Page 42 of First Impressions of You

“Wait, you’re all Brazilians?” Colin asks the three of us.

“We’re sisters,” Olivia confirms. “And our mom sent us here to marry rich, you know?”

“Oh my God, Olivia.” Julia gently slaps her arm.

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” Cece says next to me. I turn to her. “What? It’s not like we never talked about it. You know a lot of people from school did it.”

“I’d marry Luiza if she wanted to,” Colin blurts out, and Winter’s head whips his way, eyes narrowed so close together, I’m not sure he can see in front of him. “For the right price, of course.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Olivia asks.

“So is marrying for the green card,” Colin counters.

“Not if you actually love the person.” Olivia runs her eyes between Julia and Cam, and they both blush under her gaze. It’d be adorable if the whole situation wasn’t so ridiculous.

“It’s not the only way to stay,” I try to explain, but no one wants to know about grad school or visa sponsorship, and soon the conversation moves on to the next topic.

Still, every now and then, I have a feeling I’m being watched, and when I look his way, I find Winter staring at me, but I don’t like what I see. It’s like his eyes have gone back to looking like a cloud of darkness, and the amber flames have been subdued.

Winter’s barely finished his beer when he stands up, grabs his baseball cap and puts it on, then drops a fifty-dollar bill on the table. He looks at Cam to ask if he’s ready to go, but it’s clear Cam is as confused as I am by his leaving so abruptly.

“I… Uh… I was gonna give Julia a ride home.” Cameron’s eyes sweep over us as if asking for help, but Winter’s fierce glare keeps us all from interfering.

“She can get a ride with her sisters,” Winter grunts.

“I can give them all a ride back,” Colin offers. I have no fucking idea how this night turned so crazily on its head, but apparently Colin will be driving me and my sisters home. When Julia tells Cam it’s okay, he finally gives in.

“Great,” Winter growls. “Let’s go, then.”

“We’re splitting the check,” I say because none of this makes sense.

“I got it.” Winter doesn’t look my way when he says it.

“You shouldn’t have. We’re splitting.” I stand up too.

“I said I got it, Luiza.”

Everyone stands up now, the joyful mood of the night ruined because of the annoying grump. The people who were standing around have scattered, leaving us to deal with the awkward silence as we walk out of the bar, everyone fully aware that something’s going on, but no one knows what. I, for one, have no idea what happened to sour Winter’s mood.

As we say our goodbyes, Cam turns to give Julia a quick peck. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay,” she agrees.

“Love you, bye.” Cam freezes. Julia’s eyes widen. He opens and closes his mouth. Then, Winter places a heavy hand on his shoulder, beckoning him to leave, and Cam does, without saying anything else or looking back.

“Have you two…” Cece asks her, but Julia shakes her head.

“Nope, first time.” We all squeal in joy for her, our spirits lifted in the blink of an eye thanks to Cam.

“Alright, who’s ready to roll?” Colin asks, and not even he is able to ruin our night.

Chapter 11

After the first day, rehearsals are moved to the real stage. For a few days, it’s easy to pretend Winter and I aren’t in the same play. I rehearse my scene with Cameron a couple of times, but we haven’t moved on to more of my scenes yet, so I don’t need to exchange words with Winter.

And he seems okay with that. He doesn’t look for me.

The following week, when our first scene together is on the schedule, I put on a brave face. I need to be professional about this. My personal feelings for Winter cannot come with me to the stage.

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