Page 121 of Green Flag
Like we had crashed, my heart stopped.
I had flirted with Pedro on occasion. Mostly when I was drunk and he’d picked me up from a party, but never had he said anything—
“Fuck, I shouldn’t have—” He shook his head and went to turn the music back on, but I stopped him, our hands touching, mine on top of his.
“I’ll still be staying with you and we can still hang out and—”
His nod and swallow harshened my breaths.
“You didn’t mean that, did you?”
He refused to look at me, instead staring out the windshield, the car far slower than before.
It was instinct that took his hand and placed it on my thigh. I didn’t force his hand to stay, mine only the slightest touch on his, but it remained there as he breathed in deeply and said, “Forget I said anything. You’re too young. It’s just you’re so mature for your age— sometimes I forget—”
“I am mature for my age,” I said. He’d told me so many times. He was the only one who believed in me. The only one who trusted me.
Mum wallowed in her self-pity, sending me to boarding school because she could no longer deal with me.
Dad spent all his time with his new family.
And I had no one.
Until I had him.
Or he had me.
24
Chapter 24
Everly
Would my panties drop the second I saw Luca Mendes beat ‘black shorts’ to shit? Undeniably. Was I ready to throw myself across the ring to him and let him have at me there and then, televised for all to see? Most definitely.
My body recalled that morning when he found me in nothing but his top.
And when he’d held me, comforted me and talked me through my insecurities, one by one, my heart swelled.
Which was exactly why I shouldn’t make this more complicated by throwing myself across the ring and really meaning the kiss I’d thrust upon him.
Yet, in the filling arena, I was still looking for him before the fight. Just to be nice. Just to be friendly. Of course.
The grid girls and I were sat elsewhere, far from Dad’s judgmental gaze, but if anyone knew where Luca was, it would be him.
“Where’s Luca?” I asked him, looking down at my booted feet so he couldn’t smell my wine breath from dinner with the girls. He’d only scold me.
“Out the back, getting ready,” Dad said before giving me a kiss on the cheek and a light hug. “You look nice.”
My eyes widened, still looking down at my beautiful new boots.Until you see what I plan on wearing later in the ring.
“Er, thanks.”
“Are you not sitting here with us?” he asked, gesturing to an empty seat beside him.
Probably originally bought for his wife, Marina.
“I bought a seat by the girls,” I said, expecting him to complain, but instead, he smiled.
