The boyfriend of my best friend.

Fabiola

Despite being seventeen, I’ve rarely attended parties because they don’t interest me, and my father is very strict with me since I am his only daughter.

My mother died when I was young due to a disease that consumed her slowly and painfully. Being in the hospital with her, watching her die, are the worst memories of my childhood.

My father is a busy man with business in different countries, so he’s not very present in my life. My replacement for him is my hateful stepmother, Karina, and our pastime is arguing.

He’s been the best father in the world to me. Since I was little, he takes me to charity events. He is a benefactor of several foundations that help orphaned children and homeless women.

I enjoy helping others a lot.

I don’t have many friends. I mean, I’m sociable and get along with my schoolmates, but I have only two friends, Emilia and Pilar, who only get along because of me.

Paula is the daughter of one of my dad’s partners, and I met Emilia at school.

She is on a scholarship. I still remember when we met at the age of eight.

Camila, my worst enemy, was bothering me with other girls, and she defended me.

Since that day, we’ve been inseparable, and then Paula joined us, forming the trio of friends.

We have rules about guys, the typical “I saw him first,” or we even play rock, paper, scissors for a guy.

I’m not very good at that. No guy has ever really caught my attention. I have many male friends, but I’ve never genuinely liked anyone.

“I better go back home,” Paula says.

“You won’t leave me alone,” I insist to Paula as we approach my cousin’s mansion in the car.

Cameron is the closest cousin I have because our family is from the United States, and most of them live there.

He’s the typical bad boy, though he considers himself more of a seeker of the perfect woman, and he tries as many as he can.

We get along well despite the four-year age gap. He may be older, but I’m more mature.

He studies business administration at the college I want to enter, but he mainly shows up to make an appearance because if he didn’t, my uncle would take away his privileges.

He’s famous for his parties and skipping exams but not for his studies.

Dad has two brothers; one is Cameron’s father, Martin, who is a prestigious surgeon and the director of the central clinic. I like my uncle’s work because his clinic has a public sector that helps those in need.

He and my father have taught Cam and me since we were little that having more money doesn’t make us better and that the greatest satisfaction comes from helping others.

My younger brother’s brother lives in the United States with his family and my grandmother. He went into finance like my dad and takes care of the family businesses. He’s a bit different from my favorite uncle, Uncle Martin. Uncle Ivan is like a machine that only thinks about generating income.

“What a surprise!” Cameron exclaims when he sees us enter.

My cousin has wavy hair and light green eyes. He’s tall and slender, and he and his friends spend hours in the gym or at parties, indulging in alcohol and pursuing women.

It’s true that my father takes good care of me and knows about Cameron’s wild parties, so it’s strange that he lets me attend.

“If you don’t mind, we’ll head back,” Paula tells my cousin.

It’s amusing how Paula uses me as a shield because she’s head over heels for my cousin and is shy around him. Obviously, he notices and enjoys teasing her, putting her on edge.

Paula is very pretty but insecure, with long brown hair, gray eyes, a tan complexion, and a good body despite being somewhat thin.

“Of course not, go ahead,” he says.

Cameron’s parties are famous, and it’s not unusual for most of the college students to be here.

From the living room, I can see the garden filled with young people, and even in the living room, there are several, and the music is blasting.

“Hi, Cam,” I approached him and kissed his cheek, but it was a mistake because I nearly choked on his cologne. “Do you remember my friend Paula?”

“Didn’t you bring Emilia, Fabi?” he teases, turning Paula red.

“Silly,” I laughed. “It’s Fabi’s friend.”

“Her name is Paula,” I say.

“And she doesn’t have a mouth,” he mocks. “You only had one job, to bring Emilia, but you can’t do anything right, Fabiola.”

I hit his shoulder.

“Where’s the bathroom?” Paula asks me.

“You go up the stairs and it’s the third door on the right,” I instruct.

“It’s not free,” Cameron jokes when she goes up the stairs.

“Why are you so annoying?” I ask.

He just laughs. “You didn’t answer. Where’s the hottie?”

“Emilia couldn’t make it,” I said.

“No alcohol for minors,” he jokes when one of the waiters approaches me and hands me a drink.

“Since when are you responsible?” I tease.

“My uncle would kill me if his little princess came back drunk,” Cam jokes.

“I can handle my drink,” I affirm.

“Fer was going to introduce you to a friend, but you didn’t bring Emilia, so I won’t,” Cam laughs.

I laughed and shook my head. “Don’t do it. I would never date one of your friends.”

“You’re too young for them,” he says.

Since Paula is taking too long, I went upstairs to see if everything is okay, and I noticed she’s gone. I decided to send her a message, and she replied that she’s not feeling well and is going home. She also apologized for leaving me alone. It doesn’t surprise me because it’s not the first time she’s done this. On the other hand, when I go out with Emilia, I have to insist that we go back because she doesn’t stop until dawn.

I’ve only snuck out three times with her, telling my dad I’m going to sleep at her house. I don’t like lying, but she manages to convince me.

I went down to the living room, and Cameron guided me to the garden. I met some of his friends because it would take years to introduce me to all of them, and then we started dancing.

It’s pathetic that my cousin is dancing with me, but I don’t know anyone, and no one catches my attention.

When he got bored, he walked away, and I kept dancing because it’s my favorite song, and I love the rhythm.

I turned to see my cousin and noticed he’s talking to a guy who can’t stop looking at me. Is Cam trying to set me up?

When I got tired of dancing and started to feel acid reflux, I approached the bar to get a drink.

I was trying to decide what to drink because there are different alcohol options, but someone grabbed my arm.

When I turned, I realized it was a man who looked older than Cameron. I tried to pull my arm out of his grip, but I couldn’t.

I don't know who he thinks he is to grab me like that.

Looking at his face, it's evident that he's drunk, and I'd say he ingested some substance. He keeps insisting that I dance with him, but I don't want to.

"It's just a dance," he claims.

"I really don't want to," I refused.

"I said you'd dance with me!" he exclaims.

"You don't understand what 'no' means!" I pulled away from his grip, not caring if it hurt me.

I noticed everyone is watching us, but no one does anything, I suppose because it's not their business. The man raised his fist, presumably to hit me, but the blow never landed.

From the crowd, a guy came out, stopped his punch, and pushed him to the ground. The man tried to get up, but he couldn't maintain his balance because he was too drunk.

"If she says no, it means no, so leave or I'll break your face!" he threatens.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," the guy threatens.

"Any problem?" one of the security men asks as he approaches.

"This guy is bothering the lady," the guy says.

The man is too drunk to fight, and my defender looks big and strong. He had no choice and had to leave.

"Are you okay? Some guys can't see a pretty girl without getting aggressive," he comments.

It's incredible how he treats me formally even though we're almost the same age. But the most incredible thing is that I can't speak, and my hands are sweaty. What's happening to me?

Did he call me pretty? I want to shout, focus, Fabiola, say something.

"Thank you," I said.

I can't stop looking at him, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't. He doesn't seem real; he's so handsome. Without a doubt, he has the appearance of a genuine angel, and that smile is perfect.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

I just hope he doesn't think I'm drugged or drunk. I'm simply in shock. He probably can't imagine that I'm left speechless.

I've never seen a guy so handsome. He has brown hair, fair skin, and clear sky-blue eyes. God, I love him.