AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Where in the world did that come from?” she asked, looking more than a little bewildered. “I heard you telling Storm that you wanted me. It gave me the courage to speak up and demand that he listen to me and respect my wishes. This is a weird situation for me, and I don’t think I would have had the guts to speak up if you hadn’t done it first.”
I tucked a strand of her short hair behind her ear and ran my thumb along her cheekbone. “I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder in my whole life than I was when you claimed me for your own. I’m totally all in. Don’t ever doubt that for a minute, cher.”
I skimmed my fingertips down the side of her neck and across her collarbone. Touching her soft skin drove home to me how different our bodies were. I was made for roughhousing and fighting. My Aprilia was delicate by comparison. “I just wanted to give you an easy way out in case you were having second thoughts.”
She glanced down at my hand now skating over her shoulder before looking back into my eyes. “I’ve been attracted to you right from the start and I think you know that, Mason.”
I grinned at her confession. “Yeah, I noticed. Promised myself I was going to do the right thing and keep you at arm’s length. The first time you offered me sex, I was all over you in an instant. Let that be a warning to you that I am not to be trusted when it comes to keeping my feelings for you under wraps or my hands to myself.”
“I like the way your hands feel on me.” She moved closer and we held hands, locked tight against our chests. “Maybe I’m being naive, but I don’t have any doubts when it comes to us test driving a relationship. I mean, it’s clearly not the right time, but I want to strike while the iron’s hot. We’re both kind of holed-up in the clubhouse right now. What better time to get to know each other? We’re both experiencing the same strong attraction to one another. If we don’t pursue it, things are just going to get awkward. You seemed on board before. Do you mind if I asked what changed?”
I glanced away before finally admitting, “Sometimes lonely men are guilty of seeing what they want to see when it comes to beautiful women. The emotional side of my brain is head over heels in love with you, but the logical side of my brain can’t quite believe I found the woman of my dreams and she actually cares for me in return.”
She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Aww, that’s sweet and at the same time tragic.”
My eyes lifted to hers again. There was nothing but warm regard and acceptance in her expression. It felt like a beam of happiness directed at my heart, warming me from the inside. I owned up to my insecurity by admitting, “The logical side of my brain can make me question my own sanity at times.”
Aprilia let go of my hands and reached up to cup my face with both hands. “Love is one of those situations where you’re supposed to listen to your heart, not your head. Just let go of all the doubts and trust that your heart knows what’s best for you. I promise you won’t regret it.”
“I’ll try, but it’s easier said than done for a jaded bastard like me.” Deflecting the attention away from my feelings, I asked, “How about you? Are you feeling the love tonight?”
She sighed dramatically. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I shot back firmly. “If we’re both jumping into the deep end together, I deserve to know exactly where I stand with you.”
“Alright. That’s fair. You’ve told me stories about your grandma, so I’m gonna tell you one about mine. Nonna Agazzi was a serious and pious woman. She went to mass twice a week and never remarried when my grandfather passed away. Instead, she just helped my dad raise me.”
My heart warmed at her wanting to share a family story with me. Those were few and precious in my world.
“I remember when I was a teen, and all my friends were suddenly boy crazy. I didn’t see the appeal. Adolescent boys were just problems with legs. They smelled like sweat and corn chips, and stared at my breasts when they talked to me.”
I smothered back a smile because my Aprilia wasn’t wrong about that. I remembered being one of those walking problems myself when I was a teen.
Aprilia sighed. “For two or three years, I never managed to have feelings for any boys—or girls for that matter. I remember reading everything I could get my hands on about being asexual and aromantic. Strangely enough, I couldn’t relate to either of those, so I turned to religion to see if that would help.”
“That must have been a confusing time in your life.” I murmured supportively.
“Yeah, it was. It made me feel like I was different, odd, on the outside looking in. I started isolating myself. My Nonna noticed. She never missed anything that went on in her house. When she asked what was up, I broke down and told her. She said something profound. She told me that good, faithful, God-fearing girls who went to church were different from other girls. The ones who got excited about boys were destined to be loose whores that God would turn his back on and eventually cast into the fiery pits of hell. But since I wasn’t succumbing to lust, I would end up finding my true love one day. Only after I had a ring on my finger would my desires emerge. Then I would live a long, happy, virtuous life with the man God had chosen for me. All I had to do was be patient, pray for God to send me a good man, and keep myself pure.”
I frowned at her, confused by the matter-of-fact way she described the warped advice the old woman had given her. “What an absolutely horrible story.”
She actually smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Yeah, by the time we had that conversation, my Nonna was about eighty, had a little dementia going on, and had grown progressively more religious as time wore on.” She squeezed my hands. “I knew it was all toxic BS when she said it, but I always tried to pull a grain of truth from her pearls of dysfunctional wisdom.”
“I can’t wait to hear what your takeaway from that conversation was.”
“My takeaway was that one day my prince would come, and my body might recognize him before my brain does.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face for anything. “You think I’m your Prince Charming because you liked my body before you liked my mind?”
When she nodded, I said, “This is the difference between men and women. Women would be offended by an admission like that. As a man, I’m fucking thrilled that all the hard work I put into working out got me noticed by the woman I love.”
She slung one leg over me and hauled herself up to sit on my stomach. “At first, I was infatuated with your hot body. Then I fell in love with your brilliant mind and amazing personality.”
“Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. I’m finally loved by the right woman.”
She leaned over me, looking concerned. “Are you religious or just joking around right now? I can’t tell.”
“Well, I believe in God. I’m just not religious about it. How about you?”
