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"Im here to see David Haynes," she said, forcing her hands to her side.
The guard smiled knowingly.
The gate buzzed, then swung open. She followed the winding black asphalt road past dozens of homes that looked like magazine covers. Georgian mansions, French villas, Bel-Air-style haciendas.
It was so quiet here. No honking horns, no fighting neighbors or blaring television noise.
As always, Lauren tried to imagine how it felt to belong in a place like this. No one in Mountainaire worried about back rent or how to pay the light bill. She knew that if a person started here, there was no destination that was out of reach.
She walked up the path to the front door. Fragrant, saucer-sized pink roses hemmed her in on either side, made her feel a little bit like a princess in a fairy tale. Dozens of hidden lights illuminated the landscaped yard.
She knocked on the big mahogany front door.
It was only a moment before David answered. So quickly, in fact, she thought perhaps hed been waiting at the window.
"Youre late," he said, smiling slowly. He pulled her into his arms, right there in the open doorway where all the neighbors could see. She wanted to tell him to wait, to close the door, but once he kissed her, she forgot everything else. Hed always had that effect on her. At night, when she was in bed, alone and thinking about him, missing him, she wondered about her odd amnesia. Her only explanation for it was love; what else could make a perfectly sane girl think that without her boyfriends touch, the sun might slip out of the sky and leave the world cold and dark?
She looped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. Their night hadnt even really begun and already her chest felt tight with anticipation.
"Its so cool that you can just be here. Id have to tell my mom a dozen lies to get a night with you if they were in town. "
Lauren tried to imagine a life like that, one where someone--a mom--was waiting for you, worrying about you.
No lies were needed in the Ribido apartment. Mom had spoken to Lauren about sex when she turned twelve. Youll get talked into it, shed said, lighting up a cigarette. Itll seem like a good idea at the time. Still smoking, shed tossed a box of condoms on the coffee table.
After that, Mom had let Lauren make her own decisions, as if handing out condoms were a mothers only responsibility. Lauren had been setting her own curfews since childhood; if she didnt come home at all, that was all right, too.
Lauren knew that if she told her friends this, theyd ooh and aah and tell her how lucky she was, but she would have traded all that freedom for a single bedtime kiss.
He stepped back, smiling, and took hold of her hand. "I have a surprise for you. "
She followed him down the wide hallway. Her heels clicked on the creamy marble tiles. If his parents had been home, she would have tiptoed in silence; with only the two of them here she could be herself.
He turned, walked through the creamy stone archway that separated the hallway from the formal dining room.
It looked like a movie set. A long, brilliant wooden table flanked by sixteen ornately carved wooden chairs. In the center of the table was a huge arrangement of white roses, white lilies, and greenery.
On one end there were two place settings. Beautiful, translucent bone china rimmed in gold sat on ivory silk placemats. Gold flatware glinted in the light of a single candle.
She looked up at David, who was smiling so brightly he looked like a kid on the last day of school. "It took me forever to find all that shit. My mom has it all buried in all these blue covers. "
"Its beautiful. "
He led her to her seat, pulled out her chair. When she sat down, he poured sparkling cider into her wineglass. "I was going to raid the old mans wine room, but I knew youd bitch at me and worry about getting caught. "
"I love you," she said, embarrassed by the tears that stung her eyes.
"I love you, too. " He grinned again. "And Id like to formally ask you to go to the homecoming dance with me. "
She laughed at that. "Id be honored. " Theyd gone to every high school dance together. This would be their last homecoming. At the thought, her smile faded. Suddenly she was thinking of next year and the chance that theyd be separated. She looked up at him; she needed to convince him that they should be together at school. He believed their love could survive a separation. She wasnt willing to take that chance. He was the only person whod ever told her I love you. She didnt want to live without that. Without him. "David, I--"
The doorbell rang.
She gasped. "Is it your parents? Oh, God--"
"Relax. They called from New York an hour ago. My dad was pissed off because the limo was five minutes late. " He started for the door.
"Dont answer it. " She didnt want anything to ruin this night for them. What if Jared and the guys had heard about the Hayneses business trip? That was all the seed that was needed; a high school party could blossom in a second.
