Caught In Between - Book 1

9

CHAPTER 9
Catalina

Monday

"Lo, are you ready?"

Making my way down the hall, I stopped at her room to see if she was ready, and I wasn't the least bit surprised to find her still in pajamas.

"Bitch, you do realize it's only 10:30 in the morning and the interview is at noon, right?" she asked me playfully, rolling her azure eyes, and jumped out of her king-sized bed to get dressed.

"I'm just so freaking excited. This is my first interview in over five years. I really hope he likes me enough to hire me." My heels clicked as I paced on the marble floor. I couldn't sleep last night. I was way too excited. It was like someone told my 10-year-old self that I was going to Disney or something. Not only was I eager for the interview, but I'm thrilled to finally get to meet my best friends' brothers or at least one of them.

"Did you even sleep?" She laughed at the nervous state I was in.

"Not really. I'm too nervous and excited." I shrugged and hesitantly shook my head, not wanting to admit that I stayed up all night.

"Look, I know you're nervous, babe, but you should've slept." Lola huffed, pulling her shirt over her head. Then she slid her long raven hair out of its ponytail holder, letting locks fall freely around her shoulders.

"And no need to worry, love. I know once Nico meets you, he's going to like you a lot. Particularly in that little number right there." She smirked, motioning her finger up and down at my outfit.

"I hope so. I need this, especially after that visit from Liam yesterday. It just confirmed what I already knew that I needed to find my independence." I shook my head, remembering the incident that took place downstairs yesterday afternoon. "Do you think it's too much?" I asked, looking down at the white silk wrap dress that had a deep neckline, and nervously bit my bottom lip. This isn't something I would usually wear, but I'm feeling daring today.

"Hell no, Mamacita. You look hot as fuck. Besides, it's a club, and we're in Miami, so I think it's fitting." She winked at me.

"Thanks, boo. I'll meet you downstairs and hurry up. I want to be early, not late. Making a good impression is important to me." I made my way out of her room before turning back to glare at her, and she laughed while waving me off.

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The ride over was pretty quiet and I couldn't stop thinking about how I still needed to talk to Lola about how weird she's been acting. I wasn't going to bring it up to her before seeing her brother, though. She's been so excited about seeing him that there's no way in hell I'm ruining this for her. I thought I was the anxious one, but she's been acting like a little kid on their way to meet the real Santa, and I've only seen her like this a few times over the years. It's quite enjoyable to witness my best friend like this because she always tries to be the tough one in our friendship. So, it was a welcomed change.

"Where's your head at, little Lo?" I asked, averting my gaze from the window to my equally anxious counterpart.

"I'm just nervous as fuck, C. I haven't seen Nic or E in like ten months, so my stomach is in knots. What if I've asked too much of them?" She raked her fingers through her inky hair and gave me an unfamiliar, nervous smile. Gosh, seeing her like this is so foreign to me, I couldn't help but chuckle and she shot me a death glare before I playfully threw my hands up, surrendering.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not used to seeing you like this. It's cute. But love, you are so cute when you're nervous."

She remained silent, her hands gripping the steering wheel for dear life.