“If you’re insinuating I’m gonna share your family shit with people, then you hang out with terrible humans. Family stuff isn’t gossip. Plus, hello? My brother is a quarterback. You don’t think I understand how shit spreads? When people find out I’m his twin, they try to use me to get tohim.He hates it. I’d never do that.”
“Right. Of course. You understand it.” He sighed, his features softening. “I don’t trust easily.”
“That’s quite clear, Monroe.” I smiled. “So, back to your badass grandma, the place is falling apart?”
“Yeah. Unclean water from the faucet, missing tiles, a smoke alarm that kinda hangs. They clean it, but its old, unkempt. It’s a public place and all I can afford, so she doesn’t have much of a choice, and I hate it.”
“Wait,you’repaying for it?”
He froze, his gaze sharpening on me like he was a hunter and I was prey. A shiver went through me. I recrossed my arms, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.
“Thatis none of your business.”
And we’re back this this again.I rubbed my temples, my temper rising.
“Okay, look, what do you think my endgame is here, bro? You helped me out Monday night, and I heard you upset because our walls are thin. You worried about me finding out an iota about you, which makes you a normal person? I can go back to thinking you’re a grump after this. Just answer me. Why are you paying for it? Those places are expensive. My grandpa is in one, and it’s a ton of money. Our parents talk about it all the time, but it’s my dad’s dad, so of course they’ll help.”
His left cheek twitched as he eyed me up and down. There… might’ve been heat in that gaze, but I couldn’t be sure. Either way, I cleared my throat and wished I wore more than loose sports shorts. They showed a lot of skin and bruises. He eventually met my face, and his tongue wet the center of his bottom lip. I swore I felt that little movement between my thighs. Which,what?Luca was hot, yes, but like, from afar. Not like I wanted that tongue on me. He was… hm, this was interesting.
“So, tell me,” I demanded, needing to move my head away from thoughts like those. I didn’t want to have Dean kill meorsubject myself to heartbreak. It was a lose-lose here despite the bolt of attraction.
He ran a large hand through his hair, messing it up. “There’s no one else to do it. Just me.”
“Then she’s lucky to have you, and I’m sure she’s grateful.”
“I know she is. I just—” He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “I wish I could do more for her, but I can’t.”
“I’m sure what you’re doing is more than enough.”
“No,” he snapped. “I’m putting her in a place that’s not top quality, and I can’t do a damn thing about it. People just don’t seem to care about the older community. Like, once people turn a certain age does society stop giving a shit? This woman raised me after my parentsdropped me offat her house. She deserves the world, and the public doesn’t care about the facility. It pisses me off. Sure, they’ll donate to animal shelters, which, of fucking course that’s important, but no one sees a nursing home and goesoh, I should donate money.They assume someone has family to take care of them, but if I don’t get drafted after this year? I don’t know what I’m gonna do. She hasno one else.”
“Luca,” I said, but it was too late. He went back into his room and shut the door. My heart felt heavy and sad and broken for him. That was so much responsibility for a twenty-one-year-old to live with. Dean’s biggest duty was showering and throwing a football well. He didn’t have half the emotional weight Luca did, and wow. Luca cared for his grandma, not just like he loved her but financially.
Hell, my biggest worry was earning an internship and getting over a heartbreak. Both seemed frivolous compared to Luca’s struggles.
My mind raced as I went back into my room, my potential project ideas from the brainstorm staring up at me. What if… hm. He said the public didn’t care about nursing homes…He wasn’t one to want hugs, but I could come up with something.
A way to help him outwhilekicking ass at my project.
CHAPTERTEN
Luca
Game day.
My senses went into overdrive on game days. The air smelled thicker, like bonfires and homecoming and turf and sweat and locker rooms. The wind came through my window, providing a brief moment of peace before I started my routine. Game days weren’t to be fucked with. It was my golden rule. I stretched my arms over my head, moving right to left, then left to right.
After I stretched, I’d eat and shower. No classes on Fridays except some online course that I could catch up on this weekend. Game days were for getting in the right headspace. The day I couldn’t have a single distraction.
Knock, knock.
Whowould be at my door? I bolted up, damn well knowing Callum wouldn’t knock, he’d yell instead. That meant… Lorelei. It was eight. Too early for people to knock on another’s door, but what if she needed something? I ran a hand over my face before twisting the handle open.
“Hi, good morning, look, I have an idea.” She walked right on by me, smelling like springtime. My just-awake brain couldn’t move beyond her outfit. She wore tight running pants and a half-shirt thing. It was black with some cutouts that showed skin, and was there a glint of sweat on her neck? Her curls escaped around her ears and the base of her head andshit.She’d definitely said something.
She stared up at me with wide eyes and joy. Okay, she was happy about something. It couldn’t have been me because I turned into a jerk around her. My skin heated in embarrassment, and I cleared my throat. “Today is game day, so my mind was elsewhere. Could you repeat that?”
“I want my marketing project to be about what you told me.” She held a pad of paper against her chest, a bright orange pen hanging from the spiral. I finally dragged my gaze from her body to her mouth, and her full lips curved up on the sides. I had the strongest urge to rub the tip of my thumb against her bottom one, just to see how soft it was.
