Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I briefly closed my eyes and let the warmth of his touch comfort me until we arrived back at the apartment complex. Elio pulled the car into its designated spot and turned off the ignition. Just as I was about to get out, he broke the silence between us.
“Caterina.”
I drew my brows together in question. “Yes?”
“You don’t have to do that again if you don’t want to,” he said. “Just because you may decide that you don’t want any physical part in this business doesn’t mean that you won’t be involved at all.”
I admired his reasoning for wanting me to be involved in this whale matter, but a large part of me wondered if this was a test to see if I had what it took to be involved.
Was I strong enough to handle the entire truth of things? My mother’s words, ‘ignorance is bliss’ was really beginning to make sense in my mind. Maybe I didn’t need to be a part of everything.
“There are some things that I’m willing to let you protect me from,” I told him.
Elio nodded his head with true enthusiasm. “You know that’s all I want,” he admitted with a smile.
I let out a sigh and sagged back into the seat. “Maybe I’m not entirely cut out for the physical end of things, you know? I mean, not that I really did anything but stand there and listen. But I think I’d much rather be the brains.”
We got out of the car and headed for the main doors of the building. I took my phone out of my bag and dreaded checking the time. How much time had I lost during this unexpected venture today? And exactly how much studying was I going to have to make up to feel prepared for tomorrow?
Elio led us over to the elevators and pressed the button to our private level.
He rubbed my shoulders. “When we get in, I’ll run you a bath. How does that sound?” he asked.
I glanced over my shoulder, barely looking at him.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because my finals for this summer are tomorrow,” I said pointedly.
The doors to the elevator slid open and I could feel the intense stare of Elio’s eyes in the back of my head as I moved forward.
*Caterina*
I groaned as the high-pitched squeal of my alarm blared through my ears, loud enough to wake a damn elephant from the best sleep of his life, not to mention fully interrupting the dream I had just gotten invested in. As soon as my eyes opened, said dream slipped away as the morning light fluttered through the window.
The warm and bright sun of LA had returned, leaving the semi-chilly days of our pathetic excuse for winter behind and I yawned as I shut off my alarm, resetting it for tomorrow. I rubbed the crust from my eyes as I stepped out of bed, finding the other side empty, as usual.
Elio was surprisingly a morning riser, getting up even earlier than me. Though I was by far from a night owl, even I couldn’t beat him. He told me his internal clock was damn near perfect, waking at the same time every day no matter how late he went to bed.
I was a bit jealous, if I was being honest.
I slipped on my fluffy slippers, no longer embarrassed at the pink bunny ears on the top as I shuffled my way to the bathroom.
A minute later, I made my way into the kitchen, following the scent of my nose and my instincts. The sound of sizzling came to my ears, cookware being used and footsteps on the tile beneath our feet.
I yawned, barely able to keep my eyes open as I took a seat at the island, and I heard a familiar chuckle and felt the heat of his body as he stepped next to me, then his lips were on my forehead.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said happily.
My eyes finally opened wide, more awake as I took in my surroundings. As usual, Elio had made me breakfast, and my heart warmed as I took in the plate that he’d slipped in front of me.
It was covered in crepes that were oozing with a strawberry creme center and a mountain of whipped topping with a side of bacon and the only mug I’d kept from my old home. It was a unique one in the shape of a pink frosted donut with a white handle on the side. The open top was made to look like a bite had been taken out of the donut, even though it was just ceramic.
I breathed in the fresh scent of morning coffee. I could tell the drink had already been loaded with creamer and sugar.
I sent Elio a warm grin as he moved back and forth in the kitchen, making sure I had everything I needed before he sat down himself.
“Eat up. You have your exam today, right?” Elio said, giving me a smile as he took a seat across from me. Contrary to my fresh and warm breakfast, Elio had only a cup of coffee and a bagel on his side.
I grabbed a slice of bacon and put it in my mouth. With the salty and greasy meat mixed with a sweet taste of smoked maple, I was in sheer heaven.
“I love you,” I said honestly, feeling a bit drunk on sheer happiness. This was my heaven.
He chuckled. “If I knew all I had to do was cook some bacon to get you to fall in love with me, I would’ve done it sooner.”
“It would’ve worked,” I moaned, taking a second bite. “Thank God you can cook bacon, or I’d have left you.”
“Good to know.” He smirked, shaking his head playfully. He sipped on his coffee as I pretty much inhaled my breakfast, only feeling alive once my belly was full and the coffee had woken my brain up with the shot of caffeine.
“Thank you so much,” I purred in contentment, heading to his side of the island and plopping myself down on his lap.
I took the minute to wrap myself around him, just existing as he finished his coffee, hands on my hips to keep me from slipping off. He chuckled, kissing the top of my head softly.
“Well, I feel terrible for forgetting about your finals yesterday. I never would’ve asked you to do all of that if I had remembered. You have enough to stress, and I shouldn’t have been adding to that.”
“It’s okay.” I nuzzled into the crook of his neck. “You’re forgiven.”
After such a wonderful lazy morning, I felt ready to tackle my finals, and I spent a few more minutes clinging to him like a kitten before he finally dropped me into the shower for me to get ready, which I did reluctantly.
By eleven am, I was heading off to school, leaving Elio behind to finish his work. I wasn’t sure what he was doing as he wanted me to stay focused on my exam today. I made it there with plenty of time to spare, and the exam started at noon.
I actually felt pretty good about that one as I knew the material pretty well. It was a breeze to shoot through, and there were only a couple of questions I had to guess. Even then, I was about 80% sure I had the correct answer.
I finished within the hour and triple-checked my answers before leaving. Out of the hundreds taking the exam today, I was one of the first dozen to finish. I stretched as I usually did after I left, my body still feeling cramped from sitting in the same position for so long.
Elio had offered to give me a massage tonight to help, and I thought about taking him up on that offer as I headed out to the car. As I held my keys in my hand, there was a familiar feeling of deja vu when I opened the door and heard a soft voice call out.
“Hey.”
I stiffened, whirling around defensively and just like last time, that stupid asshat was standing there, his hands raised in defense, attempting to show me he meant no harm and with a sly smile on his lips as he stared at me intently.
“So much for disappearing,” I sneered, crossing my arms.
Alexi chuckled, his posture completely relaxed and open like I was no threat to him. I wasn’t, truthfully, and we both knew it.
“Did things work out like I said?” he asked casually… like we were friends and as if he hadn’t worked for the man who tried to kill me and my mom and had killed my father. Before I could answer him, he just smirked knowingly. “Trick question. I already know they did.”
He stepped forward, and there was a different vibe to him this time… a much less innocent one. Questions swirled in my mind. Was it because I knew his identity now? Or maybe it was that I knew what he was capable of? I didn’t know, but I didn’t like this situation one bit.
I kept the keys clenched in my fists, the door to the car wide open in case I needed to jump in.
“Why are you back here?” I demanded. “You gave us what we needed. Our transaction is done.”