by Lori L. Otto
“I just did.”
“What? The song?”
“The band,” Jon says. “We’re going to see them.”
“How?”
“I got tickets? This club in Brooklyn is doing an all-ages concert.”
“Wait, Chris and Anna are going to listen to Indie rock with us?”
“I don’t think I could have paid your father to go,” he laughs, then grimaces a little. “But he insisted that we have a chaperone. None of your cousins were available, and Finn and Camille–”
“I already know what Finn and Camille are doing.” It’s all they ever do. “Chris and Anna. This should be fun.”
“I think their reaction may provide us with some alternative entertainment,” he suggests. “But they got general admission seats. You and I will be up front, standing room only... so we’ll be as alone as we can be–in the midst of the pulsating crowd, anyway.”
“Sweet, I can’t wait!!”
“And after the concert, they invited me over for a bit. I thought it would be nice to go somewhere different.”
“As if we have a choice,” I mutter to him.
“It won’t be so bad,” he says, running his hands up and down my arms. “Merry Christmas,” he adds, “and Happy New Year.”
He’s right. It will be fun, and if I had to pick a relative other than Matty to be a chaperone, I’d pick Anna. “Thank you!” I stand on my tiptoes and give him another kiss, which of course is inconveniently interrupted by my father, clearing his voice at my doorway.
“Sorry,” Jon says, looking away from Dad as I feel my face flush.
“Liv, don’t give Chris and Anna a hard time tonight,” he says, ignoring my boyfriend. “When they say it’s time to take Jon home, don’t argue.”
“I know, Dad. I’m not twelve.”
“No, if you were twelve, I wouldn’t have to remind you of such things because you would know better.” A smirk punctuates his sentence.
“I know better now, Dad.” He looks at me sideways for a few seconds before nodding.
“Have a good time tonight.”
“You, too. Is Mom coming down?”
“No, you two are coming up. Right?” His question is a suggestion.
“Right,” we both say together. Jon grabs my bag and follows me up the basement stairs, where my mother is waiting with my brother and a suitcase.
“Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary,” I tell her, giving her a hug.
“Are you okay with this?” she asks quietly in my ear. I pull away and smile reassuringly.
“I haven’t given it a second thought,” I tell her. “Knowing you’re okay makes me okay, Mom.”
She kisses me on the cheek before hugging Jon and wishing him a happy New Year, too. “Take care of my baby girl,” she says to him.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answers her.
“There’s no alcohol at this club?” she asks her sister-in-law.
“Not tonight. Don’t worry, we won’t take any chances, I promise,” Anna says.
“We’ll call you when we get home, sis,” Chris adds.
“Okay, that will put my mind at ease.”
“Poppet,” Dad cuts in, “please don’t worry about a thing tonight. If you’re going to spend the entire evening wondering what’s happening with Livvy and Trey, we might as well just stay in with them–”
“No!” my brother, Anna and I all yell at the same time.
“Momma, don’t worry!” Trey instructs her, pointing his finger at her. She kneels down and kisses him on the cheek and hugs him tightly. When she stands up to leave, I see her eyes watering, and I feel a lump grow in my throat.
I wondered how she could be so strong, but seeing that makes me realize she’s just putting on a brave face for us. Mom leads Trey to the car as Anna whispers something to my dad. He asks her to repeat it, not hearing what she said the first time.
“Give her lots of wine,” Anna reiterates loud enough for all of us to hear. My dad laughs as he shuts the door behind him.
The band we came to see is only on their third song at eleven-thirty, but I’m completely out of breath and sweaty from jumping around in the crowd. I know for a fact I haven’t stopped smiling since they came on the stage, and Jon and I have been taking turns yelling the lyrics at one another.
“I’m so hot,” I say loudly in between songs.
“Want to take a break?” Jon asks.
“No, I don’t want to lose my spot!” I’d finally found people my height or shorter to stand behind, and we’re less than ten feet from the stage.
“Want some water?”
“What if you can’t get back to me?”
“I’ll elbow my way in. Lord knows everyone’s been doing it to us.”
“Okay,” I sigh, anxious to get a little relief as I wipe some perspiration off of my forehead. Jon looks at me with a salacious grin before grasping a handful of my sweaty hair, pulling it with just a little force and pressing his lips hard against mine. “So thirsty,” I whine to him when he pulls away.
“I’ll be right there. Can you see the bar from here?” He points to the left of the stage as the band starts to play again and the crowd screams. I glance briefly and nod. “I’ll be able to see you, okay?” he yells.
“Okay, fine!” I holler back before beginning to shout the lyrics in sync with everyone around me. I start to jump again to the beat, as if I was the only person in the room. The only other concert I’d ever been to was at a dignified concert hall, and I was still a little shocked that Mom and Dad let me come here. I wonder if they have any idea what a concert like this is like.
An older guy pushes through the crowd, but when his shoulder starts to get in my way, I nudge him back, not letting him block my view. He turns to me and smiles.
“Sorry,” he says.
“It’s okay,” I yell back.
“They’re my favorite band,” he tells me, his lips so close to my ear I can feel his breath even though I can barely hear him.
“I love them, too,” I say loudly, not wanting to get as close to him. When they start in on the chorus, we both start singing with them. I glance toward the bar and see Jon watching me as he waits in line. I wave at him before turning my attention back to the lead singer.
“Are you Livvy Holland?” the guy asks me, and my heart falters a little. I smile shyly and simply nod, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.
“Adrian,” he says, extending his hand. As his hand closes around mine, I feel another hand sliding up the back of my thigh. I know immediately Jon couldn’t have made it through the crowd that quickly, and swing around abruptly to see who’s behind me.
“Warren, it’s her!” Adrian yells to the other guy as I step into the two girls in front of me to escape his hand.
“Watch it!” one of the girls yells. I turn around to apologize to her, and again feel an unwelcome hand on the small of my back, moving lower. Adrian grabs my wrist.
“Let go!” I yell, pulling my arm back hard, escaping his grasp. I turn back around to his friend and push him away. “Get your hands off of me.”
“I just want to know what you’ve got on under that,” he says. “Is it the black thing? With ruffles?” Fortunately, my face is already red from the heat, so he can’t see me blush further.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Looking toward the bar, I see that Jon has left the line and is pushing his way toward me.
“Baby, what’s going on?” asks Jon.
“Nothing,” I tell him as both of the guys stand up straight, pushing out their chests. “These assholes were just about to leave.”
“Nice,” Warren says, raising an eyebrow. He cocks his head and turns his attention to Jon. “Does she always talk dirty to you?”
“Let’s go, Liv.”
“No!” I argue with him. “I’m not leaving. They are.” I wait for them to move, as if my suggestion will magically make them turn around and walk away. Adrian crosses his arms in front of his chest. I rea
lize quickly I’m putting Jon in a bad situation. “Just ignore them,” I tell him, pulling him next to me and turning back around to face the stage. Once more, I feel a hand that doesn’t belong to Jon on my hip.
“Leave! Me! Alone!” Instinctively, Jon puts his hand on Warren’s shoulder, pushing him away, but he shoves him back, and the crowd starts to part. Someone grabs my arm and pulls me away, and I turn around to see my tiny aunt putting all of her strength into it.
I don’t see my uncle, but I hear him threatening the guys. A security guard shows up and breaks them up. Chris tells him that we’re leaving, which just makes me angry that my night has to be ruined because of these guys. Jon looks at me, his expression apologetic. As he walks away, I hear one of the guys yell to him.
“Take some more pictures, man!” I glare at Warren when I realize it was him that said it, and only see his expression as he doubles over in pain. My uncle raises his hands over his head, backing out of the crowd and keeping his eyes trained on the two guys. The security guard tells Chris to get out. Needless to say, we don’t need to hear his instruction.
Jon puts his arm around me when we break free of the other concertgoers. I turn around to make sure my uncle made it through okay. He finally turns toward the door, taking his wife’s hand in his and walking briskly behind us toward the exit.
“You could get arrested!” Anna yells at him as soon as we hit the sidewalk. “That was stupid.” She lets go of his hand and walks quickly down the street toward the parking garage.
“I wasn’t just going to stand there and let him say those things,” he explains to her, catching up with her.
Jon looks uncomfortable, pulling me to a stop. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I should have done something.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I tell him. “For one thing, I was fine.”
“He was touching you, Olivia. That’s not okay with me, and it certainly shouldn’t be okay with you.”
“Of course it wasn’t okay, but we could have moved. Fighting definitely wasn’t the answer, because look where it got us.” I check my watch, seeing that we have three minutes until midnight. “Now we get to bring in the new year in the middle of a dirty Hell’s Kitchen street. How fun for us,” I say sarcastically. “Plus, no offense, but those guys were a lot bigger than you.”
“For the record, I have no doubt Chris and I could have handled them. Feel that,” he says proudly, moving my hand to his bicep.
“Wow, that’s new.” I squeeze his muscle, feeling new terrain. “When did this happen?”
“Lifting weights helps me get out some of my... frustration,” he says, his insinuation obvious. “I’ve been doing it a lot.”
“I’m not a proponent of violence,” I say to him softly, “but I think the fight would have been pretty fair after all. That’s kind of sexy,” I admit. He smiles, clearly pleased with my reaction.
“You, just now realizing this, though?” he starts. “That just confirms that it’s been way too long.” I look up at him and sigh.
“How many days?” I ask him.
“Six weeks, exactly.”
“I’m sorry.” I know an apology isn’t what he wants, but it’s all I can give him.
“Me, too,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss me. I can still hear my aunt and uncle arguing some distance away from us, but they’re soon drowned out by people on a nearby patio, counting down as they watch the Times Square celebration on large televisions. “I’m sorry about the picture. I’m sorry about those idiots in there. I’m sorry that we’re displaced on New Year’s Eve,” he laughs as he looks around. “Come with me.” He takes my hand and leads me up the steps to a shop entrance. The lights are off and a CLOSED sign hangs in the window. As the nearby partiers count the last five numbers, he kisses me again, as I hold his body hard against mine.
His hands never leave the sides of my face, which just makes it that much more romantic to me. He’s so tender and sweet, and puts so much thought and attention into every embrace. Every kiss is new; is different. We stay entangled through the entirety of Auld Lang Syne, and continue until my aunt and uncle stumble upon us. Before I let him pull away, I capture his bottom lip, scraping lightly with my teeth. He opens his eyes, filled with need and desire. He’s out of breath.
“Are you guys ready?” Anna asks, her voice more relaxed. When I see her, she’s smiling and holding my uncle’s hand. I guess they made up.
“If we have to,” I tell her.
“We’ll go back to the house for awhile. Maybe you can play some of that band’s music. I was just getting into it,” my aunt admits.
“Sure,” I agree, tucking my hand into the back pocket of Jon’s jeans. He puts his arm across my shoulders, and we follow Chris and Anna to their car.
“Don’t tell my dad about tonight,” I say as we get into the car. “I don’t want him to worry.”
“Little Liv,” Chris says. “I can’t keep secrets from him. If you’re not safe, he needs to know–”
“Oh, my God, Chris, I was fine. We were in a crowd with a ton of people. Realistically, what could have happened?”
“Don’t ask that, baby,” Jon says softly, lightly running his fingers up and down my leg. “There are a lot of things that could have happened.”
“I’m glad one of you recognizes that,” Chris says. After a few minutes, he speaks up again. “I’m sorry we had to leave, Liv.” He looks at me through the rearview mirror. “I know this wasn’t how you wanted the night to go, Jon. I can pay you for the tickets.”
“No way,” my boyfriend says nonchalantly. “I’m with Olivia, and really, that’s all I wanted.” I weave my fingers between his and look up at him. He runs his other hand through my hair and angles my face to his. We kiss until we get to Chris and Anna’s house, and after nearly ten minutes navigating through crowded streets, it’s certainly awkward when we have to get out of the car.
Once at home, Anna goes next door to get Eli from their neighbor’s house. A few kids from my teenage cousin’s school had gotten together for a chaperoned party. Chris, Jon and I go inside, grabbing some drinks from the refrigerator and settling in the family room. My uncle turns on the television, but hands the remote to me. I immediately pass it to Jon.
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t tell us,” I hear my aunt saying as she comes through the front door.
“Because it’s none of your business,” Eli says.
“Elliot, you get in here this second!” Chris calls to him. My cousin appears in the middle of the archway, dressed in jeans and a black concert t-shirt. His hair hangs in his eyes, which peek through in a glare at his father. He’s clearly annoyed. Anna stands behind him, and it’s the first time I’ve noticed how much Eli’s grown. He’s about six inches taller than his mother. “Don’t talk to your mother that way, do you understand me?”
My aunt was always too nice to discipline their only child. I often wonder if I’d have been as spoiled as him if Trey hadn’t come along. Looking back, I know I would have been worse.
“Do you?” Chris asks when Eli doesn’t answer.
“Whatever.”
“What happened?” my uncle asks his wife.
“He has a girlfriend that was there. Did you know that?”
“No. You have a girlfriend?” Chris asks.
“Who cares?” my cousin says. “Yes, whatever! Why does it matter?”
My uncle looks confused, and glances at Anna. “Why does it matter?”
“He was locked in the bathroom with her.”
“It was a game!” Eli argues.
“We should go... um... where should we go?” I ask meekly.
“We’ll go to Eli’s room,” Chris says, getting up and leading his family upstairs.
“He’s fourteen?” Jon asks.
“I think so, yeah.”
“Will’s age.” Jon flips through the channels hurriedly, finally shutting off the TV. “Where’s your iPod?”
“Here.” I grab it out of my purse and hand
it to him. He finds the playlist for the band we saw tonight, turning up the volume as loud as it will go, which isn’t very loud.
“It’s just like we’re there,” he says with a laugh. We listen through the first few songs, but then the driving beat from the song they opened with starts, and I bound off the couch and start chanting the lyrics, just like I had in the club. Jon starts laughing, finally joining me, and we’re both yelling the words a bit too loudly, bouncing on our feet to the quick rhythm. My sides start to hurt from giggling so hard I can’t take a breath. When the last note plays, applause comes from the doorway. My aunt and uncle are watching us, and we laugh harder. Jon pulls me into him, his cheeks red from the activity and embarrassment, and kisses the top of my head.
“This talk with Eli’s gonna take awhile,” Chris says. “Jon, I need to get you home.”
“Chris,” I whine.
“I’m sorry, Livvy,” Anna says with an empathetic frown. “You can see him tomorrow, right?”
“It’s fine, Olivia,” he says, hugging me again. My aunt and uncle leave us alone for a minute. “Maybe I can come over tomorrow,” he suggests.
“Okay,” I agree. “Thank you for tonight. It really was fun.”
“It was. Happy New Year, baby. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He puts his hands on my cheeks and pulls into me, kissing me sweetly.
“Your polka-dot panties are hot,” he whispers in my ear. I pull away, shocked. “That was quite a show. When you were jumping up and down, your skirt–”
“Shut up.”
“It’s a compliment,” he laughs. “But no wonder you garnered such attention at the concert.”
“Oh, my god. Do you think...?”
“I don’t think so, Liv. We were packed in like sardines, remember? You’re fine. Really fine,” he says with a sultry voice.
“Really?” I ask him, teasing him by drawing a finger up my thigh, bringing my skirt with it. He grabs my hand and gives me one, last, quick kiss.
“Really. I’ve got to go. While the images of you are fresh in my mind.” I roll my eyes at him, walking him to the front door where my aunt and uncle wait. “Sweet dreams,” he says with a wink, following Chris outside. I watch as they drive away, waving to him, my eyes never leaving his.