last summer

twelve

"Say my name and everything just stops, I don't want you like a best friend"
- Dress by Taylor Swift

"I hear you two are going to Summer Sun together?" Gabriella piped up over the loud table, motioning her hand to Niccolo and I.

He sat beside me for dinner, right next to me. His foot hooked with mine under the table and his arm around the back of my chair.

"Yeah," he says, not afraid to answer for the both of us. "She finally agreed to come with me." which earned a wholesome little laugh from the table.

The summer boys knew about it, Maikel knew about it and so did Luce. (she was pissed) Everyone else thought we were actually into each other.

"Don't act too surprised, Gabriella." My dad says, rubbing his hand over her back.

After I got myself ready for dinner he came into my bathroom. He was wearing my favorite stripped dress shirt he had and his dark hair was styled nice. "You look good." He snuck up on me.

I held my chest, my almond nails poking my skin. "God Nico you scared me!" I softly smacked his bicep. Is this what it would be like if we were actually together?

"Come here." He takes his left arm, wrapping it swiftly around my waist and suddenly we're pressed together, his cheek is against mine, he's looking at me in the mirror.

"I'm sorry." He whispers into my ear. No one is watching us.. Why is he still pretending?

I took his arm off of my waist, putting it back at his side and patting my hand over his chest. "You're fine."

He hung around in the bathroom while I finished braiding the top of my hair into two small ponytails on either side and we talked, mostly about last summer.

"So y'all are like together for real?" Maikel cut his steak with a new toughness and his teeth rubbed together.

I laughed nervously, looking over at him and he narrowed his eyes, holding his fork with a square of meat on the end to the side.

"I guess we are." An awkward grin broke over my features and I shivered when I felt Nico's hand on the back of my neck, smashing against my curls.

"You guess?" Sonny added and he rubbed his hand over his face.

I think after Josh they were just a little bit protective.

"We are." Niccolo and I both said it at the same time and Luce arched up her brow, grabbing Will's arm and I saw her nails sink into it and he blew air out through his teeth. "Stop fucking talking for her."

"Luciana." My dad says like she's his own child and his eyes are warning and she backs down.

"We're very happy for you kids." Froy breaks the awkwardness a bit and this whole fake dating thing seems pretty stupid to me.

This is all just to make Taffy jealous? Taffy isn't even here.

We were all excused from the table once my abuelo finished his plate. My dad made steak tonight because it was Froy's favorite.