silence. Antonia tried to be non-challant about the seemingly casual gesture, but her heartbeat picked up dramatically.
“How about dinner and a movie? Then I’ll take you home,” Brett suggested.
Antonia didn’t want the day to end. It was such a perfect day, she wanted it to last a little longer. So she agreed. She might regret her impulse tomorrow, but she’d deal with that another time. Right now, she wanted to spend more time with Brett.
They drove to Georgetown, a small area in Washington, D.C. that had many small, upscale shops and a variety of restaurants. They chose an Italian restaurant and ordered pasta, then sat at the window watching the sun set over the Potomac River as they sipped red wine.
Keeping the conversation light, they ate their meal slowly, savoring every moment. Antonia knew that this would be the last time she would allow herself to be with him so she enjoyed every moment of her time with him.
After dinner, they strolled over to the theatre that showed off-beat or foreign movies. They chose a French, foreign film touted as a drama. Sitting through two hours of the movie, Antonia was intensely aware of Brett’s arm right next to her, his strong leg so close to her own. She heard him laugh in several places, but she couldn’t concentrate on the sub-titles long enough to keep track of the story line.
Back at her building, Brett walked her to her apartment door, even though he had to climb the five flights of stairs to reach it since the elevator wouldn’t be fixed until mid week according to a new sign hanging in the lobby. He took her keys and unlocked the door, then went inside to turn on the lights and make sure everything was ok.
Antonia laughed, but didn’t say anything about his protectiveness. In her brothers, it bothered her. But when Brett did it, she thought it was nice. It made her feel safer in some way.
He came back to the doorway and kissed her gently. “When will I see you again?” he asked.
“Brett,” she started.
But Brett put a finger over her mouth to silence her. “Don’t even think it. We’re going to see each other, it’s just a matter of when,” he said.
Antonia’s eyes looked up at him, worried. “I don’t think this is a good idea, you and me.”
“I know. I know you’re still afraid of me. But you don’t have anything to be afraid of. So, when will I see you again?” he asked again.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what my schedule is going to be like this week.”
Brett sighed deeply, looking up at the ceiling as if he was trying desperately to find patience. “Ok. We’ll play it by your rules a little longer. But there’s going to be a point when I’m going to start setting the rules.” With that threat, he leaned down and kissed her gently again, then turned and headed for the staircase, disappearing behind the fire door.
Antonia walked into her apartment and locked the door. She was shaking, she realized. What had he meant about making rules? She didn’t make any rules. She just couldn’t be with him, that’s all. She ignored the message light flashing on her answering machine. It was late and she didn’t want to deal with the inevitable questions from her brothers.
Monday afternoon, Sal called and asked her if she’d come to dinner that night. Everyone would be there, no ulterior motive, he explained. Apparently, the Sunday afternoon lunch didn’t happen yesterday and he wanted to pull the family together to catch up.
Antonia was skeptical, but since it was her day off, she agreed. It was also a good excuse in case Brett called. She had been anticipating it all day, and she refused to admit that she was disappointed when he didn’t call.
She left her apartment and decided to splurge on a cab out to the house. She wasn’t in the mood to drive somewhere, change clothes and have someone pick her up. So she changed into an appropriate dress, this time a light navy blue, slim dress with a white and yellow
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