Chapter 13 Gianna
THIRTEEN
GIANNA
Humans were flawed individuals. Or at least that was what the self-help book Gianna purchased said.
She had never been a reader, always choosing to watch a movie or show instead, but she was having a life crisis.
No one had made a book about what to do if you kissed your best friend's brother and liked it, so instead she stuck to how to become a better person.
She couldn’t undo her mistake, but she could stop herself from making any more in the future.
To be completely honest, she had been a mess.
Not a small manageable mess, but a huge ‘need to call a cleanup crew’ mess.
She couldn’t figure out why he leaned in and kissed her.
They were fighting, which to her meant they disliked each other.
Sure, maybe she had a small little crush on him, but that wasn’t supposed to go anywhere.
Gianna sure as hell wasn’t planning on kissing him either.
The words on the page slowly started to blend into gibberish and her mind drifted off into thinking about how Finn’s hands wrapped up in her hair, his mouth devouring hers. She slammed the book closed.
He was a damn good kisser. Too good. Where did he learn to kiss like that?
She shut down the jealousy that swept through her at the thought. She needed extensive therapy, or some sort of retreat away from this house to clear her mind. Being here wasn’t helping her, especially when she could sense his presence down the hall.
It was like her body was hyperaware of him, immediately lining her body up with goosebumps and wanting to repeat what happened the other night all over again.
She grabbed her phone off the side table, immediately scrolling through her messages on social media from boys who wanted her, but she never gave the time of day to.
She ignored the disgusting ones and instead focused on the ones from boys she knew.
Gianna eliminated the ones that were annoying, the ones she had already been with, and the ones she knew had girlfriends.
It left her with a decent selection to go through.
One stood out to her. His name was Dylan.
He was cute, looked sporty, and went to their school.
He had blonde hair and more of a boy next door vibe, which she might have been into before if her mind wasn’t corrupted by someone else.
She didn’t hesitate to message him, getting a response back asking if she wanted to meet up for coffee later in the week.
Perfect. A date on the books meant she had something and someone else to focus on, so her mind wasn’t rotting on Finn anymore. For all she knew, Dylan could be the love of her life.
Something in her gut told her he wasn’t, but she ignored it anyway.
Gianna got up from her bed, practically skipping downstairs with a new pep in her step. She made her way into the kitchen where both Cecilia and Blair were sitting, eating a bowl of pasta.
“There’s some dinner if you want it,” Blair said, motioning to the stove.
“I think I will have some,” she said with a grin, grabbing a bowl.
“Why do you seem so joyful?” Cecilia asked.
“No reason.” She shrugged, pouring herself some of the pasta.
“She’s probably on something,” Dante said, pushing her to the side to grab the entire pot for himself.
“Excuse me, I was still trying to grab some,” she said, hitting him with her fork.
He gave her the middle finger, stealing her fork and sitting down at the counter. “Be quicker next time, Barbie.”
“So really, why are you so happy?” Blair asked.
Gianna turned around, a grin on her face. She set her bowl down, pausing for dramatics. “I have a date.”
“Congrats, who’s the lucky boy?” Cecilia asked, raising her brow in question.
“His name is Dylan and he’s on the soccer team,” she said.
“Since when are you into sporty?” Dante asked, snorting.
“Since always. Shut up.”
“When’s the date?” Blair asked.
“It’s on Thursday. He’s taking me to get coffee like a gentleman,” Gianna said.
“Coffee? That’s it?” a deep voice asked.
Gianna’s face fell. She knew it was Finn. Her body could sense him.
He walked in with Augustus, the latter immediately walking over to Cecilia.
“I’m surprised security let you in,” Cecilia said, her face immediately turning sour when he sat beside her. “I thought I put your picture on the enemy list so they would have no choice but to tackle you down.”
“I hacked the system and changed it back,” Augustus said. “You’re gonna have to try harder to keep me out.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Finn said, directing Gianna’s attention back to him. If it was up to her, she would rather watch Cecilia and Augustus fight for the rest of the day.
She turned to face him, trying hard to keep her face neutral, or at least she assumed she did. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered so rapidly she thought she might throw up.
“I didn’t hear it.”
He gave her a sarcastic smile. “You’re settling for a coffee date? I thought you had higher standards.”
“It’s a first date.”
“Are you worried about him being able to pay for you?”
She clenched her jaw. What the hell was he doing? “I hadn’t even thought about it.”
“Hmm.” Finn walked over to the fridge, forcing Gianna to watch him in confusion.
“What does that mean?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“What do you guys think?” Gianna asked.
Blair shrugged. “I honestly didn’t care.”
Cecilia shrugged sheepishly. “Well, to be honest I was surprised. I mean, you have really strict standards for guys to meet on your first dates.”
“I do not,” Gianna hissed, sending Cecilia a glare. “Maybe I did before, but I’m a changed woman now.”
“Enlighten us on what changed your life.” Dante snorted, shoveling another mouthful of pasta into his mouth.
Finn turned around, a smirk on his face. “Yeah, what’s made you change?”
Gianna returned it with her own. “I had the worst kiss of my life.”
Cecilia gasped. “You’re joking!”
Gianna shook her head. “Made me consider celibacy.”
Watching Finn’s face change from amusement to pure anger was worth tarnishing the moment they had shared. Of course it was a complete lie, but he wouldn’t get the satisfaction of knowing that.
“That is tragic,” Augustus muttered.
“When was this?” Blair asked.
Gianna paused for a moment. She hadn’t been out anywhere considering she bailed on going out with them this past time and she had been beyond busy with practice lately, which they all knew. So, when did it happen?
She cleared her throat. “Fight Night. I skipped the party to meet up with someone, but it was the worst decision of my life.”
“Let your brother hear you say that, and he’ll never let you out of his sight again,” Dante told her, shaking his head in amusement.
Allister was the least of her worries. Not when Finn looked at her in a way that told her he was going to get her back. His eyes were darker than usual and the smile on his face was full of malice. She swallowed harshly.
“Looks like you dodged a bullet with that one,” Finn said, shaking his head.
Gianna shrugged nonchalantly. “You’re right about that.”
It was a miracle that no one else seemed to pick up on the tension between them, and she couldn’t be more thankful for it. Especially when he walked past her, letting his hand skim past her lower back as he did so.
She tensed up completely and couldn’t relax until he had walked out of the kitchen with Augustus. Only once she was sure he was far enough away did the air return to her lungs. She grabbed another fork from the drawer and finally started to eat the pasta.
Their words made it sound like they had ended everything between them.
So why did it feel he was just getting started?