Page 38 of Keeping My Girl

CHAPTER22

Selina

WE RETURN TO the Vitale compound late that night. Nico and I are still laughing and joking by the time we walk through the front door.

“Looks like you two had a good time,” Aria says with a smirk as she crosses through the foyer on her way to the kitchen.

“Lina learned how to drive,” Nico says with a grin.

I’ve never seen him smile this much. He would probably say the same thing about me, but ever since I got here, Nico has been serious and broody. It’s nice to know that if I let go a little, he can too.

His words stop Aria in her tracks. “Really? That’s awesome,” she says with a smile, but it doesn’t touch her eyes. “I never learned how to drive,” she confesses with a one-shoulder shrug. “But I always have someone driving me around, so I guess there’s not really a need,” she adds, but I can hear the sadness in her voice.

Aria really is sheltered, but I’m sure Luca and Verona had their reasons for doing so. I mean, they’ve seen so many children sold into human trafficking, they probably have a hard time sleeping at night if they don’t know where their children are at all times. And I can’t say I really blame them. If I ever have kids, and that’s a huge if, I would never let them out of my sight. I hate to think about living in fear all the time, but I know that’s exactly what it would be like. I know what can happen. And I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy, let alone an innocent child.

“Well, you kids have fun,” Aria tells us with a wave. “I’m going to get some snacks for a movie night with Renato.”

“Wear protection!” Nico calls after her, which earns him a glare and the middle finger from his sister.

When Aria disappears into the kitchen, I ask Nico, “Are her and Renato…?” I know I had asked Aria about their relationship before when we were in the pool, but she was very coy about the whole thing, making it seem like Renato just has a crush on her and she entertains it.

Nico shrugs. “I know Renato is in love with my sister. I’ve caught them making out before, but I have no idea what they’ve done or haven’t done.” He grimaces before adding, “And I don’t wanna know.”

I chuckle at his discomfort. “So…a movie night sounds like fun,” I tell Nico.

He looks at me, searching my face before he says, “Yeah? You want me to ask Aria if we can crash?”

Nervously, I wring my hands together. “Or we could have our own,” I ask, forcing my voice not to break.

“S-sure,” Nico says. Then he clears his throat. “I have Netflix in my room, or we can watch a movie in the —.”

“No, your room is fine,” I assure him. I know he’s trying to give me an out to make me feel more comfortable. And while I love that about Nico, how he never pressures me into anything and how he always puts my feelings first, I just want to feel normal for once in my life. And a movie night with him alone in his room sounds great…and normal to me.

“Okay. I’ll grab us some snacks if you want to go pick out a movie?” he suggests.

“Sure. See you soon,” I throw over my shoulder before I walk upstairs towards his room.

* * *

Nicholas

While the popcorn is in the microwave, I go over and pull out two sodas from the fridge and a few boxes of candy. I have no idea what Lina will like, so I’m just trying to cover all the bases.

After the popcorn is done, I juggle everything in my arms and take it upstairs to my room where Lina is waiting patiently for me on my bed.

She’s stretched out on her stomach with her long legs on display. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. I take a mental snapshot of her looking so relaxed and carefree, wanting to paint it later.

When she looks up at me, she has a grin on her face as she eyes all the snacks. “Wow, did you raid the pantry?” she asks.

“Pretty much,” I answer with a chuckle. “Didn’t know what you’d like, so…”

“Well, I love popcorn, and that’s a must-have with a movie, so you did good.” She sits up and helps me with everything.

And with her on her knees before me, fuck, all my blood rushes right to my cock. Cursing under my breath, I grab the boxes of candy and walk over to my desk to set them down. With my back towards her, I will the beast behind my zipper to calm the fuck down. Even though I would love to fuck Selina, I know she’s not ready for that. Hell, I would settle for a heavy make-out session or even a kiss at this point, but I can’t rush anything with her. And I won’t.

And it’s not because I think she’s too fragile or weak. No, fuck that. She’s the strongest person that I know. It’s simply because I don’t want to scare her off or change anything between us. Our friendship is too important to me to lose just because my dick wants to get wet. Instead, I’m going to wait and let things progress slowly at their own pace. I don’t know how long it will take before she’s ready to move to the next level, but I’m willing to wait. I’ll wait for ten more years, if that’s what it takes. I would wait forever for her…

“You okay?” Selina asks, and I realize I’ve been standing over here for far too long, not moving, not talking.

---