Chapter 29
SUMMER
I can’t get Luca Romano out of my head. He fills my mind when I fall asleep at night and when I wake in the morning. Between those times he stars in my dreams and scripts my nightmares and I can’t breathe knowing what will happen in less than a week’s time.
I’m walking with Imogen to class and she is quiet for once.
“What’s up?”
If I’m honest, she’s been quiet a lot lately, and she obviously has something on her mind.
She sighs and lowers her voice. “Jesse.”
“Frankie’s friend?”
I can tell she likes him and it’s definitely reciprocated, but for some reason he’s holding back on her.
“Do you suppose he’s interested?”
“Of course.”
“Then why does he leave when the party is getting going?”
I’m aware that Jesse is in a situation, but I don’t have the details, so I shrug. “I’m not sure, but I can tell he likes you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because of the way he searches for you when he walks into the room. The expression on his face when he catches sight of you and the soft smile he appears to keep for your eyes only.”
“I wish.”
She laughs softly. “He gives out all the signals but never follows up on that. Perhaps I should let this go and concentrate on some of the other guys who hit on me.”
“And there are a lot of them.” I remind her because Imogen appears to be the number one new attraction at Rockwell Academy, but she doesn’t realize that.
“He’s not the only one who can’t tear his eyes away from you, honey.”
She blushes and I laugh out loud. “See what I mean. You’re so cute and the guys here want to protect you and are confident they can do that best while fucking you.”
“Summer!” Imogen gasps and then giggles, her face flaming as she changes the subject.
“What about you? You disappeared the other night and returned with Luca Romano. Have you got a death wish or something?”
“Or something.” I grin and her eyes widen.
“You like him?”
“Guilty.” I shrug. “If he’s to be believed, he likes me too. The trouble is–”
“Frankie.”
“Not this time.”
“You mean he’s given you the green light? So what’s your problem?”
“The problem is, Imogen–” I grin. “Guys like Luca want what they can’t have. If I made it easy for him, he would lose interest.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
“The Claiming.”
“You’re taking part?” Her eyes widen and I smirk as a couple of guys pass and stare at her with a longing gaze.
As always, she appears oblivious to that, and I chuckle inside. For all her sass and steel, Imogen is more innocent than a child. She really can’t see what effect she has on the guys, and it’s endearing and amusing to watch.
“I am. What about you?”
“Why would I?”
“Even if a certain guy named Jesse was taking part and made it clear he was only interested in chasing you?”
She blushes and I nod. “I thought so. Do you want me to make some enquiries?”
“Don’t you dare.” She groans. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I laugh out loud. “Come on, what are friends for if not to meddle in one another’s love life?”
“Anyway–” I check my phone. “We’ll be late for art and, as I’m majoring in that, I can’t afford to fall behind.”
We head inside and I can tell he’s here before I see him. It’s as if my body has an alarm fitted whenever he is in the vicinity and as I scan the room, I notice him lounging at the back with a strange expression on his face.
He completely ignores me even though he must have seen me arrive, and I am a little disgruntled at that.
Miss Sloane is handing out charcoal and as she stops at his desk, she leans down and whispers something in his ear.
He nods and if I’m not mistaken, her fingers brush against his as she hands him the charcoal and then as she continues meandering through the room, his eyes don’t leave her for a second.
I feel sick. What is happening here? Luca hasn’t even acknowledged me and I expect it’s because he is concentrating on our young teacher instead.
What is it with that woman? I lied when I told Imogen I didn’t know what Jesse was up to.
I overheard Frankie tearing him off a strip for meeting with her.
Hiding and listening behind doors is a skill I’ve honed over the years.
When you live in a house brimming with whispered words in corners, you do it to survive.
Jesse is involved with Miss Sloane and it appears that Luca is also attracted to her and my anger sharpens as I prepare to cut him off—for good.
I attempt to concentrate on the lesson and try to blank him from my mind, but it’s impossible.
He’s so far inside it, the only way he can leave is to tear a hole through my heart.
I won’t let him break me, not so early on, and so I make my decision based on my instinct.
Fuck The Claiming and fuck Luca Romano. He will have to work harder than this if he wants anything to do with me from now on.
As soon as the bell rings, I’m on my feet and out of there and Imogen runs to catch up with me. “Hey, where’s the fire?”
“Burning brightly inside me, Imogen.” I hiss and she scurries to keep up with me as I head to the cafeteria.
“What happened?”
I say nothing because I won’t give him the satisfaction of discovering I’m bothered. Not that Imogen would tell him, but I keep my business closely protected from anyone. It’s the Majerio way, and that will probably never change.
As we head inside the cafeteria, Cassie calls, “Over here!”
We head her way and she takes one look at our faces and says in a low voice, “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
I drop into the seat beside her and smile at a cute guy on the next table who can’t stop staring at me. It’s not the first time I’ve caught him and if he wants my attention – he’s got it.
“What are you doing?” Imogen whispers as I smile at the guy.
“College life, Imogen. You should try it and never let one guy complicate your experience.”
“You know what, Summer–” She laughs softly. “You may be right.”
She smiles at his friend who apparently can’t believe his luck and before long, they nudge one another and grabbing their stuff, they head our way.
Cassie falls silent and shares a guarded look with Siri, who rolls her eyes, knowing only too well how my mind works.
She nods to Cassie and they stand.
“Got to go, girls. You know, classes, study, life.” Siri says with a cheeky grin and as they head off, they leave us to flirt with danger and two extremely handsome jocks.