Page 50 of Through My Window
Taking a deep breath, I ring the doorbell. The red-haired girl opens the door, looking a little agitated.
“Good afternoon,” she says, adjusting the skirt of her uniform.
“Is Ares here?”
“Yes, of course.” She steps aside and gestures for me to follow. “The party is in the back by the pool, come in.”
Party?
She guides me through the hallway until we reach the pool, which is inside the house. I can see steam rising off the blue water—it must be heated—and the pool lights make the water glow in a cool way. There are more lights and torches all around the room, giving it a tropical, beachy vibe. I guess this is what you get to enjoy when you’re rich.
As soon as I set foot in there, everyone’s eyes turn to me, and I feel superuncomfortable. I look around for Ares. He’s in the pool with a girl on his shoulders facing another couple in the same position. They’re having a water fight. I can’t help feeling jealous of the girl with Ares. She’s very pretty and has a dazzling smile. Ares turns to see what everyone is looking at, and our eyes meet. He doesn’t look surprised. He looks pleased.
He looks so good all wet.No, focus, Raquel. Ares continues his game as if nothing happened. I stand there awkwardly until Apolo walks up to greet me.
“Welcome,” he says with a smile. “These are all Ares’s classmates, but I know them too.” He takes me over to a group of three boys, and I recognize one of them as the guy I bumped into when I was spying on Ares at soccer practice.
“Raquel, this is Marco, Gregory, and Luis,” Apolo introduces them, pointing at each boy respectively.
“Ha! Pay me!” says Luis, the blond one. “I told you someone from Apolo’s new school would come.”
Gregory grunts. “Oh, I can’t believe it.” He takes a few bills out of his pocket and passes them to Luis.
Marco, the dark-haired boy from practice, says nothing, just glancing at me by way of greeting.
Apolo grimaces. “Your bets suck. I’ll be right back, Raquel, make yourself comfortable.”
Gregory points at me with his finger. “I would welcome you, but you just made me lose money.”
“Don’t be a sore loser,” Luis says to Gregory while giving me a smile. “Welcome, Raquel, have a seat.”
I can’t deny that they’re very attractive. I would never have imagined sitting with guys like them in my life. But they don’t seem to be too obnoxious so far. My eyes wander to the pool as the girl on Ares’s shoulders falls into the water, pulling Ares down with her. They emerge from the water, smiling at each other, and she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Ouch!
I can almost hear my heart breaking.
And, for once, I find myself at a crossroads.
I have always said that life is about choices, good and bad, and I’ve made both. In front of me, I have two:
1. Turn around and walk away with my head down.
2. Stay, get my necklace back, and maybe have a good time with Ares’s friends. Show him that I’m okay and that I don’t care about him.
And if he can act like nothing has happened, then so can I. I need to regain my dignity; I need to do something to stop feeling like a lovesick girl. So I swallow my heart and, with a big smile, sit down next to Marco, the one who hasn’t spoken so far.
“Do you want a beer?” Luis asks me, and I nod, thanking him when he passes it to me.
Gregory raises his bottle. “Let’s drink to the fact that the only friend Apolo has made at school is pretty.”
Luis raises his. “Yeah, I have to say I am impressed.”
Blushing, I clink my bottle with theirs. The two boys look at Marco, but he doesn’t move an inch. Luis looks away.
“Let’s drink without him. He’s grumpy like Ares. No wonder they’re best friends,” says Gregory.
We toast and continue drinking. When Marco stands up, he’s almost as tall as Ares, and he’s shirtless. My eyes have no shame and travel down his chest to his abdomen. The Virgin of Abdominals has been very generous to these guys. My eyes follow his movements as he dives into the pool.
