I pause at the door. I raise my hand and knock. For a second, nothing.
There. Footsteps. Then the door opens. Gio.
Hair a little messy. Shirt hanging loose like he doesn’t care, because of course he doesn’t. And for some reason, God help me, I notice the curve of his collarbone. I’m not supposed to notice that. I drop my eyes immediately. He smirks. I can hear it in his voice.
"Didn’t get enough of me the first time?"
I clear my throat, trying to sound normal. "I was just… bored. Thought I’d come back."
He raises an eyebrow, like he’s not buying a single word. Then he starts to close the door. "Yeah, no thanks."
Panic kicks in. Pure reflex, I reach out and stop the door with my hand.
"Wait—please."
His eyes flick down to my hand, then back up to my face. "Ah." He grins. "So youdowant something."
I exhale, defeated. "I do."
That seems to throw him a little. His grin falters just for a moment. Then he steps back and lets the door swing open.
"Well then. Come in, Ravioli. Let’s hear it."
I step past him. The smell of his house. The way his presence fills the room.
He leads the way upstairs. His room looks exactly the same. Like him. I stand there, suddenly feeling like I’m literally on stagewithout knowing my lines. He turns to face me, one brow raised. "So? What’s the favor, Ravioli?"
Hell. I’m really about to do this.
No backing out now.
29) You Have To Kiss Me
Rava
I stand there like an idiot. My eyes are everywhere except on him. Gio is stretched out across the bed with his arms behind his head, his shirt slightly riding up, just enough to be annoying.
I hate that he always has the upper hand in these moments, even when I’m the one with the secret.
"So?" he says lazily, one eyebrow lifting. "You gonna confess something, or just keep standing there like you forgot your lines?"
I clench my jaw. "Shut up."
"Oh, okay. That clears it up." He sits up slightly, his smirk already forming. "Let me guess… you’re pregnant?"
My head snaps toward him. "What the hell?"
"I knew it," he says, laughing. "Should’ve used protection. Classic Rava mistake."
I glare. "I swear to God—"
"Okay, okay," he waves a hand, still grinning.
"I know. You got kicked out of your precious little pedagogy program. You finally snapped and told your dad to go f—"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
