A/N: I literally laugh way too much at you all's comments; they are seriously the best thing. Here's a mini treat at the beginning of the chapter! Unless I state otherwise, this book is written in Faith's POV - just for future reference.

P.P.S - This is mainly a chapter full of fluff and love and our favorite trio. And silent readers, you all should come out and join the commenting party. Haha!

P.P.P.S - Please don't get accustomed to these like 2 day updates! I'm on a break right now, so hopefully I can ink another chapter out before it's over!

[ edited, while cringing, bye ]

- - - -

| Liam Luciano's POV |

I love walks; simply because I love being by myself - at least, some times. I like getting away from the dipshits I call my friends and go somewhere quiet, even if it's only for a few minutes. Tonight was the first night I had ever even considered asking someone - who was Faith - to join me for the walk. If I had actually thought about it, I might not have said anything - but the words were already spilling out of my mouth before I could take them back.

I would be lying if I didn't say I was sad she didn't join me.

Beads of sweat were sticking to my forehead by the time I re-entered the house, about 15 minutes later. The walk hadn't lasted as long as I wanted, but it was enough to clear my mind. I head straight to through the quiet first floor of the house, reaching the kitchen in only a few strides. I didn't head upstairs until I had a sealed bottle of water pressed against my forehead.

I hit the second floor landing and immediately stop. Rico was standing just a few feet outside my bedroom, his back towards me. He was peering forward, looking towards the end of the hall where Melanie and Michael's bedroom resides.

I know I'm going to regret asking this, but. . .

"Rico? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Never had I seen Rico jump out of nervousness, and tonight wouldn't be one of those times. I could never say this out loud, but I was impressed with Federico's maturity. He was one of those that came off ignorant and he played the role well, but when he needed to be serious, he could be. He did his job, no questions ask; he was trustworthy.

He looks at me quickly over his shoulder, a perplexed look on his face. "How much time do you have?"

Most of the time, he said stuff that was worth listening too. Right now, was not one of those times. With him, you had to pick and choose what you determined to be relevant. I snort quickly, then my eyebrows connect. The hallway was dark, quiet, and there was no sign of Faith.

"Where is Faith?"

Even from here, I can see Rico biting his lip. His lips are just beginning to spread into a smile when I leaped forward. I was in no shape or form ready for games tonight.

He throws his hands up in a defensive manner, "She's apologizing to Melanie! I-"

"She's what?"

That generally pissed me off. Faith had absolutely nothing to do with the argument between the Wicked Witch of the West and I.

I, was at fault for allowing Rose to get hurt; not Faith. If I can lay eyes on both of those girls, then they are immediately in my care, my protection, and they are my responsibility. And I have absolutely no problem with that.

"Why is she-"

I freeze as Rico raises a palm, causing me to stop. The hallway was suddenly heating up and when I glanced down and pulled my hands out of their balled state, I could see the imprint my fingernails had left on my skin. I did the usual; I took a deep breath to calm down and allowed Federico to explain.

"I told Faith to apologize to Melanie, because I needed a distraction," He smiles widely, almost as if he's proud. I probably looked like a fucking imbecile; my mouth hanging open, my head shaking like I had forgotten how to speak. Rico shakes his head and rolls his eyes, "I want to plant this in her room!" He squeals like a little girl on Christmas and raises his other hand, bringing the item in front of his head.

It was a motherfucking teddy bear.

My first question was legit, "Does it have a camera in it?"

Rico drops his hands at his side in a disappointed manner. I choke back on a laugh as he tilts his head to the side and stares at me, clearly upset. "No," He gives me another eye roll, before bringing the teddy bear back up to my eye level, "His name is Mr. Stuffykins!" Federico shakes the bear in front of my face in a teasing manner.

I take a step back, eyeing Rico curiously. "Why are you giving Faith a Teddy Bear?" Least to say, the thought slightly bothered me.

Slightly.

Just slightly.

Federico points a hand at me, "You are literally so stupid, I swear," He chucks the be-excuse me, Mr. Stuffykins in my direction. I bobble the bear, but hold it tightly against my chest before finally getting a good look at it.

He was a good sized bear with light brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. His ears were cute and the pads of his feet were white, including his belly. I twirl him around in my hand for a minute as I follow Rico into Faith's bedroom, unsurely.

Rico presses a hand to his chest, "I'm not giving Faith Mr. Stuffykins, you are, Casanova." He points to the flap that was originally attached to the bears head; I peel it open and stop.

From: Liam

"Ooooooh hell nah-" I push the Teddy Bear away from my chest, watching it flutter into Rico's arms; but it only sits there for a millisecond. It's floating back towards me, then its sent right back to Rico the second it lands in my hands. This was an old-fashioned game of hot potato.

I watch the lil bitch catch the bear, shoot me a glare, and take off towards Faith's bed. I chased him there, just as he slammed the bear down on the mattress with a satisfying sigh.

This wasn't happening; not on my watch.

Both of us clamp on to each one of the bears arms, threatening to pull in our opposite directions. I raise an eyebrow, "Federico De Santis, let the bear go; I am not giving this to Faith." He smirks.

"Liam Bitch-Ass Luciano, let go of the bear and let it express all of your untold feelings for Faith."

"I don't have any untold feelings for Faith!" My voice feels hoarse and my hands are beginning to sweat, my grip loosening. "-And that is not my middle name!" Rico adjusts his grip on the bear and sighs.

"Look, I'm just trying to help you okay," His tone takes a complete 360. With one hand, he runs it across his hair; from the back to the front. Rico's facial features relax as he looks at me, hazel eyes pleading. "I know you aren't great with feelings and stuff, and I see how you and Faith look at each other. It's literally meant to be; just let me help you," His words are so sincere, kind, and well thought out.

Too bad I know Rico.

I purse my lips together and analyze him. "Okay, you know what, you almost had me, Denzel - but not today," I grip the bear harder, "You can pull that acting shit on everyone else," I point to my chest, "But not me!"

"Oh damn, I'm rusty," He looks hurt, but still continues to smile. "Fine, you caught me; I don't watch you two like I have no life, and I don't normally give out cutesy, lovey-dovey love information, ew." When Rico shudders, I do too.

Love scares me; at least, it does now. When you love someone you open up to them, tell them things other people have never heard; you have to put your trust in them - but the final realization is always the hardest. You and that person will either break up, or you'll marry them. I was fine with that; I always wanted a family, I always wanted someone I could call mine - and I thought I had that. I thought I had someone that actually loved me and cared for me and wanted the best for me; but I didn't. I felt like I was developing trust issues.

"How did you do it with Carmen?" My voice comes out as a near whisper and that, alone, scared me. The bear was still being torn between us, but our eyes were locked on each other's. It was rare seeing Rico drop his ever-growing walls of protection. "How did you let her go and keep...keep going?"

His grip loosened on the bear and I knew I hit a nerve. He swallows hard and diverts his attention to something behind me; the wall, a picture maybe.

"I didn't let her go, Liam; don't trip," He lets out a nervous laugh, "She walked away from me. Our situations are nearly the same; Ellie left you, Carmen left me."

"I'm not trip-"

"What are you two doing in my room?"

Even though she sounded slightly confused, the sound of her voice caused me to immediately smile; but it slowly faded when we turned towards Faith. Within the process of turning, I managed to drop the bear; but Rico had grabbed it and kept it hidden behind his back.

Even in sweatpants and a non-form fitting shirt, she looked beautiful. I liked the way her hair fell around her face; the way her cheeks were tinted pink and the way her lips parted slightly at her confusion. I could feel my face heating up when her eyes fluttered over in my direction; I had to turn away after a few seconds. If I didn't, I would've become a puddle of nothing on the floor.

Jesus Christ, I don't like this feeling.

I heard myself groan as I drop my hand in a hand. Answers to her question zoomed through my mind; a million ideas coming to the front of my head in seconds - but none of them were good enough to say. Normally, I could pride myself on being a wonderful liar, but not right now. I wasn't even sure if I could talk right now; if I tried, it would've been a horrible, mushed up mess of broken English, fluent Italian, and pieces of Spanish.

Trilingual people problems.

I start coughing when Federico pats me on the back, hard. His move causes me to lurch forward slightly, unprepared for his form of physical contact. When I look up at him, I knew he had already formulated a pretty damn well good lie.

Faith raises an eyebrow as Rico looks over at me, smiling. "We were looking for a picture of you!" He states cheerily. I raise my own eyebrow, confused as to where he was going with this. Faith takes a step forward, eager to hear him.

"Why do you want a picture of me?"

Rico pats my back in an assuring manner this time. His smile never falters as he says, "We needed a picture of you so Liam could masturbate to it."

Lord take me now.

I was a mess; a red-faced, jumbled worded, mess. My mouth fell open easily three hundred times from where I stood in her bedroom, to the time Rico had pulled me out her room without another word. Faith's face had flushed the brightest shade of red I had ever seen and she refused to make eye contact with me while I fought with Rico, stumbling at his aggressive manner of yanking me out the room.

She did look up, once; It was right when I was brushing past her, attempting to stick the heel of my feet in the ground and stop my forward momentum. I managed to mutter, "I don't even-I don't...what's masturbation?" Before I was thrown out into the hallway; her door slammed a second later.

We were breathing heavily for a moment; both of us recuperating from almost getting caught. "You look mad," Rico says, completely unfazed from the encounter. I bite my tongue, twist my mouth, glance away, then turn back to him.

"Yeah," I nod, breathlessly, "I'm slightly pissed. Out of all the fucking lies, all of them, you choose masturbation!?"

The look on his face screams pure innocence; at times, his youth could really show. I was so used to speaking to Rico as if I was speaking to anyone else, but I had to remember he was younger than me; and not as mature. Sure, there was no denying the fact that he has seen things that could alter someone's life forever; and although he often acted older than his age, he was still a kid - at least to me.

I sigh loudly and run a hand down my face in frustration. "Fine, just...just get out of my face, please." At this point, I was tired; not sleepy tired, simply tired.

Rico was merely talking to himself at this point as I turned and headed towards the steps. "I mean, it's completely normal process of life," He sounded a little upset, possibly hurt even. It was unusual to hear his voice so soft, "I simply figured it was a good lie because you haven't had sex since the day before forever and I can only imagine how blue your balls are and I just can't imagine that you haven't jac-"

"Rico," The harsh tone I use to lace his name causes him to shut up immediately. I sigh, feeling bad when I catch a glimpse of him out the corner of my eye. He stood there like a kid who had their Halloween candy snatched from them. "Just, shut up, yes?" With my hand on the steps railing, I begin my descent; but Federico's voice calls me out again.

"Um, Liam." When I turn, he has the teddy bear held up near his face, a sly smiling crossing his face. I grunt.

"Give me the damn bear!" I have to walk back, which hurts my pride temporarily, and reach out for it; but Rico jerks it away.

"His name is Mr. Stuffykins! Stuffy, for short."

"Rico, if you don't give me that fucking bear, I will rip its neck off and yank out all the goddamn stuffing, am I clear?"

His mouth drops, "You bastard."

"Rico!" I lunge for it, but he sidesteps me again, the teddy bear swaying in his grip. "Give me the stupid bear!" I try to reach it again, but Rico moves it out of my grasp. I was getting irritated at this point.

"Apologize to Mr. Stuffykins and I will allow you to have him," was Federico's demand. I take a step back and breathe deeply.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stuff..."

Rico waves his hand, motioning for me to continue.

"I feel like an idiot," I mutter. Rico doesn't say anything; he just continues to wave me onward, smiling. "Fine; I'm sorry, Mr. Stuffykins." I cringe inwardly and outwardly at the pronunciation of his name. Rico nods approvingly and hands the bear over to me.

"There we go, that wasn't so hard was it?"

I stare at him for the longest time, shooting him the hardest, coldest glare I could muster up. I let my mouth fall open, but I close it and turn away sharply; Rico notices my hesitation.

"What were you going to say?" He shouts from behind me. I descend down the steps, but allow myself to speak up a little louder so he could hear.

"My mommy once told me, that if I didn't have anything nice to say; to not say anything at all. Ciao, Loser."

- - - -

| Faith Crawford's POV |

At around 11:30 that night, I found myself sliding out of bed, restless. After sharing a quick conversation with my mother and father and texted an old friend from high school, I eventually realized I wasn't sleepy and extremely bored. I scanned through my phone, playing the once popular game, Flappy Bird, on my phone - it was the only game I would never, ever delete.

I'm still pissed the developer isn't allowing that game to be downloaded anymore.

I reached the score of 97, which was one short of my all-time record - and that did it for me. Without chucking my phone against the wall, I placed it on my nightstand not-so gently and headed towards the bedroom door.

The hallway had been quiet since Rico and Liam bulldozed their way out my room only a few hours ago. My face was still red from what Federico had said about finding a picture of me and...etc. Liam had never looked more caught off guard; in a sense, he almost looked frightened. Then when he stumbled past me, muttering "what even is that?", I found myself laughing. He was cute; really cute.

I step out into the silent hallway and look around. Liam's door is closed, no light seeping through the crack near the bottom. The same goes for Melanie and Michael's room and nobody knew where Rico was. My mind drifts back to the conversation I had with Melanie only a few hours before, I smile widely, chuckling even as I dragged my feet towards the steps and began my descent.

The house was so silent and still as I padded across the glossy hardwood and into the kitchen. I grab a glass of water and eventually figure out how to work the ice machine on the refrigerator. I swear, those things should not be as confusing as they needed to be, stupid refrigerator companies. After a few refreshing sips and a couple attempts of accidently choking myself on fine pieces of ice, I exit the kitchen.

I was just about to head back upstairs, but I just so happen to glance to my left and stop with a foot on the stairs. The front door was clearly unlocked from where I stood, and through the two glass windows that rested on each side of the door, I could see the porch light had been purposely turned on. I sigh and take another sip of my refreshing drink before reaching the door and flinging it open.

Nobody was on the porch; but I allowed my gaze to reach much farther beyond the porch, but to the driveway. Luciano's white Lamborghini had been left out of the garage; but that wasn't all that caught my attention. A silhouette of a man was resting against the hood of the car, an arm stretched behind his back and a leg propped up against the car's front fender.

I closed the front door and step out on to the porch. It dropped down a few steps and approached the car slowly. Once I got close enough, I realized it was Rico; he had a cigarette lodged between his lips, his eyes closed. I was quiet, not wanting to make a sound; but I still stood there and creepishly watched. The cancer-stick bobbed between his lips as smoke bellowed out the side of his mouth; it wasn't until he brought a hand up to his lips and pulled it away, that he opened his eyes. And although he never made a sound of recognizing I was there, he spoke.

"Care to join?" His head rolled to the side, a soft smile on his lips. I nod and watch him scoot over a little, patting the area of the hood that I was to join him on. He sat up once I got situated and for a few moments, we just sat there. Crickets chirp from the closest bushes and cicadas from the nearest trees, but other than that, it was silent.

I turn my head subtly, just in time to catch Rico blowing out another cloud of smoke through nearly closed lips. He bows his head and I hear him sigh quietly between his knees, which were pulled up to his chest. I did the same, wrapping my arms around my kneecaps in comfort. This was the first time I actually felt like Rico and I had nothing to talk about. He clears his throat.

"Why don't you trust me?" He asks the question, before leaning back. A pained breath escapes his lips as his back hits the car a little harder than he would've liked. I have to angle my head much farther to the left to keep my eyes on him; yet, he didn't look at me. His attention sways from the cigarette to the starry sky.

I shrug, "I guess, I don't really know you." And that was true; I didn't. Unless we were talking about something business related, or Liam was in the room, we hardly ever shared a word. He gave me a glimpse of his childhood, but nothing significant.

"Then fire the questions away, I'll answer."

I suppose that couldn't hurt, then. Leaning back, I join him in the same positon on the car. The stars lit up the sky beautiful and the bright, full moon was an added bonus. I try to find so many of the constellations I learned about in school.

"Fine," I finally say, "Favorite television show?"

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

I glance at him quizzically; and when I don't speak for a while, he looks over at me. He makes a motion with his hand to continue.

"Um, favorite movie?"

"My favorite kid movies are Frozen and Tangled; but my all-time favorite movie right now, is Ride Along."

"Favorite actress?"

He lets out an extensive breath, "Oh, jeez...Vanessa Hudgens has been my wife since High School Musical." I let out a laugh, knowing damn well Zac Efron has been everyone's husband since those series of movies too.

"Okay," I clap my hands together, "This is where it gets serious. If you could go gay for one male actor, who would it be?"

Rico doesn't hesitate, "Channing Tatum."

"If you had a son, what would you name him?"

"Mufasa."

That deserved a pause. I couldn't even get out my next question after that. I sit up and turn to Rico, a look on my face that I couldn't even describe to myself. He had his eyes closed, but at my lengthy silence, he opens one and looks at me.

"Mufasa? The Lion King? Really?"

He lets out a cheesy, boyish grin, causing me to laugh. I just shake my head and continue.

"Okay, uh!" I squeeze my eyes close, thinking hard. "Favorite color?" Rico's silence is almost scary. I turn to him, just in time to watch his fingers snap the cigarette in half. He tosses it to the ground and looks up at me. I could've sworn I saw his eyes glaze over with tears, but the second he blinks, it disappears.

He turns away from me and glances up towards the sky, "Whatever she wore." Was his simplistic, quiet answer. He sighs deeply and his gaze never faltered from the stars they were staring so hardly at. "Y'know," He points upwards, in the same direction of the moon. "Sometimes I imagine my mother is staring at the moon the exact same time I am."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," He whispers. We turn to each other at the same time. "And if she is-" He raises both hands high above his head, curling all of his fingers against his palm, except his middle ones. Rico lifts his gaze to the size, "Fuck you."

His answer to my previous question replays in my mind once again: Whatever She Wore.

Once Rico falls quiet, I clear my throat. "You should tell me more about your first kiss." I could see his leg beginning to bounce, probably out of nervousness.

"Well, my lips met this girl's lips and then we pulled away like pros."

I had to give him a look for that. He chuckles softly, his shoulders moving and all when he realizes I'm generally annoyed with his answer. Rico just smiles, reflectively. His eyes are lifted to the sky, but he appears to be looking much further than that, if you can understand.

"Her name was Carmen. She was my best friend. She had the prettiest chocolate brown eyes and hair. I remember her always saying she hated her body, because her legs were like tree trunks," Rico turns to be swiftly, "Her words, not mine. I liked her legs, she didn't though." He turns away just as quickly and sighs.

"You talk about her in past tense," I notice, speaking my mind, "What happened to her?" He seemed defeated at the sound of my question, but he answers it anyways. I lean back as he begins to tell his story.

"Nothing happened to her, but her best friend died," He stated simply.

"Who was her best friend?"

"Grayson Chandler," Rico's hand finds its way almost subconsciously to a chain hanging around his neck. I watch his hand slip into the top of his shirt, before quickly pulling out two rectangle metal pieces, both resembling dog tags.

My mind flashes back to the first time Rico and I ever met, in the small Italian restaurant. Liam had introduced him as Grayson, until I learned that his name had been officially changed once he came of age, to Federico De Santis.

Rico pulls the necklace over his hand, handing it to me without a moment's hesitation. I whirl them around in my hand, my thumb grazing across the engraved wording on both sides.

Grayson Chandler

December 24, 1992 - December 24, 2009

"On December 24th, 2009, I legally changed my name to Federico De Santis; in which, Grayson Chandler died," Rico sighs, "By that time, Carmen was telling me I was changing, becoming too much of a dick, saying I was distancing her... And it was true; I can't lie and say that all of the training wasn't changing me. I was trying my best to always help her and hang out with her when I could, but eventually my job became too much and we faded."

I bite my lip, looking at him out the corner of my eye.

"She told me I had changed so much, that the only reason she knew I was still me, was simply because my name hadn't changed; simply because I was still Grayson. But the day I had my name legally changed, she came up to me and said she didn't know me. I can still see the look in her eyes when she said her best friend died that day. She walked away from me and to most people, that doesn't seem like a big deal, we were 16. But I had known her since I was five; she was my rock."

"Is she still...alive?"

Rico lets out a harsh laugh, "That was the last time I ever spoke with her, so who knows. I hope she is; I don't wish any harm on her," He answers honestly, "I hope she became what she always wanted to be, I hope she was financially blessed, and I hope she found someone that can love her the same way she is capable of loving."

"You know," I nudge him gently with my shoulder, smiling slightly, "Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down, you seem like a good guy. But I mean, deep." He chuckles, causing me to smile even wider. Federico had a breathtaking smile, the old lady in his apartment building was right. It was a smile that even made you smile, just by looking at it. He falls silent and the natural noises fill our ears once again. "I have two more questions for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you feel anything when you kill people?"

Rico takes a deep breath, glances at me, then turns away. He shakes his head, "You don't want to talk to me about this, really. I see the way you look at me, you're scared."

"I-"

"-but, since you asked..." He licks his lips, swats at a unseen bug around his head, and continues, "No, I don't. I was raised this way, Faith. Killing people to me, is as easy as breathing is for you," He turns to me, his eyes wary, "I was taught that way, trained that way, molded that way; it's sad really, but it just proves how children are willing to follow and obey the people that take care of them. I was 12 when I killed someone for the first time; that was the first and last time I ever cried. I cried when I got back to the estates; someone beat on me for two hours, I never cried again." He pushes himself off of the car, all while my eyes water with tears.

Rico shoves his hands deep into the front pockets of his pants and looks at me. "You said you have two questions." I nod and swallow the building tears.

"Um," I have to clear my throat before I can speak again, "I just... You can go ahead and backstab me, but don't backstab Liam, please," I say softly, "He cares about you, a lot; and I can't imagine how he would feel if you turned against him." Rico raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. I ask my question quickly, but I can't speak when looking him in the eye, so I turn away. "Are you going to kill me?"

I hear Rico let out a breath; he sounded as though he couldn't believe the question I was asking. The only reason I turn my attention back to him, was because he closed the gap between us. He slams his hands on the hood of the car, on either side of my legs. His hazel eyes twinkle as he leans forward and lowers his voice.

"If I was going to kill you Faith, I would've done it already."

Without another word, he snatches his necklace from my hands and turns away sharply. He bounds up the steps and enters through the door without a look back.

I guess that went well.

I let out a loud groan as I fall back on the car. I lazily throw my arm across my face, dimming all of the natural light that was beginning to shine on me. I only lay like that for a second however, when a familiar voice causes me to sit up.

"So, I see you made it out the dragon's lair okay."

My lips immediately form into a smile as Liam stands there, eyeing me in a funny manner. He has his shirt thrown over his shoulder and his face and chest glisten underneath the moonlight. His hair looks damp, as if he just ran a marathon. I let out a miniature laugh and scoot over as Liam joins me, replacing where Rico had sat just a few moments before.

"Yes," I reply, "I made it out Melanie's room perfectly fine." I keep most of my attention on Liam, just as he does me. He smiles softly and I watch him press his palms against the car, using his upper body to scoot himself further up the hood of the car. I definitely caught that way his arms bulged.

"You shouldn't have apologized," Liam says, "None of that was your fault. It was all mine." I scoff loudly.

"Please; I told her I was sorry she was a bitch." Luciano laughs, causing me to smile harder, "But, she ended up then taking the high road and apologizing for everything she said to me. She said she was just upset, all that good stuff, and that she was sorry. After she said all that, then I really did apologize."

"Well then," He holds up a palm and we high five, "Good job." We both chuckle softly before falling silent. I felt my face heating up and my palms beginning to sweat. Whenever I was with Liam, I could always hear Rico in the back of my mind questioning, 'do you like him?'

"Oh!" Liam slides off the car quickly. I watch him bend down and snag something from beside the front wheel of the car. With one hand behind his back, he extends another to me. I take it and fall off the car, now standing face to face with him. "Close your eyes."

I do as I'm told. "Liam, if you end up whipping out your dick and putting it in my hand, I'll be very disturbed."

I hear him laugh, hard. "Um," He chuckles nervously, "I'm not sure what kind of guys you have been going out with in the past, but I can assure you, I'm not them." We both laugh quietly, allowing another moment to pass. "Okay, open."

Luciano stands there, shirtless might I add, with a teddy bear extended in front of my face. He wears a cheesy smile. The bear was absolutely adorable; it even had a small, blue ribbon tied around its head. I reach out slowly and grasp it, pulling it close. "Its adorable!"

"It's a guy!" Liam points out, "I had to add the blue ribbon, since...you know...teddy bears don't have genitals."

"Well," I smile softly, "That was very generous of you. What's his name?"

"Mr. Stuffykins."

I frown, "What dumba-"

"Rico."

Ah, it all made sense now. I cuddle it close, smiling even harder, "Well, I think Mr. Stuffykins is adorable! So thank you," I rest the bear on the hood of the car, before pulling Liam close for a hug. Again, I had to stand on my tippy-toes, which still caused him to bend down to reach me.

His skin was slightly sweaty, but I wasn't too bothered by it. When I went to pull away, Liam tightened to hold he had on my back, pressing me against him even harder than me. He leans his head into the crook of my neck and angles his lips toward my ear, "Don't go."

I pull my head away, causing Liam to do the same. He looks concerned, stressed even. My hands find their way to the growing stubble on his face, "LuLu, what's wrong?" He smiles at his unwanted nickname. When he smiles, I feel my hands move, causing my smile to grow even more - if that was possible.

"Nothing," He stresses, leaning forward. Liam closes the gap fairly quickly, but right before his lips could meet mine, I turn away. Luciano's facial expression questions everything. He looks hurt, "What did I do?"

"Nothing, I just, I have a question," I lower my voice. He nods, so I continue. "When you kissed me, did you see my sister?" Liam tilts his head, smiling softly. His voice lowers in volume, matching mine.

"Hell no; your sister was a horrible kisser."

I couldn't quite wrap my mind around his response quick enough. One second he was smiling and beginning to bite his lip; the next, he was kissing me. The same sensation I felt the first time we kissed, was even stronger than before. His lips were incredibly soft and for a second we just stood there, our lips moving in a rhythm I didn't even think we could control.

But all of that changed the moment Liam made a grunting sound from the back of his throat. My hands had found their way around the back of his neck, tugging and pulling at his baby hairs, while his found their way under my knees, hoisting me up against him. When he pulls away, I actually felt somewhat disappointed; but that all changed the moment he rested me on the hood of his Lambo.

Luciano chuckles as he hovers over me. He leans down, pressing our foreheads together in the process. I feel his hands brush strands of hair away from my face, only causing my heartbeat to quicken. It wasn't clear to me exactly how he was managing to hover over me, but if I was being totally honest, I couldn't care.

This time around, his lips found mine more feverishly. My eyes flutter closed and I was positive Liam could hear my heart hammering against my chest. He smiles softly against the kiss, only causing me to giggle. Liam takes the opportunity to slip his tongue inside my mouth; the sudden move causes me to squeal beneath him. It was by mere accident that I lifted my leg up a little, causing it to brush against the crotch area of Liam's pants.

Something down there was definitely harder than it normally was.

Liam groans in the kiss almost immediately. He pulls our lips apart, using his head to twist my head to the side and begin planting kisses on my cheek. His lips work their way up to my ear, back down again, before dipping down towards my neck and jaw. Like the other night, he leaves wet, open mouthed kisses against my exposed skin; he bites down softly, his teeth grazing along my lower neck, then collarbone.

Someone moaned, but when I realized it had been me, my face flushed. Liam continues, before bringing his forehead up to mine and smiling. "You're beautiful," he whispers. His light brown eyes are clouded over, but the image is thrown into the back of my mind as Liam presses our lips together once again. His hands find my sides, never wandering anywhere else, which relieves me.

We laid there for the longest time, kissing, groaning, touching. I could never admit loudly that I wished it never ended; but when it did, my lips were swollen, and my face wasn't the only body part that heat had rushed to.

- - - -

A/N: Comments on the chapter?

Rico and Liam's relationship?

You learned a bit more about Federico - how do you feel?

The kissssssssssss?