was me.
So, when we finally arrived at Penn and I had walked her down the stairs to wait for her train, I finally asked, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she insisted, not quite meeting my eye and keeping her gaze pinned on something behind me.
“Lemme tell you somethin’ about me,” I said. “I’m a horrible liar. And what’s funny about that is, even though I know I suck, I’ve still been doin’ it most of my life, ever since I was a kid. Except with you,” I went on, poking her in the shoulder. Her lips curled into an apprehensive smile. “I have never lied to you, about anything. Not even about the stuff that maybe a sane guy would’ve lied about. So, all I’m askin’, is that you return the favor. All right?”
She nodded gently. “All right.”
“So, tell me what’s goin’ on.”
“I … I wanted to invite you and your dad to my parents’ house for the Fourth of July. So that you can meet my family.”
Nodding, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re nervous about me meeting your family?”
“A little,” she said. “Yeah.”
I let the invitation and her confession settle for a moment before nodding. “I’m nervous about that, too. But you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m not gonna worry about it. And do you know why?”
She wrapped her arms around my waist with a sigh, and I sighed back at the weight of her head pressed to my chest. “Why?”
“Because with all the other shit goin’ on in my life, this is the one thing making me happy and keeping me away from doin’ shit I shouldn’t be doin’. And I’m not gonna let anything get in the way of that right now.”
She hesitated before asking, “So, you’ll come?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “We’ll come.”
“The train to Babylon has arrived on Track Thirteen.” We both looked up at the sound of the announcement. She unwound her arms from my waist and stood on her toes to kiss my lips. I resisted the overwhelming urge to request that she not leave, to ask her to come back to my place and stay the night. It felt so ridiculous now, for her to go back to Long Island every damn day, when she’d just be back in the city the next morning. But the unspoken agreement had seemed to be that we were taking our time, and I was going to respect that.
Andy hoisted her bag up onto her shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
I nodded. “You know it.”
Then, I watched her leave, keeping her eyes on the ground the way she always did. She disappeared through the door, and I imagined her descent on the metal staircase. I wondered what her house looked like, how big her bed was, and when I’d finally get to know what it was like to sleep with her. I wondered how much her family knew about me, if they’d treat me like shit, and if she’d allow their feelings to affect our relationship. And then, as I left Penn and felt the first drop of rain hit my shoulder, I wondered how it was a junkie like me could get so lucky with a good girl like her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ANDREA
“Would you stop looking at me like that?” I scolded Jamie, as I dug a pair of shorts from my dresser drawer. “It's just a barbeque. I don't need to dress to the nines for a freakin' barbeque.”
Jamie planted her fists firmly at her hips and cocked her head, pursing her lips and rolling her eyes. She didn't need to speak for her attitude to still come across loud and clear. And even though I had insisted it wasn't, I knew she was right; this was a lot more than just a barbeque.
I had now been seeing Vinnie for a little over a month. The days and weeks had been filled with pizza and wings, walks to the train station, and the sweetest kisses any chance we got. It was pretty safe to say that I was swooning and enjoying every second of it. But now he was coming to Long Island with his father to meet my family, and what had initially felt like an innocent thing suddenly seemed serious.
And he still didn’t know my closest friend was the ghost of a child.
Hell, he didn’t know I could see ghosts, period.
“What do you think of this shirt?” I held up a flowy black top, and Jamie wrinkled her nose. “Seriously? It’s nice!”
Jamie shook her head and walked to my