Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“You have no idea,” I sighed. “Things are more complicated than I thought they would be. Things were so much easier when we were kids.”
“Can’t deny that,” Alessandro agreed. “I’d take treehouses over taxes any day.”
I smiled at the thought. Alessandro and Tallon’s treehouse in the backyard had been a big point of contention between them and Dahlia. I remembered when they put up a “No Girls Allowed” sign, and Dahlia had thrown a fit until their mom made them take it down.
“Hey, um,” Alessandro said awkwardly, and my attention snapped to him. “Sorry about how I acted earlier. I probably scared you, but I didn’t mean to. I was just worried about Dahlia, and I… I just wanted to apologize.”
He gazed at me, and I frowned at the guilty look in his eyes. I’d seen it many times when we were kids. When he said something mean to me or Dahlia, he’d come back and say he was sorry.
He’d always had a temper, and when he got going, I knew how sharp his tongue could be. I had been scared earlier in the hospital. His anger was explosive, and I feared he’d take it out on all of us.
But Giovani had been there to calm him down and help him to keep a level head.
Though I didn’t approve of his behavior, I hated the sad look in Alessandro’s eyes.
“I won’t say it’s okay,” I started softly.
He flinched, his shoulders slumping in defeat, but I only smiled softly and grabbed his hand. He gazed up at me hopefully.
“But I understand why you were angry. I wasn’t exactly myself either. It was for Dahlia’s sake, so it’s not that big of a deal. You don’t need to apologize to me.”
‘But you do to Giovani,’ I wanted to say.
It rubbed me the wrong way that the two were at odds with one another, specifically the way that Alessandro had treated him like an enemy. It wasn’t fair.
Alessandro squeezed my hand back with a grin on his face as he nodded. “Thanks, Livi.”
“No problem,” I beamed, happy to help as I retracted my hand. “It’s not like I’ve never messed up either.”
I went to take a sip of my tea, but I paused as I caught the mischievous look in his eyes.
“Oh, you mean like the time you tried to bake a cake for Dahlia’s birthday?” he asked innocently.
I choked on my spit, setting my coffee down as my face heated up. I couldn’t believe he still remembered that or that he would bring it up.
“I don’t remember that.” I played dumb, avoiding his gaze as he only laughed.
“Oh, but I do,” he grinned. “You tried to make a four-tier cake for her birthday and dragged me along to help, remember? I told you to wait for your mom’s help, but you wouldn’t listen, and you climbed to the top shelf of the pantry cabinet to get the flour, and whoosh!”
He threw his arms down in dramatic effect, fixing me with a smirk as I sunk lower in my seat. I was blushing incredibly hard at this point.
“The kitchen and the both of us ended up covered in flour. Your mom blamed me for the whole thing.” He sent me a smug look. “Don’t you remember that, Livi?”
“Fine, yes I do,” I laughed, covering my face in embarrassment. “But I swear I didn’t mean to get you in trouble for it. Why did you take the blame back then anyway? You could’ve told them it was me.”
“Eh.” He shrugged, sending me a flirtatious wink. “I was just being a gentleman. I had to save the beautiful damsel, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, right,” I laughed. “Beautiful damsel? Me?”
“But you are.”
I paused at the low and serious voice that came out of his mouth, and I met his eyes. Alessandro gazed at me deeply, not one sign of him joking on his face.
I was stunned to silence, unable to answer as the mood flipped in that single instant. Alessandro’s hand headed straight for me, and I flinched as his hand cupped my cheek.
He leaned forward, and I knew what he was trying to do.
Alessandro was trying to kiss me.
*Olivia*
Oh.
That was the only thought that passed through my head in the few seconds I had. There was nothing else in my mind but TV static. The shock and dizziness overwhelmed me as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
I was confused, utterly and completely bewildered, as Alessandro’s lips pressed closer to me, his dark eyes firmly locked on mine.
I was frozen in place, my heart beating rapidly in my ears as he grew closer and closer by the millisecond. It was like I was stuck in slow motion, unable to move.
But right before our lips touched, I came to my senses.
I reared back, my eyes wide, and he paused, swallowing before he pulled back. There was an awkward silence between us for a moment as we stared at one another.
I sucked in a breath before words I couldn’t stop fell out of my mouth. “I’m so sorry! I’m flattered, really, I am. But I’m really confused too. My head’s just really not in the right space right now for something like that.”
Guilt shot through my heart, and I clasped my hands together, pulling back entirely as I gazed at the emotionless look in his eyes. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but my heart was racing.
It wasn’t like when I felt excited like when Giovani kissed me. It felt warm and fluttered like butterflies dancing in my chest. It wasn’t like when Giovani had me in his bed either. That was like electricity crackling along every inch of my skin.
This kind of heart-racing, chest-pounding anxiety was something entirely different, the kind you felt when you walked into a room and found a kangaroo in your kitchen, or when you had to deliver a big speech and found you could only speak backward.
Everything was upside down now. Grass was blue, and the sky was green–and Alessandro had just tried to kiss me.
What the fuck was happening?
I’d always seen Alessandro as an older brother cause that’s what he was to Dahlia. Since we were kids, he’d always had the protective big bro shtick down to a science. I never thought he saw me as something… more.
Sure, Alessandro was handsome. I’d always known that, but I never thought about dating him or kissing him or anything like that. I thought he’d felt the same about me.
I was his sister’s best friend, a second kid sister. Since when had he been thinking like this?
I wanted to deny it, to think that this wasn’t actually happening, but that would be lying. An absurd kind of laughter almost burst from my lips, like when you see a bear juggling at a circus.
But I could never do that to him. I owed him better than that.
I bit my bottom lip, not sure what to do now.
Just as I was prepared for Alessandro to never speak to me again, he smiled softly and with understanding. There was no trace of hurt or anger on his face, but I was still worried.
He nodded, kindly. “You’re totally right, Livi. Sorry for rushing you. I didn’t mean to surprise you like that.”
I breathed a sigh of relief at the total nonchalance with which he shrugged it off. He grinned playfully, leaning his head on his hand as I shot him an apologetic look.
“It’s okay, Livi,” he laughed. “That was my bad. I got a bit too impatient, I think.”
