Devotion

twenty three ﾒ what a flirt you are

LUCA

The next day, after the chaos of the ball, Angelica and I found ourselves in my apartment staring at one another. It's like death in her glare, I swear. And I'm the son of one of the greatest mobsters in New York City right now.

She's standing near a stool with a box of cereal in her hand, her glare attentive and quiet. I slowly walk uncomfortably shirtless and tired as living hell around the island counter to be on the same side as her. "You are very scary in the morning." I look at her.

"Please, you look like a damn lizard." Her head bows down towards the bowl and pours silently.

Me, a lizard? "You have green eyes. People with very bright green eyes are scary and look like lizards. I have blue eyes, nowhere near as scary."

Angelica grimaces as she peeks over her shoulder at me. "Usually, fake boyfriends are nice. You know, like tolerable and sweet."

I smirk. "I thought you forgot about the fake dating thing, especially because you don't talk about it. We don't talk about it. Are you coming around, enjoying the space of Luca Bertarelli?"

"Please don't flatter yourself." She says. "I don't even like being here half of the time." Angelica pours her milk before sitting down on the nearest stool. "And the reason we're even doing this is because your dumbass wants to tell what's-her-face we're dating, which is so untrue." She shakes her head, stuffing a spoonful of cereal.

Before I could get another word out to go against her retort, her best friend and her new man-toy, boyfriend, and my friend came out of the guest bedroom. Both were as tired as we looked, apparently.

"Good morning, lovebirds. How was the beautiful sleep you wonderful individuals endured last night?" I ask. Knowing these two fuckbirds, they probably didn't even sleep.

Mason sighs and shakes his head in disbelief. "Dude, it was, like, the best night ever. We were going like bunnies."

"Um." Angelica and Leilani's faces turn up in disgust in sync. "How modest of you, Mason," Angelica says, glancing at Leilani with a questionable look. "What exactly do you see in him?"

Leilani's eyebrows rise. "Did you not fuck him either?! This isn't my fault!" She says flailing her arms wildly.

As the two interact, I sit back against the counter in silence. I was just suddenly admiring the way Angelica looks. I've never found her so enticing in my clothing or in my house, but I think I've been around her more than I should be.

Mason comes near me with a mug of chamomile tea and a bagel. Where the hell did that even come from? "Who knew chamomile tea was amazing? Try it." He raises the mug to my lips, and I immediately back up. "Does no one teach you personal space? Or do you love just invading people's bubbles?"

"But it's good—" I cut him off. "I wish I could give a fuck right now." The girls stare at me, and everyone stares at the random outburst. Mason looks like an innocent boy who just got told "no" for the first time.

Leilani perks up instantly with her blonde hair tied up in a bun, Mason's clothes, and no socks. "Who poured cereal into your pants? Was it Angelica? It sounds like something she'd do." Angelica smacks her friend. "Hey, am I lying?" Leilani rubs her shoulder.

"But who spilled cereal in your pants today? That salty attitude doesn't go great with whatever sudden beef you have," Angelica says as she stands up and pushes her body against me to get to the sink.

"Sorry, just annoyed," I mumble. She stares at me. "With what? The air?" She asks.

This woman really does belong to a Mafia family. She may not actively participate in the activity that comes with it, but she knows how to intimidate even me. And I do the intimidating. "You're right, my fault."

She goes back to the dishes in silence as more pile in from Leilani's breakfast and Mason's whatever the fuck that was. The kitchen empties and now it's just Angelica and I. Today's plan for the day is maybe some illegal things, like my line of work type of illegal involving family members. Maybe family betrayal, but I just want to know the truth.

Once Angelica finishes up, she turns to face me. "So, you have practice today? Which means...we are cut for time, B."

I nod. "I know, but I'm busy at work. Like normal people are during the weekdays."

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" She stands there confused, arms crossed, and with a firm expression. And there's genuine confusion and mild grimacing involved. "Why don't you know how to speak to people? That's supposed to be your specialty, and you always seem to fuck up all the time."

"Where are you trying to get at?" My body seems to step forward on its own, in auto-pilot mode. But Angelica, the badass, seems to not get scared of the "intimidation tactic."

"It means to be nicer, fuckhead." For some reason, my dick stands up high on that. Something about her is setting me off, and this might've put the icing on the damn cake. "Please, don't tell me you're hard. I was trying to be mean."

I smirked at her comment. "My bad for the random boner and being rude in general. It was my fault, and I shouldn't be an asshole for no reason."

She nods. "Right." Her eyes trail down to the boner and back to my eyes. "You may or may not—your choice—want to get that handled.

For Christ's sake, I want you to handle it. And I don't even know why myself. I just stare at her face. Just stared at all of the things I never noticed before because I was too worried about something pathetic like grades.

We're damn near done school. Well, I am. She's going back for her Master's. "I will," I say before turning my head to see if Mason and Leilani are near. But they seem to be getting ready for the day. "I have a question. A personal one, if that's alright with you."

"About...?"

"About you. Just you," I say. She crosses her arms with a look I can't decipher. "If that's okay with you..." I say.

Angelica just stares at me. When I tell you, green eyes are the scariest eye colors—especially bright green—they truly are. It feels like she's summoning me from the dead, and I'm very much alive. I believe so.

"After this project, do you plan on talking to me still? I know you're not obligated to indulge in a friendship or partnership with me. But I'm just curious if you'd still, um, talk to me." I look at her with a hard glare, trying not to make any facial expressions I'd regret.

Silence overcomes the kitchen, and her body shifts slightly as she stands in thought. Her scowl and/or grimace transform into a smile. "You're so stupid, my goodness." She laughs.

Wait, what? "Um," I start, but she interrupts me.

"You're so cute when you get nervous. I didn't think I rubbed off this much on a grumpy, asshole of a man like you."

I internally groan. "Just answer the question," I say."

"Well, Luca, we will just have to wait and see. I'm not sure if I'm ready for a huge step like that," she says as she smiles. "Get ready, hot stuff. We have shit to do."