During the Thunderstorm (Natural Disaster) ✔

Chapter Seventeen

Ally cracked another smile as she read Federico's text.

Federico: Look at this masterpiece.

Attached to the message was a photo of cereal. Mixed cereal. Granola with a sweet cereal. Frosty to be exact. There was something terribly bad with the guy. Who blended their cereal? Just, no.

Allegra: Can't see it.

Allegra: Knowing you, you'll make cereal taste bad.

As she waited for him to reply, Ally entered the kitchen for a quick snack before returning to study. It was going to be a long night. Painfully long.

As predicted, she didn't study much on Saturday. She kept texting Federico after they had gathered at the café. And now she was hoping to finish her essay. However, Fede kept texting her. And she kept replying. And well, she didn't know how she was going to manage it, but she'd find a way to chat while studying. She had to. She was unwilling to give texting up. It was going to be her motivation; if she finished one paragraph, she could check the new message from Federico.

Federico attached another photo. This time it was of him, munching his cereal and rolling his eyes. He looked ridiculous and funny.

Ally chuckled but it was a bit dry once she realized he was shirtless.

His entire chest wasn't in the photo. It was cut just above his pecs. Very strong and defined pecs. What was his workout routine? Could someone sport nice shoulders and biceps while still eating shitty cereal?

Her eyes were glued to the screen as they traced up to his collarbone and she couldn't believe it was attractive and sexy too. And then there were his shoulders, two hard balls of muscles, and finally a glimpse of his biceps.

It was a tease and she found it totally unfair. Was he trying to kill her by sending this picture? Did he have any kind of idea how weak she was against his biceps? She would give her earnings in order to see more of his chest and stomach.

Gah.

She needed to stop thinking and staring at the screen like a perv. So unbecoming of her.

Also, a bad move on her part. Because then, she wouldn't have collided against the kitchen island and torn her abdomen. Perhaps she was exaggerating but it hurt like a bitch.

And she would have noticed Nina there. Watching her. Very suspiciously.

Great.

"You are blushing," Nina commented in her dry tone. Her eyes narrowed as she studied Ally and then at her phone. One eyebrow lifted.

This was bad. Very bad. Questioning time was coming, and Nina was as intense as the Spanish Inquisition. Someone blessed Ally, she needed the help.

"Is this the same guy you've been texting yesterday? Is he sending you naked pics?"

"What?" Ally choked because she didn't know how else to answer. Also, her tongue was tied in the lie. For all she knew, Federico might be naked, and she just couldn't see it.

She needed to stop thinking about him. Stat.

"You've been glued to your phone the entire weekend, laughing. Do tell, who's this new guy you're talking to?" Nina leaned her hip against the counter and crossed her arms, finding comfort in her posture like she was going to remain there for a long bout.

"Why do you say that? That it's a guy?" Ally hedged.

Ally hated lying. One thing was by omission. Another thing was twisting the facts. But she couldn't tell Nina it was Federico. It was calling for fights and more. Ally wouldn't mind much knowing her sister was chatting with her ex in a friendly manner, Ally had long ago moved on and believed her ex as a good person. Someone who was part of her life for a while but deviated from her path. Now Nina...there was a fat chance she hadn't even forgiven Federico. Much less forgotten him.