Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“But it’s clear that the two of you are not letting your past get in the way of the present,” Anna pointed out. She reached out to rest her hand over my own. “I really am happy for you, Cat. I’m glad to see you’re finally going after something you want.”
A slight blush touches my cheeks. It did feel good to be going after something that I desperately wanted. And to think that Elio wanted it too only made it that sweeter.
“I mean I know the two of you have a history of a different kind, but I think it’s worth it for you to see where this goes.”
I nodded my head in agreement. “I think so too.”
‘Thank God I’ve got a friend like Anna,’ I thought to myself.
***
Class finals were finally upon me and, as I suspected, my head was anywhere but on my studies. I wished Anna was able to stay home where at least the two of us could rack our brains over this together. Unfortunately, she needed to return to campus, leaving me to struggle among my books and notes. Granted, my academics have improved significantly over the last few years, there was always this looming fear that would settle in the pit of my stomach—what if I don’t do well on them, and my grades end up plummeting?
I’d worked so meticulously hard on my classes, but there was still no guarantee that my professors would necessarily go easy on us. There were those selective few teachers that would purposely make things more challenging, knowing this made my nerves spiral with worry.
I smiled to myself at the thought of knowing that soon classes would be over, and I would be back home permanently. Even though classes were online, it still felt like I had one foot in New York.
There was also the warming idea that soon Elio and I would be able to spend more time together now.
As I sat at the kitchen table surrounded by piles of textbooks and notepads, my mind continued to wander around the man that has been taking up so much of my valuable study time. I wanted to see him. I wanted Elio to barge in and whisk me away from the futile, wasted attempt at studying.
My head dropped to my arms. If I closed my eyes for more than a few seconds, I could easily envision his hands wrapped around me. The feel of his lips against my skin made goosebumps ripple down my back.
God, I shouldn’t be doing this, I thought. I needed to focus, but I couldn’t.
Hearing the sudden sound of the front door opening immediately pulled me from my distracting thoughts. Elio appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. At first, I honestly believed that it was my imagination playing tricks on me. I blinked back the blurriness in my eyes to find that it was really him.
Elio looked stressed. The vein on the side of his head was more prominent than usual and his jaw was tightly clenched. Something was clearly bothering him.
I got up from my chair. “Hey.” I spoke softly. “Are you okay?”
He released a long, fuming breath. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
His sharp eyes speared through me like a pair of daggers. “I said I’m fine,” he insisted sternly. “It’s just work, nothing you need to worry about.”
Elio looked exhausted and a tad bit run down. Even though he claimed it was no big deal, it was obvious that his work was getting the best of him. I wanted to reach out and wrap my arms around him, to ease the aggravation of whatever it was that was bothering him.
My brows pulled together in doubt. “Elio, work or not, something is clearly upsetting you. Why don’t we go out for a little while… you know, take a break from work?”
The corner of Elio’s mouth pulled up into a venomous sneer. He let out a stifling breath and clenched his hands into fists at his sides.
“For Christ’s sake, Caterina. It’s none of your fucking business, alright? I told you it was nothing, so just drop it!” he snapped.
My eyes widened in shock at his sudden outburst. My stomach tightened in knots at the sound of his hurtful tone. I glared back at him with a spiteful look.
“Well screw you then!” I hissed back. “I was only trying to help. But fine, I need to study for finals anyway.”
Elio turned his head to glance at the table behind me, seeing all the workbooks I had opened prior to him showing up. The anger in his eyes intensified.
“You have finals coming up and yet you made the suggestion of going out?” he questioned bitterly. “Your ass isn’t going anywhere. Sit down and get back to studying.”
My expression twisted in irritation. I rolled my eyes while planting my hands on my hips.
“Oh, Jesus. Here we go! Will you ever lose that shitty quality of needing to control everything I do?” I shouted back. “You know what? You should just go. I didn’t come back here so you could treat me like a child again.”
Without another word, Elio turned his back and left. The sound of the door slamming behind him felt like a punch to the stomach. I was honestly baffled more than anything.
‘Does Elio even want to have a relationship with me?’ I wondered solemnly to myself.
*Elio*
Well, it was apparently that ‘cheerful, wonderful, and heart-warming’ time of the year again. Thanksgiving came and went, making what was left of California’s autumn fade not too long after that. The temperature remained semi-consistent, but people were noticeably getting ready for the holidays.
Normally, I would be eager to join in on the seasonal festivities, even if it meant lugging out my various boxes of decorations and fake tree from the back of the garage.
But ever since my slight fall-out with Cat, my mood remained cold and indifferent. I hadn’t meant to lash out on her the way I did. It was never my intention to simply show up and take my anger out on her. In fact, my whole purpose of going over to see her was because I missed her. I missed the soft feel of her around me. I missed her scent and her beautiful smile.
“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath.
Why did I let my anger get the better of me in the first place?
For the past couple of days, my mind had been consumed with nothing but work, and I spent more time in the office than at home. Now that Christmas was clearly on its way, I knew my workload was bound to become more rigorous than before.
I sagged back into the chair behind my desk, letting my head fall back and my eyes closed. I took in numerous long breaths, trying to clear my head.
Christ, I couldn’t even properly rest my eyes long enough without seeing Caterina’s broken expression. I needed to fix things between us. With a whole lot of the family coming to the States for Christmas, I need to knock this shitty feeling that’s been hanging around me since I last saw Cat.
I heard a buzz, and my eyes fell to my desk where my phone sat. The screen lit up and my mind instantly went to Caterina. But my hopes were quickly deflated when I saw that the caller ID belonged to someone else.
I picked up my phone and pressed the answer button.
“Hey, Dad,” I greeted curtly.
I heard his chuckle through the speaker. “Sounds like someone is having a rough day,” he commented with amusement. “Care to talk about it?”
I let out a long breath and bit the inside of my cheek. No, I couldn’t actually tell him what had been eating away at me, not without running the risk of exposing my relationship with Caterina in the process.
‘Yeah, that’s assuming that you still have a relationship after the way things ended a few days ago,’ I thought bitterly to myself.
Oh, for Christ’s sake. I ran a rough hand through my hair and bit back a curse.
“No,” I answered. “Nothing I can’t deal with.”
“Well, I called in mainly to see if you’ve heard from any more of the family about coming in for the holidays,” he stated.
“Oh, yeah. I got a call from Natalia earlier this morning. She and Tallon won’t be able to make it for Christmas,” I explained. “Something about spending a week in Tuscany or something.”
I constantly wondered if Cat would ever be interested in traveling out of the country. Knowing that I originally grew up in Italy, I’ve always felt drawn to the idea of taking a trip back to visit. Taking her through the various touristy spots and a few personal areas of Venice made me smile with interest.
My father sighed. “Yeah, I think I heard something about them missing out this year too.”
“But at least Alessandro and Mia will be flying in,” I told him.