Page 2 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
She ignored me anyway. “You’re going to go see her, and she’ll have things for you to do.”
Really?She had to be kidding. “Am I going to get paid for this …visitingDina and doing things for her, or am I just volunteering because you want me out of the house?”
My aunt rose. “Don’t be obtuse, Alatheia.”
That doesn’t answer my question.
Still, I didn’t fight her command to visit Dina. Why would I? She wanted me out of the apartment, so I would be out of the apartment. I didn’t have rights, since my only obligation was to be grateful twenty-four hours a day. They didn’t have to take me in, as they reminded me all the time, though it was sometimes through a glance. The statement hung heavy in every gesture, every look, and every reminder that I wasn’t actually theirs.
The doorman directed me to Dina’s apartment, as there were four on every floor except the penthouse. I sighed, thinking howthe one with the red wallsdidn’t help. Despite normally ignoring me, the doorman at least answered when I spoke directly to him, so I found the apartment easily.
I had lifted my hand to knock on her door when a male voice called out to me, making me whirl around.
“Don’t bother. She can’t hear you. I tell her to put her hearing aids in all the time, but she doesn’t. Stubborn.” As the guy approached, I could tell that he was around my age. Maybe slightly older but not so much that he triggered my ick factor.Weird, but not creepy.
If I were beingtotallyhonest, I found him cute in an adorable way. Like he’d be hot if I saw him on a beach somewhere without a shirt. My lips thinned when I noticed his expensive clothes, his perfect haircut, and his straight white teeth. The shoes alonescreamed he was one ofthem.If we ended up in school together, he would refuse to speak to me like the rest ofthem. Over the past five years, I’d learned you could tell a lot about someone based on their shoes. It might sound silly, but to me, it turned out the shoes mattered.
Saves me a lot of time and heartache.
“Sorry, but who are you?” I crossed my arms across my chest and scanned him head to toe. “The knocking police for apartment ten?”
Cutie-who-was-probably-hot smirked at me. “I’m her grandson stopping by to visit. Who are you seems like the more important question. So, why are you knocking on her door?”
I frowned, finding the entire conversation ridiculous. “Unless you’re making it up and you really are the knocking police.” I sighed. I shouldn’t have given him any pushback or tried to be funny. It was wasted on him. Besides, I only had so many words in a day before I reached my limit, or so it felt these days. “I’m here to see your grandmother because my aunt said to come down to this apartment. How am I supposed to get in if I can’t knock?”
He put his hands in his pockets. “Knock, knock.”
It took me a second longer than I liked to realize he was starting a joke. “Who’s there?”
He pulled a key out of his pocket. “Her grandson with a key. Come on, otherwise you would be out here for an hour. They might even come and arrest you by then. You know, the knocking police?”
I couldn’t resist the urge to smile, despite his shoes.
Wiggling the key, he said, “I’m Julian Lent. If I’m going to let you into my grandmother’s apartment because of your aunt—who I also don’t know—then I should at least know your name first, don’t you think?”
His shoes might say he didn’t want to talk to me, but his kind eyes seemed interested enough.Blue and striking. Still, I knew better. Guys like him might not mind acknowledging my existence in the summer, when no one was watching, but everything changed during the school year.
Still, I offered him my hand. “Alatheia Winder, but I doubt you would recognize my last name. I live upstairs with my aunt for now, Tricia Samuels, on the fifth floor.”
Some of his smile dimmed when I said her name, but he nodded. “Sure, I know the Samuels family. My father has done some work with your uncle. Follow me.” Using his key, he opened the door then gestured me inside. My aunt had been right about one thing—the red walls were striking. I spun slowly, stunned by the sheer magnitude of red—it wasn’t some of the walls,everywall screamed crimson.
Everything in my life seemed to be beige. I spun again, taking it all in. Every space had a picture or painting featured, but nothing particularly matched the red or each other. The place said the decorators knew nothing about conformity or being boring.
When Julian spoke, I jerked in surprise. “She has her own tastes, and we don’t particularly like it when people judge her.”
For just a second, while experiencing the walls, I forgot he was there. I side-eyed him. “I think this place is awesome, so I don’t know why anyone would make fun of it. Besides, I’m in no position to make fun of anyone, trust me on that.”
At least not as long as I streamed my heart out and then remained silent in reality. When I went live, I could be as snarky as I wanted. My persona could be wicked sometimes, but she was allowed to be while I wasn’t.
If he intended to respond, I would never know, because his grandmother rushed out to greet us.
“Children!” Her high-pitched voice strained on the roughness of her throat, making me wonder if she was a smoker or had been.
“Granny …” Julian ducked his head to kiss her on the cheek. He then pointed at his ear, and she scowled for a second before she touched her own ear. The sound of a beep echoed softly in the room. “I came to check on you.”
She kissed his other cheek and shook her head. “You mean to say you came home because you hate the Hamptons. It’s okay, darling, I always hated it there, too. Still, don’t try to scam me. You told your father you were checking on me so you could get out of there, and now you’ve done it. You can go on your way, just don’t get in trouble.”
She turned away from him and held her arms out toward me. “I’m Dina, and you must be Alatheia. Your aunt has been talking about you a lot, but you probably knew that. I needed to put eyes on you, and I must say, my intuition is still spot on. Come, sit down. You’re going to be my companion.”
