I laugh. And then stare out at the sunlit trees. "…I don't know what I'm gonna do, Noah."
"You'll figure it out." He is quiet for a second. "But whatever you choose, you better not ghost me when this shit goes global. I was here before it was cool."
I smile. "Noted."
But before he can even answer, BANG. The front door slams open, and Lorenzo's voice detonates through the hallway.
"I HEARD THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED, WHERE IS THAT FUCKING BITCH?!" I turn so fast I nearly drop the phone. "Lorenzo?!"
He marches into the room like a possessed villain, sunglasses on, hair a mess, shirt only halfway buttoned. He looks around, sniffing the air for drama. Then he sees my phone, snatches it from my hand, and holds it up like Simba in The Lion King.
"Noah," he says dramatically. "My precious forbidden fruit. I've missed you."
"OPEN YOUR MESSAGES YOU GREMLIN!"
"Don't yell at me," Lorenzo coos. "I'm sensitive." I sigh and leave him there seducing my best friend via FaceTime, and start heading downstairs to make sense of my life again. As I step into the main room, I freeze.
They are here. All of them. Gio. Daisy. My mom. And Jin.
Just standing there. In Gio's house. I blink, completely thrown. Jin walks up to me first, grinning.
"Your man's about to cook for all of us," he says, patting my shoulder. "We've claimed him. He belongs to the stove now."
"…Huh?" I turn. Gio is standing in the kitchen, already chatting with my mom about whether his back-left stove burner is better than ours. "What the hell is going on?"
Gio looks up at me, completely calm. "Oh," he says casually. "Your dad hasn't come home since yesterday. I found them on the balcony so I invited everyone over."
I open my mouth. Fail to form words.
"After last night, I've decided to commit fully to my culinary path," he adds.
"Chef Gio is back, baby."
31) Humble Servant Gio
Gio
I have a wooden spoon in one hand and the burner on low, trying to coax the damn thing to stay lit without giving up my dignity.
The kitchen is full. Rava's entire family is in here.
Jin is sitting in a chair directly in front of me, eyeing me.
"That bruise on your face?" he says. "It's kinda badass. You look like someone tried to take you down and failed."
I smirk, stirring the sauce. "Glad to know I'm giving post-brawl vibes." He points at his own cheek. "Think you could give me one just like it? Small. Strategic. Just enough to make people scared of me, you know?"
I turn to him fully. "Jin," I say, completely serious, "it would bemy honorto be the one who punches you."
He beams. "I can handle it. I'm tough." I raise an eyebrow. "You almost cried when I beat you at basketball, idiot."
"That was different."
"Was it?"
"That was betrayal," he argues. "You humiliated me."
"You missed a lay-up and threw yourself on the ground."
