Chapter 8 #3
We’re not dating. We’re friends, and that kind of secret isn’t safe with a friend. It’s the kind of secret that gets someone killed.
Mom watches us, a warm smile on her face. I’m not sure, but it seems like she’s buying the girlfriend act.
Moreno, though, he seems a bit more suspicious, probably because that’s his job. He’s suspicious of everyone.
Seated around the campfire outside on lawn chairs, Harper is next to me.
She’s leaning forward in her chair, roasting a marshmallow for s'mores. I want to pull her into my lap, have her sit with me, but it’s only the four of us outside, and I doubt she’d be comfortable playing fake girlfriend outside.
“I’m sorry your other friends didn’t make it,” Harper says. “But I’m here, and I’m willing to do whatever crazy slumber party stuff you still want to do. Hair. Nails—”
“Pillow fight,” Ashton quips with a grin.
“I’ll throw a pillow at your face,” Nova says and sticks her tongue out at him. “Boys are always such pervs!”
“Not all boys,” I say. “Just the ones on the hockey team, so stay away from all of them.”
Nova rolls her eyes. “I know. You’ve made it clear not to date anyone on your team, your roommates, anyone you know. Well, guess what? Next semester, I’ll be at Evergreen with you.”
I groan—just thinking about her trying to hook up with someone makes my skin crawl. “Do me a favor and save yourself until marriage.”
Harper laughs. “Right, because that’s what you’ve done. You guys are all the same, such hypocrites.”
Frowning, I shift in my seat, turning to face Harper. “Why do you think that?”
“Oh, like you haven’t slept your way through the girls at EU?” She’s staring at me, waiting for me to challenge her, and the thing is she’s right.
I’ve slept with plenty of girls, none of them recently, since I’ve had my eye on Harper, but freshman year, I certainly had a lot of fun.
“Not all of them,” I counter, staring at her. “I know one I’d like to fuck.”
She glares at me and unceremoniously dunks her marshmallow in the fire. “Aww, shit,” she curses as it falls into the flames. She shoots the empty poker out of the fire, directing it at me.
“Distracted?” I laugh but lean back, careful not to get stabbed by the hot poker.
“So, are you two actually dating, or what?” Nova asks, grabbing another marshmallow from the bag. She helps put it on the stick for Harper, which I’d have been happy to do if she wasn’t pointing that hot rod of fire at me.
“Thanks,” Harper says, roasting her second marshmallow for the night.
Good thing there’s an entire fresh bag of jumbo marshmallows, because I have a feeling we’ll be going through quite a few of them this evening.
Nova grabs a marshmallow for herself and shoves the entire unroasted treat into her mouth. The girl has zero patience.
“You don’t roast them first?” Ashton asks, raising an eyebrow at Nova.
Nova shrugs. “I could, but it takes too long.”
Ashton shakes his head, stands, and grabs another roasting stick. He slides three marshmallows onto the stick before bringing it to rest just above the fire. “How toasted do you like them?”
“Not burned,” Nova says. “Don’t do a Harper and light that sucker on fire.”
“I got distracted,” Harper says defensively.
“Which brings us back to the question, are you two dating?” Nova asks, glancing between Harper and me.
“Can’t really be dating a guy if he’s taking your roommate home and kissing her outside your dorm room,” Harper says.
My jaw tenses. Shit. She’s still pissed about that? I thought we were over what happened the other night.
Ashton’s eyes widen. “You didn’t tell me you kissed Quinn.”
“Quinn, okay,” Nova says, repeating her name, “and you knew about her?” She’s staring at Ashton, confused.
“I was in the car waiting for his ass to take me home.”
“I'll bet you won’t ask for a ride from me again after a game,” I say.
It isn’t intended to be harsh, but it certainly comes out that way.
I’m pissed that Harper brought up Quinn, and even more upset that Ashton had to continue the conversation instead of being a friend and helping defend what happened.
He was there after the game. He saw her outside in the cold.
Was I supposed to leave her to freeze to death?
“Please don’t fight on my birthday,” Nova says, staring at me, giving me that look that could break hearts.
“I’m not fighting,” I say.
“Could have fooled me,” Ashton quips. “So, you two aren’t dating?” He looks from Harper to me, and I swear there’s a glint in his eye, like he’s feeling hopeful.
I stand, ready to defend the fact that Harper is mine. Even if we’re not dating, there’s zero chance of Ashton getting his hands on her.
“Sit down,” Harper snarls at me, and I swear I can see steam emanating from her.
Or maybe it’s the fire that’s wafting in her direction. Could be a bit of both, actually.
“We’re taking things at a glacial pace,” Harper says, her tone much calmer than her snap at me seconds earlier.
“That’s putting it mildly,” I say. Although she’s right, glacial does seem to be explaining our dating style, if you can even call in that. We’ve kissed, and it was everything I could have imagined, but so much better. And I crave more. I know she does too, so what’s holding her back?
“Maybe if you didn’t kiss Quinn, it wouldn’t be so glacial,” Nova says pointedly.
I can’t believe Nova is defending Harper instead of me. She ought to know that I haven’t been bringing Quinn or anyone else around this semester. She’s over often enough to see that the only girl I’m hanging around is Harper.
“I’m just protecting my heart,” Harper whispers, but I hear her, and I’m pretty sure everyone around the campfire catches her whisper along with the wind.
“Luca won’t hurt you,” Nova says, her voice just as soft, “and if he does, I’ll kill him myself for you.”
My little sister glares at me.
“Point taken,” I say and exhale a heavy sigh.
“Hey, boyfriend,” Harper teases, handing me the hot poker hovering over the fire with the marshmallow slowly roasting.
“Your mom mentioned hot cocoa. Do you think I could go inside and make some?” She stands, stretching her legs while I take the metal stick she’s been holding from her and continue roasting her marshmallow.
I really don’t want her to go inside the house alone.
“Can it wait until this is done?” I ask, nodding toward the marshmallow. “It’ll just be another minute. Then I’ll go inside with you, and we can make hot chocolate together.”
“How romantic,” Nova teases, “but she’s my friend and I’ll make hot chocolate with her.” She stands and gestures for Harper to follow her into the house.
“I’m going to eat your marshmallow if it gets done,” I threaten playfully.
Harper shrugs. “There’s more. I saw the huge bag. I’m not worried.” She follows Nova inside, and I momentarily hold my breath, watching them enter the compound.
“You okay?” Ashton asks. It’s just the two of us outside, although we’re never really alone. There are cameras around the entire house, inside and out.
“Fine,” I say, lying to Ashton. I can’t explain it to him; he wouldn’t understand.
Yes, his father is mafia, but he’s talked about following in his footsteps when he finishes school, working for the family business.
It’s why he’s in college, majoring in Criminology, with a minor in Forensic Accounting. It all sounds boring as fuck to me.
Less than two minutes later, I hear the girls chatter, and I glance over my shoulder as they approach. “That was weird,” Nova says.
“Is he usually like that?” Harper asks, his brow pinched as they stalk back to the fire. Harper sits back down beside me, holding out her hand for the hot poker, which now has a perfectly roasted marshmallow waiting for her.
Except I decide to be a bit of an ass and pull the marshmallow off, bringing it to my lips.
“Hey! That’s mine!” Her eyes widen in horror.
“I told you if you left it with me, I was going to eat it.” I shove the sticky treat in my mouth before she can snatch it from me.
Harper’s eyes narrow, and she climbs onto my chair, straddling me.
Surprised by her movements, my hand fumbles with the hot poker, letting it fall to the ground. It’s not like I need it anymore anyhow. The hand that held the marshmallow gets yanked away from my lips as she tries to grab for the fluffy treat, but it’s too late. It’s already in my mouth.
“That’s my marshmallow,” Harper seethes, her tongue darting out, tasting the gooeyness at the corner of my lips before closing the distance.
My mouth is completely full of hot, sticky marshmallow, and she’s clawing at me like a beast ready for her kill.
Damn, if I knew she had a thing for roasted marshmallows, I’d have teased her with them sooner.
Her mouth caresses mine, her tongue forcing my lips apart as she tries to steal a taste. The kiss isn’t soft and sweet. It’s rough and fueled with determination. She wants what’s mine.
I grip her hips with my hands, pulling her closer and tighter against me. Does she have any idea what she does to me?
“No one comes inside until Moreno or me tells you it’s time. Is that clear?” Dante’s voice echoes from behind me.
Harper immediately pulls back, but she stays on my lap, my hands trapping her against me.
When the hell did he come outside?
“We know,” Nova says with an exasperated sigh. “You already chased us out when we were making hot chocolate.” There’s a bit of a snippy tone in her demeanor, and I can’t say I blame her.
I’m always snippy with Dante.
There’s only one reason Dante would keep us out of the house, and that’s because trouble is brewing inside.
“I came out here to make sure the message was clear for everyone,” he says.
“Understood, sir,” Ashton says.
“Son?”
It pains me to hear him call me that. I wince. “Yeah, I heard you, Dante.”