Windows of the Soul

I got out of Jace’s car, alarmed at his house. It was easily double my house’s size, and it had a large, open front yard. I couldn’t see the backyard from where I was standing, but it was probably double the size of the front yard.

“Whoa,” I breathed. Jace chuckled and took my hand, leading me up to the front door. He unlocked it and we entered the vast, empty house.

“Where are your parents?” I asked casually. I felt Jace stiffen and I quickly looked at him. His eyes had narrowed, and his posture was stiff.

“They’re just not home right now,” he said before quickly leading me into the kitchen. The front foyer entered into a kitchen furnished with stainless-steel appliances, an island in the middle of the kitchen, and a Kitchen-Aid in the far corner.

“I have one of those,” I nodded at the Kitchen-Aid. “My mom being a caterer and all.”

“Yeah,” Jace replied. “Do you want something to eat or drink?” His cabinets were full of food, and his refrigerator stocked the same.

“Whatever you’re having.” I trailed my fingertips across the granite countertop on the island and looked around. I poked my head into the living room and noted that Jace and his family had a large flat screen, a real stone fireplace, and a large couch and loveseat set that could easily seat ten to twelve people. His dining room, adjoined to the kitchen, had a large dining table with six seats, paintings on two of the walls, and a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the backyard. I went and stood over there, looking out at his in-ground pool, garden, gazebo, and patio. This was easily the biggest house I’d ever been in, and I instantly felt ashamed of my little house compared to his. He probably thought he was picking me up at a dump.

“You’re house is so big,” I said stupidly. I turned back around and watched as Jace got two cans of Mountain Dew and a big bag of potato chips out.

He took them all in his arms and said, “C’mon, let’s go to my room.”

I admit, I was a little hesitant to go to his room. I’d only ever been in Drew’s room, and that was when his parents were home, the door was open, and we studied and kissed a little. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Jace, I was just nervous about that.

Pushing aside my fears, I followed Jace up the carpeted stairs and into the hallway. Paintings hung in the neutral-painted hallway, and a picture window was at the end, similar to the one in the dining room but rounded at the top and made of several panes. A second flight of stairs led to the third flight, but we turned at the last door on the right. He pushed the door open with his foot and led me into his room.

His room wasn’t exactly how I pictured it. Instead of the rocker-guy I had imagined it was neater and tidier than I thought it would be. A desk stood up against the wall facing me, between two large windows. It had a printer and laptop perched on it, and that’s it. A giant poster from some band I hadn’t heard of was mounted on the wall. It looked classic. His bed, a large double, was made neatly on the right wall. It had a plain black plaid comforter. There was a flat screen mounted on the wall and a closet. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to poke my head in there. Other than that, Jace’s room was spot on clean.

“Ready for some Algebra?” Jace teased. He dumped the food on the bed and pulled out his Algebra binder from the backpack he had slung over his shoulder. I saw a glimpse inside his bag; unlike his room, papers were crumpled on the bottom. Maybe, since he was so rich, he had a maid or something clean his room? I wasn’t sure.

“Sure.” I pulled out my binder as well and sat next to him cautiously on the bed. He splayed out on it, looking comfortable. He popped a chip in his mouth and cracked open the pop.

“For the fifth problem, did you get x2-8x+16?” Jace nodded and said, “Yeah. After you FOIL it do you need to do anything else?”

“I don’t think so.” I bit the end of my pencil, something I did in frustration. I understood this just fine, but what we just learned was still part of a jumbled mess inside my head.

“You know, can we go back…” I trailed off and got up to look out his window. “I hate math,” I groaned.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jace said from behind me. I turned around, and he slid his arms around my waist. We kissed, my hands lost in his hair again, and he took me over to the bed. I wasn’t ready for anything more; I hadn’t even gone that far with Drew, who I had dated for a year, minimum.

“We’re…not…” I said between kisses. He leaned up on his elbows over me and said, “You have to know I would never pressure you into that.”

I stuttered, “Well, I would hope so, but…” I continued to babble until Jace silenced me with his lips.

We made out for a while longer before Jace pushed himself off of the bed. I leaned up, wondering if I did something wrong, and straightened my shirt back into place.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing.” Jace turned towards me. He fixed his rumpled shirt as well before saying, “I want to take you somewhere.”

“Where?” I asked, confused. We still had some math homework that had “accidentally” fallen off the bed.

“The Chill Drill,” he grinned. “I sing some mad karaoke.”

“There is no way,” I said. Everyone hung out at the Chill Drill; the last time I was there with Drew. Drew was likely to be there, and Bel, and everyone else at my school.

“No, I really do,” Jace said, thinking I was talking about his singing skills. “I bet I sing better than you.”

“I don’t really sing,” I confessed.

“Well, tonight’s as good as any to start.” Jace grabbed my hand and we jogged out to his car. I left all my stuff at his house besides my cell phone and some cash; I could always finish my Algebra homework during first period study hall. Besides, homework could wait. I had to hear Jace’s singing voice; if it was as good as his regular, I would be in heaven.