Page 31 of Mutual Discord

Rolling my lips together, I glanced about. “Let’s start at the administration building and work our way around from there.”

Alex extended an arm. “Lead the way, fearless Wildcat.”

Over the course of the next forty-five minutes, I showed Alex sites that were a part of my undergraduate tenure at the university. We wandered through the various Greek life tents and cheered for members of the Pan-Hellenic sororities and fraternities as they strolled, before stopping by the Hispanic alumni tent, where I greeted some old friends and introduced them to Alex. His attention was later snared by the folklórico dancers on the main stage, so we watched their colorful dancing for several long minutes. When I snuck a glance at his face, he was smiling and bobbing his head to the beat.

After a quick visit to the student union, where I showed Alex the mall memorial for the infamous USS Arizona, which was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, we wandered to Old Main, an original building on the Arizona campus.

“When the university was first founded in 1885, Arizona was still a territory. This building”—I gestured to the wooden structure as we stepped from the sunshine into the shade of the wraparound porch—“once housed the School of Agriculture and was surrounded by grazing lands.”

As we walked a circuit around the building, I described how the lush university landscaping had once been dusty cattle acres filled with creosote bushes and shrubby grasses. Over time, as the university grew, the unremarkable terrain had been filled with striking redbrick buildings, olive groves, cacti gardens, towering palm trees, and long expanses of vibrant green grass. Eventually, Alex gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to a bench tucked away in the shade of a flowering vine. “Want to sit while we wait for Caitlin?”

Nodding, I followed him, carefully situating myself on the bench beside him. Not too close, of course, but at a distance that I hoped felt natural.

“You mentioned your dad is a professor here on campus.” Alex stretched out his legs and crossed them at his ankles. He appeared relaxed while I was fighting not to vibrate out of my skin. “What department does he work in?”

“Environmental sciences.” I pointed a finger in the direction of his building. “He’s worked here since the nineties.”

Alex slipped off his sunglasses, hooking them in the neck of his T-shirt. “Was it hard to let loose and have fun in college knowing he was close by?”

“Not at all.” I huffed a shaky laugh. “The campus is big enough that I only saw Papí when I specifically hunted him down. And sometimes I would. I’d grab us lunch, and we’d eat in his office. Sometimes we’d meet my mom at one of the off-campus restaurants.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize your mom worked close by, too.”

I nodded. “The historical society is maybe a five-minute walk from here. They both ride their bikes to the office so they don’t have to worry about parking.”

His dark eyes traced over my face. “I envy how close you are to them. I haven’t spoken with my parents in…” A crease appeared between his brows as he considered. “Three weeks, maybe.”

“But you talk to your sisters more frequently, right?”

“Yeah.” The corners of his mouth tipped up. “I spoke with Camila briefly this morning, and Elena last night. Camila said she liked your video on Mary…” Alex frowned.

“Mary Kenner. The Black woman who invented a sanitary belt and toilet paper holder, among other things.” I couldn’t stop the heat that rushed to my face. “I’m flattered she enjoyed it.”

“She enjoys all your videos.” He scoffed suddenly. “And apparently she told Elena that we’re friends, because she asked about you last night.”

“She did?” I blinked, unsure of what to say. “I mean, I’m sure you just told her I was Caitlin’s friend.”

A frown marred his expression. “No. I sent her a link to one of your videos and we watched a few together. She and Jenny—that’s her wife—really liked them. Elena suggested doing more queer figures.”

I sat up straight, my eyes wide. “I have a few on my list, but I haven’t recorded their videos yet. I need to fix that.”

Slipping my phone from my crossbody bag, I opened the Notes app and started typing the changes I needed to make to my video schedule. When I was planning out my content, I had saved the bulk of queer historical figures for June to commemorate Pride, but now I realized that I could celebrate queer figures all year round.

Alex’s soft chuckle was all amusement. “Did I put a bug in your ear?”

“You did.” I flashed him a quick grin. “But then you’ve always done that. From the very beginning.”

He was quiet for so long that I looked up from my phone. Alex was staring down at the ground with a divot between his brows.

“Everything okay over there?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Alex swiped a hand over his mouth and huffed a breath. “I was just thinking that we’ve known each other for five months now.”

“Have we really?” I frowned as I did the mental math. “Isn’t it funny how we met on TikTok before we met in person? And then to meet so randomly through Caitlin is pretty crazy.”

“Definitely crazy.” His dark eyes met mine, an inscrutable look in them. “I’m glad we’re friends, Sofia.”

My throat worked on a swallow. God, a string of words sat on my tongue. Words I knew damn well not to say. Words that would poison not just our friendship, but also my friendship with Caitlin. And hadn’t enough things been destroyed during the last few months?