The Mess We Made

Good Morning Baltimore

This test is about to kill me

Reina was sitting outside on a bench, about to reply words of encouragement to Veronica's morning text when Baltimore plopped his chin on her shoulder.

"Veronica?"

Reina gave a hum of confirmation, letting Baltimore's chin dig into the bone of her shoulder as she texted back. He wasn't watching her phone, just idly stared at the people passing by in the courtyard, simply taking comfort in the physical touch.

Baltimore and Reina had a nice, domestic relationship. In the past Reina gravitated towards the troublesome type, the bad boys that smelled like cigarettes with fast cars who never saw her in the daylight. Eventually she grew tired of how draining they were, how they always asked more from her than they gave. Reina didn't like high maintenance people, she was too concerned with taking care of herself. So someone like Baltimore caught her eye immediately. Scruffy hair, cocky smile, never demanding but never boring, had a good paying job but didn't talk incessantly about future career plans. Reina could never go for a wholesome guy, and Baltimore was the perfect middle between bad and good. He was a steady rock Reina could lean on.

What Reina appreciated the most about Baltimore was that he understood how close Reina and Veronica were. Or well, he didn't really know, considering he accidentally pushed them into being friends with benefits, but Baltimore understood that Reina and Veronica were two sides of the same coin. He knew that their dynamic was something only decades of being together could create, and that he'd never know Reina the way her best friend did. But he took all of Reina in stride anyways.

Reina was a shameless hedonist. She prioritized her joy over anything or anyone else. Parties, food, fun times, Reina did whatever gave her an endorphin rush, no matter the cost or consequences. Most people Reina met thought that was terribly selfish, but Veronica was never bothered by it. She personally thought it was fair, sometimes encouraged it even. She knew what Reina went through, was there for her most of those dark times, and she agreed to do whatever it took to find those bright spots in a life that wasn't sunshine and rainbows. Baltimore was just as accepting, even if he didn't know the reasons behind her behavior.

Baltimore also stayed out of Reina's fights. There was nothing Reina hated more than someone trying to reign in her temper. He had been witness to some of Reina's blow ups in the past and he usually just left the scene, letting Veronica handle it. Most people who knew Reina and Veronica knew to not get on their bad side, at least while they were together. They were a killer duo. Reina had a scathing tongue she used to lash out at any threat, while Veronica cut people down with precision, each word carefully chosen to carve deep. Reina often escalated situations, while Veronica was the one to deliver the killing blow.

It was one of those situations where they first met. One of Baltimore's friends was being a sleaze at a party, hitting on Veronica and then trying his luck with Reina when Veronica gave him the cold shoulder. Baltimore hung in the back, drinking his beer, shaking his head like he knew where this was going to go. When his buddy tried to tangle his hand in Reina's hair, Reina slapped his hand away and snapped. She couldn't recall the words exactly but she knew she spat something along the lines of pathetic, drunk incel. Reina remembered him going red in the face, but before he blew up at her Veronica cut in, leaned close to his face and eviscerated him. Reina never got to know what she said, but the man left in tears. Baltimore was left behind, and instead of being offended or looking freaked out, he had a goofy smirk on his face and raised his beer in cheers. He didn't introduce himself, let the two girls continue their night unbothered, but Reina noticed him.

When they crossed paths again at another club a week later, Reina was the one to go to him. A flirtatious smile, some prodding words, and the rest fell into place easily. Now a year later, Baltimore was a presence Reina could rely on, and she never really had that before asides from Veronica.

Sometimes, in her weakest moments, Reina wondered how she could be held by Baltimore like this and then turn around and be held by Veronica in a way Baltimore could never compete with. But Reina always reasoned that what she had with Veronica was beyond the realm of romantic love. They were more than family. What she had with Baltimore was the kind of romance her parents always told her about, a partnership, a lover who wouldn't go away. It was a relationship her younger self could only dream of. A matter of fact, if her sixteen year old angsty self could see her now, she'd be equal parts horrified and in awe.

Reina thought about her teenage self a lot. How she and Veronica were reckless, wild teens mad at the world. Reina grew up learning to take, because if she didn't then she'd end up with nothing. She grew up in a small house in a poor town with a broken family in a world that didn't respect her existence. Reina learned to not want love, to not expect it, she saw how it only hurt people. She'd like to think she was a little less jaded now, but Reina didn't know how to heal her younger self. So she just looked at her like an old portrait, running her fingers over the dried clumps of paint and comparing it to her current reflection.

Baltimore broke Reina from her reminiscing, mumbling into her neck, "Are we still going to that party next week? The art hoes right?"

Reina let out a laugh at Baltimore calling the co-op house full of hipster art majors art hoes. She hummed again in confirmation, "With Veronica I think, lemme ask if she's still down." She finally responded to Veronica texting that she'd do fine on her test like always, then asked if she still wanted to go the co-op party next week. Reina didn't even remember who was invited first or how they heard about the party, but the co-op parties were always a fun time, as big as frat parties without the annoying energy and rules.

Knowing that Veronica wouldn't answer anytime soon since she was testing, Reina shifted herself so that she was settled straddling Baltimore's lap. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his, noses touching but lips still a breath away. Baltimore's hands settled on her waist. Reina just breathed his scent in, a faint mix of the laundry detergent Reina gets for him, morning coffee and his woodsy cologne.

Reina got a small kick out of being the annoying clingy couple outside on campus. It was early morning so the crowd of morning class goers walked passed them. It made her laugh to imagine the thinly veiled disgust on passerbys' faces.  Veronica was one of those people who hated PDA and she definitely would've made some snarky comment and fake gag. Reina was one of those people who liked being a menace. And Baltimore was one of the few who always indulged her.