Chapter 40 – Respecting boundaries

“Quinn, wait…” he called after me.

I continued walking, ignoring his plea for me to wait. I was certainly not going to wait. I had enough. We hardly spent time together, and if I was going to endure his insecurities while we were in each other’s company, then this was a relationship that needed to end. It was dark out and the walk home was an hour away, but I was too angry to care. I barely walked two miles when a car slowed down and parked next to me. Of course it would be Luca. Who else?

“Go away!" I yelled as his window rolled down. I kept walking, but he matched my pace, creeping along beside me.

“You know I’m not going anywhere,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What do you even want?” I snapped.

“I’ve told you over and over—it’s not safe to walk around here at night, especially with something out there looking for you. Get in the car,” he ordered.

“No.”

“Get.in.the.car!”

“NO!” I shouted and started walking quicker.

He sighed, and before I knew it, he’d swung the door open and jumped out. I barely had time to gasp before Luca grabbed me around the waist, hoisted me over his shoulder, and started carrying me back to his car.

“Luca! Put me down! You’re insane!” I shrieked, flailing my arms and kicking my legs, but he was unbothered.

He chuckled, all too pleased with himself. “Didn’t want to do it this way, but you left me no choice. Now behave, or I’ll toss you into the trunk instead.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” I spat, but the way he was so calmly carrying me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing made it hard to believe he wouldn't. I kept struggling, but it was like trying to wrestle with a boulder.

Luca finally got to the car, opened the door with his free hand, and plopped me down into the passenger seat. Before I could try to escape, he leaned over me, buckling me in with a dramatic click. I crossed my arms, my face burning with embarrassment and frustration. He just smirked, backing away slowly, hands up in mock surrender.

“See? Not so hard, is it?” he asked, getting back behind the wheel and starting the engine. “You can be mad all you want, but you’re still coming home safe.”

“Oh, don’t you dare act like some kind of hero right now,” I huffed, glaring out the window. “You know, there’s this thing called ‘respecting people’s boundaries.’ You might’ve heard of it.”

“Respect, boundaries, yeah, yeah,” he muttered, clearly not caring. “If that’s what you want to call wandering around at night in a dark part of town by yourself.”

I clenched my fists, not giving him the satisfaction of looking his way. “You’re impossible.”

“Oh, I’ve been called worse,” he said, grinning like this was all just hilarious.

I sulked in silence the rest of the way, determined to ignore him, but he kept glancing over, his grin somehow growing even bigger.

“What?” I snapped, finally looking at him.

“Oh, nothing,” he said, shrugging like it was no big deal. “Just enjoying how cute you look when you’re angry.”

“C-cute?” I stammered, taken aback. “You can’t just... throw me in your car and then call me cute! That’s not how this works!”

He raised a brow. “Works for me.”

I crossed my arms tighter, ignoring how my pulse had started racing. I wasn't sure if it was from anger or something else, but either way, he wasn’t getting to me. No way.

When we finally pulled up to my house, I bolted out of the car the second it stopped, practically sprinting to the front door. But, of course, he was right behind me, following me up the porch steps with that infuriating smirk still plastered on his face.

“Do you mind?” I asked, spinning around. “I can take it from here, thanks.”

“Don’t be rude. I’m a guest. Won't you invite me in?” he asked, feigning hurt.

I rolled my eyes and tried to close the door on him, but before I could argue, he’d already opened the door and stepped inside. “Ugh! Do what you want.” It would be too much effort to chase him away, so I left him at the door hoping he would leave, but no, he followed me to my room. He had no sense of boundries.

We made it to my room, and I turned to tell him to leave, but he was standing way closer than I expected. The space between us seemed to shrink until it was barely there at all.

He was still smirking, his eyes flickering down to my lips for just a second before locking with mine again. “You’re so stubborn, you know that?”

“I... you’re one to talk,” I stammered, my voice softer than I wanted it to be. He was still close, too close, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t seem to make myself look away.

“Maybe,” he whispered, his voice barely above a breath, his eyes never leaving mine as he leaned in. And then, before I could even process what was happening, his lips brushed against mine.

My heart leapt up into my throat, and for a second, I didn’t push him away. The kiss was soft, hesitant, like he wasn’t sure I’d let him, but then something in me snapped, and I shoved him back, my face heating up.

“Luca! Stop—”

But before he could say anything, a shadow moved by the doorway, and my stomach dropped. Standing there, his face unreadable, was Ethan, watching us with an expression I’d never seen before.