“I don’t know.” Rodrigo frowned. “I’m not expecting anyone.”
I climbed off his lap, and he went to the front door. “Hello?”
“Rodrigo! It’s Lucas.”
Rodrigo frowned, the door still closed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to me.
I waved his apology away. “It’s okay. Invite him in.”
But he shook his head. “This is our special night. I’ll be right back.”
Opening the door, he slipped into the hallway. With the door left open a crack, I crept to it.
Lucas was a friend of Rodrigo’s I’d never met. Actually, he was the only friend of Rodrigo’s I hadn’t met. We regularly hung out with his friends from school, a number of them who I had classes with.
Lucas always remained a mystery, though. I’d never given much thought to him. Until now.
The two of them were speaking in Portuguese, and even though I still didn’t have a great command of the language, I picked up phrases and words.
“You cannot come by unannounced,” Rodrigo said.
“You’re acting strange. How come I have never met Georgia?”
“…silly question.”
I frowned. It didn’t seem a silly question at all. If Lucas was one of Rodrigo’s closest friends, how come we’d never crossed paths?
Without pausing to consider whether or not it was a good idea, I pushed the door open. The guys turned to gawk at me.
“Hello.” I waved. “I’m Georgia.”
“Nice to meet you.” Lucas stepped forward and shook my hand. Rodrigo, however, stood there wearing a sour look.
“You, too,” I said. “Finally.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”
“Oh, no. It’s perfectly—”
“We were just about to eat,” Rodrigo cut in. He stepped next to me.
“You should join us,” I told Lucas.
“Oh. Uh…” He glanced at Rodrigo. “I think I should go.”
Rodrigo nodded. “I will see you later.” With that, he ushered me into the apartment and closed the door.
I stood there dazed, not entirely sure what had just happened.
“The chicken should be ready.” Rodrigo waltzed into the kitchen like everything was normal.
I stared at him. “What was that?”
He kept moving, pulling the chicken out and turning off the oven. “What do you mean?”
“You all but tossed Lucas out.” I frowned. “Why?”
“This is our night.” He gave me a look like it was obvious.