Chapter 325

Jesse grabs another taco off the table, clearly not having as much of a problem with appetite as I am having. “All right, Tones, spill.”

Tony sighs, and begins again. “I spent hours in that club cleaning up after Luca, collecting his shitty tips. So, imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when he shows up next to you outside my meeting with your parents and introduces himself for the first time. As if we’ve never met. Although it’s not like I should be surprised – he never said a word to me or spared me a second glance.”

“But you…” I frown, trying to remember that moment when Tony and Luca met. “You didn’t say you knew him – you said something about it being a big morning for meeting celebrities. Or something like that. And then said it was nice to meet him.”

“Yeah,” Tony says with a shrug. “What was I supposed to do, be like, ‘Remember me? I served you a thousand gin-and-tonics and watched you use the same lines on about a thousand different girls all summer?’ Plus, his mate’s parents were in the room behind me,” he shrugs. “I wasn’t going to pick a fight.”

“Just saved that,” Jesse says, grinning at him. “For a later time.”

“Nah, I don’t need to pick a fight with Luca Grant,” Tony says, settling back against the chair. “That guy’s going to dig his own grave.”

I frown at Tony, not fully sure I like where this is going.

Ben glances anxiously at me. “All right, Tony, lets pick up the pace,” he murmurs, snapping his fingers a bit. “What are the details Ari needs to know. This isn’t…the nicest conversation for her to listen to.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Tony says, glancing at Ben and then looking back at me. “What I’m trying to get at, Ari, is that Luca knows girls. I don’t think he’s deliberately a jerk, but I think he has a type – and that type is nice, pretty, sensitive girls from good families who have been raised to have empathy and believe the best in people. Those were the ones he was drawn to – the ones he kept bringing around. And then who he ruthlessly manipulated into letting him behave however the hell he wanted, which was never considerate of their wants and needs.”

“So imagine his luck,” Jesse murmurs, turning his eyes to me. “When the Goddess blesses him with the nicest, most sensitive and empathetic girl in town.”

“Guys, you’re all going too far,” I say, my lips turning down as I give the three of them each a dirty look. “There’s nothing wrong with liking nice girls – and I’m not going to hold his previous dating habits against him! What he did before he met me is Luca’s business – and he’s made a lot of progress as a person since we met!”

“That’s all true,” Ben says, pursing his lips consideringly. “Luca’s past is past.”

“But it isn’t past, is it?” Tony says, turning to me. “What’s all this bullshit he’s pulling, Ari? Not coming to dinner tonight when we all know it’s not because he’s all sleepy. And that thing, in Newtown, with those three girls?”

He turns his head at me and I flush, not liking how right he is. But is that manipulation? Or…is Luca just dealing with his own emotions?

“Wait, what thing in Newtown?” Jesse asks, sitting up straighter. “What happened.”

I sigh and turn to my cousin, briefly summarizing the story of Luca getting distracted by three fans while he should have been watching me, waiting to see if I needed him. How Tony stepped in instead, when Luca had his eyes elsewhere.

“Ohhh fuck,” Jesse says, quite still on his chair. “Rafe is going to flip – Jackson’s going to tear his head off –“

“They are not!” I snarl, leaning forward to glare at my cousin. “Because you are not going to tell them! No one is – square of secrecy!” I dart one finger around in a square that encompasses all of us.

“Is that really how you want it to be, though, Ari?” Ben asks, looking again at me with a bit of sorrow. “That you have to just not tell your brother and your other mate about Luca’s actions to keep the peace? Shouldn’t Luca just behave better so that you can be transparent?”

“He’s trying, all right?” I growl, glaring around at them. “He made a mistake! It could have happened to anyone!”

“No, that’s what he wants you to think,” Tony snaps in return, looking at me hard again. I gape at him, a little appalled that he’s stepping in so hard. “Look, Ariel,” he says, leaning forward to me, again said, “I’m trying to be mean to you – it just kills me to see you continually defending him when he’s not being very nice to you in return. Like his job that night in the bar was to keep you safe – and he allowed himself to be distracted by those girls.”

“But I was fine!” I protest, casting out a hand. “That guy with the beard – he was just hitting on me! He was harmless – he went away as soon as you asked him to!”

“Right,” Tony says, nodding to me. “But he could have been dangerous. It was just luck that brought a relatively nice guy over to your table. Luca left you high and dry, Ari, and you should be madder about it than you are.”

“I’ll be fucking mad about it for you,” Jesse murmurs, slumped in his chair with his arms crossed.

I take a deep breath, looking down into my lap, getting angry. Because everyone’s being very cruel about Luca – and no one’s giving him a chance. “Luca is a full, complicated person,” I say, a bit between my teeth. “And he’s allowed to have flaws. He’s…he’s got a lot going on, emotionally. He doesn’t have it all figured out!”

“You’re very kind, Ari,” Ben says, reaching out and putting a warm hand on my knee. I look up at him, blinking hard against the tears stinging my eyes. “It’s one of my favorite things about you.”

I gulp back my tears, nodding to him, thankful to have such a good friend.

“Ariel,” Tony says, gentler than before. I turn my eyes back to him to see his face looking almost…pleading. Like he really wants me to understand. “Just…one more thing, okay? And if I’m wrong about it, I’ll back off. I promise. Even be nice to that prick –“

“Tony,” I growl, warning, even as I sniff back my tears.

His face twists into a sad little smile, but he nods to me, agreeing to be nicer to begin with.

I nod to him in turn, letting him get to his one last thing.

“After I left the table,” Tony says, measured and low, “and you guys left the bar – let me just tell you what I think he did, according to who I think he is and how he treats women. Okay?”

I hesitate but then nod, allowing it. Kind of curious, despite myself, if Tony knows Luca better than we all thought. Better than me, even.

“My best guess,” Tony says, his face even, “is that you left the bar together and you were angry and told him how you felt. Then he apologized immediately.”

I go a bit still with how right Tony already is.

“And then,” Tony says quietly, nodding in tune with my reaction, “Luca told you something that made you feel sorry for him. And then you spent the rest of the night talking to him about his problem, about something that made him sad. So essentially, he did something shitty to you and instead of spending the rest of the night making you feel better about it…he turned the tables, and you spent the rest of the night making him feel better.”

My jaw drops open as I stare at Tony.

Because…when he says it that way…

I realize that that’s exactly what happened.

“Manipulation 101,” Tony says, quiet and sad. “Find a nice girl. Treat her like shit. Make her comfort you for doing it.”

Tears again fill my eyes as I look down at my hands, not liking this realization at all. Kind of wishing I’d never heard it. Because honestly, it was almost easier when I didn’t see it.

“And today,” Jesse says, his voice thoughtful. “Ari has an incredible breakthrough with her magic –“

Ben perks up a little at this news.

“And instead of celebrating her by coming to dinner and making her feel amazing about it, Luca mysteriously disappears and makes you feel sad instead. Makes the way you’re feeling tonight all about him, instead of about you…”

I sniff hard, whipping my eyes up to my cousin, my lip trembling even as I frown. “He’s tired,” I say, my voice all wobbly. “He…he has complicated feelings about being part of my magical gift…he’s allowed to have feelings.”

“I’m sorry, Ari, but that’s bullshit,” Tony says, his voice full of grief. “He just can’t stand that you’re the most powerful, badass person in this school, maybe this nation. He thought the Goddess gave him a princess trophy mate and he’s now figuring out that he’s the side piece who stands around holding your hand while you make a burning whirlwind of destruction. It makes him feel worthless and instead of dealing with that his solution is to make you feel worthless in turn. Seriously, you have this amazing breakthrough today, and he’s got you so worked up that you’re too sad to eat? You’re being way too kind, Ariel. He’s treating you like crap and I can’t fucking stand it.”

I drop my eyes to my lap again, tears slipping down my cheeks.