Caught In Between - Book 1

28

CHAPTER 28
Catalina

My stomach was in knots as I thought about spending the entire weekend with Matteo. Of course, it wasn't the first time we had spent the night together. But it was the first time we'd been that intimate with one another.

When I woke up this morning, I was almost positive Matteo was the man I wanted to be with. However, receiving those text messages from the brothers left my head in an absolute tizzy. Why now? Why, after all these weeks of radio silence, did they decide to reach out now?

It's your birthday, duh. Stop reading so much into it.

Listening to the voice in my head, I immediately shook it off. This was my weekend, and I wasn't going to let Domenico and Lorenzo fuck it up. I wasn't sure exactly what Lo had planned, but she did say we'd be on the road for a bit.

So instead of picking something sexy from the duffle bag, I opted for comfy. Hurrying out of Matteo's shirt, I quickly threw on this beautiful black lace bra and panty matching set. Then I went for a cropped FL State hoodie, a pair of cut-off faded jean shorts, and my favorite gift of all, black and white high-top converse.

God, my friend knows me so well.

When I finally made it back to the living room, I was met with Matteo's bag, but my eyes went wide when I saw "the gang" Lola had referred to earlier, which consisted of Lola and Matteo conversing among themselves. Then there was Sophia, whose arm was linked with Tristan's while they spoke to Elisa, who stood next to Isabella, while she gave her googly eyes. I had no idea that was a thing. All the while, Sebastian sat quietly on the couch with his face in his iPhone. Were they all here for me? 

"Happy Birthday, Cat!" Sophie shouted, drawing everyone's attention to me. I felt a slight bashful blush creep on my face that caused my cheeks to warm.

"Holy hell, there's the woman of the hour." Sebastian stood from the couch, tucking his phone in the back pocket of his faded denim jeans. "Happy birthday, hot stuff." He rushed me, wrapped his massive arms around my tiny body, and lifted me into a bear hug. Making me yelp in surprise before a hearty laugh left my chest. "If I had known it was your birthday, I'd have given you more than a kiss last night." He whispered in my ear, triggering a shiver that ran down my spine as goosebumps blanketed my exposed skin—this man.

"Down, please," I wept in response as a nervous ball formed in the pit of my stomach as I felt eyes on us. That feeling only increased when I looked over his shoulder and was met with Matteo's tight jaw as those gray eyes glared at the man holding me. So territorial already. I thought to myself and tried to suppress the smile that dared to frame my lips. Then our eyes met. I shot Matteo a tiny smirk, making him kink an eyebrow while he gnawed at the inside of his lip. Suddenly, his jealousy was replaced with lust. A few moments later, I was being lowered to the floor, Sebastian's strong arms freeing me from his tight hold.

We walked over to the rest of the crowd. I hugged everyone and thanked them for coming. Then we all made our way outside to a black and silver travel van that Lo rented for the weekend. Everyone loaded up into the van except Sophia and Tristan. When I asked why they weren't riding with the rest of us, Sebastian informed me that his twin had to work the next day but didn't want to miss out on tonight's festivities.

"Okay, let's hit the road!" Lola shouted to Sebastian, who was in the driver's seat, as we pulled off to god knows where. But knowing Lo, it wouldn't be disappointing.

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After being on the highway for hours, everyone had fallen into their own thing. Elisa and Isabella were playing cards, still sporting googly eyes for one another. Lola was busy yelling at Sebastian about changing the radio station because she said that passenger is DJ. All the while Matteo was asleep in the seat next to me. His black and red baseball cap tucked low, blocking his eyes from the sun as light breaths escaped his lips. Licking my own, I smirked at how content he looked sleeping so soundly. I couldn't blame him. We barely slept last night.