by Raquel Belle
“Anthony…” Nathan came out of nowhere, I hadn’t even seen him walk into the bar. His orange hair was slicked down and combed back. He wore a jacket over a turtleneck and jeans since this meeting was—apparently—less formal.
“Hey, how are you?” I shook his hand, and he tilted his head to the door.
“All good. Let’s move on, shall we?”
“Sure,” I said, not feeling the conviction at all. My feet followed the man out though…into the biting cold. Snow had yet to fall but winter was definitely here. It felt like it came earlier every year. Nathan walked ahead of me at a fast clip towards that same SUV, it was parked a few cars down at the curb.
“Hey, I forgot to ask, Nathan, are there dues for this meeting?”
“No, you’re a Potential, so it’s our job to impress you,” he said, grinning. “Come on, we’ve got a lot to do.”
“I thought we were just going to the meeting?” I said.
Nathan opened the back door for me, and I slid in. He got in after me. “Yep, first we’re dropping by one of the city’s many children’s homes that the society sponsors. You’ll get to meet some of the kids we impact.”
I could write a whole other article on the Common Templars based on tonight alone. Nathan sighed. “Then, we have to pick up a couple more members. You might recognize them once you see them. Then, we’ve got to come back across town for the meeting.”
“I’m your guest…” I said.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Beth
My mom was never ready for Sunday lunch, even though she knew what time we ate every week. It’d never changed.
“Come on, Ma!” I said from the foot of her stairs.
“I’m coming. Stop yelling!”
I shook my head, smirking. “Yeah, yeah, I hear you…”
“I don’t know why you’re still trying so hard with this, Beth. Your father and I are no closer after how many weeks of these lunches?” Eliza came downstairs with her makeup done, nothing too heavy, but it was done. Her hair was pinned up in a cute waterfall style, and she wore a casual sweater dress and thigh high boots underneath. Yeah, and she wondered why I was still going with the lunches.
“You know, Ma, I’m just stubborn. Plus, I think I see something you aren’t quite facing.” I smiled. She didn’t say anything, instead she stepped around me to grab her purse from where she’d left it in the living room. The doorbell rang, and I peered through the peephole and screamed.
“What! What?” Eliza shouted. “Do you need pepper spray? The damn taser isn’t charged!” She ran into the foyer as I opened the door to reveal my little brother on the stoop, two whole weeks before he was due to arrive in New York.
“It’s Oscar!” I squealed as I practically tore the door open. I’d missed him that much.
“Hey, Ma! Sis!” He opened his arms and came inside, hugging us both. My mom hadn’t said anything because she was busy crying and being as over the top as I was.
“Ooh, my baby’s home! What’s wrong with you? You could’ve gotten maced!” Eliza said and kissed Oscar’s cheek.
Oscar laughed. “C’mon, Ma, you wouldn’t have done that. Are you surprised?”
He looked the same, well, he was a bit bulkier. Clearly, he was taking advantage of the university gym. He was tall like my dad and handsome too, a square jaw and dimples in both cheeks. His eyes were from Eliza, soft and brown, framed by long lashes. Oscar was definitely a pretty boy and often got into trouble because of it.
“Yes, look, I’m shaking,” she said and pointed to her hand. Oscar put his arm around her and held her to his side. “How the hell did you get out of classes so early?”
“Both of my classes are online, remember? I got to skip off campus for a long Thanksgiving break,” he said.
I folded my hands in front of my grin but Eliza saw me smirking. “Such a surprise, little brother…”
“You knew! Look at your face,” she said. “Betrayed by my own kids.” She kissed Oscar again.
“I knew he was coming home early, I just didn’t know when,” I said.
“You guys look nice. Where’re you going?” He asked. Oscar pulled his suitcase to the stairs, and my mom’s eyes glowed.
“We’re going to Sunday lunch with Dad, you want to come?”
“Fuck yeah! Wait, I gotta change,” he said.
“Language!” Eliza said. Oscar laughed and ran upstairs with his suitcase. “And you! I can’t believe you lied to me all this time. You knew he was coming and let me believe he wouldn’t make it.”
“Aw, Ma, that wasn’t a lie. We were planning a surprise,” I said.
“Whatever, well, I’m glad he’s staying longer. I’ve missed him way too much,” she said. She looked at the top of the stairs and shook her head. “Oscar, hurry up! We have reservations!” Just like that we were marginally back to normal. The only thing missing was Dad.
“Alright, I’m ready. Where’re we going?” Oscar came down with a different jacket on over his V-neck sweater. He’d pulled a comb through his hair, too. He’d had a fresh cut—it was faded on the sides and a little longer on top.
“Oscar, who are you trying to impress? Since when did you grow up to be so handsome?” I said, as we filed through the door.
“I’ve always been sexy, Beth, ask anybody,” he said and smoothed his eyebrows down.
“Ask anybody?” Eliza said. “You better not catch anything Oscar, babies included.”
We caught a cab and took it to the Upper West side. The restaurant wasn’t like what we usually went to. For one, it was the first out of all our Sunday lunches that required reservations. But it was a classy noodle house, and I prayed like hell the restaurant wouldn’t mind squeezing another chair in at our table.
We walked into the restaurant and talked to the host who, thankfully, wasn’t too strict about party size. My dad, Jerry, was already at our table, like I thought he would be, sipping a cup of tea. He did a double take when he saw us, and his face lit up when he spotted Oscar.
“Holy shit, man! When did you get in? I’ve missed you,” Jerry said, laughing. He and my brother hugged tight. I smiled at how closely they resembled each other side by side like that. My dad had that square jaw and the dimples. His eyes were hazel like mine though, and his brown hair was speckled with grey, the only true sign of his age.
“I missed you too, Dad,” Oscar said, sounding way younger than his nineteen years. I kissed Jerry on the cheek, and we all sat down. I was so excited that tears literally sprang to my eyes. It was because we were all together, which didn’t happen enough anymore.
The restaurant was decorated in dark wood tones and warm colors. The tables were sparsely organized around the dining space. A section of the kitchen was open to the restaurant. It was a counter where two men meticulously folded and stretched noodles.
“This place is nice, Beth. How’d you get reservations?” Jerry asked.
I laughed. “I begged, and used some pull by mentioning the paper. They may think I’m a critic or something.” Oscar snorted. The waiter came around to take our drink orders.
“Anyway, Dad, you look good. Have you been working out? Getting those abs in shape?” I asked.
“Beth you ask me that every week,” he said and flipped through the menu. “And before you ask, yes, your mother looks beautiful as always.”
“Oooh, Beth you’ve been making progress, huh?” Oscar looked at me, impressed, while he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair.
“No, she has not. Unless you mean making progress in getting us to be civil, then fine,” Ma said. Oscar and I shared a knowing look. I sipped my water.
“So, catch us up, Oscar. How’s school and friends?”
Oscar laughed. “School and friends, Dad? I’m not in middle school anymore.” He told us about how his semester was going and his new, part-time gig on campus. By the time he was done catching us up, our main course had arrived.
“What about you, Beth?” Dad sa
id. “How’s that star feature coming along?”
“It’s going great. Me and another journalist are working on it in tandem because of this long story mix up with one of our sources. Anyway, we’ll be uncovering that secret society I mentioned before.” I drank some of the broth before wrapping some noodles around my chopsticks.
“Sounds complicated,” Jerry said.
“Yeah, especially since she’s dating him,” Eliza added.
“Really, Ma? You had to put my business out there like that?” I said. Jerry quirked his brow and smiled.
Oscar leaned forward with interest. “Is it the guy you were complaining about the other day?”
“Yes, but everything’s fine between us. It’s new… We’re just getting to know each other,” I said. Though, by now, Anthony knew me very intimately.
“Be careful, hon,” Jerry said. “You know how you get so invested in these relationships, and it turns out the guy’s an idiot. Take your time, get to know him very well.”
“True, you don’t want to marry him, raise two kids, and then discover you didn’t know him at all,” Ma said. My eyes popped, and I turned to stare at her, my mouth half-open in shock.
Dad laughed and put his hand around his teacup. “More like, you don’t want to get married, raise two kids, and then forget who you married.”
Oscar and I glanced at each other, unsure what to do. They never bickered in front of us, preferring to put on a happy face and keep the peace. Then it dawned on me—their bickering was a good thing. It meant the passion was there, and they were finally acknowledging it! My shock turned into a smug grin.
“Right, well…I’ll keep all that in mind,” I said. “The weather is crazy out there, right? Did you hear a blizzard was coming?” Oscar sputtered as he sipped his water but hid his laugh.
After lunch, I texted Anthony and let Oscar spend time with Mom and Dad for the rest of the day. His job was to keep them in each other’s company and to dredge up old, good memories. By the time I caught a cab to get home, Anthony called me.
“Hey, I thought this was spend time with your parent’s day?” He said when I answered.
“It is, but my brother surprised us, so he’s covering the second half of the day, and I wanted to see you…if you’re free?” I looked up outside at the passing buildings.
“For you, I’m always free,” he said.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly and for a few seconds, all I could do was smile. “Oh yeah?”
He laughed. “How about I pick you up?”
“Okay!” I said. I’d much rather be out than at my house, that was for sure. Plus, I’d never seen his place before. The cab pulled up to my building. I paid the man and got out, only to hear someone lay on their horn. I glanced back and saw Anthony.
“Hey, sexy!” He catcalled through the window. I rolled my eyes and got in. Anthony met me with an immediate kiss. He cupped my face, and his tongue briefly caressed mine.
“Hey, you,” I said.
“You look nice. How was lunch?” He asked, and pulled into traffic, heading back towards Manhattan.
“Lunch was…interesting. My mom got more dressed up than usual. I know my dad has been working out—his arms look bigger than normal, and they had their first lover’s spat in front of us. So, the passion is definitely building again,” I said, feeling smug. Some people thought my parent trapping would never work, but it was all about persistence.
“Nice, so they’re passionate like we are?” Anthony asked.
I shrugged. The question made me feel warm and giddy inside, like a teenager with her first boyfriend. “Yeah, I’d say so. My mom certainly is, and my dad’s no slouch.” I studied Anthony—his scruff was growing out a bit, and he wore a sweater and jeans, a regular, after-work ensemble. It was weird that I missed him after only a day of not seeing him. “Are your parents like that?” I asked, curious because he never spoke about his family. Though he explained why, I still thought it was strange.
“My parents ended up married because they have fun together when it’s time to have fun. Otherwise…I really never saw a reason why they love each other.”
“Damn,” I said.
He shrugged. “That’s how it is sometimes, I guess.”
I nodded. I’d never met anyone who was so estranged from their family—and willingly, at that. Anthony drove to the Upper East Side and parked in a private garage beside a tall, sleek—and what appeared to be a brand-new—apartment building.
“The Tribune must pay you well,” I said as we walked from the garage to the building. A doorman let us in, and the security guards at the front desk greeted Anthony by name, even though there must’ve been at least fifty apartments in the building.
“Ah, I’d say the salary is comfortable, but this is my inheritance money at work,” he said, nonchalantly.
“Inheritance?” Confused, I followed him to the elevator. He had an app on his phone that summoned it. We stepped inside and didn’t have to press a button, the elevator just coasted up.
“Yeah, my family has money. My dad, and grandfather, and his father, and his father have been running one of the city’s oldest transportation companies. We do everything but spaceship transport at the moment.” Anthony took my hand. He studied my face for a moment and smirked. “What? Is it that shocking?”
“Um …yeah. You never told me that you were a trust fund kid,” I said. “With a family business going back what, over a century?”
Anthony nodded. “Give or take…”
The elevator coasted to a stop and opened on a quiet floor. There were only…maybe three apartments on the floor…and Anthony’s was at the end.
“I’m not interested in the main business though. That’s my dad and brother’s thing. I’ve just got my trust fund and percentage, so I’m good with that,” he said. “Anyway, welcome to my place.” He gestured wide to the modern apartment. It was spacious for a New York apartment and had wide, sweeping views of the city in the living room and kitchen. Through an archway in the kitchen, I spotted a dining table and more of that view. It was like a huge panel of glass covered the side of his apartment. There was a hallway tucked into the corner of his living room.
“Wow, this is really nice,” I said as Anthony helped me out of my jacket. I stepped into the living room and glanced down the hall.
“Go ahead and look around. My bedroom and the office are down there. The guest bedroom is behind the dining room,” he said.
Curious, I wandered down the hall, which went farther than I thought it would. His office was the size of my master bedroom. It was cozy too. He had three, tall bookshelves, completely filled, a fireplace, and across from that was a leather love seat and a coffee table. His desk set up was behind the reading area. I wandered to the bookshelves and came across an entire Italo Calvino collection and smiled.
“Find something you like?” Anthony asked. He came behind me with a glass of something brown and offered it to me. I took it and pointed to the white books.
“I love Italo Calvino. Invisible Cities is my favorite.”
Anthony smiled, seeming genuinely pleased. “I could read his books a hundred times. When I retire to become a novelist, my goal is to be compared to him.”
“That’ll be the day. Then no one would be able to pop that big head of yours,” I said, and took a sip of the liquor. It tasted sweet at first, but as the flavor developed in my mouth, I realized it was deep and complex. “Is this bourbon?”
“Yes ma’am. Anyway, you’d be able to keep me down to Earth,” Anthony said, and kissed me softly on the lips, before kissing my neck and collar. I took his hand and then continued down the hall to see what his bedroom looked like.
It was huge, the bed wasn’t made, and there was a pile of books on the ground surrounding the mantle and a blanket, as if he laid down to read every night before bed. His room also had the wide view of the city and two doors, one for a bathroom another for a closet, I suspected.
“I didn’t know you read
this much,” I said, impressed.
Anthony shrugged. “It’s the only way to stay good at writing, right?”
I turned to face him, and he put his arms around my waist, waiting for me to speak. “Why…me?” I asked.
“Are you joking?” he said, his eyebrows were nearly into his hairline. I could tell that the question came out of left field for him.
“No, I’m serious. Your best friend, well, she’s gorgeous. You must obviously know other beautiful women who come from money…and who are straight…and who wouldn’t give you a hard time like I have. Never in a million years did I think we’d ever date so, why me?”
Anthony shook his head and took the drink from me, taking a sip for himself. “I could ask you the same question, Beth. It’s a chemistry thing. We have it, and we have passion. I like that we bicker and can get on each other’s nerves. It means we care about each other. I wouldn’t want to be with a woman like the one you described. Or anyone else, for that matter.”
I bit my lip, as the warm and fuzzies cascaded through me. “Well then…” I wasn’t sure how to really respond. Anthony smirked, and he kissed me again. The taste of the sweet bourbon on his tongue was inviting. His free hand slid down my back, and he grabbed my ass. My body reacted instantly, as lust tightened my nipples, and my clit started to throb.
He kissed my forehead. “But you didn’t answer my question…”
“What?” I’d completely forgotten.
“Why me?” Anthony kissed my neck and ran his tongue behind my ear. I shivered at the sensation.