by Kaia Bennett
"What are you doing?!" she screeched as he headed down the hallway.
"Which room is yours?" he asked.
"I still have too much work to do. Put me down, or I'll sneeze all over you."
"Sneeze on me and I drop you." To emphasize his threat, he lifted her higher in the air and held her away from his body.
"Okay, okay, okay! Stop!"
She wrapped her arms around his neck in relief when he pulled her back towards him, and pointed down the hall to the left as another fit of coughs took over. She looked up at him quizzically as he paused in her doorway.
"You probably catalogue your underwear," he mused after quickly surveying her immaculate room. There wasn't a single thing out of place.
"Shut up," Gia said with a laugh that came out more like a croak. "I'm the by-product of an anal retentive father. You can't choose family."
He smirked as he carried her in and lay her down on her bed, moving her crisply made sheets and comforter aside so that she could slide in. He propped up her pillows so that she was sitting, and then pulled the covers up to her chest.
"Can't you at least bring me one of the posters to work on? I already slept so much today."
"Well, then, you need to sleep some more, because it wasn't enough," he said, shaking his head as he gave her another once over. "I'll take care of the rest of the posters."
She shook her head, and then thought better of it when her brain seemed to wobble loosely in her congested head.
"I have it set up in my head a certain way—"
"Gia, baby, chill the fuck out. I know how to use a glue stick. On good days, I can even wipe my own ass."
"Ewww."
He shook his head with a chuckle as he headed back to the kitchen. She felt herself sinking a little deeper into the covers in spite of herself. Her nose wrinkled at the prospect of him bringing her food and finishing her work. Never in a million years would she have guessed that he would be nursing her back to health. She laughed/coughed at how absurd it was.
Flynn came back into the room, and almost dropped the bowl of soup and mug of tea he was holding. How cute could she get with her big, watery eyes on him, red nose wiggling as she sniffled and the blankets coming up nearly to her chin? She blew her nose for the umpteenth time, as if she were trying to will her cold away while he set the tea down on the bedside table.
"Eat all of it—I don't care if you're not hungry," he said when she glanced at the bowl of soup he’d handed her and gave him an imploring look. She sighed and dug the spoon in.
"I'll be back later," he assured her.
Later was an understatement.
Only a few posters, my ass.
The posters were a barrel full of tedium, but they needed to get done and he didn’t want Gia to worry about anything when she should be getting some rest. He checked on her once when he came up for air, and was relieved to find her fast asleep. He’d actually expected her to shuffle back into the living room at some point to stubbornly take over, but she hadn’t, and for some strange reason that made him feel good.
It wasn’t too long ago she thought he was some incompetent slacker who slept his way through school. It was nice to know she felt she could rely on him to get things done now, that she would let him take care of her even if she did fight him on it in the beginning.
He’d had experience with taking care of his father growing up when he’d had too much to drink, but there was a distinct difference between tending to his dad and tending to Gia. With his father it was an obligation, something which had to be done, like doing the dishes or taking out the trash. With Gia, he helped because he wanted to, and that just made it… better, somehow.
He paused for a moment in the middle of gluing down another set of statistics, feeling doubt and uneasiness trickling through him. Wasn’t he getting a little ahead of himself comparing a girl to his father and getting all deep and thoughtful? She was just a girl. A girl he liked, sure, but there was no reason to start getting all sentimental over making her a bowl of soup, and gluing down the ridiculous amount of statistics she had written up for this project.
He went back to work, pushing aside the thoughts of the past and present which were making him uncomfortable. It took him two hours to finish up what she started. Her roommate, Lauren, had walked in to find him sprawled out on the living room floor, with a glue stick in one hand and the index finger of his other pressed against his lips.
"She's trying to sleep," he’d whispered, jerking a thumb towards the direction of Gia's room.
Lauren had nodded her maroon head of hair while surveying him behind dark rimmed, cat-eye glasses, and after a brief exchange of names, dragged her laundry and overnight bag as quietly as possible towards the hallway. Flynn could have sworn he’d felt her eyes on his ass for a good five seconds before she’d disappeared into her room.
When he went back to check on Gia, she was comfortably snuggled in, lying on her side with her closed eyes and only the top of her head showing. The rest of her was hidden under the covers, and her dark hair was splayed over the pillow. He listened for a moment to the quiet-yet-restless rhythms coming from her sleeping form. As sick as she was, he didn't expect she would get a continuous night of rest, but she would be better off in bed than working.
His eyes darted up to the corkboard above her bed. There were pictures of friends, of an older man that looked a lot like her, and an older woman that had similar colored skin and the same dark hair. There were also pictures of three guys of varying heights and ages surrounding her. They didn't exactly look similar, but there was something about them that screamed "siblings" nonetheless.
Flynn looked down when she stirred and sniffled in her sleep. He stared at her for a long moment, watching her inhale and exhale. Before he knew it, he was crouching beside the bed, stroking a stray strand of hair out of her flickering eyes. He leaned in as close as he dared, letting his fingers trace light as a ghost's whisper over her warm forehead until she sniffled and lifted her head out of the covers. He stood, shook himself out of his trance and frowned.
This was starting to get absurd. He’d never been one of those guys who got the whole watching a girl while she sleeps thing. Yet, here he was, hesitating to leave as if watching her restless slumber was somehow captivating. His eyes flickered over her face for a moment, memorizing how innocent and peaceful she looked, the way her eyelashes fluttered rapidly and her lips parted around a deep sigh.
He’d seen every possible look on her face but this one, and it was a sight he let sink in for a moment longer than idle curiosity would dictate, a little longer than he was comfortable with.
Finally, he forced himself to turn away, quietly picked up her empty cup and bowl, and left.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was Saturday night and Flynn was working at Proof. Another night of flashing lights, loud music, and girls leaning over the bar to call out drinks and whisper offers to get together at closing time. He took it all in stride, one pretty girl fading into another and one song turning into the next. It was the way he preferred it, nice and busy, so that before too long the night would be over.
"Hey, Bartender, what's a girl gotta do to get a free Long Island Iced Tea?"
It was the type of thing he heard all the time from cute girls trying to get his attention. He looked up, recognizing the voice before registering the face. Even before he did, he was smiling.
He crooked his finger at Gia, telling her silently to come closer while he leaned over the bar to cover the distance.
"All kinds of dirty things," he whispered in her ear, loud enough for her to hear over the music.
She gave him her good girl smile, but there was something much hotter flashing in her dark eyes. She was looking much better now that she was over her cold and their project was behind them. She had her healthy glow back, sans the red nose and watery eyes. Her hair curled over her shoulders and her bangs were swept to the side. He couldn't see all of her from his angle, but he guessed she was
wearing a dress. It was slate grey with spaghetti straps, and the color should have appeared bland, but on her golden skin nothing could look boring.
"How long you been here?" he asked, still shaking up a drink for another cute customer.
"Long enough to see every girl in here flirting with you."
He gave a crooked grin as he poured and passed the drink off to a very disappointed blond. It was obvious his attention was elsewhere. He started to fix Gia's drink.
"You're not jealous are you?"
She laughed, and raised the eyebrow that wasn't hidden by her bangs. "Should I be?"
He finished pouring her drink and handed it to her, watching her lips curve around the straw as she backed away. She was going to leave his tip on the bar, but he held her hand and shook his head, pulling her in close.
"Keep your money. I can think of other ways for you to pay me back," he said.
He could feel her shiver just before she stepped away. She gave him a smile around her straw and sauntered off to join her friends. It was a dress all right, and a very nice one from the way it hugged her waist and swished loosely around her perfect ass. But, it was a pair of knee-high leather boots that really did it for him.
"So, is that our choice for the evening, man-whore?"
Flynn took another drink order, as his co-worker, Kirti, jabbed him in the ribs and nodded towards Gia.
Kirti had the good fortune of being one of the few female bartenders at Proof. It didn't hurt her tips that she had long, dark hair, tan skin and a body ready for the cover of a magazine. She’d worked there almost as long as Flynn, and was familiar with his appetite for good-looking girls—an appetite that could only be rivaled by her own.
"Maybe." The words were non-committal, but he knew the laughter in his voice and the shit-eating grin plastered on his face was a dead giveaway.
Gia managed to stay in sight for part of the evening, dancing with her friends and stealing glances in his direction. He almost wished he couldn't see her, because it was difficult to keep the orders straight when he was watching her hips sway or the slightly ruffled hem of her dress ride up her glowing thighs. The dress was tight enough to hug her curves, but when she stretched or moved to the beat it slid seductively over the lines of her body.
And she thought he was the one who knew how to tease…
It was one of the many times he looked up to find her that he saw something he didn't like. He couldn't be sure at first, with the way the lights were flashing, and the way bodies mingled and then faded out of sight. But it didn't take long to recognize Gia talking heatedly with Luca at the edge of the dance floor.
He had his hands on her forearms, holding her in place while his mouth moved rapidly. At one point he even looked up, and his eyes connected with Flynn's as if he knew he was there. She was shaking her head and starting to turn when Luca grabbed her arm more firmly and turned her to him. They disappeared into the crowd, until she was just a sliver of brown and gray. His guess was they were headed for the exit.
Flynn's jaw clenched when he lost sight of them. Every muscle in his body seemed to tense involuntarily at the thought of Luca putting his hands on her. The music was thumping; voices were calling out to him for drinks. He didn’t hear any of them over the rush of blood in head. He was too busy thinking about what he was going to shatter on Luca’s body.
"I'm taking a break," he told Kirti through clenched teeth, not bothering to wait for a reply as he walked around the bar and headed towards the exit.
***
Gia could have choked Rosie for doing this to her. She knew the girl was a consummate ‘Gia and Luca’ fan, but this was ridiculous. Of all the bonehead things to do, why would Rosie tell him where she was going to be?
Still, Gia couldn't be too mad at her. She’d seen firsthand how convincing Luca could be, and she had to remind herself that Rosie didn't know the real score. She hadn't told her friend that Luca wasn't the innocent boyfriend looking to patch things up. How could Rosie have known Luca would see her leaning over the bar, flirting with the guy she’d supposedly had a one-time fling with, and put two and two together? Or that he would be about half a drink away from trashed before he finally got up the nerve to approach her?
So, while she could have choked Rosie, she was ready to kill Luca. This was really all his fault.
"You can't keep doing this, Luca. I already told you the deal with us," Gia said when they were outside.
He’d dragged her all the way out to the sidewalk and she pulled herself out of his grip, rubbing her bare arms as the wind swept over her skin.
The night was on the crisp side and the sky was growing lighter, dawn being only a few hours away.
"Yeah, well you left some parts out, didn't you? Like the part where you're still fucking that piece of shit in there!"
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She watched his face twist into something like disbelief and rage.
Shit…
She knew that look. It was the look of someone that had just confirmed their worst fear; that meant he hadn't been sure about Flynn until she’d looked at him like a deer caught in headlights.
"You really are still fucking that loser, aren't you?" He barely paused before he yelled, "Answer me!"
"Luca, keep your voice down!"
People milling outside the entrance were starting to pay attention to them as Luca paced like a caged animal in front of her. Some of them were the nosy friends he’d brought with him that night. Great. By this time tomorrow, everyone would know all of her business.
"Are you kidding me? Do you think I care if I'm using my inside voice?" He looked at her, waiting for a reply. "Just admit it. You're sleeping with him and that's why you can't return my calls or even try to work things out."
She was so mad she could have spit, especially when she heard complete strangers laughing at the drunken spectacle Luca was making behind her. Her emotions were raging within her. On the one hand she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. She never wanted him to find out she’d moved on this way, and she hated that he was making a fool of himself in front of his useless friends and complete strangers. On the other hand she was having trouble getting past her anger and the nerve of Luca for airing all their dirty laundry in public like this.
Who was he to judge her? And why couldn't he just leave her alone?
"I'm not going to do this with you now," she said as calmly as possible under the circumstances. "You’re drunk, and I'm tired of this bullshit. So, do us both a favor and stop embarrassing yourself.”
Gia turned on her heels to storm back into the bar, but Luca grabbed her roughly by the arm. His mood had changed from venomous anger to deep depression, and his grip grew painful as she tried to push him away. He pulled her to him, and she gagged slightly from the smell of liquid courage on his breath.
"Why are you being this way?” he shouted. “All I want is to talk to you, and you won't even be straight with me. I poured out my heart to you and the whole time you're off running around—"
"With me."
Flynn's voice came from behind her, and before she knew it, Gia was being pulled out of Luca's grasp and pushed gently behind Flynn's back. She could see Luca stumbling back on unsteady legs and realized he’d been pushed backwards.
"That's right,” Flynn continued. “She's with me. And she doesn't feel like talking to you anymore." He looked behind him, shooting Gia a glance. "Am I right?"
She nodded, rubbing her sore arm while Luca's eyes tried to burn a hole through her.
"See, I'm right," Flynn continued, and then nodded his head in the direction of the parking lot. "Get gone, man."
"Fuck you. I'm not going anywhere until I talk to Gia. I think she owes me a reason for why she could kiss me the other day and then still go back to fucking you."
She saw Flynn's back tense at this bit of information. She hadn't told him Luca had been calling and trying to see her. And she definitely hadn't told him about their sad little kiss. She wondere
d what he must have been thinking, but right now she couldn't be too concerned. He was speaking again.
"I must not have made myself clear. You're done talking to her. And you're done putting your hands on her," Flynn said taking a step forward, his voice low and calm, but no less menacing for it. "Unless you want me to break your fucking neck."
Luca took a step forward, already willing to call Flynn's bluff, and Gia stepped between them.
"That's enough!" She held her hand out to Luca, but her back was pressed to Flynn's chest. She watched Luca register her body language even through his drunken rage. It was clear which side of the divide she was on now.
"Luca, you're drunk, and I think it’s time you called it a night," she said.
Flynn's whole body was vibrating at her back with an eagerness to leap forward. It made her think of a rattlesnake, warning her that he was about to strike.
Her voice softened a bit, and she hoped she could cut through his stubbornness with sincerity when she said, "Please, Luca, just go home."
"So, that's how it is, huh?" he asked, gesturing at the way Flynn had wrapped his arm around Gia's waist. His eyes were taking on that glassy, hurt look again.
Flynn's hand gripped her hip almost painfully. For a second, no one moved and when she didn't answer him Luca stepped back, nodding his head over and over again.
"This isn't over, Gia," he said. Then, he turned to Flynn. "We'll take a rain check, and next time you won't have her there to save your ass."
Flynn smiled almost serenely and said, "Anytime, motherfucker."
Then, he leaned down and kissed Gia on the cheek, never taking his eyes off Luca as he retreated with his friends towards the parking lot.
She watched Luca walk away while Flynn's hand slowly relaxed against her hip. She turned around looking up at him with a small, embarrassed smile.
"Thanks,” she said, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. “You didn’t have to do that though. I was okay.”
"Did he hurt you?" Flynn asked. There was the oddest expression on his face, as if he were ready to hurt her once he confirmed she was okay.
