Circles

Chapter Thirty Three

             “Alex? Are you okay?”

            I groan. “What time is it?”

            “You slept through lunch,” Liz says. “You aren’t sick, are you?”

            I sit up. “No, no, I’m fine, I just took some strong medicine. Made me tired. What time is it?” I ask again.

            “Almost three, actually.”

            “Oh, my God,” I say. “That’s late.”

            “Yeah, kind of!” she laughs. “Get dressed. I’ll make you something to eat.”

            “Okay,” I say, getting out of bed.

            “Don’t forget to put your special clothes underneath,” Liz teases as she leaves the room.

            I go into the bathroom to do my makeup before getting changed. After putting on my eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, and blush, I am happy with how I look. I go back into the bedroom and shut the door. In the bottom drawer of my dresser, I have the lingerie hidden under my jeans. I pull out the red outfit and put it on. Unable to resist the urge to stare at myself, I walk over to the mirror behind the bedroom door. What a transformation. Hardly two months ago, I didn’t wear makeup, didn’t talk to boys, didn‘t have any friends. Now, I’m standing in my bedroom wearing this red and black lacey thing, getting ready to go see my boyfriend. If my parents could see me now, they would be mortified.

            Just then, the door opens and Mike walks in. I manage to throw my bathrobe on before he sees too much.

            “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I demand, cinching the robe.

            “What are you doing?” he asks, walking towards me. “What’s with the robe?”

            “I was trying to get dressed.”

            “What’s that red thing?”

            I look down and see that part of my top is showing where I didn’t close my robe tight enough. “Nothing,” I say, walking away.

            “No, I want to see,” Mike says, standing in my way.

            “It’s not for you,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.

            “Who’s it for?”

            Why did I say that? “It’s for me. For God’s sake, Mike, it’s an undershirt. Leave me alone. I’m trying to get dressed.”

            “Well aren’t you snippy today,” he says, laughing.

            “Would you just go?” I demand.

            He catches me off guard and yanks my robe open. “Hey!” I yell, closing it.

            “That’s all I wanted,” he says, turning to leave. “Just a peek.”

            “Whatever. Just go.”

            “You look good, Alex,” he says, leaving the room. “Real good.”

            I shut the door and get dressed over the lingerie.

           

        “What took you so long?” Liz asks when I finally come downstairs. She hands me a bowl of spaghetti.

            “Mike was talking to me. It’s fine,” I reply, taking quick bites of my food.

            “What time did you tell him you would go to his house?”

            “Eleven, but I think I might go earlier, like right after dinner. His Adult is never there,” I say.

            “Sam hasn’t been here either, now that I think about it,” Liz says. “That’s weird.”

            “Well, we’ve been getting along decently, with the exception of Mike and I,” I say in between bites. “She’s supposed to see less and less of us until we can make it on our own. Besides, they’re really only our mentors for eight weeks, and those eight weeks have passed. I don’t even know if we’ll see her again.”

            “Oh, that’s right,” Liz says. “Well, then what’s going to stop you and Matthew from being together? Who’s enforcing the rules?”

            “Good question,” I say. “I don’t think they worry about stuff like that unless something gets reported. The rules have never needed much enforcement.”

            “True,” Liz says. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find out.”

            “Let’s hope we don’t.”

            After several agonizingly boring hours, dinner, cooked by Jess and April, is ready. They serve us meatloaf, and we eat in the backyard, sitting in a circle. Mike sits across from me, Liz sits to my right, and Jess sits to my left.

            “Do you see what Mike’s doing?” Liz whispers to me amid the chatter of everyone else.

            “No, what?” I whisper back.

            “Alex, he’s been staring at your chest since we got out here,” she says.

            “Really?” I look at him, and he looks up at my face and smiles. “That’s disgusting,” I whisper to Liz.

            “Only Matthew can see your boobs,” Liz murmurs. I laugh so hard I spill my drink. Everyone stops talking and stares at me.

            “Carry on,” I say. “Nothing to see here.” The chatting resumes.

            I finish my food a few minutes later. “What time is it?” I ask Liz.

            “Almost eight.”

            “Screw it, I’m going now,” I say, standing up.

            “Can I come?” Liz asks.

            “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.”

            She laughs. “Just for a little while. I’ll only stay an hour or two.”

            I sigh. “Fine, fine, let’s go.”

            We wash our dishes and leave shortly after.