Chapter 33
“Why are you even here,D? You should be withhim!” Emma exclaims the minute she walks into the kitchen and finds me making asandwich.
I haven’t been back to Antonio’s since I came back home Sunday, and I guess Emma is finding an issue with that. She has been hinting all along I need to go be with him. I suppose now she’s a little more emphatic about it. Honestly, I do miss spending intimate time with him. At the office, we have been able to keep it super-professional. And he’s been working late, so I’ve just been cominghome.
“Calm down there, girlie,” I joke. “I am going to be with him. He had some errands to run and I wanted to pack somestuff.”
She plops down onto the barstool with her arms folded. “Well, good then; you’d be a fool not to be spending time withhim.”
I lean into the counter and take a bite of my sandwich. “I know, right? He is quitedreamy.”
Emma flutters her long lashes and lets out a whimsical sigh. “It’s so romantic. I think he’s in love withyou.”
“Don’t try to analyze my love life, little girl. Would you like asandwich?”
“No thank you. I had pizza with Julian afterschool.”
“Julian?”
“Yes. The guy I met. The one who’s gonna take me to prom.” She hops off the barstool and walks over to the fridge to grab a bottle ofwater.
“Oh, his name is Julian? Sounds sophisticated,” I say through bites of mysandwich.
“He’s really sweet, D. I want you to meethim.”
“I will, babe. But for now, I’ve gotta go pack. Antonio will be heresoon.”
* * *
Antonio picksme up and takes me back to his house with plans for us to cook dinnertogether.
“Are you sure we’ll be able to cook in here without ending up naked on the counter?” I askplayfully.
“As long as you don’t strip down to your glorious nakedness, like you did before.” Antonio pulls me close and kisses my forehead. “Because once I see you naked, all bets areoff.”
“Mmm-hmm,” I say looking up at him. “Well, don’t be flaunting any of your sexy-ass smirks that make me want to strip down to mynakedness.”
“I’ll try not to. But it’s good to know that’s all I have to do to get younaked.”
We prepared what has become our favorite meal together—pizza, loaded with mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, and pepperoni, and gulped it down with a glass of red wine as we lounged in the living room and watched the movie he’s never watched before—TheGodfather.
“So, what did you think?” I ask once the movie isover.
He raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Well, besides the fact it was long, I admit it’s good. I’m glad you made me watch it.” Hesmirks.
I lean in close to him and brush my lips against his. “Antonio, is that a smirk I see on yourface?”
He pulls me on top of him on the couch. “You’re very observant. Why aren’t you nakedyet?”
I lift myself off him. “That, was not your sexy smirk.” I laugh and run up the stairs toward his bedroom and then into hisroom.
And when he catches up to me, he says, “I’ve got an idea. How about we step into thejacuzzi.”
“It’scold.”
“Not in thejacuzzi.”
I don’t even hesitate. “Fine. Afteryou.”
