The guesthouse? Reluctantly, I dialed my mom and explained to her that Deanna and I were in the middle of a really good movie and I wanted to finish it, but it was going to end too late for me to drive home. Surprisingly she didn’t ask too many questions before giving me permission. When the conversation was over, I looked over at AJ and smiled.
We drove for about twenty more minutes before we reached his house. I’d never known anyone who lived in that area of Fairfax. It was the side of town reserved for the affluent – the really affluent. When we approached his house, there was a gate at the end of the driveway. AJ punched in the code and it opened silently. It felt like we were driving up the driveway for nearly a minute before I even caught sight of the massive house. My mouth fell open. It was almost the size of a hotel. It was a huge three story brick house surrounded by the most beautiful and extravagant landscaping that I’d ever seen. I don’t think I blinked until it disappeared behind us.
There was another house situated about a quarter of a mile behind the main house that was just about the size of my own home. AJ reached above his head and pressed a button that opened the garage door, pulled in slowly and turned the car off. I sat there still as I waited for him to come around. My heart began to race as I thought of being here with him alone for the entire night. I worked to steady my breathing as he opened my door and I stepped out to follow him inside. I tried to hide the shock I felt as I looked around. Everything was so…..expensive. I was startled when AJ grabbed my hand and led me through the house to give me the grand tour. Every room was equally as beautiful as the first. I couldn’t imagine what the main house would look like if the guesthouse was so lavish.
AJ showed me to the master bedroom and gave me the shirt off his back for me to change into for bed. He left out and went down to watch TV so that I could have some privacy. The room was massive. I ran my hand over the cream colored satin spread. The bed was so high that I’d need to get a running start to get in it. I couldn’t imagine growing up in a house like his. His father owns one of Fairfax’s largest construction and development companies which I imagine is doing quite well. After taking one last look around, I turned off the light and joined AJ in the living room.
As soon as I he saw me coming down the stairs, he switched the TV off and waited for me to settle beside him on the couch. I stared aimlessly off into the distance while he held me in his arms. Deanna’s revelation shed some light on exactly what Leila was capable of. There were questions that I wanted the answers to. Why hadn’t he mentioned this other girl to me? What exactly did Leila do and say to her? Did he believe that she could’ve witnessed what we’d done on his uncle’s property?
“Mind if I ask you something?”
“Nope, what’s on your mind?” He replied.
I sat up so that I could see his face when he answered. “Do you think it’s possible that Leila was watching us last night?”
He was thoughtful for a moment. “What made you ask that?” It hadn’t dawned on me until then that maybe Deanna didn’t want AJ to know that she’d told me so much.
“Nothing. Just forget it,” I replied quickly and then laid my head on his shoulder again.
I felt his hands on my shoulders, lifting me again. “What made you ask that?” He repeated, making it clear that he wasn’t going to let it go.
Me and my big mouth. If Deanna found out that I’d betrayed her confidence, our friendship might be over before it even started. However, I also realized that there was no taking it back now. “It’s just......it’s just that Deanna told me about some girl you were seeing a while back, and I know that Leila used to follow you, so I thought that maybe…….maybe she still does.” I lowered my head while waiting for him to respond.