Page 113 of Pride High

“I promise I won’t be mad!” Silvia joked. Love really did make fools out of everyone. If that’s what it had been.

“He’s miserable,” Anthony said, the happiness draining from his face. “I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“Oh. That’s terrible. I’m really sorry.”

“What happened?” Anthony asked. “I know what upset you but…”

“It didn’t seem like a good enough reason to break up with someone?”

Anthony grimaced and nodded. “It was worth an argument for sure, but notthat.”

Silvia nibbled her bottom lip. “You’re right. Maybe it’s because we have two different maturity levels.”

“Omar can be a bit much,” Anthony admitted, “but there’s substance too. Some of the stuff he films is really beautiful.”

“True,” she said, thinking of footage of a doe and her babythat were grazing at the edge of the woods near his house. He hadn’t spoken a word while filming it. He’d simply held the camcorder steady as the rising sun bathed them in amber light. It was such a tender scene, and Omar had been incredibly excited to share it with her.“I thought of you,”he’d said. Because he knew of her fondness for animals, presumably, although maybe it went deeper than that.

“He loves you,” Anthony said with a swallow. “And he regrets what happened. Believe me.”

The song came to an end, pulling his attention away. She watched as he pressed the stop button and carefully returned both cassettes to their cases.

“What if I don’t feel the same way about him?” she asked. “Isn’t that a bad sign?”

Anthony pocketed his mixtape before walking over to lean against the counter. “You don’t love him?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I want Omar to be happy. I really care about him. But he seems to have more feelings for me than I do for him.”

“He’s so great though,” Anthony said, shaking his head like he couldn’t understand. “Omar is funny. And he’s hot. For a guy, I mean. Didn’t you like hanging out with him?”

“Yes,” she said, choosing her words carefully, “but it’s hard for me to feel a connection with him. Maybe because of where we come from.”

“What do you mean?”

“I live in a trailer park, Anthony.”

“Oh. He doesn’t care about any of that. My family doesn’t have much money either. He’s never snotty about it. Omar likes staying at my place. I’m the one who always wants to be at his house. Iloveall their money!”

Silvia laughed. “I felt so uncomfortable the entire time I was there. Why do they need so many bathrooms?”

“There’s literally more toilets than there are people,” Anthony replied with an eyeroll. “I don’t get it either, but it’s not like he has a choice. We’re all born into our situations. It’s luck of the draw.”

“You’re right. But again, we come from vastly different worlds. I don’t only mean the money. I have a lot of responsibilities. And he can be very childish.”

“Or maybe you’re too grown-up,” Anthony said with a smirk. “Actually, you should meet my friend Cameron. You’re both weirdly mature. I don’t like it.”

Silvia laughed again. “Mindy said something similar once.”

“Maybe you can balance each other out,” Anthony suggested. “You can help Omar grow up a little, and he can make sure you don’t get old and boring prematurely.”

Silvia thought about it, surprised at her own reluctance, because she didn’t have many good reasons. She still felt that Omar should have spoken up, instead of letting Anthony assume she’d done what she most certainly had not. But it was a small transgression, and at least he wasn’t going around slandering her name or spreading the rumor further. Surely that was deserving of another chance. And yet…

“Maybe he’s not my type,” she said.

Anthony became incredulous again. “If he’s not, I’d like to see who is!”

She was quiet as she considered him. Anthony’s body was stretched out as he rested his elbows on the counter. His long legs were wound together. She liked how lean he was, and his unusual sense of style. The hair especially, which had been freshly dyed. She wasn’t sure how he managed it, but an underlayer of crimson peeked through the black locks. His facial features were delicate. Almost pretty. He wasn’t as hyper as Omar either. Anthony was a bit more refined. As for maturity… she wasn’t sure. But he had a certain elegance to him that made her pulse quicken.

“What if you’re more my type?” she asked.

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