Deanna and Karl were coming to dinner with AJ. Of course I invited Leslie, Megan and Kyla, but I didn’t expect them to show. Leslie was still avoiding me. Even the final time our group met up to put the finishing touches on our project she was quiet and distant. It felt like I was talking to a stranger. Maybe that’s what she was now. I missed her, but Deanna and I had become pretty close over the past couple months. It turns out that we shop at a lot of the same stores and listen to a lot of the same music. She’s easy to talk to and I share everything with her. Well, almost everything. I still kept the one secret between only Antonio and me.
After that incident at his house, Antonio and I continued to talk on the phone a few times a week, but we never visited one another anymore. The chances of having a repeat of the last time were too great, and I wasn’t about to let that go down again. Out of the blue one day, AJ brought up Antonio’s name in casual conversation. He explained to me that he actually doesn’t mind me talking to Antonio every now and then. Of course I didn’t disclose that I’d already been doing that, but at least I felt a little less guilty about it. Apparently he trusts me, but not Antonio which may be why he made it clear that he wasn’t cool with us hanging out. The fact that he was being so understanding made me feel bad about my one indiscretion, but not enough to tell on myself. A couple weeks ago, AJ had even seen Antonio and me talking in the hall at school. He didn’t bat an eye as he walked by and rubbed his hand across my back caringly as he passed. Antonio was a little shocked, but he seemed glad that things were finally settling down.
There hadn’t been any drama with Leila lately, mostly because she stopped showing up to school altogether. No one knew what happened to her, but then again that may have been due to the fact that no one was looking for her. Life was now more normal than I could’ve imagined it would be so soon. Daddy seemed pretty okay with meeting AJ. I still hadn’t brought up the whole race thing to him, but mom told me not to worry about it. Hopefully she knows what she’s talking about.
My aunt, uncle, and cousin were coming in from New York and staying here at the house with us. Angel, my cousin, is two years older than me and I couldn’t wait to see her again. The last time we’d been together was July at our family reunion in South Carolina. Out of all of my first cousins, she’s my favorite. She definitely has a strong edgy personality. Her accent is heavy, but she denies having one at all. I look up to her in a way because she has her life together. She’s in her second year of college and made the Dean’s list every semester. She has a no-nonsense kind of attitude that draws as many people to her as it pushes away. Lucky for me, Angel’s one of the most open minded people I know, so I was probably least nervous about her meeting AJ
They were due to be in at around 10pm, so I was busy setting my room up for her. My Queen sized bed was big enough for her to just sleep with me, so I changed my sheets and made room for her things in my closet before cleaning out a couple of my drawers for her. Angel and her family were visiting for an entire week and she couldn’t have come at a better time.
At around 9:45, my parents and I were sitting on the couch waiting for my aunt and uncle to arrive. When my phone rang, my father glanced down as if he was hoping to catch a glimpse of who the caller was. AJ’s name flashed across the screen and I answered right away.
“Hey!”
“Look, I know your cousin’s coming in tonight, but……do you think you can meet me later? I kinda need to see you,” AJ replied suggestively. Over the past few weeks, he’d developed quite a dependency and I knew exactly why he “needed” to see me. His advances flattered me, but I had to be vague with my father sitting so close.
“Sure. I should be able to work something out.”
“Twelve?” He asked.
“Mmmmmm……,” was all I could say to get him to guess differently.
“One?”
“Later,” I replied, knowing that my mother and Aunt Lisa would probably be up late tonight catching up.
“Two?” He asked, sighing.
“Perfect.”
AJ laughed to himself. “Your dad must be nearby.”
“Sure is,” I replied.