Too Close

Chapter Seventeen

Gianna's thoughts were moving the slowest they've been in weeks as she sat in Leo's car, surrounded by a great deal of smoke. As soon as she told Leo she'd been getting through the past weeks completely sober, he wasted no time hooking her up and putting her out of her misery. And it was definitely doing its job. This was exactly what she needed at the moment and it was even better being that Leo was in her company after a long six months.

Gianna was telling him the story of the long awaited downfall of her and Jacoby's relationship. Leo never gave her as much shit as everyone else did about her relationship. For one, it was her business, and two, he couldn't criticize her when he knew for a fact that his romances were far from healthy and ethical. Nonetheless, he was glad that Gianna had let him go. Jacoby wasn't deserving of her in his eyes.

Leo was one of the few whose ear Gianna talked off about the writing program, so he was happy to hear that she was accepted into it and wanted to know about her experience so far. Never dropping a name, Gianna started to tell him about her professor who had pros and cons. The dominating side changed each time she had an interaction with him.

"My ten thousand dollars worth of therapy would've flown out the window." Leo shook his head after hearing how Gianna's professor closed the door in her face despite him seeing she was a few feet away from it.

"You know I'm not confrontational Leo. So I just took my L, sat by the door, and listened through the wall." Hearing herself saying it aloud, Gianna realized how far her determination took her and couldn't help but to chuckle.

"Your scholarly ass always being dramatic. And unconfrontational my ass. I still remember when you called our teacher a racist misogynist because we didn't read any books written by black women. In front of everybody. On your first day of school."

"That wasn't dramatic, that was a fact! But I am a different person now. Zen and peaceful." Gianna closed her eyes and put her hands in mudras as she pretended to meditate.

Leo side eyed her before ashing the joint and relighting it. "So you didn't turn up on dude?"

"No, I gave him one of these," Gianna turned to him and put on her best sad face once again. "My grandfather died last night." Her voice cracked and she downturned all of her facial features before laughing. "And he believed it."

"You're a menace, I almost believed you. Crying in the classroom head ass."

Gianna rolled her eyes, "It worked though." She put the joint up to her lips and inhaled the smoke as her mind still lingered on certain thoughts. Once she was ready to pass it back to Leo, she turned her body so she was fully facing him. "I have a confession."

Leo gave her a look to continue since he was holding the smoke in, trying to see how long it would last in his lungs. Last time he lasted 11 seconds, so he was trying to beat it.

"MyprofessorisMilesDelgadoandI'vebeenseeinghimromanticallyforthepastmonth." She leaned back in the seat exhaling a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She felt so much lighter, finally getting the secret off of her chest.

Leo looked at her furrowing his bushy eyebrows, trying to process what she'd just said, which took him a minute since she managed to say 14 words in under 10 seconds.

He finally let the smoke make its way through his lips, satisfied with his new high score of 12 seconds. "So you fucking your teacher?"

"Not necessarily." She said lowly since they hadn't taken it that far yet. "Plus I met him before he was my professor. That counts."

"And this the author nigga you love so much?" He couldn't forget Miles' name even if he wanted to from how much Gianna would rave about him.

"I do not love him." Gianna corrected him. "I love his books."  Leo simply gave her a yeah right look.