Through My Window (Hidalgos #1)(114)

“Class is finally over. It’s time to go, we have to get ready for tonight.”

“For what?” Carlos pouts. “You don’t have a boy to impress.”

“We don’t need one,” she says with determination. “We don’t have to get ourselves pretty just to impress a guy; we enjoy looking in the mirror and admiring our own beauty.”

“Oh, someone went deep,” Carlos says. Yoshi nods in agreement.

We say good-bye to the boys and walk down the hallway toward the exit. It’s time to get ready for prom.


“Ohhhhhh!” Dani and I sing at the top of our lungs in the middle of the dance floor. That red cocktail definitely has alcohol in it. I don’t know how they managed to sneak it in, but I’m not complaining.

It’s our fucking prom.

Dani sings to me and offers me her red plastic cup for a toast. My best friend looks wonderful in a low-cut black dress that matches her dark hair, and great makeup. I’ve always admired her cheekbones and her facial structure; her face is so compelling. It’s no wonder she’s had a couple of modeling jobs with her mom’s agency. Dani was born for it.

For my part, I’m wearing a red dress that’s tight in the waist and fits my hips nicely, but it’s loose from there on down.

We grab the edges of our dresses to jiggle better. We’re crazy, but we’re having a great time. Dani picks up her phone and records a Snapchat or Instagram story of us dancing, showing off our glasses with a bunch of hashtags, among those #WeDontNeedBoys, #AlcoholAtProm, and #OoopsWeDidItAgain. I laugh as I watch her put her cell phone down to send it; however, her expression changes as she looks at her phone, her eyebrows almost knitting together. Her eyes meet mine, and I give her the what’s-up look.

She clicks on someone’s Instagram story and hands me her phone. The first thing I see is Ares’s face. He looks perfect in the suit he’s wearing, with a dark colored tie that you can’t quite see in the photo because it’s dark where he is. In other circumstances, I would have enjoyed a chance to look at him, but now it has the opposite effect, and I feel my good mood evaporate.

He’s not alone.

Natalie is next to him, and they look too close to each other for my taste, their cheeks almost touching in order to appear in the selfie. Her hashtags only make the situation worse: #WithTheHidalgo, #FutureDoctor, #HotterThanEver, and #WhatHappensHereStaysHere. I feel heat wash over my face, and my stomach clenches with what I recognize as jealousy. Dani reaches over to scream in my ear over the music.

“I’m sure she did it on purpose.”

Oh, I know she did, but I’m still seething. Jealousy is so nasty. It fuels my imagination and different images of the two of them kissing, touching, and dancing together cross my mind. I shake my head because I’m sure that won’t happen, and I trust him. However, I can’t deny the discomfort I feel because I know they have a history together.

We leave the dance floor, and I grab my phone.

Don’t act immature, Raquel, I think as I compose a text to Ares.

Me: How are you doing?

He doesn’t reply immediately and that bothers me even more. He must be having such a good time that he’s not responding to me. God, I have to stop thinking like that.

My phone vibrates with a response:

Ares <3: Cool, I only need you here to make everything perfect.

Me: Who are you with?

Ares <3: With the entire school . . . ?

His sarcasm doesn’t make me laugh, but I don’t know how to ask him exactly who he’s with without sounding intense. I don’t answer him, and he texts me again: Ares <3: We’re almost out of here to go to the after-party.

The after-party will be at Ares’s house, of course. I don’t answer him because I know I have to trust him, and I think he’ll notice my discomfort if I talk to him right now. I decide to push the image of them together away from my mind and focus on having a good time with my friends. We start dancing as a group, taking turns to move to the middle and show off our dancing skills, which are not very good, but with the disco lights on us we look like experts.

I must say that whoever is adding alcohol into what is supposed to be the fruit cocktail is going a little overboard; it’s getting stronger and stronger. I’m afraid that one of the chaperons will try it, and we’ll get in trouble. However, that worry disappears with the fourth glass.

After a while, my phone vibrates in my hand.

Incoming call: Ares <3

I turn away from the music and walk out of the gym into a quiet hallway. Seeing his name on the screen reminds me of that picture with Natalie again. Swallowing with difficulty, I answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey, everything okay?”

“Meh, yes.” My voice sounds strained.

“You’ve never been good at lying, Witch.”

“I’m fine.”

“You know how you tend to twist your lips to the side when something bothers you?” That makes me frown. “You’re doing it right now,” he says, and I look up to see him walking toward me down the dimly lit hallway. If he’s beautiful in plain clothes, in a suit and tie he looks out of this world.

Ares takes the cell phone from his ear and gives me a smile. It’s not loaded with mischief or arrogance. It’s a genuine smile, and it disarms me. He looks so happy to see me that I forget about Natalie or any of my doubts.