Chapter 15
They sat for a while longer, enjoying their drinks and the sunshine. Much to Lisanne’s disappointment, none of the girls from her high school seemed to be around.
Eventually, Lisanne sighed and admitted it was time to head back.
“Grandma and Pops will have arrived by now,” she said. “That’s my mom’s mom, and my dad’s dad.”
“Great,” said Daniel, with exaggerated irony.
It was her turn to reassure him.
“They’ll love you—besides, I thought you said you were irresistible?”
He shrugged. “Shoulda read the small print.”
Daniel tensed visibly as Lisanne drove them back to her house. The relaxed, sexy boy she loved was now spiky and closed off, his fingers drumming restlessly on his thighs.
She reached over with her right hand and touched his knee.
“It’ll be fine,” she said.
He grimaced and looked out of the window.
But when they arrived back at the house, things got weird.
Pops was standing out front with love in his eyes, as he gazed at Daniel’s Harley. Not only that, Lisanne’s staid, twinset and pearl wearing Grandma Olsen was waxing lyrical about her first boyfriend who’d had a motorcycle, and talking the ear off of Pops.
“Oh, Marlon Brando had nothing on him. ‘What are you rebelling against, Johnny?’ ‘Whaddya got?’ Such nonsense! My boy sure knew how to wear a pair of Levis, I’ll say that much for him.” She turned and saw Lisanne. “There’s my little bunny!” and descended on her, smothering Lisanne with pink-lipstick kisses.
“Hi, Grandma,” said Lisanne, embarrassed by her nickname. She could see Daniel smirking at her out of the corner of her eye. “Um, this is my boyfriend Daniel.”
Right on cue, she blushed on the word ‘boyfriend’.
“My goodness!” said Grandma Olsen, scanning Daniel’s tattoos and pierced eyebrow. “Well, you certainly match with your motorcycle. I’m very happy to meet you, Daniel.”
“Likewise, ma’am,” said Daniel, who assumed they’d be shaking hands.
He didn’t know Grandma Olsen.
She pulled him down to her height and planted a loud, pink kiss on his cheek.
Daniel looked taken aback and Lisanne wanted to laugh at the expression on his face.
“Um, this is my grandfather, Pops.”
“Pleased to meet you, son. The name’s Harold Maclaine, but this little miss called me ‘Pops’ before she could walk, and it kinda stuck.”
They shook hands and then Daniel had to answer dozens of questions about his bike.
“She’s called ‘Sirona’,” added Lisanne, helpfully.
“Who is?” said Grandma Olsen, looking around her as if another person was about to materialize underneath the peach tree in the garden.
“His motorcycle,” snickered Lisanne.
Pops looked glassy-eyed. “That sure is a pretty name for a pretty lady.”
Daniel smirked at Lisanne, folding his arms across his chest.
“Some people appreciate her charms, baby doll,” he said.
Dinner was a noisy affair, and at first Lisanne was worried about how Daniel would cope. But at Pops’ request, they were seated at the same end of the table. Lisanne had no idea that a motorcycle fanatic lurked beneath the benign surface of his gray haired exterior.
Poor Daniel was barely permitted to take a bite of the excellent lasagna and salad that Monica had made, before a cascade of questions poured forth.
“I heard that tuning the exhaust is very easy to get wrong on a Harley,” said Pops. “The stock 1¾ inch dual header pipes are hard to beat.”
Daniel nodded. “Sure, but they’re not tunable. SuperTrapp make tunable mufflers. You just need to install baffle cores.”
Tunable, untunable, there was nothing musical about that conversation: Lisanne tuned out.
She turned to see her grandma watching her.
“Well, bunny, he seems like a very pleasant young man.”
Lisanne smiled. “Thanks, grandma.”
“Handsome, too, although it’s a shame about all those tattoos—and as for that ridiculous piece of metal through his eyebrow, I can’t imagine what he was thinking.” She patted Lisanne’s hand. “You’ll be a calming influence on him. You’ve always been such a sensible girl.”
Lisanne winced. For the first time ever, she was glad Daniel hadn’t heard what had been said.
Harry, sitting on the other side of Pops, seemed equally taken with Daniel. His eyes kept flicking back to Daniel as he listened to them discussing baffling terms such as cams, combustion chambers and carburetors, with ease and mutual enjoyment.
Lisanne knew her father had little interest in fixing engines—any trouble and he was straight down the auto repair shop.
For Harry, it had been a new experience in male bonding.
After dinner, Lisanne helped her mother clear the table, and Daniel was left to the mercy of Pops and Grandma Olsen. Lisanne regretted having promised him that she wouldn’t leave him alone, but really, she had no choice.
She cleared and stacked the plates while her mom loaded them into the dishwasher.
“Lisanne, I swear that young man of yours is in a dream half the time! I called his name three times before he answered.”
Lisanne took a deep breath. Daniel’s expressed preference was that Lisanne’s family didn’t know about his deafness. But seeing her mother’s amused expression, Lisanne felt she had no choice but to defend him by telling the truth.
“That’s because he didn’t hear you, Mom.”
“Well, I could tell that. I don’t know where he was, but it must have been somewhere nice.”
“No, Mom. I mean he couldn’t hear you. Daniel is deaf.”
“Excuse me?”
Lisanne almost laughed.
“Daniel is deaf. He started to lose his hearing when he went to high school. He became completely deaf nearly two years ago.”
“But … but…!”
“He lip reads. That’s why he doesn’t answer you if he can’t see your face.” Lisanne paused as her mother took in this extraordinary piece of information. “I told you he was amazing,” she said, quietly.
Her mother sat down at the kitchen table looking stunned, staring at her daughter as if she was waiting for the punch line.
“He can’t hear? At all?”
Lisanne shook her head.
“But how does he manage? At school? In his classes?”
“Like I said: he lip reads then writes up his notes later. He’s really smart. He helps me with our Introduction to Business class.” Lisanne rolled her eyes.
“But…” her mother was still struggling with the concept. “But he doesn’t wear a hearing aid.”
“No. They’re for people who have some residual hearing. They don’t help him. Not anymore.”
“Good Heavens,” said her mother. “Good Heavens!” Then she looked up. “Is he safe on that motorcycle of his? I mean, if he can’t hear the traffic?”
“He’s deaf, not blind, Mom,” said Lisanne, patiently.
She knew her mom was only asking the questions because she’d never met a completely deaf person before.
“Is it genetic? I mean, would his children be deaf?” Lisanne’s mother flushed red when she realized how that might sound to her daughter.
“No, Mom. The doctors think it was because of a virus—it’s not genetic.”
“Well … well, that’s something.”
Lisanne leaned against the kitchen sink, giving her mother time to take it all in.
“What about those implants?” Monica said. “I saw people talking about them on Ellen.”
“Cochlear implants?”
“Yes, that’s it! Could those help Daniel?”
“Maybe,” said Lisanne, slowly. “But it’s quite a big surgery and there are risks. Sometimes the operation can damage facial nerves. It’s rare, but it can happen. And it doesn’t always restore hearing of any quality. Besides, it’s a bit like saying there’s something wrong with Daniel—that he needs to be fixed.”
“Oh,” said her mother, her mouth opening and closing, lost for words. “But … but wouldn’t it help?”
Lisanne gestured helplessly. “Maybe, I don’t know. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“Well,” said her mother, again. “Does your father know?”
Lisanne shook her head.
“Should I tell him?”
“I guess,” said Lisanne. “It’s not as if he could dislike Daniel any more than he already does.”
Her mother frowned. “That’s not fair: your father is trying very hard. It’s not easy for him knowing that his daughter … that you’re a young woman.”
“You mean because I’m sleeping with Daniel.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” said her mother, sharply. “I think your father is behaving very well under the circumstances.”
Lisanne sighed and looked away.
At that moment Pops came wandering in.
“Everything okay in here, ladies?”
“Sure, Pops,” said Lisanne, quietly.
“That’s a very interesting young man you’ve got there,” he said. “Knows his motorcycles. Rebuilt Sirona from scrap by the sound of it.”
Lisanne rolled her eyes.
“You’re not calling her ‘Sirona’ as well, are you? Because I’ve got to say, Pops, after riding on her for over three hours, I was about ready to throw it in the lake.”
Pops snorted. “No taste some people, unlike young Daniel. Pity he’s deaf.”
Lisanne stared.
“What … how … when … how did you know, Pops?”
Pops stared back.
“Didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t guess,” said Monica, looking slightly miffed.
“But how did you know, Pops?”
Pops smiled. “Friend of mine, Mal Peters. He’s damn near deaf. I’ve gotten used to making sure he’s facing me when I’m talking to him. I noticed you did the same thing with Daniel and it got me wondering. Figured the rest out for myself. He hides it well, although I’m not sure why he wants to.”
Lisanne stared at her fingers. “It’s complicated, Pops.”
“Nothing complicated about the truth,” he replied, but not unkindly.
“It’s how Daniel wants it,” explained Lisanne, with a lift of her shoulder. “He says he’s tired of people judging him when they know.”
Lisanne’s mom looked guilty as she listened to her daughter’s words.
“Well, well, his choice,” said Pops. “I’m going to head for bed now—this old man needs his beauty sleep.”
He kissed Lisanne goodnight and waved to Monica.
“Well,” said Monica, watching her father-in-law disappear upstairs, “I suppose I’d better tell your dad. He’ll be surprised, that’s for sure.”
“Thanks, Mom,” said Lisanne, giving her mother a big hug.
Then she left Monica in the kitchen, shaking her head tiredly.
Daniel was still sitting at the table with a slightly glazed expression, as Grandma Olsen continued with her blow-by-blow description of her gallbladder operation.
“And the gallstones were the size of walnuts. You certainly don’t want to try passing anything that size!”
Daniel winced.
“Well,” she said, with a heavy sigh, “I shouldn’t eat this late—it’s not good for me. I’m going to go and lie down, but nobody get worried if they hear me wandering around in the night. It’ll be indigestion—that, or my bowels.”
Daniel scraped his hands over his face, obviously wishing he hadn’t lip read that last sentence.
“Come on, let’s go watch some TV,” said Lisanne, pulling him up.
Daniel stood, a grateful expression on his face, and willingly allowed her to lead him into the TV den.
When they’d settled on one of the sofas, she snuggled up to him.
“How was that?” she asked, before planting a soft kiss on his lips.
“Yeah, okay, until your gran started describing—well, you heard her. I thought my lasagna was going to make a repeat performance.”
“Sorry about that,” she giggled.
Then she sat up straighter.
“Um, Daniel?”
“What, baby doll? You look guilty as all hell. What did you do?” he teased her.
“Pops guessed … I mean, about you.”
Daniel’s smile faded. “Damn it. I thought I’d nailed that.”
“Well, you did, as far as everyone else was concerned, but he’s got a friend who’s deaf, so he just guessed. Anyway, Mom knows, too. I’ve asked her to tell Dad.”
Daniel sighed. “Don’t worry about it, baby. I was dumb to think I could get away with it for the whole vacation.”
She kissed his pouting lips, determined to make him forget his disappointment.
They’d had just a few minutes to themselves and Lisanne was cuddled up to Daniel on the sofa, pretending to watch Arrow. Really, she was busy kissing Daniel’s neck and suggestively rubbing her hand over his thigh.
“You carry on doing that, baby doll, and your dad will have me thrown out,” he whispered.
Lisanne giggled.
“Am I turning you on?”
“Lis, you walk into the room and I get a boner,” he said, with a smile.
She blushed happily, and was just running her hands under his t-shirt, when Harry walked in.
“Oh, cool,” he said glancing at the TV, then plopping himself down on the chair and halting his sister’s make out session. “You’ve got the subtitles on.”
“I know,” said Lisanne, looking up as her parents came in and sat down on the other sofa.
“Whatever,” said Harry, his eyes fixed on the screen.
“It’s quite useful having subtitles,” said Lisanne’s mother, glancing at her daughter.
Daniel caught the look between them and smiled at Lisanne, placing a gentle kiss on her temple. Lisanne’s father frowned at the public display of affection, but refrained from speaking. Which was a first.
Shortly after that, Harry yawned and said he was heading for bed. Monica looked pointedly at Lisanne, clearly suggesting that she should do the same.
“Yeah, me, too,” said Lisanne, playing along, “it’s been some day.”
Daniel stood up immediately.
“Sleep well,” said Monica. “You’ll both feel so much better after a good night’s sleep.”
Lisanne caught the message without any trouble. It wasn’t like her mom was blessed with subtlety.
As they walked up the stairs, Daniel whispered in her ear.
“I’ll see you later, baby doll.”
She shivered with longing.
The side of his mouth lifted in a smile and he disappeared into Harry’s room. She could hear the low murmur of conversation. Feeling nervous and overwhelmingly naughty, she hurried to brush her teeth and wash her face, wondering if there were any other preparations she should make. She ransacked her drawers for something to wear. All her pajamas were so childish—for the first time, she wished she had sexier night wear.
In the end she gave up and pulled on one of Daniel’s t-shirts that she’d stolen out of his bag, and changed into some pretty lace panties.
She rearranged the pillows a dozen times before she was satisfied with them. It would be nice to have some room in the bed—at college, she only had a single. This would be a vast improvement.
And she waited.
She stared at her clock as the minutes ticked past, listening to the sounds of her parents going to bed and her grandmother talking loudly to herself. The clock was in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head and for the first time, she realized it was actually kind of scary. The large metal ears were completely spherical so whichever angle you saw them from, they always looked the same. Suddenly it seemed creepy.
She lay down to wait, feeling turned on, nervous and impatient, all at once.
The hands of the clock crept around as the house descended into silence. She felt her eyes weighted with sleep, so she sat up straighter, forcing herself to stay awake.
Her mind began to run through the day: from the tortuous bike ride, her father’s ill humor, her mother’s refereeing, the flirty waitress, breaking down in the car and what Daniel had said about music. He’d been right, so right. She had turned away from music when he was with her. Now she was alone, she had time to think about what he’d said—that she had to hear the music for him, too. She knew he must miss it more than he ever said. Why wasn’t he angrier? She’d be angry if she lost her music—hell, she’d be a raving lunatic. How much rage did he hold inside himself? Or had he come to terms with it before he’d met her?
She realized she still had a lot to learn about him—if he’d just let her in.
With too many thoughts still whirling through her mind, her body ceded the battle against emotional exhaustion, and she drifted to sleep.
She woke, shocked and disorientated, when she heard a noise in the room.
“What?!”
She saw Daniel silhouetted against the window. He’d opened the curtains and was staring out at the three-quarter moon.
He turned to look at her, as the moon’s light cast shadows across his cheekbones, one corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.
At first she thought he was naked, but as he moved toward her, she realized he was wearing a pair of dark boxer briefs.
He put something on her bedside table, but he didn’t speak. She felt the bed move as his warm, hard body slid in next to her.
“Daniel,” she breathed.
His silence engulfed her and she realized he couldn’t see her lips, even with the moon’s faint light. She reached over to turn on the lamp, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips. She thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he opened his mouth and sucked her fingers one by one, lazily wrapping his tongue around them.
She was panting already, her body tingling for more of his touch.
He released her pinky finger and leaned down toward her. Again she thought he was going to kiss her and she lifted her face eagerly toward him. Instead he licked the base of her throat, laying a trail of wet kisses down to her chest.
She felt his hands pushing up the t-shirt until it was bunched above her breasts, and she gasped as his teeth fastened over her left nipple, and his hand stroked and squeezed the right.
Her body automatically lifted toward him as she inhaled sharply. She felt her hips press into a hard bulge at the front of his boxer briefs.
The silence deepened, and all she could hear was the nighttime concerto as the house settled to sleep, and the twinned breaths, spiraling out of their bodies.
She dragged her nails down his back and heard his soft moan in response. He lifted his head from her breasts and kissed her languorously, his tongue insisting on dominating her mouth.
She pulled him to her more tightly, winding her hands around his neck, feeling his hard weight pressing down on her.
He leaned away from her and spoke quietly.
“I can’t read your lips, baby doll. If you want me to stop, just … slap my shoulder or something—I’ll get the message.”
She pushed him gently and he rolled away from her. She started to tug her t-shirt over her head, and he quickly reached up to help her.
As soon as the material was removed, he pushed her back onto the bed, kissing and sucking her breasts, placing small bites between them, and circling his tongue around her nipples, teasing them until she wanted to cry out.
She jammed her fist into her mouth, overwhelmed by the sensations and the knowledge that this was in her family home, in her bedroom, and that her parents were just yards away—and she was doing all the things her mother and father didn’t want to know she did.
He’d reached her belly and was biting her hipbone, swirling his tongue around her belly button. Then his hands drifted lower, tugging at the lace on her panties. She took a deep breath and lifted her ass off of the bed, so he could slide the skimpy material away.
She gasped when his head went still lower and she realized what he was going to do. Before she could say anything, she felt his warm mouth on her inner thigh and the prickle of his stubble, as he carefully parted her legs.
She was mortified. Surely he wasn’t going to…? But this was Daniel—and he did. She stifled a cry as she felt his tongue pressing inside her. It was just so wrong—and it felt so good.
His fingers were on her, too, circling, sliding, moving slowly in and out. She gasped again, and her hips bucked as her body bathed in pleasure, while her mind told her it wasn’t right.
With the experience of weeks with Daniel, she realized her body was building toward orgasm. Part of her felt like she should stop it before she was dangerously out of control, and the other part had already given up, saturated with the feelings that he was creating.
She jammed her pillow over her head as he opened her legs wider. It was up to her to muffle the sounds coming from her mouth—he would never know how much she wanted to scream his name.
He couldn’t hear her but he could feel her, and knew that she was coming hard.
He pulled the pillow away from her face, and swallowed her gasps with his lips and tongue.
“You’ve fucked my face, baby doll; you’ve ridden my fingers; now you’re going to ride my dick,” he whispered.
While her body still trembled, he reached over to her bedside table, picking up the packet he’d left there. As if from far away, she heard the rustle as he pulled out the foil packet and tore it open. Then he stood up, dropped his briefs and sat back on the bed, unfurling the condom over his erection.
She was surprised and alarmed when he rolled her onto her stomach.
“No!” she said, horrified.
He couldn’t hear her. Of course not.
But it wasn’t what she thought, either. He pulled her up onto her knees and reached between her legs, positioning himself at her entrance.
Relief, surprise, astonishment washed through her.
For a moment she’d thought he was going to do something else entirely, but this was good. This was amazing—it felt so deep and he groaned softly, pushing in and out of her in long, filling strokes.
His fingers gripped her hips tightly, and she could hear the slap of his skin against her body. It was strange not to be able to see him, but this new position felt raw and deep.
She felt her body tremble. He felt it, too, and started to move faster, whispering words she couldn’t hear.
His breathing started to become labored, and then she felt his fingers reaching around between her legs once more and she gasped, amazed that her body was responding again.
Her legs and arms gave way as he shuddered into her and, for a moment, she was crushed by his weight.
He pulled out of her carefully and peppered her back with soft kisses.
“Lis, Lis, are you okay? Lis, baby?”
She rolled onto her back, still gasping, and breathed her pleasure into his mouth, kissing him hard.
A small sound escaped him as he kissed her back.
She heard the faint snap as he pulled the condom off, and watched as he tied a knot in the end before dropping it onto the floor.
Then he pulled her back into his chest and they fell into a deep sleep, his arms and legs entwined with hers, expressing with his body what he couldn’t say with words.
* * *
Daniel woke feeling deeply relaxed. Lisanne’s soft, silky skin was pressed against his, and a sense of calm filled him.
He couldn’t explain why, but it had been important to him to have sex with her last night. Maybe it was something to do with making sure she still wanted him, even when she was back with her family, away from the heady rush of college independence.
But it had been pretty damn good. There was still a lot more he wanted to try, experiences to explore with her, and he’d have given a case of Jack Daniels to be able to spend a whole day in bed doing just that. But he had high hopes for the future.
He became aware that his usual morning boner was even harder than normal, pointing hopefully in the direction of her smooth, round ass. He groaned as the possibilities ran like a porn show through his mind, but one glance at her ugly Mickey Mouse clock told him that a morning fuck was out of the question, unless he really did want her parents to catch him boning their only daughter.
Reluctantly, he sat up and saw her lips move as if she was saying something, but her eyes remained closed. Frowning, he looked at her mouth again, but he could tell she was deeply asleep, and her words were lost to him.
Sighing, he pulled on his boxer briefs and walked quietly toward the door. With one last look, he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door softly behind him.
He made it back into Harry’s room without meeting anyone, and the kid was still asleep.
Daniel scooped up his jeans and headed for the shower. The water was plentiful and hot and he took a few minutes to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, and jerk off.
After he’d dried himself, he brushed his teeth and, swiping his hand across the steamed up mirror, decided he’d shave off the two day stubble.
He’d forgotten to ask Lisanne what time her family got up in the morning, so he decided to head out to the backyard for a smoke and wait to see who was awake. But as he left the bathroom, still only wearing his jeans, he bumped into Monica in her robe and slippers.
“Good morning, Daniel. You’re an early riser.” Then she gasped, her eyes fixed on his chest or, more specifically, his nipple rings. “My goodness!” she said, clearing her throat.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” he said, reining in a smirk as he watched her try to pull her eyes up to his.
“Um, sorry, what?” she said, finally managing to snatch her gaze away from his chest, her face a little flushed. “Um, do come and have some breakfast whenever you like.”
“Thanks, Monica. I’ll do that.”
He returned to Harry’s room where the boy was lying on his back, eyes closed and mouth open.
Daniel pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of sneakers, made sure he had his smokes in his pants’ pocket, and ran lightly down the stairs.
Monica was standing in the kitchen waiting for a jug of coffee to percolate. She gave a slightly bashful smile as a fully dressed Daniel headed out to the back porch and had his first cigarette of the day.
He was surprised when Monica came out to join him.
She looked nervous and he wondered what she was going to say.
“Um, I don’t suppose I could have one of those, could I?”
Daniel blinked in surprise, then handed her the cigarette packet and lit one for her.
“Thanks!” she said, a look of bliss on her face. “Don’t tell Lisanne, she’ll just start nagging. I’m supposed to have given up, but every now and then…”
Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Hey, not my secret.”
Monica smiled. “I’m surprised she hasn’t nagged you to give up.”
He shook his head. “She’s never said anything. I didn’t think she minded.”
Monica laughed in disbelief. “Really? She hates smoking. Always going on about what a horrible, antisocial habit it is. Oh well, you’re lucky not to have her nagging at you—she’s tenacious.”
Daniel frowned. He wondered why she hadn’t said anything to him. Were there other things that she kept hidden? He suddenly felt like he didn’t know her as well as he thought, and the feeling bothered him.
“Coffee?” Monica asked.
He’d been looking the other way and hadn’t noticed that she’d spoken.
She tapped him on the arm. “Coffee, Daniel?”
“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks. Black, three sugars.”
“Three sugars!” she huffed. “You’re so lucky to be able to get away with that.”
She wandered inside, muttering to herself.
He followed her in and gratefully accepted a cup of steaming hot coffee, as Lisanne staggered down the stairs looking tired and slightly disheveled. Girl really liked her sleep. He couldn’t help grinning at her and as she smiled back, he ran his tongue across his teeth, a knowing look highlighting the sexy smirk on his face.
She blushed instantly and dropped her eyes, clearly reliving some of the things he’d done to her the night before.
Harry wandered in, a useful decoy for Lisanne’s embarrassment, and helped himself to a bowl of cereal, mumbling something that may have been a greeting.
Daniel sat down next to him, and Monica told him to help himself. He dug into a pile of toast, smearing it with butter and jelly.
Food seemed to have perked Harry up and he challenged Daniel to a little one-on-one basketball. Daniel laughed and made some disparaging comment about Harry’s height, and they were off, playing aggressively on the makeshift court.
Monica watched for a moment, a look of surprised pleasure on her face. Then she turned to her daughter.
“Lisanne, how many, um, piercings does Daniel have?”
Lisanne froze, with her spoon halfway to her mouth.
“Mom!”
Her mother looked embarrassed.
“I just happened to see him coming out of the shower and he hadn’t put a shirt on. Well, I couldn’t help noticing his … his, um, jewelry.”
“So, you’ve seen his nipple rings,” said Lisanne boldly, even as her cheeks reddened.
“Yes, quite.”
“And you want to know if he has more piercings?!”
Monica’s face matched Lisanne’s by this point.
“Forget I asked,” muttered Monica.
That would take some doing.
Her mother turned to the coffee pot, just for something to do.
“Oh, I ran into Rachel Brandt at the store yesterday. Apparently she’s letting Sonia have a party there tonight. She said you should stop by. Daniel, too, of course.”
Lisanne pulled a face.
“I don’t know why Sonia would invite me—we were never friends at high school.”
“Maybe not,” said Monica, firmly, “but Rachel and I are friends, so I’m sure you’d be very welcome. Besides,” she said, raising her eyebrows, “I’d have thought you and Daniel would like a reason to get away from the oldies for an evening.”
It was a fair point. Although Lisanne would have gone some way to avoid Sonia Brandt, she knew Daniel would like a breather. A party could be just the thing. Then something else occurred to her: Sonia was one of the high school crowd who’d never given Lisanne the time of day, so turning up with a hot boyfriend … yeah, she really liked the idea of that.
“Fine, we’ll go, Mom, if Daniel wants to.”
“He seems to be getting along with your brother.”
“Yeah,” said Lisanne, smiling.
It had been a surprise to her how responsive Harry was being. With the rest of the family he mostly just grunted, but Daniel seemed to encourage him to speak whole sentences. Which was almost unnerving.
Ernie entered the kitchen and sniffed the air, his mouth twisting with disgust as he smelt the old cigarette smoke that lingered by the porch.
Monica saw his reaction and made herself very busy putting more bread in the toaster.
“Lisanne,” said Ernie, sharply, “I don’t want you to be alone in your room with him—with Daniel.”
Both Lisanne and her mother looked up. Lisanne was crimson again.
“Excuse me?”
“Not at all. For no reason. Is that clear?”
“Ernie!”
“Someone needs to say it, Monica,” he snapped. “Lisanne: is that clear?”
Feeling mutinous, Lisanne nodded curtly and left the room, furious and embarrassed.
For fuck’s sake! She was nearly 19 and her dad was still telling her who she could or could not have in her room? He was such a hypocrite! He knew they were sleeping together, but he just didn’t want it to happen under his roof.
Then Lisanne wondered if he’d heard something. She was instantly mortified—perhaps she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d thought. Oh God! Imagine if her father had heard! It didn’t bear thinking about. Did that make her the hypocrite?
With her heart hammering, and her befuddled brain existing in a general state of denial, she hurried up the stairs but as she did so, she noticed a burning feeling between her thighs. Slightly panicked, she hurried into the bathroom and stripped off her clothes, examining herself in the mirror.
Holy hell! The skin between her thighs was bright red—stubble burn from Daniel’s scruff—between her legs! Would the morning’s humiliation never end?
Feeling miserable, she showered quickly and pulled on a pair of jeans, but then found they were far too uncomfortable. She rubbed baby lotion on her the inflamed patches and instantly felt soothed. Digging through her closet, she found a floaty, knee-length skirt that her mom had bought for her, which she’d never worn. She felt a little awkward, being unused to something so damn girly, but it was all she’d got. She matched it with chucks. Great. Sore and style free. Could this day get any worse? Then she thought of the party she’d agreed to go to, and groaned.
Below her window, the sound of laughter drifted upwards, and her face softened as she looked out to see Daniel and Harry relaxed and enjoying themselves. Given the chance, she really believed Daniel could charm anyone. Given the chance, could he even charm her father? Her face fell—it didn’t seem likely.
She headed downstairs and sent a long text message to Kirsty, while sitting on the porch watching Daniel and Harry. In truth, she could have watched Daniel play sport for hours, ogling the way his lean muscles moved under his t-shirt.
They finished the game they’d been contesting, and Daniel came over to sit next to her, leaning in and kissing her neck.
Harry rolled his eyes but said nothing. That was his sister.
Daniel smiled at the revolted expression on Harry’s face and pulled Lisanne’s fingers to his lips.
Harry shook his head as he stomped back into the kitchen. He had no idea why a cool guy like Daniel would like his sister, let alone want to kiss her.
“So, what’s on the menu of today’s exciting events,” Daniel whispered into Lisanne’s hair.
She turned to face him. “You gave me stubble rash!” she hissed.
Daniel took a moment to understand what she’d said. He examined her face and neck, then raised his eyebrows.
“Where’d I do that, baby doll?” he asked, although by the look on his face, he’d already guessed.
Lisanne slapped his arm. “You know where!” she snapped.
He smirked at her and ran his hand over his smooth cheeks. “Yeah? Well, I shaved this morning so we’re good to go again.”
She shook her head. “Dad knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That we were … last night!”
Daniel frowned. “You sure?”
“Yes! He told me I wasn’t to be alone in my room with you.”
“You going to do what he says, baby doll?”
Which was the crux of Lisanne’s problem. Was she?
Daniel stood up and stretched, exposing a tanned sliver of skin above the waistband of his jeans.
“Let me know,” he said, sounding irritated.
Lisanne grabbed hold of his hand, and he looked down.
“Don’t be mad at me. This … it’s all new. Please…”
Daniel sighed. “I know, I get it. But, fuck! I just want you all the time, baby doll. At school you share a room, and my place is … and now it’s the holidays and you’re just across the hall. It’s driving me crazy. You drive me crazy.”
Lisanne tingled with pleasure at his words. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to hear that enough.
“Do you want to go to a party tonight?” she said, temporarily changing the subject. “It’s a girl I went to high school with—my mom is a friend of her mom’s. I don’t know—would you like to?”
He shrugged and looked back toward the kitchen. “Sure, why not? A party I can do.”
At that moment Harry came strolling back out with a can of soda, and plopped down on the porch.
“So, are we going or what?”
Lisanne frowned. “‘We’? Who’s ‘we’? Going where?”
Harry ignored her. “They’ve got Virtua Racing, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty, Mario Karts, Pacman, Metal Slug—you know: the classics.”
“Cool,” said Daniel.
“What?” snorted Lisanne.
“Harry’s going to take me to the local arcade,” said Daniel, winking at her. “You said you wanted me to see the sights.”
Lisanne groaned. Spending the morning watching her boyfriend play stupid video games with her little brother was not her idea of fun at all. She’d imagined finding somewhere to go and lie under the trees again, make-out and enjoy some quality time alone. Certainly not with Harry tagging along! But it seemed that while she was being lectured by her dad, her boyfriend and her brother had been making other plans.
Just great.
Lisanne had no choice but to agree. At least they’d be away from her parents for a while.
At the arcade, she sat listening to Kate Vigo on her iPod, and texting Rodney who was visiting family in Tuscaloosa, while Daniel and Harry played something that involved cartoon characters beating the shit out of each other. Fun times.
Lisanne noticed that the arcade was getting a lot busier. That was probably because it was the Thanksgiving holidays, and people were taking time off from school and work. Tomorrow would be the big family day.
Daniel walked over and draped a casual arm around her shoulder.
“We should get out of here,” he whispered, while placing a warm kiss on her cheek.
“Really? I thought you wanted to go and do that racing game thingy—not that I’m arguing…”
He gave her a tight smile. “It’s going to kick off in here any minute, Lis. We should get your brother out.”
“What?” she said, staring around her. “How do you know?”
All she could see were groups of guys playing on the games.
“Trust me,” he said. Then to Harry, “Come on, man, we’re going to get some burgers and shakes.”
Harry bitched a bit, but a lot less than normal. Clearly he didn’t want to argue with Daniel. He was hanging on his every word, and was rather resentful of his sister’s presence.
They found a café where they could sit outside. Harry ordered his banana milkshake, Lisanne had a chocolate one, and Daniel ordered his usual black coffee—although he then proceeded to ‘taste’ nearly half of Lisanne’s drink. She ended up having to defend it from him before their burgers arrived, and was amused to see Harry wrinkle his nose when Daniel kissed her again.
Suddenly, police sirens pierced the afternoon air. Lisanne and Harry both looked in the direction of the arcade.
“Police,” she whispered to Daniel.
He nodded his head.
“How did you know something was going to happen?” she asked, puzzled.
Harry’s eyes toggled between the two of them.
Daniel shrugged. “Been in enough fights to know,” he said.
Hero worship glowed in Harry’s eyes.
Lisanne had a feeling it was going to be hard to get Daniel to herself while Harry was around.
They finished their lunch, and were wandering through the open air mall, when both Harry’s and Lisanne’s cell phones started ringing.
Lisanne answered hers first.
“Mom? What? No, we’re fine. We’re fine! Okay, we’re on our way.”
From the look on Harry’s face, his call from their dad was similar.
“What was that about?” he said.
Lisanne shook her head. “I have no idea, but I guess we’re going home.”
Ten minutes later, Lisanne pulled up on the drive. Both her parents were waiting out front. Ernie looked furious. He wrenched Daniel’s door open and pushed him against the car as he tried to climb out.
“What did you do?” he yelled in Daniel’s face.
“Get the fuck off me!” snarled Daniel, pushing back, making Ernie stumble.
“Dad!” shrieked Lisanne. “What are you doing?”
“We heard there was a fight at the arcade—police were called and everything. Several teenagers were taken to hospital. We thought … we thought … we were worried,” Monica finished lamely.
Daniel’s face was full of contempt as he stared at Lisanne’s parents, but it was Lisanne who spoke, her voice scathing.
“And you just automatically assumed Daniel had something to do with it. Well, that’s just great. Thanks for your support. For your information it was Daniel who got us out of there. He guessed something was going down and we left before anything started.” She paused, fury burning through her making her voice shake. “What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt, Mom? What happened to ‘innocent until proven guilty’, Dad? If Daniel was one of your high school students you wouldn’t be giving him this hard a time.”
“Daniel didn’t do anything!” shouted Harry, angrily.
Monica looked appalled, standing with her hand over her mouth, and her eyes darting between Daniel and her eldest child.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel,” she said.
But with her fingers covering her lips, Daniel didn’t know what she’d said.
“I’m getting the fuck out of here, Lis,” he growled.
“I’ll go with you.”
He yanked his bike keys out of his pants’ pocket and swung a leg over Sirona. Lisanne mounted behind him without even waiting to pull the helmets out of the saddlebags.
Ernie stood up straight. “Daniel, I apologize. I jumped to a conclusion without knowing the facts. I’m sorry.” He looked at his wife. “We’re both sorry.”
“Sure,” said Daniel, bitterly. “Until the next time. I’ll never be good enough for you, will I?”
Ernie grabbed his arm. “Really, I am sorry—don’t go off like this. Lisanne, please stay.”
“No, Dad. You’ve said enough.”
She nodded at Daniel and he leaned down to turn on the gas, then kick-start the bike.
Pops came out of the house, where he’d been standing with Grandma Olsen, both having overheard the whole heated exchange.
“Now then,” he said, looking Daniel in the eye. “I hope you’re not going to tell me that you’re taking my granddaughter on that motorcycle with bare legs and no helmet?”
Daniel glanced over his shoulder at Lisanne.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Everybody just calm the heck down,” said Pops. “Ernie, you sure made a mess of this one, son. Monica, you go on in with the kids. Me and Daniel are going to have some quality time with Sirona, here.” He tapped Lisanne on the arm. “You go on in with your mom and dad now.”
Reluctantly, still furious with her parents, Lisanne climbed off. Despite the fact her whole family was watching, she wrapped her arms around Daniel’s neck and ghosted her lips across his mouth.
He sighed and leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder.
Lisanne cupped his cheeks with her hands and made him look at her. “Don’t leave without me. Promise?”
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.
She kissed him again and turned to follow her parents inside.
She watched through the window as Pops said something, pointing at the trunk of his car, and Daniel followed him. A moment later, Daniel was carrying a heavy looking toolbox, and Pops was bending over Sirona.
It didn’t look like Daniel was going anywhere soon, so Lisanne turned to her parents.
“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad,” she said, enunciating every syllable icily. “You’ve really made Daniel feel welcome. Is there anything else you want to accuse him of while we’re here? Maybe that graffiti I saw in the mall, or what about that carjacking that happened last week? You want to blame that on him, too?”
“Honey, we made a mistake. We’re sorry,” said her mom, a little defensively but still trying to placate her.
Lisanne folded her arms.
“Not good enough, Mom. You know, you and Dad brought me up to treat people with respect. Well, that seems to have just gone straight out the window, doesn’t it? Or maybe you just meant people like you, with nice houses, and tidy yards. Maybe it doesn’t count if the person has tattoos and piercings … or if he’s deaf?”
“That’s enough, Lisanne,” said her father.
“No, Dad. That’s nothing like enough. I’m ashamed of both of you.”
And then she burst into tears and ran upstairs.