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“I could eat. And I love that place. But, first, I want us to find a place where I can thank you for doing what you did.” She leans against my car and smiles up at me. I reach up to brush at the thick lock of curls that’s fallen on her forehead off her face.
“It’s a special place. When I wrote that check, I was a little ashamed. My car costs more than what I gave them. I can’t wait until I can do more,” I murmur while my fingers trace the line of her cheekbone and down to her jaw to tap on her chin.
“Me, too. I can only give my time. But if I could do anything, it would be to take care of Carlos. Make sure that even if he’s never adopted, he always has a home.”
I stare at her and mark this moment as one I won’t forget it. This is when my feelings for her turned from mere attraction, respect, admiration, and desire to something more.
10
EVERYTHING
REMI
“I don’t like that girl.” My mother issues her indictment from the table where she’s reading her newspaper.
“That’s shocking,” I return dryly without turning around.
I can’t take my eyes off the vision walking toward me. She’s wearing a dress, it’s bright yellow with thin straps that are both sliding off her bronze shoulders as she strolls up our drive and toward the front of the house. The breeze picks up the dark cloud of curly hair and it bounces and sways with each step she takes.
Her face is half covered with huge sunglasses so I can’t see her eyes. But I know they’re sparkling because she’s wearing a smile that outshines everything around her.
I’ve made a total fool of myself for her this summer—taking her flowers, waiting for her outside work, buying her bags of that cinnamon candy she loves. I even painted her toes last week.
I’ve loved every second of it. Even the uncertainty of what we’ll do when I leave for school hasn’t been able to put a damper on us.
My mother’s constant complaining about me seeing Kal hasn’t done it either. For once in my life, I don’t care if she’s happy with my choices.
I love talking to someone who doesn’t think it’s crazy that I want more than fame and fortune.
She’s a quiet storm that rolled into my life just when I needed her. And instead of bringing destruction, she watered seeds that had been dormant inside of me for a long time
Now, my convictions about my own life are taking root… Right alongside my feelings for her.
“Remi. I’m talking to you.” My mother’s sharp reprimand brings me back down to earth.
I turn to face her. “What did you say?”
She huffs in disappointment and closes her paper. “You’ve got a semester and season ahead of you that are going to be very jealous mistresses of your time. The last thing you need is to be trying to maintain a relationship with her. And don’t forget sweet Joni. She won’t wait forever. I’m just grateful she can see this dalliance for what it is.”
“It’s not a dalliance,” I say firmly.
She raises an eyebrow before she frowns.
“It can’t be anything else, Remi. Finish sewing your wild oats, and make sure you’re discreet about it. She’s nothing like Joni. Or anyone I’d approve of.”
“Nothing like Joni,” I say and move to the door and watch her stop to talk to old Mumford, the gardener.
I want to tell my mother how “sweet” Joni’s been offering her pussy to me for two years and see that knowing look on her face disintegrate. But she’s easier to manage when she thinks she’s right.
This issue with Joni and I, however, is a nonstarter because we’re a nonstarter. She’s a nice girl. But, I’m not interested in dating someone just because it would be good for my family.
Kal throws her head back and laughs at something Mumford says and I watch the nearly seventy-year-old man pull his cap off and hold it to his chest like he’s pledging his love. She waves at him and continues down the long drive toward me.
No, she’s nothing like Joni or anyone else I’ve met. She’s got a wildness in her that’s contagious. Her imagination is full of magic that’s more than a cheap trick of the eye and she’s got a beauty so distinctive that I know I could travel the whole world and not find anyone who reminds me of her.
I think about my grandfather’s warning and I know he was right. She’s a siren whose call is pitched perfectly for me.
Her face is coming into focus and I find myself eager as a puppy to get outside and get even closer.
