Page 68 of Through My Window
“All right, boys and girls! Time to welcome the players.”
Everyone shouts, raising their cups. The team walks into the room, all freshly showered and in regular clothes. Ares is with them, wearing a black shirt that suits him. In fact, black is a color that suits himtoowell for my taste.
The guy who I recognize as the team’s goalkeeper continues, “First of all, let’s welcome the captain, who gave us three beautiful goals today.”
“Ares! Ares! Ares!” Everyone joins the cheers, and I lower my head.
“Captain.” The goalkeeper slips an arm behind Ares’s shoulders. “You played like never before today, but we also know that you dedicated a goal to a girl.”
“Yes!” the people around me shout.
“I think we all want to know who the lucky witch is.”
A girl from the audience raises her hand. “I’ll be your witch anytime, handsome!”
“Will you reveal her identity?”
Ares laughs, shaking his head. “She knows who she is, and that’s enough.”
“Boo! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!”
Ares shakes his head again and walks away.
The goalkeeper shrugs his shoulders. “Okay, back to the party. Enjoy!”
Yoshi grabs my hand and drags me through the crowd.
“Hey, Yoshi!” I complain, surprised by his force.
We leave the house, and he takes me to the sidewalk, far enough away from the people in the garden. He lets go of me, and I can see how annoyed he looks. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Please tell me it wasn’t with him.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me you didn’t lose your virginity to that idiot.”
I freeze, not knowing what to say.
“Raquel, tell me! Ah! Shit! Ares Hidalgo? That arrogant asshole who treats women like dirt? What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t thinking! I was … just . . .”
“You what? You what?”
“I got carried away by my feelings!”
“Feelings? Are you in love with him?”
I want to say no, I want to scream no, but the words stay in my throat. Yoshi looks so disappointed that it hurts. It hurts me to see him like this. “Yoshi . . . I . . .”
“You are. You’re in love with him.” He puts his hands on his head and lets out a long sigh of exasperation.
I don’t know what to say. I’ve never been so confused in my life, and then Yoshi starts to talk, disconcerting me even more.
“I like you, Raquel. I really like you.”
Everything stops, I can only look into those honey-colored eyes flooded with tears.
