Trapped in his End Game (Series)

“Tuition is very expensive and my financial aid didn’t cover everything this year.”

“How horrible,” she says after a moment of silence. When she gives Vincent his plate, a stern look crosses her face. “Vincent, you have to help your girlfriend.”

Heat flushes my face when I hear the word, ‘girlfriend.’ Vince has a steady look on his face. He’s not seriously listening to his mother, is he?

“Yeah, I was going to anyway.”

Motherfucker.

“No, you’re not,” I glower at him, completely forgetting about his mother. “It’s over twenty-thousand dollars, Mrs. Cesare. I can’t let anyone pay that for me. It’s too much-”

“Your education is worth it, Adriana.”

She waves the ladle at me. Her brown eyes blaze with intensity, looking remarkably like her son’s.

I lower my eyes and keep silent, vowing to tell Vince off the moment we leave the house. I will not take his money. My stomach burns at the very idea. I won’t owe anyone anything. Ever.

The meal is delicious and afterwards, she puts out a plate of biscotti and little glasses of Vin Santo, a dessert wine. We dip the cookies in the wine, eating them as Mrs. Cesare asks Vincent about work. He doesn’t say much, of course, but I have a feeling she knows exactly what her son does for a living.

“He’s a good boy,” she says as she grasps his arm. “Always has been. Takes care of his ma, his girlfriend.” She pauses, giving me a huge smile again. “Maddon, I’m so happy you two are together. I told him: Vincent, you need to start thinking about settling down with a wife and kids.”

The biscotti crumbles in his fingers and he buries his face in his hands. I can see the tips of his ears burning red. “Ma, please.”

“Oh, shush. You’re thirty-three years old for God’s sake.” She looks at me, clearly enjoying his embarrassment. “He used to tell me that he had no intention of settling down. I was so angry with him, Adriana.”

“Jesus Christ!” he finally yells.

“Don’t take the Lord’s name in my house.” She swats his shoulder hard and he glowers at her.

I have to pinch my thigh to keep myself from bursting into laughter. Vince squirms in his seat after that, eager to leave, and keeps shooting me looks like I should say something about leaving. After another half hour, he finally curls an arm around my waist and we head down the hallway to leave.

She kisses both of my burning cheeks nearly four times before we both leave, and Vincent’s face falls with exhaustion when our choruses of “goodbye” are swallowed by the door.

“Jesus, finally,” he whispers as we descend the steps.

I’m actually grinning ear to ear. “I had a really great time. Your mom is great.”

“She just likes embarrassing the bejesus out of me.”

He opens the door, his face a little bit pink as I smile knowingly and step inside. “She was very excited to see me.”

“Yeah, that’s why I was dreading this. I knew she would be like this.”

He shakes his dark head, starting the car and pulling out.

“I think it’s nice that she cares so much,” I say in a small voice.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I can’t tell him that I’m burning with jealousy for all the love and attention she lavished on him at the house, which was clean and not filled to the brim with junk. It’s a rude awakening to meet other people’s parents and compare them to your own.

When he brings me back to campus, he’s back into that nervous, jumpy state that he was when he picked me up.

“Vince, I can walk to the dorm myself.”

“I’m walking you to your dorm.”

His gritty voice makes me stop talking. How is he always able to get me to do whatever he wants? I open the door and Maria is gone. He steps inside without asking, pinning me against the wall with that blazing look. I want to ask him questions, but I know now’s not the time. His mouth is on my neck, giving me a vicious hickey while his hand moves under my dress. I follow him into the bedroom blindly, addicted to the pleasure stirring in my abdomen.

Afterward, my body feels sore but deliciously satisfied. He curls an arm around my waist so that I’m practically buried in his chest.

“Vince, you’re not paying for my tuition,” I whisper.

His voice is loud and harsh in my ear. “Oh, yes I fucking am.”

“No. I will not owe you money. There’s no guarantee I’d ever be able to pay you back.”

“I don’t expect you to pay me back. It’s a gift from me.”

The kisses on my neck are supposed to comfort me, but I feel rotten inside. “I will not be like my mother. I can’t do that to someone.”

“You’re not like her. Besides, I have more money than I know what to do with. Let me help you. I want to.”

“I wanted to do this on my own.” My voice shakes with tears and Vince holds me tightly, making the tears flow faster.

“You can’t, baby. Let me take care of you.”

God, I’m not used to this. No one has ever fought to take care of me. Even though it feels so good, I’m fighting against it. I’ve always worked everything out on my own, and I feel uncomfortable relying on anyone else.

“I wish I could give you something in return for everything you’ve given me.”

He wipes the wetness from my eyes, his lips pulling in a smile. “You already have.”