Jealous by Lena Little

9

Julian

Ifire up my motorcycle and take off for the apartment, the smell of my princess’s meatball sub in the air despite my speed. I move quickly to get back home. I don’t like leaving her alone, ever. A lot of the reason why has to do with protection, but an equally large share is just the simple fact that I miss her.

I miss having her close.I miss seeing her smile. I miss making her smile. I feel like a dad who knows his firstborn is about to take its first steps and he wants to be there to witness it. Giulia is feisty and fun all in the same vein, and I want to spend every minute with her. I don’t want to miss a thing.

There’s alsosomething I need to tell her. Something I have to give her in addition to her late lunch. Something much more important in the grand scheme of things. A smile tears at the corner of my lips and I hit the throttle, even more, needing to get back to my woman. But as I roll up to our building I see something that strikes me as off. There’s a motorcycle with nearly the same horsepower as mine parked out front…which means it would somewhat sound like mine to the untrained ear.

Quickly I process the situation,knowing I can’t be a bull in a China shop right now. That’s exactly the wrong thing. I cut the gas and glide to a stop behind a van, moving quickly along the wall toward the apartment.

And that’swhen I hear it. The voices. Their voices.

My heart racesand I do what comes naturally, logic over emotion be damned.

Nobody takesmy Little Girl from me. Nobody.