Deal
Chapter 60
Lorenzo
"So, what? Are you two an actual thing now?" Alex asks as we navigate the crowded hallway, his eyes wide and eager, looking exactly like I just handed him the team captain title on a silver platter.
"Yeah, how exactly does this setup work?" Ben chimes in, tossing a skeptical look my way. "And did you two actually..."
"Okay, enough. It's none of your fucking business," I snap, cutting him off before the word sex can even leave his mouth.
I down the rest of my water in one sharp gulp, my grip crushing the plastic bottle. My eyes shift toward Matteo. He hasn't uttered a single word since he caught me driving her to school this morning.
"What about you?" I stop dead in the middle of the hallway, forcing the guys to halt around us. I lock eyes with Matteo. "Why the cold shoulder? You were the one practically begging me to talk to her in the first place."
Matteo lets out a slow, heavy breath. "Just... don't break her heart, Lorenzo."
A sour taste coats the back of my throat. I stare at him, disbelief threading through my anger. "Wow. You guys are really breaking mine right now." My fucking friends even my best friend.
Thinks I'm what? Some kind of heartless monster?
"I'm not planning on doing that," I clarify, my voice tight with an angry edge as I push past them.
"Lorenzo, I'm just saying," Matteo says, stepping up and placing a firm, grounding hand on my shoulde "Think about your world, and think about hers. If you aren't one hundred percent sure that she will be happy in your life... then don't let her in at all. "
I look at him, his words repeating likean echoin my head.I know exactly why he's saying it.
He's thinking about my father. He's thinking about the toxic Calloway legacy and my future responsibilities.
"Thanks for the advice," I mutter dryly. I wrench my shoulder back, shaking off his hand, and walk away before the truth of his words can swallow me whole.
his words repeating like an echo in my head. I know exactly why he's saying it. He's thinking about my father. He's thinking about the toxic Calloway legacy and my future responsibilities.About my last toxic relationships.
"Thanks," I say dryly, shaking off his hand.
And walk down into the cafeteria, scanning the crowd, but I don't see her anywhere. I head out into the courtyard instead, remembering the day she sat near the old olive tree.
When I spot her from afar, I freeze, taking a quiet moment to just look at her. It honestly doesn't make any sense to my brain that I once supposedly hated this girl."Have I told you that you look absolutely beautiful today?" I say as a greeting, slipping into the space beside her on the bench.
Sophia looks up, a beautiful, genuine smile breaking across her face.
"Why are you out here all alone?" I ask, nudging her shoulder with mine.
"Just thinking," she admits.
And I don't know why, but I instantly don't like the sound of that.
"About what?"
"About everything," she sighs, placing her book on the table and turning her body fully toward me.
"About us."
Okay. Here we go.
"I mean... what exactly is this between us?" she asks, her expressive eyes searching mine. I stay quiet, letting her fully finish her thought. "Are we dating now? Or are we friends? Do we still hate each other, or are we friends with benefits? Or, I don't know... enemies with benefits?"
At those last words, a rough laugh escapes my throat. "Enemies with benefits? I like that."
"No, seriously, Lorenzo. What are we?"
I stare at her, thinking about the exact same question.
For the last three days, my entire life has completely shifted. I never pictured myself waking up with her in my arms. She is like my fucking medicine. Sleeping with her is the best thing I've done in years. Hearing her scream my name when she comes still echoes in my head.
So what do I want?
Simple. I want her. I fucking need her like a fish needs water.
"What do you want us to be, Sophi?"
For a few heavy seconds, she looks down at our joined hands. "Whatever you want us to be.it's done .I can be your fuck buddy. We can do that enemies with benefits thing that you mentioned..."I start, but I shut up when she hits my shoulder, looking around frantically as if someone might hear us.
"Not so loud!" she whispers fiercely.
"Why not?"I pull her closer makig her lokk up at me, she lifts her head, her gaze meeting mine with total honesty
"I want to know you first," she admits.
Her words hit me with a strange, conflicting force. It feels surprisingly good to hear, but it also lands like a brutal punch to my gut.
Of course she wants to know me. For the last couple of days, she's been letting me into her life, showing me her world. Every time she asked about mine, I managed to dodge the questions. I thought I was being clever. Now, the walls are closing in.
"It's not that... I just want to know why everyone in school is talking about a show and bets, and saying that they 'won' you or something," she stammers, her eyes searching mine. "It's just all so confusing, Lorenzo. I..."
"I understand," I cut in softly.
But inside, my entire body tenses up, every muscle locking into place.
I don't know how to show her my world when there is absolutely nothing in it I want her to see.
It's a toxic, violent mess. If she sees the blood, the illegal cash, and the monsters I run with, she'll run. And I can't let her run.
"If you want me," she whispers, her gaze dropping to my lips before rising back to meet my eyes, waiting for any sign of surrender, "you have to let me in. Completely, Lorenzo. No secrets.
I swallow hard, the weight of her demand suffocating me. I want her more than my next breath, but letting her in might be the very thing that destroys us.
Before I can even find the words to answer, loud footsteps crunch on the gravel behind us.
"Look at that,the little reason I lost my car," Alex's arrogant voice cuts through the air.
Sophia flinches, instantly pulling her hands away from mine as Alex and Ben stroll up to our bench. My blood runs cold. Of all the moments for them to show up.
"Just drop it, man," I mumble, my voice dropping into a lethal, warning register. I try to shift my body to block her from their sight, but it's too late.
"Yeah, relax, Alex. After tonight, Lorenzo is going to get you a new ride anyway," Ben adds, laughing. He throws his arms out wide in a grand, theatrical gesture right there in the middle of the courtyard. "Tonight is payday. Actually, scratch that...it's pay night."
Alex grins, sharing the exact same reckless excitement, completely oblivious to the fact that I want to shut him down for good.
Beside me, I can feel my entire body going rigid. Panic, cold and sharp, slices through my chest. They are speaking too much. They are dragging the exact filth I'm trying to hide right into her lap?
"What does that mean?" Sophia asks, her voice laced with confusion as she looks between Ben and Alex.
"Nothing," I cut in a bit to sharply, my voice tight, giving the guys a look that should have struck them dead on the spot.
But Sophia ignores me, keeping her eyes fixed on my friends.
"Can I come?"
"Sure," Alex and Ben say in unison, always down for a crowd.
"Not gonna happen," I hiss.
Sophia's head snaps toward me. The hurt in her eyes vanishes in a fraction of a second, replaced by a cold, blazing defiance that catches me completely off guard.
"Fine," she says, her voice smooth and dangerously calm.
With slow, deliberate movements, she stands up and packs her book into her bag.
She glances at Ben and Alex, giving them a polite, effortless nod, completely ignoring the chaotic tension radiating off me.
Then, she bends down. Her face is inches from mine, her scent filling my lungs, mocking me.
"There's your answer.If you just want sex, go back to your ex," she whispers, her voice a sharp, venomous blade meant for my ears alone. "I bet she is desperately waiting for you."
Before I can even process the sting of her words, she straightens up, slings her bag over her shoulder, and walks away.
She doesn't look back.
Not once.
God fucking dammit, this woman is going to be my downfall