CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Rosemarie
“This isn’t the end of this right?” I asked unabashedly.
Something about Bocca set me at ease so much that I didn’t even hold back. I wasn’t afraid to look silly or desperate. I figured that had to mean something and so I just decided to go with it.
Our clock had run out. Real life was calling and I had to get ready to start my day. I was a little sad but also very much aware that we’d have to return to reality at some point.
“Oh fuck, no, baby,” he responded as he pulled me in for a long, sweet, torturous kiss that set my body on fire from the inside out.
I pushed the lust down because there wasn’t time for that. Also, it wasn’t like I hadn’t gotten my fair share the last few days. Bocca wasn’t just all for show, that was for sure.
“So where do we go from here?” That was the question that I’d been holding back. Part of me was a little scared to hear the answer and the other part of me was just not sure I really needed an answer.
We had shared a ton of stuff but what I realized was that none of it was anything concrete for the future. We shared our pasts, our upbringings, our favorite things. We were even open and honest about this crazy, intense thing that was between us. But we hadn’t touched on the subject of what came next.
Inside I was confused and screaming. I was unsure only because he had come into my life and blew up my world. It happened so fast and I had feelings before I really knew him. I could say that our time spent locked away had only made me realize that those feelings weren’t imagined, that I wasn’t clinging to something that wasn’t there because I was desperate or lonely. And I was pretty sure it was the same for him. All it took was one look into his eyes and I could see it so clearly.
“You’ll text me telling me how much you miss me. I’ll call you because I need to hear your voice. When we get free time, we’ll see each other. Simple as that,” he said and he had that tone…you know, that tone. The one that was all smooth and cocky and knowing. The one that wiped away all my insecurities while at the same time had me rolling my eyes. “You better get in the shower or you’re gonna be late.”
With a smack to the butt that made me jerk and laugh, I scooted off to get ready to face reality. While it had been nice to live inside this little bubble we’d been staying in, I knew it was time to see if we could make it in the real world.
As I washed my hair, I thought about how I fell asleep loving the feeling of his fingers combing through it. For such a cocksure guy, he was actually really sweet and attentive. My heart swelled at the memories and I knew that everything would be alright. This wasn’t the end. And while I had an idea that it wasn’t going to be the easiest thing, we’d find time to make it work. Because what we had was real.
Our goodbye took way longer than I had time for. But I said fuck it in my head and figured I could be late this one time.
He kissed me and I melted into his arms. He told me he’d see me soon and I told him I couldn’t wait. It was just the right amount of mushy.
“Well, by that smile on your face and that weird glow you have going on, I’m going to assume things with Bocca turned out great,” Sara Ann greeted me in the employee lounge like she’d been waiting to pounce.
“You knew!” I scolded playfully, my face turning all shades of red. “You knew when I walked out of here and you didn’t tell me!”
Her head fell back as she laughed. Clearly, my life was only there for her amusement. I couldn’t be mad though, the surprise was most welcomed.
“Yeah, I knew,” she said with a shrug as she added sugar to her fresh cup of coffee. “And I am not sorry I didn’t warn you. I would hope you’d do the same for me if I had a hot, firm man waiting for me at my door.”
We laughed as I closed up my things in my locker.
“So…things go alright? You aren’t all sad and mopey, so I would assume they went well. Very well, by the ‘I got laid’ vibe you’ve got going on.”
“Oh, stop it,” I said trying to hide the fact that I was embarrassed a little and couldn’t cover up the fact that I had been laid. “Fine! Whatever! Yes, I had sex. Yes, it was amazing. And no, that wasn’t all that we did, though that activity did win out most of the time. We also…talked.”
“Good talk? Bad Talk? What?” she asked bouncing on the balls of her feet like an excited kid.
“Oh, look at the time. I’m already late. I need to go start my rounds,” I said heading to the door with a smirk plastered on my face.
“I’m here for the next twelve hours, you better believe I’m going to get it out of you!” she called after me as I exited the room and put my mind in work mode.
I had hoped that I caught her on the tail end of her shift instead of smack dab in the middle. But what could be done? And honestly, I was dying to talk to someone about it. The girl part of me was screaming to have an all-out brag and giggle fest with another female.
The day went on and it turned a little chaotic. Not that I would have expected anything else. But I found that I practically floated through it on a cloud of bliss.
Sara Ann cornered me when I took my break to shoved down a sandwich in the middle of it all. I just laughed it off and told her that Bocca and I were going to try to make it work. You know, because the chemistry was off the damn charts. Also, there was no way I could downplay or deny how easily we seemed to fit together. I’d never been able to just be like that around someone before.
Her reply was to tell me that by the way I called out his name, ‘I better not let that sex God go.’ Yes, her words, not mine. I didn’t even try to hide my embarrassment at the fact that she had heard us. She didn’t seem all that bothered by it and waved off my shy apology.
Due to the lack of sleep and the fact that my schedule had been a little thrown off the last few days, I was dragging the last two hours of my shift. And by the time I clocked out, I was ready to flop in my bed and pass out.
I drove home thinking how it would be strange tonight. It shouldn’t have, I had been sleeping by myself for a year now.
I shook my head and practically laughed at how silly I was being. Had I turned into one of those clingy girls and wasn’t even aware of it? No, because I could sleep by myself. I knew that. It just would have been nice to have him here with me. That was all.
This time when I reached the landing for my floor, I didn’t even bother searching for my phone even though I might have actually had a message this time. Since I wasn’t distracted, I saw him instantly. And the smile that spread on my face was so wide it almost hurt.
“I, uh, couldn’t stay away,” he said almost sheepishly and then held up some cloth bags of what looked like groceries. “I can’t cook for shit, but I brought a whole bunch of fresh stuff and I am a pro at washing dishes.”
The bags plopped to the ground as I jumped into his arms and he didn’t think twice to catch me.
It was some stuff right of out a romance film. I never thought that I’d want something like this but now that I had it, I wanted to make it last every single day.
“I think I’m falling in love with you.” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was a thought, one that I was having right at that moment. Maybe I would have even called it a huge realization. But it was supposed to stay private, locked up, until I could process it.
“Yeah?” There was no hiding the smile in his eyes. The pure joy he felt that I’d said those words to him. “Me too, baby. Me too.”
Yeah, this was just the beginning.
I knew that this was real.
The circumstances of how we came together were insane and unbelievable, but I had learned not to question it.
He’d told me that it was me that had found him. It was me that put him back together. It was me that saved him.
But I believe it was him that had put me back together. It was him that brought my heart to life.