Chapter 235 - Unmarried couple - meters
Guadalupe
She wasn't sleepy, even though she had to get up early for university tomorrow. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep, couldn't stop thinking about what Arnold had said. Talking to the ladies helped her understand a bit; apparently, it was quite important, and he was scared, didn't want to hurt her, that's what they said. The truth was she felt awful, felt stupid. Her parents were already asleep, and she decided to go out to clear her head a little.
"You need to get used to it; when he gets tired of one woman, he replaces her with another."
She looked at Maya, her mother's assistant in the kitchen at El Renacer. She was one of the many women of the güerejo.
"Guadalupe, I was looking for you." Her heart raced a mile a minute as Arnold came up beside her, and Maya's mouth opened. "You...," she gestured as if trying to remember something. "I don't remember your name, you spread your legs for me, but that's it."
Guadalupe felt what is commonly known as secondhand embarrassment. The poor woman turned very red with anger, and anyone would have.
"I'll be very clear, if you insinuate again that there's something between Guadalupe Sánchez Hernández and me that hasn't happened yet, and not because of me, believe me, she values herself to the point where I'm interested in everything about her, whereas I don't even know your name. Do you understand the difference? Now leave." Poor Maya.
"Was it necessary to be so despotic with a woman who gave you pleasure?"
"She was going to offend you."
"I already told you I don't care about that!"
"I do! I was going to your house to tell you we're leaving at four tomorrow." She looked at him.
"You have a flight with your friends."
"That's right." She shrugged. "I'll meet them at the San Antonio airport, you have math class at seven."
How did he know her schedule? She understood knowing the hours for Thursday and Friday when they went together. But...
"Rest, Lupe."
"Why do you do it, Arnold?" They looked at each other, and he ran his big hand through her hair.
"I like you, don't think anything different. We're leaving tomorrow."
He left her alone. She didn't understand, she was starting to believe what Mrs. Vero, Luisa, Diana, and the other women said, to make him jealous to see if he would realize. He didn't have to get up early to take her to San Antonio, it wasn't his obligation, he did it because he liked her and it was important. This güerito was going to drive her crazy.
"Lupe." She screamed in fright, hadn't he left? "Go home."
"And you're staying here?"
"Yes. What if a snake shows up?" No doubt he was going to drive her crazy.
"See you tomorrow."
As he said, they left El Renacer at four. She slept during the trip, she couldn't close her eyes last night, and now that he was driving beside her, she fell asleep.
"Lupe, we're here." They arrived half an hour early at the university. "Here." He handed her the keys to his truck. She started to refuse.
"No..."
"Look, in the jar where I keep the money you give me for rent and groceries, put in the amount you spend on transportation. You get out very late from your second university, the truck stays in the garage, use it and pay me so your parents feel more at ease." There was no point in being picky, she smiled, gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you."
"I thought I'd have to spank you to make you accept."
"I'm doing it because you're right, I get out at night, almost everyone has cars, and I have to walk several blocks to get to the bus stop, and it's very lonely. Last Tuesday, I had to run because two men followed me." He clenched his jaw.
"Weren't you going to tell me?"
"I'm telling you now."
"Almost eight days later? Lupe, there's always money at home, you can take it. You can replace it later, now you have the truck."
"Thanks. Take care, güerito." He smiled.
"You too, Tadpole."
"You should think about giving me another nickname."
"I already have one, but that's just for me." She blushed, didn't even want to imagine what other nickname he had for her.
"Just take care."
Early this morning, Arnold was arriving. Having the truck at her disposal was incredibly helpful because she spent less time. Now she'd only spend Thursday night and Friday, since all the weddings and baptisms had passed, she could think more clearly. She just had to earn her güerito's trust.
She checked the time, it was ten. She wanted to wait for him, but she didn't know when he'd arrive. Anyway, she left dinner in the dining room. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but in the morning, as usual, she showered, and when she got to the kitchen, she saw he had arrived and eaten the dinner.
I started preparing breakfast and lunch. Inés told me she liked empanadas, so I made those for breakfast and left several in the fridge for her to eat whenever she wanted. For lunch, I made lasagna, which would stay warm in the heat-preserving containers. I had everything ready when she came into the apartment after her sacred exercise routine.
"Good morning, Little Frog. Smells good, what’s for lunch today?" She made me laugh.
"Lasagna." She raised an eyebrow.
After breakfast, we got ready in our rooms, grabbed our lunches, and headed to the university. Since he had arrived, I needed to leave early to attend my other classes. During the last class, I received a message on my phone.
"Little Frog, I’m outside your university. Find me in the parking lot when you’re done."
My heart raced.
"Thanks."
Those were the gestures from that blond guy that made me feel like a lovestruck sheep. I adored that man. How could I get him to make up his mind? The class ended, and I tried to stay calm as I got into the truck.
"Thanks."
"No problem." He was driving. "Is this the route where those two men chased you?"
"Yes."
With Arnold, I felt protected. It was nice. I enjoyed studying together, especially since he helped me with math. As Inés said, he doesn’t say he loves you; he shows it with actions, with time, with service. If I put that blond guy in that context, he loved spending time with me. The drive continued. It was already late.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Little Frog."
The day passed the same way: breakfast, university, then my other classes. It was Friday, and I couldn’t leave at six. We had to present something important on Monday, and since Dina couldn’t study over the weekend, we did it today. It was late, my phone died, and Arnold wasn’t coming today. He probably thought I was on my way to Blanco.
Damn! I didn’t tell him. It was night, no taxis were passing by, and the parking lot was deserted. I had to walk quickly. As I did, I saw two men. They started following me, so I walked faster, but a third one blocked my way.
"Hey, be nice and give us what you have."
"We won’t hurt you if you cooperate and give us your money and whatever’s in your account."
They pointed to an ATM. I started shaking my head. As usual, I got combative, but there were three of them. When they saw my resistance, they began to hit me. They snatched my bag, my assignments, my cards. One of them dragged me and beat me badly. Thanks to a car that started honking, they stopped hitting me and ran away like cowards.
"Miss, are you okay?" It was a university employee.
"Help me." He was with another man, and they carried me between them. I screamed; my rib hurt. "We need to take her to a hospital..."
......
Arnold
I was worried. It was nine at night, and Little Frog wasn’t answering. I didn’t know if she had made it to Blanco. There was a knock on the door. When I opened it, it was Miguel and Simón, who had a flight to Argentina today to meet Alessandro.
"What’s with that face?" I had a feeling in my chest.
"Lupe isn’t answering." I looked at Simón.
"Did you two fight?"
"Not at all. It’s just that I didn’t pick her up today. She was supposed to leave early, and on Fridays, she goes back to Blanco. I got back from the university not long ago. Want to have dinner?"
"Are you going to order food?" Cebolla commented.
"Lupe has several things frozen; I just need to fry them."
"Looks like our Little Nugget is living the home life." I glared at Cebolla, and Simón burst out laughing.
"Don’t mess with me."
"The truth is, your apartment looks tidy. You’re the messiest one."
"I’m not messy. I know exactly where I put things. It’s just that Lupe has everything organized now, and everything has a specific place."
"Ah, I see."
They exchanged glances. I didn’t say anything else. I had gotten very used to her, and I couldn’t wait for Wednesdays to come.
"Do you want meat, cheese, chicken, ranch, or Mexican empanadas? The Mexican ones are spicy."
"Does Lupe make all that?" I nodded.
"Little Frog cooks deliciously. So much so that on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, I eat what she leaves for me. In fact, I have tomorrow's lunch in the fridge."
"She’s a gem," Simón commented. "Lobo likes women like that." I looked at Rata.
"Who, Rata?"
"Don’t mess around. You never stop. Stop being such a jerk." Now it was Cebolla. "I want meat and Mexican." The thought of Lupe making food for another man besides me...
"What time is your flight?"
"You know we travel under Sin Nombre’s records." He pointed at Cebolla. I took out the oil, and my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Are you a relative of Miss Guadalupe Sánchez Hernández?"