Marina was stretching in the living room when I came out of the bedroom in my workout clothes. Marina had been one of my best friends since high school. She was also the opposite of me. This was evident even in how we were dressed at that moment. Both in workout clothes, but mine consisted of just a short pair of shorts and a simple top, whereas Mari wore a tight purple jumpsuit that accentuated all her curves. Her hair was curly and voluminous, her dark skin always shiny, making mine look colorless and lifeless. Not to mention how Marina had an invisible magnet for boys. She always seduced them, though she never really got involved since she'd been committed to Deivid for seven years. As for me, I'd be lucky if any guy invited me for a walk around the block.
Cassandra was sprawled on the living room floor watching a gossip show on Channel 7, her workout clothes as sexy as Marina's, which made me feel way too plain.
"Oh shit. This looks like a bad TMZ knockoff," Cass murmured. She constantly complained about Brazilian shows. I wasn't sure if it was because she missed her country or if they were really that bad. Probably both.
"You'll see plenty of bad knockoffs if you keep the TV on," I said, taking the remote from her hand and turning off the TV. "Look at the weather outside; it's clearly going to rain. Are you sure you want to run?"
Marina looked at me as if I'd just said something absurd.
"Stop being lazy, Elizabeth." Cassandra got up and tied her blonde hair into a perfect ponytail. "Enjoy the fact that I'm not working today. I just want to hang out with you."
Cass had been here for six months, and I still didn't know what she did for work. She always said it was informal, without elaborating. No exhaustion or complaints about bosses or clients. Something told me she didn't work; her parents probably sent money every month.
"You can hang out with me at home," I replied in my ironically fluent English.
"Do you think it's easy to maintain this body?" Marina asked, pointing to her own figure. "Come on, maybe we'll see that mailman on the way."
"Marcos?" I asked, following Cassandra's example and tying my hair up as we headed to the door. "What's the point of seeing him if you're not going to take a step and talk to him?"
"I have a boyfriend, Elizabeth!"
"Exactly," I said as we descended the building's stairs. "Besides, I think I saw a ring on his finger."
Mari just shrugged.
"Looking doesn't hurt."
Maybe my comment was a bit grumpy, but what could you expect from me when I was being forced to exercise in the cold? What happened to the good old blanket, a book, and a cup of hot coffee?
We left the building on the busy downtown street and crossed the short distance to Beira Mar before starting a slow jog. Cassandra and Marina began running on the sidewalk, and I took advantage of the empty bike lane to run beside them.
"Oh right. You can look," Cassandra said. "But this platonic love is driving me crazy, Marina. You talk about Marcos all the time, more than you talk about Deivid. Doesn't that mean anything? You don't even know the guy; you just see him from afar. At least go up to him and say 'hello.'"
Marina rolled her eyes as if Cass were saying something ridiculous.
"It doesn't mean anything. I just think the guy is handsome. It's not a crime." But her voice was very defensive.
"Right. It's up to you," Cassandra said. I almost reminded her that she was speaking English, but the conversation was heading in a more serious direction, so I stayed silent.
We hadn't been running long when the rain started to fall. It happened quickly—one second, it was just a drizzle, and the next, we were soaked. We ran faster, this time towards shelter. Why did no one ever listen to me?
We were completely soaked when we reached the nearest shelter: a small café. As we rushed in, a tall blond boy behind the counter stared at us like we were crazy.
"Good afternoon, ladies. How can I help you?" he asked in that courteous employee tone.
"The rain." Marina pointed to the sky. "We're just escaping it."
"So, you're going to be stuck here? With me?" The boy grinned mischievously. Cassandra, Marina, and I all rolled our eyes simultaneously. "My name is Heitor."
I smiled politely at him, hurrying to speak before Marina could be mean.
"I'm Elizabeth. These are Cass and Marina." I pointed to each of them in turn.
"Marina," he repeated thoughtfully. "The one who comes from the sea."
"What?" Marina frowned, trying to make sense of what he said.
"The meaning of your name," he explained.
The boy smiled at her and gave a nearly imperceptible wink. For a moment, I thought I imagined the wink. I realized he was practically our age or close to it. I couldn't say he was ugly; he had a peculiar beauty. The way he spoke sounded a lot like a pick-up line. I was almost sure it was, but I've always been too slow to catch these things.
We walked to a nearby table and sat down. Cassandra let her hair down and ran her fingers through it to tidy it. My hair was obviously a mess; it wouldn't be worth letting it down.
"Looks like that's how you'll spend your day off," I couldn't help but hide a certain tone of revenge in my voice. I wanted to say a loud and clear, "I told you so."
Cassandra noticed.
"But is there anything better than this? It's like being stuck because of a snowstorm. Reminds me of my old home," she said with false enthusiasm.
"Except snowstorms are worse; you really can't go out. Here, we're stuck because we want to," Marina pointed out.