More Than This | THE WATTPAD DRAFT

Chapter 32

"Well, it doesn't really matter that he's here. It's not like he and I are on speaking terms or anything. He has his own life now,"

"I just never expected to bump into your ex,"

I reached for the nearest cloth and wiped my hands, "I don't think you guys are going to see each other much. You don't work with your dad,"

"I'll probably see him at the Christmas party," he quipped

"Christmas party?"

Before he could answer, my phone started to ring. It was on the counter in front of us and Giovanni's eyes wandered over

"Lorenzo's calling," he muttered, the sadness in his eyes returning, "I should probably let you get back to that,"

"We're just friends, Giovanni," I murmured

I didn't know why I said it. I didn't owe him an explanation but I couldn't stop the guilt that washed over me.

"That's none of my business anymore, Isabella,"

My name rolled off his tongue and my mind was transported back to the first time I heard him say it. It was intoxicating and I just wanted to hear him say my name over and over again. My name would never sound so sweet coming from anyone else.

"I'll be on my way," he turned towards the door

"I mean it, Giovanni. There is nothing going on between Lorenzo and me,"

I didn't want him to think there was. Even though we weren't together, I didn't want him to think I would just move on with someone else so quickly. I could never.

He turned to meet my gaze across the room, "I just want you to be happy, mi hermosa,"

My eyes swelled with tears at his endearing name for me. With one last longing look between us, he turned and left.

I was left with nothing but the silence and my sadness for company.

**

"Lorenzo, I heard you helped Izzy bring in a lot of the equipment today," Reyna said,

"Yeah, we managed to bring most of it in but it's definitely gonna need to be cleaned and tested,"

He leaned against the table and shifted closer to me, his arm brushing up against mine. We were all huddled around a high-table at Paradiso. Lorenzo arrived shortly after Giovanni left. He was helping me out with the coffee-shop today while Reyna was stuck at work. After that awkward encounter with Giovanni outside my apartment, I expected Lorenzo to have a lot of questions but when we met up again, he didn't breathe a word of it. We had spent the last few days together doing anything we could to keep my mind of Giovanni and I was starting to value his presence in my life. He was always willing to help and tried his best to keep a smile on my face. We spent the rest of today cleaning out the rest of the shop. We made really good progress together and we were able to start moving some of the equipment back into place.

"But the place is coming together," I joined the conversation

"I'm so excited!" Reyna exclaimed, "Diego and I are going to spend some time there this weekend so if you guys want to join. We can make a day of it,"

"That would be great," Lorenzo turned and smiled at me

I had grown very fond of Lorenzo. I enjoyed his company. It was unproblematic. There was no drama when it came to him and I liked that. I came to enjoy his excited energy - he had an on-going positive aura to him and it was contagious. The sadness I felt from seeing Giovanni lingered for the rest of the day but Lorenzo was a nice distraction from it as we threw ourselves into cleaning up the shop. He was happy to spend his day with me doing unpleasant jobs like that and never once complained.

"Can we get a round of shots please?" Diego stopped the waitress as she walked past our table, "Anyone want another drink?"

I shook my head and lifted my glass, "I'm still good, thanks,"

Reyna and Lorenzo both ordered another drink. We had been here for a while and I was still on my first drink. I sipped on it as I allowed myself to enjoy the beat blaring through the speakers. I was determined to have a good time tonight. Reyna invited us to meet her and Diego and said that Katrina and Sergio would be joining a bit later. It was strange at first to have Lorenzo tag along - it made me feel an unnecessary amount of guilt but we were all friends here so what was the problem with me inviting another friend of mine to join? I pushed all unnecessary thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on my drink and the company.

"Are we getting fucked up tonight?" Diego asked, excitedly

I couldn't help but laugh at his excitement, "I really don't feel like having a hangover tomorrow,"

"As my sister always says, we'll just be stealing happiness from tomorrow," Lorenzo chimed in

Diego rolled his eyes, "Don't be so boring guys,"

Lorenzo chuckled, "I never said I had a problem with that,"

"See, that's better," Diego lifted his hand for a high-five, and he and I chuckled at their little moment

"We had such a great time the last time we were here," Reyna exclaimed and turned to Lorenzo and me, "Isn't that the night you two met?"

A small blush spread across my cheeks as I thought back to that night. Too much alcohol and too much confidence was the real highlight of the night.

Lorenzo nodded, "Yeah it was. Your friend over here was taking people out with her dance moves,"

I rolled my eyes and laughed, "That's a little dramatic,"

"There was more strength than you realised behind that little," he stopped and mimicked how I flung my arms in the air that night

We all burst out laughing at his terrible demonstration and how he was forced to stop when the waitress stopped behind him with the shots on a tray. He just missed knocking her and that made me laugh even more.

"You're the one who needs to tame your moves," I warned playfully

He moved back against the table sheepishly as she placed our shots in front of each of us. We reached for them and lifted them together before taking them. The alcohol burned going down my throat, sending chills up and down my body.

"You have got to work on that poker face of yours," Lorenzo nudged me playfully

"It seems to be getting worse," I joked

We placed our empty glasses back on the table as Katrina and Sergio pushed through the crowd to join our table.

"You guys took shots without us?" Sergio pretended to be hurt, "Now, we have to order another round,"

I groaned and Lorenzo burst into laughter at my reaction. I introduced Lorenzo to Katrina and Sergio. I could see Katrina eyeing me as if she was waiting for more information.

I leaned closer to her, "We're just friends,"

"Well, he's pretty cute," she nudged

I rolled my eyes and smiled. Yes, Lorenzo had many attractive qualities to him and the outside packaging was pretty good to look at too but I wasn't in that place. Or at least I had convinced myself that I couldn't be. Not when the emptiness in my heart remained as a constant reminder of what I once had.

Sergio ordered us another round of shots and the waitress brought them around a lot quicker than before. I hardly even had time for the last shot to kick in. I brought the shot to my lips and repeated the motion. It didn't get better. It still burned just as much going down but I started to feel the warm feeling washing over me. The alcohol blanket that made you forget about everything you didn't want to remember. This time Reyna ordered another round.

Oh, this was going to be a long night.