Contessa (38 page)

Because it was a public place, it didn
’
t really feel like we were alone. I wasn
’
t afraid of my time with him like I felt tonight when he told me we were going to his apartment. Halfway through the movie, we realized the
armrest
that divided us could be moved out of the way. He
’
d put his arm around me to keep me warm. He kissed the top of my hand, then my shoulder after pushing down the sleeve of the jacket he
’
d let me borrow. When I glanced over at him to smile, he kissed me, and we didn
’
t separate until the lights went up at the end of the movie.

When my dad asked how the movie ended, I made something up, thankful that it wasn
’
t a movie he
’
d seen–
yet
. I knew he would, though. He owned pretty much every movie ever made. I didn
’
t figure he
’
d go on a fact-finding mission about it now, and decided he
’
d probably forget about my made-up ending by the time he got his copy.

I
’
d felt
very
comfortable with Jon the entire night. It felt right, and I had no regrets when I got home, even though when I looked at myself in the mirror, my makeup was kind of a mess, and my hair was strangely
“
windblown
”
on an otherwise calm evening. My parents seemed to overlook it, if they noticed at all.

My guess is they didn
’
t notice as I
’
d made a beeline to my bedroom, telling them I was really tired. They
’
re not typically ones to overlook things.

“
No,
”
I answer Jon.
“
I thought it was pretty awesome, actually.
”

His smile grows.
“
Yeah, it was.
”

“
I feel like I belong with you.
”

He kisses me again.
“
We definitely have chemistry,
”
he says as he slides the book on the desk in front of us.
“
And chemistry homework.
”

“
Right,
”
I nod.

“
And by the way, all of this kissing? Completely breaking your dad
’
s rules.
”

“
Seriously?
”

“
Too soon, he says.
”

“
He
’
s an idiot.
”

“
Not an idiot, Livvy. Just a dad. And I don
’
t want you to think I don
’
t respect him, but I really do think I love you. Above all else. And I
’
m not just saying that to get you to agree to go to my apartment.
”

I take the book from him and toss it on the floor. It smacks the
tightly woven
carpet hard and makes a loud sound. A few people look in our direction, but I decide to ignore them.

“
I love you, too.
”
I press my lips against his for another brief kiss.

“
I
’
ll fight for you,
”
he adds as his thumbs caress my ears, his eyes warm and intense.

“
I will, too.
”

“
Good to know. So you aren
’
t going to tell your parents about this?
”

“
Nope.
”

“
Good. And I promise I
’
ll never pressure you to do anything. You just have to tell me when you have any misgivings. Just talk to me. I
’
m a pretty understanding guy. I think we can work things out together.
”

“
Me, too.
”

“
Alright. Let
’
s start studying so we can keep up these sessions. I could get used to this.
”

CHAPTER
8

Over the next couple of months, we have three standing dates a week. Because my grades have been so good, my parents have allowed the Tuesday tutorials to continue every week, and even let us add two hours in the evening so we
’
d have time to get something to eat while we were working. After that first session, we switched locations to the main branch of the New York Public Library. Jon would typically get me started on a lesson, and then scour the library for things to read about topics that interested him. We
’
d break at seven-thirty and go to a nearby cafe for food, and then he
’
d walk me home, quizzing me along the way.

Jon had decided to retake the SAT. He
’
d changed his strategy, and instead of doing prep-course work, he devoured novels and researched every subject he didn
’
t feel like he knew enough about. I was amazed with how quickly his brain could absorb the materials.

On Thursdays, he would go back to the library after school, and then meet me at the Art Room to walk me home. After a few weeks of this, my parents began inviting him in, feeding us both a snack and hot beverages. When the weather was clear, my dad would let me practice my driving by taking Jon home. Jon would have to scrunch in the backseat, and he was typically pretty quiet on the ride home, letting my dad give instruction.

If the weather wasn
’
t clear, Dad would still insist on driving Jon home, and I
’
d always tag along.

After we would drop Jon off, my dad would have fifteen minutes of time alone with me to try to catch up on my week. He would typically ask about school, if I
’
d had any tests, and how I did, as well as how my class at the Art Room was going. We would avoid the subject of Jon altogether, but their interactions on Thursdays were becoming more comfortable every week.

Saturdays were my favorite days. We
’
d done something every Saturday except the one in November when he decided to devote the day to retaking his SAT. He just wanted to eliminate all distractions. I protested at first, but didn
’
t give him a hard time. When he got home that night, we talked for two hours on the phone, and he was so much more confident in his performance this time around.

What had started out as a Saturday night date turned into an all-day event for us. Some mornings, he
’
d meet us at my brother
’
s t-ball games and watch the game with my family. After that, my parents would take us back to Manhattan and drop us off wherever we
’
d decided to start our day. It was typically at a low-key restaurant for lunch. One week, my family joined us, and Dad treated us to a nice
three-course
meal on his tab, even though Jon offered to pay for the two of us.

In the evenings, we almost always ended up at the movie theater, watching last-run movies in
nearly empty
theaters. Things between us never got too out of hand, though. Even though my dad had explicitly told Jon back in October that he thought it was too soon for anything
beyond holding hands, we kiss
often. I stopped feeling guilty about it at some point when I realized my dad would probably expect it after we
’
d been seeing each other for a few months.

I
’
d been invited to have dinner at Jon
’
s apartment on the Saturday before Christmas break. Although nervous at first about his intentions, he quickly clarified that he wanted me to meet his mother and brothers. My mother had called his mom to thank her for inviting me. I
’
m pretty sure it was my dad
’
s suggestion. I
’
m pretty sure he was making sure that we weren
’
t lying to him about our plans.

“
Livvy, shouldn
’
t you dress up a little more?
”
my mom had asked.

“
I don
’
t know. We
’
re not really going anywhere.
”

“
But you
’
re meeting his family. And it sounds like she was going to a lot of trouble to try to impress you. Let
’
s try to impress her, too.
”

“
Okay.
”
I decide on a dark grey wool skirt and a crisp, white button down blouse. Mom lets me borrow a red sweater of hers to make it more festive. With the snow falling steadily all day, I decide to wear my black knee-high boots that have just a slight heel on them.

Even though I
’
d passed my driving test earlier in the week, my parents didn
’
t want me driving in the weather that had been predicted to get worse as the evening wore on. My dad gave me money for a cab as I got out of his car in front of Jon
’
s apartment building, even though he knew Jon would make sure I had a safe ride home anyway.

“
This isn
’
t the best neighborhood, Livvy, so be aware of your surroundings.
”

“
It
’
s fine, Dad.
”

“
I
’
ll wait until you
’
re inside.
”

“
Alright. Night.
”

“
I love you, Contessa.
”

“
Love you, too,
”
I say as I close the door. When I reach the building, I ring the buzzer to his apartment.

“
I
’
m coming down,
”
he says through the speaker. He comes to meet me on the porch a minute later, but asks me to wait for a second, waving to my dad at the curb.
“
I
’
ll be right back.
”

My dad rolls down the window, and they have a brief exchange that ends with them shaking hands.

“
What was that all about?
”
I ask as he escorts me into the building.

“
I was just assuring him I
’
d have you home by ten-thirty.
”

“
Oh,
”
I comment, following him up the stairs of his building.

“
And then he told me to just make sure you were there by midnight.
”
He turns around, smiling broadly, as we reach his unit.

“
Midnight?
”

“
Yep.
”
Even he can
’
t contain his surprise and excitement.

“
That
’
s awesome!
”

“
I know.
”

“
Wonder what brought that on.
”

“
Chaperoned visit, I
’
m sure. On that note, before we go inside...
”
He holds my hand but steps back and looks at me from head to toe.
“
You look so pretty, Livvy Holland.
”

“
Thank you. You look great, too.
”
I touch his face, which is soft from a recent shave, glancing at his slacks and a plaid shirt I
’
d never seen him wear before. He
’
s got a white t-shirt underneath it. The color of his shirt brings out flecks of green in his eyes. He takes my head in his hands and leans over to kiss me.
“
I
’
m gonna miss this tonight. There
’
s really nowhere to be alone once we walk through this door.
”

“
We
’
ll survive,
”
I assure him, then move in to kiss him once more.
“
We
’
ll just have to work twice as hard next week.
”