A Date For The Books

Part Two

"Love is a smoke and is made with the fume of sighs." - William Shakespeare

Oh my god.

He's here. He's actually standing in front of me. I straightened whatever I had been wearing not looking down, afraid to see my embarrassment come face to face with me. I wasn't even going to think about how my hair looks right now. My thick curls always come out of my ponytail.

"Girl don't block the door, let the boy come in, move,"  Mom said through clenched teeth pushing me from the door. His tall stature hovered under the door frame, probably uncomfortable from its small height. "West, come in and sit down, we were just about to eat."

"Yes ma'am." He told her. His lips grew into a small smile. He waltzed through the door and dropped the bags I never noticed he had been carrying. I had been too focused on how different he looked.

After his dad passed, West moved to New York a few years back with his mom. She was a wealthy lady, not only from her own fashion empire but from her late husband's too. So for West, he was living the good life.

He had been going to a prestigious high school there and meeting famous people, going to fashion shows in Paris, and having whatever he wanted academically, or so I heard from Mom's last phone call. Completely different from what he used to be.

My dad made his way over with Jacob at his heels and hugged him as if he were another son. They were sharing greetings and laughs, but my eyes were glued to the new guy in front of me. The way he wore his all-black button-down and slacks.

How broad his shoulders are and how ripped he's gotten since I last saw him. His skin had been tanner than I remember and his hair darker and a bit longer. A few small tattoos peeked out from under his shirt and trickled down his forearms.

No seriously, oh my god.

I knew I had been staring for too long when he glanced over in my direction. To be fair, the guy is.. infuriatingly attractive. Perfect teeth, style, manners, body, everything. He let Jacob down and made his way over toward me.

Please save me, Lord, was the first thought that popped into my mind. West's arms grasped me close, my face suffocated in his chest. And he smells good? Geez...  In the back, I could hear Mom telling Dad and Jacob to give us some privacy.

I had to get back on track. I escaped out of his grasp and distanced myself from him. West didn't look the slightest bit phased. How does he expect me to be 'normal' with him popping up like a jack in the box? He hugged his arms and looked at his shoes, which I know for a fact cost more than two grand. Silence hung between us and the living room never felt so small.

Considering how I confessed my feelings to him before he left, and he how embarrassed me on so many levels in front of everyone, argued with me an hour before he moved, ignored my existence when I needed him, and pushed it all under the rug, I have nothing to say to him. I gave him a few emails over the years but there was never a reply.

"Someone's grown up, hm?"

I paused before answering. "Yeah. I could say the same for you biker boy," I made a gesture toward his tattoos. "You know your mom would kill you if she saw those."

"Well, I had her convinced. How are the first few months of the senior year treating you? From the looks of it, I'd say you're doing pretty good." He laughed, but my hands were finding themselves fixing my hoodie and joggers. I can't help but feel like an idiot.

"They're fine, I guess."

There was a pause from him before he interrogated me again. "How's Vinny?"

So that's where we're going with this. "He's fine. We hung out just yesterday."

I only received a small nod. West wasn't friends with Vinny like I was, but tolerated him since Vinny was like my brother. But my love sickness blinded me from how good of a friend Vinny really was at the time, despite his sever behavioral and lady problems. He was all I had after West went away.

I meant to ask this question ages ago but had been distracted, "What are you doing here anyway?"

West slid his hands into his back pockets and rocked on the balls of his heels. "Mom had to go away for a business trip, and I don't know how long that'll take. But she didn't trust me to live alone, especially with Uncle Beau working all the time, even though I'm more than capable, so she thought it would be best if I went back to school here for a bit and stayed with family friends instead."

I nodded along as I shoved my own hands into my hoodie pocket. He could've stayed with his Uncle honestly. He's only an hour away from us. There was a moment of awkwardness as we stood listening to the hushed murmuring of the voices in the room over.

My eyes darted from my fingernails to his stare, each time catching a glimpse of him eyeing me down. There was a moment when he caught my gaze, unwavering in how he peered at me, and it felt like my skin was on fire. I hate the way I still get nervous around him.

"Maybe we should go eat before Dad takes the last arepa." He agreed and followed me into the dining room. Sitting down, I saw Mom's master plan. She sat us two right next to each other, possibly in hopes of him proposing to me and carrying me off into the distance.

Our parents, specifically my mom, had this not so secret wish that'd we get together since we were in diapers, even if they knew it wouldn't happen. There was a small flash of a smile as she saw me sit down with him trailing behind me.

Throughout dinner, his arms brushed mine, and somehow his knee had an odd emotional attachment to my own. Now he wants to be nice to me. Is he trying to make me strangle him or what? And still, even in my back-and-forth argument toiling in my head, I could feel his small stares as the night went on.

By the end of the dinner and a load of catching up, Dad brought up my writing. "Oh I nearly forgot, did you know that Evie is writing her own book? She's been working for this for years it feels like. She's been getting noticed by some local publishing companies."

"My baby girl has skills." Mom pitched in, as she took her last bite.

"I see. That's wonderful, I know the companies must be impressed with your work. You always had a creative mind. I wish I would have known."

"It was just a couple of writing competitions, that I didn't win by the way. Plus I didn't think it would be that important to you since you act like you fell off the face of the earth." I shrugged. His dark brows furrowed for a moment before clearing his throat.

"It is important to me. And hey, I'm never too busy for you to call me."

"Really? With how many times you blocked my number and emails, I couldn't tell."

Mom thankfully read the room and decided to break the feud before I found a book to smack him with. She clasped her hands together and sighed, "Well, I am stuffed and I think it's time for Jacob to go to bed. Evie, do you think you could help West settle in?"

"Sure, why not." I tried to look pleasant but the frustration that was building was tipping me over the edge.

His smile was brighter now than at the door. He knew exactly what he was doing. That was always his specialty. Knowing how to drive me nuts.

¿Por qué yo?