Chapter 12
Once I get in my bedroom, I locate my phone and send a message to Anthony.
Hey, my mom is freaking out about my homework not getting done... and a few other things. Can we maybe save the date for another time? -Sonia.
I press the send button and wait. No answer comes, so I start on my homework. At 10:36 p.m., the answer finally arrives.
I'll be right over. What's your address? ~A
My heart nearly leaps out of my mouth at his unexpected message. Sneaking out into the hallway, I check to see if my mom is still up. All the lights, except for one over the oven, are turned off, and the front door is locked. She must have gone to bed early. Smiling, I tiptoe back to my bedroom, shut the door and text back.
50317 Sturbridge Rd. –Sonia.
Is Anthony really coming over? It will be the first time I have a boy in my room. Shoot, I better make my bed! I hurry up and tidy a few things before I powder my face and apply some lip-gloss. Not too much, though, just in case we...I stop myself. I shouldn't get my hopes up, but even more than that, I shouldn't even be thinking about him kissing me.
Fifteen minutes later, there's a subtle knock on my window. Opening it as quietly as I can, I see Anthony standing outside. For a moment, I wonder how he knows to knock on that window since I have never shown him where my room is.
"I'll open the front door for you," I whisper. "There's a screen, so you can't climb in through here, but just be quiet, because my mom is sleeping." He nods and heads toward the front door. After I let Anthony in through the front door, we sneak into my room. I close the door, lock it, and offer him a seat on my deep gray cloth lounge chair.
"Sorry about the late night visit," he says, looking around. "Nice room."
"Thanks, I like to keep things clean and simple," I say.
"Ah, a minimalist," he says.
"Yeah, I guess. Hey, about the text," I sit down on my bed, facing him, "my mom is freaking out because one of my teachers called her to say that she was worried about me."
"Don't worry about tomorrow then. We'll just go sometime during the summer," he says.
"Well—about that—I'm going away for the whole summer."
"That sounds exciting, where to?" he asks.
"Just off the New Hampshire coast to a small..." I almost say invisible island, but catch myself. "...island, and to a place called Kensington in Minnesota."
He makes a funny face. "Kensington? Really? What's there for you in Kensington?"
"I don't know—cows, goats?" I laugh.
He chuckles. "You know, I think there's an old Viking runestone in Kensington and they claim that the Vikings visited there around year 1100. You should go check it out."
I am surprised that he knows about Kensington at all, such a small town. "Have you been there?"
"My mother's distant relatives live there. I've never been, but I hear it's a very interesting little place."
"Okay, I'll have to visit it." I tuck my hair behind my ear, a little more intrigued by the small town. Then I think of how long I will actually be gone this summer, and how I won't be able to spend any time with Anthony. Maybe we should put our newfound relationship on hold like my mom said. "Hey, I think since I'm going to be out of town all summer, and things will get kind of busy toward the end of the school year, maybe we should just..." Really? Am I being this reasonable? Or maybe I'm just trying to please my mom?
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Anthony's tone is playful.
"No, it's just my mom is stressing out about us. She's never let me date anyone, or even kiss a guy." I can't believe that I just admitted that to him. Now he'll probably think there's something wrong with me—well—at least if he's not a Huldu.
"Why not? Is she overprotective?" Anthony asks, the edges of his lips quirking upward.
I sigh. "I wish that was the only reason, but there are other reasons. Maybe I'll share them with you some time." I still want to see if I can get him to confess that he is a Huldu. Is there anything else I can say that might grease his truth revealing wheels? Our eyes connect for a moment and my stomach flutters.
"So...you've never kissed a guy?" Anthony says, his eyes smoldering.
My cheeks burn. "No."
He smiles. "That's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed about it."
Too late. I look down at my hands.
Anthony leans a little forward in his chair. "I think it's neat that you've never been kissed."
"It doesn't make me sound like...an old maid?"
He shakes his head. "I wouldn't say that. It does make you sound like a germaphobe, though."
I gasp and throw my pillow at him, and he catches it mid-air. "Watch your mouth, young man, I know where you live." I laugh.
"Just joking, sorry, but really, I think it's rather sweet." His eyes turn serious. "It actually makes me want to be the first one to really kiss you."
I can't believe he just said that, but his words have my stomach churning and my heart thundering in an instant. Do I take him up on it? "I might like that," I say and then I hold my breath.
He jumps onto the bed and looks me in the eyes for a long while. Locking eyes with him for this long is too intense, but I absolutely cannot look away. My chest is pounding and I wonder if he will actually kiss me. His gaze drops to my lips and then he presses his warm mouth lightly to mine, but before I am able to fully enjoy the kiss, he goes back and sits in the chair.
I am disappointed in the all-too-fleeting kiss, but I don't think my body would have been able to take much more; it's in shock as it is.
Anthony gets a conspiring look on his face. "You will go to the ballet with me tomorrow."
"What? I just told you I can't," I object.
His eyes darken, his smile devious, and he cocks his head to the side. "You will love it; I guarantee it."
I huff loudly and bite my lip. "Please don't ask this of me—my mom will kill me."
"But you have already proven that you are a rebel by inviting me to kiss you, right? She can't possibly get any angrier at you for going to see a harmless ballet performance?"
"Yeah, but it'll just be another point against me." I'm in deep now.
He smiles slyly. "Okay, but then I'll have to invite the bimbo instead," he says, referring to the girl I met at the beach with him.
He's definitely playing me, but my competitive side gets the best of me. "Fine, I'll go."
"Excellent!" He smiles a little too triumphantly. Rising from the chair, he moves toward the bed and electricity ignites the space between us. He stares at me like he wants me, like he owns me, and my breathing turns shallow.
As he sits down onto the bed, I scoot back; he can't have me—yet. I slide off the bed, chuckling nervously, and stand up, our eyes still locked onto each other. There is a thrill in the chase; he is the hunter; I am the hunted. Standing up, he moves toward me, and I step back, but reaching the corner of my room, there is no escape. Then he grips my wrists, pressing them against the wall behind me, his grip, strong, but far from painful.
Resting his cheek on mine, he whispers into my ear. "May I kiss you properly, Sonia?"
"Yes," I say, panting, closing my eyes, and letting my head fall backwards. He kisses my neck, my jawbone, and my cheek slowly. My moan is more of a breath than a sound. His mouth is right in front of mine now, so close, I can almost taste it. His lips brush mine, the touch—a feather.
"Sonia?" I hear my mom say outside my door. I stiffen; Anthony holds his breath. We've been too loud.
"Are you all right? Is there someone in there?" she says.
I place my hands on Anthony's chest and push him gently away, squeezing past him to the closed door. "No one is here, just me. Sorry, I was practicing my...school presentation for tomorrow."
My mom wiggles the doorknob. "Open the door this instant."
I turn around to look at Anthony, but he has disappeared. He's probably hiding in the bathroom. I unlock the door. "Hi, sorry, did I wake you?" I fake a yawn.
"Yes, I was worried about you. I almost thought I heard a man's voice." She also yawns and tightens the belt around her robe. Her blonde hair looks messy, like she's been tossing and turning for hours.
"Nope, just me." I smile and open the door all the way.
"It's quite late. I just wanted to make sure that you are getting all the sleep you need. Good night." She turns around and shuffles down the hallway.
"Yeah, good night, Mom." I close the door and lock it. "Well that was close," I whisper, expecting Anthony to come out from wherever he's hiding, but he doesn't. "Anthony?" I walk into the bathroom, check my closet and under my bed. He's gone. Then I hear my phone chime and a text message pops up.
Sorry, had to go. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. sharp for the ballet performance. ~A
How did he get out? My window is still locked. He didn't slip out my door because I was standing in it. Maybe he slipped out through the bathroom to the other bedroom, went through the hallway and snuck out the front door. I hadn't even noticed.
I change into my comfy coral and white polka dot pajama pants and pull on a white tank top. The surface of my eyes feel like sandpaper, scratching the backs of my eyelids with every blink and it isn't long after I pull my down duvet cover over me that I fall asleep.