As we mix in with the people greeting my grandmother, I can hear a lot of them telling her how great she looks for seventy-eight. Not trying to be rude here, but she looks exactly how I would imagine a seventy-eight year old Italian woman to look.
The party is being held in a small ballroom in this really nice hotel here in Vegas, with close to a hundred people in attendance. About half of them are around my grandmother's age since they are her friends, and it feels like a really groovy retirement home in here.
The other half of the party guests consists of variously aged people, most of whom I've never seen before. A grand amount of them do happen to be my relatives, but I have no idea who the rest of them are.
"Nonna!", I exclaim as I give her a hug. "Happy Birthday!"
"Anita! My dear, you're so beautiful!"
"Well you know what they say, it runs in the family."
She laughs and I then get a good look at her. Her face is white and quite wrinkly, but you can still see her pretty, delicate features. She has the same green eyes as my dad and wispy long hair that's silky, grey and white. And of course, what makes my Nonna my Nonna, is her crazy sparkly, silver sequined dress that goes all the way down to her ankles.
"I'm so glad you're here," she says. "Some of these people I don't even remember how I met."
I laugh, "Well, I have someone for you to meet, Nonna."
Dylan steps forward so he's standing at my side, grinning down at her.
She gasps, "And who is this handsome young man? Your boyfriend?"
"No," I say, and I swear that under his breath, Dylan says 'not yet'. "He's just my friend. Best friend." Sort of a lie.
"Hello," he says politely. "My name is Dylan."
"It's nice to meet you," she nods with a grin. "Whatever evil tricks my granddaughter used to get you as a friend, I'm sorry. Only joking, she's a lovely girl. Enjoy yourselves!"
The two of us laugh and leave my parents to greet and talk with her.
"You weren't kidding when you said your grandma likes to party," he says as we look around at the place.
There's an incredibly long table draped in a white table cloth with extensive amounts of food and drinks upon it. One large area of the room is covered with hardwood floor which serves as a dance floor, where a lot of people are getting down to the live music.
Against the wall on that side of the room is a stage where the band sits, two guitarists, a bassist, a pianist, a drummer, and a singer who are all middle-aged and currently playing a catchy song.
"Yeah," I nod. "My grandparents have always been party people."
Dylan and I walk around as I greet various relatives of mine, most of whom I haven't seen in at least three years. Talking to them is awkward for the most part, just because I'm not entirely sure of what to say to them. But there is one person in particular that causes an instant grin to overtake my face.
"Auntie Carina!", I exclaim as she turns around quickly and embraces me.
"This can't be Anita!", she returns with a bright smile, looking me over. "You're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you!"
"Thank you!"
We go back and forth a bit making small talk while Dylan stands idly at my side, being polite and patient. Finally I get to ask her what I've wanted to since I first saw her here.
"Is Avery here?", I ask hopefully.
Aunt Carina gives me a sad smile, "No, I'm afraid he's still stationed in Osaka."
"Really?", I frown. "When does he come back?"'
"I wish I knew for certain. I don't think he'll return until the Spring."
I nod sadly, "Well, if you hear from him, will you let me know?"
"Certainly," she smiles. "He asks about you a lot, you know. He's always thinking of you."
I give a weak smile in response and bid her goodbye as I leave with my friend.
As we walk over to a vacant table, he asks me about the exchange.
"Avery is your cousin, right?", he asks. "The one in the Navy?"
I nod, "Yes. I haven't seen him in years."
"You two were really close?"
"He was my best friend, like my brother. He was always there for me, but since he left to Japan a few years ago... You know."
We sit at the round table covered in a deep maroon-colored tablecloth with pretty flowers and candles in the center of it.
"Guess you must miss him a lot," he notes as we're sitting side by side.
"I do. When he left I was afraid I'd be alone for the rest of my days, but..."
"But?"
I turn and give him a large smile, setting my hand on his for a moment, "But then I met you."
~
Dylan's POV
A big show is made of singing Happy Birthday to Anita's grandmother while a large white cake decorated with pretty red and white roses is set before her.
Everyone applauds once she blows out the candles and a large smile finds its way to her face. The huge cake is cut into thin slices for everyone as they take their plates and stand around the dance floor; it is announced that Anita has a special song prepared.
While the cake is being distributed, I watch as she makes her way to the side of the stage whereupon the band members leave it. She outstretches her thin arms, handing a CD to a man who promptly pops it into a player.
Everyone is settling down, and whooping and cheering commence as she walks onto the stage, smiling that stunning smile of hers. She's still smiling while she turns the microphone on and brings it to her pink lips.
"Um, hi," she says tentatively in her adorably soothing voice. People cheer after that, too. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Anita Burns. Miss Giana Burns is my grandmother. At her request, I sing a song for her on her birthday every year. Very many years ago when I first agreed to this, she gave me a list of her favorite songs, and a lot of them I'd never even heard of before."
People laugh, then she continues, "But one song on the list has been a favorite of mine since I was around six years old. I actually sang this with you, Nonna, a lot. So this song means a lot to me, and I hope you enjoy it."
Applause sounds as Anita nods lightly to the man near the CD player, and once he pushes a button, a short intro plays before she starts to sing.
Now, I've heard her sing a few times because she does it a lot. But when I have heard her, she's always singing quietly or obnoxiously loudly; suffice it to say I've never heard her sing for real. Until now.
I listen intently because it's really difficult not to. I knew she could sing, but this has taken it to a whole other level that I never even knew was existent. She closes her eyes and keeps them closed practically the entire time.
I don't know this song, but I already love it. The words she is singing and the way she is singing them make me love the song, but something tells me I wouldn't care for the original. She's so captivating and mesmerizing, I can't look away or turn my attention from her in any way-- not that I would want to.
My cake has been left on a nearby table with only two bites taken out of it. I'm kind of afraid to say it... but as I sit here watching and listening to Anita sing her heart out, I can feel myself falling. In love. With her.
No matter how many times in the past few years I've told myself that, other than family, I'll never love anyone, never care for them, it's happening right now. Of course I care about her, but now, I think... I love her. Any doubts I have about this fact are completely demolished when she sings the final line of the song, staring directly at me, into my eyes.
"I have nothing, if I don't have you."
Well, I'm in love with Anita Burns.
She smiles brightly as she finishes the perfect note, and her magical performance comes to an end. The sound of people clapping and cheering overtakes the room and I am very much among them. I think I see her grandmother crying and her parents are smiling so fondly and proudly at her.
"Thank you," she says with a genuine grin. "Happy Birthday, Nonna. I love you."
Anita exits the stage afterward and the band repossesses the stage, immediately playing a song I believe to be from the 50's. She walks over to her grandmother where they hug for a long time, and some words that I can't hear are exchanged.
She receives hugs from her parents, too, and some other people compliment her and such as she makes her way back towards... oh, me.
Her pearly white teeth flash at me as she takes her seat next to me. I kind of hope I don't have to talk because I have a feeling I'll be tripping over my words.
"Hey stranger," she muses jokingly. "How was I?"
Between the fact that I've just realized that I love her, the fact that she looks the way that she looks, and the fact that I really can't put my amazement into words, I am left speechless. Because of this, I'm just staring back at her.
She laughs a little at my silence, "What?"
I still can't speak.
"What is it?", she suddenly looks worried. "Was it bad? Did you not like it?"
"No! Not at all!", I burst out. "WAIT, no, I mean yes?" See what I meant about how I'd trip over my words? I try to further explain, "No okay what I meant is no, i-it wasn't bad. At all. I-It was actually, like, freaking amazing."
Anita smiles, "Well thank you, I'm glad you think so."
Jeez, I-I really can't look at her. So I look off into the distance and nod my head.
I hear her laugh again, "Dylan, are you okay?"
"It's not necessarily a matter of life and death, so I guess so."
"You're so weird sometimes. But then again, that's just another reason you're my favorite person."
Throughout the remainder of the party, we watch a lot of people dance and a few of them get drunk off the red wine. Anita gets up and dances with her relatives several times and tries to get me to dance with her but I reject her every time. If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that Dylan O'Brien does not dance.
Trust me, I'm doing these people a favor by sitting down. But when many people have left and it's nearing nine o'clock, I'm practically forced into dancing with her. She pulls out the puppy dog eyes, and I wish I could say I was immune to their effect.
The band is playing some upbeat song I've never heard of and I don't think Anita has either, but she looks so happy. Probably because she finally got me to come out here.
I don't really even dance with her though; I kind of just go limp and let her push and pull and twirl me around and spin her around whenever she demands me to. Despite myself, I smile and laugh a lot the entire time. I guess it's hard not to smile when she's around.
The birthday party finally comes to an official close, and everyone leaves except for the few people who have rented rooms at this gigantic, fancy hotel. Anita's parents got one where, as she informed me last night, we would be staying for the night because nobody really wanted to drive four hours back home at nine-thirty at night.
I walk with the Burns family to the front desk where we retrieve our room key before taking the elevator up to the seventh floor. We reach room seven hundred forty-three and walk in. It's a pretty spacious room with fancy decorations and high quality... everything.
There's a living room, a small kitchen, two whole bathrooms and two bedrooms. One bedroom is really large with two queen sized beds in it, the other is smaller and only has one bed in it. I don't have to ask where I'll be sleeping tonight.
The four of us settle into the room a bit before Anita stands up, now barefoot, and grabs the ice bucket.
She motions for me to follow her out the door, telling her mom, "We're going to get some ice, be right back."
Anita's POV
Dylan and I walk side by side in the dimly lit hallways lined with white walls, and red and gold carpeting. No words are exchanged, but I'm humming the song I sang earlier while swinging the chrome ice bucket around in my hands.
Finally, we reach the ice machine and I press the button waiting patiently as chunky ice cubes fill the bucket. In the meantime I look up at Dylan, and grin at him whereupon he just exhales in response as he stares at me.
I stand up straight, taking the bucket in my hands, "Are you sure you're alri--"
I'm unable to finish my sentence because, before I have any idea what's happening, Dylan has his hands squeezing the sides of my arms and his lips pressed firmly against mine. You know, I always thought that you might get tired of kissing the same person more than once, but every time I kiss this boy feels like the first time.
Caught off guard, I freeze up for a minute dropping the ice bucket in the process. If this were any other time, I would be mad at myself for dropping it but, um, Dylan is kissing me, so. After my initial shock, I kiss him back and before I know it, we're making out. I can taste the vanilla Chapstick he uses that makes his lips so soft and inviting.
Still kissing, I take his hands off my arms and place them around my waist while I snake my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. We stop kissing for a moment to catch our breath, but we're back at it again, literally a second later. I wonder if our moaning and panting is as loud as it seems, as we move around a bit until he has me against a wall.
Well, whatever nervous state he was in before seems to have gone away completely. I like this Dylan. He's so attractive when he's taking control of the situation, ugh. That being said, I kiss him harder and knot my hands in his hair. His hands are squeezing me so tightly it feels perfect.
I can't help myself as I start to kiss along his jawline, and he groans in a way that makes me smile against his skin, and my insides to quiver. One of his warm hands rests on my lower back while the other runs through my long hair.
"Anita," he says suddenly in a husky voice, pulling his face from mine.
I tilt my head back and smile up at him, "Dylan?"
He closes the small gap between us again as our lips meet, but this time it's very delicately and softly, like he's afraid my lips will break with too much force. He rests his forehead against mine as a grin takes over my face.
I don't how much longer I'll be able to remain 'just friends' with him, especially after this. But it's funny that I said that because next thing I know, Dylan is speaking in that attractive, quiet, husky tone.
"Be my girlfriend," he exhales softly, a slight infliction at the end to make it a bit of a question.
The giant grin that takes over my face is effortless and genuine, "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Yes. A million times yes."
His grin matches mine then, and I take a moment to appreciate it before we kiss again. But this time I'm not just kissing Dylan's lips, I'm kissing my boyfriend's.
~
Because I am evil & love leaving people with cliff hangers, I have decided to make chapter 16 into two parts. Each part is only half as long as the usual chapters. You're welcome (: