"And if it does?" I ask. I don’t even know if I want to hear the answer.
He laughs. "Damn. From hating me down to the bone to not being able not to fall for me? That’s a hell of a jump."
I know, Fontana. Don’t make it worse.
I shove him. "I didn’t say I did. I’m just asking. Just in case.Youmight fall forme.Not the other way around."
He lets out this bitter little laugh. His fingers play with the drawstring of my sweatpants, then let go.
"Alright. Since you’re asking, jokes aside…"
He meets my eyes. There’s no smile now. "If one of us starts to feel something real, we walk."
I go quiet. The ceiling spins just a little. Or maybe it’s me.
Yeah. Probably just me. "Just like that?" I ask.
He nods. "Just… like that." He’s not touching me anymore, and it hurts.
I want to say I already feel it.
I want to say please don’t make me pretend.
But I just swallow hard and nod. "Okay," I say. "Two months. No feelings. No falling."
"Exactly. We’re just… bodies. Pleasure. Escape."
"Right."
"We don’t owe each other anything after."
"Right." He leans in, brushes his lips against mine again.
I kiss him back, but I feel like crying. I wonder if he can feel it.
We pull apart, and for a second we just stare at each other, both of us pretending that nothing’s already broken.
Next Day
We survive another meeting.
Different men this time. Older.
More "I drink whiskey at 11AM" energy. Now it’s just the three of us walking down the hallway to our hotel room. Lorenzo fights with the keycard.
Gio lifts a finger and taps his shoulder. "Hey dude, why don’t you go for a walk or something? Find a girl, live a little?"
Lorenzo stops. "You’re kicking me out so you can spend time withhim?"
Gio smiles. "Obviously? Look at you. You’re smarter than you look."
Lorenzo rolls his eyes. "You’re lucky you’re my cousin. And that I actually like Rava. Otherwise, I’d plant myself right here just to stop you two from misbehaving."
"Who the hell still says misbehaving?" Gio says, smirking.
"I do," Lorenzo says proudly, and points at me. "And I bet he does too, in spirit. Don’t let this innocent face fool you."
I laugh, because he’s saying that without even knowing.
