“Come on, Fiorella, it’s okay. Luca’s gorgeous. Like, beyond gorgeous. You’re allowed to be attracted to him.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Are you sure? Because I’d bet a thousand bucks you were doing a lot more than just talking before I showed up.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out, collapsing onto the bed beside her. She squirms away, making a face at the grease and dirt still splattered on my skin from working on the car and getting tackled to the pavement. We’re total opposites, Elisa and I. She likes pretty, soft things, while I fix cars and spend half mylife in the gym. Getting mud under her fingernails would be a total disaster for her, while that’s a normal afternoon for me.
“Ifsomething happened, it was just a one-time fluke, okay? I almost died, but he protected me. The guy threw himself on top of me to make sure I didn’t get hurt. And I guess I must’ve gotten a concussion, becauseifwe did something in that office, I obviously wasn’t thinking straight.”
Elisa snuggles against me and wraps her arms around me tightly. “I’m proud of you. Finally letting your defenses down a little bit.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I mutter. “More like we were trying to kill each other with sex.”
She laughs, pressing her face into my side. I hug her close and let myself relax. I’m home and safe now. I don’t have to be so tense all the time. But even now, the memory of being trapped still haunts me, years after it last happened. I’m tempted to ask Elisa if she still thinks about it, but we don’t talk about that day. Not since it happened.
And now I have new trauma to dump on my therapist, which is always fun.
If I ever get a therapist, anyway.
“Seriously, Fio, I’m happy you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d survive.”
“No way. Are you kidding? I’m the little weakling in our family. You’re the strong, older sister. Who would protect me?”
“You can protect yourself. Remember that time you kicked Raf in the balls because he called you a little bitch?”
She laughs to herself. “Good point, but you’re so much better at it.”
I nudge her with my elbow. “I’m glad I’m okay too, by the way.”
“So what’s he like? Is he a good kisser?”
“I’m not talking about that.”
“Come on! You haven’t had a guy in your life in forever. Give me one measly little detail. I’m desperate!”
“Use your imagination then.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “That’s no fun.”
“You’re too boy crazy, Elisa.”
“And you’re not boy crazy enough.” She gives me a teasing grin and flops onto her back, stretching her arms and legs. “You’re way too repressed.”
“You’re way too—” I wave a hand at her. She’s wearing skin-tight bottoms and a low-cut tank top. Elisa’s got a great little body, but sometimes I wish she were a little bit less willing to show it off. She’s cute and flirty in a way I’ll never be. Boys have always been drawn to her our whole life, while I’ve done nothing but try to push them away. Life is better without the male gaze hammering down on my tits all the damn time. Baggy, oversized clothes have always been my friends.
“Beautiful? Self-confident? Why, thank you, sister. You could be too, by the way, if you didn’t dress like a homeless person.”
“I’m just a grease monkey, that’s all.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re way more than that. I just wish you’d see it too.”
I don’t bother arguing. We’ve gone over this a million times. I’ll never be soft and girly like her, and she’ll never know the joy of spending a week rebuilding a drive shaft on a finicky vintage car like me. We deal with our problems in different ways, and it’s fine. Mostly, anyway.
There’s a knock at the door. It opens, and our older brother Raffa pokes his head inside. He looks so much like the younger version of Dad that it’s startling. Dark eyes, deep black hair streaked with premature gray, and that patented scowl. The man has resting asshole face.
“Heard you were home. Glad you’re okay.”
