Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 705 -

*One Week Later* *Caterina*

I jolted awake at the sound of a blaring alarm in my ears and my eyes flashed open, staring at the nightstand, where my phone was vibrating upon the wood, getting closer and closer to the edge with each ring.

I groaned, blinking the crust from my eyes as I reached out, just in time to catch my phone as it fell from the nightstand. In my hand, I quickly opened the screen, scrunching up my nose when the screen lit up unpleasantly. Once my eyes adjusted, I shut off the alarm, hating myself for choosing to use math problems as my alarm shut off. I stared blankly at twelve divided by three, my brain trying to whirl to life as I watched the counter going down until it came to

me.

I hurriedly pressed the four and the alarm shut off. I stretched my arms above my head, my bones popping rather loudly and before I could even think of getting out of bed, a strong arm snuck its way around my bare waist, pulling my naked body straight into the warm, muscled companion.

Elio mumbled something, still asleep as he tucked his head into the crevice of my neck, and I blew out a breath of air. Under the warm covers, with Elio's arms around me that was where I wanted to stay.

I didn't want to drag myself out of the warmth of Elio to go sit through my classes at eight in the morning while the professor droned on and on. I grabbed Elio's hand, intertwining our fingers, and I raised them to kiss his knuckles like he would often do to me.

I sighed, wishing I could relax back into his embrace like butter but unfortunately, being an adult meant having responsibilities. Though I grumbled about my professor only having a one-time slot for this class that was too early in the morning, I gently untangled my limbs from Elio and stepped out of bed.

It was immediately cold without any clothes on, and I shivered, wrapping my arms around my waist to grasp onto any little remaining warmth as I hurried to the closet. I picked out a simple outfit and headed to the bathroom for my morning routine.

By the time I had taken a shower, done my makeup, and changed into new clothes, I walked out of the bathroom to see Elio sitting up in bed with his eyes shut, almost like he was still asleep.

I grinned, slowly creeping across the floor in my socks so as not to disturb him and grabbed my backpack.

I gently placed it on the bed and then myself, the bed lowering just a tiny amount of my side, but that was enough. Elio's eyes snapped open, and he turned to me blinking repeatedly. "Morning, sleepyhead," I giggled, pulling on my shoes one after another.

This particular pair of sneakers was pretty worn out, but I couldn't bear to throw it away. My mom had gotten them for me for my birthday and I was quite attached to them. Even if the heels looked like they needed some duct tape soon. "Morning," Elio yawned, leaning back on his arms as he watched me get ready.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" I asked once my shoes were on my feet.

I leaned over the bed, giving him a quick kiss and he barely reacted, blinking slowly like he was still coming back to this reality.

"You were gone," he finally answered after several minutes. "So, I woke up."

I laughed, giving him a teasing grin. "Did you want to get some more sleep then, baby? I think you might need it."

"No." Elio yawned again. "I have to go check out a few properties with Leo today anyway. It won't matter if I'm early."

The scent of bacon and eggs wafted through the air.

"Looks like the cook has breakfast ready," I said. "I can bring you some if you want to get some more rest."

"Mm, I'd rather have something tastier for breakfast," he said, pulling me into his arms. "You."

I laughed. "I don't have time, though I'd love to stay."

"Then stay," he said.

I opened my mouth to say something else and he jumped on the opportunity, swallowing my words with his tongue. I moaned into his mouth and let my tongue play against his for a moment of pure bliss. But school was calling me, and I had to push away gently. "I need to get ready."

I could feel his desire pushing against my stomach and he smirked, gently tracing the red blush on my cheeks.

Pinned under him, I was practically useless, but we both knew I could escape if I wanted to. I didn't, though.

With some reluctance, Elio kissed me one last time then released his hold on me, and I almost wished he would firmly drag me under the covers and undo all my hard work. I pursed my lips, my unhappiness clear and he smiled as he got out of bed, grabbed some clothes from the closet, and headed to the bathroom.

I watched his fully nude form with appreciation, and he turned to face me, his cock fully hard even this early in the morning. He smiled again and then shut the door, cutting off my view. I was tempted to follow him for a minute until I regretfully looked at the time and grumbled to myself.

The breakfast was even better than expected-French toast with fried eggs and bacon. I thanked the cook and had just filled my plate when Elio came in. The cook placed two steaming cups of coffee in front of us and Elio looked up, thanking her as I did the same.

The food was delicious but as I took a bite of the French toast, I lamented over how it had never quite tasted the same for me since Dad passed away. He had a special recipe that he would make for me and Mom on those rare mornings when he didn't have to rush off for work. Now, of course, I understood the rush. The mafia business wasn't exactly a nine-to-five job.

He did write down the recipe and Mom made it sometimes, and I'd tried as well, with less success than Mom had, but it still wasn't the same.

I felt a bit guilty now, as I remembered that Mom had tried to make them a week after his death. She had been so proud of it, and I had thanked her by throwing an absolute fit.

Dad's French toast had been banned ever since. Looking back, I wished I'd been there for Mom better after Dad passed away, especially when she tried to revive his memory with his special recipe French toast. I made a mental note to apologize to my mother.

The chef's French toast, of course, was heavenly, and I tried to push all my memories and guilt and regrets out of my head so I could enjoy it more. I really admired the live-in cook's work. She knew how to make just about everything from fancy Italian fare to simple breakfasts taste even more special. It always amazed me how chefs could time everything perfect so that it was all ready at once and cooked to perfection. That was definitely a skill I lacked.

For a moment, I let my mind wander as I thought about having a family with Elio one day. I'd surely need to learn to cook better then, even with a team of chefs at my disposal. Maybe I'd specialize in pies. Those were always my favorite. Everyone needed a mom who could make a special pie that was better than store-bought. I'd need to think about that more.

But I was knocked out of my thoughts by my second alarm going off, blaring inside of my jeans pocket. I pulled it out, doing the math problem and dismissing it hurriedly. "I need to hurry or I won't make it in time." I quickly finished my last few bites and reached for my backpack.

"You know," Elio started casually, poking at his unfinished eggs, "it's a pain to get up this early every morning, isn't it? You don't have to go to school if you don't like it. I can more than support the both of us."

I paused, staring intently at Elio as he did the same to me. It seemed like he didn't want me to even go to school, though I thought he'd been so supportive of it in the past. But thinking it over, I realized that this wasn't the first time he had suggested this and no doubt, it would not be the last. But as always, my answer would remain the same.

"No," I said firmly, as I crossed my arms unhappily. "I'm going to school, and I'm going to get my degree, end of story."

Whether I was with Elio forever, which I certainly hoped I would be, or not, I needed to have some semblance of my own life. I needed something that was my own, and getting this education was more important to me than I'd realized before. He sighed, dropping the matter, but I could see how much it clearly bothered him. I knew that he wanted to support me, to give me the world if he could, but I also didn't want that. I wanted to be able to stand on my two feet without him, to make something of myself through my own effort.

I didn't get why he didn't understand that, and he didn't understand why I kept shutting him down every time he brought it up. But we'd been through it so many times that I just didn't want to fight about it anymore.

"I love you." I pressed a kiss to his cheek, and he smiled at me as I rushed out of the house.

Our compound was father away from school than our penthouse had been, and it was a bit of a drive now that took me almost forty-five minutes. I had to rush at this point, so I parked and locked the car, rushing into the building.

I had to reorient myself a few times, having only been to the classroom twice so far, so I rushed through the halls, counting doors and halls and hoping I was going the right way. I had just turned the corner which should contain the class when I hit what felt like a wall.

I fell back onto my ass, groaning painfully as the items in my backpack spilled across the floor. Even more alarming was that the wall fell onto me, pinning me on the floor.

My heart raced in my chest, and I stared into two very confused brown eyes.

"What the hell?" was the only response I could come up with.