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Chapter 15 – Double Date
Leon’s eyes flickered through his thick glasses with a look that trailed between curiosity and disbelief, while the rest of his face remained expressionless.
“Yeah… about that…” I stammered. “It was Becky’s idea and she wouldn’t let me say no.”
Matt crossed his arms with a taunting grin flashing mostly to me. “Nerdy! Come on! Becky’s going to be furious if we’re late.”
Leon’s eyes narrowed as his hands caught my waist and with such ease, pulled me to his side. His hand was unyielding against me, though at the same time cautious. My heart raced frantically. If for exhilaration or for fear, I did not know.
“Becky did tell me that you should come along… If that’s what you want, of course.” I continued wryly as I watched the arrogant smile being washed from Matt’s face; his eyes fixing on Leon, then to me.
Leon tilted his head and let out a humorless laugh. “What’s not to like?”
Matt positioned himself in front of me as his dark eyes fixed somewhere else. “So… are we going?”
I nodded and made a hasty introduction. “Leonard—Matt, Matt—Leonard.”
“Her boyfriend.” Leon retorted, offering a hand which Matt just stared on for two seconds then shook so very reluctantly.
“Ah… The four-eyed new kid,” said he with a pretentious little smile before turning to me. “Is he coming with us?”
I threw a glare at him before turning to Leon for an answer.
“Sure,” said he, his face still vacant.
“Okay… I don’t suppose you need a ride then.” Matt wheeled back to his car without much enthusiasm.
“No need,” Leon called at him then, opened the door of the blue Audi then faced me with a sneer, waving his hand and stooping a little as he did. “After you.”
Matt’s car sped ahead of us while Leon revved the Audi’s engine with a smooth hum.
“Are you even allowed to drive this thing?” I fumbled with the seat belt nervously.
“Yep. It’s mine.” A grin finally spread across his face which sped the thumping in my chest to a full throttle. “Got it delivered this morning. I didn’t like the idea of you having to ride with him.” He cocked his head to where Matt’s car disappeared.
I grunted and gripped on the seat as the speed gauge pointed to sixty and rising.
In no time, I was gasping as the car raced on the empty road. “I rode with him like, one time… One time and overnight you got yourself a car? Don’t you think this is going way overboard?”
“What? It’s an outdated model. Besides, I can’t drive Dad’s R8. It’d be too… flashy.” He was suppressing a smirk as his hand removed mine from being clutched so tightly on the side of my seat and weaved it through his fingers.
“Please keep your eyes on the road.” I said nervously. “And this isn’t flashy? Leon, it’s a race car!”
“I know, right? Good thing it comes in blue.” He chuckled softly, calming my brewing panic, making it easier to breathe. “Sarah, will you calm down for a second?” He squeezed my hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear. Now if you don’t like the car… or me driving, I’ll have it shipped back tonight.”
My eyes widened in incredulity. “Are you for real? How could you say that so easily?” I mumbled mostly to myself.
“What?”
“Things like… I’ll have the leaning tower of Pisa moved at your doorstep by tomorrow,” I mimicked his tone, lowering my voice as I did without much success.
He replied with a melodious chuckle that never failed to take the wind out of me.
“It’s not funny.” I groaned feeling the rush of blood on my cheeks.
It took him a while before he was able to compose himself. Still, the corners of his lips twitched uncontrollably as he spoke. “That, I cannot do.” He laughed quietly. “The Italian government would probably sue me.”
We were both laughing before he even finished what he was saying. His laugh became one of the dearest things in the world to me, second only to his smile.
“Does it offend you though?” He asked when the fit ceased.
“No… overwhelmed, perhaps,” I replied still gazing contently at him. “What’s it like… you know, being famous and rich?”
His brows furrowed as if to ponder on my casual inquiry. “It has its advantages. I get to buy things that I want… which do not necessarily keep me contented. Sometimes, it seems unreal… like I don’t really exist; as if I’m not me anymore.” His eyes trailed off somewhere far, far away. There was misery in his usually playful voice which curdled in the pit of my stomach.
I couldn’t feel apprehension anymore and the blur of the street became but a background to his wistfulness. “Like the video…” I mumbled.
“You’ve seen it?” His eyes were still fixed on the road or something else that was not visible to me.
I nodded ruefully though I would have preferred to put up a wide grin and rave about how cool the video was. Sadly, I couldn’t bring myself to feed him anything close to a lie as if it was a mortal sin that I would never forgive myself of.
“You didn’t like it.” It wasn’t a question.
“Hmm… I wouldn’t say that. It’s just that… when I watched it, it was kind of… empty. The song was brilliant but I couldn’t quite feel it. It’s like… like—“
“It wasn’t me…” He finished the sentence for me, bitterness evident on his flawless face.
“Wait. How do you do that?” I muttered somewhat annoyed that everything that I was about to say seemed to be written on my face. Was I that much of a simpleton to figure out?
His forehead creased as he seemed to deliberate silently for several seconds then hesitated when he gazed back at me with eyes that screamed of yearning. “I wish… I could tell you.”
I couldn’t understand back then the gravity of his words but seeing him like this suffocated me in a way unimaginable, so I put up a smile and blurted out my thoughts. “So, you’re a mind-reader now? What could be next?”
His musical laughter reverberated in my ears but I could see that it never touched his eyes when he placed my hand on his lips. “You’ll be surprised Sarah. You’ll be surprised.” There was a relief on Leon’s face when the car came to a halt, stirring the silence which prevailed for a couple of minutes. All the while, he never let go of my hand.
There was something he wasn’t telling me; something that I was bound to find out.
Becky was so excited when we arrived downtown; she forgot all about Matt for a while and anchored her arms around mine before I could escape. While we walked to the shopping district, I was forced to recount how it happened between me and Leon, leaving out Leon’s secret and the kiss of course. But still, I couldn’t help but blush while I did, as Becky nodded with her eager eyes widening and narrowing about the details. We kept our voices low, just in case the two boys trailing behind us were snooping.
