A Tale of Two Centuries (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-two

I awake the next morning fresh from a dream that consisted of nothing other than Austin’s sweet words of affection and the exquisite feel of his kiss. It was the best dream I believe I’ve ever had. My perfect bubble of happiness surrounds me throughout my morning as I eat breakfast and get ready to go to Austin’s house, where we will (finally) begin work on our Modern Leadership paper. The paper that started it all.

It’s incredible knowing that, were it not for our American government class or for Miss Edwards, Austin and I would be relative strangers. We would’ve never had the chance to see past our initial impressions of each other. He would have never issued my challenge, and I would still most likely be scared of my shadow—acting in the winter workshop, yes, but too timid to audition for the school musical or to reach out and fully experience all this life has to offer.

Miss Edwards may very well be the best teacher in the history of the world.

A knock on the door has me jumping from the table, ready to greet the day, and Cat lifts her hands in mock surrender. “Enough with the giddy grin already. All this freaking sweetness is giving me a toothache.”

Her tone is light, but I sense the worry behind her words. Assuming it is more of the same, concern over my heart breaking at the end of this journey, I brush it aside. I refuse to let fear dictate my actions. Laughing instead, I widen my grin and lift my chin at the front door. “Then I am to assume you are not at all giddy at the thought of seeing Lucas this morning? If I remember correctly, Austin and I were not the only couple caught in a compromising position last night.”

Cat transfers her gaze to the closed door, and even in profile, I can see the smile lighting up her face. I snicker, and she mutters a playful, “Shut up.” Her almost bashful tone makes me even happier.

Shortly after Austin bestowed his second life-altering kiss, the unromantic sound of two throats clearing, followed by various snickering catcalls, broke out behind us. Austin lifted his head, and when I looked over his shoulder, there stood Cat and Lucas, not at all appearing apologetic for ruining our moment. So when Austin and I drove past Lucas’s car a half hour later and found the two of them locked in their own embrace, we had no pangs of remorse for honking the horn and whooping loudly.

In spite of the teasing, I am happy for them. Last night Lucas stepped up his game, as Cat would say, and the payoff is a cousin who finally owns her feelings. I watch as she speeds across the floor and throws open the door.

“Hey, beautiful,” Lucas says, pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek.

Cat bites the corner of her lip, losing the battle to keep her enormous smile hidden. “Hey, yourself.”

Lucas’s playful grin turns into a smug smile as he takes her hand in his. Lifting his eyes to mine, he asks, “How’s the head, Alessandra? The last time I got as sloshed as you were last night, I was an absolute waste of space for at least two days.” He shrugs and flashes his dimpled grin. “But it did keep me sober. I believe my days as a high school drunkard are behind me.”

Cat snorts. “Yeah, I don’t think even a hangover could cut through the lovesick daze she’s been walking around in. Come on, lover girl,” she says, nodding her head toward Lucas’s car in the driveway, “your brooding bad boy awaits.”

…

Austin lays our books out on his kitchen table, making a point to brush my fingers with his. It becomes a game between us, who can steal the most innocent touches. I laugh when he overtly slides his hand along the exposed skin on the back of my neck when he walks to the refrigerator, and when he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively as he pops the top on his can of soda, I shake my head.

“You are incorrigible,” I tell him, even though I am secretly delighted. I love seeing Austin minus his walls of protection.

“That I am,” he says with a devilish grin. “And you love it.”

Choosing to leave that statement unanswered, I open the spiral notebook I brought with me and write
Modern Leadership
at the top of my page. “Seeing as though you are the expert in this department, and that I have been a very diligent participant in your challenges, I submit to your extensive knowledge, Mr. Michaels. Where shall we begin with the topic of Leadership in Government?”

An older man with dark black hair and blue eyes steps out of the closed room near the kitchen, the same inauthentic smile from the photos at Austin’s beach house plastered upon his face. “Did someone say government?”

A muscle in Austin’s jaw twitches. “Just working on a paper for school, Dad.”

“For school?” Mr. Michaels asks, his tone colored with amused incredulity. “My son is actually doing his homework. Never thought I’d see the day.” He shoots me a wink, attempting to include me in the joke he has made at his son’s expense, and every protective bone in my body hums in alert. “You know, you happen to be in the presence of a state senator, darling, and my son, well, he isn’t exactly well-versed in politics.” He strolls over and grabs the assignment Miss Edwards gave us. “Maybe I should help you with this paper.”

The overconfident note in his voice, the blatant barbs aimed at Austin, the snapping tension between father and son, and Austin’s palpable discomfort in the man’s presence prompts me to yank the paper from his hands.

“I appreciate your offer, sir, but as I’m sure you are aware, your son is incredibly intelligent. He has a brilliant plan in place,” I say, not at all sure what Austin’s plan for our paper is but not caring at the moment, “and I think we’re fine here.”

Austin stares at me, perhaps in shock, as I conclude my brief but—in my opinion—powerful speech. I smile with pride.
Hello, world, meet Alessandra D’Angeli Forlani
, the twenty-first-century version. I may not have to change everything about me, but standing up for my loved ones is one trait from this experience I’ll gladly keep.

Back home, I never could get away with speaking to an elder in such a manner but here, in Cat’s world, Austin’s father simply shrugs his shoulders and plasters an even bigger false smile on his face before walking out of the room.

“Whatever happened to my prim and proper princess?” Austin asks with that heart-stopping smile of his, stalking toward me with purposeful strides. He squats down in front of me and hands me a bright red can.

“She got herself an excellent tutor.”

Chapter Twenty-three

The next few days meld together in a series of Austin’s kisses, workshop rehearsals, and heartfelt conversations with Cat. Now that Lucas has breached the last line of her defenses, she is happier than I’ve ever seen her. Even happier, dare I say it, than she was in my time with Lorenzo. I still sense that she is worried and possibly even keeping something secret from me, but I trust that she will confide in me when she is ready. As for myself, I drift through the days in a blissful stupor, one that is not missed by my amused costars, nor one far-from-amused one.

“Oh, joy, it’s the happy couple again. Everyone grab your barf bags.”

Austin breaks away from our kiss, piercing his ex with a glare. To say Kendal is not pleased with the romance budding between us is putting it mildly. The accolades I received after my audition for Tiffany yesterday only added insult to my list of crimes in her eyes. But even the wicked witch’s sharp-tongued barbs cannot shatter my contentment. Leaning around Austin’s embrace, I look across the busy Roosevelt Academy hallway and offer my adversary a pleasant smile. “Good morning, Kendal.”

She rolls her eyes and walks away in a huff, which is not at all surprising.

“I’ll see you in drama,” Austin tells me, pressing one last kiss against my lips. “And with Kendal there, you can be sure it’ll be full of that.” He tugs a strand of my hair, then steps back into the chaotic stream of students, walking backward so he can keep his eyes trained on me until the crowd swallows him.

With a contented sigh, I grab my purse from inside my locker and close it, then head off to lunch.

Cat is already waiting inside the cafeteria, two books signaling the seats closest to her are reserved. I of course take one of them, and when Lucas appears moments later, he takes the other, the one just beside her, spinning the chair and straddling it. I shoot my cousin a grin.

Peeling the wrapper off a granola bar, Lucas slides his arm around Cat and says, “Looks like Angela is meeting with Jenna tonight about her sweet sixteen. I figured I’d tag along to help. I’ve been told my opinions on fabric and napkin samples are very useful.”

“How metrosexual of you,” Cat says with a laugh, poking him in the ribs with an elbow. “And dork, if you want to see me, all you have to do is say so. You don’t need a made-up excuse to come over.”

The look Lucas pins her with clearly says that up until this past weekend, he
did
need such an excuse, and my cousin has the decency to look guilty. “Well, at least not anymore,” she clarifies. Then she smiles at me. “Less, why don’t you invite Austin, too? We can all hang out, order pizza, and watch a movie or something.”

Just a modern-day double date
, I think with amusement.

Sinking my teeth into a crisp carrot stick, I nod. “This afternoon I have a short rehearsal at the theater before our extended dress rehearsal tomorrow, but I’ll ask him if he can join us after.”

Lucas slides his elbows onto the table. “It’s about that time, huh? Cat told me opening night’s only two days away. Are you getting nervous?”

I shake my head and give him a smile that only comes from doing what I’ve always wanted but never dared to believe possible. “No,” I tell him. “I’m exhilarated, I’m eager, and perhaps a touch impatient—” I nudge Cat’s foot under the table, and she barks a laugh. “But I’m not nervous. For some reason, it feels as if I’ve been waiting my entire life for this role.”

…

Later that afternoon, I stand on my mark on the set of Juliet’s famous balcony, reciting the opening lines of the famous scene to my handsome costar…and continue seeing Austin’s face instead.

It’s been the same problem all day. Seeing blue eyes where there should be brown, tousled hair in lieu of styled, and the sound of Austin’s tempting whisper canceling out the screams, echoes, and questions of the crowded halls. In school I was not overly concerned, for I will unfortunately be gone long before any test scores are revealed. But here it is different. The theater is my forbidden dream come to life, one of the purposes for which Reyna sent me here, and I have to find a way to concentrate.

Sighing in frustration as I stumble over a line, I decide that this must be what falling in love feels like…

…and then my heart races, and I do an imaginary fist pump as I realize that if that is so, then this is exactly what Juliet felt every time she thought of her Romeo!

I ask to begin the scene again, and when I do, I bring the knowledge that I am in the middle of my own true-life love story to my performance. Utilizing the feelings stirring within me, I proclaim to Reid as Romeo the very words of forever love that I wish I could say to Austin. The new-to-me, yet centuries-old tale becomes real in a way it never has previously, and once again, I find in Juliet a kindred spirit.

Before I know it, Marilyn lifts a hand, signaling the end of the scene.

“Very well done, Alessandra,” she proclaims from her lamplit table—or
the
throne
, as my fellow actors have grown to call it. “And Reid, you were fantastic as always. As the both of you know, our entire production builds to this final scene, and I could not be happier with how it’s coming together.”

Feeling the glow of praise shining in my warm cheeks, I watch Ms. Kent take a long pull from her ever-present water bottle. Then she points a finger and proclaims, “This scene is going to receive a lot of attention in the media this weekend. I hope you’re both ready for the accolades.”

I want to yell from the rooftops just how ready I am, but deciding that my exuberance may be a bit much, I instead issue my heartfelt gratitude and follow Reid into the curtained wings to wait for Austin. Jamie’s scene is coming up, and I know he won’t find a seat without first finding
me
. In fact, I’m counting on it.

The very moment we’re offstage, Reid takes me into his arms and twirls me around in a circle. “I told you that smile of yours is our secret weapon!” Setting me down but not letting go of my hands, he says, “Alessandra, I wish you could’ve seen yourself out there. I don’t know what happened; it seemed like you were a little lost in the beginning—it was probably just nerves. But after that, you totally owned it. You took an already spectacular performance and made it even better. I bow down to your talent.”

I laugh as he does just that, taking our joined hands and raising and lowering them in mock adoration. Knowing precisely what it was—or rather
who
it was—that bettered my performance only makes my smile grow larger.

When Reid straightens, he still does not let go of my hands. Sliding his thumb along the underside of my wrist, he says, “You should know that receiving praise from Marilyn is pretty much like money in the bank, so I declare that the two of us must celebrate. Wherever you want to go, Ms. Future Star, I’ll take you…well, except for maybe Paris. You do have school in the morning.”

He flashes that easy smile, and the knowledge comes to me that this is about more than celebration. This is Reid once again wishing to court me. That truth settles in my gut and brings with it my first real twinges of guilt.

But for mere twinges, they are powerful.

I’ve never encouraged Reid’s attention, but I’ve also never been direct about where my interest and affection lie. The day of our first rehearsal, Austin made a puzzling, false claim that he and I were in a relationship, but even then, I knew it wouldn’t deter Reid. He is someone who thrives on a challenge. At every rehearsal since, he’s proven that, maintaining his own unique brand of lighthearted flirtation. And if I’m being honest, I’ve even enjoyed our innocent banter—but it no longer feels so innocent.

I care about Austin; Austin cares about me. I don’t wish to do anything that will harm our budding relationship, nor do I wish to hurt Reid’s feelings. He has been a good friend to me here, and no one who has suffered heartache wishes to bestow that upon another.

Smiling affectionately—but not
too
affectionately—I squeeze the hands still clasped around my own. “That is a very generous offer, Reid, and I am grateful for the compliment, but I fear that I already have plans for the evening.”

That easy smile fades a fraction, but then quickly perks back up. “Oh, yeah? Who with, that guy from the other day?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “And his name is Austin.”

Heavy footsteps echo behind me. Even before I turn, I know whom I will see. My heart beats faster as I watch Austin walk across the scuffed floor, sharp eyes targeted on Reid. He comes to a stop beside me and slides a hand across my waist, settling it over my stomach, causing it to plunge again. The sensation is not unlike the roller coasters he took me on at the park, only safer. And much more thrilling.

I press into Austin’s side and shiver at the affection in his stare. Turning back to Reid, I nod again, knowing I need to be clear. “Yes, Reid, my plans tonight are with Austin, as they are most nights. Because the truth is…” I look into Austin’s eyes and return the words that I did not get to say last night. “I’m falling in love with him.”

Austin’s blue-eyed gaze glows with warmth as his mouth lifts into a knee-weakening smile.

“But I will see you tomorrow,” I say, turning back to Reid with reluctance. “And thank you for a splendid rehearsal.”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for.” Reid gives a casual shrug of his shoulders, but I notice the tension in his posture, and twinges of guilt jab again at my insides. “You guys have a great night. I’ll see you tomorrow, Alessandra.”

“Tomorrow,” I repeat, but I’m unsure if he hears me, for he’s already walking away.

A silent, awkward moment hangs in the air. Then Austin says, “So, we have plans,” bringing my attention back to him—back where it belongs. “And when exactly were you thinking about telling me this important information?”

“As soon as I saw you,” I say, placing my hand over the comforting beat of his heart. “I figured you would be here with Jamie, or I’d call you when my scene was through. But if you already have plans for the evening, you don’t have to come. Cat and Lucas just invited us for pizza and a movie at the house, nothing as exciting as one of your challenges.”

“Anything with you is exciting, Princess.” He moves his hand beneath my thick hair and plays with the wisps at the nape of my neck. He brushes his lips against mine, just a tease, then lifts his head and grins. “And it just so happens I like pizza”—another light brush—“and movies.” His mouth presses more firmly this time for a prolonged, lingering touch, and then he shrugs. “And I guess the company is decent enough.”

“Oh, is that right?” I ask, trying to feign insult, but mostly succeeding in sounding breathless. “Only decent?”

He glides the tip of his nose against mine. “Mm-hmm.”

I pinch the taut skin at his waist, and he chuckles. The sound does glorious things to my insides. Then,
finally
, Austin strengthens his hold around me, crushing me to his chest, and tilts his head, capturing my lips in a long, searing kiss that has me clinging to his shoulders.