AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How do you know that?”
“Because you, my friend, are the most cliché kind of cliché to ever walk this earth,” she says with a smile. “Don’t worry though, I get you. The man looks like a Greek God. How’s the sex?”
My eyes narrow. “Really? That’s what you’re choosing to focus on?”
“Aurora, your entire story is blowing my mind. I’m being hit with new information left and right, so yes, I will be focusing on the part that makes the most sense to me. You being attracted to him. I could tell when I saw you both that day. The tension was palpable!”
“That’s because we were fighting,” I mutter.
“Not really. I saw the way he looked at you. That man stared at you like he was going to devour you. I’m guessing he has,” she says suggestively.
My cheeks heat as memories from yesterday rise up unbidden in my mind. I rub my palms over my face.
“Seriously, Sabrina. You’re not helping!”
She laughs. “Okay, fine. You’ll give me the details later. I have serious questions now,” she says, leaning forward in her seat and clasping her hands together. “When did all of this start? You said the two of you have history? How did you meet?”
“Yeah, we’ve known each other since I was twelve. Nico was fourteen when we met. And we sort of grew up together. He was an orphan my father took in, and he was basically groomed to be a part of the outfit.”
I tell her all about the first time we met and the circumstances that led to Nico coming to live in the compound.
“That sounds awful,” Sabrina says softly. “So you saved his life?”
“Yes, and after that, we just grew closer. He was sort of my best friend growing up,” I admit.
“Okay, and when did the feelings start to make themselves known?”
“I started liking him when I was maybe fifteen or sixteen. And according to Nico, he started liking me around the same time as well. We just never got around to confessing our feelings until years later.”
Sabrina nods in understanding. “After you confessed your feelings, then what happened? Did you guys date?”
I shake my head. “Not really. It wasn’t that simple. Nico was one of my father’s capos. And at the time, he was barely tolerating our close relationship. You know how fathers are—protective. In the outfit though, it’s multiplied times a hundred. If we ever got together, my father could have killed him.”
“Oh, I see. So it was like a forbidden love type of situation?”
I laugh. “Yeah. I hated it, though. I turned eighteen, and I still liked Nico, so I decided to do something about it. I confronted him, and we...umm…hooked up one night.”
“Hooked up like, had sex? If that’s a yes, then you lied to me about something else. You said Charlie was the first guy you ever slept with,” she says accusingly.
“I didn’t lie,” I state. “Charlie was the first guy I ever had sex with. And lower your voice. I don’t want Danny hearing us. Anything he hears will most likely get back to Nico.”
“Sorry,” Sabrina whispers. “So, in what category are we slotting this hook-up?”
“We almost had sex but didn’t get far enough. Something happened that night. And after it happened, everything changed.”
“What happened?”
My chest tightens. “Sab, I really want to tell you everything, but in this one instance, can I just keep it to myself? I promise I’ll find the strength to say it one day, but right now, it hurts too much and I don’t think I can.”
Her green eyes soften, and she nods. “That’s all right, darling. You don’t have to say it if you’re not comfortable.”
And that is why I love her so much. She’s the most understanding person I’ve ever met.
“I can’t believe you stayed away for so long,” I say suddenly.
Because I realize how much I’ve needed her in the past few weeks. And I hate that she wasn’t there.
“I’m sorry, Rory. I just needed to get my bearings. And I didn’t want to see you again while I was still angry. Just in case I said anything I’d regret.”
