Devotion

thirty one ﾒ late night studying for the midterms

LUCA

I don't think anyone has ever annoyed me as much as this woman in front of me. But, I also don't think I've ever been this admired, and even now, it's getting a little fucking creepy. "Why do you know my address?" I ask Mia, who's sucking a lollipop on my counter.

Mia smirks at me. "You've been living in the same house since we were kids."

"Right," I drawl, with my hands on my hips. It's like she knew I was in a compromising position when I opened the door shirtless and fresh out of the shower. I swear, dealing with Mia is like dealing with a stalker. But at least I could kill them if needed, Mia? Not so damn much. "What do you want from me?"

"Why do I have to emphasize that I want you?" She asks me, sauntering over me. She rubs a hand down my stomach, but I stop her quickly clutching her hand in mine. "We aren't doing this," I growled. "How many times do I have to tell you I have a girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend who isn't treating you right since you're always sporting a hard on!" Mia exclaims. This immature act has reached its limits, I might have to shoot myself. It doesn't help that I have work to do, AKA driving a shit ton of heroin to the border of Mexico. "My dick shouldn't even be a thought in your head, for fuck's sake."

I shift my towel around my waist as I run a hand through my hair. "And my girlfriend treats me better than you ever did."

"Uh!" She squeals in offense. "Excuse me, I was a great lay!" Mia follows me through the hallway and to my bedroom with her loud ass heels before I slam the door in her face. No privacy in my damn house. "You're getting the fuck out when I change," I say, slipping on a pair of boxers. "And I don't want you. This getting greedy shit is plucking my nerves more than it should." I slip on a shirt and hoodie and throw on a pair of sweatpants before my phone goes off.

It's Angelica, of course. I text her a quick note to remind her that Mia has infiltrated my house, so I need her to go along with the fake dating shit.

Me: Do me a favor. Be a girlfriend cause your best friend's weird ass cousin has got her ear against my door like a creep.

Angel: Aw, you needed me.

Angel: You're not my parent, fuck you. But okay.

I answer the phone and put it on speaker. Do your part, and I'll kiss the fuck out of you. "Hey," Angelica says into the phone. "Wanna come over?" She asks.

"Sure, baby. What time?" I ask, glancing up at the door every few seconds. Knowing her she's probably recording the phone call from outside the door. "Um," she pauses. "Now, it would be okay. I'm so horny."

A smile etches onto my face. "I'll be over in five minutes to give you what you need, alright? Hang tight."

"Bye, I love you," Angelica says. "I love you, too," I reply. When I hang up, five seconds of pure silence before a shriveled scream releases from Mia behind the door, I open it and am immediately pushed back onto my bed. Sitting up on my elbows, I glance at her. "Don't be so dramatic. Maybe believe when I say I'm dedicated to my girlfriend, and not you."

Mia glares. "This isn't fair. No, no, no!" She climbs onto my lap and holds my face. "You're mine, I'm never letting you go. You were so amazing to me, don't leave me for such a cunt."

I sigh, almost giving up. She has serious issues, daddy issues. Who knew my dick could make a girl this crazy? I might have to retire permanently to avoid this fiasco. "Alright." I push her off of me gently and take her hands off my face. "You've fucked that train up for yourself, literally and figuratively. You need therapy, Mia. I don't want you anymore. Stop being so greedy. Now, please, get out of my house so I can get laid."

Already pissed, irritated, and frustrated, I felt a wash of relief when she left without another word. This just called for a blunt.

ﾒ

"You could've come through the door, like a regular human being," Angelica says, staring out the window. "But, since you want to be a daredevil, go ahead and fucking die on my new windowsill. I just moved here, and you're cracking the paint already!"

I climbed through the window and was met with the pink entirety of her room like at her parent's house. Ever since Rowan and Angelica had moved into this brownstone near the school, she has been calling my ass over her whenever her brother is home. And it's usually to teach her Calculus. You'd be surprised that she admits she can't do math for shit. "Don't you need my help? I know calculus and math beyond it to keep me ahead of you, always."

"Stick that calculus shit up your ass and clench those asscheeks. I will be better than you like everything else—why are you smoking in my room?!" She asks, panicking. "You know Rowan doesn't know you're here, why make yourself wish for death?" She snatches the perfectly rolled blunt out of my hands and stares at it. "Can I take a hit, like last time?"

Christ, this woman. "No," I take the blunt back. "Because the last time, you laughed your ass off when we were looking at derivatives. Plus, I could kill your brother in a heartbeat. Now," I pause, staring at her textbook. "Get the practice quiz from last time and let me grade it."

I lean over her pink fluffy chair with the blunt in my mouth. Like a skilled smoker, I was able to inhale and exhale as I graded her quiz mentally in my hand. Handing me a pink pen, I grade it. When I give it back to Angelica, she pushes me back. "Shut the goddamn door!" She exclaims. "I got 85%!" Smiling at her accomplishment, she stares at her paper in awe. "Does it deserve a hit? Or are we passing the opportunity?"

"You have your saliva all over it," she says. "You're a whore." I hand her the blunt and she takes it eagerly before inhaling it and exhaling. "Yet, you still took it. You must love the way I taste, De Santis." I smirk at her.

Angelica scoffs and sits back in her chair. "Not in a million years. I'd rather kiss a frog than you," she says, holding her forehead. While she's taking in her high, I lean back on her bed. "Says the girl who loved my dick more than anything. I will make you reminisce about those high school moments."

"Don't play with me," she says. "I'll shove my foot so far up your ass, Bertarelli. Your eyes will go from blue to red in seconds."

Angelica and her threats have got to be the funniest thing I've encountered since I could remember. What's even funnier is how high she managed to get in a matter of two minutes. "It's 11 p.m. and I'm spending this night with you on my bed, in your outside clothes. I don't know what makes me sicker: you lying in my bed coming from outside or the fact you're breathing in my room."

"Want me to get naked?" I ask, smirking. She glares at me with those sexy green eyes and long black lashes. "I will demolish you so badly."

"Naked or not naked?" I tease, sitting up. Her body moves away from the chair and comes over to me before pushing my face away with her palm. "Aw, baby, I thought you were so horny, what happened?" I laugh.

A faint blush rushes amongst her cheeks as she pushes my chest. "You're not funny," she says. "That was an act." My brows shoot up in amusement. "So, saying I love you was an act. I'm sure you love me just as much as I do, baby."

"You love me?" She asks disgustedly. "No, what the fuck?" I ask back. We stare at each other. Blue to green eyes in disgust. "Alright," she says with a noticeable side-eye. "Cause I was about to say."

I lie back on her bed and look over her paper again. "Two mountain climbers start their climb at base camp, taking two different routes, one steeper than the other, and arrive at the peak at the same time. Is it necessarily true that, at some point, both climbers increased in altitude at the same rate?"

She stares at me, thinking. "Mean Value Theorem for Integrals."

"You make me so proud," I gush playfully unfortunately earning a good hit in the forehead from Angelica.