“Unless he’s ditching me and making me take the bus, that was the plan.” I don’t know what Luca intends to do after class. We’re supposed to drive together, but for all I know, he could leave me on the side of the road. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“I’ll talk to him before he leaves for class, maybe I can grab breakfast with him. Then, you can talk to him in the car on the drive up?”
“It seems you’ve got it all figured out,” I whisper, dropping a soft kiss to her lips. I’m not sure talking to Luca on the drive to Dante’s is the best idea for me, but I keep that tidbit to myself. No sense in upsetting Nova or worrying her. I’ll find the time to talk to Luca this weekend, no doubt.
“I really don’t.” Nova’s bottom lip is pouty, and I lean in, kissing it. “You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.” I want her to know that I’m not going anywhere.
“And if Luca doesn’t accept us together, what then?”
“That’s not an option. He’s your brother. He’s my best friend. He’ll just have to see how good we are together.” I try to sound convincing, but that thought flashed through my mind all night, making me restless and giving me strange dreams.
I pull her on top of me, loving the feel of her weight bearing down over me. I usually prefer dominating, but right now, just having her above me brings me comfort.
She straddles my waist and grabs my hands, pinning me against the mattress. “I hope I didn’t scare you at the party.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly what she remembered, given how much she had to drink.
“You couldn’t scare me.” I stare up at her, feeling my breath catch in my throat.
Nova leans down and kisses me. I melt into her kiss, her body warm and sending tingles through me as she shifts her hips and grinds against me while deepening the kiss.
Fuck.
I break apart the kiss. As much as I want this, and boy, do I ever, I have to be up in less than five minutes for school, and she needs to talk to Luca. We don’t need him barging in and witnessing the two of us doing dirty things to each other. It’s bad enough Harper walked in and saw what she did.
“Tonight,” I whisper, kissing her and rolling us over, pinning her beneath me. She murmurs as my lips mark her neck.
“You have to be with Luca tonight. At my parents’ house.”
I grumble, remembering our discussion just moments earlier, that I would be driving up with Luca. How easy it was to forget all of it when kissing her.
“Fuck, I hate it when you’re right.” I drop a quick kiss on her lips.
“I’m always right.” Nova beams proudly, her hands at my lower back, embracing me. Her fingers begin trailing a soft pattern, dancing over my skin.
My alarm jars both of us, and she grumbles, climbing off me, knowing that it’s time for both of us to be getting up. We have class together at nine, which gives Nova plenty of time to grab breakfast with Luca and try to talk to him before I’m stuck in the car with him.
Fifteen
Nova
I quickly get dressed and grab my books for class, making sure I have everything so I don’t have to stop back at the house.
Heading out of my room, I saunter into the kitchen. Zeke is eating breakfast, shoving bites of dry cereal into his mouth while Harper is glancing over one of her textbooks and eating a protein bar.
“Good morning,” Harper says, a faint smile on her lips when she glances up at me. I can’t decipher whether she and Luca are still fighting or not. She’s not super chipper, but she doesn’t look sullen, either.
“Morning. Is Luca still around? I was hoping to talk with him this morning.”
“He’s grabbing breakfast at the dining hall. He left about five minutes ago.”
“I’ll try to catch up with him.” I sling my bag over my shoulder, hurry to slip on my shoes and coat, and head outside.
It’s warmer this morning than yesterday, thankfully. The sidewalk is clear, and I take a shortcut through the neighbor’s yard and hurry across campus. In under ten minutes, I’m at the dining hall, slightly out of breath from jogging. I’m not exactly out of shape; it’s the ten pounds on my back—at least it feels like that—which makes it harder to run.
Catching my breath, I head into the dining hall, glancing around and spotting Luca grabbing a seat at a table alone. I hurry to grab some food for myself and then bring my tray over, hoping he’ll let me join him. “This seat taken?”
Luca glances up from his breakfast, a piece of bacon in hand. He takes a bite and glances around. Is he looking for Ashton?
