Flutter by, Butterfly

Chapter 19

I went to my room in a very good mood. Alejandro was falling in love with me, little by little, and I couldn't feel more safe in the world because of it. I lay in my bed, clutching Ferdinand to my chest. I had tears still on my face, but I was smiling. A moment later, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said, wiping my tears away.

Sandy and Bruno came in.

"Hey," said Sandy. "Wanna talk?" she asked as she sat on my bed by my feet. Bruno sat on a nearby stool.

I said nothing. I just lay on my bed with a sigh and a big smile.

"I told you she wouldn't be upset," said Bruno.

"I didn't say she was going to be upset. I just figured she might want to talk."

"What's there to talk about?" said Bruno. "They both know what their feelings are."

"I know that," said Sandy. "I just figured she might want to air out her frustrations."

"Frustrations?" asked Bruno.

That got my attention too.

"Yeah," said Sandy. "I mean, it's not like they can actually do anything about it." Sandy turned to me. "Jani, does it ever make you angry?"

"Does what make me angry?"

"The fact that you can't have sex with him."

That took me by surprise.

"Are you sure she wants to talk about this?" asked Bruno.

"I don't mind," I said, "and no, I'm not angry about it."

"Oh, I would be," said Sandy. "Just knowing what it is that I want, and knowing that I can't have it."

"I don't know that I want it yet," I said.

"You DON'T?" said both Bruno and Sandy in surprise.

"I wouldn't mind easing into it," I said. "I just don't know that I'm ready to just jump in, legal age or not."

"Does that ever freak you out about him?" asked Bruno. "I mean, isn't he technically old enough to be your dad? How much older is he then you, anyway?"

"Fifteen years," I said.

"He's that old?" asked Sandy. "He sure doesn't look it!"

I giggled. "I really don't mind," I said, "and I don't mind waiting."

"I don't know that I could do it," said Sandy. "Me either," said Bruno.

"But you don't really have anything to lose," I said. "There's just too much at risk for both of us. I'm sure your dad could say something about giving his consent, but Al's just too much in the public eye for something like this to take place."

"Still though, I really hate it for the both of you," said Sandy. "It's easy to see that you guys are perfect together, but you can't because of some stupid law."

"The law has its place," I said. "Besides, not every man is like Alejandro." Such as my father. Laws protect girls from men like him.

"What's so different about him?" asked Bruno. "Guys like him go after younger girls all the time."

"Guys like him?" asked Sandy.

"Well, yeah," said Bruno. "Rich guys, famous guys, they think they can get away with anything; and most of the time, they do."

"Have you forgotten the things that he and his own mother had to go through?" I asked. "But I do see your point. I know full well that there are rich, entitled people out there that think that they can get away with anything. I was raised by people like them, but there's a difference between a man who thinks that a woman is attractive AND she's a teenager, and a man who thinks that she's attractive BECAUSE she's a teenager. The young are always more vulnerable. That's why these laws were made to protect them, and truth be told, even if I were already the legal age, I feel like he would still wait for me, and I'm falling all the harder for him because of it."

Both Sandy and Bruno looked impressed.

"How did you two know, anyway?" I asked.

"We followed you up the stairs just to check on you. We didn't mean to interfere," said Sandy.

"We pretended to be making out in the hall the whole time so he wouldn't think we were spying," said Bruno. "He said some very interesting phrases as he walked by."

"Very interesting," said Sandy. "What did he say again?"

Bruno lowered his voice an octave, with a player kind of vibe. "Asi asi! Ay querico!" And then Bruno shifted his voice into high-pitch. "Por que es el tan pequeno? No siento nada!"

I busted out laughing.

"What did he say?" asked Sandy.

Bruno had a very determined look on his face, even as he was somewhat scowling. "I am NOT saying!"

I laughed all the more.