Scoring Mr. Romeo

by A. m Madden

  Silence filtered over the phone. The poor kid was probably debating his options. Sabrina asked if he understood her threat. When she said, “Thank you. Sweet dreams. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I had to assume he conceded.

  “Good Lord. This kid,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “Never ending. Where does he get the energy?”

  “He’s five.”

  “It’s not enough to have a full day tomorrow packed with activity, he needs to have a sleepover to boot?” Remembering her mother sharing that their quiet Easter was now a full production, I wondered if Sabrina would ask me to join them. I also wondered why she hadn’t asked what I was doing tomorrow.

  Assuming she had her reasons, I decided to commence with the relaxing part of our evening. I placed our dishes in the sink before walking around the island to stand beside her. “Cleaning up can wait. I’d rather do something else right now.”

  “Yeah?” she asked with a smile. “What would you like to do, Mr. Benedetto?”

  “You.”

  The smile instantly fell off her face when she twisted her stool to face me. I stepped in between her legs while at the same time grabbing her ass and yanking her closer to eliminate the space between us.

  Although she didn’t respond to my edict, the way her hazel eyes stared into my soul said just what I needed them to—yes. The way she skimmed her hands up my shirt before linking them behind my neck said—I want the same. And when she pulled my face down toward hers to initiate a kiss that rocked my soul, that said—I’m yours, Luca.

  Our kiss was full of need, full of longing. The longer it went on, the more she blurred my world. Every hour I spent with her made me want two more. This thing between us was new, yet it felt so familiar at the same time.

  I lifted her easily and carried her to my bedroom. It was still early, and we had all night, but I needed her then and there. Anything else I wanted to experience with her, specifically getting to know her better, could wait. The one and only thing I craved, the only thing I needed more than my next breath was an intimate connection.

  Placing her down at the foot of my bed, I never broke eye contact as I began unbuttoning my shirt until it hung at my sides. Her line of sight traveled over my body caused me to internally shatter… and not in a bad way. In a way I never had felt before, a pleasurable one. She reached for the button of my jeans and unfastened it.

  I expected her to continue with the zipper, but instead she stepped back to admire me once again. With my jeans and shirt unbuttoned and gaping open, I may as well have been naked in the way she appreciated me. Her gaze had the same effect on my cock as if it were her hands, and not her eyes, that traveled over me.

  She moved closer, her hands roamed over my shoulders to push my shirt off. It fell to the floor. The feeling of her cool hands on my scorching skin caused my resolve to snap. Propelling me into removing every article of clothing she wore until she was standing bare and beautiful before me.

  Not a word was spoken between us. There was no need. I removed my own clothes before leading her to lie on my bed. Once we were side by side, our naked bodies aligned from head to toe, I held her face in my palm. “Sabrina, I want nothing between us. Do you trust me?”

  Her nod was immediate. “I’m on the pill, Luca. Do you trust me?”

  “Completely.” I did. I had no doubt I could trust everything about her. The fact she did as well caused a surge of possessiveness to overwhelm me. I wanted to own her in every way. This was just the beginning.

  With our gazes tethered, I rolled her backward and positioned my cock at her entrance. Her wet warmth stole my breath. I couldn’t be sure if it was the lack of latex separating us that made it feel so fucking good, or if it was because of Sabrina. But one slow thrust, and I already knew I had never experienced such pleasure as I was about to.

  We moved together effortlessly. Hands, lips, eyes, connecting throughout our love making enhanced every move we made. Moans and sighs came as we got closer and closer. “Sabrina, I need you to come with me.”

  Her response was an audible swallow and a short nod. Watching her face as her orgasm began, and feeling it build and crest around me, had every molecule of my body sparking almost painfully. It was her turn to watch me as I fell apart from the inside out.

  I wanted to say filthy things to her, admit to all the dirty thoughts that ravaged my mind. But something else took over the carnal need to own her, and for the life of me I had no idea what that was. Confusion and desire, mixed with lust, made the combination both dangerous and terrifying. The only thing I could manage to say as my release ripped through me was, “Sabrina.”

  I couldn’t get enough of her, and as a slow tear leaked from her eye and traveled down her face I worried she’d always hold back a piece of her heart.

  After dropping her off at her apartment, it took less than a minute for me to miss her company. Last night had been one of the best of my life. Enjoying the entire evening together, making love, talking, sleeping with her wrapped in my arms was nothing short of perfection.

  That was the mark of a perfect connection. When outside influences weren’t needed to enjoy being with someone, that had to mean something. The human race seemed to be addicted to stimulation that came from shallow and meaningless social standards. Not once had I checked my phone while with Sabrina. The entire time we were together I had no other thoughts but her.

  As I drove myself back to my apartment on Easter morning, the significance of that religious day didn’t go unnoticed in comparison to the levity I felt for the first time in my life. I felt alive, optimistic, and anxious to see her again.

  My dash lit up with a incoming call from Cassie. “Hey.”

  “Hi, my friend. Are we still on for dinner later?”

  Since all our friends ditched us, and with Cassie’s family in Florida for the holiday and mine in Italy, we decided on dinner and a movie. “Yeah. I’m on my way back to my place. I’ll pick you up at six?”

  “Sounds good. How was your date with Sabrina?”

  “Fantastic.”

  A small gasp preceded her, “Really? I’m so happy for you guys.” At my silence she then added, “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. We had a great night. I really like her, Cass. The problem, I don’t know if she feels the same. Her actions say she does, but at times she still holds me at arm’s length.”

  “Like when?”

  I slowed my car at the light and paused to choose my words carefully. “Like today, at first she said it would be a quiet Easter with her parents. But then when her mother said it became a big affair, with a bunch of guests, she never asked me to join them or even what I was doing today.” Once the words were out, I realized how ridiculous they sounded. “What is wrong with me? Of course she shouldn’t have invited me.”

  Not more than a second of silence passed before Cassie countered with, “There’s nothing wrong with you, Luca. In fact, you’re perfect in every sense of the word. She’s been through a lot in the past year. I’m sure she’s apprehensive.”

  I knew this, I did, but I wasn’t like her husband. I had never cheated on a woman nor did I plan to. “I understand.” This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have in the car. I really wanted to talk to Cassie. She had a different perspective on things. “What are you doing now? Let’s spend the day together. We can still have dinner, but why wait?”

  “Laundry, that’s what I’m doing. But, you’re right, this can wait. I’m waiting for a load to finish drying, so I can be ready in about thirty minutes. Are you still close to my apartment? I’ll make coffee if you want to come by now.”

  “I’ll stop and grab bagels.”

  “Oooh, yum. A cinnamon raisin for me please.”

  “Be there in a bit.”

  Exactly thirty-five minutes later, I knocked on Cassie’s door. Her eyes went wide when she saw the white bakery bag in my hand. “I swear I could smell that bagel before you knocked.”

  I gave her a kiss on the cheek as she ste
pped aside to let me in.

  She snatched the bag from my hand, opened it, stuck her face in and inhaled before sighing. “Heaven.” When she pulled her face back, she smiled. “It’s still warm. I love them when they’re like this.”

  “Me too.”

  Cassie retrieved two plates from the kitchen and poured us each a cup of coffee. We sat at the table and rather than eat, I stared at the circular bread in front of me. “Luca, what are you thinking?”

  “Do you think Sabrina is ready?”

  Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Ready for what? A relationship?”

  “Yes. I need to talk to someone about this, but since you’re also friends with her, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” I almost added, I really need to talk to you. Talking to the guys about this felt foreign, yet with Cassie it felt normal.

  Her dainty fingers plucked a raisin out of the bagel before taking it into her mouth. “To tell you the truth, I wondered if she was. But, she’s seems so happy when she’s with you. There’s a lightness that you bring out in her. Not to mention the way Mikey took to you.”

  Mikey.

  That was another issue in itself. It would be hard enough if Sabrina didn’t want a relationship with me, but that meant I’d never see him either. The thought of that entire scenario forced me to place my bagel down and push the plate aside.

  Her eyes softened. “Maybe she didn’t think you wanted to go?” The tone of her voice raised an octave at the end of her question.

  “Of course, I would have wanted to. I figured if she wanted me there, she would’ve asked.”

  “You’ve only been seeing each other a short period of time. If it were me, I don’t know that I’d be ready to invite a man I was seeing to meet my parents so quickly. What would you have done? If your family were here and not in Italy, would you have invited her?”

  “Without a doubt.” That was the truth, too. “She could’ve just said we’re friends even though we were more or even that I was helping Mikey with soccer. I understand the entire meet my family scenario and the weight that carries. But, it could’ve been informal, just like the gathering.”

  “I’m sorry, Luca.” She covered my hand with hers. When our eyes met, she asked, “What are you thinking? I see your wheels turning.”

  “I feel like I’m being compared to a ghost.” There. I said what had been on my mind. While I had held a sleeping Sabrina in my arms, I wondered why she hadn’t asked me to go with her. I could understand if it was a small family gathering, but it wasn’t. She said she trusted me. Hell, we had unprotected sex… that in itself spoke volumes. Deep down though, I didn’t think she trusted me not to break her heart.

  Chapter 21

  Sabrina

  It sounded more like Christmas than Easter. Kids scurried through the grassy courtyard in search of plastic goodie-filled eggs. You’d think these kids had never had a piece of chocolate before the way they squealed when they found one. Naturally, the boys made it into a competition.

  When no more were to be found, Mikey ran toward me. He slid on his knees, coming to a halt and no doubt leaving a patch of green on each knee of his new Easter khakis. Colorful plastic ovals knocked around in his basket. “Look, Mommy. I must have twenty eggs.”

  Another little boy, did the same next to him. “I bet I have more.”

  Mikey shook his head. “Nuh uh, Simon, I do.” They both started counting and when Simon counted four more than Mikey, the taunting began. Just as I was about to interject and put a stop to this nonsense, my son said, “Who cares? I bet you can’t do this.”

  He stood up and pulled out his hacky sack that had become his new obsession. Mikey played with that every day. In a short amount of time, he had become better and better at keeping it off the ground.

  “That’s so cool,” Simon said, and before I knew it, other kids had gathered around watching Mikey. The tip of his little pink tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

  His words were staccato breaths. “My best friend gave it to me.” The small beanbag toy fell to the ground. “It’s called a hacky sack, and it’s going to turn me into a great soccer player. I might even go pro one day. Luca is the best soccer player in...” His brows scrunched together. “Mommy, where is he from?”

  I stood staring at my son. My heart started beating a bit faster when I saw he gained my mother’s attention. “Italy, honey.”

  “Yeah, that’s right, Italy,” Mikey said without hesitation. “They’re like the best at this sport, so I don’t care if you got the most eggs because I got Luca.”

  The sound of my own swallow filled my ears. “Mikey, don’t speak to him that way.”

  Of course, he ignored me and continued. “We’re always together. He’s my private coach, and I’m going to be as good as he is one day… maybe even better. He said so himself.”

  Simon narrowed his eyes at my son. “Then where is he?” he asked with a five-year-old’s attitude.

  Mikey squinted. “Mom?”

  What did I say? I didn’t invite him? “Oh, honey, I think he had plans.”

  “Let’s call him. I know he’d want to be here.” Then Mikey reached into my purse, with the agility of a Ninja, and grabbed my phone.

  “What are you doing? Give that back to me.”

  Mikey’s little fingers tapped my screen, and he held the phone face up in his palm.

  Before I knew it, Luca’s deep Italian voice came over the speaker. “Hi, beautiful.”

  “Um… it’s Mikey.”

  “Hey, little buddy, is everything okay? Where’s your mom?”

  My mouth opened, yet Mikey answered for me. “She’s right here. We just had an egg hunt.”

  Luca laughed. “I bet that was fun. Did you get a lot of eggs?”

  “Yes, but not the most.”

  “That’s okay. What’s up?”

  “Can you tell my friend, Simon, that you are the best soccer player in the world and my coach?”

  Luca didn’t reply as quickly as Mikey would have appreciated. “Am I on speaker phone?”

  “Yeah, Simon’s here. When I told him all about my best friend, he didn’t believe me because you’re not here.” My heart sunk with a weight of regret.

  “Hi, Simon. Mikey is telling you the truth, I’m a very good soccer player, but decided not to go pro. Because of that, I can’t claim the title of best in the world.”

  “But you are,” Mikey chimed in. “You’re better than my coaches.”

  I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a laugh knowing full well Luca fully agreed with that assessment. “That’s true.”

  “See!” Mikey said to Simon. “Thank you, Luca.”

  “Can I talk to your mom now?”

  “Yup.” He practically tossed the phone at me and ran off with Simon and the other kids.

  After clicking off the speaker function, I brought the phone to my ear. “Hi.”

  “Good morning. Happy Easter.”

  “Happy Easter. I hope he didn’t interrupt anything.”

  “Just having breakfast with Cassie.”

  A wave of unnecessary and irrational jealousy washed through me. “Oh, tell her I said, ‘hi.’” Taking a breath, I added, “Would you like to come to my parents’ for lunch? It might get a little insane due to the number of people who are going to be there. But, I’d love it if you were one of them… bring Cassie.”

  “What time?”

  “One.”

  “Text me the address, and I’ll ask Cass, too.”

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  I watched my son having a fun time. Children’s laughter played like a song in the background. Mikey giggled while tapping kids’ heads in a game of duck duck goose. Minutes later my mom stood next to me. “Should I set another place at the table?”

  “You heard that?”

  “Some of it, yes.”

  “I hope it’s okay that I invited him and Mikey’s teacher?”

>   “Of course it’s okay. Sweetheart, I know this is hard on you. I saw Michael’s face when he was talking about Luca. This man isn’t Dillon… rest his soul.” The sarcasm dripping from her words was unmistakable.

  Yeah, his cheating soul. It broke my heart that mourning for my late husband ended so abruptly thanks to his mistress. “I know that. But, having my son’s heart broken again isn’t an option. I’ll do whatever I need to insure that doesn’t happen.”

  Her kind eyes that could always see right through me softened. “Are you sure it’s just Michael’s heart you’re protecting?”

  “No, I’m protecting my own too, I know that. It’s probably why I didn’t ask him over today. It scares me to already feel so much for this man.”

  She smiled. “Sweetheart, you need to live life. Not just for your son, but for you, too. If this man makes you happy, then allow yourself to enjoy it. Our hearts are meant to love, and you have so much love to give. Don’t be afraid to open it again.” I nodded. “Now, I need to get home and start preparing the table.”

  I knew she was right. I sent Luca my mom’s address and as soon as I pressed the green send button, my heart felt lighter. This was right. Having him with us today should have never been a question in my mind.

  Luca

  Cassie was all smiles when we walked up to the front door of Sabrina’s parents’ home. “Nice touch.” Cassie smiled at the flowers I held in my hand for Mrs. Ricci. With a slight tremble I pressed the circular button on the door frame. “Are you nervous?”

  I studied my petite friend with amusement. “Yes, a little bit.” Cassie laughed at me. “Some friend you are, I should have left you home.”

  She smacked my arm. “I’m just trying to ease your worries. Relax, Luca, they’ll love you.” Even with the top button open on my button down light blue shirt, it still felt as though it was closing around my neck. With a curved finger, I hooked the fabric and pulled to allow me some give. “Wow, you are nervous,” she quipped.