I am in a contractual relationship because I need the money.
Well, not necessarily because I need the money, but because I would like to have more money, especially if I someday want to open my own cafe bookstore. Preferably, one with a small section where dogs who need to be adopted can roam and have a second chance at life, like those in Japan. To some people, it sounds silly, but to me, it is a dream.
I knew that to achieve my dream, it would require sacrifice, but nothing would prepare me for what was about to happen.
It all started with my childhood neighbor and academic rival, Leo. Leonardo fucking Romero Vasquez.
Ever since I moved into this little town at the age of five, I have had to deal with Leo's overachieving, cocky bullshit.
He had everything: grades, athletic skills, and looks. It sucked being next-door neighbors with him. It didn't matter if he had extracurricular activities such as playing soccer on the weekends, or modeling for major magazines, or giving small lines in big movies, as much as I tried to get away from Leo, fate always drew us back together.
By the time we were in high school, he was in all of my AP classes and became a member of the debate team I was in.
He.
Won.
Every.
Time.
I don't know how he does it. I really don't. It's impressive he could handle everything with his caliber and still beat me; I'll give him that. But, knowing how effortless it was for him, as it took everything out of me, aggravated the shit out of me.
If I got an A-, he would get an A+.
If my test score was 99, his would be 100.
Not to mention the parties his parents threw almost every other weekend.
My family never really complained because they would happily go and have the best time, while I sat by my window watching them have a blast in their backyard. It wasn't that I was necessarily a party pooper, but I just hated how anxious I felt. As much as I tried to talk to my classmates who were also invited to the party or make my way to the dance floor to dance my heart out, I would feel their eyes judging me. No one would join me, or if I managed to attempt to make conversation, I would constantly be overshadowed by Leo and his friends as they made fun of my stutter every time I talked.
Of course, it would come out when I was nervous or conscious of myself. Usually, my best friend Beth would be my savior, but like any girl with strict parents, she wasn't allowed to go to parties unless it was the occasional times her family joined in during barbecues and communal movie nights.
At that point, all I wanted was an escape. Somewhere in which the playing field yielded to my liking and didn't require me to lose my mind. The one extracurricular I was free from his grasp was the school's smallest book club, consisting of fifteen members. I, of course, was one of the fifteen, along with my ex-high school sweetheart who dumped me on the day of graduation. Well, it wasn't necessarily that he dumped me, but rather a mutual breakup due to him not wanting to have a long-distance relationship.
I completely understood his side of the story, yet it broke me to pieces. I thought that he would try. Try for us. Try for me.
I was wrong. Perhaps I was asking for too much or lived in the bliss of our relationship. Either way, I've learned my lesson.
Soon after, I moved away from home and into Irvine, where I had finally been away from Leo. I was working a stable job as an English teacher and living in an apartment with my roommate and best friend, Beth. Aside from getting my Mexican mother off my back about my dating life, all I needed now was to raise money for my retirement and a potential dog cafe slash bookstore.
I was finally at peace until he showed up at my apartment door.