Chapter 9: The First Lie
381 Words
By the time the weekend rolled around, Luca had become a quiet rhythm in my life. A presence I felt even when he wasn’t near. He didn’t text constantly. He didn’t smother. But when he did show up, he had a way of making the rest of the world blur.
Saturday afternoon, he asked me to meet him off-campus. No explanation. Just a location pinned on my phone and a message that said:
“Wear something comfortable. And trust me.”
When I got there, he was leaning against his motorcycle, black helmet in one hand and a teasing smile playing on his lips.
“Ready to break a few rules?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes, but I smiled. “Only if we come back in one piece.”
We rode for what felt like forever—out of the city, past the woods, until we reached a clearing where the air smelled like pine and the sky stretched wide and endless.
We lay in the grass, side by side, his hand lazily tracing circles on my palm.
“I like this,” I said.
“What?”
“This version of you. Quiet. Still.”
Luca exhaled like he didn’t know how to hold that kind of softness. “Yeah, well... don’t tell anyone. It might ruin my reputation.”
I laughed. And in that moment, it felt like we were the only two people in the world.
But later that night, everything cracked.
I was walking back to my dorm when I ran into Marissa—one of the girls from Luca’s usual circle. All red lips and too much perfume.
She looked me up and down, her smile sharp. “Did he tell you about Aly?”
I blinked. “Who?”
“His ex. They still talk. Sometimes more than talk.” She leaned in. “Don’t get too comfortable, sweetheart. You’re not the first girl he’s played.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.
I just stood there, heart hammering, smile fading, doubt flooding in.
That night, when Luca texted “Sweet dreams, trouble,” I stared at the screen for a long time before replying.
And for the first time, I wondered:
Was I falling for someone who still belonged to someone else?
- Writer
