Chapter 3
2255 Words
Chapter Three
Vanessa
“I thought you had plans tonight?” Lauren asks, taking her black bean veggie burger out of the microwave and walking over to the center island.
“I do.” I grab a soda from the fridge and sit down on a breakfast stool across from her.
“A Coke and Pop Tart? Nice. You’ll be full and bloated.” My health nut roommate wraps up the burger in a tortilla with lettuce, salsa, and a dime-sized portion of sour cream. God forbid she enjoy her food at all.
“Well, it’s a date with Officer Bianco.” I shrug.
Lauren glances up from her plate, her eyes urging me to just call him by his name. I refuse.
“You finally said yes?” She moves to the fridge and pulls out a veggie tray of carrots and cauliflower she’s already cut up.
Seriously, that’s her dinner?
I c***k off a piece of my Pop Tart. “I did.”
“Now you’re spoiling your appetite. I bet he has something amazing planned for you guys.”
The smile on her face showcases how much she likes Cristian. Her and Maddie both go on and on about what a great guy he is. I don’t refute that. I’m sure he’ll make an excellent boyfriend or husband for anyone but me.
“It’s worth spoiling my appetite. Hello, it’s pumpkin spice?” I hold it up to her.
She cringes and shakes her head. “That s**t is everywhere. The other day I saw pumpkin spice Oreos at the store. Why would anyone mess with an Oreo by adding pumpkin to it?”
I toss a piece of pumpkin spice goodness into my mouth, chew and swallow. “I agree with you on that one. Oreos need to stay Oreos. As far as everything else, pumpkin spice is the best.” I gulp down some of my Coke.
Rounding the island, she sits on a stool next to me. “You’re not even the least bit attracted to Cristian?” she asks before biting into her healthy dinner. She’s still in her scrubs from her job as a physical therapist and I predict she’ll be on the couch for the rest of the night.
“I’m not blind. Luckily, the glint from his badge does a good enough job of blinding me from his looks.”
“You know not every police officer is like your dad?”
I chuckle. “Of course.”
“And that you’re typecasting Cristian?” She sips her Vitamin Water.
“Look, in my experience, police officers are either crooked or straight as an arrow. Cristian is the latter.”
She blows out a breath. “You don’t know that. You don’t really know him. Why not give him a chance?”
“Good thing I live in Chicago with roughly a million men.” I crumple up my napkin and toss it into the trash.
Lauren and I are similar. Normally we don’t push the other toward a specific man so I’m unsure why she’s being kind of mom-like right now.
I can feel Lauren’s gaze on me before I even turn back around to face her.
“It’s been nice having you around at night lately. Did you…break up with someone?”
“No breakup, but I don’t work nights anymore.”
Her eyes widen. “Really? What were you doing exactly?”
This is Lauren at her best. Or actually her worst. She thinks she’s sly, but I’m not about to accidentally tell her what I’ve been doing to earn money to start my own fashion line.
“Just earning some cash so I can get the samples I need completed.”
“And you’re good. You’ve got enough cash now?”
I nod, a smile creeping onto my lips.
When I decided to be a fashion major in college, I never thought it’d cost so much money to get clothes made. I can sew, but it’s time and labor intensive. Besides, I’m better at designing. In order to get the samples I need made—and hopefully the clothes themselves after I can get them into some boutiques here in the city—I have to have production somewhere else.
“I did. And Rose and Ivy down on Chestnut has agreed to see my spring line.”
Excitement fills me and I don’t know why I didn’t tell either of my best friends earlier. They’ve always encouraged me and had my back offering their own suggestions on how to make my dreams a reality. Maddie always said I should try to work for a design company and move up while Lauren thought I should open my own online store. But for me, it’s always been my dream to have my clothing in boutiques. If I’m honest, at some point I want my line to be so in demand, I’m featured during New York Fashion Week. But, baby steps.
“VAN!” she shouts, rising from her chair and wrapping her arms around my shoulders, swaying us back and forth. “We need to celebrate!”
“Let’s celebrate after Rose and Ivy actually agree to buy some of my spring line.” I pat her back since she’s not releasing me.
“No. We celebrate everything. Not to mention I need a girl’s night out. Maddie’s never home now that she’s with Mauro. The three us need this.”
I laugh because it sounds more like Lauren needs a night out more than Maddie or me. Dragging her away from Mauro will be a struggle since they’re in that whole new love infatuation phase right now.
“Deal. Let me get this date with Officer Bianco over with though.”
She purses her lips but doesn’t say anything, heading back to her plate of food.
“I’ll message Maddie and we’ll set a date.”
The perma smile on her face says it all and erases some of the guilt I’ve felt the past few months. I know she was worried about what I was doing for the money. But that’s all behind me now and no one will ever know.
“Oh, I’m so excited for you!” she says after she finishes swallowing.
The back door opens, and Maddie and Mauro walk in, laughing and holding hands. I’ll admit, they are super cute together.
“Oh great, as if I needed a reminder that I’m a loser with no one,” Lauren mumbles over her mouth full of veggie burger with an exaggerated eye roll that tells me she’s joking.
Maddie breaks away from Mauro, but he stays one step behind her. When Maddie stops at the breakfast bar, Mauro wraps his arms around her waist so she’s flush to his chest.
“What about my brother, Luca?” Mauro asks, his hearing way too good for a man who has sirens blaring around him the majority of the time.
Lauren rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about a one and done.”
Maddie’s gaze veers to me. “Is that what you’re wearing?” Her forehead crinkles and a line forms between her eyes.
I glance down at my ripped jeans and oversized t-shirt. Hey, I put on a necklace. “What’s wrong with it?”
Mauro’s hands rub along Maddie’s hips and his mouth is dangerously close to her neck.
Hello? Do they not see us here?
“It’s just that you usually wear a dress on a date.” She leans into her boyfriend’s strong chest.
I down the rest of my Coke and place the bottle on the counter. “I don’t want him thinking this date means anything.”
“And yet, you have on a full face of makeup and a gold necklace strategically dangling between your tits.” Lauren’s eyebrows raise.
I glare at her. “I have my own standards of how I look when I go out in public.”
“I’m just happy you decided to go out with Cristian,” Mauro says.
Lauren laughs, pushing her empty plate away from her and pulling one leg up so her foot is resting on the seat. “After she made him participate in the ‘do something you’d never do’ thing like she used to in college.”
Mauro’s hands still and his gaze finally moves off Maddie and over to me. “What did you make my brother do?”
“Vanessa would get hit on every five minutes. Especially at the frat parties,” Maddie says.
“That’s an exaggeration.” I slide up on the counter, shaking my head.
Lauren and Maddie both look at me.
“No, it’s not,” Lauren says. “She was the sparkling diamond while Maddie and I were more the diamonds in the rough in our trio.”
Mauro kisses his girlfriend’s neck and clutches her closer to him. He whispers something in her ear, spurring a flush to overtake her creamy colored skin. She nuzzles her face into his and it’s enough to make me want to run to the bathroom and revisit my Pop Tart and Coke.
“Anyway…” Lauren interrupts.
“Yes.” Maddie straightens and re-joins the conversation. “She’d make them do something crazy to earn a date with her.”
“One guy shaved off all the hair on his body,” Lauren says.
Mauro’s eyes widen. “Men are f*****g stupid. What did my brother do then?”
Lauren looks at me, waiting for me to respond because she doesn’t know what Cristian did either. No one does.
“He…” I let it hang, not really sure whether I want Mauro to hear this.
“He kissed her. I told him to turn the tables on her,” Lauren says proudly.
Maddie raises her hand to Lauren for a high five.
Traitors.
And here I thought no one saw.
“He kissed you?” Mauro’s tone is laced with confusion.
His do good, rule-following, stay inside the box brother, kissed a girl to get a date.
“Yeah.” I shrug, trying to play it off like I’m unaffected, but the truth is that I’ve been trying to forget our kiss all week. And once this date is over, I should finally be able to do just that. We can go back to Officer Bianco and Miss Flanagan, burying that kiss six feet under. Under concrete that is.
“I’m impressed,” Mauro says, sounding just that.
“It looked like one hot kiss.” Lauren stands from the breakfast stool and throws her paper plate in the trash, picking up my empty bottle and waving it in front of my face. “I got it. No worries.”
“Thanks.” I tilt my head and wink.
“Your sweet flirtations don’t work on me. I’m not Cristian.”
The doorbell rings, but before I can hop off my stool, Lauren runs toward the front door.
“I hope she’s nicer to him than she was when I first started seeing you,” Mauro says to Maddie, taking the opportunity to twist her around and kiss her. I grant them the privacy they don’t seem to care whether or not they have.
By the time I reach the foyer, Cristian is already inside and Lauren is asking him if he wants a drink.
“No time for drinks. I’m sure Cristian has reservations,” I say, passing by Lauren and ready to head out the door.
Before I can get the hell out of this house, Cristian holds out a box to me.
Chocolates?
“I hope you’re a pumpkin spice lover?” Cristian says, rocking back on his heels, his eyes holding not one ounce of timidness.
I open the white bakery box to find three Whoopie Pies, the delicious smell of cinnamon filling my nose.
Lauren coughs, pretending to gag.
“Cris!” Mauro’s deep voice booms through the room, interrupting the moment.
“Hey guys,” Cristian raises his hand in greeting. “I thought you guys would be at your place?”
“We’re just picking up some of Maddie’s things.” Mauro’s hands again venture along Maddie’s body.
“Don’t be banging upstairs, okay? You have your own place now, so I don’t need to hear the two of you.” Lauren rolls her eyes.
I get where she’s coming from. Watching them so in love, it’s hard not to want the same for yourself.
“Lauren,” Maddie sighs although everyone in this room knows the two of them can’t go more than fifteen minutes between kisses when they’re in the same room.
“I’ll wait until I get her up in the room. That’s my only promise.” Mauro smacks Maddie’s ass as she rounds the staircase to head up.
“I’m going to The Little Coffee Shop.” Lauren grabs her jacket and heads toward the door. “You two have fun and be sure to do something I would do.” She winks at us and places her hand on Cristian’s arm before sliding out the front door, leaving me alone with him.
“Thank you for these.” I hold them up then place them on the foyer table.
“You didn’t really scream a flower girl.”
I grab my own jacket and Cristian takes it from my hands to hold open for me. I slide my arms through and pull my hair out from being tucked under the back collar.
“Ready?” he asks.
I nod and step in front of him. Once I lock Maddie and Mauro in the house, Cristian walks next to me down the short walkway to where his car is parked at the curb.
I hadn’t thought about what Cristian would drive, but a little sporty Audi wasn’t it. I assumed a Honda or Toyota. Something reliable and good on gas mileage.
“Nice car,” I say as he opens the passenger door for me.
“Bet you were expecting a Prius?” He smiles and I’ll admit my insides might quiver a little at his brilliant white teeth on display and the boyish charm the smile adds to his face.
“Well, it fits…”
“Stereotyping, huh?”
I shrug.
He says nothing for a moment as he stands there, ready to shut my door. “You look beautiful tonight.” His gaze flows up and down and his dark eyes practically turn molten as he takes in my body. I cross my legs to ease some of the building pressure pooling between my thighs. “Even more so in my car,” he adds.
Since I can’t seem to get a word out, he shuts the door.
As he winds around the front of the car, I take in his dark gelled hair, his stylish sweater, and designer jeans. When he slides in next to me, his cologne fills the space and I force myself not to close my eyes and bask in the scent.
Damn it, resisting him is going to be harder than I thought.
- Writer
