Page 76 of Green Flag
The referee got down beside them, bashing his fist on the floor. Somehow, black shorts managed to twist his way out and gave a nasty elbow to the ribs before the round was up.
“I don’t like the thought of him touching you.”
I turned in the restrictive sheets to lie on my front, facing him. “That’s the energy I want.”
“The energy…?” He looked down with narrowed, suspicious eyes. “What?”
“For our fake relationship,” I said cheerfully. “You want to piss off my dad, and, hey, so do I.”
“And you want Pedro’s attention,” he guessed. “And this is a way you want to do it.”
“I don’t want his attention. I want his… information. His mind works in odd ways. Seeing I’ve moved on would make him more likely to give me what I want. And it would mean we get to spend time together. You have to admit, we have chemistry, Luca Mendes.”
“I’m not encouraging your toxic relationship,” he muttered.
“Who said I want to be in a relationship with him?” I asked. “Not at all.”
His head was spinning. He nearly broke it clean off with how his head flew back. “Everly, you make no sense.”
I shrugged. “You don’t have to worry about me. I want nothing from him but information. I’m not the same girl I was. Especially not when it comes to relationships.”
“I’m not really a relationship kind of guy,” he confessed. “I’ve never had one and never seen one that’s been healthy or worked out or…”
“It won’t be real,” I said, brushing his shoulder as his thoughts seemed to spiral. “And we’ll be in it together. Open communication all the way.”
He didn’t react, glassy eyes looking at the fight.
“I can ensure all your needs are met if that’s what you’re worried about,” I laughed. God, I wanted to fulfill those needs now as I shuffled closer to him, hand back on his stomach. “My deal still stands.”
There was a silence while I held my breath, ready to tear his clothes off, prepared for rejection.
“Other women aren’t the worry,” he said and shook his head. “And this is already complicated. I don’t think adding sex into the equation would be helpful.”
I tried not to let that sting but chewed on my bottom lip as I nodded.
He raised his hands in defence. “You want this to happen; I have some conditions myself.”
“Okay…”
“Absolutely no kissing. Not like what we just did. No declarations of love. Nothing that is too obvious unless it’s prearranged between us and Livie. Less is more. And you will not meet up with that piece of fucking scum alone for your information.”
“Is that all?”
“No,” he said as his focus went back to the TV. “You get some self-defence classes too. If he touches you without yourpermission and I’m not there… I want him on the ground before Idoget there.”
16
Chapter 16
Luca
We stayed up until the early hours. We’d planned to learn all we should about each other if we were in a relationship, but then we were playing games on my PlayStation. Or, I was. She was busy running around in circles, pouting and flailing about more than her avatar. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt in the gym when I dragged her with me.
She’d been eager to get out of my little temporary home into the newly empty trailer park.
Maybe spending the night hadn’t been wise even if I’d been on my best behaviour, despite knowing she was next to me.
I needed the rules we’d made. I had to have some boundaries around her because I couldn’t hurt her or get swept up in whatever this was. She was still in love with that creep.
