What You Always Wanted by Kristin Rae

immaculate conception,” Tiffany says. “Like Mary when she got pregnant with Jesus.”
    Angela smacks her on the arm. “Don’t make jokes. She’s upset. How’d you like to be reminded that your parents . . . ?” Her voice trails off and she shudders.
    â€œPlease,” Tiffany says. “How do you think
you
got here? How did any of us get here? It’s what happens.” She raises her cup. “To nature . . . and all that implies.” No one clinks glasseswith her so she guzzles the last bit of milk and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.
    â€œWhat does your brother think?” Angela asks, stacking our paper plates and tossing them into the trash under the sink.
    â€œHold up,” Tiffany says. “You have a brother?”
    â€œRider. He goes to Texas State. He’s a freshman.” I pull out my phone to check for missed messages. Nothing. “I haven’t talked to him yet.”
    â€œTexas State? In San Marcos? Partaaay! Let’s go see him.” Her expression brightens. “Next weekend! It’s not far. Is he hot? If he looks like you, he must be.”
    Angela returns to the table, frowning. “She won’t think her own brother’s hot. That’s sick.”
    â€œLike you don’t know yours is hot,” Tiffany shoots back, looking to me for support.
    I shrug and look at Angela. “He isn’t even close to my type, but he’s not exactly terrible to look at.”
    Angela and Tiffany both go silent, looking over my head with wide eyes. Tiffany bites her lip.
    A soft laugh rings out just behind me. “Thanks? I think.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

    I can’t bring myself to look at him.
Improvise
.
Improvise
. I stand and go to rinse our empty glasses. “Don’t you wish I was talking about you.”
    â€œWeren’t you?” Tiffany has to open her stupid mouth. “Because I don’t have a brother.”
    I slide the glasses onto the top rack of the dishwasher and risk a glance at Jesse. He leans his shoulder casually against the wall, untucked black collared shirt, hands in the pockets of his black slacks. Bare feet. He smirks like he just beat me at a game. I can’t believe I just added to his clearly large ego.
    â€œI knew you had a thing for stars,
mi reina
,” he says, tapping the top of his cheek.
    I’m pretty sure he just called me his queen, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of a response. I reach up to touch my cheek, and realize I didn’t wear my star today.
    â€œGet over yourself. You must have missed the part where she said you aren’t her type,” Angela says to him as she switches on the washer. “He always comes home in Spanish mode
después del trabajo.
”
    â€œWell, that’s why he works there, right?” I clarify. “To learn Spanish? It’s good he’s using it.”
    Tiffany snorts as she tries to contain a laugh, and Angela’s jaw slacks. I glance at each of them, confused. Jesse’s eyes widen in surprise, staring me down before he retreats into the darkness behind him. My stomach full of cake feels heavy.
    â€œWhat did I say?” I ask Angela once I’m sure he’s out of earshot.
    She shakes her head. “I can’t believe he told you that’s why he works there.”
    â€œI didn’t know he couldn’t speak Spanish,” Tiffany says. “I assumed he was just as good at it as you are, Ange.”
    Oh, no. I totally forgot he said it was embarrassing. He told me that in confidence, which I didn’t realize until this very second.
    â€œI actually try, though. I
want
to be fluent.” Angela finishes cleaning up the mess on the table, folding the empty pizza box and clearing away crumbs from the cake. “If I’m bilingual, I’ll have so many more opportunities, like for scholarships, jobs, whatever. I’d be dumb to let all that