“After you,” I say, climbing into the back seat of my car after Chari. Although she’s dressed more casually tonight, in jeans and a hunter green puffer jacket, she’s every bit as stunning as she was on our date. As soon as the door shuts behind me, I tell the driver where we’re headed and shut the privacy screen. I have no desire to waste even a half second of the ten-minute drive.
Thank God for the privacy screen.
Pulling Chari nearly onto my lap, I kiss her, hard. She opens for me, our tongues tangling. My hand finds the bottom of her sweater, takes advantage of the opening there, and meanders upward. I need to feel her skin. Pressing my palm to her rib cage, I frantically pull down the lace of her bra. But just feeling isn’t enough.
I need a taste.
I lift her sweater and lower my head to her breasts, flicking my tongue over one of her nipples before gently biting down. Chari pulls my head closer, my name falling from her lips over and over. And I swear I’ve never been so hard.
Lifting my head up, knowing we don’t have a lot of time, I replace her bra.
“It’s not enough,” I say, looking deep into her eyes.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
I kiss her, the first of a million kisses, I hope.
“I texted you.” My hands are everywhere at once. I want to memorize the shape of her, the feel of her, to carry me through the bleak, lonely hours without her.
“I got it”—she smiles—“after I saw you walk through the door.”
I can tell she’s pleased.
“Happy to see me?”
She nods. “Beyond happy.”
“Maybe we should just tell him tonight,” I venture. While I don’t want to ruin the mood, I also don’t want to keep pretending Chari’s not important to me, that she’s just Devon’s little sister. Although I’m not at all looking forward to his reaction.
She frowns. “No, please. Not yet.”
The words sting, even though she already told me she wants to wait. And a part of me does too. But it feels like she’s rejecting me. Like she’s saying I’m not good enough.
“Are you embarrassed of me?”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I wish I could bring them back. That’s the grade-school Enzo talking, the one who was laughed at because he couldn’t read. The middle schooler who was told not to bother applying to a prep school. The high school Enzo whose guidance counselor told him flat out that he would never get into Cornell.
That Enzo is dead and buried. At least, I thought so.
“Oh my God, are you serious?”
I wish I weren’t. But honestly, I get her reluctance. If it weren’t for Switzerland, I’d not be in a rush either. Devon won’t be thrilled at first, but maybe he’ll be happy to see us together once he realizes how much we care about each other.
“Well,” I say, hating how vulnerable I sound, how weak, “you know we have to tell him soon anyway. Why wait?”
“Because he might be upset at first . . . and I don’t want that to happen on his birthday. But I do want to tell him. I’m proud of you, Enzo. More proud than you know.”
She takes my face in her hands then, and all I want to do is kiss her.
So I do.
Willing her mouth open, I silently apologize for being ridiculous. For pushing her. Even for coming back home unannounced. I love her lips and can’t get enough. But unfortunately, the car stops in front of Tris’s restaurant.
“Promise me you won’t say anything tonight?” she says softly.
I don’t like lying to Devon, but I’m the one who put us in this position by showing up unannounced.
“Promise. But—”
“I’ll tell him everything on Monday. Before Switzerland.”
I can’t help but smile at that. “We’re leaving on Thursday, so you’re not going to have much of a choice.”
“I know. And I’m going to do it. But for tonight”—she backs away from me as the driver opens the door for us— “we’re just friends. Old friends.”
“With benefits,” I add, sliding out. “Ones I intend to take full advantage of somehow.”
Although I’m not quite sure how. She lives at home. I can either stay with Mom, Dad, and Lusanne, or Tris and Gian, who live together. Either way, there won’t be much privacy. I thought about getting a hotel room, but I didn’t want Chari to think I came here just for sex.
But now that I see her . . .
“I’m sure you will,” she says as I reach out my hand and then quickly pull it back. I glance ahead at the other two cars, which are emptying, but thankfully no one seemed to notice.
16
Chari
Being this close to him, pretending we’re nothing more than friends . . .
It’s impossible.
Maybe Enzo’s right, and I should tell Devon the truth? We’re sitting around the new bar, and Tris and Enzo are slinging drinks and joking around with each other. Every so often, Enzo sneaks a glance at me. My body responds to each one. First, a flush. And then, as his chocolate brown eyes linger just a bit longer than is probably safe, my heart speeds up.
Enzo takes his phone out, and when my pocket vibrates a few second later, I know I can’t reach for it too soon. Besides, maybe it won’t kill me to play it cool for a few seconds.
“So I hear you’re heading overseas this week?” Gian asks Enzo.
Oh boy.
“Yeah, Switzerland. Mom tell you?”
All eyes turn to the youngest male DeLuca. “Yeah, she said she talked to you on your way here. I still can’t believe you came in again so soon after your last visit, and for less than twenty-four hours.”
Enzo looks at me, nodding ever so slightly downward. A nudge to check my phone. Which I was just about to do. But now I think it might be fun to play with him a bit.
Casual in jeans and a button-down, he’s still a bit of a standout in our crowd. If a stranger were asked to pick which of us is worth billions of dollars, they’d have it in one.
“Must be pretty exciting, the idea of Angel making its way to Europe,” says my brother, who’s standing next to me.
“Exciting, yeah,” Enzo says, patting his pocket—his phone—as he answers. I try not to laugh. “But it’s stressful. Just two days ago, we thought the whole thing might fall apart.”
I almost blurt out, You didn’t mention that, but restrain myself.
OK, time to check his text.
Your lips were made to be kissed
I laugh. That’s the urgent message? I was hoping it might be an invitation to meet him in the basement or something.
“What’s so funny?” Devon asks next to me.
I quickly tuck the phone back in my pocket. “Nothing.”
I really do hate lying to him. But every time I open my mouth to say the words, they get stuck. What if Devon’s so upset it ruins their friendship? I’d never forgive myself.
But that’s just silly. Devon thinks the world of Enzo, and once he gets over his big-brother-protectiveness thing and realizes Enzo and I are . . . well, not serious maybe, but seriously interested in each other, he’ll be thrilled for us.