“Nathan, you’re an asshole, you know that? I think I’m going to tell Mrs. Shelter that you’ve been picturing banging her over her desk for the last few weeks.”
“God, I wish you would,” Nathan says wistfully. “I bet she’d go for it.”
“You two are horrible.”
Nathan bursts out laughing. I start walking off but Dom hops up and follows me as his cousin gathers his stuff and trails after.
“Seriously, Nathan’s just being an idiot. Don’t let him bug you.”
“It’s fine. Did you really tell Nathan I’m cute?”
He grins and shrugs. “It’s the truth. Unfortunately, my cousin Emilio has his eye on you, which means you’re extremely off limits. Besides, I’m not sure you’re actually my type.”
I frown at him sideways. Emilio has his eye on me? I’m not sure what that means—but if my initiation has any indication, I think Emilio wants more than just a comfortable platonic friendship.
Or maybe he just wants to fuck with me. These are Bruno boys, after all. I have to keep reminding myself that they’re not normal college kids, they’re the sons of aggressive and powerful mafioso bastards, which means everything they do has a million different layers beneath it.
Emilio seems like the kind of guy to get off on torturing people, and maybe marking me as off limits and making sure no guy is ever interested in me while he’s still at this school is his way of staking his claim just to be a dick. Anything’s possible.
Either way, it’s not great.
“I don’t know how I feel about any of that.”
“Feel happy for once.”
“Bro, she’s always happy. It’s paradise.” Nathan appears on my other side and I glare at him. “Well, maybe not. You do scowl a lot.”
“I do not.”
“You really do,” Dom says, laughing. “You’re almost as bad as Lesley.”
“Speaking of which,” Nathan says, nodding across the quad.
And there she is, walking along with her head down, glaring at the grass like it’s about to reach up and wrap around her ankles. Lesley’s got a big white backpack, sunglasses, shorts, and a simple t-shirt, like she’s trying her best not to stand out while half the girls around her are in flip-flops and the tiniest bikini tops imaginable, which is definitely not appropriate for class, but nobody seems to mind.
“Where’s she going in a hurry?” Dom asks.
“Probably off to strangle some puppies,” Nathan says. “That or she’s got a nest of babies turtles she plans on crushing and eating for lunch.”
“What’s with her and Emilio?” The question pops out before I can think about it. Both guys glance at me, Nathan with curiosity, and Dom with a wary frown. “I mean, I noticed they’re close.”
“She’s his second-in-command basically,” Nathan says with a shrug. “I guess since you’re a member now, you can know all this stuff.”
“I’m not sure how it happened,” Dom says. “Emilio doesn’t go into details all that often, but I guess he trusts her.”
“I’ve noticed,” I mutter.
Nathan grimaces. “He’s a little too closed off, but hey, it’s all right. I’m open enough for everyone.”
“Too open,” Dom points out.
“Go to hell.”
“Easy boys,” I say, laughing, but I’m still watching Lesley hurry away. “Why does he trust her so much?”
Dom clears his throat. “Rumor is she saved his life once.”
“Really?” My eyebrows shoot up. I can’t imagine Emilio in a position to be saved, let alone by a girl like Lesley, who seems so prissy and self-absorbed.