Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 144979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
I search her face, distraught by the pain she tries to hide so well. She’s carried it for so long, blaming herself for circumstances outside of her control. And now she’s resigned herself to the idea of being unhappy—as if that’s what she deserves.
“Gabs,” I plead. “Let me try to help. You can’t just give up.”
“I’m not.” She squares her shoulders. “I still have some time. It won’t happen until after graduation. So I was thinking…”
Her words drift off.
“You were thinking what?” I press her.
She worries her lip between her teeth for a minute before she blurts it out. “I can’t change my fate, but I’ve decided I want to have agency over my life while I still can.”
“Alright,” I draw out the word. “How so?”
“I want to have sex,” she announces. “I don’t want to save myself for some guy who won’t even care about me.”
I release a long breath as I consider her decision. What she’s telling me makes perfect sense, and I understand it completely. But I also know that it can be dangerous, and I worry about what might happen if her father or future husband ever finds out.
“Do you have someone in mind?” I ask.
“Sort of.” She offers me a nervous smile. “There’s someone I’ve been talking to.”
She looks reluctantly hopeful, and it makes me nervous for her. Gabi is a romantic at heart, and I’m not sure she’ll be able to detach her feelings so easily. But I get where she’s coming from. Her parents have a tendency to treat her like she’s not capable of making her own decisions, and she’s never had much control of her life. So I’m not going to be another negative voice telling her she can’t do something, because I know she’s beyond capable of choosing for herself.
“If this is what you want, then I support you,” I tell her. “But please, just be careful.”
“I will,” she promises. “And I’m glad you’re on board, because I’ll need someone to talk to when it finally happens.”
“Talk about what?” Val asks, her shadow falling over us.
“Nothing,” Gabi says quickly.
Val narrows her eyes at her and plops down. “Are you keeping secrets?”
“Maybe just one.” Gabi shrugs innocently.
“What did we miss?” Chantel joins us a second later.
Natalia, Lucia, and Mariella trail behind her, and all of them plop down on the lounge beside us in their bathing suits.
“God, I think my ovaries just imploded.” Chantel peers across the deck at all the Vitale men gathered around Antonella—half of them bare-chested and glistening from the water. It only gets worse when Alessio joins them, one arm wrapped around his little girl and the other holding Nino’s hand.
“Yep.” Lucia fans herself. “Life is so unfair.”
Natalia and I shoot each other a look and smile.
“Wait,” Val protests. “Gabi was just about to tell us a secret.”
Gabi steals a glance at me, and I nod, letting her know my lips are sealed. Still, she decides to throw the girls a bone.
“I was just telling Abella that I’ve…sort of met someone.”
“You’ve been holding out on us?” Val frowns.
“Who is he?” Chantel asks.
“That’s the thing.” Gabi lowers her voice, a shiver moving over her. “I’m not really sure.”
The End