Page 44 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“No, no, no, you should go get your coffee.” Thomas jumped in. “I have to run some errands anyway.” He stood beside me and kissed my temple.
“Meet you downstairs in twenty, then?” Lily suggested.
“Perfect. See you there.”
“Nice to meet you, Thomas.”
I closed the door, and Thomas slowly whispered, “That’s Lily Young,” as if afraid that she would somehow have bionic hearing abilities. “She’s asupermodel.” He whispered again when he said the last word.
“I recently found out, yes,” I whispered back just to tease him. I thought it was cute that Thomas felt smitten by her presence. Thomas never gave me any reason to feel jealous or insecure.
“My friends are not going to believe me.” He was beaming. Thomas grabbed my hands, cornered me against the wall, and leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Butyouare the most beautiful girl in the world.” His lips brushed against my ear, making my skin react, and my knees feel week. “I love you,” he whispered, tilting his head to kiss me.
“I love you too.” He slowly unlocked his embrace from me and gave me one last peck on the lips.
“I’ll call you later.”
“Do you need a ride home?” I offered.
“That’s all right, thanks. I’ll grab a cab outside. Have fun, okay? Text me when you get back.” I nodded and blew him a kiss as he left the apartment.
Me:Hi. I’m going out for coffee with Lily, my neighbor. Can I see you in the lobby in ten minutes? Thank you.
Aaron:Of course. David and I will be accompanying you today.
I brushed my teeth and headed downstairs to meet Lily. She was already waiting for me when I arrived. “Ready to go?” she asked with a smile.
“Ready! So, where do you want to go?”
“I thought we could walk. There’s a nice coffee shop a few blocks away.”
Aaron and David followed us on foot.
We went inside the cute coffee shop and sat at a small table for two. A few people stared in our direction. It was so weird. They obviously recognized Lily.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know this can be awkward.” It was, but I wanted to hang out with Lily and get to know her better. I reassured her by saying it was fine and that she shouldn’t worry about it.
“Anyway, um … I heard about what happened after you left on Saturday.” This time my blood left my face for a change. I was going to have to add extra sugar to my coffee.
“You did?” I asked with a defeated tone.
“I’m so sorry, Billie.” She looked embarrassed.
“Why would you be sorry? It’s not like it’s your fault.”
“I know I mentioned this on Saturday, but Billy’s not like this at all. He’s been drinking more than he should since he ended things with Erin.” She was trying to excuse William’s behavior.
“He’s the one who should be apologizing, not you, Lily. I get that you feel terrible for him and whatever it is he’s going through, but he seems old enough to take responsibility for his actions, don’t you think?” I didn’t know William’s age, but I could tell he was a few years older than me. “Does anyone else know about this? I would prefer it if Thomas didn’t find out.”
“Oh, no, no, no. He only told Joel and me about it. Joel was pissed when William confessed to what he did. It didn’t seem like he was sorry, though. I wouldn’t expect an apology from him. That’s why I wanted to talk to you about it. I wouldn’t want you to think that’s normal behavior in the family. I don’t want Billy to make you feel uncomfortable around the rest of us either.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting an apology. I just hoped I wouldn’t bump into him anytime soon.” I laughed, but it somehow came out forced. “Anyway, how old are you guys?”
“Joel’s the oldest. He’s 28. William’s 26, Tobias is 23, Eric’s 15, and I’m 22,” she replied. “How old are you?” I told her I turned twenty last April.
“I’m sure you think Billy’s an immature asshole.” We both laughed.
“The thought crossed my mind several times,” I confessed in between laughs.
