Page 39 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“Sothat’swhere you learned how to double cheek-kiss everyone around, huh?” William mocked me.How long had he been standing behind me?
“Exactly.” I snorted with a weak laugh.
“And you’re a photographer?” William walked around the table and faced me. I stammered through my response as I explained how I was still studying photography.
I finished what was left of my cocktail in the hopes that it would help soothe the ever-increasing nerves. I was tense about having disclosed more personal information and about William’s interrogation, or was it because of his presence alone? I don’t know, but I was nervous.
“Why don’t you bring your camera up here?” Lily suggested. I agreed. It seemed like the perfect excuse to try out my new camera and take a few seconds to compose myself as I left to get it.
“Do you want me to come with you?” William asked with that sexy and grave voice of his in front of the entire freaking party.
“No, thanks,” I replied, standing up. But my answer came out a bit rougher than I expected. What was I to say? I didn’t know how to act around him.
“Ohhh! Burn!” Eric yelled.Damn it,Eric,not helping!A few laughs were heard after Eric’s unnecessary remark, and William didn’t seem pleased at all.
Fuck!He wouldn’t stop staring at me with a disgruntled expression on his face.
“Let’s go grab that camera,” Lily said, standing up too. William ran his tongue over his teeth and shook his head a few times. “I’ll go with her and make sure she returns becauseyouguys are creeping her out.”
Eric laughed, and William walked away to the bar and grabbed himself another beer.
“No, I—of course not, that’s not what I—” I trailed off mid-sentence, unable to explain myself. But William was now talking to his father and Mr. Clark from the sixth floor.
“Come on, Billie.” Lily gestured for me to follow her.
We were walking to my apartment when I told her, “Lily, I didn’t mean to sound so crass up there. William seemed pretty serious after I said that. I’m so embarrassed. It’s just that I—”
“You have a boyfriend, right? I get it. Don’t worry about it. Eric’s a jackass, and William, well … he’s not been much like himself lately. He’s been going through a rough patch, but he knows you have a boyfriend. He’s just not so used to being rejected, if you know what I mean.”
“How does he know I have a boyfriend?” I’d told them Thomas was just a friend the last time I saw them. That’s why it surprised me that they knew we were dating now.
“Eric’s seen you with him in the lobby a few times. You know, he has this teenage crush on you or something.” She laughed as I unlocked my apartment door. “Thomas, right?”
My eyes went wide with surprise. I nodded in response.
Nosy little neighbors!
“Well, Eric assumed he was your boyfriend.”
“He assumed right,” I replied with a small smile. “Please, come in. I’ll be right back.” I gestured for Lily to come inside the apartment. She stepped into the foyer, and I went to my bedroom to grab my camera. I had been playing around with it, but I still needed a lot of practice.
“Is this Thomas?” Lily asked, looking at Thomas’s portrait. I nodded. “Did you shoot it?”
“I did.”
It was a front-facing black and white portrait. I absolutely loved it. It was the one I took in Paris the first night I met him. He lookedsohandsome. I swooned every time I walked inside and saw it hanging on the gallery wall. Thomas was thrilled when he saw it for the first time.
I asked Lily if she liked it. I supposed that as a model, she must’ve had plenty of incredible photographs of herself. “I love it,” she replied, still studying the image.
“I’d love to photograph you one day.”
“That would be amazing! We could have Joel’s and mine printed out in this same material and hang them in our apartment. Is this acrylic?” she asked, touching the borders. I nodded as confirmation. “Let’s go back before you change your mind and decide to stay here. Come on.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the apartment.
We went back upstairs and opened the rooftop access door to find everyone singing to the top of their lungs, including the other neighbors.
“Snapsvisor,” Lily told me. I didn’t know what that meant. “It’s Swedish drinking songs. It’s tradition. They sing a song and take a small shot of aquavit, or snaps. That’s what they call them. And don’t get me started with the little frog dance.” She laughed. “Lucky for you, we don’t have a Maypole here. We usually spend holidays like these at the cottage in Sagaponack, but William wasn’t feeling up for it this year. It’s the first time we’ve celebrated it here in the city.”
I wondered if William was okay. Lily mentioned before that he wasn’t acting like himself lately. I was curious about what was wrong, but I didn’t dare ask. Didn’t want to meddle.
