After we got tired of dancing, we sat on a marble bench, engraved with roses and vines, next to the pond. It had begun to get late, the sky turning a rich redish orange. Nick and I were talking about the school when we heard two muffled voices drawing near. We turned in the direction of the sound and saw Mrs. Bradley and a tall, brooding man walking up to us. The man was maybe 6’1, with dark brown curly hair, showing a few gray hairs here and there. His outfit consisted of a light blue polo and khaki pants. They stopped a few feet away from our little bench. Nick wrapped his arm around me protectively.
“That’s her, George. Isn’t it rather surprising to you that he would choose a friend like that? None the less, kiss it,” she said indicating that I was now an it. Mr. Bradley scrutinized us intently, but he didn’t seem upset at all, unlike his wife.
“Is this really what you dragged me out here for, Meredith? I don’t see anything wrong with them together. So what if she wears too much makeup and has strange color favoritism? If he likes her, and he’s happy with her, that’s all that should matter. Of course, you do hold grudges against anyone who’s not like you; and clearly, she is not like you. I am going back to my work. Do not interrupt me again, Meredith,” he said tersely, and pivoted toward the house. He took a few steps, then turned back around and stopped in front of me.
“What is your name?” he asked curiously, but the gruffness was still there.
“Mor…Morgan,” I stuttered, intimidated. He smiled showing perfectly white teeth that seemed to glow in the growing darkness. He put his hand out, and I shook it feebly.
“It’s very nice to meet you Morgan. If you ever have any problems with Nick here, you come straight to me, all right? I’ll put him in his place.”
“Thank you sir, but I don’t think I will need to, he’s very polite.”
“That’s always something a parent wants to hear about their kid,” the large man chuckled. It felt very awkward standing next to Mr. Bradley. He towered over me by about a foot, and he was almost scarier than Mrs. Bradley, and she was pretty scary.
“Well, I’m going back to my work.” He gave his wife one last glare then walked away. Mrs. Bradley turned and looked at us when he was gone. Her eyes were overflowing with tears and she was sobbing softly. Nick removed his arm from around me and went over to comfort her. She sobbed deeply into his shoulder until his shirt was tear-stained. He ran his hand down her hair soothingly, calming her sobs into muffled sniffles. They remained like that for a couple minutes until she pulled away, wiping any extra tears and snot that wasn’t wiped on Nick. She turned and walked up to me and hugged me for a minute, but it seemed like eternity.
“I’m very sorry, Morgan. I acted foolishly when you first came here, and I should have acted more mature and my age. Please forgive me, dear. If there is any way I can make it up to you, just let me or Nick know.” She patted my cheek softly, then walked back towards the house. I stood there dumbfounded. Either they were bipolar or I was imagining things. Nick’s low chuckle startled me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re cute when you’re puzzled.” He smiled, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Are your parents bipolar?” I asked incredulously.
“No, but they seem like it, don’t they?”
“Yeah,” I replied replaying the day through my head.
“I should probably get you something to eat. You have got to be starving by now. I totally forgot to get you lunch. I’m an idiot,” he said in a mumble of words. Until he had mentioned it, I wasn’t hungry at all. My tummy rumbled in reply.
“I wasn’t hungry until you mentioned it actually,” I said softly.
“I’m an idiot, admit it.”
“You’re not an idiot at all. And if even if you were, you’re a pretty damn cute one,” I said winking at him and pecking him on the cheek with a kiss. He smiled and kissed me on the lips.
My stomach growled evilly, ruining the moment. “Damn hunger problems,” I hissed under my breath. He laughed and led me to the house.
“What would you like to eat?” he asked as we walked up the patio.
“Um, whatever you want.”
“Morgan, just pick something.”
“Uh… Italian?” I said thinking of the first thing that came to mind.
“Ok, Italian it is. We can take my brother Michael’s Lamborghini. There’s this really nice Italian restaurant just outside of town, I think you’ll love it.”
“Is it expensive?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. Of course it was expensive; there was nothing not expensive about his family.
“It’s not super expensive,” he said like it was nothing.
“I’m sure I can’t afford it,” I grumbled.
“I’m going to take a shower; I want to smell good on our date. Do you want to take a shower and borrow one of my sister’s dresses when you’re done?”
“Are you sure they would want me wearing their stuff?”
“They won’t mind, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to tell because I would wash them and put them back,” he winked.
“Fine, I’m sure I’m going to regret getting dressed up. I blame you,” I said opening the patio door and walking up the stairs to his sister’s room, I wasn’t sure whose. I went to the massive walk in closet and tried to find a dress that wasn’t pink. I had little success. After the unsuccessful find, I walked into the other sister’s room. In her closet I had more fun. She had a strapless black, white and red plaid dress. It was shorter than my knees and flared out a little at the bottom with small ruffles. I yanked it off the rack as soon as I saw it. It was perfect. His sister had some good taste! After I was done, I put the dress on delicately, holding my hair up high so it wouldn’t get wet. It was a little big, but I’d manage. Continuing to hold my hair up, I searched their bathrooms and found a hair dryer. It was a fancy little thing, but it worked far beyond the piece of junk I had at home. My hair was done within a couple minutes. It was a black blob around my face; so much for the curls. I put some of it behind my ear, and put the dryer away. Nick was sprawled on the couch talking to his mom when I came back to the staircase.
“Wow!” Mrs. Bradley said breathlessly. Nick followed her stare, and smiled. I blushed at the audience watching me come down the stairs. Nick got up as I reached the main floor, and walked over to me embrace me in his arms. He was in a white shirt and blue tie and a pair of beige slacks. He looked handsome.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered in my ear.
“Thank you,” I replied as he kissed my forehead. Mrs. Bradley cleared her throat forcefully. So she wasn’t that used to me yet.
“You kids should start get going. You don’t want the restaurant to close before you actually eat,” she said gruffly. Nick took my hand and led me to the door.
“Wait! She needs shoes!” Mrs. Bradley exclaimed, disappearing up the stairs. There were some clanks and thuds, and before you knew it she was back with a pair of black, three inch heeled stilettos.
“Is she trying to get me killed?” I asked dumbfounded.
“Here honey, wear these.” She shoved them in my arms. Tonight was going to be the night I broke my first body part, no doubt.
“Heh… Thanks Mrs. Bradley,” I said with the least bit of enthusiasm. I plopped down on the ground and laced them up. Nick had to help me to my feet so I wouldn’t collapse.
“Aw, you two look so cute! Now run along,” she said shooing us out the door. You mean hobble, I thought sourly. When she closed the door on us, Nick picked me up and carried me to the garage.
“Thank you!” I said gratefully; he laughed, putting me down lightly, and then put the garage code in. The massive door opened slowly, giving the dramatic affect to the cars parked inside. Nick led me to the right, where a black and orange Lamborghini was parked.
“Are you serious?” I screeched. “How much money do you people have?”
“A decent amount,” he replied a little smug. “Get in.”
The interior was black with orange on the dashboard, inside doors, and seats. It was like a dream. Surprisingly the seats were extremely comfortable, as low as they were. Nick put the keys in the engine, and turned the car on. Like a kitten, it purred to life. While I was still staring around at the amazing car I was in, Nick lurched the car forward and bolted out of the driveway. I was slapped against the seat, my stomach flattened like a pancake against my spine. Nick was laughing -while I was practically peeing my pants- watching me digging my nails into the expensive leather like a spooked cat. After a few minutes of pure terror, he slowed down and drove towards downtown.
“I love this car!” Nick said with a wild expression in his eye.
“I think I just peed,” I replied exasperated, unhooking my nails from the black leather. I hope they didn’t see my little claw marks.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out. Are you alright?” he asked now concerned.
“Never better,” I replied.