Roses & Ruin

Chapter 64 (Lexi)

        I was sprawled across my bed when my phone started ringing. I almost thought it was Sasha or Mila calling to facetime, but was surprised when I saw it was Anthony. My chest did a stupid stutter thing. I sat up and swiped to answer the call. Suddenly his handsome face filled the screen. I put my headphones on so his voice wouldn't carry.

"Are we making a habit of late night phone calls now, Mr. Rizzo?" I teased him. It took all of two seconds to read his expression and see he wasn't himself. "What's wrong?" I furrowed my brow. The corner of his lip tipped up slightly to give a half assed smile. 

"What makes you think something's wrong, gorgeous?" He bullshitted me and I told him so. He chuckled. "Long night, no...long couple of fucking days" he sighed.

"Needing a release?" I thought I caught on. But Anthony's expression threw me off. "No, no, that's not why I called you. To do...no, just wanted to talk a minute. Is that stupid? I sound like a fool" he chuckled in an unamused way at himself. "No, it's fine. Shush" I stopped him. 

He looked at my face and studied it for a minute through the screen.

        "Enzo knows about us" he suddenly dropped that bomb on me. My brows shot up to my hairline. "What?! Why? How?" I asked in succession. Anthony placed me down on his nightstand and he rubbed the back of his neck, sitting at the edge of his mattress. 

"He saw my reaction to you getting shot...he put two and two together" he told me. I still didn't get it. "But how? What about your reaction told him we've slept together? That doesn't even make sense" I shook my head.

I watched Anthony's face deflate then he pressed his lips together. 

"What?" I asked again. "I-uh-I might've mentioned you...before..in passing" he cleared his throat. "Oh you were bragging you were doing a model, huh?" I chuckled, catching on. "I'm not some douche bag. I swear it. I'd met you at Daisy's school, and I just told him about that, and ya know, just in passing" he tried shrugging it off. 

        "It's okay. I told my best friend all about you too" I let him off the hook. His smirk returned to him and that's the face I like to see. I don't like stressed or bothered Anthony Rizzo, it doesn't suit him.

"Oh really?" He sounded much too intrigued. "Oh yeah, she knows everything. She's dying to see what you look like, but you didn't have any pictures online. I see why now" I chuckled thinking about it. 

"So you didn't sneak any photos of me while I wasn't looking? Or did you at least get my good side?" He started playing around. "I felt like too much of a creep doing that. I chickened out" I let him know.

        "I can send some pictures of me flexing in the mirror. Show me off" he bit his lip playfully, but it stirred the heat inside me. "I should inform you that those photos would not be used for your original intentions with them. I would stare at them and get myself off, so be warned" I deadpanned. 

That ripped the deep chuckle right out of him.

"Oh sweetheart, trust me, I don't mind. Look at me all you want" he told me. "What about touching you? Still off the table?" I asked him. If Enzo knows then what does it matter if we carry on discreetly? We'd be careful about it and Anthony wouldn't feel like he's lying to his closest cousin. 

By the way Anthony's face flickered I knew that wasn't the case though.

        "Enzo doesn't want this to continue, Lex. And I understand why" he told me. I scoffed. I didn't even let him finish. "I don't" I talked over him. I sat up straighter on my mattress, and he took his phone from his nightstand and brought his face closer to the screen. Fun over.