“I should have set the alarm,” she says wistfully.
Taking in her tone, I ask, “Breakfast tomorrow?”
Grinning, she curls her fingers around the waistband of my pants. “Oh, definitely.”
Fearful of hurting her lip, I press my own lips to her forehead. “Go get ready. I’ll take care of my clothes.”
Studying my body with a glint in her gray eyes, she stumbles back toward the dresser. “Okay.”
Our gazes meet in the mirror as she hauls out clothes. She lets out a laugh and then a wistful sigh before heading to the bathroom. After taking turns—I was tempted to join her, but then we would definitely be late—in the shower, we’re out the door at five to twelve.
In my car, Allie gives directions and then plucks out the small vial of cologne from the cup holder. As I’m turning out of her apartment complex, she opens it and breaths in the scent with her eyes closed. A dazed satisfaction comes over her features. I almost hit the curb, watching her.
“What brand is this?” she asks almost drunkenly.
“No brand,” I say while mentally storing the image of her expression.
She cocks an eyebrow at me.
“It’s custom made from a perfumer in Paris. I reorder it about once a year.”
“Holy shit, Batman!” she says, and the sound of her cursing has me smiling. “Isn’t that expensive?”
I shrug. “One day soon I’m going to take you there. Not that you don’t smell fantastic…”
She frowns. “I don’t wear perfume. Probably just smell like soap and body lotion.”
“Like linen and flowers,” I say, nodding. “A scent I’ve come to love. I’ll ask them to start with those two things.”
She lets out a self-deprecating laugh. “You know I’d love to go to Paris, but I can’t let you take me.”
“Why not?”
“That would be overboard for even you.”
“In less than two months when I turn twenty-one, I come into the money my grandparents left me. I plan on investing most of it, but a trip to Europe won’t even put a dent in it. And whether I deserve it or not, it’s mine. Let me share.”
Her mouth drops. “You’re twenty?” she asks, almost making me laugh that my age is shocking her more than my inheritance. “I assumed twenty-one at least, with all the wine and bars.”
“Almost twenty-one, but being in the band I rarely get carded.”
“I’m two years older than you? That’s crazy.”
I turn into the driveway of the address she gave me while she giggles.
Putting the car in park, I turn to her. “You turned twenty-two a few months ago—it’s not even a year and a half.”
“But still older,” she says, laughing as she reaches for the handle and pushes the door open.
I don’t reach for the door handle next to me. I’ve never met any parents, and I know this is a huge step for her. “You sure about this?”
Pausing, she studies me and then closes the door. Leaning across the console, she gently grips my face. “I love you, Justin. I want you to be part of my life. No one, not even my parents, can change that.” She leans closer.
I pull back. “Besides your lip, we’re in your parents’ driveway.”
“I don’t give a crap, just kiss me.”
Though her fingers pull at my hair, I keep the kiss soft and gentle, but between our lips and tongues, there’s the soft whisper of everything to come.
As we break off the kiss, I smirk. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Allie brings Ben out on the porch while I wait a few feet away on the stairs. He sits on the swing, picking at his shoelaces while she explains we’re dating. Her explanation covers that sometimes she and I will go out to dinner or the movies on our own and sometimes with him.
His expression turns pensive. “Do we have to see kissing movies? I don’t like those.”
While Allie laughs, I say, “Naw. We’ll let you pick. I’m not into those either.”
Ben nods slightly and says, “Okay then.”
Inside, the small house is homey and laced with the smell of something fantastic cooking. But the sight of her father with his arms crossed, standing between the living and dining room, is not as welcoming as the house. Dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, he glares at me in the same way he did when he found us making lunch in her apartment. Her mother, on the other hand, is giddy with excitement and rushes into the living room from the kitchen. With her graying auburn curls and wide smile, it’s easy to see whom Allie takes after more.
I apologize for being late. Her mother waves a hand, saying Adam is always late. Before I can ask who Adam is, he comes through the door. I keep the surprise from my expression as I’m introduced to Allie’s brother and his wife, Veronica. Allie has never said anything about a brother. Other than wavy auburn hair, they look nothing alike. He shakes my hand while grinning at his sister.
Her mother rushes everyone to a table covered with food. After a prayer—I’m late to fold my hands together; my family never prayed before dinner, and heck, we rarely ate dinner together—everyone talks and passes dishes. During the meal the talking continues. Adam has a new job. Ben was the star of his play on Friday. Allie’s mother is training a new secretary at the insurance office where she works. Allie might be taking on another tattooist at the shop. Her father describes fishing with Ben yesterday. Forks are pointed. Napkins tossed on plates to make points. Hands slapped on the table. On and on they talk and eat, comfortable and open with one another.
Though I feel slightly out of place, I realize this is a normal, loving family. Something I knew existed outside of the cold, refined lives of my parents, but not like anything I’ve ever witnessed. I also realize how much I don’t know about the girl I’m in love with.
After laughing at her father’s story about Ben tangling their fishing lines, she glances at me and then reaches under the table to squeeze my hand. You okay? she asks with the press of her fingers. I give her a smile and press my fingers against hers. The future of learning everything about her flashes through my mind.
The future looks endlessly bright.
Chapter 34
Allie
Across from me, Holly fills my beer and winks at me. Jake puts an arm around her. We’re standing at a tall table, waiting for the band to come out. After two pitchers of beer, they’re giggling and cuddling together. In a bar. At a table in front of the stage. Surrounded by people. Dorks. I take a sip of the beer, wishing Justin were here to cuddle with me so I could be a dork too. Though he’s probably backstage by now—Romeo called an emergency meeting before this show.
It’s been two weeks since Justin had dinner with my parents. We’ve been together whenever possible, but there’s never enough time for us.
With everything going on in my life, we’ve been slowly figuring things out. We’ve had breakfast—well, actually lunch, since breakfast never works—a couple of times over the past two weeks. He’s come to the shop with takeout for dinner. We took Ben to a movie together. We tried to study—we both have spring semester classes—but that didn’t work out very well. We just studied each other.
Besides my busy life, he has the band, and we’ve both had appointments with lawyers. Mine is confident all my demands with Trevor will be met, especially after his two court dates and the temporary restraining order I asked for. Justin’s lawyer is pretty certain he’ll be fined, but he’s hoping to get Gabe off with probation and court-ordered anger management. Justin did have to drag Gabe to the lawyer.
I take another sip of beer and try not to feel too envious when Holly and Jake start kissing.
Though the venue is small, this show is big. Luminescent Juliet’s indie album launches tomorrow, and tonight is the kickoff. Justin has been grumbling all week about Romeo’s decision to do a small show to get the word out. But Romeo would not change his mind about keeping the gig invitation only.