It's Lust, Not Love

Part 21

“Er, I’m not sure you should…”

“I get it, I’ll just call you Lewis when nobody else can hear, you know, like a secret!” She put her finger to her lips and winked at me. I opened my mouth to protest but she had already skipped off, and the man behind me in line was yelling at me.

“It’s your turn! Stop holding up the line!” I sighed. So much for looking forward to tomorrow.

Ana’s POV

I was in my room, looking at the photographs I had taken on my wall when Marissa popped her head in my door.

“You’re back from lunch with Amber, sweetie?” She smiled at me. She really was doing her best to act like there actually was another person living in the house, unlike my father. He still ignored me, shocker. Note the sarcasm.

“Yup. Just got back a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, ok good. Can we talk?” She stepped into my room hesitantly, like she thought I’d scream at her for coming in.

“Relax. I don’t bite!” I reassured her, and she laughed, her blonde curls bouncing. I was really jealous of her hair, it always looked perfect and had so much bounce, even though she claimed she did nothing to get it that way. “So what did you want to talk to me about?” She sat in my bed, patting the space beside her, gesturing for me to sit down, and I complied.

“Well, since you’ve gone on birth control,” She smiled, amused, as I blushed with embarrassment. “Since you’ve gone n birth control, that obviously means you’ve been, um, seeing boys, and your father thought it would be a good idea if I talked to you about boys… and stuff…” She added, lamely.

“Uh, ok…” I wasn’t sure how to reply to that.

“Well, are you seeing anyone in particular? Like ,a boyfriend or something?”

“Yes, I have a boyfriend.”

“And are you in a serious relationship?”

“Very serious.”

“Ok then, I’m so sorry about this, I know how much I would have hated this when I was your age, but your father said if you have a boyfriend, he wants to meet him. Y’know, dinner with the parents sort of thing?” She cringed as she said it, already anticipating my reaction. She had the right idea.

“WHAT?!?” I screeched. “He’s never cared before!” They couldn’t meet Lewis! Immediately they’d know he was too old for me, and it would only be a short step from there to realize he was my teacher!

“I’m sorry, but your dad is trying to make sure you’re safe!” Marissa looked like this was the last place she wanted to be right now.

“I’m perfectly safe! Can’t he just trust me on this?” She shook her head apologetically.

“I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted. Please,” she begged. “Please just do this for him! He was really worried about the birth control.” I bit my lip. This wasn’t good at all. Lewis probably wouldn’t even agree to it! But if I had to…

“Fine, I’ll ask him, but I can’t guarantee anything!” Marissa beamed and hugged me.

“Thank you so much! Mark will be so pleased! We’ll meet him tonight then!” She practically skipped out of my room before I could answer. Tonight? I had no time to even prepare… I sighed, resigned, and dialed Lewis’s number. He answered almost immediately.

“Hey, I was just about to call you! I wanted to hear your voice.” I smiled to myself. That was so cute!

“Aw, you’re sweet!” I gushed.

“So why did you call me?” I wish I could say I called him just to hear his voice as well, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case this time.

“Ok, I know you won’t be happy about this, but my dad and soon-to-be step-mom want to meet you… over dinner… tonight.” I waited for him to refuse, but surprisingly—

“I’d love to! Should I dress formally?”

“Wait.” I started in shock. “You’re ok with this?”

“Of course! I’d love to meet your parents.”

“But what if they realize you’re” I whispered the last part, “my teacher?” I heard him laughing on the other end.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’ll see you tonight!” and he hung up. I groaned. How could he just brush this off so lightly? It was a huge risk, doing this! I realized I was chewing on my nails and forced myself to stop; chewed-up nails weren’t exactly attractive.

The doorbell rang ominously. He was here! I mentally prepared myself, then answered the door. Lewis was standing on my doorstep, grinning and holding a bottle of—was that champagne? He noticed me staring incredulously at it.

“Relax, it’s sparkling apple cider!” I glared at him.

“You did that on purpose to freak me out!” I accused.

“Well, can I help that you’re just so cute when you freak out?” He chuckled and came inside.

My dad walked up, looking pretty intimidating in my opinion, standing up straight to show his impressive height of 6’4”, but Lewis was eye-level with him. I had never noticed how tall Lewis was. Lewis greeted my dad with a “Hello Sir”, and my dad looked him up and down a few times before saying,

“Come on in. The food’s already on the table.” I rolled my eyes at him. Why was he being so unfriendly? Lewis just grinned at me and followed my father to the dining room.

We sat down, although Marissa had not yet joined us. There was an awkward silence; none of us knew what to say. My dad eventually broke the silence, much to my relief.

“So, um..I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

“Lewis, sir.”

“So Lewis, do you have a job or any hobbies?”

“Well, I’m very busy at school,” I could tell Lewis was avoiding the job question, “and I enjoy painting very much.” My father nodded thoughtfully.

“Mmm, Ana is a bit of an artist too, I believe. Is that how you two met?”

“Sort of.” Lewis answered, flashing me a small smile.

“Sort of?”

“Well, I had met her before, but we got to know each other very well in art class.” I marveled at Lewis. He hadn’t lied to my father once, just avoided and manipulated the truth to sound completely innocent. I was impressed.

I noticed my father looking around and tapping his fingers impatiently, obviously hoping Marissa would soon join us. She would definitely make this dinner less awkward, I was sure of it. She always had something to say.

My stomach growled loudly, and I looked down at my lap, embarrassed. When I looked up, I saw Lewis in a silent fit of laughter and my father looking more impatient than ever. I forced myself, with great difficulty, not to bite my lip from my nervousness. This dinner wasn’t exactly going well yet. That was until I caught a glimpse of Marissa walking through the door, in a strapless black dress with her hair extra bouncy, ready to save the day—or meal. Lewis also noticed her, and stared open-mouthed. Why is he looking at her like that? I felt a little jealous. Why did she have to be so pretty?

Lewis still wasn’t speaking, just staring at Marissa. I glanced nervously at Marissa, but she was kissing my dad on the cheek and hadn’t noticed Lewis’s staring. She then turned to him and spoke.

“Lewis! We’re so happy you came!” Lewis stuttered for a moment then said one word.

“Cara?”