I press the mic.
“Good evening, lacrosse team and cheerleaders. Is it weird that my boyfriend has massive amounts of hair in weird places. Total Wolfman Jack vibes. Dude shaves more than I do. And yes, ladies, that includes down there. He needs a hot wax to take care of it. Oh, and Nico Pitucco, we’re over. If you as much as look my way, my bodyguards will break your face.”
“Serenity,” Nico’s voice thunders from outside the door.
I smile, venom sweet on my tongue. “Go team.”
I kill the mic, flick off the lights, and step outside.
The door closes behind me. I notice my cheer coach, Mrs. Sparks, and lacrosse coach, Jim, to my left.
Straight ahead, Javier has Nico in a brutal arm lock, his lacrosse uniform stained with sweat. Nico’s eyes burn when they find me—wild, desperate, dangerous.
“What are you doing, Serenity?” he roars.
“I’m putting an end to us,” I say coolly. “Since you won the bet and planned to break my heart. I heard your little talk with Rod.”
He thrashes in Javier’s hold, veins straining in his neck. “Stop. Serenity, I love you. Just let me explain?—”
The pain on his face almost makes me falter. Almost.
“You got my heart and my virginity,” I spit. “Bravo, Nico. Bravo.” I lean close, whispering against his ear, “You fucked the fat cheerleader. Hope it was worth it.”
“Stop, Serenity,” he begs. “I love you. Just let me explain?—”
His face crumples. He looks broken. Good.
“You fucked with the wrong bitch. I’m not like any of the girls you dated. They don’t have my reach. I’m a fucking mafia princess.”
I bring my knee up hard into his crotch.
He doubles over, a strangled grunt escaping. Javier chuckles as Fitz raises his phone, recording.
The coaches shout, but they don’t step forward. They know better.
I crouch so Nico has no choice but to meet my eyes. “Due to the broken arm, the lacrosse season is over. And college football? You’ll be watching from the sidelines.”
“Javier.” My voice is sharp as steel.
Coach Jim yells. “No.”
The crack of bone echoes down the hallway as Javier breaks Nico’s arm.
His scream fills the space, raw and ugly.
“Lesson learned,” I whisper, standing tall. “Don’t ever fuck over Serenity Cichello.”
Nico stands outside the gate. His arm in a cast. He yells at the top of his lungs how he loves me. And that I need to hear him out. If he wasn’t the son of a made man, my father’s men would shoot him. Nico’s army of guards, along with his father, waits patiently for him. I peer out the window, watching him make a spectacle of himself.
“I brought a mug of tea for you.”
“Thanks, mom.”
She pulls me against her. “Your dad wants to know what happened.”
“He can’t know right now. Mom, he’ll try to kill him.”
“That bad, huh?”
