Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi -
Chapter 654 -
*Caterina*
"I bet it's a surprise trip. I feel like guys like Elio love to plan surprise trips," Anna babbled next to me as we walked side by side down the steps of the lecture hall we had been in. Sometimes I wondered if she was almost as invested in my relationship as I was. Maybe I'd have to replace a mafia man for her... surely Elio had a single friend or two.
"I don't know if it's a trip," I said. "He knows I have class and everything."
If I was honest with myself, I'd have admitted that it had been torture to go to classes all day and wonder what big surprise Elio had planned for me, but I knew he would make the anticipation worth it. He always made things worth the wait. Hell, our entire relationship had been worth the wait.
"Maybe it's like a ridiculous present, like a car or something! He seems like the kind of guy who would totally just buy you a car."
Although it would be just like Elio to randomly buy me a car, I didn't think that was it either. I really had no clue what his surprise could possibly be, but I was quickly coming to realize that the best part of being with an older man was his ability to plan and execute surprises.
He didn't wait around for me to make plans. He just made them and knew me well enough to know I would love them. He was ridiculously good at spoiling me. I'd never been one who thought I wanted the princess treatment, but Elio knew exactly how to give it to me without being overbearing.
"I don't know," I said, a smile on my face that I couldn't contain.
"Holy shit, Cat." She stopped in the middle of the stairs and grabbed my arm to force me to stop next to her. Students continued to stream around us, a few of them shooting dirty looks our way as we blocked the quickest path to freedom. "What?" I asked, trying to pull free from her grasp so we could continue down the stairs.
"What if he's about to propose?!" she squealed, causing even more people to look our way.
I felt my face flush at the attention. "Hush. He's not going to propose," I muttered, dragging her the rest of the way down the stairs.
"You don't know that!" she insisted, allowing me to pull her to the side and out of the way of all the foot traffic. "You know he's going to have it be some kind of big surprise! He's old-school like that, I'm sure of it. Someday he's going to propose, and you'll have absolutely no idea."
She had a point, but again, I was sure that wasn't the surprise. Although I was certain that Elio was my forever, I didn't think we were ready to get married just yet.
"I'm sure he's not proposing... not yet, anyway. I think there'd be more signs if that was in the works."
Just as she opened her mouth to respond, she shut it again and waved.
I turned to see Elio waving back at her, a ridiculously charming grin on his face. His hair was slightly ruffled from where he'd obviously been running his fingers through it. He was wearing one of his usual work suits, but he had removed his tie and unbuttoned the top few buttons, revealing a triangle of his chest that damn near made my mouth water. Fuck, he was good looking. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed that before my return from New York.
I practically bounced over to him, Anna at my side. He leaned against his car as he waited for us, looking like he belonged on the cover of a men's magazine. Possessiveness rose in my chest as I saw the way a few women did a double take of him while they walked past.
'That's right, ladies, keep on walking,' I thought to myself, some primal part of me willing to fight anyone who tried to get in between him and me.
I walked over and reached up to grab the sides of his face, pulling him down for a kiss that skirted on inappropriate for such a public place. My tongue swirled against his, encouraging him to open his mouth and give me exactly what I wanted. He grinned against my mouth, then pulled away slightly and glanced toward Anna, as if he was unsure whether I really wanted her to see this.
Anna coughed awkwardly. "So, um, I guess I'll be going... you be good to my best friend, Elio!"
Elio chuckled and turned to open the door for me. "I'm always good to your best friend. I happen to like her quite a lot."
Anna rolled her eyes and walked away before we subjected her to any more public displays of affection. Elio walked around the car and slid in smoothly, reaching his hand out automatically to rest on my thigh.
Heat spread from his fingers straight to my core. I rested my own hand on top of his and settled in for the drive. I had no idea how far we were going, but being with Elio filled me with a deep sense of comfort. I closed my eyes and relaxed against my seat, letting the light filtering through the passing buildings warm my face.
"Hey, baby," he said softly, startling me slightly.
I had somehow managed to fall asleep in the few minutes we'd been driving.
"Sorry, I hate to wake you, but I wanted to let you know I have to run by one of my apartments to grab some paperwork," he said. "I hate doing work while you're with me, but it should be quick."
"What apartment?" I asked. "I thought you only did office stuff?"
"Remember that old school building that I showed you on one of our first dates? We're going there. They have apartments on the top few floors and then a coffee shop and a restaurant in the bottom. I'm actually pretty excited for you to see it. It's changed a lot since I first showed it to you."
I nodded and laid back again, allowing myself to fall asleep until we got there. I always slept best with Elio watching over me.
He woke me by gently rubbing his thumb in circles on the palm of my hand. "We're here," he said, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
I wondered what could be so exciting about having to do work on our date.
"This might take a few minutes. Do you want to come in? I thought I could show you around." He almost sounded nervous, but I couldn't imagine why.
I nodded. "Sure, that sounds great."
When we walked in the front doors, I was amazed at how transformed the space was. There was a fancy Italian restaurant operating where the cafeteria had been, and a coffee shop that was partially in the old principal's office.
coffee shop had decided to lean into the principal's office aesthetic, full of antique desks and a giant chalkboard menu that sported drinks all named after famous teachers from books and movies. The Italian restaurant had utilized the indoor space to create a sort of faux patio, perfect for people who wanted the experience of outdoor seating even on the worst weather days.
Elio pulled me over to the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, he had me pressed against the wall. He wrapped one arm around my waist and the other around the back of my neck, using his leverage to pull me into a toe-curling kiss. He took his time with his kiss even though we could be interrupted at any moment. Too soon, the elevator dinged to indicate we were on our floor.
"The penthouse," Elio said, pulling away from me.
The elevator opened directly into the apartment.
"We made it so you can only access this floor if you have the key," he explained. "That way you can ride directly up."
I looked around, amazed at the elegant penthouse. It had once been the upper floor of the school, but you would never know that now. It had been transformed into a giant open-plan industrial style apartment. Every inch of it oozed luxury, from the kitchen with some of the fanciest appliances I had ever seen, to the living room that had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the entire city. The view was breathtaking as the sun had begun to set and cast a golden light over everything.
I wandered around, opening doors at random and taking in the opulence of it all. It was the kind of place that someone like me could only ever dream of living. I felt lucky just to see it, and I understood why Elio had been so excited to show
me.
I knew he'd had a hand in the design of the space, and it was obvious that he'd worked hard at it. He'd struck the perfect balance between the harsh modernity of his usual taste and the old money comfort that anyone who could afford this place would want to have.
I went into the bathroom, amazed to replace a touch screen vanity mirror that could be adjusted to any kind of lighting and would give tips on how you should do your makeup or what clothes you should wear to best suit your mood. The shower had a heated tile floor and two shower heads that faced each other, so that you would never have to rotate. The best of all was the gigantic jacuzzi tub that sat nestled in the corner with a beautiful window overlooking yet another breathtaking view of the city.
The bedroom had the same gigantic windows that the living room had, but with automatic blinds that could be drawn to plunge the room into total darkness at the touch of a button discretely located near the bed. It was the perfect room to spend the day with a lover just lavishing in each other's company. It was cozy without being claustrophobic.
"This is... amazing, Elio," I breathed, as he came up to stand behind me and rest his head on my shoulder.
We both stood together, staring out the window as the city started to light up for the night. The glittering lights warmed my heart. I loved knowing that there was a whole busy world out there, people who I had never even met living lives that I had never even heard of. "Do you really like it?" Elio murmured in my ear, kissing my earlobe.
"I do. I don't think you'll have any trouble at all selling this one. It's the most amazing apartment I've ever seen."
"Good," he said, moving around so that we were looking at each other, "Because I was hoping I could sell you on it. Will you move in here... with me?"
If you replace any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report