Evie #3
I can’t say a damn fucking thing without showing the cards I’ve kept close to my chest since I was little. I put my heart out there once before, and I’m not going to let it be trampled again. He needs to be the one to lead this time.
“You’re playing with fire,” I declare.
“Am I? Or am I just doing what we have both been craving for years?”
My eyes flash as Matteo moves even closer, the distinct smell of him surrounding me.
“Everyone out!” Kieran bellows. “The newly engaged couple want to get it on and none of us need to be traumatized by that.”
“Kieran!” Bella scolds.
“We just got here,” I whisper as I watch the lights turns on, the music cut out, and the grumble of partygoers fill the space.
Kieran claps his hands together. “Party is moving to Irving’s. Let’s go!”
Matteo slides his arm around my shoulder, dropping his lips to my ear and making goosebumps pop up on my arms. “Irving lives in the same complex as us.”
Us.
I know what he means but my stomach flips all the same.
I stop short. “Wait, why hasn’t he been over annoying the shit out of me if he’s in the same building?” At the guilty look on Matteo’s face, I demand, “Spill it.”
He coughs into his fist. “I may or may not have a certain video of him from a certain holiday.”
“You really do blackmail people.”
“Only when it’s needed.”
Throwing my hand in his direction, I say, “Irving is harmless! He’s like a puppy.”
Matteo fixes me with a deadpan stare.
“Okay fine, a puppy that humps you but a harmless puppy nonetheless,” I relent.
Matteo snorts as Kieran cups his hands around his mouth and calls out, “The DJ and bartenders are following us. Cars are out front. Be responsible and buckle up!”
“He really did think of everything,” I murmur as we make our way back inside.
“Emmy and Layla are the best things to have ever happened to him.”
Before I can respond, Cindy and O’Connor come barreling past, Cindy’s eyes glassy as she declares, “Let’s fucking party!” They usher both of us through the house, and I chuckle at how happy everyone is for their friend and captain.
Matteo keeps his arm around my shoulder as we end up as the last to get in line for the black SUVs. The DJ trails out of the house, workers carrying equipment and containers of liquor following suit. I frown at the amount of people versus the available cars. “Are there enough seats?”
Taking his eyes off me, he peers around the driveway. “I hope so. Worst case scenario, we can call an Uber.”
Layla heads off in a separate car with Emmy and Kieran. Rolling down the window, she calls out to me, “We’re dropping Emmy off at my mom’s. We’ll be a little late. See you there!”
“See you soon!” I call back with a wave.
SUVs begin shuffling down the driveway, various horns blaring out a happy tune. Matteo and I chuckle at the absolute debauchery happening as windows roll down and catcalls join the mix about their captain getting lucky.
It’s a good ten minutes until we’re finally herded into a car. Matteo leads me in first, but I stop short. There’s only one seat left in the far back, the front and middle aisle seats full. What look like cases for the DJ equipment take up the rest of the space and the trunk of the car.
“Uh, there’s only one seat,” I point out to the driver.
Blowing out a breath, he takes off his hat, running his fingers through his thinning hair. He gestures to the now-empty driveway. “Everyone else is gone. I have to take the equipment.”
Irving leans forward, a glassy-eyed smile on his face. He has his arms around two women I’ve never seen before. “Just squeeze in. It’s only ten minutes away.”
The driver holds up his hands in surrender before heading to the front.
Scoffing out a laugh, I mutter under my breath, “Well, he’s not very helpful.”
“Go on, Dove, you can sit on my lap. Put the seatbelt over both of us.”
I frown up at Matteo as the driver starts the car. “That’s extremely dangerous.”
“Hurry up!” Irving calls. “I have the keys.”
Both our eyes widen as we realize everyone’s fatal mistake in not letting Irving go in the first car.
“Shit,” Matteo mutters.
Irving is none the wiser, his attention wholly focused on the two giggling women. He whispers in one’s ear, only to turn to the next and whisper in hers.
Matteo’s hand lands softly on my back. “Come on, it’s just around the corner.” Craning his head, he grabs the driver’s attention, sending a seething warning glare in his direction. “You better drive slow and careful, buddy.”
He waves him off. “Yes, sir.”
Matteo gets in first, his large frame barely able to fit in the backseat.
His knees basically fold into his waist. Holding out his hand, I slide mine in his and let him direct me.
I try to tell my heart to get a grip but it does no such thing.
In fact, it skips a beat as Matteo maneuvers me to sit on his lap, then buckles us both in.
Matteo keeps a firm hold on me, steadying me, as the driver pulls out of Grayson’s driveway.
Music fills the car, the lights turning off and submerging us into pitch darkness save for the lone streetlamps.
The car ambles over a bump, sending my body up and back down on Matteo’s lap. As Irving and the two girls giggle amongst themselves, it seems I’m the only one who heard Matteo’s groan of torture.