I scrambled for an excuse. “He’s just a boy in one of my classes.” Antonio didn’t press for any further explanation although I could feel his eyes on me long after he’d stopped talking.
It was a quarter to eleven and the gym was starting to clear out. Antonio sat silently, probably still thinking about the incident. But then again, so was I. He didn’t look upset, just lost in thought. We were only waiting for Megan to return from the bathroom and then we too would be on our way. I sat fidgeting as I tried to figure out what Antonio had made of AJ’s gesture. Did he know that it was innocent? Was it really innocent? Did he think that I was hiding something from him and that there was a deeper meaning behind the behavior? Or was he simply as confused as I was? I had to render the verdict inconclusive as I saw Megan approaching our group. We exited and walked out to our waiting limo and headed to the restaurant.
Dinner didn’t help clear up any of my questions about Antonio’s thoughts. He was behaving unnervingly normal. The only indication that he’d ever possibly been suspicious was his silence as we waited in the gym at the end of the dance. He was chivalrous for the remainder of the evening, never wavering. I eventually began to settle down and decided that maybe he hadn’t been suspicious at all.
When we reached my house everyone said their goodbyes and got into their cars to head home. Antonio stood outside with me as I waited for the last car to back out of the driveway. When we were alone, he turned to me and we locked eyes. Without saying a word, he leaned in slowly and kissed me on my lips. He lingered there for a long while before pulling away. If he’d been unsure of anything tonight, he’d obviously dismissed it. I was grateful for the trust he’d invested in me. That made me want to try that much harder to ensure that I continued to deserve it.
Antonio looked down at his watch and his eyes wandered to the living room window of my house at the precise moment that the light came on. He chuckled to himself and mumbled, “Like clockwork.” My father was very predictable. There were three things that he didn’t tolerate. They were tardiness – especially when it came to my curfew, bad grades, and deviating too far from what was socially acceptable. The last of which included a wide range of behaviors, actions, and life decisions.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to face Antonio. I stretched up toward him to kiss him one last time. I was openly defying my father in front of his house and I didn’t care. It was my safe, non-destructive way of rebelling. Antonio was shocked by my gesture, but didn’t risk hesitating long enough for me change my mind. He pressed his lips to mine one final time. We hugged, said goodnight to one another and I turned to walk into the house, looking back again to wave as he backed out of the driveway.
I didn’t bother to reach for my key because I could always count on Daddy to be Daddy. Whenever I went out he waited up for me, and minutes before I was due to arrive back at home he’d unlock the front door, return to his chair and continued to read his paper. Tonight was no exception. As I turned the knob and proceeded to walk into the house I hoped that he wouldn’t pressure me to talk about my evening until tomorrow. He must’ve read my mind because he didn’t pry, but before letting me retreat to my room he called me over to kiss him goodnight. With each step that I climbed, I felt myself getting sleepier. As soon as I reached my room, my phone began vibrating in my purse. It was a short alert letting me know that it was only a text message and my guess was that it was Leslie wanting to talk about the evening. I looked at my phone to discover that I’d guessed completely wrong……….AJ?
All traces of fatigue left my body and I quickened my pace, nearly running to my room and then locking the door behind me. I pulled my shoes off hastily wanting to get to the message. What could he possibly have to say to me? Still clothed in my expensive dress, I threw myself across the bed. The suspense was killing me. What does he want?