Girl Crush | Alex Alvarez

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄: 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐒

"Finn is dating Casey!"

"No way that motherfucker scored Casey. She is the hottest piece of ass I've ever laid my mortal eyes on." I jumped on Alex's bed, grabbing his phone as he showed me Casey's Finsta. "Not the hottest, but okay."

"Even you were drooling when you saw her Halloween costume last year."

"There's a difference between liking her and greatly respecting her slutty cop outfit." Alex poked my head as I fell back on his pillow. I scrolled down Casey's posts to see her dates with Finn. I never liked that guy, but I liked Alex so we ended up in the same friend group. "Twenty bucks says she's gonna break up with him within a month."

"You know I don't have twenty bucks."

"I also know that you get your allowance next week," I informed as Alex pursed his lips, "And someone's been a really good boy."

"Yeah, abuelita's been paying me to straighten her hair. I've managed to charge her a dollar for two minutes of my time."

"She's been paying me to straighten her hair too—after you mess it up, of course. Pero, I don't charge as much as you do, you swindler." I shoved his shoulder with a gasp, shocked at how much money he'd been extorting from his abuela. "Thirty bucks and I don't even have to do it right—this is the life."

"Eres un mal hombre, Alejandro." I laughed as I sat up. Alex raised his eyebrows in disbelief, collapsing next to me with a grin. "Solo para ti, querida."

"Alex..." I mumbled as he moved closer to me, his breath tickling my lips. It was wrong to have feelings for my best friend—I couldn't handle the pressure of not hurting the feelings of everyone around me. I wanted to stop, but it was so hard to. "You better give that back!"

Penelope's voice made me pull back in an instant. Alex's cheeks went pink for a moment as he opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it. "We should check that out—right now. This very second, let's go!"

I scrambled out of Alex's room in a flash and he was hot on my trail as we reached the living room. Penelope and Estrellita were fighting over the mantilla I'd uselessly Lydia put in Ophelia's coffin. Vero slammed her glass of fruit punch—it was safer to say that it was fruit punch than special sleep juice. "Somebody tell that dead tooth payasa to let go!"

"Veronica Rosalina Vada Torres!" Mami scolded as Vero put a finger on her lips. Estrellita struggled to snatch the mantilla from Penelope's army-trained hands. "I am getting mine and Juan's names on here and taking yours and Victor's off!"

"What?" Penelope asked softly as Estrellita kept pulling as harshly as she could. "She couldn't keep him tied down, why should the mantilla?"

"She did not just—" I scoffed, unable to believe the woman's words. I rolled up my transparent sleeves, prepared to make use of all two karate lessons I had taken as a child. Alex grabbed me by my shoulders, preventing me from mauling Tia Gray Tooth. "We talked about this—normal people don't attack others like animals."

"Oh, that was nasty—te la juro! You know what, Monica is no longer Tia Bitchy—you are."

"Who calls me Tia Bitchy?" Tia Bitchy asked angrily from her seat. Everyone looked at the ceiling and around—anywhere but her bitchy ass. "I had a stroke!"

"What?" Estrellita asked as everyone gasped, loosening her grip on the mantilla. Penelope successfully reined it in as I clapped. "I got it!"

"Asi! Oh, I am sorry. I meant I had a stroke of genius."

"It's like watching ridiculously Latina tug of war on the verge of anarchy." I shook my head in disapproval as Alex laughed. "I wanna say no, but I CAN'T"

"Mami, there are no names stitched on here," Penelope said as the two of them searched the mantilla for names. "What?"

"Oh, shit." Alex and I muttered to each other. Lydia sighed in realization. "This is not a mantilla."

"She's right, this is just some random piece of lace!" Estrellita exclaimed as she let go of the cloth. Honestly, it was just funny watching them argue over it as my abuela's dogs did over her slippers. "So you stuffed some worthless piece of caca into the casket with Ophelia?"

"You knew?" Lydia asked incredulously. Alex and I had our mouths open at these revelations—mostly just to be part of the act. Obviously, Mirtha knew that Lydia had the mantilla after it miraculously showed up the second time she went to grieve her and the only person standing by it was her sister. "Of course, I knew! No one gets buried with a mantilla—we're Cubans, not ancient Egyptians."

"So who has the real mantilla?" Estrellita asked as the obvious question remained. "Well, La Diabla, obviously.

"Mentirosa! You have it," Mirtha blamed. The whole back-and-forth was getting a little old now—Miguel and Carlos did a better job chewing the life out of shoes. "How dare you call me mentirosa when you walk around acting like that is your hair color."

"Well, at least I can still salsa," Mirtha shook her hips a little as she spoke, "Without breaking a hip."

"Well, I'll admit you are light on your hooves." Lydia smiled, "But, I would like to show you what that step looks like when you don't have the feet of a chupacabra

"Eso! Your abuelita's on fire," I admitted as Lydia mimicked merengue music and danced. I cursed myself for not bringing a pen because Lydia was spitting gold out there. I should have taken her to that rap battle I was forced to watch with Hugo and Alex. "She's always like that. I'm surprised you haven't seen her dance in her sleep—it's like a military weapon malfunction."

"Just admit you have the mantilla," Mirtha spat as Lydia one-upped her with her killer moves. Pilar stepped out of the kitchen with Elena. "Wait, the mantilla is what you all have been fighting about? I have it—Susan and I used it for our wedding. You were all there!"

"I just thought it was a very affectionate barbeque," Lydia answered as they raised their hands in mock surrender. "Oh, my God!"

"Next thing they're gonna be fighting about is how I mysteriously jumped out of the window."