Sempre (Forever Series #1)(129)

“It’s a reliquary box,” Dia said. “You’re supposed to store your favorite things in it.”

She smiled. “I don’t think Carmine will fit.”

“I don’t think so either,” Carmine said, chuckling. “Not even my dick would fit in that thing.”

* * *

There were more presents to open, and afterward they ate the cake. The three of them watched movies and listened to music all night, the evening feeling more like a regular day than a celebration. Haven felt ridiculous for her anxiety over it all, grateful to be able to relax with friends.

Friends. It was still surreal to her that she had people in her life she could call friends.

“So, have the two of you thought about what you’re doing next year?” Dia asked eventually. “I’m guessing you’re not going to be staying in Durante much longer.”

Haven glanced at Carmine, who just shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me. If she marries me, I’ll follow her to the gates of Hell.”

Dia had been taking a drink but choked, spraying soda all over herself. Coughing, she threw her hands into the air. “Did you say marry you?”

“Yes.”

“You proposed?” Dia jumped up and grabbed Haven’s hand. “Where’s the ring?”

Carmine groaned. “I didn’t have one.”

“Did you at least get down on one knee?” she asked. Carmine shook his head, and she smacked him on the arm. “What kind of freaking proposal is that?”

“Not a real one,” he said. “I asked if she’d marry me someday.”

“That’s even worse!” Dia tried to hit him again, but he was prepared and dodged the blow.

“Shit, stop hitting me. It’s not like I planned it. It just came out.”

She shook her head. “All the planning you put into Valentine’s Day, and you completely blow the proposal.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but Haven chimed in before he could. “I don’t need any of that stuff.”

Carmine smirked. “See, Warhol? I didn’t f**k up.”

“You still could’ve gotten down on one knee.”

Carmine chuckled. “Well, I may have gotten between her knees, if you know what I mean.”

Rolling her eyes, Dia sat down. “So you banged. I’m sure that was romantic.”

“We didn’t bang,” Carmine said. “We made love.”

* * *

Carmine’s presence was scarce the next two weeks, even more so than before. He would slip out of the house for school while Haven was still asleep and wouldn’t get home from football practice until dinnertime. After they ate, the two of them would head upstairs, where Carmine did his homework before going straight to bed.

They didn’t even sleep in the same room most nights anymore.

Haven’s shame grew as the days passed, and Carmine’s demeanor shifted along with hers. Falling back into old patterns, he would lose his temper and lash out, and Haven would brush it off, despite that his words often hurt.

It was Friday evening, and Carmine’s first game of the year. Haven’s palms were sweaty when she climbed in the driver’s seat of Dominic’s car at around seven o’clock. It’s for Carmine, she told herself. No amount of people would get in her way of supporting him.

When she reached the school, the noise from the stadium could be heard from the parking lot, the announcer on the loudspeaker screeching above them all. She stood by the car, trying to gather the courage to move, when someone grabbed her shoulder. Her heart pounded furiously as she swung around, her hands protectively covering her face.

“Whoa,” Nicholas said. “It’s just me.”

She dropped her hands. “What do you want?”

“Do I have to want something? I figured I’d walk you inside.”

“If you’re hoping to hurt Carmine by having him see us together, you can just leave.”

“Honestly, that hadn’t crossed my mind, but now that you mention it . . .”

“Good-bye, Nicholas.” Her frustration was enough to make her legs finally move. She made it a few feet when she noticed a group of girls blocking the entrance, with Lisa in the center.

“I thought you might like an escort past the firing squad,” Nicholas said, walking up behind her. “But if you’d rather go alone—”

“No.”

Sighing, he pressed his hand against her back. “Come on, then.”

She walked again, staring at the ground, and heard laughter as they approached the stadium.

“Picking up Carmine’s leftovers?” Lisa asked. “I didn’t realize you were that desperate.”

Nicholas shook his head. “Do you even hear yourself? You used to be his main course. If I were desperate, I’d be with you instead.”

He pulled Haven toward the ticket booth and paid for his ticket, but she just stood there, frantic. She hadn’t considered that she would need money. “I, uh . . . I didn’t think . . .”

His brow furrowed as he reached for his wallet again. Tossing a few dollars at the lady working, he grabbed a second ticket and handed it to her. She tried to object, not wanting him to pay for her, but she had no other way to get in the game.

He led her to the bleachers, his walk more of a strut as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. His shoulders slumped, his dingy ball cap concealing his gaze as Haven scanned the crowd, spotting Dia in a center section.