You Don't Know..What you Don't Know

Chapter Eighteen: Fall- Freshmen Year

Maria has truly out done herself. My eyes are smoking swirls of Pinks, Browns and Golds. They appear so deep, they are no longer hazel but become a lime green almost. She highlighted my cheekbones and sparkled my hair which is in a loose Katniss Everdeen braid. My mouth is a metallic rose pink. The ladies all clap when the dress is zipped up. "Tia, you look perfect. So beautiful." Mom gushes and the other ladies agree.

The Boys however do not. They were told to stay downstairs when they returned from their adventure except for Jim who came up to get dressed too.  Mom provided a buffet of finger foods for everyone but me. The edict is I cannot eat until pictures are taken. Mom wants a few without Phillip so we head downstairs. Posing on the stairs for her, I can hear the boys talking animatedly from the hall.

The first "Hell no" came from one of the boys followed by "Nope. Not happening." They are not going to spoil my good mood. I am fabulous and feel that way too.  Torri holds my stare from across the room. He is shaking his head. Him fuming is exciting and thrilling. Wonder what he is thinking at this moment. I mouth to him.. miss you.

The doorbell rings. Steve, George and Torri battle each other to answer the door. "Mom do something, please" I squeal.

"Oh let them have their fun," Oh ma, this is not fun and games. They are out for blood. I plead with my aunts and Maria. Nope, no one is going to protect poor Phillip. I guess it is up to me. Steve swings open the door and backs Phillip up on the porch. Torri and George follow as not to be outdone. Mike is sitting in the kitchen. Thank God one of them will sit this out. They force the poor guy down the front steps before I reach the door. Stevie is about to say something when I step in.

I stamp my foot and yell, "Boys." Every single head turns to me and Phillips eyes go wide.

"Tia..I can't believe anything could top last night. But today..today you are STUNNING." he stammers and Torri rolls his eyes.

I smile at Phillip. "Thank you. Please ignore the boys and come inside." I hold the door wide open. George, Steve and Torri go through first bumping him out of the way.

Phillips smiles at me. "You are so worth all of it, Tia.  I will take all that they dish out and more to spend the night in your company."

He stands in the foyer and presents me with a wristlet for the third time this week. This one sparkles on the white roses. Simple and elegant, exactly what my dress needs. The boys expected him to do this in the kitchen so they went down the hallway. I want reinforcements so I holler, "Mom, picture time. Phillip is here and we are about to go."

The ladies steam roll the boys to get pictures of us. We are whisked into the living room, balcony, stairs and patio before my mom is satisfied. The boys never come close to us again. Those Greek ladies don't play games. As Phillip and I go to leave, I wave bye to the boys and tell them to have a fun night watching movies. Steve chimes in, "Oh we will be up. Aunt Desi, what is her curfew?"

My mom sighs, "Her dad said 2 am. Be careful Tia. Bye Phillip."

"Hey Phillip, we are saying midnight. Understand." Torri says. I stare at him for a long moment and mouth, "See you at 2." Phillip smiles and heads outside.  As we walk to the silver stingray, Phillip says, "My God, I made the right choice."

We eat a nice dinner at a Steak and Seafood restaurant. Phillip and I discuss basketball and the season. He tells me he hopes to play forward this year instead of two guard. We talk about classes and teachers he had when he was a freshmen. The conversation flows easily and before I realize it, we are heading to the dance.

There is no thought process to Phillip. We click. He is such a gentleman. He pulls my chair out and holds my hand as we leave.

"Well Athena, ready for one last night." He says as he lifts my hand to his mouth.