The menu doesn’t have any prices, which tells me all I need to know.This place is outrageously expensive.I just hope Moreno or Nikki plan on picking up the tab.
I do have a credit card for emergencies that my parents gave me, so I suppose if the check gets divided three ways—yeah, I’m screwed.
“Tell me about yourself,” Nikki says.“If you’re not going to give me the proposal story until dinner, I want to get to know you.It’s why I insisted on us girls going out today together.”
I bite my tongue on theus girlscomment, because Moreno is definitely not a girl.He’s with us solely to make sure I don’t fuck up.
“I’m a freshman at Evergreen.Luca and I are in the same Econ 101 class.”
“Is that how the two of you met?”
I nod and reach for the water glass, taking a sip.Already, I feel parched, but at least sticking with the truth is easy.
“Yes, he kept sitting next to me in class, wanting to borrow my notes, and walking me to my next class when we finished econ.”
“That’s sweet.”Nikki smiles, and I can feel her genuine warmth radiating toward me.“Tell me more.How did you two get from class to this?”She gestures at me, wanting more details.
“I’ve been struggling with some of the basic concepts in class.Luca is really smart.”I don’t have to lie.It’s true, he’s been doing so much better in our economics class than I have.“He’s been helping tutor me after class.He’s always able to explain everything that we learned in class in a way that I can actually understand it.I swear, he should be a professor.We started having these study sessions, just the two of us?—”
“Oh?”Nikki raises an eyebrow and holds up a hand.“I don’t need the sexual details.Please leave those out.”
I can’t help but laugh.Nothing sexual happened at our study sessions, but maybe her thinking it did helps make it more believable.I smile shamelessly and twirl a strand of my hair, trying to act flirty as I pretend to think of Luca in a sexual manner.
Which isn’t really that hard after last night.Just remembering his lips kissing every inch of my body and his cock driving me crazy is enough to stir the feelings buried deep within me.
After a second, I laugh, hoping that maybe my flushed cheeks help her believe the story.“Well, then I’m sure you get the idea.We studied, he helped me pass the exam.Honestly, Luca is a really great guy.He’s the absolute best and he makes me happy.”
All universal truths.
He does make me happy.
Most of the time.
Moreno comes waltzing in, and I realize the time to have asked her anything personal and secretive is long over.Damn, I should have been the one in control.
“What’d I miss?”Moreno asks as he grabs a seat at the table next to me.
“Just us girls discussing Harper’s love life.”She winks at me, and I suppress a groan.“So, I’m assuming you’ve been to his hockey games.Are you a sports fanatic?”Nikki asks.“You know how much my son loves hockey.”
“I wasn’t really into sports growing up, but Luca seems to be changing that.I went to my first hockey game this semester.”
Definitely not a lie.Although I didn’t exactly stay through the entire game.It was brutal watching Luca get his ass kicked.I don’t want to worry Nikki, though, so I stick to the basics.
“What did you think?”she asks, wanting my honest opinion.
“It’s a brutal sport.”Another easy truth.No one can say hockey is gentle.
Nikki laughs.“Agreed.But there’s been no stopping him from playing.He’s been in skates since he was four.”
“Wow.”I’m surprised that he’s been interested that long.I’ve never asked him about hockey, mainly because I hate sports and I really didn’t think we’d become anything more than friends.
“Who got him into hockey?”I ask.
“Definitely not my husband.”Nikki forces a laugh, and Moreno rolls his eyes.
“Dante hates hockey,” Moreno says, joining in the conversation.
“He doesn’t love the idea of his son getting hurt,” Nikki says, defending her husband.“I took him ice skating as a kid, and he loved it.Luca had a natural talent for the ice, and he saw some kids playing ice hockey on the way home from the rink.He was six at the time and thought it looked like a lot of fun.He begged us to sign him up.”
