Page 195 of The Enforcer

“Yeah.” Tino nodded, but he couldn’t look at his brother. “She just—” He shrugged. “She loves me for being me. I even told her some of my shit after you said I needed to talk about it. Some horrible shit. She’s not grossed out or anything. Just…loves me.” He lifted his head and gave Nova a smile, even though his eyes were glassy, and he knew it showed. “She makes me feel normal.”

Nova was quiet for a second, before he said, “Then let’s go fuck up some school officials.”

Chapter Forty-Two

“Valentino Moretti!” Brianna shouted as she slammed the front door, because she knew he was here like he’d promised. Carina had a gig in the morning, and the two of them usually hung out the rest of the day. “I know it was you!”

She stormed into the living room and stopped, staring dumbfounded at what she saw.

“I’ve been here all day,” Tino said before she could find her voice.

“Gig got canceled,” Carina added.

“What are you doing?” Brianna asked both of them.

“WatchingMiracle on 34th Street,” Carina said like this was all very normal.

“The most boring movie ever,” Tino added and then sucked on the bright red Popsicle he was eating. “I’d rather go back to the fucking soap operas.”

“That can be arranged,” Carina assured him as she sucked on her yellow Popsicle. “I got ’em all saved from last week. I’m a romantic.”

Tino snorted. “Stronzate.”

“No, no, it’s true.” Carina’s face was bright red because she was hanging upside down next to her brother, her feet draped over the top of the couch, her long hair an inky pool on the marble. “Watch.”

When Tino turned to look at her, his face also red because of hanging upside down, Carina deep throated her Popsicle so far it almost disappeared.

Tino shoved her, making her choke. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“What?” Carina cracked up, even though she was still coughing. “Paco told me it was romantic.”

“You do shit like that to gross me out,” Tino growled at her. “I’m ’bout to get tired of it, Carina Maria. One of these days I’m gonna retaliate.”

“Why are you upside down?” Brianna couldn’t help but ask.

“You know that thing where you eat your ice cream with your spoon upside down to keep from getting a brain freeze,” Carina said and sucked on her Popsicle again. “You can’t turn a Popsicle upside down, so we figured—”

“I don’t think it works like that,” Brianna mumbled, wondering why the strangest shit happened whenever Tino and Carina were alone together. “Does it work?”

“So far.” Tino sounded surprised too. He reached over and picked up the box. “Want one?”

Brianna was sort of curious despite the sugar. If Tino could eat brown rice for her, she could eat one Popsicle for him. So she set down her bag and got on the couch next to Tino. She put her feet up and dropped down next to him while he unwrapped a grape Popsicle for her. She took it and sucked on it, hard, trying to test the brain-freeze concept.

She frowned, concentrating on it, because in theory it shouldn’t be at all the same as eating ice cream with the spoon upside down. She did notice the sea of abandoned Popsicle wrappers on the floor now that she was upside down, making it obvious they’d been doing it for a while, so maybe there was merit to it.

“Nice,” Tino said with a hitch in his voice. Brianna turned to him with the Popsicle still in her mouth, seeing the hot look he gave her as he watched. “Itissorta romantic now that I think about it.”

Carina shoved Tino’s head, making him choke on his cherry Popsicle. Then he laughed so hard he put his other hand to his chest, but Carina was giving him a death glare, and Tino held up his hand in defeat.

“I’m kidding. Calm down,” Tino said in a soothing, passive voice. “That’s not my style. I’m a gentleman. It’s more like, um—” He licked the top of his Popsicle as if testing it and pushed his sister’s shoulder at the same time. “No, really, Carina, look. It’s totally innocent.” When she kept her head turned away, he started pushing at her shoulder over and over, chanting, “Rina. Rina. Rina.”

“What?” Carina shouted and turned back to him.

Tino licked the top of his Popsicle like he was licking something entirely different, moving the tip of his tongue so fast it was genuinely impressive.

At least to Brianna it was.

Carina made a gagging sound.