Nicco

Ch. 16: No Fucking Way

ARIA

"Tell me what happened here. Per favore. I want to know."

"There's not much to say," I mumble. "Life fucks with everyone, don't you think? My scars just happen to be... visible."

Eyes thinning, Nicco shuffles on the mattress and scoffs in my direction, "Bullshit."

He's right.

I am full of shit. Feeling much too seen, I avert my eyes and pull the blanket up to cover my breasts. Darkness surrounds us. The shadows in Nicco's bedroom make it easier to hide from his piercing gaze. I wish to shrink into the dark—and disappear—just to avoid his questions.

To my surprise, Nicco follows up in an uncharacteristically quiet, serious manner, asking, "Why won't you trust me?"

My eyelids flutter. His question is unexpected. As diplomatically as possible, I reply, "This isn't about trust."

"No?"

"No."

In truth, I already trust this beautiful green-eyed man who makes my heart flutter and fucks me senseless. Far more than I should.

Nicco counters, "Yet, you always hold back."

"I thought we agreed to keep things casual between us?"

The edge of his mouth tilts up. "We can keep fucking as casually as you want, but I would like to know you better as a friend."

I frown. "We see other almost every fucking day at work. I think we know each other well enough by now."

"What if I were to reveal something about myself first?" Nicco proposes gently. "Would it put you more at ease?"

His offer call to me. I am a lonely moth to his warm, welcoming flame, and, for a purely reckless moment, I no longer care about getting burned. I gaze at him longingly.

"Maybe," I mutter as I fight the urge to burrow my face into Nicco's chest.

"Ask me anything, Aria, and I will give you the truth."

I echo, "Anything?"

"Anything."

Really?

This entire evening is throwing me for a fucking loop, to say the least. I don't know what to make of Nicco's shifting moods. First, he was hot. When he surprised me with gifts and dinner. Then, he was cold. When he refused to let me kiss him.

Now, all of a sudden, he wants to become Best Friends Forever?

Intently, I glance down at Nicco's hand. He's still tracing the faint, tallied lines on my belly. Five in total. Pleasurable shivers dance across my skin. The whispering touch of his fingertips soothes me. Such tenderness further overwhelms my defenses, melting them away, and the way he keeps looking at me is downright addictive. I can't help wanting more from him and feeling curious about him, too.

If I make a conscious effort to not touch on anything too personal, there's no harm in us simply talking, right?

My resolve wavers as I soften my stance on our no-strings-attached agreement. Just a little. "Before I ask you anything, I want to say something."

"Uh-oh."

"Don't worry. Nothing bad. Just the opposite, actually. It's something I quite admire about you."

He quips, "I suppose I should not surprised. I was born with many admirable qualities, after all."

I laugh. "Your humility, especially, brings a tear to my eye."