Chapter 2

Topher Bellomo.

And as soon as his pinkish lips curled into a toothy smile of whiteness, all the old crushy feelings I’d felt back in middle school crashed right back into my thoughts, as if having never quite left to begin with. My old neighbor and best friend, but most memorably, my first love.

In secret, of course.

But what was Topher even doing here? And why was Alessandra invited as well? This was quite an odd experience, definitely not anything I’d have ever expected. What had made Dad invite them in the first place?

Topher half-nodded. “Yope. What’s up?”

Yope?Wow. He still said that after four years of us not seeing each other. And that deep voice travelling throughout my body in all the right places. This only proved to be more of a challenge than I’d expected.

Dad chuckled, serving the cheese-and-veggie penne on each plate. “Well, don’t just stand there, Chip. Greet them and let them in.”

I snapped back to reality with a rushed nod. “Y-yeah, of course, s-sorry about that.” I imagined my cheeks were red by now. So much for spending some time with Dad before having to put up with any company, especially the kind of company that triggered so many fond but emotionally torturous memories.

Alessandra sauntered her way through and let out a soft laugh, her eyes glistening. She aged gracefully for a forty-something, much like my similar-aged father. “That’s okay. I can tell you were surprised by the surprise. It worked perfectly.”

I formed a grin. “Well…it’s just…been a long time, I guess.”

“Since before you left for boarding school, I know.”

“Yep.” This was getting rather awkward. I wish I’d had some extra time to prepare for this. I wasn’t just tired from the flight, but I hadn’t even gotten the chance to at least shower again. It had been since late morning, and I felt a bit gross all over.

Alessandra hugged my dad respectfully, then she followed Dad’s direction to give him a seemingly tighter hug that immediately captured my attention. “Hey, Carlos.”

“Mmm, how are you?”

“Good.”

The two of them seemed a bit too close compared to years ago, as if something else had changed. I’d never seen them hug quite like that. What was going on between them?

I brushed it off. They’d probably just grown as close friends, while Topher and I couldn’t say the same about ourselves, something that was still a mystery to our parents just from how they acted.

My eyes shifted to Topher’s brown ones. My heart fluttered exactly the way it had the last summer we’d spent together. We had been together almost every day and in various places that special summer, like crazy fourteen-year-olds not knowing what to do with our newfound freedoms, albeit limited. Bro-like, but special, nonetheless.

I suppressed a sigh. Why did high school have to change everything and separate us for four years? All because I’d wanted to attend a prestigious boarding school for my résumé. We’d eventually lost touch with just the online version of a “How are you?” here and an “I’m okay” there. Were we still considered best friends, or even simply friends, for that matter? Sure, we’d been friends since childhood, but that didn’t guarantee a lifelong duration.

Topher closed the door and remained standing there with his sun-drenched arms crossed, much tanner than in other seasons. Such fine, dark hairs decorated them almost impeccably. He flashed another toothy smile that complimented his shaved-but-still-manly face. His smiles were more like subconscious smirks, as if with a hint of seduction, despite otherwise. Overall, he mimicked a portrait to stare at and ponder his mystique and mysteriousness for endless minutes. This newly grown man had been the only person ever to wake what had been stubbornly dormant, a tingly sensation I took care of on my own with no partnered involvement. But the emotional response? Even more powerful, and all because of this very bond I’d shared with him.

His smile morphed into a grin. “I’m still Luigi.”

I suppressed a giggle and snorted gently at the memory. “And I’ll forever be Peach. She can at least glide.”

“Timeless classic. That was how we became buds, actually.”

“Like I’d ever forget that.” Trying out the classics had led to something special, after all.

“I know you wouldn’t.” Topher gave me a playful punch on the shoulder, no harder than a tap. “I bought a pretty decent knockoff, except Luigi’s actually hot for a guy, oddly enough. But no princess in this one. Just the bros.”

“I always did like to play games with you.”

“Board game later as well? Like old times?”

“Board game it is.”

“Nice. Hey, I can still cuss in Spanish just like you taught me. Useful for when I lose at a game in front of others.”

I rolled my eyes and grinned. “You’re silly.”

“Well, that wasthe most interesting part of the Spanish lessons you gave me back in the day.”

“Oh, I’m sureit was.”

Topher looked at the meal and smiled. “Food looks good, Carlos. Smells great, too.”

Dad smiled in return. “Thank you, it’s ready, so come eat.”

Topher swaggered into the kitchen so naturally stiff and butch as if unable to loosen any joint. Then again, he’d always been that way. He’d also always swung from girl to girl. The last one I’d known about was the prom queen. Or so his profile updates had stated, anyway.