Page 36 of Breakup Games

“Aww, Matt,” Mira says and I imagine her reaching across the table to put her hand on his. She’ll probably circle her thumb against the pulse point on his wrist too. “If I didn’t know better I’d swear you're the middle child with an older golden boy brother and a little sister who can do no harm.”

Fuck, she’s telling the truth: Enzo is the middle kid and his older brother is his father’s right-hand man and his little sister, Kate, hangs out with their cousin, Bianca, getting into clubs and bars that she otherwise wouldn’t be permitted to step foot in since she’s only seventeen.

“I give off middle child vibes?” he asks and then they both laugh.

“Hey, I do, too. But I have an older sister and a younger brother who can do no harm. I love my sister, but she’s little Miss Perfect in my father’s eyes.” I know that’s a lie, but it’s a good one. She’s mirroring herself to Enzo’s real life, making him feel closer. Damn, she really is good.

Enzo orders another drink and they carry on the conversation. Mira tells him how overlooked she felt growing up and how even now she feels like her family looks down on her.

“I can relate,” Enzo says, clinking a glass down on the table. “You gotta take it to extremes to show you’re worthy.”

Silence fills the airspace and I inhale, waiting for Mira to talk. “What kind of extremes?”

“The kind that lets them know you can take care of shit.”

“With the bakery?”

“Yeah. It’s a cut-throat business.”

“I’m sure there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that regular folk don’t know about,” Mira goes on. They start talking about something else, and Enzo seems a little agitated the entire time, rushing through dinner but ordering two more drinks.

Finally, the bill comes, he pays, and he tells Mira they should “get outta here”. It’s another nice night and it’s going to be rainy the next few days, as Mira pointed out, so he says they should take a walk. A phone rings as they get outside and Enzo mumbles something we can’t make out.

“More problems with the bakery?” Mira asks a full minute later.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Oh, good. Where…where is this bakery? Maybe I can grab a muffin in the morning sometime.”

“It’s too far for that.”

“Oh, okay.”

Fabric rustles against the wire. “Don’t cross your arms,” I whisper to Mira.

“I do have to go take care of business,” Enzo starts, “but I have some time. Let’s go to my place.”

“It’s okay,” Mira rushes out. “I want to take our time so let’s do it next time.”

“Don’t be a buzzkill,” Enzo says and my blood instantly starts to boil. “I have some time to kill and I’m stressed. Don’t you want to help ease my stress, baby?”

“The guy’s a fucking creep,” Diego grumbles, shaking his head. “Can your girl handle this or do we gotta get her out?”

“She’s not my girl,” I shoot back. “But she’s got this.”

“Let’s walk this way,” Mira tells Enzo and everyone in the van holds their breath, waiting.

“Isn’t that them?” Evan asks, pointing at one of the cameras.

“It is,” Diego answers and I look over. There are cameras on every side of the van, and Mira knows roughly where we are parked. Is she walking this way on purpose?

“Do you need to answer that?” Mira asks just so we know his phone is ringing again. “Sounds like you have a real work issue going on.”

“Nah. I’ll call them back,” Enzo tells her.

There’s about a second and a half glitch between the live-stream audio and the camera footage.

“Matt, let’s slow things down,” Mira says and then the mic picks up more rustling or fabric. I blink, heart rate spiking, when I see Enzo step in front of Mira.

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