Authors: Elizabeth Reyes
“I can take you now,” Angel offered. “We’re pretty much done here. Everyone’s just gonna shoot the breeze now, and I know you said you had homework you wanted to work on.”
Feeling even more curious, especially since her mom hadn’t responded to her text asking for a hint, Sarah nodded with a smile. “I can’t imagine what it is.”
Angel got up from where he was sitting and reached out his hand. “Let’s go,” he said. “I’m curious now too.”
It took her almost fifteen minutes to say goodbye to everyone, but finally they were out of there and in Angel’s car. Halfway home her mom responded to her text.
The only hint is you’re really gonna like it! That’s all. Oh and maybe don’t bring Angel in. This is something he might not be as excited about hearing as you.
There was only one thing Sarah could think of that might not excite Angel as much as it would excite her—Sydney. This had something to do with him, and it was likely what he’d called her twice for today. But why wouldn’t he just tell her? Whatever it was suddenly had her insides knotting up.
Angel
It was a subtle change, but Angel knew Sarah well enough now to catch it. She’d gone from being curiously excited about her mom’s surprise for her to suddenly a bit unnerved. The change didn’t happen until that second text from her mom halfway to their condo.
“Something wrong?” he asked after seeing her read her text.
“No,” she said, but she wasn’t convincing, almost as if she weren’t sure herself. “She just asked where I was.”
They turned the corner, and Angel pulled into a parking space across from the condo Sarah and her mom had recently bought. Sarah turned to him then quickly back to her bag.” You don’t have to come in with me if you need to get going.”
The way she dug in her bag as she said that was another telling sign about Sarah. She always avoided eye contact when she was feeling uneasy. “I’m in no hurry.” Angel started getting out. “And I’m curious about this surprise,” he said, facing her across the roof of his car now.
She smiled, and they met around the front. They headed to her front door. It was already unlocked, and they walked right in. Luna, Sarah’s mom, smiled strangely at Angel then glanced at Sarah and picked up her cell phone in what looked like preparation to take a photo.
Both Sarah and Angel stood there a bit confused. “Okay, come out,” Luna said.
Angel almost didn’t recognize him when he first walked out because he was a lot buffer than the last time he’d seen him, but it only took a few seconds for him to figure it out. Sydney smiled, and Sarah’s hands immediately went to her face and covered her mouth.
“Hey, Lynni.”
“Oh my God!” She rushed to him and gave him a huge hug, which Luna took several shots of with her phone and had Angel wishing he hadn’t come in with Sarah.
They held each other tightly for a moment that felt uncomfortably long. Yeah, Angel definitely should’ve just dropped her off. As annoying as it would’ve been to hear later that the big surprise her mother had come home early for was Syd being in town, it beat having to witness her excitement from seeing the dude and hearing him refer to her in that syrupy way he said her middle name.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, finally pulling away.
Angel watched, grinding his teeth as Sarah actually wiped tears away and still held Sydney’s hand with the other.
“I’m home for what’s left of the summer, so I figured since I haven’t been this close to you in so long I should just take the drive down and surprise you.”
Of course.
Angel had to fight the urge to mutter. Flagstaff
was
after all just around the corner from La Jolla. The last time he and Sarah drove up to Flagstaff it took them nearly
eight hours
!
Sydney finally took his eyes off Sarah long enough to acknowledge Angel. “How’s it going, man?” He reached out to shake Angel’s hand even as his other hand still held Sarah’s.
“Good.” Angel forced a smile. “Long time.”
“Yeah,” Sarah said, smiling but still wiping the corner of her eyes with one hand. “What’s it been? Over two years since I saw you last?”
Angel’s eyes dropped down to Sarah’s hand that was still in Syd’s. His already-forced smile flat lined, and she dropped her
best friend’s
hand immediately as if she’d just noticed she was still holding it. Then their eyes met. He wouldn’t even try to hide what he was feeling. She had to know that, as much as he’d always tried to be understanding about her relationship with Syd, this kind of shit pissed him
off.
Luna cleared her throat loudly. “Yeah, the last time he came down was for your graduation party from high school. Wow, it
has
been over two years.”
Angel finally looked away from Sarah, doing his best to not show how fucking annoyed he was suddenly feeling. He was glad when Sarah asked how long Syd would be in town, because it’s what he wanted to know too. He might’ve asked himself, but as irritated as he was now, he was pretty sure it would’ve come out more like “When do you
leave
?”
His tolerance for Sarah’s relationship with her best friend was largely due to the distance between them. He knew that they texted and spoke on the phone, but as long as he didn’t have to be around this kind of display of affection between the two, he could deal with knowing she kept in touch regularly with the guy. If Syd were around more often, Angel knew his patience for their “friendship” would wear thin real fast. Hearing comments from Alex and Romero about how they’d never put up with another dude in their chick’s lives didn’t help either. Romero had never even had a steady girl, and Angel didn’t know what to call Alex’s off-and-on relationship with Valerie, but both made these kinds of statements as if it were a no-brainer.
To Angel’s relief, Syd said he’d only be around until tomorrow afternoon. But it wasn’t much of a relief. Not only was Luna already saying he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted, which meant he’d be sleeping here at their place tonight, but he also mentioned being home for the rest of the summer and doing his best to make it out here again.
“You guys should come up to Flagstaff too before the summer is over,” Syd added. “There’s still a few weeks left.”
At least the invitation was extended to Angel as well. Syd smiled at him when he said it, but then, of course, he had to ruin it by smiling at Sarah in that way that made Angel sick to his stomach. “We can run the trails at the canyon like old times.”
Sarah turned to Angel with a hopeful smile. “Maybe we can.” It was a statement, but it sounded more like a question.
Angel nodded. “Yeah, maybe,” he said, humoring her.
Football practice was already grueling, and it had just gotten started. Angel knew as they got closer to the start of the season it would only get worse. He might have a weekend to spare between now and then, and he could take her up, but he’d only tolerate so much. Her going out to spend a weekend with her guy friend by herself was not happening.
As much as he hated to leave Sarah with Syd, he had no choice. It was either that or hang around cringing while they happily caught up with each other and then reminisce about old times. He’d spare himself the exasperation.
Sarah walked him to his car, and though he’d told himself he’d let it go, he just couldn’t. “You and him always hold hands like that?” he asked, pulling her to him as he leaned against his car.
She frowned, caressing his face and kissing him. “Always is a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” She tilted her head. “I haven’t seen him in over two years, but, no, I didn’t even realize I was doing it.” She smiled remorsefully. “I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”
Uncomfortable was a gross understatement, but as long as she understood it wasn’t something he wanted to be witness to again, he’d let it go with just the one comment for now. He squeezed her hand, lifting his brow. “He’s sleeping in the front room, right?”
The corner of her lip lifted. “Of course, Angel.”
Angel shrugged, still too annoyed and feeling too tense to be playful about this. “I dunno. You call him your best friend, and if he were a chick, she’d probably be sleeping in your room, right?” He remembered the few times his sister had friends over and they all slept in the front room. “
You’re
not sleeping in the front room with him, are you?”
“
No
, I’m not,” she said, suddenly looking a little worried. “This isn’t gonna be a problem, right? I don’t just
call
him my best friend. He is. After you, that is,” she added quickly. “But he is my longtime friend, and you know you have nothing to worry about. I thought we were past this.”
She rubbed Angel’s arm, pinching her brows as if she suddenly realized just
how
uncomfortable
this unexpected surprise really was for him.
“I’m cool with it, Sarah,” he said, kissing her forehead, and began to straighten up away from the car. “Just, please, don’t give me reason not to be.”
“Never,” she said, smiling apprehensively. “You know I wouldn’t.”
Angel tried smiling a little bigger to make her feel better. “I’m good,” he said, kissing her a little longer than he had earlier. “I promise. Don’t worry about it.”
He kissed her a few more times before getting in his car and driving away.
Never?
Angel shook his head. She had no idea. He’d be working out long and hard tonight to work off some of the tension he’d built up in the past half hour alone. Angel hadn’t had to think about Sydney too much in the past two years. Their relationship had been a distant one, and even though it still irked him at times, as long as Syd was on the other side of the country where he was attending school most of the year, he could handle it. But just being around her and her
longtime friend
for a few minutes already had Angel so wound up he didn’t even want to think about tomorrow.
Sarah
Sydney, Sarah and her mom had been sitting at the kitchen table, chatting for a while. The first chance Sydney got to talk to Sarah alone, when her mom excused herself to take a call, he lowered his voice. “You think we can go somewhere and talk a little more privately?”
Sarah stopped just as she was about to put another grape in her mouth and looked at him curiously. “Yeah, you mean like outside?”
He shook his head. “No, like go somewhere else—take a drive or something.” He glanced around as if to make sure her mom wasn’t within hearing distance. “I wouldn’t want to chance your mom hearing.”
Interesting.
Sydney had made a mention earlier in front of her mom, when she asked about his girlfriend Carina, that things weren’t the greatest between them right now, but he’d been vague. Sarah wondered now if there was something a little juicier about the story he didn’t want to share in front of her mom. This wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned having issues with Carina. In the past several months, he’d brushed on it but only when Sarah asked. Even then he never really gave her details, which was odd because normally he was an open book with her.
As selfless as she’d like to think her well-wishes for things working out for him and Carina were, she felt a little guilty that her wishes weren’t entirely altruistic. A part of her knew Angel was still uncomfortable with their relationship. His reaction tonight to Sydney dropping by had been a perfect reminder of that. When her mom sent her the second text on her way home, telling her she might want to have Angel just drop her off, she got the feeling it might have something to do with Sydney, but she never expected for him to actually be there. She regretted her reaction to seeing him the moment she saw that look on Angel’s face. Her holding on to Sydney’s hand the way she had was just stupid. She just honestly hadn’t given it a second thought. And it’d been so long since she’d last seen Sydney that she couldn’t help feeling emotional.
Sydney having a girlfriend served as a buffer for Angel’s feelings about her friendship with Sydney. It didn’t help a whole lot, obviously, but she knew Angel had been a little more at ease knowing Sydney had a girl he was romantically involved with and not just waiting in the wings for Sarah like she was certain Angel would think if he didn’t.
“Okay,” she said, stuffing the grape in her mouth and standing up. “Let’s go get ice cream.”
Glad that her mom was still on the phone—otherwise she might feel bad about not inviting her to come—she grabbed her keys and called out to her mom. “We’re gonna get ice cream, Mom. Text me if you want me to bring you anything.”
As soon as her mom said okay, they walked out. They’d only been in the car long enough for Sarah to put on her seatbelt and start it when she turned to Sydney with a curious but cautious smile. “Okay, what is it?”
She thought he might smile back just as playfully; instead, he seemed a little nervous. “Has, uh . . .? Has your mom ever told you more about your dad?”