By Friday, news had traveled and now the entire faculty at Hope for Youth knew about Iggy and me. Taylor was one of the first to figure it out, and she told both Matt and Lourdes, who told others, who told others. Eventually, word reached all of the volunteers. If someone was still in the dark, they weren't any longer when they saw Iggy and I enter-hand-in-hand or leave in the same fashion. The buzz increased when we sat together at lunch two days in a row.
Once again, we were the center of attention. Gossipers of Hope for Youth constantly garbled about us to one another, sharing their encounters with the "lovesick couple". They even tried to convince each other they had seen us kissing in the locker rooms. When the details became far too steamy for me, I stopped listening to whatever came from the rumor mills.
People often approached me to validate the latest rumor. They'd ask if we were dating, I'd say yes, they'd ask how long, and I'd say since Wednesday. Others would simply remark, "So you and William, huh?" Some, like Taylor, would come up to me and tease me about it. I'd blush and stutter, and they'd laugh then leave.
Iggy was right: no one was surprised. A few said, "I had seen you two together but I thought you were just friends." The majority, however, exclaimed, "I knew there was something going on between you two!"
I didn't think too much about it, since I knew this was going to happen. But I began to worry when Edward Manner approached me early Friday morning-apparently, news had already reached even him.
"Mr. Manner," I greeted in surprise, done tying my hair back in a ponytail. "Did you need something?"
He flashed his car-dealer smile which probably helped him numerous times in the business world. He smoothed his tie and informed me, "Yes. I've heard some of the latest gossip, and while I normally don't involve myself in these matters, this one intrigued me."
Immediately, I assumed he was referring to the rumor about Iggy and me. I took a deep breath and prepared for the lecture on interoffice dating.
"According to the rumor," he started, pinning his blue eyes on me, "you and Mr. William Koehl are seeing each other, romantically."
Since denying it to my boss was not in my best interest, I nodded and confessed, "Yes, we are, sir. What you heard is true."
As opposed to receiving a scowl like I had expected, he smiled instead. He rested his hands on the lapels of his jacket and told me, "Good. Putting professionalism aside, I think that man needs someone like you in his life. Anyway, just thought I'd approach the source directly." He turned to leave and called over his shoulder, "Good luck."
I watched in amazement as his figure disappeared down the hall. It seemed odd for the head of Hope for Youth to condone dating among coworkers. It was even odder for him to tell me so directly. Maybe Iggy meant a lot to Hope for Youth-he had practically been raised here-so everyone must've known his hardships. So I suppose Mr. Manner was just looking out for him. I thought it strange regardless.
Shaking my head, I turned to make my way to Mrs. Gibbens' classroom, but another visitor was approaching me. This one didn't surprise me to see.
"Hey, Angie," my boyfriend greeted with a smirk. He held his hands behind his back which made my eyebrow quirk. "Guess what I found. Well, what my mom found."
Curiosity swept across my features as I stared at him, trying to think what he could possibly be hiding. My lips pursed in thought. Sighing, I guessed, "A new watch? I have no idea."
His eyebrow rose, but relaxed again. Resuming his smirk, he shook his head, saying, "No, not a new watch." He pulled his hands out from behind his back and presented to me a pair of pink Converse high tops.
I gasped, thinking they were utterly cute. My eyes fell to his own shoes: black Converse. I laughed, rolling my eyes, until I realized if I wore the shoes he held, we'd be matching, in the sense of his and hers. A delighted blush painted my cheeks and I reached out to grab them.
Before I could touch them or make a remark, Iggy explained, "My mom was going through her closet and when she found these, she thought of you, since, um, she knows-you know-about us." He gave me an adorable sheepish smile before continuing, "She suggested I give them to you as a gift, so, here." He shoved the shoes at me.
I caught them before they could fall to the floor and smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck in an unexpected hug, making him stumble backwards. I let go once he regained balance and glanced at the Converse high tops in my hands, gushing, "Thank you. I adore them."
He smirked, clearly recovered from his lapse of shyness. He pivoted on his heel and left me alone in the hall.
A small smile fell onto my lips and I rushed back into the ladies' locker room. I traded my tennis shoes for the pink Converse high tops, and let a broad smile bloom on my face.
My first gift from Iggy. Even if he was unsure about it, I still loved it.
They were even in my size!
* * * * * *
"You have a guest," Lourdes informed me before lunch, stopping me in the hall. "She said she had a question for you. She's by the reception desk in the lobby."
"Thanks," I said as I made my way towards the desk. As I walked, I wondered who my surprise visitor was, but as I neared, it dawned on me that there was only one girl who'd visit me at Hope for Youth just to ask me a question: Sam.
The feather in her hair gave her away before I even truly saw her. Once she caught me approaching from the corner of her eye, she faced me and gave me a grin that managed to look innocent and mysterious at the same time. She shouted, "There's the saint in action!"
Chuckling, I shook my head and smiled at her. "What are you doing here, Sam?" I inquired, leaning casually against the reception desk.
"To ask you a question," she declared, as if it was so obvious. She even added an eye roll for dramatic flair.
"I was informed," I replied, crossing my arms. "So what's up?"
Before she could answer, she noticed the pink shoes I wore on my feet that she didn't recognize. An eyebrow quirked on her face and she pointed to my shoes, asking, "Those new?"
I smiled as I nodded, kicking one leg out to admire the footwear.
She studied my face and when she made a connection, her lips pursed together in smugness. She guessed, "Will bought them for you, didn't he?"
"How could you tell?" I teased, smirking briefly before I couldn't rein in my grin any longer.
She chuckled, pointing now at my face. She answered my rhetorical question, "Because it's written all over your face. Tell me he wears Converse often."
I nodded again, straightening so I no longer leaned on the desk.
"Aww, cute," she cooed, her eyes twinkling. She glanced about, clearly looking for something. "Speaking of the handsome devil, where is he?"
Something mischievous flashed in my eyes as I told her, "My theory is, if you think about him hard enough, he'll pop up out of nowhere."
It was in my experience that he showed up when you weren't thinking about him or when you wanted to avoid him. But Sam didn't know that, so she assumed a pensive expression, creases forming in her forehead from concentration.
Suddenly, Iggy rounded the corner, unseen by Sam, and froze. An eyebrow rose on his face as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and asked, "Why do I sense we have an extra body?"
Her eyes widened and she whipped around to face him. Sam glanced back at me in shock as she cursed, "Holy shit." She shook her head and trained her eyes on Iggy again. "It worked?"
I laughed at her reaction and the incredulous tone that had slipped into her voice. I put a hand on her shoulder and explained, "No, we normally meet up around this time to go to lunch together."
Her surprise melted away and was replaced by anger. She glared murderously at me, lips pursed. She was not as amused as I was. She crossed her arms, saying, "You're hilarious. Don't think you're off the hook either, William."
He stood beside me, an eyebrow still quirked. It was safe to assume he realized who the visitor was by now, since I spoke about her enough around him. He leaned against the reception desk and queried, "What did I do?"
"You're guilty by association," Sam announced, nodding her head once. After I exchanged a look with her, she cleared her throat and said, "Good, now you're both here."
An eyebrow arched on my face as I inquired, "Does your question require us both?"
"Yes," she answered, smirking, as caution crawled along Iggy's features, "because it involves the both of you."
"Why don't you ask the question now?" Iggy suggested, obviously impatient. He rolled his shoulders. "I'm getting antsy."
Sam's smirk widened into an excited smile, and she flicked her eyes between us. She asked enthusiastically, "What do you guys say to going on a double date with me and Niam?"
"No," Iggy decided without a single thought, starting to walk away.
Eyebrows drawn over my eyes, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and stopped him. He faced me, smirking, but I didn't let go. "Now you wait one moment, mister," I ordered.
She smirked knowingly, folding her arms over her chest. She catcalled, "Ooh, she's using the girlfriend voice on you. You're in it now."
He chuckled, tucked his hands in his pockets, and appeared resigned from escaping. He smirked at me, and in no way did it look innocent.
I tapped my foot, which he heard, and demanded, "And why can't we go on this double date?"
"I dunno," he responded with a shrug. "I figured whatever came out of her mouth was a bad idea so my knee-jerk reaction was to say no."
Sam sent him a disbelieving look and scoffed. She put a hand on her hips, waved her finger about, and warned, "You don't even know me, so don't say stuff like that. Besides, I'm your girlfriend's best friend. You better respect me."
"'Respect' and 'scared of' are synonymous to me," he informed her, smirking like the Cheshire cat in shades.
She laughed, rolling her eyes. She fixed her gaze on me and asked, "Okay, moving on, what do you say to the double date?"
I smiled at her and admitted, "It sounds fun."
"And you can learn more about Niam," she pointed out, "since last time you two didn't exactly get a whole lot of time to talk."
Iggy continued to resemble a sneaky feline as he told her, "We're already sold-we're going. You don't need to appeal to us anymore."
She did nothing but say, "I'm sticking my tongue out at you and flipping you the bird." She smirked bumptiously.
He gave her a grin of his own, nodding in an unconvinced way. "Sure you are."
Now she actually did stick her tongue out at him childishly and rolled her eyes. She smiled at me and proposed, "Well, since you've agreed to the double date, let's discuss details?"
"When and where?" I inquired once the challenge between them dissipated.
Sam's expression turned pensive. "Niam doesn't have a competition tomorrow, so anytime is free for us. How about we go out to dinner?" she suggested with a smile.
Iggy scoffed. He pointed out, "That's so cliché. Let's do something else."
She put a hand on her hip and sent him a look. "All right, Mr. Hotshot," she started, "if you don't like my idea, maybe you should come up with it."
He allowed his signature smirk to spread across his face, but it faded once he realized he didn't have a better idea. He rubbed the back of his head and offered, "Um, how about lunch instead?"
Sam and I looked at each other with an eyebrow raised, then burst into laughter while Iggy shook his head, mumbling, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
When we sobered, my best friend looked levelly at him and conceded, "All right, we'll do lunch. Tomorrow at noon? We can go to the Alpine Bistro."
"Sounds good," I agreed, smiling.
She delivered a gentle punch to my arm, grinned, and said, "I'll see you guys tomorrow then. I'm off to help my darling mother make people's lives a living hell. Love you, Angie!" She curtsied with a flourish and bounced away.
"Love you too, Sam!" I called after her with a short chuckle.
When I turned back to Iggy, his eyebrow was arched and he guessed, "Family issues?"
I nodded. "Probably best if you didn't pry though. The Lowry house gets pretty messy." A thought jumped into my head so I asked, "Do you need a ride to the Alpine Bistro tomorrow?"
He shrugged. "If it's not too much trouble. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've been there before, but I'd rather not get lost because of a distorted memory."
"I'll pick you up here tomorrow then, say around eleven-thirty?"
He nodded, the clock struck noon, and he slid his hand through mine. We walked hand-in-hand to lunch.
* * * * * *
The Alpine Bistro had arching ceilings, tiled floors, glass doors, and brass handles. The inside décor was a Persian rug short of expensive and fancy. The tables and chairs were polished metal, the bar counter Formica, and the silverware shined.
Most business people came here for lunch or dinner straight from work in their suits-the style of the restaurant suggested formal attire. But Sam had explained the exception: teenagers were exempt from that rule. They could wear jeans and a T-shirt and it would still be considered acceptable. After all, she pointed out, even some of the adult patrons wore casual outfits.
For our double date, I wore a black skirt with a small bejeweled flower near the bottom hem, a fitting turquoise V-neck shirt, a bracelet on my left wrist, blue stud earrings, and the pink Converse high tops Iggy had given me. I held my small black handbag in my left hand, swinging it unconcernedly.
Iggy beside me had not mentioned to his younger brother that this was a date, because he wore essentially the same thing he did every day: gray jeans, a slimming black T-shirt, and black Converse shoes. Nonetheless, he managed to look very attractive.
When we entered the Alpine Bistro, Sam and Niam were already there. Sam spotted us and waved us over to the table. As we approached, they stood and smiled at us.
Niam looked as I had remembered him: unruly, silky black hair, chocolate brown eyes, caramel skin, and a stud earring in his right brow. His smile was dazzling white, and it demanded all the attention in the room, even if it was unintentional. Unlike the last time we met, he wasn't bare-chested. Instead, he wore a short-sleeved collared shirt with the top and last button left undone, skinny jeans, a pair of green Vans, and a spiked wristband wrapped tightly over his bulging bicep. Sam never lied about his good looks.
He extended a hand to me and shook it. "Angela, nice to see you again." He nodded towards Iggy, saying, "And you're the boyfriend. William, right?"
Iggy offered his hand out, and once he gripped it, he shook it once. He gave his trademark smirk and told him, "The one and only."
After hugging Sam, we took our seats across from each other. Before any conversation could begin, we watched, enthralled, as Iggy ran his hands gingerly along the table. He located our waters, the salt shakers, and our silverware. His head cocked in different directions as he listened to every sound in the room, most likely figuring out where the kitchen and bar were, as those were the noisiest areas in the restaurant.
When the ritual ended, Niam whistled, impressed. Leaning forward over the table, he arched a brow and questioned, "And you're actually blind?"
Sam slapped him hard on the arm and sent him a glare. She shoved a warning finger in his face and then pantomimed slitting her throat. He simply shrugged in response.
Iggy didn't seem offended. He chuckled and continued to smirk. He rested his arm on the back of my chair, making my heart rate increase. "Yes, I am," he answered, as if this were a daily occurrence. "And I get that reaction a lot."
Niam grinned at Sam, who rolled her eyes and took a sip from her water before she said something she might regret. Niam looked back at my boyfriend and inquired, "So do you use stuff you hear to help you?"
Nodding, he explained, "I have four other senses I can use, so I'm not completely helpless. I depend on those senses more so than you depend on your eyesight. Because of that, my senses are more sensitive than yours. It allows me to function as well as any person who can see." He reached out to grab his glass, and stuck his pointer finger in to determine the water level. The action was confident, making it look smooth and flawless.
Then, the waiter approached us, handing us menus as he greeted, "Hello, my name's Leo, and I'll be your server for the afternoon. Why don't we start with some drinks? What can I get you?" He pointed to Sam, readying his pen and pad of paper.
"Mountain Dew," she answered with a smile.
"I'll have the same," Niam announced, smirking at her. A silent conversation was held between them and the air grew heavy.
Clearing my throat, I told him, "I'd like a raspberry lemonade please."
Our waiter, Leo, looked at Iggy, who continued to stare straight ahead. He glanced questioningly at his sunglasses for a short while before he plastered his smile back on his face and asked, "And what can I get for you, sir?"
Iggy pursed his lips in thought. Tilting his head, he inquired, "What do you prefer?"
He looked especially confused now. "Uh, for drinks?" When Iggy nodded, he coughed and answered uneasily, "Well, I like Pepsi-"
"Then let's go with that," Iggy decided, smirking.
Leo nodded, regaining his composure. "I'll be back with those drinks."
Niam looked to the blind man beside me, amusement flickering in his eyes and a smile playing on his lips. "Why didn't you just order what you wanted?"
An eyebrow quirked on Iggy's face. "Well, I can't exactly read over the menu for the drink options," he pointed out. His smirk slid back onto his face. "Besides, it's fun to catch the waiters off guard a bit, and it makes ordering easier."
The table fell silent as we peered guiltily at each other. None of us had realized he couldn't read the menus at restaurants, and we each felt a different degree of sympathy.
"Right," Niam stated, releasing a soft sigh. "Restaurants typically don't have menus with brail. At least, that I know of."
Iggy shrugged, a silent gesture telling us he didn't mind. "I don't need a menu. I can ask the server what they like-and it tends to be pretty good-or listen to the orders of the people around me."
Sam looked as intrigued as her beau. She leaned over the table and inquired, "Does that happen when you're with your family, too?"
His smirk turned almost evil as he replied, "Oh, they learned long ago not to suggest food to me."
The conversation stopped as Leo returned with our drinks. He took our orders and departed with a friendly smile. This time, he didn't stare at Iggy.
As we waited for our food, we spoke about Iggy and how he dealt with being blind. Niam started to challenge him to point things out, which quickly morphed into ridiculous taunts. The boys were clearly enjoying themselves.
Once our food arrived, we talked about trivial matters: the weather, the taste of our meals, the latest celebrity drama. Then, Sam started to mention embarrassing events of my past, so we began to throw humiliation back and forth, entertaining our boyfriends. Soon, the boys joined in, tossing jokes in and making us laugh.
When we finished, the check was delivered and we decided to split it. Iggy surprised us by pulling out his wallet from his pocket and placing a credit card and another card onto the table.
He shrugged, saying, "It's nothing. It explains I'm blind so it's hard to sign stuff. It has a bar code on it that they can scan instead. It serves as substitute for a signature."
"Cool!" Sam exclaimed.
We stayed another hour after we paid, trading stories. I came to like Niam, who was actually quite gentlemanly, despite his rebellions-which was the reason for his tattoos and piercing. When we walked outside, I told Sam I officially approved of her beau.
She leaned closer and whispered, "And I approve of your Converse. Seriously, it's like a punk his-and-hers thing you've got going on. It's so cute!" She crinkled her nose and giggled.
I rolled my eyes but joined in the laughter.
"William," Niam began, shaking his hand, "it was nice to meet you, man. You're pretty wicked. Let's meet up again sometime."
"Yes," Sam agreed, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling close to him. "We're doing another double date, and soon. Promise?"
Smiling, I assured her, "Promise. I'll see you at dinner, right, Sam?"
She laughed. "Yep. If you're not tired of me."
"Oh, never," I teased.
They waved goodbye, and we departed to our cars. While Niam and Sam were headed to the park to continue their date, I drove Iggy back to Hope for Youth.
As we walked along the sidewalk, I asked, "Did you have fun?"
He nodded as he gave me a lopsided grin. "Your friends are quite entertaining. Now tell me something," he requested, turning to face me. "Is Niam large?"
I chuckled shortly. I clarified, "If you mean large as in very large muscles, then yes, he is large."
"I thought so. He had quite the handshake."
As I stared at him, following the lines of his smooth features, he drew closer to me and brought his hand up to touch my face. Then, he kissed me.
Once I pulled away, I remarked, "Don't you think we're moving kinda fast?" I recalled all of our kisses and the gift I had already received from him, even though we had been together only a few days.
He allowed his trademark smirk to grace his lips as he explained, "Look, the shoes were my mom's idea. Had it been up to me, I wouldn't have given you anything."
"Gee, thanks," I replied dryly, my lips flattening into a tight line. I gave him a look that was lost on him.
Chuckling, he rested his arms on my shoulders and put his forehead against mine. "As to how much we kiss, well, I've-" He took a deep breath and admitted in a whisper, "I've wanted to kiss you pretty much since I met you, so I'm making up for lost time."
A smile bloomed onto my face, and I didn't let him say another word. I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him. One, what he said melted me like butter and two, I really liked kissing him.