Fabio vs. the Friend Zone (The Pen Pal Romance Series)

by Kelsie Stelting

  My sister’s eyes widened. “Oatmeal!”

  It took all I had not to roll my eyes. Honestly, the idea of Fabio and me kissing was so far off-base, it was laughable. He and I had gone to every single prom together, and not once did anything happen. Not a kiss on the hand. Not a peck on the cheek. Not a soul-shattering make out session. We both knew we were friends, and that was so much better without hormones and feelings complicating things.

  My sister went to take a drink of her tea, and Mom stopped her hand with a harsh glare. “Blessings first.”

  We all bowed our heads and held hands as Cookie said a prayer. “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity you’ve given Nuo to go and serve our people. May she have a safe journey and a wild adventure.”

  I peeked at her across the table, and she winked at me.

  “May you bless this tea and this family. Amen,” Cookie finished.

  We all said amen, and even though everyone got to talking about all the fun I would have this summer, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Cookie had said about wild adventures. I’d never had one before. Was it my turn?

  Before I went to bed, I pulled out my phone and checked my messages. There was a long thread in a group text from my girlfriends, Nora and London.

  Nora: We’re going to miss you so much.

  London: Not as much as Fabio. ;)

  Nora: Oh hush. They’re just friends.

  London: For now.

  Nora: She’s going to China! Imagine all the guys there!

  London: There has to be like a billion of them.

  Nora: Googling it.

  Nora: More than 94 million guys ages 15-24. According to the CIA World Factbook.

  London: Nerd.

  Nora: What?

  London: LOL. Anyway. Lover boy better step it up because there’s going to be some STIFF competition. ;D

  More text bubbles appeared on the screen, but I had to put a stop to this. My thumbs flew over the touch keyboard.

  Grace: stoOOPPP

  Grace: I ate 27 Twix candy bars in front of Fabio tonight. If that didn’t scare him away, he is mentally deranged and therefore undatable.

  London: You didn't say you don’t like him. ;)

  Grace: Whatever. Your best friend is flying SEVEN THOUSAND MILES away tomorrow and all you can talk about is boys?

  Nora: She’s just teasing you. :) We’re going to miss you.

  London: :(

  I didn’t want to be away from my girlfriends either. Between them and Fabio, I had everything I needed. That was the problem. I needed to see who I was on my own. Without my friends.

  Grace: It’s only a month. I’ll be back before you know it. :)

  London: Promise us a spa day?

  Nora: YES. Mani-pedis sound perfect.

  Grace: Promise. I’ll email you when I get there?

  London: Sounds great. Love you, girl. Have an AMAZING trip. You deserve it. <3 <3 <3

  Nora: Love you so much. Take tons of pictures. Can’t wait to see you when you get back!

  Grace: Can’t wait either. <3 Love you.

  I plugged my phone into the charger and nestled under my covers, knowing when my alarm went off in the morning, I’d be one step closer to this adventure, and I couldn’t wait to see what it would bring.

  When I woke up the next morning, my stomach hurt, but not from my gluttony the night before. No, this was pure nerves. Anxiety like I’d never felt before took over every single cell in my body, forcing me to think of all the things that could go wrong. All the ways this had been a bad idea.

  I’d come up with the notion a year ago after speaking with some missionaries at church, and my parents had reached out to one of their friends who ran an orphanage in Zhengzhou. Before I knew it, I had a plane ticket and a summer job.

  I stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling. I’d put them up when I was eight years old and never had the heart to take them down. What would it be like to fall asleep every night without looking up at those stars?

  Someone was already moving around downstairs, and the smell of eggs and bacon hit my nose. My last meal in the United States. Next time I ate, I’d be in the air, or in Seoul for my layover, without cell phone service or anything I’d ever known. What had I signed myself up for?

  At this point, my reservations didn’t matter. I had signed myself up, and I wasn’t going back on my word. I had to do this, for myself and for the children I’d be serving.

  I went to the bathroom, took a shower, and got into the outfit I’d selected for traveling—something simple and comfortable with shoes I could easily slip in and out of. Then, I took my carefully packed luggage and my purse and headed downstairs to the dining room.

  Everyone was up already, including my sister who seemed to be seconds away from dozing off into her grits.

  My phone went off.

  Fabio: I can’t believe you’re leaving today.

  Grace: Me either. Promise me everything is going to be okay?

  Fabio: Of course it will be. This is going to be great for you.

  Cookie gave me a look and I set my phone down, feeling a little bit better. Fabio had that effect on me, maybe just because we’d known each other so long. We understood each other. I knew he needed to play video games when he was stressed, and he knew I needed to be talked up when I was stressed. I could always count on him for that.

  Dad checked his watch throughout the entire meal—a human reminder of the fact that this time had to come to the end. That I had other places to be.

  Mom told us to leave the dishes in the sink instead of cleaning them off like we usually did, and we started toward the door.

  “Wait,” Cookie said. “We need to pray first.”

  Mom smiled. “Excellent idea, Mama.”

  I let go of my suitcase handle so we could hold hands—we always did when we prayed.

  Cookie bowed her head, and so did the rest of us.

  “Dear Heavenly Father,” she began, “please bless Nuo’s travels today. May she arrive in Zhengzhou safe and sound, ready to do your work. Please guide her and speak through her as she works with these children. Please be with us as we will miss our Nuo deeply. In Jesus’s name. Amen.”

  “Amen,” the rest of us said.

  My heart was going crazy, and even though the prayer and text had helped, I wanted to see Fabio one last time.

  They all dropped me off at the airport, hugging me so long the guy in charge of vehicles told them to park if they were going to take any longer.

  Mom had tears in her eyes as she took my face in both of her hands. “Nuo, manzou.” Walk carefully. Take care.

  Now my eyes were watering. “Wǒ bù dé bù shuō zài jiàn le.” I have no choice but to say goodbye.

  She hugged me once more. “I love you. To China and back.”

  “I love you too.” I smiled and turned to leave. If I looked at her one second longer, I’d beg her to stay. And she’d let me.

  On the way into the terminal, I took some deep breaths and blinked my eyes. Fabio had said he’d meet me before security with coffee. I didn’t want him to see how close I was to breaking down.

  After I got my ticket from the kiosk, I walked toward security. Fabio’s blond hair was carefully gelled back, probably for the first time in his life. Instead of sweatpants or jeans, he’d worn khakis, a plaid shirt, and held a small bouquet of calla lilies. My favorite. Plus, two cups of coffee.

  “What are you wearing?” I asked. “Hot date?”

  A strangled laugh came out of his throat.

  At first, I’d only been joking, but now I wondered if I’d stumbled upon the truth. “Who is she?”

  Another laugh. “No one.” He waved his hands, successfully dumping half of my coffee on the floor.

  “No!” I cried, watching God’s personal gift to early morning travelers steaming on the tile.

  Fabio’s ears turned red, and he shuffled away from the mess. “Let’s sit down?”

  “Sure,�
� I said, but I made sure to tell an employee about the spill on our way to the benches. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt.

  I meant to ask Fabio what was going on when I sat down, but he handed me what was left of the cappuccino and asked me how I was doing.

  It all came spilling out, just like it always did around him. I told him about my fears and nerves.

  He reached out and rubbed my shoulder. “Grace, you’re gonna kill it. When have you not been amazing at something you did?”

  “Amazing?” I asked.

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be modest. Seriously. You have the best heart of anyone I know. I mean, what other sixth grader would give away their last Hello Kitty Kleenex to someone crying in the hallway? Or stay after school and read my car manual to me while I tried to figure out how to change a tire? You’re incredible.”

  My stomach warmed from the combination of Fabio and the coffee. I was more thankful for him than ever. “What have I ever done to deserve a friend like you?”

  He laughed. “I ask myself the same thing all the time.”

  I shoved his shoulder and laughed, but my smile faltered. “We’ve never been away from each other for this long before.”

  Fabio frowned. “Yeah, but we didn’t talk for a long time after the Freshman Fallout.”

  My lips turned down. “We don’t talk about that.”

  He shrugged. “We’ll make it through this. Email me. Anytime. You know I’ll be up half the nights gaming anyway. And whenever I’m not serving up discount heart attack burgers at Joe’s, I’ll email you back. Promise.”

  I leaned forward and hugged him, careful not to spill the dregs of my drink on him. And I held on, feeling the comfort of my very best friend.

  “I’ll see you in a month?” I said.

  “See you in a month.”

  I bit my lip. “Will you wait ’til I go through security? I want to wave goodbye.”

  A little smile touched his mouth. “Yeah. Anything.”

  I turned to walk away, and Fabio called, “Hey, Grace?”

  I looked back. “Yeah?”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Your shoe’s untied.”

  I rolled my eyes. “These boots don’t have any laces.”

  A little laugh scraped out his throat. “You got me.”

  My heart pounding again, I walked toward security and got in the short line. Perks of living in Oklahoma City? Small airport.

  It took me all of ten minutes to get through security, and when I did, I looked back at Fabio to wave.

  He was as close to security as he could get without having a plane ticket. He lifted his hand.

  Just as I started toward the gate, I heard him yell, “Grace! Grace!”

  “What?” I called back.

  “I love you.”

  Three

  Fabio

  WHAT HAD I JUST DONE?

  Fabio the romance cover model never would have told a girl his feelings like that. Fabio the idiot just had.

  Grace stared at me, her mouth open.

  Say something.

  Anything.

  Please.

  She pressed her lips together like she was about to be sick to her stomach, waved, and walked out of sight.

  The TSA agent in front of me frowned sympathetically. “Tough break, kid.”

  I glanced at her and nodded. Then I dropped the lilies and fast-walked out of there, Grandma style, and didn’t stop until I got to my car in the parking lot.

  What the hell, man?

  THAT WAS NOT THE PLAN, YOU MORON.

  Seriously, what had all the notecards been for? All the prep? This collar itched, and my hair felt like someone had drooled on it and then crusted it dry.

  What a schmuck.

  I kept waiting for my phone to go off, for Grace to text me and ask why I’d confessed my feelings for YouTube, but that text didn’t come. She’d heard every word, and she’d ran away.

  My phone went off, and I dug it out of my pocket. It wasn’t Grace. It was Connor, my training partner.

  Connor: You getting on soon?

  I leaned against my car and laced my hands behind my head. An airplane flew away overhead. Loud. Too loud.

  That couldn’t be Grace’s plane. But she’d be on one soon enough. And I’d be here. Like the idiot I was.

  I got into the car and fired off a text.

  Fabio: Be on soon.

  Connor didn’t reply. He never did unless you asked him a question. Even then, it might not be for a while.

  Not Grace. She was always the last one to text back. Even if it was just an emoji. Her favorite was the cat smiley face. She said it reminded her of Hello Kitty.

  I didn’t like cats, but I liked her. So I liked it.

  I cranked the radio in my car as loud as it would go and drove across town with the windows down. Not because I wanted to feel the wind in my hair, but because the air conditioner had gone out two weeks ago. Instead of paying to get it fixed, I bought some new games, candy for movie night, and a year-long subscription of calla lilies to be delivered monthly—Grace’s favorite.

  See? Schmuck.

  When I got home, I did the next hopeless sap thing. I went to my room and pulled Grace’s school picture from my underwear drawer. I didn’t know why other people kept photos there, but it felt right.

  My eyes scanned the picture. She had her hair in two pigtail buns. Kind of like Leia, but way cuter. I swear to God her eyes caught the light and freaking shined. How was I not supposed to fall in love with her?

  My phone went off again.

  Connor: Dude. I aint got all morning.

  Back to training.

  I fired up the console and started playing. People liked to trash games, but they just didn’t get it. This wasn’t any different from scrolling through Facebook or watching TV. Scratch that. Games were better. You could be anyone and do anything through a game. You could think about something other than how incredibly you blew it with your best friend slash the love of your life.

  I digress.

  Back to the game.

  “Spa time!” Grandma called.

  Every Sunday afternoon, Grandpa went to the nursing home and played bingo with his friends, and Grandma went to the spa with her friends.

  Some weekends called for four hours of N-27, B-5 fun. And others... Well, I could thank Grandma for my surprisingly soft foot skin.

  I signed off the game, picked up my bag, and went to the living room where Grandma and Grandpa waited for me.

  You’d think on the worst day of the year, bingo would be perfect, but Grandma had an eye for things like this.

  “I made you a pedi appointment,” she said.

  So I’d feel like crap, but my toe cuticles would look good.

  At least, that’s what Grandma said it was all about anyway—the cuticles.

  We got in their car—an old Lincoln Grandpa kept in pristine shape, and drove ten miles under the speed limit to the nursing home. After he got out, I went to the driver’s side and drove to the cheap spa across town. Grandma never took the wheel because driving cut into her reading time.

  A bunch of old cars were parked outside the salon. The crew was there.

  Grandma and I walked inside, where a bunch of old ladies filled the waiting area. Okay, maybe not a bunch. There were three of them. But Grandma’s friends made it feel like a bunch.

  One lasered in on me and pinched my cheeks. “Fabio, honey!”

  “Hi, Grandma Cora,” I said. “Looking good.”

  She batted her hand and started giggling. “You spoil me.”

  Grandma’s other friend drove her scooter closer, and I bent over to give her a hug. “Hot wheels, Alice.”

  She laughed. “You are too cute.”

  Yeah. Cute.

  Old ladies loved me.

  The girl who’d known me since sixth grade? Well, that was a different story.

  Grandma’s other friend pulled off her ginormous sunglasses and put the tip of one of the arms in her mo
uth. “Hi, Fabio.”

  “Gretch, how are you?” I asked.

  She grinned, her eyes crinkling. “Good to see you, honey.”

  I nodded. Gretchen was the real reason I wasn’t too mad about coming. If anyone knew anything about relationships, it was her. She got more action than my gaming console. And that was saying something. Especially for an old lady.

  One of the people who worked there pointed out five chairs for us, and Grandma had me sit between her and Gretchen. She actually didn’t have her book out. Spa days were one of the few times Grandma wasn’t reading. Which was good. Watching her read a book with Fabio on the cover was kinda awkward. Okay, really awkward.

  An employee filled the tub at my feet with warm water, and I peeled off my socks and rolled up my khakis so I could soak.

  Gretchen nudged my arm. “You look nice today.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t I look nice every day?”

  She leaned forward and said to my grandma, “You’re raising a smart boy.”

  Grandma nodded and settled back into her chair. “Only kind to raise.”

  “Mhmm,” Gretchen said. “So, hot date?”

  Before I could answer, Grandma said, “His girlfriend left for China.”

  “China? Girlfriend?” Gretchen said, like she didn’t know which was more shocking.

  And of course that got Alice and Cora all riled up, asking me about my “girlfriend.”

  I glared at Grandma. “I do not have a girlfriend. Grace is a girl. Who’s a friend.”

  “Ah,” Alice said. “He loves her.”

  Gretchen and Cora’s heads bobbed, and I saw Grandma nodding right along.

  “What the he—”

  “Language,” Grandma said.

  “Heck,” I finished. “We’re just friends.”

  Alice gave me a knowing smile. “But you’d like to be more.”

  I groaned and put my head in my lap. “Is it that obvious?”

  Both Gretchen and Grandma rubbed my back.

  And the award for lamest guy in the nail salon goes to...

  “Did you tell her this morning?” Grandma asked.

  With my face still buried in these scratchy pants, I nodded. Because I was an idiot. A moron. A grade-A brainless doofus.