On paper, Pete and Valentina are perfect for each other. Their friends used 'soulmates' when describing them and at one point they were. As they reflect on the last five years of their relationship, they try to understand the complexity of their lov...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It was the twenty-fifth of January, at eleven forty-five p.m. and thirty-two second, a bluebottle fly capable of fourteen thousand six hundred seventy wing beats a minute landed on a railing of a subway station. At the same time, one man planned to make his move on the girl who sat next to him.
That's right.
Pete Davidson was about to make a move on Valentina Perez.
One would describe the ambiance of the room to be amorous. La Vie en Rose played from the TV as Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart swayed to the music, insinuating that their characters are falling in love.
Pete snuck a look at Valentina, she's entranced by the moving pictures on the screen. It was at this moment Pete decided to perform the oldest trick in the book: the yawn and reach. As cheesy as that sounds, we got to give Pete credit here; it's a step up from just sitting next to each other.
Valentina barely noticed the feeling of Pete's arm sliding around her shoulder. She watched as Linus tells Sabrina that he wishes he were his brother, because if he were his brother, he would have her— the love of his life.
Being moved by the actor's performance, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the sense of adoration and desire; she wanted to experience that same burning passion with someone.
And how desperately she wanted that someone to be Pete.
Her mind wandered to la-la land where it was her and Pete rocking back and forth to the melodramatic love song. Their bodies close together, her cheek pressed against his cheek, his hand softly gripping on her waist... just like in the movie.
Unaware of what she was doing, Valentina leaned into Pete's touch. His heart quickens and his face starts flushing. He had the most beautiful girl, essentially in his arms, how did he get here?
What was he supposed to do now?
What was the next step?
How does he get the girl?
Then he heard her sing along to the movie. Her voice was soft and gentle but rich like honey at the same time:
"Il me dit des mots d'amour Des mots des tous les jours Et ça me fait quelque chose Il est entré dans mon cœur Un part de bonheur
Quand il me prend dans ses bras Il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose..."
The ballerina could feel the heat radiating off her face. She never liked singing in front of others, the only person she was ever comfortable to do so was Mateo. Yet, there was something about the boy sitting next to her that makes her want to sing from the top of her lungs, just for him and only for him.
She moved her head to face Pete. From her point of view, Pete looked so beautiful. When they made eye contact, his eyes softened— his expression looked so innocent. It was at this time of eleven forty-five p.m. and thirty-two seconds, both Pete and Valentina were looking at each other through rose colored glasses. It was at this precise moment that they knew they found their lost half and if they were to ever separate, they would never feel complete.
It was also at this moment that it became apparent to them of how close they were to each other. If the two were to move a few inches towards each other, their lips would touch. And it's as if they've read each other's minds, they began to do so.
Little by little, the distance began to close between them, nerves and adrenaline rushing throughout their bodies. Nothing could ruin this romantic moment—
"I'm home!" Mateo announced.
A squeak escaped from living room as the comedian and ballerina scrambled to the opposite ends of the couch. They gave a poor attempt of pretending that nothing happened between them as Mateo entered the room.
Mateo raised an eyebrow, "You two okay? You guys look like you've been scared shitless."
Both shook their head side to side furiously, trying to affirm that everything's alright. Pete and Valentina didn't have the words to explain what was going to happen between them. Mateo kept looking at them both and made a mental note to ask at least one of them about it later.
"So..." Mateo said, dragging out the vowel, "Is anyone going to ask me how the meeting went?"
Finally finding the ability to speak, Valentina asked, "How did the meeting go?"
"It went fucking amazing!" He screamed with glee, "My show is getting workshopped!"
A shocked look comes across Valentina's face and began to freak out, "No me digas eso Mateo!! No puedo creer lo! I'm so so proud of you!" She reached over to Mateo and gave him a big hug.
Mateo's dream was coming true and to an extent so is Val's. She has been with him since beginning with his show: from giving him synonyms, helping with rhyming, writing melodies, lending her voice for his demos.
At the other side of the room, Pete had no idea what to do in this situation. He's just awkwardly stood there as he went over what happened in the past couple minutes. They were about to kiss! What is she going to think of him now? They've crossed the line; how could they go back to being friends after this?
"We got to celebrate! Saca el champán y el flan. Oh! We need to call the family, it's gonna be like 3am but that doesn't matter—where is my phone?!" Valentina gasped.
"Well," Pete said loudly, "It's getting late and you two are obviously busy." He started collecting his stuff, getting ready to leave.
"No no, stay Pete. Please?" Valentina knew that the moment has passed, but she didn't want him to leave. This was a huge accomplishment and she wanted to share that with him.
She wanted him to be part of things like that with her. But what gives her the right to want or even ask for something like that?
It's not like they're together, no matter how badly she wished for it. Now, she was so sure they will never be after what happened tonight.
"I have to go to work early," Pete said softly, "I'll see you later."
Hot tears pricked her eyes, "Yeah okay. Um, see ya," She gave a weak wave as she watched him leave.
Pete stepped out the front door and closed it behind him. He took a deep breath and screamed out, "FUCK ME!"
------------------------- Are you frustrated bc I am. Things were getting a bit hot and romantic and then Mateo had to go and ruin it. Also, I was writing this while at work. Inspiration came and I couldn't ignore so I started writing. I hope you liked this chapter and the story so far :) Don't forget to vote and comment! Be safe!
