A Love Triangle Most Unusual (Season 1)

The Eternal Mystery of Male Friendships

Once I got home after my day out of wearing the jade bracelet, it was time to figure out how I was going to sneak past Leo and Valentina without anyone noticing.

I quickly reached into my purse and dug out my keys, scrambling to shove the right one into the lock and open the door before anyone noticed. My hands were so shaky, I could barely turn the keys without dropping them. Once I unlocked the door, I swung it open slowly, trying not to make a sound.

As I walked into the living room, I noticed Valentina passed out on the couch. Quietly, I tiptoed past her, making use of the soft fur carpet that Leo had bought to muffle my footsteps.

"Dave?" Leo called out from behind me, making me jump and yelp. "Can you bring me a towel?"

I turned around, my throat frozen. It was two hours early, but Leo was humming to himself and preparing dinner early. He had his backed turned to me and his eyes fixed on an overfilled pot of chai.

Trying to think quickly, I found myself mumbling "Uhhh..."

Fortunately, Leo didn't notice. "Hurry up," he said, turning the heat off. "I need that towel! Now!"

Speechless, I decided to take my chances and sprinted loudly into my room, startling Valentina awake.

I quickly changed out of my sundress into my regular clothes and ran back to the kitchen. "Where's my towel?" Leo asked loudly. I quietly handed him the pink Hello Kitty towel we had bought at Daiso as per Valentina's request.

"Did you have a good nap?" I asked Valentina awkwardly. She yawned.

"It was okay," she replied.

"Did you get any sleep last night? You shouldn't be falling asleep yet," I teased her. Leo turned and looked over at me with a mischievous sparkle in his eye, and Valentina cut him off before he could say something inappropriate.

"No, I've been up all night working on my code," she replied. "My stupid manager is trying to kill me."

"Really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes. By overworking me," Valentina grumbled, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table. "So, what's for dinner?" she yawned.

"Hey, if you're going to spend so much time here and not pay rent, you might as well help us cook," I told her. Valentina stuck out her tongue at me and I laughed, trying to relieve myself of the tension that was making my shoulders so stiff.

Fortunately for us, Leo's strange burst of productivity meant he had already finished preparing everything. Quietly thankful, I helped myself to a bowlful of snow-white xiaolongbao bursting with juicy, savory pork filling and broth. I then drizzled a generous serving of garnet-red hot chili oil and fried roasted garlic.

"Are these homemade?" Valentina asked, impressed. Before Leo could open his mouth, I replied "No, we bought these from Costco earlier." Leo closed his mouth and glared silently at me. "I think the ones from Din Tai Fung are better, though."

"Definitely," Valentina agreed. "Still good, though."

Leo took revenge on me by drowning my xiaolongbao in even more spicy chili oil. "Everything else is homemade, though," he said firmly.

"That's good," Valentina replied. "What's that?"

"Fried seasoned vegan cauliflower chicken parm," Leo said proudly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Chicken parm isn't vegan."

"Well, this one is. because it's made out of cauliflower," Leo grinned.

I shook my head. "So what you're saying is, you made fried parmesan cauliflower."

"Well, when you say it like that, it doesn't sound as cool," Leo sulked.

I laughed and he nudged me in the shoulder begrudgingly. I smiled and scooched my chair closer, bumping into him. He leaned sideways and almost pushed me off my chair. Both of us burst out laughing.

"I will never understand guys' friendship," Valentina deadpanned.

"There's nothing to understand," Leo replied, "Because we're not friends. We're married. Isn't that right, Dave?"

I tried to keep a straight face, but my brain was blanking out. "Huh?"

Leo watched me stare at him for a few seconds, then turned things around quickly. "Anyways, you two should eat the cauliflower first It's been in the fridge for over a week and I highly doubt it'll keep any longer."

Valentina grumbled, but helped herself to another generous plateful of cauliflower. I quietly chewed on mine, not thinking too hard. Later on, when Valentina went back to go wash up, Leo nudged me on the shoulder.

"Hey," he said. "Are you alright? You seemed a bit out of it earlier."

"Huh? Oh, that was nothing," I lied. "Just kinda zoned out. Don't think anything of it."

Leo stared at me. "Okay, but you have to let me know if I'm crossing a line with my jokes. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"What? No, no, no! It's totally fine, I'm just tired," I insisted. "I'm fine, really."

"Cool. So...you're okay if I tell Valentina that we are totally smashing?"

I grinned. "Only if you also tell her that you're the one on the bottom."

"Of course. I'm the one with the bigger dumptruck, after all."

Valentina walked around the corner, holding her pajamas and two fluffy white towels. "See, this is why you guys confuse me," she rolled her eyes. "Do you guys actually want to bang each other, or what?"

"Of course we do. What do you think we do when you're not here?" Leo grinned, leaning against the wall so he towered over me. I swatted him away playfully. "You should get over Marie and just make out with Valentina and me instead." Valentina shrieked loudly, half scandalized and half amused.

"Ha, ha, fat chance," I replied, walking off to grab my own change of clothes.