“It sounds like you have a tight family which is awesome. I could see that you were close with your parents when they came to visit. I really like them, and so did my parents. What do your parents do?”
Here it was and I knew that I would have to deal with this sooner or later. I didn’t want to lie to him but I was afraid of what would happen when he found out the truth. He was probably going to walk out of my life and I would just have to accept that. He didn’t strike me as the type to be so rude as to walk out immediately. But I was willing to bet any amount of money that beginning the next day he would suddenly be unavailable. Here goes nothing.
“My mom works at a grocery store and my step-dad is an elementary school science teacher.”
“Oh, cool. So how did your mom and step-dad meet?”
What? That’s it? He didn’t have any sort of weird reaction when I told him what they did. He had to know that we didn’t have any money. I felt relieved and surprised at the same time. Maybe he’s just hiding how he really feels. I would know the truth the next day and I starting to mentally prepare myself for it.
“My mom was looking for nails at Home Depot and she was standing in the aisle for like, 20 minutes trying to figure out which ones she needed. Jay was there getting doorknobs or something, and he saw her looking really confused and thought it was cute so he helped her find what she needed. They started talking and clicked instantly. I liked him from the beginning because he was so nice and he liked my mom so much. When they got married we were all happy for them and I know my dad would be happy that my mom is with a great guy and is not alone. Wow, I went on and on, sorry about that!”
“I could listen to you talk about your family all day, I knew they were really cool people when I met them, so don’t apologize.”
I felt relieved that he didn’t think I was rambling on and that he still wanted to be sitting here with me. Don’t get carried away Sky, I’ll bet tomorrow will show a very different Jonathan Hunter. I pushed that thought out of my mind because I was having the best time just sitting there and talking to Jonathan, getting to know him better. In that moment, there was nowhere in the world I would rather have been. I looked at him and smiled as I reached across the small table and lightly touched his forearm.
“Okay, your turn. Same for you, start from the beginning.”
“Well, I was born and raised on the Upper East Side of New York City and you already know that I have twin sisters that are seven years older than me. They are my best friends and I can go to them about anything. My dad is in finance, and my mom is too. My mom and dad have been married for almost 30 years and they have been the most amazing parents anyone could ask for. My dad travels a lot for work but he always arranged to make it back for every one of my soccer games, he and my mom never missed a single one. My sisters are both professional ballerinas, they started dancing when they were five years old and had their first dance recital when they were six. They tour all over the world with their dance company and I have gone to a lot of their performances but I don’t get to see them very often which sucks, but we talk all the time. My Nana Bunny lives a couple of blocks away from us and is the most spry little thing you’ll ever meet. I think I get my feistiness from her.”
I saw him smile as he talked about his family and it was good to hear how close and supportive they all were of each other. I could see that when they came to visit, he was very close with his parents. I also noticed that he didn’t brag about who his family was, in fact, he didn’t even mention the company at all. Maybe Jonathan Hunter was not so consumed and influenced by money after all.
“And how did your parents meet?”
“That is a crazy story. My dad’s company has an internship program for college students that is very competitive and only two or three people are chosen for the internship, and then at the end of the internship one of those people is offered a permanent position. My mom went to college later in life, she was in her early 30s when she graduated, and she applied for the internship, worked her butt off, and she was hired when it was over. What she didn’t know was that my dad, who is the CEO of the company, was her immediate boss, so they got to know each other and from what they say, sparks flew pretty much from the beginning. They had to be careful not to flaunt it because the company kind of frowned on office place romances but this was “a love that neither one of them could deny” according to them. They were married about a year later and the rest is history. My parents have been an awesome example of the kind of relationship that I want to have one day, I have never met two people who are more in love.”
“Wow, what a cool story, an office place romance that actually lasted!”
“Yeah.” A pensive look crossed his face as he looked off into the distance for a couple of seconds and then looked at me, studying me.
I felt worried that I had said something wrong. “Are you okay?”
He seemed to snap out of whatever it was he was thinking about and smiled at me causing my belly to flutter.
“Yeah, I’m perfect.” He looked at the clock on the wall above my head and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It’s almost 3:30, we should probably get back to the dorm.”
I felt a little disappointed that our time together was ending because I really liked hanging out with him, but I had to admit that I was getting tired.
“Yeah, we better get back before we turn into pumpkins.” I managed a light-hearted laugh as we both got up. I took one step toward the door and Jonathan gently grabbed my arm.
“Are you staying with me tonight?”
“If you want me to.”
“I definitely want you to. Sky?” His voice was soft.
I turned to look at him, utterly lost in his beautiful eyes. “Yeah?”
He hesitated and then spoke. “Tonight was pretty cool, thanks for hanging with me.”
I gave him a sweet smile and felt warm all over. “Anytime.”
Chapter Seventeen
The next morning, I was wide awake at 9:30 even though I should have been exhausted, and Jonathan was still sleeping so I left a note for him telling him I would see him later. That weekend was pretty crazy on campus because Fall Festival continued all day on Saturday and a bunch of people started drinking early that day. It was almost 1:00 p.m. and I hadn’t heard from or seen Jonathan and I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach because this was exactly what I had predicted. He realized I was from the other side of the tracks and he had bolted. I tried really hard to brush off my feelings for him but it was hard because in the time that we had spent together he really made me feel like it was real.