28. Do not pee in my car
Chapter 28
Do not pee in my car
Ariana
A pparently, I take too long waking up on the last Monday of the semester because Lil full-on body-slamming me is how it happens.
“Ooooooofffff! Fuck, Lil!”
“Geeettttttt uuuuuuppppppp!!!” She says, an inch from my face. Her toothpaste-y breath hits me right in the eye.
“Geeetttttt oooooofffffffff!!!!” I push at her, and she laughs as she rolls off me. So I jump on her back and take her down. After wrestling for a minute, we’re both spread out on the floor like starfish, breathing heavily. “Fuck, Dad’s right. We don’t work out enough.”
“Do not tell Dad he’s right,” Lil demands.
“Wasn’t planning on it.” I drag myself up and get ready.
Luca’s waiting for us in the kitchen, chatting with Becca.
“Good morning, my sweet girls. I was just telling Luca about the time Lil baked me a cake with salt instead of sugar.” Becca smiles fondly.
Lil groans. Luca grins behind his coffee cup. I’m hoping he smiles that big fucking smile, and his dimples come out to play again. I’m not sure which I love more, his sexy eyebrow or those dimples.
As we’re heading out of the gate, Lil’s phone dings.
“Damn. Amanda says the freeway is fucked.”
“Oooohhhh, backroads!!!” I yell, cranking up the radio.
“No. Not backroads.” Lil shakes her head at me, yelling over the music.
“Yes. Definitely backroads. Too late to change course now.” I haven’t even turned off our private road yet and could totally change course.
“But I have to pee, and backroads are bumpy!” Lil whines.
“Always pee before you flee!” I grin and turn left instead of right at the end of the road and gun it.
“Oh fuck you, Ari,” Lil says as we fly down the road. This one’s not bumpy, it’s just empty. The next one, that bitch will make your head hit the ceiling and your bladder hit the floor. I slow down as we get to it because I don’t want a broken ass car or more head trauma. We pull into the parking lot at the same time as Amanda, but our drive was more fun.
As we’re walking out of Lil’s first class, Melissa is in front of us, and she’s swinging her hips in an exaggerated motion. Lil and I look at each other like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ when she stops in front of Luca. He’s looking past her at me.
Luca and I have been dancing around this thing between us. Sure, we’ve kissed a couple of times. But he’s not mine. I mean, it feels like he’s mine. But we haven’t said that shit out loud, so it’s not like I have any actual claim on him. It still makes me want to hurt anyone who looks at him the way Melissa’s been looking at him since he showed up.
“Hey, handsome. We should hang out sometime.” She reaches out and places her hand on his chest. She’s never talked to him or touched him before. My eyes narrow in on her hand. I’d like to chop it off at the fucking wrist. Fuck. Hello, red flag. Might as well just piss all around him, Ariana.
He drops his gaze to her fingers on his shirt, then glares at her. “Don’t fucking touch me.” She removes her hand, and her smile falters as we stop next to Luca.
“Did you seriously just touch my cousin?” Lil looks wide-eyed at her.
Melissa flinches, then tries to regain her composure. “Ew, a DeVille? Never mind.” She turns and rushes away as fast as she can without running.
Luca frowns deeply. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. I need to burn this shirt and take a shower.”
Lil laughs. I try to calm my murderous rage.
“You’re a lot more fun than you were when you first got here, Luca,” Lil tells him.
He shrugs. “I blame you two.”
Every day that passes is a day I fall for Luca even more. It’s also another day I enjoy driving him a little nuts. It’s not just fun, it also seems like it helps break open that shell of his.
After dinner on Wednesday, Lil and Luca are fighting over what to watch when I have an idea. “Move the coffee table, we’re playing Beat Saber!”
“Yes!” Lil jumps up and starts dragging the coffee table off to the side of the room.
“What the fuck is Beat Saber, and why are you playing it?” Luca asks.
“Beat Saber is like having virtual lightsabers you move in time to music,” Lil answers, huffing and puffing. To be fair, the table is a beast. “And you’re playing, too.”
“I don’t think so.” He remains sitting on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest.
“You think wrong.” I grin at him. “I’m first!”
I put the VR headset on and pick up the controllers. I know it looks ridiculous, but it’s fun as hell. I scroll through and choose a song, then start swinging the sabers as colorful squares come at me. It isn’t long before Luca’s laughing along with Lil and then with me as we watch Lil. After a few rounds, he agrees to take a turn. He’s a lot better than he should be since he’s never played before, but he’s also been a fighter for at least a couple of years. I’m still a little bit convinced he’s secretly a ninja. We play until Lil and I can’t anymore because all that arm swinging is tiring. Luca has way more stamina due to the fact that he actually fucking works out.
“Lightweights.” Luca laughs as he starts up a racing game.
“Hey, we should do something to celebrate after my last class tomorrow,” Lil says over dinner Thursday night.
“Like what?” I ask.
“Food,” she answers with a shrug.
Luca’s eyes light up. “Burgers and fries from Gordie’s?”
“Ooohhh, yes!” I bounce in my chair and clap my hands.
“Yeah?” Luca asks, almost as if he’s afraid I’m fucking with him.
“Hell yeah!” Lil says.
So that’s what we do on Friday. We get a huge order of cheese fries, as well as regular fries. Lil and I order our strawberry shakes, DeVille style, and talk Luca into ordering a root beer float. We tell Luca whatever stories pop into our heads. He mostly just listens, but he laughs more than a few times. And he stares at me with a different kind of hunger in his eyes when I steal his float and take a sip through his straw.
About halfway through our meal, the back of my neck goes cold again. I breathe a sigh of relief when it lets up after a few seconds and shift in my chair. Without meaning to, I pick at the polish on my nails and chew on my lip. It’s nothing. It’s fine. You’re fine. Just ignore it.
Glancing up, I see Luca watching me curiously, his body stiff. I shrug a shoulder. “Thought I saw someone we knew,” I lie, instantly feeling like a dick. Especially when he relaxes.
When we get home, Mom and Dad are playing rummy at the dining room table.
“We want in!” Lil yells as soon as she sees them. But Luca hangs back when we head their way.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
“I don’t know how to play.”
“What? Seriously?”
He pinches his eyebrows together. “Why would I lie about that?”
I grab his hand and drag him over to the table. “Hey, we’re gonna teach Luca how to play rummy.” I push him into a chair and then sit in the next one over.
Dad stares at Luca, slowly raising his eyebrow. “My brother never taught you?”
Luca shakes his head. “We haven’t played games since my Go Fish and Uno days.”
Dad swears in Italian. Lil and I smirk at each other, pretending like we don’t know exactly what he says.
We teach Luca a bunch of card games and play for hours.
When Mom and Dad head for bed, Dad says, “No poker. I mean it.” He points at each of us in turn, ending with me and narrowing his gaze.
“What? It was one time. Jeez.”
“It was more than one time, and I know that’s how you ended up with that goddamned motorcycle you have hidden in the garage, Ariana.”
I smirk as I shuffle the cards. “There are two motorcycles hidden in the garage.”
“No poker.” He tries to hide a smile as he turns to leave hand in hand with Mom.
“So, five-card stud?” I ask loudly.
“Ariana!” This time, it’s Mom, and we all bust up laughing.
“Cribbage? Spades? Idiot? Bullshit?”
“Cribbage!” Lil declares. “Um, why did you spill the beans about the second motorcycle?” Lil asks me.
“Because then they’ll never think to look for the third.”
“Such a DeVille thing to say.” Lil chuckles and sets up the cribbage board. Luca purses his lips like he doesn’t know what the hell to do with me, and that makes me smile even bigger at him.