Chapter five

ANAYA

Instead, someone I least expected was waiting for me—Anthony Vicenzo.

*****

I managed to walk away from the chaos at the party after Anthony tried to pull me closer, and the people calling us gay made the situation even more uncomfortable. Anthony immediately left to chase after his sister, giving me the chance to hurry outside and take a cab back to the dorm.

“What kind of day is this?” I mumbled under my breath, sinking into the back seat.

The ride back to the dorm felt exhausting, and I couldn't stop wondering what would happen when I finally got there. My roommates had probably already seen the videos, which meant I was about to become the center of attention all over again.

The moment I opened the door, I found Maxwell and Joseph munching on pizza. My stomach growled loudly at the sight, and Maxwell immediately held out a slice.

“Here, Brain.”

I took it and bit into it without hesitation.

“I thought we agreed to stay away from this gay shit,” Joseph said.

I stopped chewing and stared at him. “I am not gay.”

Maxwell pulled out his phone and opened I*******m before turning the screen toward me. “Here, bro, care to explain this?”

I leaned closer, and my eyes widened when I saw the video from the party. The headline above it made my stomach twist.

PAUPER MEDICAL STUDENT REJECTS HOTTEST CAMPUS GIRL—LISA ENTANGLED WITH HER BROTHER, THE MAFIA HEIR.

I sighed and leaned back. “You’re popular now, man.”

“I’d rather be popular because my sex tape got leaked if Lisa and I fucked than because people think I’m gay.”

Maxwell burst out laughing, while Joseph nearly dropped his pizza. I glared at both of them before taking another bite.

“Yes, Anthony is a fine man,” Maxwell said, looking at me with a teasing grin. “But you both have dicks.”

“He is indeed a fine man,” I admitted.

The moment the words left my mouth, both of them stared at me. I quickly shook my head. “I mean, he’s good-looking, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Maxwell raised an eyebrow.

“We were in such close proximity that I felt strange,” I admitted, remembering how close Anthony had been. Even if he was good-looking, I never wanted anything to do with him, especially not a man whose parents had killed my mother.

Joseph’s teasing expression faded.

“I am not gay,” I insisted. “Maybe it is him who’s gay.”

“Then why don’t you just smash his sister?” Joseph asked.

I stared at him in disbelief. “What the hell kind of advice is that?”

Maxwell laughed as he handed me another slice of pizza. “You do have girls interested in you.”

I took the pizza from him. “I’m not interested in them.”

“How much did you guys get this for?” I asked, looking at the box.

They exchanged a glance before Maxwell answered, “It cost thirty bucks.”

I almost coughed the pizza out. “Thirty bucks?”

I wiped my mouth and stared at them. “Isn’t it better to just buy stir-fried noodles?”

Joseph laughed. “We didn’t buy it.”

“Then who did?”

“One of the girls who keeps hitting on you,” Maxwell replied. “Apparently, she wanted to impress you.”

I stared at the pizza, then looked at both of them. “You really do have secret admirers, Brian.”

“If I were you, even if I didn’t want to take the girls seriously, I’d simply fuck them,” Maxwell said.

Joseph nodded in agreement. “They’re practically giving you the opportunity.”

I rolled my eyes and took another bite of pizza. They could say whatever they wanted, but I wasn’t interested in any of those girls.

The only person who had managed to get under my skin tonight was the one person I had every reason to stay away from.

Anthony Vicenzo.

At exactly 10:00 p.m., I sat at the reading table with my Biochemistry slides spread out in front of me. I had already practiced glycogenesis, but the TCA cycle was what I needed to become familiar with.

I looked over at my roommates and watched them snore loudly in their sleep. I let out a deep breath.

“If all boys were like this, I’d rather be gay,” I muttered.

I couldn’t wait to finish school and have a place of my own. I sighed, picked up my books, and started studying the TCA cycle.

Just as I was getting deeper into it, my phone vibrated with a notification. I picked it up and saw the message.

Little pet, I’m sorry for leaving abruptly.

The sender was Anthony.

Don’t call me a little pet. I’m no pet to you.

His reply came almost immediately.

Oh, you are.

I stared at the screen, wondering why he kept calling me that. There was no way he could possibly know I was Anaya, the teenager he had always gotten on her nerves.

My hair was trimmed like a guy’s, and the holes in my ears had closed, so I could no longer wear earrings. There was no way he could recognize me.

I didn’t reply.

Then my phone rang.

I stared at the screen before answering the call.

“I have another party,” Anthony said from the other end. “There are going to be a lot of girls.”

“I’m not interested in going to any parties,” I replied.

“Don’t hang up.”

I frowned. “And if I do?”

“Then don’t.”

His response irritated me. I glanced at my books.

“I’m studying,” I said.

“Oh, you’re a medical student?” he asked. “How many years do you have left before you finish school?”

I sighed. If I weren’t a scholarship student, I wondered how I would have been able to afford my tuition.

I couldn’t even afford a decent meal, and I had to keep my grades up because if anything happened and my scholarship was revoked, that would be the end of me.

There was silence on the other end.

“I heard you’re a scholarship student,” Anthony said.

“If you need money, I can introduce you to something.”

I frowned, immediately becoming suspicious. Considering who he was, I couldn't help wondering if he was offering to introduce me to some kind of illegal business.

“What do you want to introduce me to?” I asked.

“When you’re ready, I’ll let you know what it is.”