What Remains

Chapter 4

Alejandro had eventually stopped texting Teresa after two weeks of silence on her end. She had made herself clear. She didn't want to interact with him right now. It was a hard pill to swallow. As far as he was concerned, they should have been able to forget this foolishness and go back to being best friends, but clearly, that wasn't something she was able to do. So, with tremendous regret, he decided to mirror her radio silence.

Noahis and Akio had gone out for dinner without him. It was obvious that they did not enjoy his company, and for Alejandro, the feeling was mutual. He tried to stay to himself for the most part since any interactions with his roommates inevitably devolved into discussions of feminism. Alejandro quickly learned that these conversations would prove to be futile. His roommates were so steeped in the patriarchy that there seemed to be little he could do to sway them.

Just then, he heard a knock on the dorm room door. He glanced at his phone. It was 8:30. He wondered who would be knocking at this hour. His roommates had a key. So, it had to be someone else.

The door had no peephole. So, he cracked it open hesitantly and saw Yuna standing on the other side. She was wearing a white button-down blouse with the first two buttons open. Her pink tutu skirt made her look like a five-year-old at ballet class. Alejandro did find her attractive. He had to admit that much, despite his misgivings about her sexy/cute look.

"Hey," she said, pushing past him into the room. She walked in and took a seat in Akio's desk chair. Alejandro left the door open as he sat down on his bed.

"I saw the other guys on their way out to dinner. Since you weren't with them, I thought you might appreciate some company," she explained, searching his face for some indication that her presence was welcome. She chewed her lip nervously as she watched him.

"Oh, okay, thanks," he said, mustering a somewhat convincing smile. "That was really nice of you," he added.

"Check it out! I brought soju," she said, swinging the plastic bag she had brought with her.

"I'm not much of a drinker," Alejandro admitted.

"That's okay. We'll just have a couple of shots and get to know each other better," she said. Yuna poured out two shots into the plastic cups she had brought. After downing the shots, they each made that compulsory sigh of satisfaction that was so prevalent in Korean culture.

"So, tell me about you," Yuna began as she poured two more shots.

"There's not really much to tell. I live in LA with my mom and my sister. I got a little bit of a late start on college, so I'm 26 and in my senior year. My major is Advocacy and Social Policy. So, it's my hope to work for a non-profit when I graduate," he told her. "Sorry, that sounded super rehearsed," he said with a shy dip of his head.

"No, it was great," Yuna encouraged. "So, basically, you want to help people. That's like your purpose in life," she summed up.

"Yeah, I want to be a voice for people who don't feel that they have enough say in public policy," he added. "My mom is disabled, and my sister is gay. So, seeing their struggles, I think, has made me more interested in advocacy."

"So, tell me about you, Yuna," he said after taking a sip of soju. Yuna downed her whole shot and poured herself another. "You're a singer, right?" he asked.

"Well, I used to be," Yuna said sadly.

"Once a singer, always a singer," Alejandro replied. "Let me hear one of your songs," he suggested.

Yuna pulled out her phone and took a seat beside Alejandro. He moved over a bit, which only caused Yuna to move as well until their thighs were pressed together firmly. She leaned close to him as she held out her phone in front of him. She took a moment to admire his straight nose and high cheek bones. His cinnamon-colored skin suggested that a significant portion of his DNA came from the indigenous Aztecs and Mayans that once ruled Mexico.

Since Alejandro was not familiar with K-pop, he had never seen ITZY perform. The music was upbeat, heavily influenced by rap and R&B. Their dance moves were crisp and in-synch. He noticed that in this video, Yuna wore a crop top with fishnet around her belly. Her tight pants displayed her curves, and she performed the suggestive choreography.

"How old were you here?" he asked.

"I was 16 when I debuted," she told him. "I was the maknae of the group --- the baby, you know," she explained.

"Yeah, I can see that," Alejandro replied. Yuna tried to read his face, but she couldn't quite determine the meaning of his concerned expression. When the song ended, Alejandro nodded his head and said, "You are very talented." But something about the way he said it made it sound like there was more that he wasn't saying.

"Hey, while I'm here, let's take a selfie," Yuna suggested as she wrapped her arm around Alejandro's tight waist. He was wearing a snug, stretchy T-shirt that showed off his muscular physique. He put his hand behind her back but did not touch her. He had read once that Keanu Reeves never touched women when he took pictures with them. He had decided to do the same since the act of taking a selfie didn't really constitute consent to be touched. Yuna, however, took his arm and pressed it against her waist as she snapped several pictures in which she displayed finger hearts and cocked her head cutely to one side. When she set the phone down, her hand remained on Alejandro's waist. He removed his hand from hers and began to move away when she tightened her grip and pulled him back in. He looked in her soft brown eyes. Her pink lips were just inches from his and he could feel her breathing against his mouth.

"I like you," she admitted boldly.

"Well, I like you too," he replied brightly, attempting to pull back a bit. Alejandro found himself in a difficult situation. He was undoubtedly attracted to Yuna, but he was trying to maintain his distance as he could see that her boundaries were not good. Unfortunately, he knew what that likely meant. Bad boundaries were almost always a sign of some type of abuse. Someone, or maybe several people, along the way had violated her boundaries to the point that she no longer seemed to know where she ended and the other person began. She wanted to enmesh herself fully with other people. It was a bit of a red flag, but he couldn't deny that he was flattered by all the attention this beautiful, talented woman was showing him.

"But do you like me the way I like you?" she asked as her face hovered over his. She was going to kiss him. He knew that much. He might be a little clueless when it came to women, but he did know that spark of electricity that passed between two people at the moment their lips met.

Finally, mercifully, her soft lips touched his. He felt powerless to pull back because, despite his misgivings, he found her wildly attractive. He returned her kiss with equal fervor. She wound her fingers through his tight curls. Their open mouths explored each other. When Yuna's lips moved to his neck, Alejandro did the same. He sucked gently on the skin of her neck, causing her to let out little squeaks of pleasure. She took his hands and led them to her breasts. He groaned in what sounded like something bordering pain. Her breasts were spectacular, but with great difficulty, he pulled his hands away.

"What's wrong?" she asked against his neck.

"Nothing, I just think we're moving a little too fast," he admitted.

"I've never known a man to say something like that," Yuna marveled. "Wait, you're not gay, right?" she asked in a sudden panic.

Alejandro smiled slightly. "I can't tell you the number of people who have asked me that," he admitted. "Am I putting out a gay vibe, or what?" he asked.

"No, it's just that guys aren't typically the ones that hit the brakes," Yuna explained. "At least, not in my experience."

"Well, maybe that's the problem with your experience," he quipped. "I want to do what's right for you. I want you to feel safe with me, and I want us to get to know each other before we go too far," he explained. "Is that really so weird?" he asked.

"Oh, it's weird as hell," Yuna shot back, shaking her head in confusion.