Blushing, I kissed his cheek.
“I’m glad you and Mom didn’t listen.”
“Me too, precious.”
A knock at the door alerted me that Liam was here. My father beat me to the door. I sighed happily at the sight of the two of them greeting each other. It meant the world to me that Liam and my father got along.
“Hello, son! Come in for a minute. I have something for you.”
I shrugged at Liam, unsure of what my father was talking about. As my father rushed into his bedroom, I moved to Liam and kissed him softly.
“I think my dad may actually like you more than he likes me.”
Liam laughed and handed me a bouquet of flowers. As I moved to the kitchen to put them in water, my father returned with a small box in his hand. I looked at him, confused, but Papa just smiled at me and offered the box to Liam. Moving next to him, I watched him open it and looked at my father with appreciation.
“It’s an Italian Horn keychain. You and my Izzy seem to get a fair number of injuries when you are together. This will protect you.”
Liam smiled and instantly put the gift onto his set of car keys.
“Thank you, Mr. Bianco.La tua famiglia è benedetta.”
We both looked to Liam in surprise. I never told him that my father always said that. I blinked back tears, something I seemed incapable of controlling lately.
My father, eyes still wide, whispered, “Thank you, Liam. I feel the same way.”
My father shook his hand and kissed my cheek.
“You two have a good time this evening. I’m extending your curfew to one o’clock tonight. You have both been working so hard. You need a night of fun.”
I threw my arms around him and thanked him again. When we finally left my apartment, Liam looked at me with excitement in his eyes.
“Are you ready for our first real date?”
Smiling, I slid my hand into his and nodded.
“More than ready. We definitely took the long road here.”
Liam laughed and waited for me to get settled in the car before closing my door and heading to the driver’s seat. Leaning over, he gave me a long and drugging kiss before sighing and starting the car.
“Where are you taking me?”
My boyfriend just smiled at me with a gleam in his eye.
“It’s a surprise.”
He held my hand as we drove, and I realized that it didn’t matter where we went tonight. I would never forget the feeling I had right now. Anytime we were stopped at a red light, Liam would lean over and kiss me, and I found myself wishing for more red lights than green. By the time we reached our destination, his face was full of my lipstick.
“No way! This is the best idea ever!”
Liam nodded.
“I know our past attempts to find a hobby haven’t been the greatest. I thought we should try one more thing. Something just ours.”
“I love it, Liam.”
I practically bounced into the go-cart place, I was so excited. For the next couple of hours, we raced, flirted, kissed, and laughed. Everything with Liam was so easy. He was the best part of any day, and he would be for as long as I was alive.
Liam
