Vanessa
Cade sighed on the other end of the phone. “I need to talk to you,” he said again, this time more urgently. A ripple of excitement passed through me—that was always what happened when I talked to Cade, but this time it felt more urgent, more desperate. Like if I didn’t see him now, I’d wind up missing him forever.
“Where should I meet you?”
There was a pause. “Is Kimmy home?”
I shook my head even though Cade wasn’t there to see me do it. “Nope,” I said cheerfully. She was out; she’d actually been gone for the last couple of days. “You wanna come over?”
“I’ll be there soon,” Cade said darkly. He hung up before I could say goodbye.
After we got off the phone, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Just what exactly was going on, and why did he want to talk to me so desperately?
I rushed to my room and looked in the mirror. My outfit made me groan but I knew there was nothing better I could change into unless I pilfered something from Kimmy’s closet. And Cade could be here at any second! I didn’t really have time to change, but I could at least do something about my face. I’d gone downtown yesterday and bought some makeup. It wasn’t the first makeup that I’d owned, but it was the first makeup that I’d picked out on my own. I’d gotten a red lipstick and some mascara with light eye shadow to accentuate the blue of my eyes. It wasn’t exactly as dramatic as what Kimmy wore, but I figured that it could at least keep me from looking so babyish.
I put lipstick on and blotted my lips with a piece of tissue. There was a loud knock on the front door and I gasped in anticipation. It had only been, like, two minutes! How the heck had Cade gotten over here so quickly?
I can’t wait to see him, I realized as I ran a comb through my tangles of brown hair. “Coming!” I hollered loudly towards the door. Cade must not have heard me as the knock came again, louder this time.
Sprinting through the living room, I wrapped my hand around the knob and yanked the door open.
“Vanessa, honey!” Mom launched herself through the doorway and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close.
I gasped. “Mom!” I felt blood rush to my cheeks and I had to look away. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi, pumpkin,” Dad said as he stepped through the door after Mom. “How are you doing? Your mom and I missed you so much, we just wanted to see how our little girl was doing!”
My mouth went dry. Cade’s gonna be here at any second! How the heck am I supposed to get rid of them?
“Sweetie?” Mom peered in my face. “Is everything alright? You look so upset!”
I swallowed hard. “Uh, Mom, well, the truth is—”
“And is that lipstick you’re wearing, young lady?” Dad peered close. “What are you doing wearing makeup in the middle of the day?” He frowned and I blushed again. “You know how your mother and I feel about you wearing makeup!” He said the word like it was a curse. “Vanessa, honey, has something happened to you?”
“Oh, Lloyd,” Mom chided. “She’s in college now, let her be! I think she looks nice.” She stared at my face and took hold of my chin. Again, I was reminded of the astounding similarity between our faces. “Although that shade of red is a bit much, honey. You might want to stick with something like pink or a nice neutral.” She nodded her head as though she knew all about makeup when I knew that she hadn’t worn it since her wedding. “Honey, maybe we can go shopping together and pick some out.”
That was when I noticed they were carrying suitcases. My stomach plummeted and I stared. “Are you guys…going somewhere?”
Dad let out a chuckle. “You know we don’t like traveling, Ape, we’re staying with you for a few days! Mom had this great idea to surprise you!”
My jaw dropped. “Um, I don’t know…”
“Honey,” Mom said. She frowned at me. “Are you telling me that you don’t want your parents around?” She wagged a finger at me, suddenly looking like she disapproved of everything she saw. “Don’t tell me that you’re getting all snobby just because you’re living on your own,” she chirped. “Most girls would be thrilled if their parents surprised them with a visit!”
I doubt it, I thought bleakly as I stared at the luggage. Finally, an idea popped into my head.
“Mom, it’s not that I don’t want you to stay,” I said softly. “But I don’t just live by myself, you know. I have a roommate. Remember Kimmy? She doesn’t know that you two are staying here.”
“Oh, Vanessa, don’t be ridiculous,” Mom cooed. “You know us! We won’t be in the way, will we, Lloyd?” She looked up at my dad. “And we can even stay in your room, honey. You can sleep out here, on the couch.”
I felt myself deflate. “Mom, this really isn’t a good time,” I said. “I have midterms coming up next week.”
Dad looked down at me sternly. “Are you telling your mother and me that you haven’t been staying on top of your studies?” He shook his head. “You know how I feel about that, Vanessa. If your grades don’t stay perfect…” He trailed off, like the possibility of my getting a B would be enough to send him over the edge. “You won’t be able to get into a good medical school,” he finished.
“Dad, I know,” I replied as calmly as I could manage. “And of course I’ve been staying on top of my grades, but you know how it is. I spent a ton of time studying for midterms!”
Dad looked at me as though he wasn’t convinced. Finally, he turned to my mom. “Stella, did you bring all of the bags from the car?”
“No! I forgot something. Sweetie, I’ll be right back.”
I stepped forward. “What did you need?”
Mom looked down at me. “Well, I brought some things to surprise you, that’s all.”
“You know, I bet you two are tired after driving for so long,” I said with as much of a smile as I could fake. “Why not let me go out to the car and bring everything in?”
“Oh, that would be nice, honey, thank you,” Dad said. He flopped down onto the couch with a loud grunt and spread his legs comfortably. “Stella, why don’t you get me a glass of water?”
Mom bustled into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the top shelf. I watched her, feeling my panic rise by the second. What the hell was I going to tell Cade? Shit! I pulled out my phone and texted him, telling him to hold off on coming over for a little while, but I wondered if it was too late. If he was riding over on his bike, there was no way he’d check his phone before running up the stairs.
I skipped outside, enjoying the slightly cool fall breeze that wafted over me. My parents’ car was double-parked in the parking lot and I sighed as I saw all of the bags and boxes in the backseat. It looked like Mom and Dad were planning to stay for months, not days. Rolling my eyes, I reached in and grabbed as many of the packages as I could carry.
“Honey, your refrigerator looks pretty sad,” Mom said as soon as I was back inside. “Bring some of those dishes over here.” She frowned. “There’s so much beer in here! That Kimmy seems like a real lush!”
I rolled my eyes and put them on the table. Immediately, Mom ran over and started digging through.
“I brought all of your favorites,” she said, beaming at me. “Tuna hotdish and green bean casserole and lasagna!” She smiled at me and I had to bite the inside of my lips to keep from scowling back at her. Mom had loved to cook growing up, but she wasn’t all that good. As soon as I smelled the noxious odor coming from the boxes, I stepped aside.
Kimmy is going to kill me, I thought miserably as I helped Mom unload the gross-looking Tupperware dishes into the fridge. And I wouldn’t blame her. I wished I could sink into the linoleum floor and die.
Dad was flipping through the channels and making himself at home. I watched as Mom made a couple of sandwiches and brought them over to him on a plate.
The doorbell rang.
“Vanessa, are you expecting someone?” Mom looked at me with her eyebrows raised.
I rolled my eyes. “I was,” I muttered under my breath. “Until you showed up.”
Mom’s face went from confused to angry in two seconds flat. “Young lady,” she said in a warning tone. “You get back here!”
I ignored her. Running over to the door, I opened it a tiny crack and slipped outside.
Cade was standing there, looking gorgeous in a pair of jeans and a leather vest slung over his shoulder. He grinned when he saw me.
“Hey,” Cade said. He raised his eyebrows and winked at me. “You okay? You look like you’ve been running around.”
I rolled my eyes and let myself flop dramatically against the door. “I’m fine,” I muttered. “My parents showed up, though. They brought their suitcases! They’re staying for a few days,” I said miserably.
Cade threw his head back and laughed. “Can I meet Mom and Dad?”
I glared at him. “Don’t even joke about this, ass,” I hissed. “I don’t know what to do to make them leave! And no, you can’t meet them.”
Cade crossed his arms over his chest. His face was stony. “I really need to talk to you,” he said. “Can you get out later tonight?”
I bit my lip. “I think so,” I said softly. “I can probably sneak out later. They’ve already decided they’re sleeping in my room, so it’s not like I won’t be alone after they go to bed.”
Cade stepped closer and I felt overcome with a wave of sexual energy. I wanted desperately to be alone with him, but I knew that if we so much as kissed, Mom would have a heart attack.
“Not now,” I said in a low voice.
Cade’s eyes met my own and a sizzle of arousal coursed through my body.
“Later,” I added softly.
Cade grinned. “I’ll be waiting,” he said in a low tone. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek before jogging away.
I stood there like an idiot with my hand on the part of my face he’d kissed, beaming. Suddenly, I’d completely forgotten about my parents—no one existed in the world aside from Cade and me. Everything was perfect when it was just the two of us.
The door creaked open and I almost fell backwards into the apartment. Mom was standing there with her hands on her narrow hips.
“Vanessa, the manners on you!” She scowled. “It’s like you were raised in a barn! Why didn’t you invite your friend inside for a glass of water? It’s hot today!”
“It was the mailman,” I lied.
Mom frowned. “Well, you’d better come inside before you start to get too hot,” she said as she stepped away from the door. “Come on.”