Iwoke Saturday morning with butterflies in my stomach. I was finally going to see the inside of Thad’s house, and maybe his room. He had been in mine. He knew some of the most intimate parts of my life and now it was my turn to know his. We had planned for me to arrive before anyone else so we could spend some time alone together. Then he’d introduce me to the friends he felt comfortable telling. Against my advice, he didn’t want to tell them in advance. I would have at least warned them that a new friend would be there, but that’s me.
“You look bright eyed,” said Riley as I repositioned my glasses. I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day and tried putting in my contacts, but my eyes were too dry. I would try to put them in again later before going to Thad’s.
“Uh. Thanks. What are you doing today?” I tapped the back of her shoulder before she could walk away.
“I’m leaving in a bit. Going to the pool with Nate, Alyssa, and Ashley.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you think you could remember to feed Frankie tonight? I won’t be home to feed him.”
“Ooh. Going out.” She winked. “Yeah, whatever.”
My sister had become less snippy with me since our talk in the laundry room. I also thought things between her and my mom and grandma were cooling down. She was normally a pleasant person, but she was also the kind of person who feasted on negativity when it presented itself.
The rest of my day was altogether boring. I didn’t have to work until later the next day. My mom decided to take on a few new patients, leaving me at home with the boys again while she made house visits. They spent most of their morning playing on the Wii. Then we took Frankie for a walk to the ice cream shop. We didn’t need to. We’d already gone a few times during the week. But it was summer. They were kids. And my brothers were starting to grow on me.
My parents are leaving soon. Come over around eight, Thad texted.
I couldn’t wait for eight o’clock that night. I put together the perfect outfit and even re-ironed everything to make sure I looked clean and crisp. My hair lay perfectly over the side of my face, and the curls were loose enough thanks to the low humidity that day. I tried to put my contact lenses in again, but even after rubbing them clean in my palms with solution, they still flipped around and blurred my vision.
People with astigmatism don’t have perfectly curved corneas like the rest of the world, in case you didn’t know. Ours are crooked. When we want to wear contacts, we need the ones with tiny weights in them to hold the lenses correctly in place. If it moves while it’s in your eye, it’s a headache trying to get it back into the right position.
“Argh,” I grunted, then threw the contacts back into their case and grabbed my glasses.
Really? Today of all days I have to wear these ridiculous things.Standing in the mirror, I grimaced at my obstructed face. This was not what I had planned. Thad had never seen me with glasses. Not even the night he stayed over—I pushed through the discomfort and slept with the contact lenses in. Trust me, if you saw what I saw in the mirror you’d agree that spectacle-less Étienne was the better choice. Contact lens Étienne was the fashionable boy who didn’t have to constantly touch his face to reposition the glasses slipping from his nose.
When I arrived at his house, I stood on the porch for a minute holding my glasses up against the porch light to make sure there weren’t any smudges. A car passed by unusually slow, but the tinted windows blocked my efforts to see who was inside.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” He laughed as he opened the door.
I grunted. “My contacts were being stupid. I look like an idiot.”
“I think they’re cute. Come in.” He stepped to the side then grabbed my hand as he closed the door.
So, this is it.His two-floor house was larger than my family’s ranch style. It’s not that it was much larger. It seemed grander thanks to its open floor plan. The entrance led to a two-story foyer, exposing parts of the second floor. Then the open living room to the right flowed without any obstruction into the kitchen toward the back of the house, which had a large opening to the left that connected to the dining room. Most of the rooms in my house were separated by thick walls, doorways, and even the kitchen was elevated by a few steps. Mine must have been built long before the conception of open floor plans.
He held on to my hand as he guided me through the house to grab a drink in the kitchen. He poured us both something from his dad’s liquor cabinet. Then he took me up to his room.
“See. This is how a room should look,” I said.
“What do you mean?” He shook his head, looking around.
“Well. Just look how ugly the wallpaper and carpet are in my bedroom.”
His room was painted a calm light gray color and his floors were wood. It’s so much easier to clean wood than carpet. Especially when you have a dog and two little brothers running willy-nilly.
“You’re crazy.” He turned to face me, then nudged my chin upward and his eyes met mine.
He placed his hands on my hips, sending shivers up my spine. Then he moved in closer to kiss me.
“Shit.” I pulled away; my vision distorted. “I hate these things.”
I’d forgotten about my glasses, which his nose smudged. Another reason why I didn’t usually wear the godforsaken things—I hate smudges. I’ll never understand how people go about their day with gunk blocking their vision.
“I think you look smart with them on,” he whispered. Then kissed me.
Do I look stupid without them?I opened my eyes and looked down at our locked lips. He was perfect. The kiss was perfect. I could finally let go of the fear that he didn’t want me, because he did.
My eyes closed again so I could savor the short time we would have alone together. He put his arm around my body again and guided me to his bed. I lay back as he pushed his face further into mine and positioned his body over me. Our legs gradually intertwined as he combed my hair with his fingers. I pulled my right arm from his back and began to reach under his shirt, far enough to feel under the waistband of his jeans.