Page 21 of The Deception You Weave

"Let, you're shaking."

"Too much coffee?" It's not meant to come out as a question. The second Luca hears the lie, he looks over his shoulder, correctly assuming what—or who—is suddenly affecting me.

He obviously doesn't spot Kane hiding in the darkness at the very back of the room.

His concerned eyes find mine and a ball of emotion grows in my throat.

I hate this.

I know I should just tell him the truth. But I'm worried about how he'll react.

Watching him punch the wall Thursday night, and seeing the evidence of him and Leon fighting because of me will only be the tip of the iceberg if they learned the truth.

I can't do it to either of them. College football has always been their dream. The NFL has always been their dream. I refuse to be the person who gets in the way of that.

"Here," he says, picking up the pens beneath his chair.

"Thank you."

His eyes bounce between mine as he studies me. He's got a million questions on the tip of his tongue but thankfully, he doesn't get a chance to ask any of them because Professor Whitman begins our lecture and we're forced to listen.

Dropping his left hand to my thigh, he squeezes gently in support as he picks up his pen with his right and begins scribbling down notes.

His touch feels traitorous while Kane's eyes continue to sear into the back of my head.

Unable to stop myself, I lean over to Luca and drop a quick kiss on his cheek.

He turns to me, his smile meeting his eyes and making the green sparkle with something I don't want to acknowledge.

When I woke this morning, he was gone and in his place on the other side of my pillow was just a note telling me to call him if I needed him and that he'd meet me for class.

Although I missed him, I knew he'd done the right thing.

Something had shifted between us as he held me last night. He'd wanted to tell me something, I could almost read it, but I was terrified to hear the words I think he wanted to say.

If—when—he says what I fear, then it's going to change everything once again and I'm not sure I can cope with that.

I need him right now.

I need him to be the supportive best friend he's always been. There might have been so many times in the past that I was desperate for the line to blur, but for me, now is not that time.

I lower my hand to his for a beat and squeeze before focusing my attention back on our professor and do my best not to waste the entire lecture on thoughts of the guy sitting behind me

Before I know it, the low tones of Professor Whitman have stopped, although I've barely heard a word.

I groan as I pack away my books and pens.

"You okay?" Leon asks.

"Great. Best day of my life," I deadpan.

"Aw, we'll buy you a cupcake to make up for it."

I smile at him in the hope it rids him of the concern in his eyes. "That sounds amazing. Thank you."

"Let, what are you doing?" Luca asks as he stands, and I don't follow. Leon and Colt are already halfway down the stairs heading for the doors with the masses. I, however, ensured I hung back a little.

"I just need a minute."