“
I know you know the rules. I know I need to trust you a little more.
”
Now I
’
m afraid that he
’
s just testing me, so I
’
m cautious about my response.
“
I
’
d like that,
”
I say simply.
“
I
’
m not a bad kid. You know that.
”
“
Yeah, Contessa, I do.
”
“
Cool.
”
“
Do you think I
’
ve scared him off completely?
”
“
Completely? No. You
’
re gonna have to try a lot harder.
”
“
He
’
s up for the challenge, huh?
”
Dad teases me.
“
You have no idea,
”
I assure him.
“
I heard you picked him up this morning in the Audi. Any incidents?
”
“
None whatsoever.
”
“
Then make sure he gets back over here for dinner. Your mom won
’
t forgive me if I
’
ve ruined her plans for the evening.
”
“
Cool. Thanks, Dad.
”
“
You
’
re welcome, Livvy. I love you.
”
“
I know,
”
I say as I give him a hug.
“
You know, of course,
”
he mumbles, holding me tightly.
“
You know everything, don
’
t you?
”
“
I learned it from you!
”
This makes him smile as he stands to go back upstairs. I help my mom finish the cookies, and then go with the rest of the family to drop them off at the hospitals. It
’
s already six by the time we get home.
Mom and Dad start making dinner immediately while I get ready. I text Jon at a quarter till seven, letting him know I
’
m on my way.
He and his brothers are sitting on the front stoop of his building when I pull up.
“
They wanted to see your car,
”
he explains when I roll the window down. I unlock the doors and Max and Will take turns in the front passenger seat, touching all the instrument panels and the soft leather seats.
“
Can we go for a ride?
”
Will asks.
“
Not tonight,
”
Jon answers for me.
“
Olivia and I are running late already.
”
“
But soon?
”
I know my dad wouldn
’
t want me shuttling around a car full of younger kids, so I once again defer to Jon for the right answer.
“
We
’
ll see. Go clean our room and we
’
ll talk later.
”
“
Deal!
”
his brothers say in unison, taking off up the stoop. Jon gets into the car and closes the door.
“
Hi,
”
he says with a smile.
“
Hey.
”
“
Don
’
t worry about them. They never clean our room.
”
“
Okay. Someday I
’
ll take them, but maybe not quite yet. Dad won
’
t even let me take Trey yet.
”
“
Nah, don
’
t worry about it at all. They
’
ll forget all about it by tomorrow anyway.
”
“
Cool.
”
I pull away from the curb and head south toward my house. I notice Jon
’
s leg is shaking.
“
Are you cold or something?
”
I put my hand on his thigh to still him.
“
Hands on the wheel?
”
he reminds me just as I remember myself.
“
I
’
m nervous.
”
He sighs heavily.
“
If you
’
re worried about my dad, he
’
s fine. He
’
ll probably apologize to you, but Mom calmed him down. I
’
ve spent the afternoon with him, and he
’
s absolutely fine.
”
“
He
’
s fine
now
,
”
he says quietly.
“
Yeah, he is,
”
I assure him.
“
It
’
ll be like nothing ever happened, I promise.
”
“
Right,
”
Jon says nodding.
“
Olivia, your present...
”
“
What about it?
”
He takes another deep breath.
“
I want to give it to you, more than anything, but I
’
m really nervous.
”
“
Why?
”
“
Never mind,
”
he says.
“
It
’
ll be fine. I
’
m sure it
’
s fine.
”
“
What is it?
”
“
I want it to be a surprise,
”
he says.
“
It
’
s fine. I shouldn
’
t worry. I
’
m sorry.
”
“
If it
’
s something personal, I
’
m sure we could get a few minutes to exchange our own gifts.
”
“
That might be the easy way out, but I don
’
t want to leave you with the aftermath.
”
“
Okay, now I
’
m scared,
”
I tell him.
“
No, don
’
t be. I
’
m sorry. I
’
m making a big deal out of something that shouldn
’
t– well, it
’
s a big deal to me, but I think I
’
d be fine if I hadn
’
t seen your dad like that a few hours ago.
”
“
He is
fine
,
”
I repeat for the third time.
“
Your dad
’
s a reasonable man.
”
“
Most of the time, yes. Yeah, I
’
m definitely scared now. I
’
m going to push for some private time.
”
“
No, Liv.
”
It
’
s my turn to take a deep breath as I pull into the driveway. Jon puts the car into park for me and turns off the ignition. He puts his hand on my leg and angles my face toward his.
“
We
’
ll be fine. That, I promise.
”
“
Okay,
”
I say with a weak smile.
“
I didn
’
t tell you how gorgeous you look tonight, did I?
”
I shake my head as I step out of the car. Shutting the door, I walk behind the car to the passenger side. When he gets out, I unbutton my orange trench coat and slip it off my shoulders. Jon takes a good look at my entire outfit. I
’
d begged Mom for this color block sheath dress the moment I saw it. It wasn
’
t until she saw it on me that she agreed I had to have it.
“
Wow, I didn
’
t tell you before because I hadn
’
t seen you fully. My god, Olivia. You
’
re stunning, and I feel underdressed.
”
He looks down at his dark blue jeans and the black blazer he
’
s wearing over a black v-neck t-shirt.
“
You look... like,
sexy
,
”
I tell him, blushing.
“
Wow, thanks,
”
he says as he puts his arms around me.
“
Not as sexy as you do, though. I don
’
t think your parents will give us any time to ourselves tonight. That dress is short, Liv. You must be freezing.
”
“
I am a little,
”
I tell him.
“
But you like it?
”
“
I love it. I love you in dresses.
”
“
I
’
m getting used to them. I like how you respond to them.
”
“
And I
’
m holding back.
”
He laughs as his eyes scan my body once more.
“
Kiss me,
”
he whispers. I can
’
t resist him. He takes the coat from my hand and drapes it over my shoulders.
“
Please tell me it
’
s very warm in your house.
”
“
It is. Why?
”
“
Because I don
’
t want you to wear that coat anymore tonight.
”
“
I won
’
t.
”
“
Excellent. Let
’
s get you inside.
”
I push the coat off the second we get inside. My mom is the first to greet Jon, with my brother following closely behind him.
“
We got you a present,
”
my brother says.
“
Well,
”
Jon says cheerfully,
“
that wasn
’
t necessary, but thank you. I got you something, too.
”
“
We got you a–
”
“
Trey!
”
my mom shrieks as she covers his mouth before he can reveal the gift. I know Jon will freak out, especially remembering how he reacted to the camera earlier today.
“
What?
”
Trey says, looking innocent.
“
I was going to tell him we got him a checkerboard.
”
“
Oh, yes,
”
Mom says.
“
Trey loves checkers.
”
“
I love checkers,
”
Jon says.
“
If you
’
ve got a board, we should play later.
”
“
Can we?
”
“
Sure,
”
I assure my anxious brother.
“
Jon,
”
my dad says as he comes downstairs.
“
Merry Christmas, and welcome back.
”
“
Merry Christmas. And thanks. I
’
ve been looking forward to dinner all day.
”
“
Listen. About earlier, I am very sorry you had to see that. It takes a lot to get me to that point, but there
’
s really no excuse. I hope you
’
ll accept my apology.
”