Page 72 of All at Once

“You know we’re just teasing you? You can call it whatever you want.” He flashes a crooked grin. “Although, Ihighlyrecommend for you to not refer it to assoccerat the stadium tomorrow.”

I laugh. “Noted. Thanks for the warning.”

“You haveenoughpressure on you as is,” he adds, while raising his brows.

I roll my eyes. “I feel a little bad for Enrique, though. For being pulled back to work tonight, and then having to watch his team lose tomorrow.”

“It’s not our fault that we happen to like the better team.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been telling him the past few weeks.” I pause when remembering how we only reconnected over a week ago. “Well, just the past week or so.”

He chuckles. “Right.”

It’s nice that whatever was happening earlier seems to have dissipated and things seem to be back to normal now. The sound of the rain sprinkling against the window adds to the growing comfort of the evening. Not knowing how to ask my next question without it sounding like the most random thing to bring up, I take a sip of my water and try my best to casually say, “So are you dating anyone right now?”

Luca’s brows crease amusedly. “Smoothtransition.” He takes a sip of his drink, then looks at me as if he’s trying to read me. “Why are you asking me that?”

“No reason,” I say.

He cocks his head, not buying my response for one second. “Sorry, but I find it hard to believe that you of all people would ask somethingthatspecific without having a motive behind it.”

Maybe I’m wondering if there’s someoneelseoccupying his thoughts…

“Or maybe for once I’m just curious since you know so much about me, and I barely know that much about you,” I say.

Luca sighs. “No, I’m not.”

I’m embarrassed to admit how the suspense that was building in my heart turns all warm and fuzzy at his response. “That’s what I thought,” I say.

He scoffs. “Don’t looktooshocked.”

I sit up and quickly clarify, “No, it’s just that I had a feeling you weren’t since I assumed it would’ve come up by now, but you’re also too mysterious for even my advanced analyzing skills to figure out.”

“You’re thefirstperson to call me that,” he says, while raising his brows.

“Mysterious?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess I’m just having a hard time figuring you out,” I explain.

His lips curve to the side. “What’s with you and having to decode everything?”

“Just trying to make sense of a world that makesno sense.”

He crosses his arms. “And how’s that going?”

“Lately?” I say. “Both better and more confusing than ever before.”

His eyes widen as he drops his arms to his sides. “I can’t imagineyoubeing confused.”

Every time he smirks at me, it makes my stomach tingle, and my blood rush to my cheeks. Right now is no exception. Trying to keep it together, I reply, “Well for starters, sometimes I wonder if Enrique really likes me, or if I’m just another summer fling to him.” Hearing my words out loud confirms to me that part of this is my fault for not confiding in Enrique about my experience with intimacy. It’s just I haven’t felt comfortable to do so.

Luca bites down on his lip while I wait for a response. “Yeah, I can’t really answer that one. All I’ll say is that in the time I’ve known him, he’s only had one serious relationship.”

“That doesn’t really bother me though,” I say. “I just wish I knew exactly how he feels aboutme.”

“Do you really like him?” Luca asks with a tone I can’t quite pick up on. Before I can read his face, he looks down at his plate again.

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