Page 37 of King of the Bronx

The girl gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Morgan…um, is Enzo here?”

“Unfortunately,” I grumbled.

Morgan grabbed the leash off the hook. Bello was already sitting at her feet, wagging his tail. So this must be the dog walker. I was surprised Enzo trusted a teenager to come into his apartment. She twirled the leash between her fingers as if trying to think of something to say. Enzo choose that moment to walk out of his bedroom.

“Hi, Enzo,” Morgan said, the redness in her cheeks deepened. I couldn’t help but smirk as I realized the reason for the girl’s nervousness. She had a crush on him. He stopped next to me and put an arm around my waist. His hand landed on a patch of open skin, and my body instantly reacted as if remembering how good his hands could feel.

“I didn’t know you’d be home. I was just taking Bello out for his walk.”

Enzo flashed her a smile, putting on the charm that I’d been stupid enough to fall for at one point.

“It’s fine. Usually, I wouldn’t be home, but I had something to attend to. Thanks for taking him.”

The girl nodded, quickly fastened the leash to Bello, and walked out the door. Enzo immediately dropped his arm from around me, and it was like I could breathe again. He waltzed into the kitchen.

“You know, I could have told her that you were holding me hostage,” I said.

He opened the fridge and leaned down to see what was inside.

“That would have put her in a really awkward situation,” he replied, not even sparing me a glance.

“You make her nervous.”

He straightened and leaned against the counter. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. That girl has a little crush on you.”

Enzo frowned. “Oh.” He seemed surprised by the statement. How did he not realize it?

“There’s nothing to eat in this house,” he said after a moment.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you only use your apartment to sleep.”

I started walking back to the living room area to return to watching TV.

“I’m ordering Chinese food.”

“Don’t care,” I responded.

---