Page 3 of All at Once

“Oh. Bummer.” I hold my smile the best I can even though my face falls on the inside. The one time something seems to have a chance at working out, it still doesn’t. Typical.

“I know. It would’ve been nice to catch up,” Enrique says with a slight frown.

“Yeah,” I say, “that would’ve been awesome.”

“But listen, if you’re free soon you should totally come to Spain,” he offers. “We live in Marbella.”

Wait. What?My heart stops, a tightness forming in my chest.

Is he asking me out? Across the globe?

The romantic in me knows a summer vacation in Spain would be unreal, full of endless possibilities to experience things I’ve only ever seen in movies. But the realist in me knows there are a myriad of reasons why it could never happen.

“I wish I could,” I say. “But I think it’ll be tough finding somewhere to stay during the peak of summer.”

“Oh that’s no problem,” Enrique replies casually. “You could just stay at our resort.”

Did I just hear him correctly?

“Your family has a resort?” I ask, still dumbfounded.

“Yeah. It’s super chill,” he says. “My friends come over all the time.”

I believe this considering how nonchalantly he just invited me.

“Just think about it,” he adds. “It would be fun to reconnect. We could even go to a football match.” He smirks at that last part.

It’s hard to stifle my squeals. Considering how he just confirmed he’s interested in us connecting again. But I try to keep my cool at least outwardly. “It would be nice to seeReal Madridcrush you guys per usual in two weeks,” I say.

“Okay, someone knows the schedule.” Enrique crosses his arms, impressed. “And if they win, which they won’t, it’ll be a little less painful if you’re there.”

My heart flutters at his overt flirtatiousness. This guy who I crushed on for an entire semester in college is flirting with me now, years later, and I have absolutely no idea how to feel about it.

“I really appreciate the offer,” I say. “It’s really sweet of you.”

His lips curve upwards. “Do you still have my number?”

“Of course.” Okay,calm down. I quickly try to sound more nonchalant. “I mean, yeah I still do.” Like I’deverdelete his number.

“Hopefully we’ll see each other soon,” Enrique says.

Then he leans forward, my heart momentarily stopping before realizing he’s kissing my cheeks.

Is this a custom in Spain that’s more friendly as opposed to romantic? Yes. Does my body know this? Absolutely not. And my mind is most certainly going to convince itself that there was a romantic motive behind the gesture.

Hoping that my cheeks have somehow returned back to their normal shade after that subtle contact, I say, “It was really nice seeing you.”

“Same here.” Enrique’s dimples appear one last time before he picks up the football and walks back toward his family.

I try not to lose my shit when he leaves. Although it’s almost impossible considering this is the first time a guy kissed my cheeks.

Being the foolish person that I am, I immediately start wondering if this was fate.

Why else would I run into the guy that I daydreamed about for monthsthismany years later for itnotto mean something?

Already looking forward to picking apart every detail of that interaction with my best friend, Georgia, my smile doesn’t leave my face as I walk back to my car.

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