Page 21 of A New Days Don

“Didn’t seem too official considering it was me saving you from what you most definitely have been your last day on Earth.” He muses, but despite his demeanour, his eyes darken, and the muscle in his jaw flicks angrily.

My mind rushes back to waking in his bed. His scent, which is all too apparent right now, is making the flashback feel far more real than it should. Him.

I tear my gaze from him as a warm flush races up my chest and cheeks at the image that won’t stop bombarding my mind of him, half-naked and hair slicked wet to his face.

“How’s your leg?” His voice is softer, almost genuine, making a new lump knot its way in my throat. I don’t know when I last had someone care outside of my parents and Karmin.

“Fine,” I respond, still avoiding his gaze, my eyes catching on the various volumes of books that look to be more than a century old, but still kept in a preserved condition.

Suddenly, a shadow looms over me, making me stiffen as the taut, black slacks Massimo is wearing fill my field of vision. A large hand gently pulls my gaze up to the t-shirt painted on his abs, leaving nothing to the imagination, until my gaze meets his.

“Did you get all the answers you needed?” I try to focus on the words coming out of Massimo’s mouth, trust me, I do, but the warmth of his big mitt on my face makes my mind turn to mush.

Answers. Answers to what?

“Mhmm,” I squeak, even though I’m still not sure what answers he’s referring to, because I know when I walk out of here, I am leaving with more uncomfortable questions about myself than answers.

“Mila,” he murmurs my name. I swear the tugging in my gut that seemingly opens up a floodgate between my thighs is not normal.

I must be sick. I need to see a doctor.

“Yes, Mr. Bianchi?” I don’t know how I managed to pull those three words together, considering my entire mind and body are in some sort of meltdown mode.

I begin to rap my fingers on my thighs, willing whatever anxious energy is thrumming through me to escape through the rhythmic pattern. Massimo crouches in front of me. All six foot something of him, shrinking down to meet me at my eye level, and somehow, this is way worse. Far too intimate with the way his calculating gaze seems to read me. As if he can see everything and understands me better than I understand myself.

“I have to go!” I yelp, standing abruptly, “Detective Vicek will be waiting. Thank you for this information. It was extremely helpful.”

I ramble off, maintaining the smallest bit of composure then quickly exit his office, leaving him still crouched and watching me curiously. Far too curious for someone I just met.

Chapter 8

Mila

I run into the cafe, the same one Karmin and I have met at every time since she graduated. When I first started appearing back in public, we tried to change up the scene a few times, but the humiliation from the compulsion to check my environment and the sudden onset of panic attacks became too much, especially after a server called me out on it. We settled on this café because it was small and bright with lots of natural light streaming in from floor-to-ceiling windows. Most patrons don’t stick around for much longer than to grab their coffees and go.

Karmin pipes up at our usual table, her brown eyes shining with happiness like they always do. Her smile and delight radiate around the room, and the reciprocating smile spreads easily across my own face. I walk around the room, peering into the barista station and scanning under the tables before I approach her, allowing her to pull me into her familiar warmth and sigh a breath of relief. Sliding into the booth across from her, I sit facing the door to the café as I always do.

“I missed you,” she says as she passes me a menu.

“I missed you too,” I tell her, not bothering to look at the menu. I already know what I want. I get the same thing every time we come here.

“Then next time don’t rain check me for a month,” she glares playfully at me, and I chuckle.

“I’m sorry! I had that major Jeremiah case, and I needed to make sure it was airtight. One less pedophile on the streets.” I tell her, and she sighs.

“As long as you are only ever postponing me to send the world’s scum to the slammer, I will never complain again. How am I supposed to stay mad at you for that?” Karmin notes and places her menu down. Her gaze flicks to mine with nothing, but admiration as she asks, “Ready to order?”

“In a minute, tell me about how work is going?” I ask, and Karmin goes on a full-blown rant about a coworker who she believes may be sleeping with their boss. By the time she is done with her story, I have lost all sense of reality, and I am there with her watching the scene unfold between boss and employee. Each one of his subtle flirts with her becomes more and more intense and flustering. I don’t know how her coworker keeps it together.

I am about to say something through my giggles when a shadow descends on us, freezing me where I sit. I don’t even need to hear the voice to know who it is that looms. The intoxicating smell that always seems to linger like a cloud around him tells me everything I need to know.

“Ahh, now I see the reason for your giggles.” Massimo’s deep timbre makes my heart skip, and I shift away from him. Away from the way he makes me feel when he is too close. He doesn’t make me feel unnerved, out of control, or fearful. He makes me feel something far worse than I know I shouldn’t.

“Mr. Bianchi.” I steel myself, my emotions falling from my face as I plaster a blank look in its place.

Massimo is handsome at night, but he is even more devastating in broad daylight. Sun beams in on his chiselled features. He is dressed in a silky black dress shirt, the top two buttons undone, tucked into black fitted pants. The second my eyes meet the distinct bulge in his crotch, I look back up to his face, my cheeks flaming at the amused look on his face. I wait patiently for the panic. The panic I feel is bubbling below the surface. I beg it not to swoop into a full-blown attack in front of everyone in this restaurant. In front of Massimo.

Breathe in two, three, four. Breathe out two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.