Page 169 of Driftwood Daffodil 2

Damnit.

“Did you fuck Nova?”

Gio wouldn’t say anything.

“Yes.”

Or he would. Son of a bitch.

Chuck’s attention turned back to me. I could feel the suspicion in his eyes before he spoke.

“What’s going on here?”

“Lunch, obviously.” People were eating, there were tables, it was a fine dining cafeteria experience.

“You know what I meant.”

“Maybe you should be more clear next time.”

His tongue clicked off the roof of his mouth. “How’s this for clear? Why are you suddenly involved with Gio Mancini. The guy who’s brother, your brother killed?”

Yup, that was pretty clear, and much harder to skirt around. It would’ve been nice if he said it a little quieter. If people weren’t staring before they were now.

“Why does anyone do anything?” I snorted, followed that with a scoff, another snort, then a short nervous snicker. It wasn’t my best attempt at a coverup, but it wasn’t the worst either.

Chuck looked from me to Gio then back again. “Did he threaten you?”

Stupid Chuck and his nonjock functioning brain. It wasn’t just Gio staring at him now, the rest of the asshole trio had joined in. This wasn’t good.

“No Chuck,” I said trying to defuse the situation. “He did not threaten me.”

“Uh huh? Then why does Memphis look like he’s about to shit his pants?”

Because he neglected to take that acting class with me last fall.Damnit Memphis.

“You’re overreacting Chuck. You need to calm down.” Before someone else blew up.

“Sure Nova, I’ll calm down. Just as soon as Gio tells me what he’s holding over your head.”

I could feel the danger when Gio’s green eyes snapped over to Chuck. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“You heard me.” Chuck was not backing down. “What did you do, threaten her brother or sister?”

Gio wasn’t backing down either. “So what if I did? What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m sure the cops could do something about it.”

Oh no, he did not just say that. I was expecting violence in the form of a cafeteria brawl. What I got was a barked out laugh from Gio.

“And what are you going to tell them? That I forced her into a relationship?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Gio chuckled. “Good luck proving that.”

He had a point. It wasn’t like there was any hard evidence he could take with him, and even if there was, what would Gio be charged with. Unwanted engagement?

“Well, I’m not going to sit by and watch this happen.”

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