Where Do We Go From Here?

Tony and I laid together in a sweaty mess, curled up in each other’s arms. With a gentle touch, Tony traced light patterns onto my exposed arm.

“You’re my first.” I admitted even though I’m pretty sure Tony already knew that.

“You’re the first girl I ever loved.” He admitted. I could hear the smile in his voice.

The sound of Gabby’s car pulling into the driveway made Tony and I reluctantly get up from the comfort of his bed and put our clothes back on. I blushed as I looked at Tony naked, wondering if he truly knew just how wonderful he was. Grabbing the rest of my things and making sure I was fully clothed, we walked to the living area just in time to see Rosie burst through the front door with a huge smile on her face. Rosie spoke animatedly about playing volleyball and the new things that she’s learned today.

“We’re learning how to bump the ball.” Rosie began. “It’s when you put your arms together like this” She started to explain while putting her wrists together and extending her arms out in front of her. “And you let the ball hit the flat part of your arm.”

I nodded along even though I knew the aesthetics of volleyball. However, it was cute watching Rosie explain because she clearly loved the sport. Gabby ventured into speaking about Rosie’s upcoming schedule, saying that she had a few tournaments coming up in the spring and that I was more than welcome to watch her play. I accepted graciously, saying that Tony will have to remind me of her game dates.

“Yay! You’ll come?” Rosie cheered.

“Of course.” I answered with a huge grin.

“Okay, I need to take Verity home.” Tony announced as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

“So eager to get rid of me?” I teased.

Tony rolled his eyes. “No, but I have a feeling that if you stay out late you’ll get grounded again.” He joked.

It was my turn to roll my eyes. After saying bye to Rosie and Gabby, Tony walked me to his car. I was still a little sore from our previous activities, but it was manageable. I couldn’t prevent the wide smile that stretched across my face. I must’ve looked utterly ridiculous.

“I started on my essay.” Tony said as he cranked his engine.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah, I plan on talking about losing my father.” He replied.

My smile slipped a little. In the brief months that I’ve known Tony, not once has he brought up his real father. Whenever he mentioned the terms “dad” and whatnot he often referred it to Manuel, Tony’s step-father.

“If you wanna talk about your dad, I’ll listen.” I offered sincerely.

The radio played softly around us, but other than that it was silent.

Tony sighed. “I never spoke about him to anyone, other than my mother and Maria.”

I waited, wondering if he would back out from talking about his father. I’ve told Tony about my family. Well, he knows about Ronnie and my parent’s shaky marriage, and he knows a shorthand version of my father’s past. Nonetheless, I just want him to know that he could tell me anything and it would never hinder my affection for him.

“I’m always here.” I reminded him in a soft tone.

Silence ensued us until Tony sighed, as if these past few minutes was spent gathering his bearings.

“I used to think that my father was a good man, and for years my mother let me believe that he was an honest, hard-working guy.” He began while staring straight ahead at the road. “But it wasn’t until I was old enough to know the true meaning behind the word ‘addiction’ that I found out that my father wasn’t that great of a guy.”

A sympathetic expression fell upon my face as I sat quietly in the passenger seat. I wrapped Tony’s hand in mines as a gesture of kindness and support.

“My mom never liked talking about my father, mostly because she never liked to speak ill of him, but it just so happened that I was about to lead a familiar path as he. A few years ago she sat me down and told me everything; from his prescription drug abuse all the way to his gambling debts. My father would get involved with the wrong kind of people that it almost resulted in the death of my mother.” Tony started to tear up and my grip on his hand tightened because I wanted to take away his pain.

“My father died from an OD on oxycotin and codeine—those were his drugs of choice, and it killed him. I remember the funeral and I remember my family members crying. But I didn’t realize that they were crying because my father wasted away his life so foolishly.” I watched as Tony’s hand—that was loosely draped over the steering wheel—turn into a vice grip of anger. My thumb ran circles into the hand I held, hoping that it would somehow calm him down.

“When my mother told me the truth about my father, it changed my life. That was also around the time she had Rosie. I remember my mother saying that I had to set a good example for Rosie; that I had to be the big brother she could be proud of. That was when I decided to clean up my act, to steer away from drugs, and to try and be a better person.” Tony then let out a small scoff. “But all of my trying was pointless…until I met you.”

My breathing was always odd and peculiar around Tony, for he’d always find a way to steal away my breath, but at the moment, my air supply seemed to be extra acute.
“And that’s what I want my essay to convey. How I turned around and cleaned up my act, and most of it was because of you, but it’s also because I don’t want to end up like my father.” Tony finished, making my heart feel both content and heavy.

I leaned over and kissed Tony’s cheek before saying “Rosie, your mother, and even me…we’re all proud of you Tony, and honestly I had nothing to do with that. Your improvement is because of you, so don’t sell yourself short.”

A smile pulled at Tony’s lips as he briefly looked at me. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” I smiled before sitting back into the passenger seat.

We reached my house in a matter of minutes, to which I spent a good ten minutes lingering in Tony’s car. Our goodbyes took time since we liked to bask in each other’s kiss. Tony would occasionally smile into our kiss which would then elicit a giggle from my throat, and then we’d continue this cycle; hungry lips searching for tender touches while our hands roamed over each other’s body.

“I need to go inside.” I said; our lips still fastened together, making my sentence sound muddled.

“I’m not stopping you.” Tony smirked before he continued to trail his lips alongside my neck.

“I’m serious.” I whined.

Tony chuckled, stopping his lips from venturing any further. However, they were still on my neck. “Goodnight.” He said softly; his lips moving gently across my skin.

I shuddered as a wave of goose bumps inflamed on my skin. I froze so I could get a better grip on my hormones and thoughts.

“Goodnight.” I managed to say breathlessly.

With one last chaste kiss planted on our lips, I quickly got out of Tony’s car and ran to my front door, all the while a large smile engulfing my face.

Notes

Some back story on Tony's real father. I figured that I haven't explained that situation yet, and thought that maybe I should.

Hope you like it and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading :)

Enjoy <3