Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 619 -

*Caterina*

It had been two days since Elio and I had slept together. The feel of his rough, calloused hands and the hot, wet sweep of his tongue left me shivering with every recurring thought. My mind proceeded to play the entire event on constant rewind, making it near to impossible to think about anything else.

Maybe that wasn't necessarily a bad thing....

All the visions of seeing him work between my legs, the overwhelming pleasure that ran up my spine it felt like my mind was shattered.

He was the best I'd ever had. No man before him, and probably after him, would ever surpass the euphoric sensation that he spread throughout my body.

Elio made me feel special, needed, 'wanted.' I felt desired on a level that most women would kill for. He didn't even give much thought to his own needs or desires. It was as if I was the only one that mattered in that moment. It left me shocked beyond words.

And it certainly got me thinking about the moments after our love making sure enough. Lying there, on the fluffy rug on his office floor with our arms draped around each other, we spoke intimately. The crazy, rousing haze gradually faded and the shocking reality started to set in with full force.

Holy shit... I just had sex with Elio, I had thought. My heart jumped into my throat and my nerves were instantly coiling.

Elio must have sensed my growing anxiety because I felt his arms tighten around me in assurance.

"Cat, please." He placed a single kiss to the side of my head. "I don't want you to rush out of here, freaking out and possibly... regretting that this ever happened."

I had taken several long, deep breaths and tried to center my focus. I tilted my head upward to get a better look at him. His features were so soft, so handsome in the dimly lit room it made my stomach flutter. My cheeks blushed a deep shade of pink, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious of our physical situation.

"Believe me, I've no intention of running out here... I won't run the risk of someone else seeing me naked," I told him jokingly.

Elio's chest had rumbled with laughter that warmed me to my very core.

We had stayed in that same position for what felt like several hours. Sometime in those moments, we came to the easy agreement that we would keep the relationship secret from our families, at least for the time being.

Between his work and my finishing up classes for the semester, we figured it would be better to keep things strictly between us.

But as the days went on, I found myself needing to talk to someone about it all. My mind was becoming a jumbled mess and with finals coming up, there was no way I was going to be able to focus.

I quickly grabbed my phone and messaged Anna, asking her to come by the house. Within the hour, the two of us were sitting around the kitchen counter with a bottle of wine between us. I had a strong feeling that the moment I'd spill my gut about what happened with Elio, the girl was going to pounce and demand to know every detail imaginable.

"Okay, girl, spill it," Anna insisted. "Your message was ridiculously ambiguous but has captured my interest, nonetheless."

I giggled at her dry sarcasm and proceeded to pour us both a glass of wine. After handing her glass over, I took a lengthy sip from my own and allowed the bitter, sweet liquid to coat my mouth. "Alright, alright," I hummed. "I won't leave you in such hair-raising suspense any longer."

Anna leaned in, practically sitting on the edge of her seat with her glass in hand. I took a deep breath in and let my mouth rattle off.

"Elio and I had sex about two days ago on the floor at his place. We haven't said much about it since, but we've decided to give whatever the hell this thing is between us a go. Oh, and we're not telling anyone about it as of right now." Anna's bottom lip hung open in wordless shock. Her expression was a mixture of pure astonishment and admirable pride. The corners of her mouth slowly started to curve upward into a dazzling smile.

She squeaked in utter delight, nearly knocking herself off the stool she was sitting on. "Oh, Cat! That's great! Wait-did you say the floor?"

My eyes widened as the wine in my mouth proceeded to roll down the back of my throat, causing me to lurch forward into a total coughing fit. My chest seized up from the striking burn of the alcohol and the roaring laughter that soon filled my throat.

Together, the two of us fell into a fit of giggles and small spurts of coughing. Once my throat was clear and I wiped the tears from my eyes, I took in a few good breaths.

"Yes, Anna. Elio and I fucked on the rug in his home office," I stated.

She raised a brow in question. "Well, was there something wrong with the literal furniture in the room?"

I let out another indignant snort and took a long sip from my glass.

"As a matter of fact, yes. The new furniture he has in his office looks and feels like you're sitting on a literal rock."

Anna playfully rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Point taken. So, the rug was clearly the only ideal option to take," she said.

"Obviously," I added with a smirk.

"Well, in all seriousness... I'm happy for you."

I bit the inside of my cheek and carefully set my wine glass down on the counter. "Really?"

Anna nodded her head. "Absolutely. Whether you care to agree with this idea or not, you deserve to be happy, Cat," she told me softly. "I know that you and Elio didn't particularly get along when you were younger. Based on what you've told me, it always seemed that there was some kind of disconnect between you both."

I let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're not wrong. Elio has always been a tad bit overbearing. Truthfully, not much of that has really changed," I mused. "But I think that he's genuinely trying to not act as controlling as he usually would lately."

"Do you think that these feelings have been kind of simmering beneath the surface for a while? I know that you haven't been back home for long, but... is there a possibility that perhaps you two always had a soft spot for one another?" My eyes narrowed in tremendous doubt.

"Yeah, no. I don't think so. Elio has always been that constant annoying voice in the back of my head that constantly hounded me to do better. And me? Hell, I'm sure I was nothing more than a gigantic pain in the ass that he felt he needed to watch over."

I poured us both another glass and took a large gulp.

"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.