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“See. You’re eating mint chocolate chip, yet your masculinity remains intact.”
“You’re deflecting.” His tongue swipes along the spoon expertly, reminding me of the way it had moved against me. The corner of his mouth tips as though he knows exactly what I’m doing.
I shake my head, frustrated. I am deflecting, and it annoys me that he notices. Annoys me even more that, on top of that, I’m getting turned on by the way he’s eating ice cream.
I bite my lip, wondering how much of myself I should give him. “You can’t talk to Brandon about this.”
He shakes his head in solemn promise. “It’ll stay between us.”
I take a deep breath. “I was… Well, I was in a relationship in Italy. He started asking for money. Little things at first, like for groceries or rent. And then he needed a new laptop, a new phone, a new watch. And then I found out he was in debt.”
Roman pinched the bridge of his nose impatiently. “Madison…”
“Don’t lecture me,” I snap. “I know, okay? I was stupid. But I thought that he loved me. I thought we were happy… right until he left me with nothing.”
He closes his eyes as though trying to process the information. Bile rises in my throat. I regret telling him. I regret everything. I’m always so naïve, so quick to believe the good in people.
First Elio, and now Roman.
However, when Roman’s lids flutter open, there’s no sneer or disdain. No judgment. He puts his hand atop my shaking one, his rough palms whispering against my skin. “I’m sorry. It must have been scary to be left in a foreign country with nothing. Why wouldn’t you tell your brother?”
Because it doesn’t feel over, and I’m scared.
Because I don’t know what Elio is capable of.
Because I don’t want to be weak anymore.
I can’t spit out any of those truths, so instead, I take only a morsel from the surface. “I need to learn to fight my own battles. Be independent. Brandon would take care of me no matter what, but he shouldn’t have to.”
“And your parents? They don’t know either?”
“No one knows.” A flicker of fear runs through me because that isn’t true anymore. He knows. Can I trust him, or will it prove I haven’t learned anything from the last time I put faith in someone?
“This boyfriend?—”
“Ex,” I correct quickly. I don’t even want to entertain the idea of Elio being my present, of still being defined by him.
“Ex,” Roman repeats. “Is he dangerous?”
The question makes me freeze. I’m not ready to tell him the rest, and I don’t think I ever will be. I shake my head and hope it’s convincing. “No. He’s in Italy.”
The lie makes me shiver. He’s here, and he’s looking for me, and the only reason he can’t find me is because I’m protected enough by Roman’s employ.
Roman’s attention hangs heavy. He doesn’t believe me.
He’s kind enough not to point it out.
Instead, he looks away, propping his chin on his hands and finding Leo among the throng of children running around the playground. He doesn’t say anything, but his hand remains on top of mine, and I’m not brave enough to take it away now.
We stay that way, tethered and frozen in time until Leo finally runs back to us and slurps up his melted sundae. I search for a way to break the tension, but it happens authentically when Leo ends up with a ring of ice cream around his mouth.
I laugh, dipping my finger into my own bowl and quickly hopping up to smudge it across Roman’s face. He crinkles his nose.
“Now you match!”
Leo laughs and smears another bit of cream across Roman’s cheek. Roman shakes his head, halfway between despair and amusement as he grabs a wad of napkins.
I have a hunch the former is just for show. He had fun today, and we both know it.
