by V. T. Do
I let out a soft sigh and leaned back against the chair, sneaking in glances at Mason every once in a while, having nothing more to add to the conversation.
I guess I could rule out majoring in finance in college. I had briefly entertained it a year ago, because that was what Max went to school for and I wanted to be just like him. But then he showed me what he was working on one night, and I felt my eyes getting heavy taking in all the numbers, much like what my eyes were doing now, and knew that wasn’t a career path for me.
He had laughed and said he swore he saw the light died from my eyes a little while he tried to explain what it was that he did. We hadn’t talk about that night again.
The server came back with our drinks and said something about giving us more time to peruse the menu before she left.
Max turned to me, a knowing smile on his face as he changed the subject. “So, what are we doing tomorrow?”
A grin pulled at the corner of lips when I looked at him. “Ooh, I have everything planned out. First, I’m going to cook your favorite breakfast, blueberry pancakes.”
“With maple syrup, right?” he asked, tugging on a single strand of my hair.
“Of course,” I answered seriously. Maple syrup was a necessity for blueberry pancakes. Like peanut butter and strawberry jam. It would be a crime to have one and not the other.
Max’s grin widened as I continued. “Oh, then we’re going to the Art Institute and Matty’s deep-dish pizza for lunch.” I gripped the sleeves of his shirt, getting more and more excited as I talked, and Max smiled indulgently at me. “We could even visit the Lake Shore and eat so many hot dogs for dinner, we’ll want to puke our guts out.” The thing about living in Chicago? You never get tired of doing all the stuff Chicago was famous for. It was like a new experience every time we did it. Especially the food. I would never get tired of the food.
Max laughed. “Ah, I don’t think we’ll be able to do all of that in a day. But we can save some of it for another time, how about that?”
I nodded and looked to Mason, who had the same smile as Max while he listened to me talk. I never realized how similar they looked, even though they were so different. Max was gentle and stable. He was everything I needed most, in a time of my life when everything felt so unbalanced. But Mason…
He was intense. And strangely beautiful for such a rough-looking man. And I was crushing really hard. “You should come with us,” I said, before I lost the courage. It would make the day even more perfect if I got to see Mason again.
Max turned to his brother, placing one hand on Mason’s huge shoulder. “Yes, you should. It’s been a while since we hung out.”
Mason playfully thumped Max’s bicep. “Does my big brother miss me?”
Max rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were slightly red. “Whatever. Still come. I expect to see you tomorrow at seven for breakfast.”
“Seven, huh? Can’t even sleep in on a Saturday?”
“When was the last time you slept in? And besides, Olivia is an early riser. She’ll have breakfast ready by then. Don’t be late.”
Mason looked back to me and winked. “I’ll be there.”
“Great!” I sounded a little too enthusiastic. I toned down my voice and said, “It’ll be fun.”
I hoped I pulled off being casual well. Hoped they couldn’t hear the booming thud of my beating heart. And I curse the fact that I didn’t bother putting on makeup, because I could feel my cheeks warming and knew I was blushing somewhat fiercely.
Fortunately, the server came back then, taking the attention away from me. “Have you folks decided what you’re going to have?” she asked sweetly. Before, I wasn’t really paying attention to her, but now that I was, there was just something strange about her expression as she took us in.
Her cheeks were red. Her eyes lingered a little longer on Max, then Mason, as if she couldn’t decide who to look at first. I might as well have been invisible. I frowned and glanced at Max. He looked like he wanted to laugh.
We quickly put in our orders, spaghetti and meatballs for me, and Florentine steaks for the men. Our server practically ran out of there. “What was that?” I asked.
Max didn’t look at me when he answered, “I don’t know.”
Mason choked on his water, and Max shot him a funny look.
“But she was acting weird, right? I’m not the only one who noticed.”
“Yeah, Olive. Really weird.”
Mason smiled at me and I smiled back. I liked that he smiled at me. I liked how nice he was, even if he didn’t look it.
A shadow fell over me then, and I jumped, turning back. Then I blushed. Hard.
“What the… Lorenzo? Hi.”
I saw Max and Mason share a look from the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t pull my gaze away from Lorenzo.
“I thought that was you. How are you, Olivia? I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I’m good. And you?” Lorenzo Vitelli was talking to me. Talking. To. Me. I reminded myself to breathe, otherwise I might pass out, and how embarrassing would that be?
“I’m doing great. I’m glad to see you here.”
“Yeah?” That was surprising. I didn’t even think he knew who I was.
“Oh, yeah.” He turned to Max and Mason then, his hand outstretched. “Hello. My name is Lorenzo Vitelli. I go to school with Olivia.”
“Oh?” Max said, taking his hand in a firm grip. Max didn’t look all that impressed with Lorenzo, but then again, Max was never keen on me dating. He could be a tad overprotective. “Are you friends with Olivia? She has never mentioned you.”
I looked away, wanting to find a hole big enough for me to crawl into. Lorenzo didn’t seem fazed with the question, however.
“No, sir. I am not fortunate enough to have Olivia call me her friend. I don’t think she even notices me at school.”
I gasped. “Of course, I notice you.”
Lorenzo brightened at that. “Yeah?”
I realized too late that I should have said that with a little more apathy. Now everyone knew I had a crush on Lorenzo. Max looked like he wanted to drown himself. I knew the feeling. “Yeah,” I said, a little calmer. “We share a few classes together.”
“I know.”
I bit my lip to hide the pleased smile threatening to show.
Lorenzo then turned to Mason. He winced a little when they shook hands, and I wondered if Mason was gripping his hand a little too hard. My excitement about seeing Lorenzo here, and finally having him talk to me, dimmed somewhat when I took in Mason and Lorenzo side by side.
I always thought Lorenzo was so handsome and so cool. With his styled auburn hair, bright green eyes, and a natural tan that showed his Italian heritage, he was easily one of the best-looking boys at school. But standing next to Mason, I found Lorenzo lacking somehow.
His green eyes were nothing compared to Mason’s intense blue ones. His hair didn’t look effortlessly put together like Mason’s did. Lorenzo suddenly seemed like the kind of boy who would spend hours in front of the mirror, talking to himself about utter nonsense. But that wasn’t fair to him. For all I knew, he could be one of those boys who spent a reasonable amount of time in the mirror.
And even though Lorenzo was standing and Mason was sitting down, I could tell Lorenzo wouldn’t even reach Mason’s shoulder. But height shouldn’t be a contributing factor to the level of attractiveness I find in a person. It was shallow to think so, yet the thought came, and wouldn’t leave.
I looked away to hide my disappointment. How could this be? If this happened last week, I would be over the moon with his attention. Yet…
I spent close to three years crushing on Lorenzo and only Lorenzo. No other boy would do. As if anyone else could ever catch my attention when Lorenzo sat three desks ahead of me in math class.
I realized I missed a question when all three men turned my way expectantly. “I’m sorry. My head was in the clouds. Did you say something?”
Max gently tapped his knuck
les over my chin affectionately. “Lorenzo asked me if he could take you out on a date next week. I said yes, and now we’re just waiting for your acceptance… or rejection.” He added the last part quietly, but I knew it was loud enough for Lorenzo to hear.
Lorenzo asked Max for permission to take me out on a date? That was such an old-fashioned thing to do. And I always had a thing for old-fashioned. “Yes. I would love to go out with you next week.”
Lorenzo brightened at that. “That’s great. I’ll catch up with you at school and we can work out the details then. I’ll let you guys get back to your dinner.”
Just then our server came back out with a large tray filled with our food. Lorenzo shot me a lingering smile, said goodbye to Max and Mason, and walked to the back of the restaurant.
Our server was quiet when she laid our plates down, and I got the feeling that she was purposely avoiding my eyes.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” she asked demurely.
We shook our heads and she took her leave. I looked down at my food, my stomach growling just from the scent alone. I was hungry, but that wasn’t why I was thankful for it. I was just glad I had something to focus on instead of looking at Max’s and Mason’s inquisitive stares. Especially Max’s.
“Olivia?”
“Yeah?” I asked, not looking up.
Max grasped my chin until I was looking at him. “I know we haven’t talk about dating—”
“Am I not allow to date?” I asked. It was true, we never talked about these kinds of things, mostly because there wasn’t a need. Not until now. I thought being seventeen would allow me certain freedoms, but if Max didn’t want me to date, who was I to stop him? I wasn’t even excited about my date with Lorenzo, anyway. Not anymore.
“Of course, you are. I don’t mind that you date. Or that you want to hang out with kids your own age. In fact, I encourage it. I just… you never really mentioned this Lorenzo before. And I get the feeling that you like him?”
I wished we could stop talking about this. Especially in front of Mason. “Yeah, I like him.”
“So why don’t you seem excited about this? Is this kid good to you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. We never really talked at school.”
“No?” This came from Mason, who sounded surprised. The brothers shared another look with each other. One I couldn’t decipher.
“Not really. But Lizzie thinks he likes me, so it must be true.”
“Why does Lizzie think he likes you?”
“Oh. She just said he’s been looking at me. That’s all. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Hmmm,” was all the response I got.
“Can we eat? I’m starving.”
Max looked like he wanted to say something more but changed his mind at the last minute. “Yes, of course. Let’s eat.”
Dinner passed by quickly after that. We talked and laughed so much that I almost spit my water out at one point. It was one of the best nights of my life, and I was glad Max enjoyed his birthday dinner. I didn’t see Lorenzo again until we were on our way out. He was standing by a door in the back that seemed to lead into an office of some sort, and he was talking to an older man who I assumed was his father.
They were about the same height, and had the same green eyes, but on the older Vitelli man, those eyes were sharpened with intelligence and ambition. He caught me staring at him and smiled. Though I smiled back to be polite, I didn’t very much like how he looked at me. I moved a little closer to Max, who, unaware of where my attention was at, wrapped his arms around me.
“You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah. I’m okay.”
7
Mason
Olivia was not what I expected.
I was expecting a miniature version of Grace. Someone calculating and beautiful. Someone uninhibited and unreserved. Someone who knew what she wanted and had no qualms letting others know.
Yet, Olivia was quite… shy.
It was endearing in the worst way possible. It brought out all of my protective instincts. As if I had any right to feel protective of Grace’s daughter…
And though she was beautiful in a way that made it hard to breathe, she also looked nothing like Grace. No, she took after Michael, save for those big brown eyes. Those, she got from her mother.
But on Olivia, they expressed a fragile innocence I didn’t want to think too much about. She was nothing like her parents, and I could see why Max loved her so much. Why he was so protective of her.
After dinner, I went inside Max’s place for a quick drink and to catch up with my brother. Despite my moving home two months ago, I hadn’t spent that much time with him, and then Grace left, and it felt like we barely had any time to breathe this past month.
Olivia was somewhere upstairs, tucked safely into her bed, and probably sound asleep.
“What do you think of her?” Max asked, handing me a glass of scotch.
I swirled the golden liquid around the glass, stalling.
What did I really think of Olivia?
Young and innocent. Someone I was underserving of touching. Not that I was concerned that I might cross some line with her. I knew I wouldn’t. She was beautiful, but there was nothing about her that would hold me to her. Nothing that would make me risk my relationship with my brother.
Never again.
I would never allow it, no matter how beautiful she was. Aside from the fact that she was clearly too young for me, too inexperienced, men like me should stay away from girls like her.
No, not men like me.
Just me.
I needed to stay as far away from Olivia Williams as possible.
If those blushes of hers were any indication of her feelings, then Olivia was infatuated with me.
And I needed a way to end her crush on me without embarrassing her.
That would be a problem.
“She’s like nothing I expected,” I answered finally, taking a sip of my drink, reveling in the afterburn in my throat.
Max smiled. “She’s pretty special, isn’t she?”
I grunted. She was that. Then Max’s eyes turned serious as he turned to me. “She likes you. And that’s a problem.”
So, I wasn’t the only one who caught that. “I don’t know what you want me to say to that. That’s obviously out of my control.”
“I don’t want you to say anything. I just want to make sure you won’t hurt her.”
“Believe me, I do not make a habit of hurting innocent little girls.”
Max scoffed. “No need to get defensive. I’m… very protective of her. I just don’t want her to get hurt.”
“Protective is one way to look at it.”
He scowled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
I let out a sigh, knowing I shouldn’t have said anything. Now I offended him. I didn’t even know why I was feeling so defensive.
Maybe because I was home.
Or that no matter how many times I told myself being home would resolve everything, I still felt restless.
Or maybe because of her.
Of going back to New York and seeing her again after all these years.
The ex-girlfriend I had left behind in Chicago all these years. And then she followed me to New York and I didn’t know what to do with her.
She threw me off balance for no other reason than because of these feelings she brought out me.
Unpleasant feelings at that.
“Forget I said anything. It’s been a long day, and I’m not thinking straight.”
“Right.” He shook his head and changed the subject. “How does it feel being back home again?”
“I don’t know. I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”
Max smiled a little at that. “Well, Chicago missed you.”
Translation: Max missed me.
I cleared my throat and looked away. “I missed Chicago, too.”
We clinked glasses and took another sip, each of us lost in thought. I didn�
��t know what Max was thinking about, and honestly, I didn’t want to know.
As for me, my mind was working a million miles a minute. It all led back to the doe-eyed girl sleeping just upstairs, completely unaware of the monsters that lurk in the darkest corners of the world.
8
Olivia
After such a wonderful weekend, it was hard to be back at school. Back to the real world, where I couldn’t hide behind Max protectiveness and hide behind my crush on Mason.
I almost didn’t go.
I woke up this morning with the sort of heaviness I only felt on the days after my mom left. Only the thought of what Max would think if I’d insisted on staying in bed today got me moving.
I didn’t want him to worry, so I dragged myself out of bed and into a cold shower, hoping to get my strength back for what I needed to do.
Lizzie greeted me at my locker that day, her signature coffee cup in hand, her red hair sleek and straight, the top hidden from view by her favorite green beanie. “Hey, how was your dinner?”
I shot her a look. She knew how dinner went. I told everything as soon as I got home that night. Even about Lorenzo asking me out on a date.
She laughed. “Have you seen him yet?”
“No. I just got here. I don’t even think he’s here yet. You know he’s notorious for showing up late to class.”
She laughed. “True. You always did have a thing for bad boys.”
I frowned at that. “Do I?”
I didn’t think I had a thing, as Lizzie put it, for bad boys. I didn’t know Lorenzo well enough for me to say he was a bad boy. I was just infatuated with his green eyes.
“Seems that way. And you know Lorenzo is one. He even got expelled from that fancy school of his for getting into too many fights. I heard the last one nearly put the other kid in a coma. Luckily, the kid recovered and didn’t press charges.”