Chapter 20

We placed our order at Murphy's over the phone so by the time we stopped at Enzo's for him to get a few things and drive to the restaurant, it would be ready.

"Wait here," I said, leaning close to him in hopes he would kiss me. My heart soared when he didn't hesitate. "No need for us both to go in." I didn't tell him the real reason I wanted to go in alone. Not that it was a big secret, but having an audience for what I was about to…hopefully…do seemed unnecessary.

I got out of the car and headed inside the semi-busy restaurant. "Hey, Libby. Just ordered some takeout."

"Hey, Evian. They'll have it over at the bar," she said then greeted a couple behind me, ready to seat them.

"Thanks." As I walked over to the bar, I kept an eye out for Reed. I wasn't sure why I felt so compelled to talk to him, but after spending so much time with Enzo, it just felt like something I needed to do. I walked up to the bar and flagged Clint, one of the bartenders, down. "Hey. Just picking up an order."

"Oh, yeah, I saw it. It should be out soon." He swung a towel over his shoulder then picked up a couple of empty glasses.

"Great. Hey, um, do you know if Reed's working?"

Clint gave me a facetious smile and said in a campy voice, "You mean Reedy or Not?"

I hung my head, pinching the bridge of my nose, and laughed. "Shit, it really does sound so cringy." I looked back up at Clint. "Do me a favor? Forget I was ever that tacky?"

Clint laughed. "Reed's here somewhere. He put in a drink order so he should be back over here soon."

"Thanks." Fuck, why did I feel so nervous? Oh, right, because apparently everyone had witnessed Evian, Like the Water in action.

"Hey, Evian. Wasn't expecting to see you tonight." Reed glanced nervously at me. "You usually only come if you're working."

"I'm just picking up some food." I bit my lip nervously. "Do you have a minute?"

He looked confused. "Sure. Everything okay?" he asked, walking over to the end of the bar for a little more privacy.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Better than fine." I studied the guy I'd had a crush on before I met Enzo. He really was a good-looking guy and a genuine sweetheart. "Listen, I just want to say I'm sorry if I've ever made you feel uncomfortable with my over-the-top flirting. That was never my intention."

He looked surprised, immediately shaking his head. "You didn't. Not at all." But then he blushed and added softly, "Well, maybe a little, but that's only because I'm shit at knowing how to respond." Reed's eyes dropped as he worried his bottom lip. "If you haven't noticed, I have zero game."

Shit. I needed to fix this fast because it sure as hell sounded like Reed was turning this into some kind of flaw in himself. I knew the guy was shy, but his lack of self-esteem went deeper than I'd originally thought. My own low self-esteem resulted in me overcompensating to the point of taking on this persona of a confident man who wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted. In reality, I ended up changing who I was to fit someone else's mold. I'd lost myself to cringy flirtations, airhead responses, and even sexual enticements in order to keep a man who was worth less than a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. Until I met Enzo.

"It may not seem like it, but trust me when I say I know how you feel. That guy…the flirty one…that's not me. Not really. I don't think I truly realized that until Enzo came into my life. You met him, actually. He was here with me a few weeks ago."

Reed's light eyebrows kissed his hairline. "The one with the dark eyes and sexy smirk?" His eyes popped wide and he threw his hands out in front of him. "I didn't mean to…"

I laughed. "Yeah. That one. He changed everything for me without changing me at all." My face burned. "If that makes any sense…"

"That's awesome, Evian. I'm happy for you." He dropped his gaze again. "If it makes you feel any better, I liked when you flirted with me. At least I knew you saw me, even though I figured you weren't serious."

I put my hands on my hips and cocked my foot out to the side. "That's it. You've done it now, Reed." I emphasized his real name, kicking that awful nickname I'd given him to the curb.

He laughed. "What?"

"First of all, don't think for a second I didn't really have a crush on you. The only reason you didn't think I was serious is because deep down you knew we weren't right for each other. Deep down, I knew it, too." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Second of all, be prepared to be seen a lot." I paused for a second in confusion and laughed. "That sounded weird, but you know what I mean. Consider yourself adopted, my friend." I pulled my phone out of my pocket. "Give me your number. We're gonna find you your Enzo, dammit."

Well, shit. It hit me right then and there that Enzo was my person. Enzo embodied forever to the point that I wanted other people to find what I had with him. Wasn't that a kick in the ass?

Reed put his number in my phone, handing it back to me at the same time Clint called out that my order was ready. I pointed at the shy guy and gave him a stern look. "You'll be hearing from me"—I paused to chuckle—"but in a less ominous way than I just made that sound. I'm not suing you, for fuck's sake."

Reed laughed. "Thanks, Evian. I have to get back to my tables before someone complains." He held up his hand in goodbye and gave me a small smile before walking away.

I finally got my order and headed to the car. There was no ignoring the uptick of my pulse when I saw Enzo in the passenger seat. He belonged there. He belonged anywhere I was, plain and simple.

I opened the door and got in, handing him the bag of food.

"Everything okay?" he asked, setting the bag on the floor between his legs.

"Yeah. All good." We rode in silence to my apartment. It was odd that it didn't seem…odd. I didn't feel the need to make conversation just to assure myself he was there with me. Just like I didn't feel the need to overcompensate for fear I wouldn't be enough the way I was.

The second we walked into my apartment, Chanel weaved her fluffy body around my legs in her usual greeting. I dropped to one knee and made sure to give her some love. "Hey there, sweet girl. Did you have a good day?" I kissed her head and she purred in response.

"Ah. The infamous Chanel. You were hiding the last time I was here."

I remembered that day with more fondness than seemed normal, considering I'd had the flu at the time. I truly felt like that was the night everything changed between Enzo and me. Who knew the spike in my temperature would turn the heat up between us to scorching degrees?

"She's good at playing hard to get until she's got you where she wants you. Right, my spoiled girl? It's just a matter of time until you have Enzo wrapped around your fluffy paw, isn't it."

She meowed as if in response, making us laugh. Then she sauntered over to her favorite windowsill and made herself comfy.

Enzo took the bag of food into the kitchen and pulled the containers out. "Those ribs look good. I might have to try one."

"You better take one now, then, because I'm warning you. Putting your fingers near my plate while I'm tearing into those suckers is a risk I'm sure you don't wanna take." I pressed against his body from behind and peered around him. "Although, I wouldn't complain if you threw one of those wings on my plate…with some blue cheese."

Enzo laughed. "As long as I do it before your animalistic alter-ego takes over, huh?"

"See? You know me so well." I kissed his cheek and scooted around him, pulling down two plates and grabbing some silverware.

We filled our plates, exchanging the promised food, and then sat down on the floor in front of my coffee table. He didn't seem to mind that I didn't have a table for us to sit at in my tiny place, but then, he was easygoing about most things.

"So, are you gonna tell me why your mood shifted by the time you came out of Murphy's?" He dipped a sauce-covered wing into the creamy dressing then bit into it.

Buying myself time, I took a bite of a messy rib, running my tongue around my lips to get the excess sauce. When Enzo's eyes darkened and focused on my mouth, I brought my hand up and licked each finger clean. "Are those wings spicy? You've got a little bit of drool right here." I pointed to the corner of his mouth teasingly.

"You're trying to distract me and it's not gonna work."

"Then why are you still looking at my mouth?" When he narrowed his eyes and took another bite of food, I sighed. "Okay. I ran into Reed and probably made a fool of myself."

"How?"

"I apologized to him for, you know, if I've ever made him feel uncomfortable." I shrugged one shoulder then took another messy bite. After chewing and wiping off my mouth and hands, I decided to lay it all out there. "He said he liked the attention because at least he knew I saw him. Fucking broke my heart. So I did the only thing I could think of."

Enzo huffed. "What did you do?"

This was either a terrible mistake or the smartest thing I ever did. "I promised to help him find his Enzo." I hated that I couldn't look at him as I softly said the words. To say I felt vulnerable was the understatement of the fucking century.

"Shit. Did you have to say something like that to me when I'm too messy to kiss you?"

"Because I'm not just as messy as you are? There's a reason I don't eat these in public." My brows pulled together and I tilted my head to the side. "Huh," I huffed, realizing the depth of my comfort level with Enzo. I looked down at my plate as if all the answers to the universe hid beneath the bourbon barbeque sauce my ribs were drowning in. "You just leveled up without even trying." I laughed and brought my fingers to my lips, whispering against them, "Who even am I right now?"

"Uh, babe, you gotta catch me up because I'm lost."

Babe. The endearment added to the overwhelming emotions enveloping me. "Do you know why I ordered ribs?" He stared at me, still clearly confused and rightfully so. "I only order ribs as takeout because I refuse to eat them in public. No way in hell I'm letting everyone see the mess I make as I devour each and every delicious one of them."

"Okay," Enzo said, drawing the word out while trying to decipher what I'd just said.

"Because I can't be myself and tear into them in front of other people. I can't let my guard down and caveman the shit out of these scrumptious things because god forbid someone sees me with barbeque sauce all over my face."

"Like you're doing right now?" He smiled, the meaning behind my rant finally hitting him.

"Yeah," I whispered. "How do you do that? How do you bring out the real me without even trying?"

Enzo snorted. "You know, I used to think you didn't have feelings for me because you didn't flirt with me the way you did with Reed. And then you said something at Noah's party that gave me hope."

I took another big bite, mumbling around the food, "What did I say?" He looked at me for a second, my cheeks stuffed with food and my lips covered in barbeque-sauce lip gloss, before we both cracked up.

"Well, if I needed further proof that you're comfortable around me, that just sealed the deal." He reached forward and wiped the sauce from the corner of my mouth with his thumb, bringing it to his own mouth to taste. I groaned, seconds away from telling him the hell with the food. I wanted to devour him. "You said you'd been with that douchebag six months when that whole thing happened with Cole."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, Cole only met Mr. Flirty Pants. Which means you'd never truly let your guard down around that lying, cheating, sack of shit." He scooted closer to me, his voice dropping to a sexy rasp. "But the Evian sitting in front of me right now is the same Evian I first met."

"Well shit," I said after wiping my messy mouth. "You're right. I've been this comfortable with you since day one."

"And I drew strength from you when I came out to my siblings, a roomful of my cousin's friends, and my aunt. We bring out the best in each other." He leaned in and swiped his tongue over my bottom lip, moaning and taking my mouth again. This time he deepened the kiss, not caring in the slightest how messy I was. I whined when he eventually broke the kiss. "We still need to talk."

"Yeah, we do, and if we don't do it now, it'll be too late because I'm seconds from filling my mouth with something else." I laughed as his eyes darkened and zeroed in on my mouth. "These scrummy ribs," I added, then took a huge bite.

Enzo barked out a laugh and hung his head. "Fuck. First I'm jealous of cookies, and now ribs. What are you doing to me?"

"It's all part of my plan to keep your attention focused on me any way I can," I said, trying to be casual, but deep down, I knew there was some truth to it.

Enzo's head whipped up and he scooted even closer to me, something akin to hurt in his expression. "Keep my attention on you? Ev, you're all I see. I'd been living life behind a blackout curtain, afraid to let any light in and bring attention to what I was really hiding. You're the only person who's ever made me brave enough to yank that fucking thing down and reveal the guy I really am. Because you're worth it. Because I'm worth it." He laughed softly, his cheeks flooding crimson. "Okay, that sounded kinda cheesy, but?—"

I surged forward and kissed him, barbeque sauce be damned. I climbed in his lap, straddling his legs, and wrapped my arms around his neck, making sure not to touch him with my gross hands. When we finally came up for air, I reached for a napkin and cleaned up but stayed right where I was in his lap.

"Are you really thinking of moving here?" To my own ears I sounded scared…small…but I needed to know, no matter the answer. It was too late to be cautious with my feelings. He was everything I'd ever wanted, and despite trying to protect my heart, I'd all but tied a bow around it and given it to him instead. I was fucking crazy about this man.

"I never realized just how unhappy I was in Sacramento until I came here. What would I be going back to? I'm out of a job, I don't really have any close friends, and my apartment is nothing special. Sure, Rina and Vito are there and the rest of my extended family, but look at Burke. He has the best of both worlds. I don't see why I can't have that, too." He held me closer, like he never wanted to let me go. "Here I have a job, my cousin, new friends…new opportunities…" His pause was long enough to make me anxious. "You, if you'll have me." That last part was barely a whisper, but it hit my ears with the force of a megaphone.

"Are you kidding me? Try getting rid of me now." I peppered his face with kisses, making him laugh.

"Nope. I don't wanna." He devoured my mouth, sliding his warm hand under my shirt and up my back.

I pulled back and breathlessly said, "Shower." Another kiss. "Correction. Put the food away, then shower."

"How about I put the food away and you get the shower ready?"

"Deal." I smacked one more kiss on his delicious lips then pushed up from the floor. Dragging my shirt over my head on the way to the bathroom, I shivered, eager to have hot streams of water be the only thing between my skin and his.

By the time Enzo came into the bathroom, the water was the perfect temperature, raining down on my heated bare skin. "Fuck," he said with his shirt halfway over his head, his eyes taking in every naked inch of me.

"You can as soon as you get your ass in here," I teased. Enzo tore his clothes off, tossing the garments every which way. "Your sock almost landed in the toilet."

"Don't care. Jesus Christ, you're gorgeous." With the last of the clothing gone, Enzo stepped into the shower and closed in on me, his bigger frame pushing me back against the cool tile. He surged forward, sealing his mouth over mine, tongue immediately pushing in to taste me. His hands were everywhere, scrambling every thought in my head.

Our hard, slick cocks slid against each other, drawing a whimper from me. He moved even closer, pressing our bodies as close as they could possibly get without him being inside me. His mouth traveled to my jaw, sliding down to my neck. "So, I watched some porn"—he lifted his head and smirked—"you know, for science." I snorted a laugh as he wiggled his eyebrows. "Can I try something?"

"What exactly do you want to try?" I wanted this man more than I could put into words, but everyone had their limits. In the past, I wouldn't have admitted mine if that meant disappointing my partner. Those days were long gone. The best part about being with Enzo was I knew deep in my core that I didn't have to worry about being honest with him. If I said something was too much, I trusted him to respect that.

"I want to taste you"—he slid his hands down my spine and over the curve of my ass, slipping a finger in to trace over my hole—"right here."

I shivered and my eyes slid closed, a moan escaping my lips. "Yes, please." I couldn't stop the tremble in my voice, eager to feel that amazing tongue do wicked things to my hole.

"Turn around." The command in his voice was so fucking hot, even my cock blushed.

I did as he said and faced the tile, my hands flat against the hard surface. As he got to his knees and pulled my cheeks apart, he nearly yanked the orgasm right out of me. That one move had every nerve in my body firing on all cylinders.

"You're so damn perfect, every damn inch of you, to the point that I have to remind myself you're real." He stared at me in awe before leaning in and swiping his wet tongue over the puckered skin, groaning with his first taste. "Fuck. You sure as hell taste real. So fucking delicious."

I released an embarrassingly high-pitched whine, but when he swiped over my hole again, I decided I didn't give a shit. "Your dirty-talk game is on fucking point." Apparently, his tongue was, too, because he stiffened that talented thing and pushed the tip inside, pulling another whine from me.

He devoured my sensitive hole, eating me out with impressive tenacity. Guttural, rumbling groans vibrated out of him, the feeling so intense, my legs barely held me up. You'd think the guy would be hesitant or unsure, but the way he was eating me out was like I was his first goddamn meal. In a way, I guess I was. Desperation to come clawed at the surface of my sanity. I wrapped my hand around my cock, only to have it pulled away, replaced by his larger grip. He stroked my cock, syncing the movement with the thrust of that skilled muscle.

My orgasm was teetering on the edge of Hold on a little longer! and Here I fucking come! Pun most definitely intended. I'd say stamina could kiss my ass, but Enzo was expertly claiming that part of my body.

One more pump from his strong hand around my cock and my release tore through me, painting the tile wall in victory. I cried out as he continued to work my body through the last tremor. "Holy shit…" Shiver. "Holy…" I couldn't even finish the sentence, trying to catch my breath and send oxygen back to my brain.

The sounds of him jerking off behind me finally kicked my still-tingling ass into action. I spun around and dropped to my knees carefully on the hard tub, taking him in my mouth. Enzo's back hit the tile, his hands gripping my hair. He was already on the edge from making me come; it didn't take long to draw an orgasm out of him, the evidence sliding down my throat. I grinned up at him, dragging in deep breaths.

"You're so fucking amazing," he said, his smile taking over his face.

We took the time to clean up but didn't bother with clothes when we climbed into my bed. I snuggled up against him, my hand on his firm chest and my leg draped over his thigh. Enzo's hand lazily ran up and down my back, his soft touch making me sleepy.

His deep voice kept me from closing my eyes. "Any chance you can get some time off from work a couple of weeks from now?"

I lifted my head off the pillow and leaned my chin on my hand that was pressed over his heart. "I never really take time off, so I don't see why my dad would have a problem with it. Why?"

"I still need some time to work everything out, but I'd like you to meet the rest of my family when I go back to Sacramento and pack everything up. I'm thinking we'll fly out there and then drive a U-Haul back. Aunt Sophia is probably humming with excitement to meet you."

My heart soared, not fully believing all this was real until Enzo started making plans. "I'll make it happen."