Page 17

Abby

It’s my Ve’s birthday today. I bought him a hoodie that’ll bring out the color of his eyes. We’ve arranged to meet before five. Unfortunately, Dad said I’m not going anywhere. Some people are about to come change our windows. Of all the days, it had to be today. Just my luck. What am I going to do now?

Taking my chance, seeing Dad has gone downstairs, I dial Ve. He picks up at once. He’s inconsolable. I’ve never heard him this way.

“If you can’t be punctual on my birthday, why even want to meet me?”

“Listen, it’s not my fault. I’ve been ready for an hour! I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m so sorry. I can’t help it.”

I pace the room, fuming. Is Dad doing this on purpose? Why the fuck would he want me here to oversee the works?

It’s six now. Finally, I can go out, so I practically run to my beloved Ve. I hope he’ll forgive me. On the other hand, I keep wondering about that violent reaction to me being late. It’s got to be a deeper issue.”

“Hey there, kitten.” He leans over and kisses me on the cheek.

“Hi, Ve. Happy birthday,” I say, giving him the present, meticulously wrapped in gift paper.

“For me?” he asks, surprised.

“Who else? Is anyone else celebrating their eighteenth birthday today?”

He glances at me, unwrapping the hoodie. I notice he’s thrown off balance. Finally, he manages to dig through the layers of paper and uncover what’s inside. I watch his reaction. He likes it.

“Well, say something,” I say, holding my hands to my face, fidgeting nervously. What will he say?

“Abbs! Thank you so much! You’re the best! I can’t remember the last time someone gave me something!”

“Try it on.”

Ve takes off his well-worn sweater and puts on the beige and blue hoodie.

It’s a perfect fit. I gauged his size correctly. He looks great in it. For a moment, he looks at himself in silence. He leaves the room and goes and stands in front of a mirror. Then he returns, closes the door, and lunges at me, toppling me on the bed. His lips press against mine in a passionate, deep, warm, and wet kiss.

“So… you like it?” I ask as soon as he breaks off to take a breath.

“Yes! A lot! Thank you,” he replies. He places a million more kisses on my lips, cheeks, brow, and nose. It’s so sweet. I love it.

We spend the evening in his room, snuggling and getting to know each other even better.

“Ve?”

“Huh?”

“What do you intend to do? You know, after school.”

“Where’s this coming from?”

“I’m just curious.”

“I haven’t thought about it. I have to finish school first, and that might not be that easy.”

“Why?”

“I’m behind on math.”

“That’s not going to be a problem. We’ll study together. We’re taking exams on the same day, aren’t we?”

He says nothing, instead kissing me on the hair.

“Ve?” I ask again.

“Yes?”

“What were you thinking after you saw me in church?”

“You want to know?”

The tone of his voice makes me perk up at once. Yes, I do want to know!

“You won’t be happy.”

“Now you have to tell me.”

“Okay, if that’s your wish. When I first saw you at church, when our eyes met, you somehow buried under my skin. I still don’t understand how that happened. Anyway, I felt I just had to know who you were. So I took Myro, and we went to the Den. He didn’t know much, and the guys told me you were a slut. I thought that couldn’t be possible. Not after you blushed when I looked at you. I was sure you’d be shy. One of the guys, I don’t even remember which one, said he was curious which one of us would bring you or Lizzy in and score first. They wanted to prove to me you were who they said you were. Unfortunately, Phil, who is an idiot, took the bet.”

“What happened then?” I cut in, feeling a growing unease.

“Well, I couldn’t let him win, could I?”

“Ve, Phil isn’t even my type. He has a fucked up energy and he’d never be able to have me.”

“I didn’t know that. I’m a bit self-conscious, and Phil has all the girls he wants pissing themselves at the very sight of him.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he is a tall blonde with nice green eyes, but our energies just do not jell. I don’t like him at all, so I don’t know what girls you’re talking about.”

“Anyway… I couldn’t let that happen, so I said I was in too. But then we met, and I felt that jolt of energy passing through my body when you touched my hand, and then there was our first date when you just totally took control over me… That’s when the bet stopped counting for me. For me, the greatest challenge was to make you a part of my life.”

“That’s beautiful. You felt that jolt?”

His face crumples in a grimace of embarrassment.

“Well… yeah. It was weird. I’ve never felt this way before.”

I take a moment to think. Is it possible he felt the same thing I did?

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Mad?”

“You know, about the bet.”

“To be honest, no. It was bullshit anyway. None of you would be able to make me do anything against myself. I can see through you and I can connect the dots, you know. I’m a great observer and always know the intentions of other people. I don’t know how, but I always know when people have bad intentions. I never felt it from you. Well, maybe in the very beginning, but I’m not sure if it wasn’t because of those friends of yours pissing me off. For me, what’s important is that they know the bet is off, and we’re a real couple.”

“I think they’re pretty sure I fell for you hard. I don’t sense you’d want to hurt me,” I admit.

“I’m glad. I would never do that on purpose.”

“I trust you, Ve. Don’t fuck this up, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“What about Phil? Did he let it go?”

“In the meantime, when he was still in the dark about the two of us meeting, he suggested he’d start hitting on Lizzy, as he liked her more. So I was relieved.”

Tomorrow is Friday. A school day. And that means I need to head home relatively soon. Ve walks me home around eight.

“Don’t get lost on your way back,” I call out as we part ways.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll head straight home.”

He pecks me on the cheek and leaves, and I stay in place for a while, watching him go. He turns his head a couple more times, waving at me happily.