Make it casual. Be chill.
“What are you thinking? Your face changed?” Luca asked, his voice tight.
“Oh.” Well damn. He could read me that easily? “I was wondering when our next, uh, time would be together.”
He closed his eyes, and a huge smile stretched across his face. His features transformed with a grin, and my breath caught in my throat for an entirely different reason. He was so serious and focused all the time, so what made him smile like this? Ice cream? Corny holiday movies? The first snowfall of the year? When the Bears made the playoffs? I wanted to know, damn it.
His smile lingered as his gaze moved from my eyes to my mouth, then back up. “Monday. Not sure I can go two days without this.”
I rolled my eyes and shoved him. “Go.”
He slid off the bed, his hand lingering on my ankle before he frowned. “Can I uh, borrow your sheet to run across the hall?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, Lo.” He wrapped it around his waist before looking at me again. He gripped the back of his neck, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks.
What is he thinking about?
He tapped the doorway twice, his lips parting, but he didn’t say anything. He went to his room, leaving me in alone with my spiraling thoughts. One thing was glaringly clear—I had feelings for Luca, and even though I knew we’d end in heartbreak, I couldn’t stop them from growing.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Luca
We were winning games. Upsetting higher-ranked teams. Coach ran around with half a smile compared to his usual frown, and things feltnice.It was unnerving for stuff to be going well. I knew life experiences enough to brace myself for something to crack the façade. Life wasn’t nice and fun. It was hard and a grind. It was about sacrifice and hustling.
My muscles clenched, almost like they did when the car suddenly came to a stop, and I forced myself to breathe through the rush of panic. Life had been good the last three weeks, and I didn’t trust it.
I kept up on my schoolwork, stuck to my routine besides a trip to see my grandma every other week, and fucked Lorelei.Lorelei.I scrubbed my hands over my face in the locker-room shower, forcing myself not to think about her. I’d get a hard-on, and that was the last thing I needed in here.
I quickly rinsed after a brutal practice. We were facing the number two ranked team this week, and with the stats I had, it meant even more exposure. Coach seemed to think I’d have no problem getting drafted this year.Leaving school, earning the money needed for my grandma.
Getting dressed, I added an extra thermal since the temperature had dropped the last week. It was gonna be a cold Halloween in a few days.
“Monroe.” Dean nodded at me, his face more relaxed than that party a few weeks ago. He hadn’t shared what exactly had bothered him, but he seemed lighter, happier.
The guilt that filled my veins around him had only grown the more I kept a huge secret from him. He had no idea I was sleeping with his sister, obsessed with her being closer to the truth. I knew it was past the point of acceptable deniability. I straight up hid this from him, the one thing he’d ever asked of me.
Lo is off-limits. For all of you.
I swallowed the uncomfortable ball of emotion in my throat and forced a neutral expression on my face as I responded, “What’s up?”
“We need to talk. Not here.”
Shit.
Was his jaw clenched in anger? Betrayal? Had he found out? Sweat beaded along my lip, and I wiped it away with the back of my sleeve. What did I say? How did I explain what happened?
The truth.
My grandma’s wisdom snuck into my daily actions and deep down, even though I knew it’d hurt, me, him, our team, I’d own up to it. It was the only path forward. “Look—”
“Not here.” His eyes flashed around the room, his cheeks reddening.
Double shit.
“Okay.” I shouldered my duffel bag, double-checked that my phone was in my pocket.I’m delaying this conversation.Reading other’s movements was my strength. Were they favoring one side, did they move right and jerk left? I did the same on Dean, but he remained still as a statue, his hands shoved in his sweatshirt pocket. The dude excelled at poker, and this was no different.
