Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Well….”
Elio scratched the back of his head, glancing at the wall.
“We’re not,” I said honestly, standing strong when her eyes landed on me. “At least not like that. We’re not dating or anything. We’re just… sort of….”
I trailed off, unable to find the words of how to describe our relationship under the gaze of a woman I respected so much. What was I supposed to say, that we’d randomly kissed and then hooked up a few times, but there was nothing more than that?
That clearly wasn’t true considering we’d just had our hands on each other just a few minutes ago, even sneaking off to do so from her perspective. I chewed on my lip, unsure of what more to say.
“Right,” Olivia sighed, shaking her head, but she wasn’t looking as shocked or disappointed as I thought. There was a weird look in her eyes, one I couldn’t quite place, but she didn’t seem angry in any way. “Well, you’re both adults and I’m not going to get involved, but….”
She hesitated and then looked her son straight in the eyes. “You are my son, so I had a feeling something like this might happen. I’ll keep your secret. But take it from me, Elio, if this is more than a simple hookup, more than a passing fling, then do right by Caterina and yourself. Tell everyone about it yourself. Don’t make them find out the hard way. Your family isn’t stupid. Don’t keep whatever relationship you have a secret, or you’ll regret it.”
Elio gulped, and my heart thudded loudly in my chest as Olivia gave us each a long, serious look. I’d always known her as a kind and cheerful woman, but now, she reminded me startlingly of Elio himself.
They had the same shade of eye color, I realized in wonder.
“Dinner’s ready. Come out soon.”
Olivia nodded at us, then turned around and left, gently shutting the office door behind her. The silence was left between us, an awkwardness that started as a hill and only grew larger in the seconds that passed.
I could feel Elio’s eyes on me, but I stared at the floor, unsure of what to say. I knew we had to have this conversation sooner or later, but I wasn’t sure I was prepared for it. Anxiousness had turned to outright fear over the last few days because I sure as hell knew what Elio was to me, even if I didn’t want to admit it.
But for him… I was just a little girl, someone he had to take care of out of obligation. I still didn’t know why he had even taken an interest in me now, of all times. Or maybe I just didn’t want to know.
I didn’t want him to confirm that this was just a casual thing for him, that I was just like those girls I used to see go in and out of his house next door years ago… just a passing fling, here for the winter chill and gone with the summer sun.
“Cat.”
I flinched, still not looking at him, and he sighed. I saw him from the corner of my eye, brushing his hair from his face, tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk as he gave me a frustrated look.
“Is she right?” he asked bluntly. “Should we just come clean about us?”
I swallowed the heavy stone in my throat, pondering my words before finally landing on what I wanted to say. I finally gazed into his eyes, searching for any emotion, but all I could see was the same hard-to-read man before me.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “But I have a lot going on right now. I don’t want to add something I can’t handle to my already full plate and have it blow up in my face again.”
“Again?” he questioned, a look of realization in his eyes as he opened his mouth to say the word I didn’t want to hear right now. He barely made it past the ‘P’ before I cut him off quite loudly.
“And even if we did tell everyone, what are we supposed to say? We’re not dating! In fact, I don’t even know what we are!” My frustration bubbled up, hitting him like daggers from my tongue. “If I’m just another one of your random hook-ups, then you’d better tell me now because now we have your mom thinking we’re together when we’re actually….”
I paused as I saw the look on his face. I’d never seen Elio make an expression like that. He stared at me, his eyes dark and shining, his whole body reeled back like I’d just hit him in the chest with my fists. He looked almost… hurt.
And then it was gone. The normal laidback and casual man stood in front of me… no expression, no emotion shining through.
“…not,” I finished lamely, wondering if I had just imagined it.
Elio tilted his head, a blank expression on his face as if he felt nothing and simply said, “Okay.”
Despite his carefree appearance, a sense of guilt wiggled its way into my heart. Could I have hurt him?
There was no way, right?
“Sorry, I was just—”
I reached out, but he dodged my hand masterfully, not looking back at me as he followed the path his mother had just taken.
“We should get back before anybody else notices we’re gone.”
His shutdown hurt more than I liked to admit, and I swallowed my own pride, trudging after him at a much slower pace. We had exited through a different door that led to the outdoor patio and the back of the house. We were just about to open the back door when I heard a familiar voice that stopped me in my tracks.
“Cat.”
Soft-spoken, almost drowned out by the Christmas music, everything else was eerily silent when before it was such a lively party. I felt a sharp pain around my wrist, and I gripped it tightly, finally looking up.
Sure enough, there he was, the same as when I’d last seen him—nonchalant, a bright smile on his face and his messy blonde hair falling into his eyes, eyes that were trained on me and me only.
“Who are you?” Elio demanded, looking between us with a frown.
I gulped, not daring to look away from Paul’s eyes as I stepped back without thinking. I had a sudden indescribable urge to run, but I was frozen in place like a deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming semi. And said semi was smiling at me as he took two steps forward, unblinking as he trapped me within that mad gaze of his.
A shiver ran down my spine and I whispered out his name almost involuntarily.
“Paul.”
Elio jolted at the name, his eyes leveling at me with a wave of growing anger before he landed on Paul’s figure and stepped between us with a scowl. He crossed his arms, squaring up as he made it very clear he was not going to be moving.
“Excuse me, sir,” Paul said with mock politeness.
But the sheer arrogance waving off him was unmistakable, and Elio’s glare only deepened as the other man approached him face to face.
“I’m just here to pick up my girlfriend.”
“We broke up, Paul,” I said firmly, hiding my fear behind my anger. “How did you even find me?”
“Come on, babe. It was just a little spat. I’m willing to forgive you though, so let’s go back home, okay?”
He grinned, reaching his hand out toward me, but Elio gripped his wrist firmly, glaring at him.
“She said you broke up. So, I’m going to give you one minute to get the hell out of here, and if you ever come back around here again, we are going to have a problem… Paul.” He stepped forward until they were chest to chest, and all politeness faded away.
I could see them eyeing one another up and finally, Paul smirked, as if he had concluded that he had nothing to fear from Elio, that he could take him on. And with Elio already in a bad mood, I had no doubt in my mind.
This could get ugly.
“I don’t think you can, old guy,” Paul said arrogantly. “Cat’s mine, and she’s coming with me. Even if I have to go through you to prove it.”
“No!” I heard screaming and I flinched as Paul threw a punch, straight for Elio as gasps came from the crowd around us.
But Elio was not a pushover. He smoothly dodged the punch by just a hair, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he swept Paul’s feet from under him with one leg, gripping him by the collar and with his other hand firmly smashed his fist into his face.
I winced as I heard a loud crack and Paul dropped to the floor, groaning. Drops of red hit the ground as Paul nursed his nose, most likely having been completely broken with such a powerful hit. Elio stood over him with no sense of empathy or mercy in his gaze.
It was like he was looking down at a pathetic insect whose life he could take with no remorse at any moment.