Breaking Through

Chapter 5

5

Hilary

“I’m so happy for you,” my sister said, embracing me.

“Thanks.” I squeezed her. “I think it’s great that I’m going to be here this summer. This way I can help out more with the wedding preparations.”

“That is great.” My sister let me go and turned back to the island-s***h-bar that divided the kitchen from the dining table, where she was preparing a whiskey with coke for her and Bia.

The guys’ large apartment was in a fancy building in the nicest neighborhood in Santa Barbara. It had a big family room, dining area, and open kitchen, an office, and four suites. Bia’s apartment was close, only two blocks away, but hers was much smaller, with only two bedrooms in a quieter building. Ri’s new apartment was also close and more like a loft. It was nice for parties, but the neighbors always complained about the noise every time we met there. So every time someone planned a get-together, we ended up at the Gui’s and Pedro’s place.

“You should have seen the apartments we looked at yesterday afternoon,” Bia said, seated on one of the high bar stools lining the kitchen’s bar counter.

“And this morning,” I filled in.

Yesterday, she hadn’t relented until we went looking for furnished apartments. I didn’t think we would find many, but we ended up finding some gems. All of them only a couple of blocks from either hers or the guys’ apartments.

“And this morning,” she repeated. “Have you decided on one yet?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. They all have good things and bad things.”

“Oh yeah,” Bia said. “That one with the white flooring had a funny smell. And the one with the big bedroom had centuries-old furniture that will probably break as soon as you use them.”

“Exactly. Besides, I haven’t even talked to my parents about this idea. I guess they are assuming I’ll either stay at home or crash at Hannah’s.”

“You know my house is your house,” my sister said.

“I know, but I already told you. You guys have your own routine, customs, and whatever. If it were for only one or two weeks, it would be okay, but for three months? No. That’s too much and I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”

“She told me the same thing when I offered for her to stay at my place,” Bia said.

“See? Besides,” I continued, “you and Leo just got engaged. I can’t imagine how steamy things are around that house right now. I don’t want to imagine.”

Bia scrunched her nose. “Ew!”

My sister barely paid attention to the last words I said. With dopey eyes, she gazed at Leo, probably imagining all the steamy things they were doing around that house. Double ew!

Leo was seated beside Gui in the living room, a joystick in their hands, their eyes glued to the big screen hanging from the wall.

“Não! Veado, não é assim!” Ri yelled at them. “You’re ruining my high score!”

Gui flipped the middle finger at him. Ri jumped over the ottoman and lunged at Gui. Ready, Gui dropped the joystick and braced himself. Ri and Gui started fighting—playfully. Apparently, it was always like that when they played whatever epic game they were addicted to. The girls didn’t even bother separating them anymore. They would exchange a few weak punches, try to kick at each other, swipe someone under his feet, and then they would just yell they were done in Portuguese, and resume playing as if nothing had happened. Sometimes Leo and Pedro got in those fights too.

Garrett never got involved in the fights, though. Bia thought he was afraid of being expelled from the group if he beat one of the guys up. It was nonsense, but he didn’t want to hear it.

“Boys,” Iris whispered, coming to the kitchen to pick up some appetizers.

Bia got her drink from Hannah. “Tell me about it. I grew up with these jerks.”

I shook my head. “I still can’t believe they were always like that.”

“It got better with age,” Bia said. “When they were teenagers, it was so much worse.”

“I would have liked to see that,” Iris said. She turned to the microwave to heat up a cheese sauce she had brought for a bread and chips dip.

Bia snorted. “I guess there were times when it was fun, but mostly, it was annoying.”

The four of us watched as Ri pulled off Gui. Instead of arguing more, he picked up another joystick and started playing too.

“Okay,” I said, taking a Coke Zero from the fridge. “We’ve got an important subject to talk about.”

“What?” Hannah asked.

“Your bachelorette party!”

The girls made aahs and oohs and yeahs, drawing the guys’ attention.

“Did I hear something about a bachelorette party?” Garrett asked from the dining table.

“Maybe,” Bia said, batting her eyelashes.

“Speaking of which, we have to plan yours too, huh,” Gui said, slapping Leo’s back.

“We also have to talk about your dresses,” Hannah said.

“Did you invite anyone else to be your bridesmaids, or is it just the three of us?” Iris asked.

“Don’t forget about Gabi,” Bia said.

“Oh yeah.” Iris nodded. “She’s rarely here so I keep forgetting.”

Hannah nudged me with her elbow and raised her voice to be heard. “I guess it’ll be just you guys. Or maybe Gui and Ri will fall in love with some girls soon, and we’ll include them in our little group.”

Ri let out a loud guffaw.

Gui huffed. “Yeah, right.”

“Ri and Gui falling in love?” Pedro started. “That’ll happen when hell freezes over.”

Everyone chuckled.

“Or when Victoria’s Secret sells granny panties,” Bia said.

More laughs.

“Or when it rains pocketknives,” Leo said. The Brazilians laughed, but the Americans stared at him. He shook his head. “It’s a Brazilian thing.”

We talked a little more about the dresses and the bachelorette party—it was all too early to decide anything—and ate some appetizers.

Finally, the guys turned off the video game and put on some music videos. Much better for what was supposed to be a fun get-together.

Hannah went to sit on the couch with Leo, Bia went to sit at the table with Garrett, and Iris went to the balcony with Pedro. Ri kissed his beer bottle, but Gui stood from his seat on the couch, making disgusted faces at the couples, and came to the kitchen. He took a beer from the fridge and sat on the stool where his cousin was seated before.

“We both always hold candles to these guys,” Gui said.

I frowned. “Hold candles?”

“Oh yeah, the expression is different here, isn’t it? In Brazil when we say someone is holding a candle, it is the same as saying you’re a third wheel here.”

“Oh, okay, now it makes sense.” I glanced around. Sometimes these parties did feel like make-out sessions. “Yeah. Ri, you, and me are the third wheels here.

“Ri doesn’t count. He’ll be single forever.”

Poor guy. I could understand why, but I liked to believe he would find his match one day. I picked a chip between my fingers but didn’t eat it. “You could solve that, couldn’t you? Just play eeny-meeny-miny-mo with your phone’s contact list and pick some girl,” I teased.

“Ha, funny.” His forehead wrinkled, and then he stared at me. “How about you? Don’t guys line up to ask you out?”

I frowned, trying to decipher what he was implying, but it was always impossible with him. “I don’t think so.” My voice came out much softer than I intended. Then, for some reason, I became self-conscious and my only wish was to crawl under the table.

Gui kept staring at me, his deep blue eyes keeping me prisoner. “Are you okay? I mean, after that day—”

“I’m fine,” I said, interrupting whatever he was going to say next. “I’m … gonna be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Easier said than done,” he muttered so low that I wasn’t sure I heard him right.

“How’s Gabi?” I asked. “I have barely talked to her since the last time she came to visit.”

“She’s fine,” he said, then shook his head. “I mean, she’s okay, but you know she wants to find a way to move here.”

I nodded, knowing about the drama. The guys had a visa because of their abilities in sports. Even though Gabi also played polo and was good at it, the women’s division in Brazil was too small to be considered extraordinary, and at the moment, there weren’t any clubs here that were interested in bringing foreigners to play for them—especially because most of them didn’t have any women’s team. Therefore, she couldn’t apply for the same visa, and she couldn’t apply as Gui’s dependent. Right now, there was no way for her to come live here legally—other than a student visa. And that wasn’t what she wanted.

“Maybe she’ll find a way.”

“Maybe. Until then, my parents are happy she’s mostly in Brazil.”

“She has been traveling quite a lot, huh?” Without actually saying the words out loud, we all knew what Gabi was doing. She was my age and should already be in college. But she didn’t want to go to college; she wanted to play polo. So, while polo was still in limbo in Brazil, she decided to take a gap year and travel the world—with several stops in Brazil, since it was the only condition her parents had imposed.

“She has to my parents’ dismay.” Then, surprising me, Gui changed subjects. “I heard about your internship. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“I also heard you’re looking for a furnished apartment to rent.”

“I am.”

“So it happens there’s one in this building.”

“There is? How haven’t I seen it at the realtors?”

“Because the owner didn’t put it up for rent yet. He’s getting a few things done around the apartment, and it should be ready in a week or two.”

That was perfect! I still had one more week of finals—probably enough time for the owner to finish the repairs. And if after that he still needed one more week, or even two to finish it, I could stay at Hannah’s or Bia’s until the apartment was ready. Then I looked around and realized something. “Wait. Your apartment is huge. I won’t rent a four-bedroom apartment just for me.”

“There are four different floor plans in this building,” he said. “His is a nice sized two-bedroom.”

“Now I’m interested. Do you think he would show me the apartment, even with the repairs going on?”

He fished his cell phone. “I can see about that right now.”

“No, no. You don’t need to.”

“Just give me a second.” He typed away on his phone. Then it dinged a couple of times. “He can leave the keys here tomorrow morning. I can show it to you then.”

“You’re going to show me the apartment?”

“Why not? I know the guy, I know the apartment, and I’ll be around.”

I considered that for a moment. Why not? The wheels in my mind spun, and I think a trickle of fear ran through my veins. Letting Gui show me the apartment meant I would be alone with him in a closed space. I took a deep breath.

Come on, Hilary. This is Gui! Leo’s cousin. You can trust him. Can’t you?

I could.

“All right,” I said. “What time should I come over?”

“Ten sound good?”

“It does.” It actually did. At eleven, I had to meet my mother at the club for lunch with her friends. I shuddered just thinking about that torturous event.

“It’s a date.” He froze, eyes wide, realizing what he said. “I mean, not a date as in—”

“I know what you meant.” My cheeks flamed, probably from embarrassment and anger at the same time.

“Okay, good,” he said quickly.

I took a few steps back and leaned on the counter behind me, putting more distance between Gui and me, because the way he had said it, the way he corrected himself so quickly, just made me wonder how terrible it was for him to imagine himself out on a date with me. Was I that disgusting? That bad looking? That repulsive?

The air in the kitchen thickened.

In my head, I was trying to come up with a plan of how to go to another part of the apartment, or leave and go home all together.

I was saved when Bia stood from the couch. “Let’s go to that new club that opened a couple of weeks ago?”

“Which one?” Ri asked.

Gui turned on his stool, facing the living room. “The Suite?”

“Yeah, that one,” Bia said. “It’s only ten minutes from here.”

Hannah sighed. “I’m not really in the mood.”

“Oh, come on,” Bia said. “We should all go for once. It will be fun.”

Leo nodded to Hannah and she relented. “Okay, but we aren’t staying until three in the morning.”

“Pedro? Iris? You in?” Bia asked. They shared a quick glance then nodded. Then she turned to the kitchen. “Gui? Hil?”

“I’m in,” Gui said without hesitating half a second.

“I can’t go. You know that,” I said, relieved I had an excuse. “Under twenty-one over here.”

Bia narrowed her eyes at me. “I gave you a fake ID a few months ago. Use that.” Damn, I had forgotten about that. To be honest, I didn’t even know where it was. “You’re coming, right?”

I wasn’t going; that I was sure of. Places like that, with so many people, so many men with only one thing in their minds. I started feeling the threads of a panic attack starting, just thinking about going to a nightclub. However, I was tired of always saying no, of always having them beg me to go, only to see the disappointed looks on their faces.

“Okay,” I lied.

Bia gasped. “For real?”

Hannah stared at me as if I had grown a second head. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I lied again.

Gui glanced over his shoulder at me with a sympathetic smile. What? Was he pitying me? The damaged girl was finally facing her fears. I wished …

Garrett pouted. “You didn’t ask me if I want to go.”

Bia laughed. “I’m going, so of course you’re going too.”

He rolled his eyes, but had a happy grin on his face.

Iris grabbed her purse from the long sofa table behind the couch. “This is going to be amazing. Everyone ready?”

“We’re going now?” Ri asked.

“Yes, right now,” Bia said.

We all moved. Bringing glasses and plates to the kitchen, turning off the TV, closing the balcony doors, turning off the lights, and then we were all in front of the two elevators, waiting for them to arrive at the fifteenth floor.

The guys went to the underground floor to grab their cars, while Hannah, Leo, Bia, Garrett, and I went to the front of the building, where we had parked our cars.

“You want to ride with us?” Hannah asked, pointing to Leo’s Grand Cherokee.

I shook my head. “I prefer going in my own car, in case I want to leave early.”

“Or late,” Bia said with a wink.

As if …

I smiled at them. “Meet you all there.”

I slipped into my car before they could see the lie and drove away. I turned onto the street leading to the club, so they thought I was going there, but once out of sight, I turned around and headed home.