ELISA BELLA ROSSI seems like the life of the party, always ready for a wild night out. But beneath the surface, she's battling her own inner demons. One fateful night, she meets CHRISTOPHER NUÑEZ AGNELLO, a man with a turbulent past who has found hi...
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I think Cupid hit me with a bullseye so hard, I can't even think straight anymore.
At this point, it'd be pretty absurd for me to keep denying it. Elisa is sitting in the passenger seat, and I can't stop glancing at her. It's hitting me now that I've never wanted someone so bad. But I have to rein it in; I don't want that tension between us again. We just managed to shake it off earlier, right up until my gossiping aunts started stirring the pot like they always do.
I got no clue where I'm headed with this. When Ayla asked for someone to give Elisa a lift, I volunteered without even thinking. All I knew was I wanted to be with her, and if someone was going to drive her, it had to be me. That's how protective I am of her.
I'm grateful for the music playing in the background as I speed away; we don't need to talk. Elisa is busy letting her fingers dance in the wind, like she always does. It's like she's zoning out to another world when I drive fast, and it seems to calm her down. Not like Ayla, who would be freaking out by now.
After a while, I park in front of Ayla's place, and I'm not even happy about it. I'm not ready to part ways with Elisa just yet.
"Thanks, Chris," she says, ready to hop out of the car.
Desperate, I hold her arm and say, "You wanna take a walk in the park?"
"Now?" she asks, looking puzzled.
"Yeah," I shrug.
There's a park right in front of Ayla's apartment. Honestly, it's more of a kids' playground than a walking park, but I had to think quick, and it's the first thing that came to mind.
"Okay, just let me change 'cause I've had my fill of this outfit for tonight."
I chuckle and nod in agreement.
Elisa walks up the stairs to the apartment while I sit on the hood of my car, waiting. When she comes back down, her wavy black hair is loose again, and she's wearing a long tee with her signature combat boots. Now that's more like her, although I got to admit, she looked mesmerizing with the style Ayla picked out for her.
"You feel better now?" I ask.
She grins. "Yes!"
We cross the street to the park, and Elisa insists on acting like a kid, clinging to the spinning wheel like her life depends on it. She spins like a madwoman and inevitably crashes into the sandbox below. She doesn't seem to care, laughing her heart out, even though the impact is sure to leave some shades of purple and blue on her fair skin. Then it's the swings, and she wants to compete with me, see who can go higher. I go along with her childish play because it makes her happy, and I end up having a good laugh out of it. Then again, she crashes into the sandbox after losing control of the swing.
I rush over to her, and she's just laughing again.
"Do you even care about your body?" I ask, amused, as I help her up.
