"Fuck, you're a brat, Lola." But against my will, my lips twitch.
She might be a brat, but there's something highly entertaining about this side of her I've never seen.
And I think I'd like to see all sides of her.
"So?"
"So, ripping your skin off might be the least of your worries. I'd say meeting the Grim Reaper might be a possibility."
She sniffs. "Preferable to you."
"I knew you liked tall, dark, and deadly." I try not to think of how Alex is the antithesis of me, and how maybe, just maybe, she got it right when she accused me of lying.
"Only if you carry a scythe."
"Be quiet, Lola."
Thing is, I know I'm jealous of myself. The persona I accidentally created. Because he's different from me. Not in sexual predilections, but...
Shit. Did she free me from the way people perceive me? Because Alex wasn't ever meant to be more than a way to check in on her, to see if she's okay, to guide her to a job she could hold without people knowing whose daughter she was.
That old protective obsession I had.
Somewhere, though, it morphed into something else. Morphed into something more mature, addictive, sexual. A different kind of emotional.
Not love.
Right?
But almost like she belongs with me.
I'm not done with her in that way.
Maybe I'll be over her tomorrow, or maybe in a year. I don't know.
It's both new and old, and I'm aware realistically the change in the relationship is months old for the Alex part, yet weeks for Enzo.
And if I keep going down this path, I might explode in a wild mess of thoughts.
Fuck.
I glance at her. And in the back, she's pouting like an angry child.
Except it's not a pout, it's hurt, and she's nothing at all like the child I once knew.
Finally, I glance at her again, and with a sigh, I shake my head. "Sorry for going all caveman on you back there at the motel. I just..." What? "I didn't know what else to do."
"Well, you could've not done that. You know, taken me by force? That's a start." She tugs at the hem of the T-shirt that's showing too much thigh.
I could pass her the bag, but who knows what weapons she's got in there.
So far, Lola hasn't used any, but there's always a first time, and I have no intention of being her victim.
"You weren't cooperating. Or being reasonable."
"So? What does that tell you, Enzo?"
It tells me a lot of things, actually. Like, I don't like her saying my name in that clipped, cold tone. But I'm not here to win points. That didn't work. In fact, trying to win points got her thinking I'm a stalker when all I wanted was to keep her safe.
