Underneath It All (21 page)

“I can understand your pain. I’m also sorry,” Dad said.

Dad extended his hand to both me and Mom to join them in their sob fest. I felt my heart swell as my family came together for a group hug.

***

I woke up refreshed, finally having had a full night of undisturbed rest. I showered, dressed, and shared breakfast with my family. The mood was jovial in the Ferrero household in anticipation of our evening together tonight and the holiday festivities tomorrow.

Christmas has always been always happy for me. My family never failed to prepare a feast on Christmas Eve, no matter how expensive everything was, and we would stay up all night singing or talking or laughing. Just simply being there was special. And I know this might be sentimental, but Christmas is like forgetting every problem you have for a single day, simply to have fun and eat.

My phone rang—a call from Reeve.

“Hey, Agata, listen. I had a conference here in L.A. I’m not going to be able to make it home in time for Christmas,” he said and my heart sank.

I swallowed hard.

“A lot of flights are delayed; I’m really sorry.” I could hear the pain and defeat in his voice.

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.

“Okay.”

“Look, I gotta go. My phone is going to run out of battery any second,” he said, abruptly.

“All right, talk to you soon.”

And the line went dead.

I sighed and put my head in my hands.

“Honey, are you okay?” Dad asked, from across the room.

“No.”

In a second, he was beside me with an arm wrapped around me.

“He’s not coming, is he?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told him, shrugging it off.

We prepared for the feast. Watched the good old “Home Alone” movie and still no sign of Reeve.

The clock showed a time of eleven fifty-five. The doorbell rang and I opened the door, and it was him. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and wearing a Santa hat on his head.

“Reeve.” I murmured, completely awestruck.

“Surprise!”

“I can’t believe you’re here!” I jumped on him and hugged him so he fell down on the floor.

“Aw…aw…” He held his side over his stitched wound.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry.” I helped him up and hugged him tightly.

“I can’t believe you believed me when I said there was a flight delay,” he said, grimacing a bit.

“Sorry; next time I’ll be sure to check the flight schedule to see if you’re lying or not!”

He laughed wholeheartedly and kissed my cheek. Our arms wrapped around each other for another moment before he pulled away. He looked me up and down as if he was seeing me for the first time.

“Agata, I…” he tried to say, struggling to profess his feelings out loud. I knew how he felt because I could see it in his face and I could feel it in the warmth of his embrace. He didn’t need words to express his love and I didn’t need words to know that they were true.

“I love you too!” I said hugging Reeve back just as fiercely.

This year, I conquered my worst fears. I was able to get the grades I was not aiming for in the first place. I was able to finish the things I should have done. I was able to pull myself out of that dark place I was in for some time. I lived for the moments when I could smile genuinely. I lived for moments when I don’t have any worries about tomorrow. I lived for the simplest moments that were irreplaceable.

Chapter XXIII

Busted

The next day, I didn’t surface from bed until early midday, having barely slept a wink as I’d been enjoying making love well into the night far too much to sleep the night before. Finally being back home was a luxury I was enjoying immensely, as I got to take full advantage of every perk it offered for the next two weeks before I had to return to school and Reeve to work.

My eyes opened wide when I turned my head a little to the side only to be greeted with sleeping Reeve’s adorable face. My head rested on his bicep and he had his other arm wrapped around my waist while our legs were tangled. In my room, on my bed. Shit. Dad would kill me.

I tried to sit up, but Reeve wrapped his arm around me tighter. I struggled to get up as he pulled me closer to him.

“Reeve? Reeve. Wake up. Wake up, you’ve gotta wake up, okay, Reeve? Dad might see you here. Come on.” I started to shake him, trying to wake him up. “Reeve! Reeve!” I nudged him but the most I got out of him was a grunt. I sighed exasperatedly and I decided to wake him up by pushing him off the bed.

“What the fuck was that for?” He groaned and grumbled sleepily next to me.

I ignored his comment. “What are you doing in my bed? Have you lost your
mind?
” I tried to suppress the panic in my voice to prevent any noise. “Did you go home last night?”

“You think if I went home last night, I would be here?” he said in a soothing voice as he nuzzled my neck. I let out a light screech and pulled away as his scruff tickled my neck. “Stop worrying,” he whispered, and ran his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. He pinned me down with his large frame and crawled on top of me before he rubbed his face into my neck vigorously. I shrieked and giggled as I tried to wriggle out from under him. I tried pushing him off but he was stronger than me. He held me still, sucking the skin of my neck.

I glared at him as I caught my breath. “You should go now; Dad will kill us both if he sees you in here.”

Was he so used to problems just magically working themselves out that he was left with no fear? Or did he have a death wish? Either way, it was insanity for him to be sitting on my bed naked.

“Just five more minutes,” he replied with a smirk and a wink.

He leaned in to kiss me as his hands slid up my legs and pulled them apart so he could settle between them. I groaned into the kiss as I felt him trail his fingers along my inner thighs; I was getting more aroused as his fingers went further up. His tongue slipped from his mouth and licked softly along my lower lip, leaving a trail of sweetness behind. I had to gasp for air, taking his breath in as my own, and all sensible thought left my head. It hadn’t done justice to the scent of him. My entire body was tingling with sensation.

We were still naked. He pressed into me, and I felt him, every part, against me. Large, hard and thick. I wrapped my legs around him, locking my feet together.

A knock on my bedroom door stopped us both. We looked at each other in wide-eyed panic.

“Agata, you awake?” Dad called through my door.

Reeve got off me; it was his turn to panic as he scrambled off the bed and hid in my closet.

“Y-yeah, Dad, just give me a second.” I frantically pulled a sweatshirt on and put on my pajama pants.

I took a calming breath and hoped my voice wouldn’t give away my fear before I opened the door. “Hey, Dad! Did you need me?”

Dad walked into the room, surveying the piles of clothes strewn across the floor with an unimpressed frown and raised an eyebrow at me. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No…no…no, I was about to go down for breakfast when you knocked.”

“I see.” He took a precarious seat at the edge of my messy bed and nodded his head.

I glanced back at the closet, praying to God Reeve wouldn’t do anything to attract my dad’s attention in there.

“What was it you wanted, Dad?” I was growing impatient. I desperately wanted him to leave already.

“Nothing,” he shrugged. “Your brother left early. He said he’s going to Doctor’s Hospital to be with Rogue, so wanna join me for lunch?”

“Lunch?”

“Yeah, It’s noon already, kiddo.”

“Oh-okay. I’ll just take a quick shower and join you,” I took his hand, pulled him off my bed, and literally pushed him out of my room. “And please stop calling me kiddo; I’m an adult now, Dad,” I added.

“You’ll always be my little girl and I think I’ll still be calling you ‘kiddo’ on your forty-fifth birthday, with four grandchildren running around, so the idea of you being a grown-up is not yet a comfortable one.”

“Dad!”

“Just kidding.” He laughed. As I was about to shut the door, Dad put his hand out to stop the door from closing. “Tell your boyfriend to join us for lunch.” He smiled knowingly and turned to leave.

I felt all of the blood drain from my face. Shutting the door, I turned around, and Reeve stepped out of the closet.

“We’re busted,” we said at the same time and laughed.

He moved closer to me until his body was pressed up against mine, he held his hands at my waist, holding me in one place while he brushed his lips against my ear. “I say, we finish what we started,” he whispered seductively.

“After we eat, okay?” I laughed at his horniness. “Let’s take a quick shower first.”

As we went downstairs, I saw my dad taking the lasagna out from the oven. I immediately grabbed the plates and forks and set them on the table.

“Good afternoon, sir,” Reeve greeted.

“Sit down,” Dad ordered.

Reeve did what he was told and took a seat next to me at the lunch table. It was beyond tense with Dad alluding to the murder he could commit with various utensils on the table.

“My dad decided to clean his gun on the dining room table when someone visited one night. He made my suitor watch him clean it and put it back together while making small talk in an eerily calm voice. It was super creepy and weird,” I recounted and we laughed for a moment trying to break the awkwardness.

“Just so you know, for every tear you make my daughter shed, I’m taking a quart of your blood.” Then he laughed and went, “I’m kidding!” Then he stopped laughing and said, “But seriously—watch it.”

Reeve swallowed hard.

“How old are you?” Dad started the interrogation process.

“I’m twenty-eight,” he quickly replied.

“Seven years older,” Dad muttered to himself, while pushing around the lasagna on his plate.

“Dad, seven years isn’t really such a big age gap. The rule of thumb for age gap creepiness is don’t date anyone younger than half your age plus seven. Our age isn’t even that far. It’s not like a May-December love affair,” I interjected.

“June-December,” Dad retorted.

“Whatever,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him.

“You’re already a Dean at a very young age. A perk of being the son of the owner and president of the university.”

“Dad, don’t try to insinuate anything untoward, please.”

“Just saying.” He shrugged his shoulders; a bit of sarcasm was present in his tone.

“I only ask what is rightfully due to me,” Reeve said in a confident and casual voice.

“You see, I’m overprotective. I want to make it perfectly clear that this is not to become a habit. I am pertaining to this sleepover, speaking to the idea of respect and good old-fashioned values. We’re not running a brothel here, people.”

There was nowhere to hide. There wasn’t any point in acting like I didn’t know what he was referring to or attempting some lame excuse.

I thought it was best to keep silent so I said nothing. I was royally embarrassed and I felt like a “kiddo.”

“Any man who really loves your daughter would put up with an overly protective dad,” Reeve said and squeezed my hand.

I blushed deeply. He made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

There was silence for a moment. “So you and my daughter have gotten very close in a matter of few months.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dad, stop it right now. Why are you interrogating Reeve?”

“Can’t I express interest in my daughter’s life?”

I just rolled my eyes at him and reluctantly ate my lasagna.

“I know you’re having sex with my daughter. I’m not an idiot.”

We both coughed. Sweat broke out across Reeve’s forehead.

“Daddy!” I shrieked, totally embarrassed.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, but are you being safe?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t believe we were having this awkward lunch, let alone having this awkward conversation.

“We’re not having this conversation.” I held up my hand and was about to leave the lunch table.

“We are practicing safe sex,” Reeve blurted.

“What
the?
Reeve!” I slumped back to my seat, massaging my forehead.

“Good,” Dad nodded. “I won’t give you the sex talk because you probably know about sex more than me. I just don’t want you, Agata, to have an unwanted pregnancy just like what happened to your sister,” Dad stated, looking at Reeve then back to me.

“Dad, I know what I’m doing. I was never meant to be a mother at twenty-two. I have places to go and people to see, so stop worrying about me.” I held my old man’s hand. “What we need to worry about more is Rogue’s condition.”

Dad frowned. “What about her condition?”

I looked at Reeve and he smiled weakly at me.

“Rogue has a congenital heart disease. Having this pregnancy is putting her life at risk.”

Dad had his fork midway to his mouth, and the piece of lasagna on it fell off in almost dramatic fashion. His fork slowly descended until it clanked against his plate.

“A congenital heart disease?” Dad repeated. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he uttered, directing his words toward Reeve.

“Mik doesn’t know about it yet,” I said.

“Your brother just gave her a death sentence.” Dad shook his head.

Reeve had remained silent. He was wearing a mask, using the same defenses to hide his real feelings.

We ate in complete silence and I wished that I could start up some form of conversation. Even if it were awkward, or dumb.

“Do you know something about car engines, Reeve?” Dad suddenly asked.

“Dad, you do not ask him about cars or anything about that stuff,” I told him, chuckling. Finally, the mood got a bit lighter.

“I think I know enough when it comes to breaking it and putting it back together,” Reeve answered confidently.

“Give me a hand, will you?”

Reeve smiled and nodded his head.

***

They started fixing Dad’s car inside the garage. The strains of The Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” floated under the door, as well as Dad singing loudly along with it. I chuckled, shaking my head to myself. I always teased him for listening to old music, only for him to scowl at me every time and then sing it even louder than before in an effort to annoy me.

I peeked under the door, crouching on my knees. “Hello?” I called out, but there was no answer. I banged on the metal door.

There was a silence as dad paused in his singing. “You can come in, Agata.” Chains were rattling as Reeve opened the door.

I brought them some juice and snacks, and saw Reeve was clad in an old white tattered shirt of Dad’s. The fabric was stained numerous times with grease and car fluid. Smudges of grease were scattered on his nose and cheeks.

“So, how is it going?” I asked, biting my lip absentmindedly as I studied him intently and ravenously.

“So far so good,” he said, closing the garage door behind me and returned to the hood.

The garage was hot even though it was snowing outside, his sweat causing the fabric to be plastered against his skin. I could see the outlines of his muscles underneath and I swallowed thickly. The sweat also made his hair stick to the nape of his neck and brow, the motions of running his hands through his hair multiple times apparent by the way it settled about his eyes and strong jaw.

Dad was teaching him how this and that part of the car works. Dad didn’t know Reeve owned several sports cars and God knows he knew how every part worked.

He occasionally nodded his head, listening intently to Dad.

“Juice, anyone?” I asked.

Reeve only smiled and nodded his head at me, and looked back up at my Dad.

He had never known the love of a father, and that is what he longed for so much. Reeve grew up so fast just to play life’s games. He never really got the chance to live a little boy’s life.

Holding onto the resentment left his heart with so much bitterness and anger. Perhaps he ought to still be angry with his dad because he had given up on their family to be with Lucy, just to end up with Diana Litchfield, while his mother Amanda was locked up in jail.