17. Kylie

Chapter seventeen

Kylie

A s soon as the call disconnects, I groan. I can not believe I admitted to masturbating. Covering my face, I wallow in my self made misery.

All I wanted to do was tease Luca, making sure he knew what he was missing out on. Caught up in the moment, I forgot I'm not built for this role.

Sex kitten, I am not.

Wanting to forget my embarrassment, I rub my hands over my face and make the decision to put my new clothes away before going to my parents' house. Maybe I can treat them to dinner now that I have some extra money.

As I head to my bedroom, I think about how I'll tell my parents about Luca. It would be best to downplay his role in my life at first, otherwise they'll ask to meet him and neither of us is ready for that. The problem is, I suck at lying.

Distracted with worry, I didn't register the mess until I'm halfway into my room. My eyes widen in horror. I completely forgot the disaster I left this place in this morning and Joseph saw it all when he delivered my bags. The man is gonna think I live like a pig.

Placing my hands on my hips, I blow out a breath and survey everything. It's worse than I remember. If only I could reverse time. I would take back my confession to Luca and tell Joseph to leave the bags in the living room.

"Get over it, Kylie. You can't do anything about it now," I mutter .

When everything is picked up and put away, the closet is practically bursting at the seams. It may be time to go through some of my older items and donate them. I'm not sure when Luca will want me for the night, so I put that off for another day. Grabbing my keys and purse, I head outside and halt in my tracks.

After a quick survey of the block, I can't find my Grand Am anywhere. Worrying my lip, I contemplate what to do. I can't drive my new Range Rover to my parents' house. How could I possibly explain such an expensive gift when I'm supposed to be in a new relationship? Besides, my old car should still be here.

Did Luca take it? Or did someone steal it? I would have to call the police if that were the case.

Screw it. I pull my phone out of my purse and call him.

"Angel?"

"Hi, uh, so did you happen to take my car? My Grand Am?" I'm still surveying the street, expecting to find it, when a chuckle comes through the phone. That's answer enough. "Luca," I growl into the phone.

"Something told me you'd have a hard time accepting the new car, so I had yours towed."

I gasp, but before I give into my outrage, he quickly explains, "Angel, I had the guys clean it out and put your stuff in a box. I'll have Joseph deliver it later."

"You should have asked, Luca. What if the car was special to me?" I glare at the gleaming white of the Range Rover parked across the street.

Another chuckle comes through the phone. "I had you looked into, remember? You bought it off a classmate three years ago and paid too much for the piece of junk."

Sighing, I look down to scrape my shoe back and forth on the sidewalk. "I overpaid?" I ask, though I already know it to be true.

"Yeah, Angel, you did," he says softly.

Resigned, my shoulders drop. "My dad said I paid too much as well. He was so mad he wanted me to return it and almost did it himself. I just …"

"I know why you did it. Your dad received his diagnosis a month before."

"Yeah." I sigh .

"I'm sorry, Angel. I don't want to bring up bad memories."

My eyes water at the softness in his voice. "It's ok." Needing to swallow down my emotions, I force a smile on my face. "I'm heading to my parents now. I'll, uh, talk to you later." Then I roll my eyes at my lame response.

"Okay, Angel. See you in a few hours."

Sighing, I bring up the Uber app as I try to think of something to tell my dad why I don't have my car.

Turns out, something rolled right off my tongue easier than I thought it would. My parents' now think I'm having issues with my car, so I'm taking an Uber while a friend from school is looking at it. Next time I visit them, I'll tell them my new boyfriend generously loaned the Range Rover to me until I decide what to do next.

As for Luca, I made it seem like we've been dating longer than three days so it won't seem strange when I borrow his car. My dad's usually skeptical expression was nowhere to be found, so I must have been convincing enough.

The unfamiliar sting of remorse hits me, but it's something I'll need to get used to because I'll take this secret to the grave no matter how guilty I feel. I don't regret becoming a sugar baby since it's going to help my parents. But I know they'll feel like it's their fault I made this choice if they ever find out. I refuse to put that burden on them.

Mom was way too eager to hear about my boyfriend—Dad, not so much—but I emphasized that it was too new and she can interrogate me later if things were still going well. I could tell it was hard for her to let it go, so I promised we'd have lunch soon—an event I plan to hold off as long as possible.

Overall, it's been a good visit. I splurged on Thai for dinner from my dad's favorite restaurant. Now we are all sitting out on the porch, eating homemade ice cream.

"This is so good. I don't think I can ever go back to store-bought ice cream again." I'm contemplating getting a second helping as I scrape the last of the creamy goodness out of my bowl. It's only vanilla, but has so much flavor, it doesn't need any toppings.

"That's been the one good thing about my diagnosis. Finding alternative healthy recipes for our meals showed how much we've missed out on by buying store-bought food," Dad says.

"Yeah, I'll never go back to the jarred spaghetti sauce. The recipe I got from Carlina's grandmother puts those to shame. I love that we can pull the vegetables from our own garden now, too." My mom is the only one savoring her ice cream. Dad has already started on his second bowlful.

"Is Carlina the teacher in the classroom across from you?" I remember meeting her a couple of years ago.

"Yes. Her grandmother still lives in Italy and is one heck of a cook. Carlina brought us food a few times that were made from her grandmother's recipes. She's been teaching me how to make pasta and I think I almost have it down."

I gasp. "And where was I when she brought this delicious food?" I pretend to be outraged when my mom looks guiltily at me.

"I'm sorry, honey. She knew you made dinner most nights, so she offered to bring food on the nights when you were busy with schoolwork. We didn't mean to not include you—she only wanted to help when you couldn't."

Dad chuckles at my fake glare.

"I guess it's okay then." I point my spoon at her. "But you better tell me when she drops off food again."

"I will. Or maybe you can be the first to try my noodle making skills," she offers.

"Deal." I smile, but get distracted when my phone pings with a notification. I pull the phone from my back pocket to find a text from Luca.

We're wrapping up business. Can you be ready in an hour?

Yes. I'm finishing at my parents' now. I'll head home in a few minutes.

All right, Angel. I'll pick you up soon.

And pack a bag. You'll be staying with me until tomorrow.

After reading the last text, my stomach flip flops. I'm excited and nervous all at once.

I send him a thumbs up emoji just as my mom nudges me.

"Ooh, must be the boyfriend?" She tilts her head. "You look smitten."

"What? No. I mean, yes, it's him, but no, I'm not smitten." Caught off guard by my own reaction, I clamp my mouth shut before I can say anything more.

Mom's eyes widen as she studies my face. "You're not smitten? I thought that's the point of dating, sweetheart."

"It's only been a few weeks. I'm … I mean … I like him. A lot." I frown into my empty bowl, confused about how to handle this. It's too soon to be smitten. Smitten seems more serious than liking.

My dad comes to the rescue. "Leave the girl alone, honey. She doesn't need to rush into anything."

"I'm not rushing her. She should be smitten with the guy, or why else date him?" She glares at him before turning back to me. "I'll leave it be, but your reaction is all the reassurance I need."

"Uh, huh. Well, I gotta go. I've got time to help with the dishes before an Uber comes." I head to the sliding doors as my parents grab their ice cream bowls and follow me into the kitchen.

"No need for an Uber—we'll take you home." My dad insists as my mom takes my bowl out of my hands.

"And you're not doing the dishes. You need to go home so you have time to get ready for your date." Mom winks at me over her shoulder as she passes.

I shake my head, exasperated.

***

It took some cajoling to keep my mom from coming up to my apartment. She wanted to help pick out my outfit for tonight, and I almost had a heart attack. I wouldn't have been able to explain where my new clothing came from. Luckily, I convinced her I was in a time crunch and promised to let her help the next time. I rushed them off so I'd have time to take a quick shower before Luca picked me up.

A knock sounds at my door as I’m zipping my overnight bag. Taking one last look around my room to make sure I have everything, I pull the strap of the bag over my shoulder and grab my purse and keys before rushing to the front door.

When I swing the door open, my breath catches at the sight of Luca. It’s not like I’ve forgotten he’s handsome, but it’s like my mind forgets he’s on a whole other level of handsome when I see him again.

His hands are in his pockets and he’s sweeping his gaze over me. I take advantage and do the same. He’s wearing a black suit today with a black dress shirt underneath and no tie. He has a hint of a five o’clock shadow, making me wonder if I will end up with a beard rash by morning.

His lips tip up as if he knows what I’m thinking, and it causes heat to climb my cheeks. Trying to ignore the reaction he causes, I pretend this isn’t going to be anything more than just another date.

“Hi.” Tucking my hair behind my ear, I lift my mouth in a shy smile.

“Hi.” He plucks the strap off my shoulder and takes the bag from me before wrapping his free hand around my back to pull me close. When I lift my eyes to his, he leans in and touches his lips to mine. He doesn’t pull back right away, but he also doesn’t deepen the kiss. It's a tender kiss that makes me want more.

Every time I’m around Luca, he throws me off kilter. I never would have expected such a sweet kiss from him. Every time I see him, the drive to get to know him better kicks in. He’s a puzzle I don’t know how to put together, but desperately want to. As I search his eyes, trying to figure him out, he tilts his head, staring right back as if he’s doing the same.

His phone pings with a text, breaking the spell, but he ignores it. “You ready?” He asks, letting me go and stepping back into the hall.

“Yeah.” I follow him out and lock the door.

“I guess we’ll see.” He smirks, taking my hand to lead me outside.

Yes. Yes, we will.