Defining Love

Chapter 4 - Part 1

Edi wasn't even speaking to me now. We hadn't spoken since that awful night, and she wasn't returning any of my texts. Of course I was a mess.

I'd since torn down all my decorations, and on New Year's Eve, I was still moping around with my heart at my throat. The fear of losing my best friend was completely suffocating. All I wanted to do was lie around and cry.

That was the night I had my first real conversation with Aaron Lomelli. Unlike Edi, who just like in high school immediately had a ton of friends here, I'd only made two friends since moving to Michigan: Maggie, my Chemistry lab partner, and Eileen, another girl in my psych class who liked borrowing my meticulous notes. The three of us got pretty close, and during one of Edi's away games a few weeks prior, while I was sitting around being a hermit doing my homework alone on a Saturday, I accepted their invitation to hang out. We'd gone out to the movies along with Eileen's cousin Beatriz. That was actually the first time I met Beatriz's brother, Aaron. I'd said no more than hello and thank you to him that first time. I'd barely made eye contact with the guy. My first impression of him could be summed up in five words: completely out of my league.

For starters, he was much older than we were. Well, older than any of the boys I'd ever dated. In fact, I wouldn't even put him in the same category as any of the immature boys we'd ever gone out with because he wasn't a boy.

He was a man in every sense of the word.

For one, he was a fireman built like a truck. He owned his own home, and he and his longtime high-school sweetheart had been together forever. From what Beatriz had mentioned, he'd even started up his own business and he drove an expensive sports car.

Cole didn't even own a car. The night we'd gotten my Christmas tree and any time we had gone out before that, he'd borrowed his dad's car. As much as I'd avoided making eye contact with Aaron that first time, Maggie and I had to practically wipe the drool off our faces when we had snuck in a few good looks. As nice and polite as he'd been, he had such a presence about him. Intimidating, but in a good way, would be the best word to describe him. Then there was his voice. Jesus Christ in heaven, it was so deep and resonant Maggie and I could listen to it all night.

He'd picked us all up and given us a ride back to Beatriz's house from the movies. While we'd only been introduced and he disappeared quickly to Beatriz's dad's man cave out back, Maggie and I had fun ogling him as much as we could. One thing was as clear as anything would ever be. The man was as unattainable as he was intimidating. I couldn't even imagine holding a conversation with someone like him for very long without making a complete ass of myself.

Before my heart-wrenching phone call with Edi about Cole, I'd already agreed to go to Beatriz's house for New Year's Eve. They were having a big family gathering. Of course, Eileen would be there, and they'd invited Maggie and me over. But since Edi's phone call, I wasn't feeling up to anything.

Then Eileen called, and if one word could describe her, it was unrelenting. "C'mon, Henri. What else are you gonna do all by yourself?" she asked with a huff. "Just come hang out. My aunt and uncle have a ton of food, and there'll be fireworks to ring in the new year."

Twenty minutes later she'd persuaded me to come. I really did need to get out. It beat sitting around at home alone, drowning in despair. I ended up showing up to Eileen's family gathering after Maggie's friend offered to give us a ride. Her cousin Beatriz said we could spend the night and the next day one of her relatives would give us a ride home. My heart was still aching about Edi. I wanted nothing more than to have her home so I could tell her how insignificant Cole was to me compared to her. She wasn't just my best friend in the world—ever. She meant everything to me. I still wasn't sure if I was ready to make that big change, but I'd since decided, if she asked me to, I would. I hated that she thought I'd brought someone to our place to be with. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I'd freak if she brought another girl back to our apartment with her.