Chapter Ten NICO

Chapter Ten

NICO

We walk side by side along the sidewalk, keeping up a steady stream of conversation, me dodging out of the way if someone approaches us. A few people say hello, calling out my name like I’m some sort of celebrity, and I realize it was pretty risky, coming out like this by myself.

It’s not something I normally do. I’m taking a chance here. I could get swarmed by fans—and the rabid fangirls who just want to get in our pants—in a matter of minutes if word gets out.

Wild but true.

Everleigh, though? She’s oblivious to my celebrity status. She doesn’t treat me like a god, and I like it. To her I’m that guy she lives with who probably annoys her sometimes. I know I definitely embarrass her when I don’t even mean to. It’s awkward as fuck at night when we’re both wanting to use the bathroom for a shower or to brush our teeth. One night, we even brushed our teeth together, which felt weirdly intimate especially since there’s only one sink and we’re both spitting into it.

Coop was right. Living with a woman is different.

Earlier she really couldn’t stop staring at my burrito like it was the best thing she’d ever seen, and when her stomach growled?

That confirmed it. Girl was hungry. I was feeling generous, so I offered to feed her.

No big.

When we finally end up at Hector’s, there’s a line in front of the building. It’s the kind of restaurant where you place your order at the counter and they call out your name when it’s ready. They move pretty fast.

“There are a lot of people here,” she observes.

I toss my wadded-up foil left over from the burrito I finished a few minutes ago in a nearby trash bin. “I’m not the only one who thinks this place is delicious.”

“Clearly.” She sends me a quick smile as she scans the area. There are a bunch of picnic tables to the left of the building where people can sit and eat, strings of lights hanging above them in a zigzag pattern. Every table is full of people our age, all of them talking and laughing while shoving food in their faces.

This town is a vibe, and I’m so fucking glad I live here. That I play football for this team. I grew up on the coast, but a little farther up north, in Atascadero. I could’ve gone to college near there, but their football team was for shit, and there was no way I could risk it. Plus I was eager to get away from my hometown and go somewhere new. I wanted to play for a D-1 school, and lucky for me, I got in.

Not without hard work both in class and on the field, that’s for damn sure.

We’re slowly approaching the inside of the restaurant, close enough for Everleigh to check out the menu board that sits above the order counter, when the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Like someone’s watching me.

Here’s the deal. A lot of people watch me, and I’m normally unaffected by it because I’m used to it. But something is up. Whoever is watching me, I get the sense that it’s not in a positive way.

When the hairs on my arms start to rise, I realize that someone is most definitely watching me. More like glaring at me.

Barely moving, I glance out of the corner of my eye, everything inside me seeming to sink when I see who it is.

Portia. The girl I fucked around with in the spring on a semiregular basis, which was my first mistake. The one who lost her mind on me when I told her I didn’t want to see her anymore.

That pissed her off. Big time. From the look I just spotted on Portia’s face, I’d say she’s still pissed.

“Shit,” I mutter, dropping my head so I can stare at my feet. I’m tempted to leave, but I’m not abandoning Everleigh. But I don’t want Portia to make a scene either.

“What’s wrong?” Everleigh asks, her voice full of alarm.

I must be giving off major shit’s-about-to-go-down vibes. “There’s a girl here who—”

“Nico Valente! I haven’t seen you in foreverrrrrr.”

I wince at the sound of Portia’s grating voice.

What did I ever see in her again?

She magically appears in front of me, her glossy lips stretched into a smile, the scrap of a sundress she’s wearing barely containing her voluptuous curves. The skirt’s hem flirts around the top of her tanned thighs, and her tits look ready to bust out of the dress at any given moment.

Okay, that’s what I saw in her. Portia has a bangin’ bod, and she knows what she’s doing when she’s dressed like that. But she was too possessive, too mean .?.?. just too damn much. I was bailing on her all the time there near the end of it, trying my best to ghost her, but she still wouldn’t take the hint. I finally had to tell her—to her face—that I didn’t want to see her anymore.

And she lost it. Put on an ugly scene that had Cooper threatening to call the cops if she didn’t leave our place. Back then it was just Coop and me living in a tiny apartment together. She doesn’t know where we moved.

At least, I don’t think she knows.

“Hey, Portia,” I finally greet her, taking a step closer to Everleigh. Unfortunately, she shifts out of my way, and Portia notices because that chick sees everything.

“What are you up to, hmm? Grabbing one of your favorite burritos?” I’ve brought Portia to this place too. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past her that she’s hanging around here in the hopes that she’d spot me.

I’m not an arrogant ass by saying that either. This girl was flat-out obsessed with me, and not in a good way.

“Yeah,” I tell her, taking another step closer to Everleigh. At least she doesn’t move away this time.

“Who’s your friend?” Portia sounds overly friendly and completely harmless, but I know the truth. She’s digging for information and ready to say something shitty to Everleigh.

“Hi, I’m Everleigh.” She extends her hand to Portia, who just stares at it like it’s a dead rat, giving Everleigh no choice but to drop it, sending me a concerned look. “Uh, nice to meet you?”

“Likewise,” Portia says breezily, lunging for me so she can wrap her arm around mine, pressing her tits against me. “You look good, Nico. I’ve missed you.”

“Hey, whoa. Can’t go grabbing at me like that, Portia. I’ve got someone else now.” I pull away from her still-grasping hands and slip my arm around Everleigh’s shoulders, tugging her close so she’s practically lodged under my armpit.

I can feel her stiffen against me, and I send a silent plea to the universe that she cooperates.

Portia stares at us for a second, her mouth hanging open for a moment before she snaps her lips shut. “Really.”

“Yep.” I give Everleigh’s shoulders a squeeze, the deliciously sweet scent of her flooding my senses.

“You told me you weren’t the exclusive kind,” Portia snottily reminds me.

“A man can change for the right woman.” I flash Everleigh my best smile, and she just stands there, looking stunned. The deer-in-the-headlights look isn’t what I’m going for. Hopefully Portia doesn’t notice, but she sees all so .?.?.

“Oh my God, Nico, you are so full of shit right now. Text me when you eventually get bored with this one, because we so know that’s going to happen, and soon.” With a flip of her long blonde locks, Portia turns on her heel and stomps off.

The moment she’s out of sight, I release my hold on Everleigh. “Sorry about that.”

“Did you just tell her that I was your girlfriend or something?”

“Maybe?” I scratch the back of my head, glancing around to see if anyone is paying attention to us. Everyone acts like they’re absorbed in their own thing, but I know what it’s really like around here. Someone noticed.

More like a few someones.

Portia also has a huge mouth. I’m sure it’s going to spread like wildfire that I told her I have somebody new in my life.

“Nico.” The disappointment in Everleigh’s voice is obvious, and I immediately feel like a shit. “Why did you lie to her?”

“Because she’s a walking nightmare that I don’t want to deal with,” I answer truthfully.

Everleigh’s shaking her head, wrapping her arms around herself like she’s trying to ward off a chill—or my touch. Ouch. “I’m guessing you two used to be involved.”

I nod. “She is a miserable human being. Possessive. A little mean.”

Fine. She’s a lot mean. Nothing made that girl happy. I gave her attention and she wasn’t happy. I brought her around my friends and teammates, and she treated them like garbage. I couldn’t please her—not even in bed.

And trust me when I say I put my all into everything I do—that includes sex. My top priority is making sure the woman I’m with always ends up pleased.

Sometimes multiple times.

“She’s pretty” is all Everleigh says in response.

We remain quiet as we slowly make our way up to the counter, my brain turning over and over what Everleigh said about Portia. Calling her pretty.

She is. But all that beauty hides her shitty personality. If it had been a casual one-night fuck, that would’ve been one thing. But she sucked me in by acting like she was cool. She was down for whatever, always smiling and overly flirtatious. The moment she “got” me, she changed.

Turning sullen and downright angry.

“Just because someone is pretty doesn’t mean that they’re a good person,” I finally say when we’re next in line to order.

I can feel Everleigh’s gaze on me, and when I finally turn to look at her, I see she has a small smile curling her lips. They’re nice lips. Full and pink. Wonder what it would be like, kissing her.

Yeah. I need to push that thought straight out of my brain.

“Oh, I know,” she reassures me. “I’ve met some beautiful people with ugly personalities.”

“Exactly. That’s Portia’s problem.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to talk about her.”

“Me either,” Everleigh readily agrees. “I’d rather you help me figure out what I should order.”

“That I can do,” I say, relief coursing through me. “I usually go with asada when I get a burrito, but their carnitas is pretty good too.”

“What about chicken?”

“I don’t know—not my favorite.”

“I’ll go with the carnitas then.” She offers me a smile, and I automatically smile back at her in return, wondering why she’s not giving me endless shit over basically telling Portia she’s my girl.

Maybe she doesn’t mind,I think as she makes her order and I get another burrito because why not. I won’t eat the whole thing now. I’ll finish off the rest in the morning.

By the time our food is ready, I grab the bag and head outside with her, figuring we’d walk back to the house, where she can eat in peace.

“Want to sit down?” she asks, gesturing toward one of the now-empty tables with her drink.

“Only if you want to.”

People still aren’t paying too much attention to us, which is the only reason I agree to sit here. Most of the time my presence—especially when I’m with other teammates—causes a commotion. When I’m with my boys, I don’t mind. We revel in it.

We settle in at a picnic table, and I watch Everleigh expectantly as she unwraps her burrito and takes a bite. A downright orgasmic sound escapes her when she begins to chew, and I watch her mouth move, staring at her like a dumbass.

“You weren’t lying. This is delicious,” she says once she’s swallowed.

“Told you.” My voice is a rasp, and I clear my throat, unwrapping my second burrito and taking a big bite. “Next time try the asada.”

“Maybe,” she says, her eyes sparkling. Like she’s teasing me. “Just so you know, I’m not the type who does whatever my boyfriend says.”

“Your boyfriend?” I raise my brows, starting to sweat.

There it is. Now she’s going to let me have it for what I said to Portia.

“Isn’t that what you told Portia?” Everleigh takes another bite, watching me thoughtfully. “No wonder you get yourself into trouble.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You say things you shouldn’t.” She smiles, ready to take a bite of her food, but I swipe it from her hand, quick as shit.

As per usual.

“Hey,” she protests when I take a giant bite of her burrito like a complete asshat. “That’s mine.”

“Sorry, just taking advantage of my boyfriend privileges.” I grin at her and she scowls.

Damn. She’s really cute when she does that.