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Austin boundedup the steps to the duplex Sofi shared with her best friend Leia. He let himself in without even knocking; he was there so often Leia and Sofi had gotten fed up with having to answer the door and had given him a key. He glanced around the cozy living room complete with white sectional and a matching giant ottoman, finding it empty. His gaze lingered on a plant Leia had named Fergus that stood next to the picture glass window overlooking their tiny front yard while others hung in swinging pots over the window.
“Sof!” Austin called out, surprised that no one was in the living room or the adjoining kitchen. The white kitchen cabinets gleamed, as clean as all of the other surfaces in Sofi’s home. Austin would have thought so much white would feel cold and sterile, but with Leia’s green plants and the pops of yellows Sofi had insisted on—throw pillows and the old fashioned fridge Sofi loved more than almost anything else—it was homey in a way that had Austin never wanting to leave.
“Oh thank heavens, it’s you,” Sofi said, coming out of her room wearing a typical Sofi outfit of a hoodie and a pair of trendy jeans. Her dark wavy hair had been somewhat tamed into a knot at the top of her head but a few tendrils had sprung loose. Austin loved that Sofi’s personality was portrayed so well by her hair. Like her, it was fun-loving, beautiful, and uniquely Sofi.
Austin raised a brow in question.
“The Tías are coming over,” Sofi explained, turning her head toward Leia’s room.
Austin grinned. He loved the Tías, the nickname Sofi had bestowed on her two aunts and her mom. But he typically only saw them when he went to Sofi’s childhood home or the mercado. They rarely came over to Sofi’s duplex, complaining that Sofi had abandoned them for this place.
“I didn’t mean to tell them about setting up your online dating profile,” Leia called out from her room before tentatively walking out as if gauging Sofi’s temperament while doing so.
Sofi’s online dating profile? When had this happened? Before Austin could ask, Sofi rounded on her friend and demanded, “Then why did you?”
Sofi threw her hands in the air to emphasize her words.
“Tía Rosa texted and asked what I was doing. My guard was down.”
“Why wasmytía texting you?” Sofi asked, hands on her hips.
“Tía Rosa texts me too,” Austin piped up.
Sofi rolled her eyes. “Of course she does. Those busybodies that I love with every fiber of my heart will be my undoing.”
The doorbell rang and Sofi took a few steps back. “They’re here.”
Austin bit back his grin. He absolutely adored Sofi’s flair for the dramatic.
“I’ll get it,” Austin offered as he walked back to the door and opened it for the three lovely women. Two of them had caramel-toned skin a little deeper than Sofi’s while one was as white as Austin, her hair a bright blonde.
“Austin,” the three women gushed, hugging him and telling him he had to eat more the way any good Tía would.
Leia came up to greet the Tías next as Sofi stood where she always had, her back against the wall.
“Come here and say hi to us,” Tía Rosa commanded Sofi when she didn’t make a move toward her aunts and mom.
Sofi obediently stepped forward, leaving her place on the wall to hug her family in greeting.
“Online dating?” Tía Melinda asked as Tía Rosa clucked her tongue. Apparently there was no need to waste words of greeting on Sofi.
“It’s not a big deal,” Sofi tried to reason. She turned to her mother, who was typically the most sane of the bunch.
“Why online though?” Tía Rosa asked.
Austin’s thoughts exactly. He wasn’t against online dating, per se, but he felt that most normal men his age in Blue Falls, like him, dated the old-fashioned way. See a cute girl, ask her out. He was sure Sofi was turning down those invites left and right.
“Leia’s been pushing me to do it.” Sofi threw her friend right under the Tía-driven bus.
Leia narrowed her eyes in Sofi’s direction for an instant before smiling at the Tías.
“I thought it would be a good idea for Sofi to move into new dating territory. She’s beenstuckin the same place, forever.” Leia emphasized the word ‘stuck’ as Sofi’s cheeks blazed red, both of them glancing at Austin before turning back to the Tías.
Was Austin the reason Sofi felt stuck? He hoped not. Sure, their friendship sometimes dissuaded people from being willing to date them, but that was their own fault. Anyone worth their salt would be fine with the close friendship Austin and Sofi had . . . right?
Right, Austin assured himself.
“We have boys for you,” Tía Melinda offered in a tempting voice, as though she was about to bring out a dish of her famous flan.
