Contessa (31 page)

“
Yeah, I
’
m ready. Thanks, Granna, for the gift. I promise to keep it between us.
”

“
I hope it inspires you,
”
she says as we head to her town car.
“
I know he would love to share his visions with a true artist like you.
”

I smile, imagining Nate as a father, explaining his sketches to me so I can really see all the meaning behind his work. I hope I can somehow channel him in this way.

Her driver drops me off at my house.
“
Put it in your bag, sweetie,
”
she says as I get out of the car.

“
Yes, ma
’
am. Love you, Granna.
”

“
Happy belated birthday, Livvy. Tell your parents I
’
m looking forward to Saturday night.
”

“‘
Kay.
”

Dad opens the door for me when I
’
m halfway up the sidewalk. He waves at Granna as the car pulls away.

“
Did you have fun?
”
he asks.

“
Yep.
”

“
How was class?
”

“
Fine.
”

I hear him sigh heavily as I head downstairs to my room. I kick my shoes off and grab my phone, sitting down in the middle of the throw pillows on my bed. Jon has sent three messages.

“
I was just kidding, Livvy.
”

“
You know that, right?
”

“
I
’
m sorry.
”

I decide to call him.

“
Hey,
”
he whispers into the phone.

“
Hi. I know you were kidding. Granna doesn
’
t like it when people use their phones at dinner. I should have mentioned that.
”

“
Cool.
”

“
Everything okay? You seem really quiet.
”

“
Yeah, I don
’
t want to wake my brothers.
”

“
Oh. Sorry, I forgot.
”

“
It
’
s fine. I
’
m glad you called.
”

“
Okay.
”

“
So I
’
m definitely coming to the open house. What time will you be there?
”

“
I
’
m supposed to be there to oversee the caterers with Granna at four.
”

“
Then I
’
ll be there at four.
”

“
I can
’
t wait.
”

“
Me, either. And we
’
re going to get away for a little bit,
”
he says.
“
I don
’
t care if it
’
s just a few minutes alone in the courtyard, Livvy, I want to kiss you again. I
’
ve been thinking about it all week.
”

“
Me, too.
”

“
And I
’
m going to find a way to get invited to your house for dinner or something. I can
’
t stand going a week without seeing you. If I have to hang out with your parents, damn it, I
’
ll do it.
”
He laughs. I cringe at the thought of my dad and Jon at the same table again. I know Dad
’
s not over the conversation we had last weekend, and I
’
m actually nervous to just have them in the same room. I
’
m glad we
’
ll be in public on Saturday. My dad has never been one to make a scene in front of people he doesn
’
t know.

“
Okay,
”
I say simply.
“
I
’
ve got to go do my homework.
”

“
What are you studying tonight?
”

“
I have a chemistry test tomorrow.
”

“
What
’
s the test over?
”

“
The periodic table. I have to memorize the whole thing.
”

“
Happy Henry likes beer but could not obtain food.
”

“
Ummm... who?
”

“
Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine. The first nine elements,
”
he says.
“
Happy Henry likes beer but could not obtain food. It
’
s just a mnemonic device to help you remember.
”

“
Nice. Thank you. I
’
ll get nine right.
”

“
I
’
m sure you
’
ll do fine. I loved chemistry.
”

“
Is there any subject you don
’
t love?
”

He doesn
’
t pause for a second before responding.
“
Not really. Back to chemistry–are you good at it?
”

“
It
’
s hard. And boring.
”

“
Excellent,
”
he says.

“
Why is that excellent?
”

“
No reason. Go study. And good luck tomorrow. Just remember Henry.
”

“
I
’
d rather remember Jon,
”
I tell him with a smile.

“
Well, that won
’
t help you. There are no elements that start with
‘
J.
’”

“
Lame.
”

“
You can remember me Saturday.
”

“
I won
’
t have to. I get to see you.
”

“
And kiss me.
”

“
Yep,
”
I say shyly.
“
Can
’
t wait.
”

“
Can
’
t wait,
”
he repeats.
“
Study hard. Sleep well.
”

“
You, too. Good night.
”

Four-thirty.
Anxious to see him, I decide to send him a text message.

“
Is everything okay?
”

“
Yeah, sorry. I should be there in an hour. It starts at six, right?
”

“
Yeah. See you soon.
”

I sigh, putting my phone away.

“
Are you alright?
”
my cousin, Lexi, asks me. She
’
s here to meet the parents of her music students.

“
Yeah. Jon was supposed to be here at four, but he
’
s running late.
”

“
Oh,
”
she says with a smile.
“
But he
’
ll be here?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
You got something else on your mind, Liv?
”

“
I don
’
t know.
”

“
You know, if you ever need to talk, I
’
m a good listener.
”

“
Okay. Thanks,
”
I tell her politely. She straightens a stack of napkins and starts to walk away.
“
Lexi?
”

“
Yeah?
”

“
Do you think I can ask you a question? It
’
s kind of personal.
”

“
Sure.
”

“
How old were you when you and Kyle... you know.
”

“
No, I don
’
t know. I don
’
t
think
I know.
”
She looks at me, leery.

“
Had sex,
”
I whisper, careful to keep our conversation between us. I didn
’
t want Granna overhearing anything.

“
Livvy!
”
she says, surprised.
“
You
’
re too young to be considering that.
”

“
Thanks, Dad,
”
I mumble.
“
I
’
m not either. How old were you?
”

“
I suppose I
’
ll be twenty-four.
”

“
What?
”
I ask her quickly, unable to hide my shocked expression.
“
You guys haven
’
t–
”

“
No,
”
she says.
“
We wanted to wait until we were married.
”

“
Both of you?
”

“
Yeah,
”
she answers with a blush.

“
I mean–
neither
of you have had sex?
”

“
No, of course not.
”

“
But you
’
ve been dating forever!
”

“
I know.
”
She shrugs and laughs at my reaction.
“
We decided early on that we didn
’
t want to let physical desires play a role in our relationship.
”

“
But you were overseas with him for a year!
Alone!
”

“
Scandalous!
”
she says, mocking me.
“
We
’
re civilized people, Livvy. We can control ourselves.
”

“
You kiss, though. Right?
”

“
Of course we do! We kiss a lot!
”

“
But nothing else?
”

“
Well,
”
she says.
“
Not
nothing
else, but not
everything
else. I
’
ll definitely feel okay wearing white to my wedding. Why are you wanting to know all of this, if you don
’
t mind me asking?
”

“
I don
’
t know. Jon and I had a talk last weekend about sex and stuff,
”
I say quickly.
“
He
’
s had sex before.
”

“
He
’
s, what, seventeen?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
That seems pretty young.
”

“
Oh, come on, don
’
t tell me the boys in your high school weren
’
t having sex.
”