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“You guys ready to go?” My voice sounds bright. I’m buzzing with excitement and fear, my pulse skittering with nervous energy. What will Niccolo say? What will he do? Do I even care?
Kaye grabs a cardigan and pulls it around her shoulders before announcing she’s ready to go. I give her a frown for covering up the costume I worked so hard to design—a white dress with apainstakingly sewed-on letter’S’—and she explains. “It’s literally freezing outside, Chris. You should get a jacket, too. It snowed last night.”
The dreaded Halloween snow; it’s all anyone has been talking about for the last week. I had hoped that the forecast was wrong and we’d avoid an early snowfall, but the weather reporters got it right for once. “I’m good,” I decide. But the minute we step outside, an autumn breeze chills me to the core. Goosebumps crop up on my skin as I pretend to be unaffected by the cold.
Even Sienna, who swears Kansas weather is nothing compared to growing up in Minnesota, pulls a sweater tight around her chest. “We can stop by my dorm if you need a jacket,” she offers as we make our way down Prairie Avenue.
I shake my head no. In a few minutes, we’ll be at the bars, and they’ll be shedding the extra layer they brought for the walk. “I’ll be warm once we get some drinks.” We might be underage, but a pretty girl can get whatever she wants if she’s willing to flirt for it.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to distract me from the cold. My fingers slowly swipe over the screen, too numb to work with any haste. A response from the snap I sent to Niccolo is waiting in my inbox, and I pull it up with a frisson of nervous energy developing in my stomach.
Niccolo
Take it off your story.
Acommand. I knew I shouldn’t have sent the picture to him. I type as fast as I can, but my fingers move like they’re weighted down by bricks.
Don’t tell me what to do. I can put whatever I want on my story.
He’s much quicker than I am. I barely have time to swipe out of the chat and return to my Home Screen before a notification bubble pops up that he’s responded.
Niccolo
Take it down, dolcezza. That picture is begging for trouble.
“I’ll beg for whatever the hell I want,” I mumble under my breath. This garners Kaye and Sienna’s attention.
“What’s going on?” Sienna asks after a few awkward moments of silence.
I exit the chat with Niccolo and turn off the screen. “Nic wants me to take down the picture I shared on my Snapchat story,” I reply sulkily.
Both Kaye and Sienna pull out their phones and race to the app. They share a low whistle when they see the picture I shared. “You’re hot,” Kaye says with a grin.
“An absolute smoke show,” Sienna concurs.
“That’s what I thought.” Their responses are exactly what I wanted to elicit from the men I’m friends with. What I didn’t need was my overbearing stepfather to tell me I’m too sexy for social media.
“Forget Niccolo,” Sienna decides for me. “It’s your body. You can show it off all you want. Hell, you can get naked on Snap Story if it tickles your pickle. It’s none of his business.”
“Yeah!” She isn’t wrong. I can do whatever I want whenever I want to. “I’m going to tell him that.” I’ve told him before, but maybe he needs a refresher.
Kaye clears her throat and asks if that’s a good idea. It’s like she’s the angel on my shoulder compared to Sienna’s devil. But it’s too late. I’m already back in our chat and typing out a message.
It’s my body. I can do whatever I want with it.
Niccolo
For now.
Ashiver runs down my spine, and I can’t tell if it’s the cold autumn air or an unsettling sense of foreboding that makes me shake.
What do you mean?
Iwait a few moments for his Bitmoji to appear in the chat, indicating that he’s responding.
Niccolo
Someday soon, I’m going to claim you, dolcezza, all of you. And after that happens, you better not share your half-naked body with anyone but me. Or else.
