Page 108 of Trust Me

His dark green eyes pin mine with a glare. “It’s fine. You’re more important.”

I shake my head. “That’s not how this works. You care about me, and I care about you. Now, tell me how your knee is.”

Elio smirks briefly, but then it’s gone as quickly as it came. “It’s sore, but nothing some ice and rest won’t fix.”

I grimace, not liking the idea that he’s in any sort of pain. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

He shakes his head. “Yes, let me take care of you.”

I roll my eyes, but my smile slips through anyway. “I love you.”

“I love you, dolcezza. What do you think the best moment of my life so far has been?”

I’m thrown off by his question, but I answer it nonetheless. “Uh, probably winning the Stanley Cup?”

He leans in closer, his mouth only inches from mine. “Not even close.”

“What was it then?” I ask, my chest rising up and down.

“The night we kissed for the first time.”

“That can’t be true—”

“It is,” he cuts me off. “Nothing has ever felt as good in my life as you do. That kiss was fucking everything to me.”

I close the distance, needing to feel his lips against my own this time. He kisses me back reverently, his lips claiming mine as they move over and over again. Elio pulls back, so I pout, jutting my bottom lip out at him.

“Don’t give me that look. We need to talk about something first.”

My stomach churns.

“What is it?”

Elio proceeds to tell me about how the incident at the café went viral after someone uploaded it online, and how my parents came here to see me. Not only that, my father apologized to him. And how my mother was oddly calm, explaining that she has a hard time turning off her doctor persona.

I digest what he told me, happy that he and my father are going to be able to move forward. As for my mother, it makes me feel a tad guilty because I never thought of it that way. I’d always assumed that her lack of expression was her being cold, but in reality, she must have had a hard time turning it off.

It doesn’t excuse the way she’s made me feel over the years, but I do understand her a bit more.

“I’m glad you guys had a good chat,” I say, shifting so that I’m sitting up in bed.

“They want to come see you today. It sounded like they wanted to make things right, Jas, but of course, it’s up to you.”

“I don’t know,” I mutter.

“Your parents care about you, Jasmine. I think you should tell them about what you really want to do with your life. They’ll be more understanding than you think,” he encourages me, his voice calling my eyes back to his. I suck in a breath, letting it whoosh through me as I come to terms with what he’s saying. A lump of emotion lodges itself in my airway, making it hard to swallow as tears prick my eyes.

“Dolcezza, no. Don’t cry,” Elio curses, cupping my cheek with his large hand.

“I-I don’t want to lose them if they don’t approve, you know? I want them to support me, and I hate how much I need that from them. I wish I didn’t care.”

“There’s nothing wrong with loving your parents and wanting their support. Your caring heart is one of my favorite things about you. Don’t hide it.” His voice is like butter, melting away my worries with each and every word.

I smile at him, a lone tear strolling down my cheek. He wipes it away ever so gently, his eyes intently focused on mine.

“Will you stay with me when they come in?” I ask him.

“Anything you want, you know that. I’ll text Ned now,” he replies, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

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