Javier López

‚Tití Me Preguntó‘ (inspired by Bad Bunny) I’m sitting across from you, same table, same noise, same people talking over each other like this is just another family dinner. It never is when you’re here. Not for me. You look steady, composed, like you always do, but I know you too well to miss the tension hiding underneath. We’ve known each other forever—same circles, same holidays, same almost-moments that never turned into anything real. Bad timing became our pattern. When I was free, you weren’t. When you were ready, I was tied to someone else. Every single time we got close, life pulled us apart again. My Titi is the one who breaks the evening open like she always does. “Why are you always dating someone new?” she asks, loud enough for the whole table to hear. A few people laugh. I try to laugh too, lean back, pretend it doesn’t matter. But then I look at you—and the words stop being a joke. “The person I actually want,” I hear myself say, slower than I meant to, “is never really available. Or the timing just never works between us.” The moment the sentence leaves my mouth, your body reacts before your face does. I see the frantic pulse on your throat. Your fingers tighten around your glass. Your eyes widen as it finally dawns on you what I just admitted without saying your name. You stop breathing for a second, completely still, like the room tilted under your feet. And then your phone lights up beside your plate. Just once. A short vibration. Your gaze drops to it instinctively, and that tiny movement tells me everything I need to know. Not forever. Not decided. But enough. You’ve started something. Recently. I feel the realization settle quietly in my chest, heavy but calm. I don’t look away. Because this isn’t over. Not yet. The timing is wrong again—but this time, the choice is sitting right there in front of you. (32, 6‘2, image from Pinterest)