23

Duo point of View

Missy’s Point of View

The black dress hugged my body perfectly, the one Sienna made me wear after she screamed for fifteen minutes straight about how I had to “make a man cry tonight.”

My makeup was done soft eyes, glossy lips, skin glowing like I actually had my life together.

I looked beautiful. I knew it.

But I didn’t feel it.

Not while I stood by the window, phone in hand.

I had texted Nico.

Twice.

Nothing.

Not even a “seen.”

Four hours.

My chest ached in a way I wasn’t used to. I was going on a date with Alexander.

Alexander the tall, dark,Lamborghini-driving mafia guy with the most intense eyes I’d ever seen.

Girls literally whispered about him in the hallway like he was some forbidden dream.

And here he was now.

I saw the car pull up, same sleek black beast of a car.

My phone buzzed. A text. My heart leaped.

But it wasn’t Nico.

It was Alexander.

"I'm outside."

I sighed. Tucked the phone into my little clutch and walked out.

He stepped out of the car when he saw me.

“Wow,” he muttered, looking me up and down.

“You look” He blinked like his brain froze. “Perfect.”

“Thanks,” I said, forcing a small smile. He opened the door for me, and I slid in.

The car smelled like him cologne, leather, and something darker I couldn’t name.

As he got in, my fingers automatically went for my phone again. Still nothing from Nico.

Alexander noticed.

“You waiting for someone to text you?” he asked casually, pulling into the street.

“No, just checking something,” I lied, locking my screen quickly.

The silence stretched between us.

Not uncomfortable but not relaxed either.

Alexander’s hand tapped the wheel.

“You like sushi?”

“I’ve never tried it,” I answered honestly.

He smiled at that. “Then I get to be your first.”

I nodded.

Tried to focus on his voice, his charm, the effort he clearly put into tonight.

But my mind kept drifting.

Where was Nico?

Why wasn’t he answering?

Did he not care?

I was supposed to be having fun. Laughing.

Being charmed.

But all I could think about was the boy who always noticed when I was quiet.

Who knew how to make me laugh without even trying. Who made me feel safe in a way I didn’t even understand.

Alexander pulled up in front of a rooftop restaurant with city lights glowing like stars beneath us.

He looked proud, like he was sure this would impress me.

And it was beautiful.

But it wasn’t what I needed tonight.

He came around and opened the door for me again.

“You good?” he asked, eyes softening when they met mine.

I hesitated. “Yeah.”

But I was lying.

Because all I could think about was Nico.

And the fact that maybe I’d already fallen for someone who wasn’t standing in front of me.

____

Alexander’s Point of View

She looked beautiful.

Too beautiful.

Sitting across from me under the soft lights of the rooftop restaurant, Missy looked like something I had no right touching.

Her black dress clung to her like it was designed just for her.

Her lips glossy, her lashes long. She looked like a walking dream.

But I couldn't stop staring at her eyes.

And the truth they held.

She didn’t want to be here.

Not really.

Her eyes flicked to her phone every few minutes.

Her smile was kind, but it wasn’t full. It wasn’t for me.

And I knew why.

Nico.

From the beginning, I saw it.

The way she looked at him like he was the moon and the stars.

The way he looked at her like she was the only thing holding him to this world.

They had something.

Something I couldn’t fake or force.

And I hated that.

Because I liked her.

Hell, I might’ve even wanted more with her.

But liking someone and being ready for them? That’s two different fucking things.

I cleared my throat and leaned back in my seat, watching her twirl a piece of sushi with her chopsticks.

“I really want us to be together, Missy…” I started. My voice felt heavier than usual.

“But I don’t think I’m ready for anything serious.”

She froze. Her chopsticks stopped mid-air.

Those big, soft eyes lifted and met mine.

God, she looked so hurt… and yet, almost relieved.

I looked down at my hands.

“From the beginning, you and Nico… I saw it.”

Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t speak.

“I’m not the guy who shows up. Not like him. I’ve been watching from the sidelines while he actually does something.”

I let out a dry laugh. “I just sit and look. Coward. That’s what Sienna would call me.”

I looked back at Missy.

“You deserve someone who moves when you cry. Who shows up without being asked. That’s not me. At least not yet.”

She blinked a few times.

And then she smiled. A soft, heartbreaking smile.

“You’re braver than you think, Alexander,” she whispered.

“It takes guts to admit this.”

That made me pause.

She was still too good.

Even when I didn’t deserve it.

I pushed my chair back and stood up, slipping my hands in my pockets.

“You want to head back?” I asked.

She nodded, rising slowly.

I walked beside her in silence, hands clenched, heart a little heavy.

But at peace.

I wasn’t her protector.

I wasn’t her person.

But maybe Nico was.

And maybe that was okay.