Hold You Against Me Read Online Free Page B

wish hard enough, it might happen anyway.
    *     *     *
    We are lounging side-by-side on the old, musty sofa. One earbud is in my left ear, the other is in Gio’s right. Above us, dust floats in the moonlight. I’m back in my standard jeans and tank top. No longer glamorous or over-the-top sexy. But this moment feels so perfect it almost hurts. I want a million of these moments, strung like beads on a necklace, one after the other.
    When the third Glee song comes on, Giovanni slants me a dark look that makes me giggle.
    “What?” I ask, going for innocent. But I don’t quite succeed. I like making him suffer with fun songs. He doesn’t tell me that much about his life outside of these nights, but I know there’s not enough fun in it.
    “Really?” he says.
    I sing along. “ Don’t stop believing… ”
    He groans, but I see the smile that plays on his lips. He likes it. “You know high school is nothing like that show, right?”
    “Duh,” I say. “That’s not even realistic. It’s obviously more like Buffy the Vampire Slayer .”
    He flicks his thick fingers lightly against my arm. “Smart-ass.”
    I stick my tongue out, which probably proves him right. I don’t care. “Hey, it’s not my fault I never got to go. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have to guess what high school is like. I would already know.”
    “I don’t agree with much your father does, but I think he got that part right.”
    Stung, I face the ceiling again. “Whatever.”
    “I’m just saying people would know who your father is. It makes you a target.”
    “So I should just never live, is that what you’re saying? I should just stay locked up and marry whoever he tells me to and dress however Byron says—”
    “What the fuck are you talking about? What did Byron tell you?” He’s facing me, eyes a little wild.
    Unease rolls through me. Gio and I, we’ve had our little spats. It’s part of the teasing ups and downs we do. But I’ve never seen him quite so intense. Except maybe about his father. But then he mostly shuts down if that topic comes up.
    He’s not shutting down now. His expression is furious and expectant.
    “He didn’t tell me anything,” I say, trying to calm him down. “He just said I was going to the party. And that I should look my best, whatever that means.”
    Gio swears in Italian. I mostly don’t understand the words except to know they’re bad.
    “That fucker,” he says.
    Okay, I know that one. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “It’s a big fucking deal. He needs to keep his filthy fucking hands off you—”
    “He didn’t touch me.” I prop myself up on one elbow, concerned. Cautiously, like approaching a wild animal, I rest my hand on Gio’s arm. “He didn’t touch me, okay?”
    I watch Gio take deep breaths in and out. He calms down slowly, though I sense the rage is still simmering beneath the surface. After a beat, I lie back down. The song changes to Angels We Have Heard on High . It’s early May, but I love Christmas music any time of year. It’s so hopeful. I especially love the Glee version.
    Maybe I did think high school was a little like that…
    “I thought you weren’t allowed to go to the party,” he says, his voice low.
    I shrug. “I guess they changed their mind.”
    “It’s not safe for you.”
    Umm… “Everyone will be there.”
    “That’s exactly why it’s not safe.”
    “Will you be there?” I ask hopefully. I’m not worried about the safety of this party. I mean…it’s a party. But I want him to be there anyway. “You could protect me.”
    He lets out a disgusted sound. “No. I have a job that night.”
    A job. That sounds ominous. It’s not like he’s got shifts at a movie theater or something. A job means something for his father. Something for la familia. What if something goes wrong? What if he gets hurt? He still has bruises from whatever awful thing happened the other night. How dare his father send him into violent, dangerous