I follow Rocco up the stairs to his apartment. “Is it okay I if I show you the rest of the house tomorrow?” he asks over his shoulder.
“Sure,” I answer him. He has to punch in another code into another keypad to turn off the alarm and he sets it again once we are through the door.
On the other side of the hallway is a set of double doors that Rocco reaches over to open and gestures for me to go in ahead of him. “Welcome home,” he says. His mom spared no expense at the building and decorating of his apartment. The first thing I notice is the huge fireplace that takes up most of the one wall set in bricks. The rest of the room is decorated in many shades of brown from the dark chocolate leather sectional to the light beige color on the walls. The TV that hangs on his wall makes the one in his school apartment look miniature. All of his electronics are neatly placed in a cabinet underneath of it. Through the living room I can see there is a small kitchen with stainless steel appliances and dark cabinetry.
“How often do you use your kitchen?” I ask him.
“Other than getting a beer from the refrigerator, I haven’t used it at all,” he chuckles nervously setting both of our bags on the wooden coffee table. “Are you sure you are okay staying here with me tonight?” Rocco crosses the room to me. He runs his thumb along my cheek before putting his arms around me.
“Why would you ask that? It’s not the first time I am spending the night with you,” I point out.
“No it’s not, but it is the first night that you seem nervous to be around me.”
“I’m always nervous around you, Rocco,” I confess.
“Why are you nervous around me?” he asks looking at me through hooded eyes. His hands have been running up and down my back quickening my breathing. When I don’t answer him, his hands still and he starts to pull away from me. “Nothing has to happen tonight that you aren’t comfortable with,” he says seriously.
The absence of his touch on my body leaves me shivering in contrast to the burning he leaves wherever his skin touches mine. There is nothing I want more than for his hands to be all over me and to spend the night wrapped in his arms with nothing in between us. “Rocco, I want you to make good on the promise you made me,” I tell him almost breathlessly.
“Which promise is that?” he asks.
“The one where you said by the time you were done with me, I’d never doubt how you felt about me again,” I remind him.
The wicked grin that spreads across his face says he is remembering the night he made that promise to me just as clearly as I have ever since. “Sunshine, you have no idea what you’ve just unleashed,” he declares sweeping me off of my feet. His lips are covering mine as he carries me down the hallway kicking the bedroom door open. When he sets me on the end of the bed and slides his hands down my legs to my feet, I get my first glimpse of his room. This time it isn’t the décor that strikes me. Every flat surface in the room is covered with a lit ivory candle leaving a soft romantic glow to the entire room. He doesn’t notice me looking around until he has removed both of my shoes. “No stone unturned,” he says nodding to something behind me.
When I turn around, a vase full of peach roses is sitting on the nightstand. I stand and walk over to them to touch the smooth petals. “You bought my favorite flower?” I question as he comes up behind me. “When did you have time to do all of this?”
“Unlike you, it only takes me five minutes to get ready. I had plenty of free time this afternoon,” he whispers running his hand down my arm. “I just needed help lighting the candles.”
“I have one hell of a boyfriend.” Normally, it would have bothered me that someone knew what was happening between us tonight, but I don’t have time to think about it. As he tilts my head back, his lips find the side of my neck. He mumbles something that sounds like ‘damn right,’ but I cannot really concentrate on his words when his hands and tongue are keeping me distracted the way they are.
“I’ve wanted to rip this dress off of you since you walked out of your bathroom earlier,” he gets out through kisses he is trailing down my neck and shoulder. I’m barely able to refrain from telling him to do just that. Before I give him permission to destroy the best dress I’ve ever worn, I can feel it loosen as the zipper is being pulled down my back. When the dress hits the floor, he reaches for my hand to help me step out of it and spins me around. As Rocco looks down my body, I hear his sudden intake of air. “Fuck, Alyssa. This is going to be over before it even gets started.” His reaction has me thrilled I bought the new black lace bra and panty set the other day.
I’ve never been good with ties, so I am secretly thankful he already removed it before we even got here. Reaching up, I take my time with the buttons of his shirt before pushing it off of his shoulders where it meets my dress on the floor. There is no time wasted when he rips off the undershirt he had on. His bare chest at my fingertips feels so much better than feeling it through his shirt. Every inch of him is toned muscle. My hands slide down his perfectly sculpted abdomen until they reach his belt that is hard to get off because Rocco is trying to help me. I pushed his hands away making him sigh. “You’re killing me,” he says causing me to giggle. Eventually I am sliding my hands inside the top of his pants and pushing them down. When they get low enough that he is able to kick them off himself, he lifts me up and lays me gently on his already turned down bed. He climbs over top of me and whispers, “You are even more beautiful than I thought.”
Over the next few hours, Rocco proves exactly how much he loves me. Despite his urgency at the beginning, he takes his time as he worships every inch of my body, just like he said he would. His touch is nothing but tender the entire time. Every time he kisses me, the passion between us is overflowing. The sweet words he whispers have me falling for him all over again and making me putty in his all too capable hands. He has me falling apart multiple times, sometimes alone, but most of the time right along with him as if he choreographed it. We manage to leave the bed a couple of times. Once he put music on and we slow danced around his room. If I remember correctly, one of the songs wasn’t even slow. Another time we went to get a drink in the kitchen, but we only made it back as far as in front of the fireplace. Later, both of us dozed off only to wake up a short time later. I’m not sure what time we finally fell asleep for the night.
It’s some time in the morning. I can feel the sun shining into the room warming my skin. The smell of roses and the lips that are making their way from my fingertips to my neck remind me where I spent the night. “A girl could get used to waking up like this,” I mumble slowly opening my eyes.
“Good thing because this is how I plan on waking you up many more times,” he says pressing himself up against the back of me, so I’m very well aware of just how he plans on waking me up.
“Too early,” I say pretending to push him away.
He’s chuckling behind me. “I only have two more hours with you before my mom steals you away from me. I’m not wasting one second of it,” he clarifies. I remember I’m just waking up and probably need to brush my teeth before I turn to face him. When he tries to kiss my lips, I cover them and tell him exactly that. “After every place your mouth was last night, you cannot seriously be worried about a little morning breath.”
I can feel my face brighten to the deepest shade of red ever. Immediately, Rocco is hysterical laughing at me. When I try to get out of bed, he grabs ahold of my arm preventing me from getting away. “I’m sorry,” he says trying to calm down. “There is no way you can possibly still be shy around me after everything we did last night.” I relax into his chest where he cannot see my face.
“It’s different,” I say pouting because he laughed at me.
“Sunshine,” he’s humorless now. “That was the most amazing, mind blowing night of my entire life. You are absolutely incredible.” He takes his t-shirt off of me I had borrowed last night to sleep in. The foil package has already been opened and is ready to go.
Afterwards, he holds me for a little while
before asking me to take a shower with him. We finally leave the bed and I glance out of the huge picture window that overlooks a huge open field outside. “How come that is just open space there?” I ask.
“My mom purposely put this window here,” he says. “That land is mine to build on whenever, however I want. She wants me to remember I’m always welcome here.”
“And she can keep an eye on you,” I tease.
“Exactly,” he replies laughing. “Come on.” He pulls me to the bathroom. The shower is huge and has the best water pressure I’ve ever experienced, a very important attribute to a girl with long, thick hair to wash.
The hot water feels so good against my skin, I let out a tiny moan. Instantly Rocco’s body is pressed up against the back of mine. “You are seriously going to be the death of me. I may actually die from having too much sex.”
I turn to look at him. “You cannot possibly be ready after all night and this morning,” I say seriously.
“Did you not hear yourself moan like that? Do you have any idea how many times just hearing that almost sent me over the edge last night?” Sure enough evidence of just how ready he is to do this again is literally right between us pressing against my abdomen. He lifts me up putting my back against the shower stall, I wrap my legs around his waist, and my hands are lost in his wet hair. His talented lips have me begging for him in an extremely short period of time. “Damn it. I never even needed condoms at my house up until yesterday. I don’t have any in the fucking bathroom.”
“It’s okay,” I say out of breath. “I trust you and I’ve been on the pill for years.”
“Sunshine, I’ve never done it without one,” he starts to explain.
“I know. Neither have I. That’s why it’s okay.”
The look of desire on my face must be what has him caving because I feel him slide inside of me. “Fuck!” he cries as my head falls back to hit the wall behind me. He never once has to adjust his hold on me as he pushes the both of us closer to finishing. Afterwards, my legs release from around him and eventually reach the bottom of the stall. I’m still shaking when his hands are on the wall next to both sides of my head and he is staring at me gasping for air. “What the hell did you just do to me?” he asks me.
I shrug my shoulders. “Just needed to make sure you know you’re mine.”
“Yeah I am,” he agrees kissing me. Over the next twenty minutes, we take turns washing each other from head to toe. We are entirely too exhausted for anything else to happen. Eventually, we get out of the shower and Rocco sees we are running out of time before we are supposed to be downstairs. Both of us dress quickly and I pull my hair up then throw a little makeup on looking somewhat presentable.
I get the grand tour of the whole downstairs which ends in the dining room. Mrs. Lewis is just entering the room as well from the opposite side. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.” I pray my face has not turned red in front of her. If she only knew how little sleep I actually got, she may kick me out of her house.
“We did, Mom. Thank you,” Rocco answers for the both of us rubbing my back. He pulls a chair out for both me and his mother. “Where’s Max?” he asks her.
“He got called into the office, as usual. I’m glad the two of you are here to keep me company.” An irritated look flickers in his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything. Someone emerges from the same door Rose came out of carrying trays filled with entirely too much food. They are placed on the table and uncovered before the older lady disappears through the same door she came in. “Please, my dear, help yourself,” Rose offers.
I nod before saying, “Your home is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for having me.”
“Consider this an open invitation to return anytime. So, what did you think of the dinner last night? I’m anxious to hear how much money the charity has made, but that could take until the end of the day.”
“Everything was perfect, as usual. Unfortunately, Callie and Collin cornered us in the kids room for a while, but Alyssa handled it quite well,” he chuckles.
“Ah, the Sweeney twins will get you every time,” she laughs along with him. “Carla has her hands almost as full with the two of them as I did with you.”
“Don’t exaggerate, Mom. I was never that bad.” I giggle at him. “Really I wasn’t,” he defends himself.
“Whatever you say, Son.” She starts eating. “Did you hear that Tony has developed an interest in Carla?”
“What?” Rocco looks surprised. “He’s like ten years older than her.”
“I don’t think anything will ever come of it. She has made it quite clear she isn’t interested in dating anyone, let alone another cop.”
“I saw them talking last night,” I say joining the conversation.
“When?” Rocco wants to know.
“When Carla came back to get the kids. He was walking with her,” I tell him.
Rocco’s phone starts ringing. He pulls it out and looks at the screen. “Blocked? Who the hell can this be?” He answers it getting a look from his mother. “Yo.” He drops his fork on his plate causing a loud clang. We both look over at him. “How the fuck did you get this number?” he shouts into the phone as he is walking out of the room. There is an uncomfortable silence in the room for entirely too long.
“So, Alyssa, Rocco says you are from southern New Jersey?” She is trying to distract me.
I place my fork down as calmly as I can. My stomach is suddenly so upset over Rocco’s reaction to the caller that I’m afraid to eat anything else. “Um, yeah. We are about fifteen minutes outside of Philadelphia.” I steal a quick peek in the direction Rocco went. Who could have made him so upset?
“Do you plan on going back there after you graduate next year?” She probably wants to know if I’ll be stealing her son away from her.
“I guess that depends on where I’m able to find a job,” I say nervously. Where the hell did he go?
“Since Rocco will be spending Thanksgiving weekend with you,” she changes the subject, “I was wondering if you would want to join us for our family vacation the week after New Year’s. We always go somewhere tropical to escape the winter for a little bit.”
“Thank you for inviting me, I’ll…” I start to say.
“Let’s go, Alyssa,” Rocco interrupts from behind me. “We’re leaving right now.”
I turn around to ask what’s wrong, but his mother speaks first, “Rocco, I need to speak with you in the kitchen, please.” He already has my bag in his hand.
“Not now,” he snaps at her.
“Rocco.” She stands up. This is a woman who usually gets what she wants. She doesn’t like that her son is speaking to her the way he is.
“I said not now, Mom!” This time he’s yelling at her. “Alyssa, let’s go,” he repeats a little too harshly for me. He left the room without another word.
“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. It will be fine,” she whispers as she gives me a hug. Something tells me she knew who was on the phone.
I catch up to Rocco as he’s walking down the stairs outside of the front door. A gentleman who I have not met is standing next to his car holding the passenger side door open.
“Hey!” I holler to his back. When he doesn’t turn around, I yell it again and stop following him. He stops when he gets to the driver’s side. “I don’t know what I did to make you so upset, but your mom does not deserve to be spoken to like that. You should go apologize to her.”
“Alyssa, will you just get in the fucking car?” I’m not used to hearing him speak to me like that, so it causes me to jump. Rocco gets in his side and slams the door. I cannot help but wonder if he’d leave me here if I didn’t do as he’s demanding. My heart has started to crack a little, so I don’t want to find out. I walk down the steps to the man holding the door open for me. As I walk by him, he gives me a sympathetic nod then closes the door for me.
It’s not until we are halfway back to school that I have found the nerve to open my mouth. “Could you please tell me what
I did?” I ask, but I cannot look at him because my tears are just about ready to spill over.
“You didn’t,” he starts but then pauses. “Nothing. Just let me drive, please.”
I don’t say anything else the rest of the way. When he pulls into the parking lot, he stops in front of our apartment building instead of parking the car. Rocco reaches back to grab my bag and drops it in my lap. He never says anything. Just hands me my bag dismissing me. The pain in my chest doesn’t allow me to say anything else, protecting me from any other harm he may cause. I exit the car for what feels like the last time. He doesn’t even wait for me to round the car and get on the sidewalk before he speeds away leaving campus once again. Leaving me.
Chapter Eighteen
Rocco
I’ve completely lost track of the time and how many shots of tequila I’ve had since walking through the door. There have been quite a few people who have come and gone in the stools next to me, if that is any indication. The football games are not even capturing my attention today even with all of the cheering in the background. The only thing I can think of is how stupid I was to take Sunshine to the event last night. I should have known somehow, someway my worst nightmare would have come true. Now, the only thing I can do is stay far, far away from my heart and soul. From the love of my life. How the hell does someone stay away from the person who makes them feel alive? It’s the only way to protect her from the biggest mistake of my life. I down the two shots sitting in front of me then reach for my beer.
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