Page 74 of Giovanni
“Try it after that face? No way.”
I make a big production of setting my fork down, soaking up everything about this evening with her.
“You have to. It’s a party code that you must eat the food you bring, don’t you know?”
Her eyes shimmer with humor, as they did so many times this week, and my smile falters. I want to get back to where we were. I release a long breath, unbuttoning my coat and loosening my tie to have the most sincere conversation with her.
“Kac, I didn’t kiss her.”
Even I can hear the sadness in my voice. Holding her fork, her hand drops in response while she stares at me.
“Nor did I want to kiss her. I know I confessed to having a crush on her when we first met, but not anymore. If anything, I’m angry at her. For what she did to me, to you, and us. It’s unforgivable.”
“Giovanni—”
“Kacie, let me get this out before you ask me to leave again.”
I stand up, the confines of the room seemingly shrinking around me. My jacket feels like an oppressive layer in the charged atmosphere, and I quickly shed it, draping it over the chair along with my tie. In hindsight, I should have stayed dressed for her. Yet sweat starts forming at the back of my neck, and a gnawing anxiety settles in my stomach. I desperately need a respite.
Kacie’s lips press together, her expression turning more attentive. Her striking green eyes are wide and alert, following my every move as I grip the edge of her bed with slightly trembling hands.
“I don’t know how you got that picture, and frankly, I don’t even care at this point,” I begin, realizing that I came out sounding careless, which is the furthest thing from what I feel.
“What I mean is that I spent the whole day practicing what I’d say to you. Thinking about different ways to start or handle this, but honestly, I couldn’t come up with any. Do you know why? Because I’ve never felt this way about someone before.”
I release the bed, running a shaky hand through my drying hair before looking up at the ceiling to figure out what to say. My brain is bursting with so much, going in different directions, that I want to say it all at the same time.
“Giovanni. I know she instigated it.” Her soft voice carries more confusion than clarity when I turn around. “Bex told me. Actually, she was the one that took the picture in the first place.”
Bex?
Her new friend. Anger throbs in my veins. Betrayal is its companion. Coming from someone Kacie just met and considers a friend is unbelievable. I struggle not to lose my temper and take a deep breath, trying to calm down to focus on what needs to be said. This conversation is far from over, and I need to tread carefully to navigate the fragile situation even if I want to find Bex tomorrow and yell at her the same as I did Jenna.
“Why did she do that?”
I keep my questions short and sweet, even though I want to demand to know every last word she said to my girl.
“She thought I should know. Said she wanted to know if the roles were reversed.”
Kacie doesn’t sound as convinced by Bex’s response, which slightly cools my temper.
“She appears to have sent it out of context. Maybe you should tell me exactly what happened.”
Relieve washes over me as Kacie’s sensible side prevails. I quickly move toward her bed, guiding the tray table away from her so I can sit on the edge. When my knee lays atop hers, she tries to move away, and my hand on the covers stops her. I don’t want or need more space. If anything, I want to be as close as possible.
Not wanting to ruin this opportunity by leaving anything out, I walk her through my day from the second I dropped her off to running into her neighbor at her apartment. She stays mostly silent except for asking a few pointed questions. When I’m done, I take a swig of the open bottle of sparkling wine, needing something stronger than the soft drink, and gag at the aftertaste. Her face, a mask of concentration, smiles slightly as she takes it all in.
“That makes more sense now.”
Her words bring a cautious hope to the surface. The tension in the room seems to ease a bit, replaced by a fragility of notknowing where that leaves me and us. I don’t hesitate to express my deepest feelings.
“Kac, this past week has been the best of my life. I know it sounds like something out of a movie, but it’s the truth. You’ve accepted me for who I am, something nobody else has ever done. I shared my dreams with you, half-expecting you to dismiss them as frivolous or childish. Instead, you dove headfirst into them, helping me draft a business plan and even offering to meet with that potential investor. That’s more than anyone has ever done for me, especially in such a short time.”
I pause, searching her face for any sign of how my words are landing.
“You’ve become a part of my life in a way I never expected. When that picture came out, it felt like my world was falling apart, not because of what others would think, but because I feared losing you, the one person who’s come to mean so much to me.”
Kacie listens, her expression softening, a hint of understanding in her eyes.
