Red(53)

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” she teased. “My house is like four minutes away.”

They reached Mamma Leoni’s too quickly; Felicity wouldn’t have minded another few hours of driving through the dark with him. “This is perfect,” she said as Jonathan pulled up behind her car. “Thanks for the ride, and for taking me out.”

“My pleasure. It was really fun.” He tapped the stereo. “I’ll bring you a CD on Monday.”

“Awesome. I really love that cookie-cutter-girl song.”

“That’s my favorite, too.” Jonathan put the truck in park, then turned to face her. His eyes reflected the streetlights, and they looked soft and vulnerable without the protective shield of his glasses. “Hey, Felicity?” he said. “I’m sorry your prom night didn’t turn out like you wanted.”

“Are you kidding? Nobody at prom got fries or milk shakes or one of these.” Felicity pulled her windup hamburger out of her purse, and it feebly kicked its little plastic feet. “I had a great time. Seriously. I hope I was able to salvage your night a little bit, too.”

Jonathan smiled. “Actually, my prom night was pretty much perfect.”

For a minute, it looked like he might lean over and kiss her.

For a minute, somewhere deep down, Felicity hoped he would.

But he didn’t. Instead, he reached out, took her hand, and squeezed it gently. His palms were warm and dry and a little calloused, his fingers long and delicate. Somehow, holding hands with him seemed much more intimate than doing the same thing with Brent. “Good night, Felicity,” he said quietly. “Sweet dreams.”

She squeezed his hand in return, surprised by her reluctance to let go. “You too.”

She didn’t realize she still had Jonathan’s jacket around her shoulders until she got home. Her mom and brothers were sleeping, so Felicity kicked off her heels just inside the door and tiptoed upstairs to her bedroom. She hung the jacket on the back of her desk chair, unzipped her dress, and left it on the floor where it fell. She didn’t even bother to remove her makeup before she crawled into bed in her lobster-print pajamas.

Bits of the evening whirled through her mind when she closed her eyes: Jonathan laughing at a joke she’d made; Jonathan’s eyes lighting up as he talked about art school; Jonathan driving through the night with that adorable half smile on his face; Jonathan squeezing her hand. Things he’d said played over and over, fitting themselves together like puzzle pieces.

“The girl I really wanted to ask was indisposed.”

“Lucia’s my best friend. It’s not like that at all.”

“Actually, my prom night was pretty much perfect.”

She reached out and took hold of the cuff of his jacket, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. She was still holding on to it when she fell asleep.





14


     SUNDAY, MAY 23


Felicity slept until one in the afternoon. When she finally woke up, the house was silent, and she found a note on the kitchen counter explaining that her mom was out buying new sneakers for the twins. She was shuffling back up to her room with a bowl of cereal when her phone beeped.

BRENT: hey sexy u home? can I come up?

Felicity’s heart did a strange little stutter that was half relief and half disappointment. The text indicated that Brent wasn’t mad at her for the whole Gabby fiasco, which was reassuring. But he would probably expect her to make it all up to him now, and she was way too sleepy and confused to be in the mood. Last night had given her a lot to sort through; she had even thought about kissing someone else. But she couldn’t tell Brent to go away when he had just sacrificed so much for her. So she told him everyone was out and that he should come around to the front door.

He rang the bell a minute later, and Felicity abandoned her cereal and let him in. She was about to apologize for her pajamas and messy hair, but Brent swept her up in his arms before she even had time to say hello. His embrace was warm and strong and familiar, and she relaxed into it. It suddenly seemed ridiculous that she had been having fluttery feelings for Jonathan when her body clearly craved no one but Brent. He pressed her up against the wall and kissed her hard, and all thoughts of last night melted away.

“Let’s go to your room,” he whispered against her neck, then took her by the hand and led her up the stairs.

As Felicity followed him, she realized this was the first time she and Brent had ever been alone in an empty house. She was surprised by how nervous she was all of a sudden. I want this, she told herself. It’s okay. I’ve wanted this for a while. Everything’s going to be fine.

The moment Brent entered her room, he froze, and Felicity crashed into his broad back. “What are you doing?” she giggled, her voice high and anxious. “Come on, let’s go in.” She pushed past him and reached out to pull him toward the bed, but she stopped when she saw his face, which had suddenly gone cold. “What’s wrong, babe?” she asked.

“What is that?” Felicity had never heard Brent use that tone before. There was hurt and confusion in it, but it was laced with a quiet anger that made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“What’s what? What are you talking about?” She looked around, but nothing in the room seemed out of place.

“That.” Brent pointed accusingly at her desk chair.