“Tell her I’m going to kill her, okay? And – quit fucking football players.” He huffs dramatically making me smile.
“Don’t know if I can do that big brother. Kind of like him, you know,” I smile to myself when Zane slips behind me with a kiss to the shoulder.
“Don’t get hurt, Tori. Then I’ll have to kill him. Maddox told me that would be very bad for my health, but he won’t fucking elaborate and I don't care."
I giggle because I’ve figure out that’s probably very accurate, but I don’t even ask. “I’ll call you later, Dane.”
I turn around once the call is ended, wrapping my arms around him. “I’m going to miss you,” I tell him.
“Me too, Baby,” he says kissing the top of my head. “Call me as soon as you get to New York.”
“There’s been a slight change with that,” I inform him. “We haven’t heard from Cara in a couple of weeks, and since my layover is in Chicago, I’m going to hang around there for a couple of days to check on her.”
“Then call me when you get there.”
I land in Chicagoat ten that night. I call Cara as soon as I have my luggage, but don’t get an answer. I grab a taxi, giving him the address of the apartment Dane is renting for her. A while later, I’m standing outside the door trying to get her to answer.
Trying not to panic, I pull out the key I have, letting myself in. Her apartment is a disaster, but that’s not surprising. Cara has never been one to keep things tidy.
I walk to her sofa, removing probably a week’s worth of laundry then plop down. I call Zane but keep the call short. Then promptly fall asleep on the sofa because I’ve hardly slept any in the last four days.
It’s breaking daylight when I hear the front door open. My sister stumbles in looking very thoroughly fucked. “Wow, your night resembles my weekend,” I say sitting up.
She screams like she just found a naked burglar in the apartment. “What the fuck, Tori? You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here?”
“Well, when his baby sister doesn’t answer his calls, big brother sends someone to investigate.”
She rolls her eyes with a groan. “He sent you all the way here to check up on me?”
I shrug a bit. “I had a layover here on my way back home.”
She slides onto the sofa beside me with a grin. “Back home? Where have you been?”
“Oh no. No, no, no. Why haven’t you been answering Dane’s calls? Or mine for that matter? And who the hell is the guy answering your phone?” She begins to chew on her lip without answering me for a few seconds. “Cara, what’s going on?”
“I met a guy,” she blurts. “He is great, but Dane will hate him.”
“Why would Dane hate him?” I take her hand pulling her to me.
“Because he’s a guy.”
“Okay. You’re not wrong but avoiding him isn’t the answer. So, tell me about this guy.”
“His name is Stephano DeLuca, and he’s amazing. He’s sweet and fun. We’ve been hanging out every day for the last couple of weeks.”
“Well, that explains the timeline of you avoiding our calls, but not why he’s answering your phone.”
Her head tilts slightly to the side. “Answering my phone?”
“Yeah. Dane called and he answered.”
“I didn’t know he did that,” she groans.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter right now. Don’t you have class soon?”
“My final was canceled this morning and I don’t have anything else. Hence, the walk of shame through my front door at dawn.” I yawn loudly because I am not a morning person and I still haven't gotten enough sleep. “Do I get to meet him?”
She begins to bounce up and down like a kid at Christmas. “I can’t wait for you to meet him. He’s so hot. Like Zane Valen hot.”
