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Yes.

I make a face at the laptop. “Good for you,” I mutter.

From the living room, Mamá calls, “¿Qué dijiste?”

“Nada.”

I turn back to the screen.

Primavera1959

I think that’s the weird part.

Not that she said yes.

That I knew I wanted her to.

I spend so much time trying to figure out if people like me that I think sometimes I forget to ask whether I actually like them.

But I didn’t have to figure it out with her. I knew.

The ridiculous little ache behind my ribs returns, and I ignore it. Because this is exactly what I wanted Primavera to understand in the first place.

Wanting to be wanted isn’t the same thing as wanting someone. One turns another person’s attention into proof that you’re desirable. The other requires you to pay attention to yourself.

And she is. She’s noticing.

The Third Fairy

That’s progress

Primavera1959

Wow

Glowing review. Five stars

I smile.

The Third Fairy

You hired a witch, not a cheerleader.

Primavera1959

I paid you like half of my mortgage payment. I think a pom-pom would be reasonable.

A laugh escapes me, and this time my mother doesn’t even bother pretending she isn’t listening from the other room.

I start to answer, but my hand pauses over the keyboard.

Because suddenly and unexpectedly, I’m thinking about Merry.

Not because Primavera said anything that reminds me of her.

I’m thinking about the way Merry looked at me Saturday night when she asked if I wanted to come home with her. How nervous she’d been despite the fact that we’d already kissed enough times for neither of us to misunderstand what was happening.

And how certain she’d sounded anyway.