Page 2 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“I don’t know how to tell her.”
He shook his head. “Well, you’d better find a way because she’s on her way over, and you’re hopping on your flight to Boston tomorrow.”
I waved my dad off. “You don’t need to remind me. Give me a minute with her, will you?”
My dad winked. “Sure thing, kiddo. Don’t hold out on her.”
I rolled my eyes as my dad slipped away to go congratulate David and talk to his parents.
Lina spread her arms to embrace me when she arrived. Her robes fanned out around her like she was underwater, and I wrapped my arms around her narrow waist. She smelled like she always did: of cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. I breathed her in and buried my face in the groove of her shoulder.
“We did it,” she said. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was smiling. I could hear it in her voice. “Can you believe it? It feels like we just started walking the halls of Westview High two weeks ago. And now, here we are, about to leave it for good.” She pulled away, gripping my upper arms, and smiled at me. “What a whirlwind.”
I nodded and resisted the urge to pull her in close again. She’d know something was up. She had a sixth sense for that kind of thing. I wanted to come out and tell her I was leaving for Boston, rather than have her sniff it out of me like a bloodhound. If I waited much longer, she would know something was up.
I’d known I was going to Boston for weeks now. Almost months. Ever since my acceptance letter from Harvard came in the mail.
I was going to study law, and Lina wasn’t coming with me. Pittsburgh was a hell of a drive—nine to ten hours on a good day. The flight was shorter, sure, but still a pain in the ass, and with the heavy course load of my first semester, the prospect of a long-distance relationship seemed more than a little bleak.
I’d been heartbroken since getting that letter. Heartbroken and elated. It was a strange combination of emotions, and only my dad knew how much I was struggling. I’d wanted to go to Harvard since I was in third grade. It was my dream. Then Lina came along, and I realized I had two dreams, and I couldn’t have them both at the same time.
It was maddening.
“Is everything okay?” Lina asked, peering up at me, her nose scrunching up in that cute way it did when she was concerned.
I blinked, almost getting lost in the depths of her pale green eyes. “Uh. Yes. Sorry. Everything is fine. It’s just like you were saying. It feels like it was only weeks ago that we first started school here. And now it’s over.”
She smiled. “And we’re on to bigger and better things.”
“Yeah. Bigger and better.” Like Harvard.
Lina stretched up to kiss me. Her lips were warm and soft, and she tasted like peppermint. I pulled her to me to prolong the moment. She giggled into the kiss, and the bubbly sound made my stomach light with butterflies. She looked down, her cheeks turning bright pink. “Stop it, Cal. Kelli’s mom and dad are right over there. I don’t want them to see.”
“Screw ‘em,” I said, putting my finger under her chin and lifting her face back up. The sun shone across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, illuminating the dusting of freckles on her ivory skin. “We can’t get this moment back.”
I kissed her again. She melted into me, and the prospect of telling her I was leaving tomorrow weighed heavier on me. Not telling her was cruel. What I was doing to her was wrong. I knew it, but I didn’t have the strength to do the right thing.
Lina stopped the kiss first and looked around to make sure no one was watching. I took the time to study her, to trace the lines of her high cheekbones, her full, heart-shaped lips, and her long lashes. Her sharp brows. The way her cheeks puckered when she chewed the inside of her lip.
“Are we going to David’s house party tonight?” I asked.
Lina looked up at me. “Oh. I don’t know. Did you want to?”
I nodded. “I was thinking it would be nice to celebrate with everyone.”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded as she looked down at her feet.
“You don’t want to go?” I asked.
She looked up once more. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just think I’d rather spend tonight just the two of us. You know?”
“What if we spend half the night at the party, and then you come back to my place with me for the night?”
She clasped her hands in front of herself and rocked back on her heels. “I know what that means. We’ll end up staying at David’s until three in the morning.”
“And then we can stay up at my place until the sun comes up,” I said, reaching out to stroke her cheek.
She giggled. “Fine, Cal. You win. We can go to the party. On one condition.” She held up her index finger in front of me.
