AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ava
“Thanks for being down to celebrate,” I say to Isabella, sipping my can of beer.
“Of course! It’s your 20th birthday. Bet your ass we’re celebrating.”
It’s Saturday night and we’re partying in Isabella’s apartment near campus. She’s got a bunch of people over, mostly her friends from college, with a couple of our old high school friends mixed in. Music is playing, and a group on the balcony overlooking the street is passing around a pipe.
“I still think you should tell Alessandro your birthday is on Monday,” my friend says. “I know it’s… not exactly a love marriage, but he’s still your husband.”
I shake myhead. “I don’t want to put more on his plate. He’s busy enough taking over both families.”
That’s not really why I haven’t told him. The truth is, I’m worried he won’t care. If he doesn’t know it’s my birthday, I can’t be disappointed at him doing nothing to acknowledge it.
“Try it,” Isabella urges, as though reading my mind. “It sounds like he’s obsessed with you. I’ll bet he wants to do something to celebrate.”
“Obsessed with me?” I scoff. “I don’t think so. He only married me for my last name.”
“And that’s why he—” she lowers her voice. “And that’s why he stalked you to the Halloween party and committed a fucking assault just so he could—”
“Shhh! Not so loud!”
Isabella raises her eyebrows smugly. “Anyway, I think you take my point. Not to mention theotherthings you’ve told me…”
She breaks off into giggles. I blush. Before the other guests came over, I did confess to her some of what Alessandro and I have been up to sexually. Other than some mild teasing, she took it in stride.
“I think he just likes fucking me,” I say. “Doesn’t mean his feelings go deeper than that. In fact, I’m pretty sure they don’t.”
“Wasn’t the Halloween party before he fucked you, though?”
“Okay, so hewantedto fuck me. Same difference.”
“He wanted tomarryyou. I thought things were good between you two? Why are you being so defensive?”
“I just… Things are good. But if I tell him it’s my birthday, and then he doesn’t do anything special and I feel like shit, then things won’t be good anymore. I’d rather not rock the boat, you know?”
Isabella hugs me, looking sad. “Yeah, I get it. I just think you deserve better than that.”
I wrinkle my nose, ready for a change of topic. “Enough about me. How did your Tinderdate go?”
She makes a face of disgust. “Tall. Hot. Total asshole.” Her phone buzzes and she glances at the screen. “Shit, that’s him now. I already said no to a second date. How do I get him to stop texting me?”
***
I take an Uber back home and don’t get in until after midnight. I had expected Alessandro to be asleep, but instead, he’s in the living room watching a movie. He pauses it as I come in.
“Did you have a good time with your friends?”
I shrug. “Yeah, it was fun.”
“No underage drinking, I hope?”
I sit down on the couch next to him. “I wouldn’t know anything about that. I have never experimented with alcohol.”
He chuckles. “Not until your 21st birthday, of course.”
My brain catches on the wordbirthday. I try to ignore it. “What are you watching?”
