“Yeah.” Luca’s jaw tightened. “We do.” The coldness in his voice didn’t surprise me, but it made me aware of how stiff his posture had gotten.
“Are you coming up?” he asked, still looking away.
Traffic hummed past us as I bit the inside of my cheek and forced myself to push forward. “No.”
Luca let out a hollow laugh. “You are unbelievable.”
“Luca—”
“This was never about your rules,” he snapped, turning toward me. “It was never about work. This is about your obsession with that guy.”
I froze for a second, then adjusted in my seat. How could I deny it? “I’m sorry, Luca.”
He shook his head, muttering a long string of Italian that I was sure were insults meant for me. “You’ve barely kissed me since—” He bit the side of his thumb, staring at his lap. “It is him. This is so fucking humiliating.”
His hair fell over his eyes. Passing headlights flashed across his face, lighting up the frown tugging at his mouth.
I reached for him, but he pulled his arm away.
“Don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
I couldn’t keep doing this. Faking it. Dragging him through the mess I’d created. Even if our relationship wasn’t ever going to deepen, we’d been friends before everything got fucked up. I respected him, and I’d stopped acting like it.
The car slowed to a stop in front of his building. Neither of us moved.
I leaned a little closer—careful not to touch him. “Can I explain?”
A notification ping snapped me back to the present.
My phone lit up with a text.
Ethan.
Pet
what you doing stranger?
My thumbs hovered over the keys. Always fucking hesitating with him.
Me
coffee?
Pet
are you drinking it or do you want to get one?
Me
remember the café near my place?
Pet
yeah
I needed to get this over with. The sooner, the better.
