AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I held back all my sharp retorts about how I could just as easily finish my classes online. Suffering through the drama didn’t earn you anything. After graduation I’d move away where no one knew my name, and get a degree that let me work alone.
I was better off that way.
Romero parked inside the garage, and I climbed out, heading inside. “Don’t even think about disappearing,” he called after me.
I paused with the door open, my jaw dropping. Streamers hung from the ceiling right in the foyer, spanning both directions toward the kitchen and the living room. Romero’s presence came to a stop at my back, silent.
Swallowing down the lump that rose in my throat, I sent him a smile over my shoulder.
“I’ll order the pizza, you go pick the movie,” he said. It was our weekly Friday night tradition and one I treasured.
Throwing my bag down next to the couch, I picked up the remote from the wide, oak coffee table and plopped down on the plush cushions to queue the movies. My lips curled as I passed The Phantom of the Opera, knowing Romero would quickly regret giving me the control. Instead, I landed on the 2009 Star Trek. Yeah, he’d probably still groan about it, but it was better than a sexy musical.
Romero’s low voice rumbled from the kitchen, his words indistinguishable from the faint popping sound that filled the silence.
Pulling out my phone to busy myself with a book or something while I waited, I saw a message from Arie.
It took me a moment to make sense of the nine million balloon, heart, and party emojis, the words in the middle making me blink in confusion: OMG totally forgot--Happy birthday girl!
She’d seen me in almost every class and hadn’t figured out it was my birthday, so how had she found out?
I typed back quickly and waited for a response.
It came almost immediately.
FB told me, silly. I hadn’t checked it all day. I suck. Forgive me? ?
I laughed aloud before replying: Nothing to forgive, it’s not a big deal.
Arie sent back another slew of emojis that ranged from shocked to angry, followed by: You only turn 16 once. Unless you get stuck in a time loop. Fuck, that would suck.
“Who put that smile on your face?” Romero asked, entering the living room with two large bowls stuffed with popcorn. He’d shed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, showing off his muscled forearms decorated with ink. “I think I’d like to shake their hand.”
“Arie,” I answered, before sending her back a quick message saying I was hanging out with movies, popcorn, and pizza. Then I turned my phone off. Looking up, I took the bowl he held out for me. “I’m sure Arie would love to shake your hand.” I snorted a laugh at my own joke and Romero quirked a brow questioningly. The few times she’d seen him, she nearly fainted. I didn’t understand her obsession with him. I understood why my mother was so enamored with him, but he had to be at least twenty years older than me.
Yuck.
Shaking my head, I took a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into my mouth to keep myself from saying that Arie thought he was attractive. And then he’d be able to see that I thought so too. Which would be just plain awkward.
My cheeks heated anyway. And from the way his lips tilted to one side, I assumed he knew why.
Ugh, so embarrassing.
I pressed play, not waiting for Romero’s commentary on my choice. He didn’t speak, the two of us devouring popcorn as the movie rolled. Occasionally he checked his phone, subtly, as though I wouldn’t notice. It didn’t bother me too much, though part of me wanted to ask if it was my mom.
About halfway through, the doorbell rang. His back straightened before he rose to his feet. I paused the movie, watching him fade from the dimly lit room and into the shadows within the foyer.
A moment later he came in with two boxes of pizza, setting them on the coffee table. His features looked unnaturally hard and my stomach churned with nervousness. But as he flipped the cardboard lids open and the heavenly aroma reached the two of us, he seemed to relax.
“One pepperoni and one supreme.” Romero smirked at me.
I laughed. I hadn’t even thought to remind him of my preference, but I guess it had stuck. “Well done,” I praised. “You have got to be the most observant man on the planet.”
He chuckled. “I’ve just been around a while.”
I nodded, sobering. “Yeah. About three years.”
His large, muscular shoulder bumped mine. “I meant on Earth. I’m old enough to know that ladies are much more pleasant when you pay attention to what they like.”
