is all I ask of any of those guys,” says Vanessa. I raise an eyebrow, and she laughs. “Take it easy, not yours, the other two.”
“Apolo also has a girlfriend,” Dani intervenes. “Remember?”
“So?” Vanessa looks at her, and Dani can’t hide her annoyance.
“So? Would you mess with a guy who has a girlfriend?”
Vanessa snorts.
“I don’t want to marry him. One night, a few hours will be enough.” They all whistle and fuss, reacting to how direct my cousin is. I admit it reminds me of how direct Ares is. Apparently, there’s someone like that in every family.
Dani gives her an incredulous look.
“He’s younger than you,” Dani says, as if it’s the last word on the subject. Yenny and Vanessa shrug their shoulders. “Don’t you care what people will say about you?”
Vanessa shakes her head, smiling.
“You need a refresher, babe, or do you still believe in that macho bullshit that it’s okay for men to date younger girls, but it’s wrong if women do it.”
“Exactly.” Yenni nods in agreement. “He’s a teenager aware of what he wants. If both parties like each other, and there’s consent, what’s the problem?”
Camila rolls her eyes. “Both of you shut up, Apolo is mine.”
My eyes meet Ares’s glance. He’s holding a red plastic cup in his hands and takes a drink. There’s a mischievous smile dancing on his lips as he puts down the cup.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell my cousins, approaching Ares. I can’t look away. As always, I feel trapped in the blue of his eyes. Every step I take quickens my heart. One by one, the people around me disappear, until it’s just me and him. The Greek god and the witch. The moody one and the stalker. I stop in front of him, grinning like an idiot.
“How did it feel to be mentally fucked by all my cousins?” I ask. He strokes his chin, as if thinking.
