60. Gianni

Chapter sixty

Gianni

Sunday, May 25, 2025

I see Lark on the sidelines as I rush onto the field with my team. Her smile is beaming as her eyes meet mine, and my heart revs up, clenching tightly in my chest.

She waves at me and lifts the hem of her shirt, pointing to the device now stuck to the skin just above the waist of her shorts.

I tap a loose fist against my heart, and my throat feels tight as I return her bright smile.

Fuck, she’s beautiful. And in just a few excruciatingly long hours, I’ll have her in my arms.

***

Knowing that Lark now has an insulin pump as an extra measure to keep her safe helps me focus on the game, but regardless, it doesn’t seem to matter today.

We have three minutes to score another goal and win this game. My muscles ache as I rush down the field, holding onto a fucking prayer that I’ll make it there in time.

Chavez kicks the ball in my direction, but the opposing team’s offense toes it in the opposite direction before I can get to it. My fists clench at my sides as I pump my arms quicker, frustration taking hold of me.

Sweat is dripping into my eyes, burning like hell. The salty wetness floods my mouth as I run toward the goal. I see their striker gain speed, his foot making contact with the ball and soaring right past Damien’s outstretched hands.

We lose .

My jaw clenches, anger ripping through me. What the fuck was he doing? He should have caught that.

I fight the overwhelming urge to stomp my feet like a petulant child, but I’m blinded by rage when I notice Damien makes a beeline for Lark. She gives him a small wave, but her expression is visibly uncomfortable as she subconsciously angles her body away from him.

At my approach, Damien eyes me from over his shoulder, placing his hand at the small of her back. Her eyes widen, but before she can move, I’m gripping her waist, shoulder checking him out of my way. I spin us out of his reach, ignoring his existence entirely as I place her back on the ground. Her eyes flare, lips pursing with annoyance.

“What, Gi? Are you gonna lick me and call dibs on me like a child with a piece of candy?” she asks, her head cocked to the side in question. Her lips tip upward, challenging me in that playful way of hers so I know she isn’t actually upset with me.

My lips curve into a smirk. “Lick you? Hell no. I’ll do more than that.” I run my hands up her arms, lowering my mouth to hover beside her ear. “I’ll fucking spit in your mouth if it reminds you and everyone around you what’s happening between us.”

“And what, exactly, is happening?” She quirks her brow, arms crossed over her chest in defiance, but that tiny grin stays plastered across her face.

“Isn’t it clear?” I ask her, my voice a strange mix of confusion and disbelief. “You,” I say, loosely gripping her chin between my fingers, “are mine . And I’ll be damned if you forget it.”

Tugging her lips to mine, I claim her mouth.

My tongue slips inside, tangling with hers in a mix of salt and the strawberry lollipops she’s always eating. Her hands snake up my chest, wrapping around my neck to pull me closer, and just when I’m ready to drag her up my body, I feel a large hand grip my shoulder, wrenching me out of her grip.

I reluctantly remove myself from Lark’s embrace, and when I turn to find Damien wearing a sadistic smile, my blood runs cold. “Well, isn’t this fucking adorable? Do you think your boyfriend would approve?” He taps his chin, making a show of this entire display of his. “Oh, that’s right. He’s dead. ”

My fists clench tightly at my sides as rage overtakes me. Not for the first time, I want to slam my fist into this guy’s face until he no longer resembles a person at all.

“ Be the bigger person, Gi. Walk away. He’s baiting you, and you know it. ” Alex’s voice comes trickling into my mind, and as my fists begin to loosen, I’m hit with a wave of guilt. No. He’s right. You are dead, and someone’s gotta teach this fucker to keep his goddamn mouth shut.

I straighten my spine, encroaching on his space, and feel when his hot breath invades my lungs. He takes a step back, his eyes turning frantic, almost wild, as I follow him, allowing him no room to escape me without literally running. “This has gone on long enough, Damien. So it’s now or never. Tell me what the fuck your problem is, or deal with it in silence. I don’t care either way, but what you aren’t going to do is talk shit about my best friend. My dead best friend, as you’ve just pointed out.”

Instead of a snide remark, he straightens his spine, readying himself for the fight he’s been practically begging for since he got here.

“What, cat’s got your tongue?” I goad him.

“You know exactly what my problem is. You and Alex used to walk around like you were such hot shit, always acting as if he practically walked on fucking water with how goddamn nice you both tricked everyone into thinking he was. And now that he’s gone, you’re out here sucking face with the daughter of the man who owns our fucking team. So maybe ask yourself this, what the fuck is your problem?” he says, getting into my face.

I can feel more than see a crowd starting to form around us. Damien turns his head to look around for just a split second, but it’s long enough to allow me to push my palms flat against his chest, knocking him several feet back.

“You think this is a game?” I say. The anger I felt just moments ago is renewed.

“Gianni, please just walk away from him. He’s not worth it.” Those words sound so familiar, and yet they aren’t coming from Alex this time. Lark is standing beside me, her cheeks pink with emotion.

Damien takes the opportunity to shove me in the chest, but I grab his hands, wrenching them off me, and throw a punch that clips his jaw, the crunch of bone reverberating under my knuckles. That’s gonna leave a mark.

His eyes blaze as they meet mine.

“Enlighten me, Damien. Not only did you take my best friend from me, but you tried to fucking replace him too. What’s next? What more do you want? ” I shout, my voice growing louder with every word.

“You’re fucking crazier than I’d thought,” he spits, blood-tinged saliva pooling out of his mouth. “He’s the one who played me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I scoff, shifting my position to angle myself in front of Lark. She doesn’t think I notice her moving subtly closer to me, but she’s wrong. I notice everything about her.

His face drops, hands falling slack to his sides. “He never texted me back,” he breathes out. “And then he died.”

It hits me then. He really didn’t know.

Remorse dawns on Damien’s face, his split lower lip hanging as he stares at me, glassy-eyed .

I realize what’s happening a second too late. He collapses to the ground, a sob wracking his body, and guilt floods all of my senses.

Shit.

“ I told you to walk away, didn’t I? ” I hear Alex’s snarky voice invade my thoughts once more.

Reporters start to crowd our space, and panic seizes my lungs. I drop to my knees beside him, lowering my mouth to his ear as I say, “I’m not sure what the fuck is going on, but you don’t want to do this here. Get the hell up.” I practically plead for him not to involve my family in yet another scandal. His limp body makes no effort to move.

I groan, annoyance whispering through me as I make a split-second decision to actually help this douchebag.

“ That’s more like it, ” Alex snarks from the recesses of my mind. Oh, you fucking shut it. Even from wherever the hell you wound up, you still manage to be a royal pain in my ass.

I tug Damien up, my arms supporting his weight from under his armpits as I drag him across the field toward the locker rooms.

The glare I shoot the guys at our entry is more than enough to send them all running out of the locker room to give us some privacy.

Once I let him go, he slouches down onto the bench, his shoulders slumped forward. I crouch down in front of him, snapping my fingers in his face, and he shows no sign that he notices.

“Hey, you’ve gotta tell me what the hell is going on,” I demand, feeling clueless.

His brown eyes slowly make their ascent to meet mine, but instead of being fueled with his normal bad attitude and snark, they’re filled with sadness .

“I…” He chokes on another sob. “I did this,” he finishes.

“Did what?” I ask, confused, but quickly remember the words I’d just recently spoken to him out of anger and spite.

“I’m the reason he’s dead,” he says. His head hangs limply against his chest, his body shaking with the effort it takes him to suck in enough air to keep himself afloat.

“Listen,” I say, doing my absolute best to sound comforting and not like a massive prick. “You had nothing to do with his death. I just…” I grip the hair at the nape of my neck in frustration. “I said those things out of anger. It doesn’t make them true, but I’m really gonna need you to fill me in here. I barely even know you, and the only interactions we’ve had have been filled with nothing but homophobic slurs and lies. Alex was my best friend, but I wasn’t his lover. And even if I were, what the hell does it matter to you?” I ask, unable to hide how much his words have bothered me over the last few months.

“I know you weren’t,” he says, his voice so small it’s barely a whisper. “ Because I was. ”

It takes my mind several seconds to catch up, and when it finally does, my world comes crashing down around me in waves of frustration and understanding. “You and Alex.” I breathe, and he nods his head to confirm it.

“That’s why he was so adamant about picking you up,” I say, more for myself than for him. “Why didn’t he ever tell me?” I ask, not sure that I really want the answer.

“Because I begged him not to tell you. He hated hiding it from you, but I can’t come out. I can’t have people knowing I’m gay,” he explains. “People are bad enough as it is, but in the world of men’s sports? It carries a stigma far heavier than I’m able to bear. I just couldn’t handle it. I don’t want to put a target on my back, and when I texted Alex, he said you guys would come get me but that he was done hiding our relationship and that we’d have to, at a minimum, tell you. I thought I was ready .” He whispers that last sentence. Silent tears drain down his cheeks now. “He said he’d text me when he was on his way, but the text never came, so I thought he’d changed his mind about being with me,” he cries, sucking in a breath.

“I don’t know how I never realized it before,” he sobs, his emotions ebbing and flowing with each passing moment. “ I’m the reason he’s gone .”

“No,” I tell him firmly, my hands gripping his shoulders. “I was the one driving that car, and even I wasn’t responsible for his death. For the longest time, I blamed myself. And then I blamed you,” I admit, but quickly explain as his tortured expression meets mine. “But we could have gone for a drive for any number of reasons that night. And it wasn’t my fault because while I was driving, I wasn’t the one who was drunk. I wasn’t the one who lost control of my vehicle. The only person at fault here is the man who made the decision to drink and drive that night, and he’s paying for it by rotting in prison for the rest of his life.”

“Such a small price to pay for the loss of someone so special,” Damien says so quietly that I almost miss it.

I hear booming footsteps coming from behind us. “Gloria! You can’t be in the men’s locker room!” I hear Coach shout at my mom.

I can practically hear the eye roll she gives him before wheeling herself farther inside. “Cover up your jimmies, boys, ’cause Mama De Laurentiis is comin’ in!”

“Jimmies?” Damien asks me in confusion, his head tilting to the side.

“Who the hell knows?” I grumble.

My mom wheels into the room, plugging her nose dramatically. “God, it reeks in here! This is so not how they describe it in the books.”

“Books?” he asks, even more confused. This time, I just ignore him.

As my mom wheels herself beside us, she smiles at me, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly. “Care to explain what’s going on in here?”

I look hesitantly to Damien before opening my mouth about any of this. She’s my mother, the second most important woman in my life, but this isn’t my story to tell.

Damien gives me a small nod, seemingly resigning to it. It seems he’s learned pretty quickly that my mom isn’t someone you say no to.

For the next several very tense minutes, I relay the entire explanation to my mom and watch as a parade of emotions flit across her tan face.

When I’m finished, Damien looks even more exhausted than he had. Mom pins him with her blue eyes, and a familiar softness fills them. She doesn’t pity him. She empathizes with him.

That’s potentially her best quality. Her ability to be aware that she doesn’t understand what you’ve lived through, but to not cast judgment or try to tell you about a time she’s lived through something similar. No, she just lets you feel what you need to feel and makes it known that she’s there when you’re ready to talk about it .

She places her hand gently against his cheek, drawing his attention to her the same way she has with all of her children on one occasion or another.

His sad eyes are brimming with tears, and it takes everything in me to not let the guilt I feel creeping in take over entirely.

He was a dick. I reacted based on the information I was presented with, and there was no way for me to have guessed any of this. I shouldn’t blame myself for that. I can’t blame myself for that.

“Damien, I don’t know you well, and if I were a betting woman…” She chuckles at that. “Hell, who am I kidding? I am a betting woman. Who doesn’t love a good casino?” She shakes her head when she sees his confusion and decides to move on, clearing her throat. “As I was saying, I’d bet that what we’ve seen of you, what you’ve shown us anyway, is not all there is, and much of it isn’t even the truth. Is that right?”

He nods solemnly, giving in to this impromptu intervention of sorts.

“Good because I sincerely hope that you’ll take this as a life lesson in authenticity. People will love and support you for who you are, Damien. The right people. And I hope that I get to see more of who you are and get to meet the side of you that Alex knew. Because aside from my own children, that young man was the kindest person I’d ever known.” Her eyes are glassy, and her voice chokes on her next words. “Which is how I know that he must’ve seen so much good in you. He was such an incredible man,” she finishes, and my heart feels like it’s being wrenched out of my chest.

I’ve never seen my mom openly fall apart before. She’s always been the building blocks, holding my family up time and time again. I’ve never thought about all the times she must have mourned in private, protecting us from her own emotions.

She moves her hand from his cheek to his hand, squeezing reassuringly. Tears slide down both of their cheeks, and my stomach twists in knots. God, I fucking miss him. Before Lark, I had no idea how the hell I’d possibly make it without him. Some days, I still don’t.

“I’m so sorry,” he cries, his voice watery and strangled.

“Sweetheart, what happened to that young man is not your fault. I’ve known Alex almost all his life, and I can say with absolute confidence that he wouldn’t have changed a single thing. He was always thinking ten steps ahead of everyone else, and if he’d known what would happen that night, I guarantee he’d still want to make sure you got home safely.”

Damien nearly shatters, losing all of his resolve, and he practically falls into my mother’s lap. She clutches him to her chest, gently patting his back as he crumbles.

“How can I ever make it up to him now that he’s gone?” he asks, sounding earnest.

“I think the best thing you can do is to live your life for you . Be your most authentic self, just like Alex always had,” she tells him.

An awkward feeling cloaks me, making me realize I haven’t spoken a word during this entire exchange.

“Love is love is love, Damien. You’ll always have the support of my family if and when you decide to allow yourself the joy of living as you truly are,” she assures him.

He straightens, squeezing her knee gently, and his eyes flash to mine. “I’m sorry, Gianni.” Before I can interrupt him to stop him from apologizing again, he continues. “ Genuinely, I’m so damn sorry for the things I’ve said about you and about him. I was bitter and, if I’m honest, jealous. God, I was so damn jealous of the time you’d gotten to spend with him over the years, even just as friends. My rage was misplaced and, frankly, misguided. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I hope you know I’ll spend every day, for the rest of my life, trying to make up for it and doing my best to honor his memory.”

I clap him on the shoulder and peer down at him. “Consider it forgiven. If there’s one thing Alex was good at, it was his exhausting ability to forgive at the drop of a hat.” I give him a small smile, all of my rage from earlier effectively running dry.

He stands, looking between my mom and me. “Thank you, both,” he tells us, his voice small but sure, and he heads out of the locker room.

“Alright, Gi. Now that that’s settled, go get the girl because I’m getting tired of waiting on you to make things official with that sweet woman.” She smirks, wheeling herself out of the locker room.

Shaking my head, I push what just happened to the side, deciding to reflect on it later, preferably with my psychologist and not another person in this smelly-ass locker room. My mind races, immediately traveling to Lark, who I’d just left confused as hell outside after some half-ass profession of love.

She deserves so much better than whatever that toxic masculine bullshit I just gave her was.

My feet hit the ground running as I make my way out of the locker room. My team is standing outside of the tunnel, waiting for the go-ahead, and as soon as they see me, they run inside, eager to get showered, changed, and home for the night .

My eyes scan the field, hoping like hell she’s still out here and hasn't gone home with her dad already.

The moment I see her fiery hair shining in the bright sun, I’m at a full sprint toward her.

She sees me moments before I’m on her, her bowed lips curving up in a playful smile as I rush her. One of my hands curls around the nape of her neck, dragging her mouth to mine as the other digs into her hip, pulling her even more tightly against me.

Her lips part, and my tongue delves in, tangling with hers. She gasps as I drag her body up mine, and her legs wrap around my waist. Her hands clutch my jersey, returning the need I feel pouring through me.

I vaguely hear a throat clearing beside me, but it isn’t until Lark is gently pushing me off her, her legs unwinding from me, that I release my hold on her.

I don’t know who I expect, but Dereck Hughes, the owner of my team and Lark’s father, is not it. And he doesn’t look upset.

His arms are crossed over his chest, Tiny standing at his side obediently as he takes us in. One side of his lip is quirked in a strange grin. “You coming to dinner with us?” he asks me as if it’s the most normal question in the world.

“Sir?” I ask, my head cocked in confusion.

He pats me on the shoulder before turning to head down the field, calling back toward us, “I’ll see you both at six.”

My brows pinch as I look back to Lark, who’s wearing a content smile. “He never invited Tyler for dinner. He hated him,” she says, shaking her head.

Pride rushes through me. “Really? ”

“Yep.” She reaches up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “So what exactly does this make us?”

“I’ll be anything you want me to, ma petite rouge, “ I tell her honestly.

She cups my cheek in her hand. “I just want you to be you, mon ciel étoilé. Because you are the most incredible person I know, and you light me up inside. I’ve loved nothing more than getting to know every piece of you, and I want nothing more than to continue.”

My cheeks heat at her admission. “You know, I’ve never been in a relationship,” I admit.

She smiles up at me, pressing another kiss to my cheek before whispering against the shell of my ear. “Then I look forward to being your first and your last. ”

I rest my hands over hers, staring down into her glimmering eyes. “Nothing would make me happier,” I tell her. “Lark,” I say, keeping my eyes trained on her so I don’t miss any part of this moment. “I think I’ve known it for a while now but wasn’t able to accurately put a word to it until more recently…”

The way her lips part and my heart starts pounding in my chest causes the words to get stuck in my throat for a moment. “I love you.” I breathe, and she sucks in a sharp inhale, her eyes softening and pooling with tears. “Ever since we met, it’s felt like you’ve been the thread, actively sewing together the shredded fibers of my soul. You’re not just my muse. You don’t just inspire me to work on myself for you or anyone else. You make me feel whole in a way I’m absolutely certain I’ve never experienced and will never be able to accurately describe. Being with you is my every desire encapsulated into one,” I tell her, my voice cracking as a tear breaks free .

She clenches her eyes shut, tears streaming down her pink cheeks as she releases a sob. Her bottom lip quivers, and her hands drag down my neck. I hold them to my chest, waiting for her to look at me again, and when she does, all the air is sucked from my lungs.

The red puffiness surrounding her hazel eyes makes them look like the deepest swirl of calming green. “Gianni,” she says with a sob, and the tears in my eyes flow freely now.

I don’t care who’s around to see. Lark isn’t just my girlfriend. She’s my partner. The love of my life. My other half. My reason for being, for existing, for working to better myself, for sticking around at all.

She’s my everything.

“I love you so much,” she finally says when the sobs have stopped wracking through her. Warmth radiates throughout my body, and my heartbeat continues to race as pure elation fills my chest. “I don’t know how you manage to come up with all of the poetic stuff, and just like the violin and the tambourine, ” she says, groaning. “I’m not going to do it justice if I try. Instead, I just want you to know how special you are to me and everyone in your life. I know you may not see it, but you are so damn special. ”

She stands on her tiptoes and presses a chaste kiss to my lips before wrapping her arms around my neck. “You’ve managed to heal years of wounds I hadn’t even known I had,” she says softly. “You’re thoughtful beyond words, and your selflessness truly astounds me. I just want to spend every day, for the rest of our lives, in your arms.”

My heart bursts open as I collect her in my arms, burying my face in her hair as her head rests above my heart .

Alex’s voice creeps into my mind. “ Just like I’ve always said, you deserve the absolute best, and now you have her. ”

And the only thing that could make it better would be you, I think to myself, wishing that Alex really were here to see this.

But who knows? Maybe he is.