Unforgivable Ties

Chapter 22

Stephanie

I was in a dazed state between sleeping and waking, where my consciousness wasn’t fully there. But, I knew I was warm, finally. I had nearly froze trying to fall asleep last night—there weren’t enough blankets, and I was only in my underwear.

The weather must have cleared up. I snuggled into the blankets and enjoyed the warmth, but they were heavier than normal. I started to wake up more, my consciousness getting less hazy. A very familiar tattooed arm was draped around my waist, and had me pulled into his body.

“What are you doing?” I asked Vincenzo.

I wasn’t sure why I didn’t immediately push him away. I should be trying to protect myself from a heartbreak at all costs, but it just felt so right having him hold me like this. Like we were two pieces of a puzzle coming together.

“You were shivering in your sleep last night, and it was keeping me awake,” he muttered, his voice low and throaty with sleep. I felt the words vibrate against my back, the sound more a sensation than something I heard.

I could feel his breath, warm and steady, ghosting over the nape of my neck, sending shivers that had nothing to do with cold down my spine. Even though his body was steel muscle, it was so comfortable to lie against.

My cheeks turned bright red. There was a hardness digging into me that came from below his sculpted abs, that was nestled firmly into my ass. I could feel his dick straining to get out, begging to be tended to.

“What the fuck, Vincenzo?” I said.

“I haven’t gotten laid in months, and your bare ass is against my dick. What did you expect?” he replied, his voice hoarse and laced with irritation. His arm tightened around me, pulling me even closer to him.

Months? But I found that t-shirt with the glitter on it a few weeks ago. No, he had to be lying about the last time he slept with someone.

“We need to get up,” I muttered, but made no effort to move.

Vincenzo’s grip loosened as he sighed, his breath tickling the back of my neck. “You’re right,” he said, though his voice was thick with reluctance. He sat up, taking the warmth of his body with him. I instantly missed its comforting presence.

He hopped out of bed and I couldn’t help but gawk at his half naked form. The size of his bulge that was straining through his underwear was impossible to ignore. He had been hard for so long that fluid coming out of the tip had leaked through his underwear, creating a small wet spot. My cheeks flushed at the sight. It was absolutely sinful how good he looked.

“I’m going to take a shower and take care of this,” he said, glancing down at his dick. “After, you can shower and we’ll head out.”

He was so forward with talking about touching himself, so unabashed, that it caught me entirely off guard. It left me flustered in a way I hadn’t been in a long time, my face burning.

Vincenzo flashed a wicked grin at my embarrassment, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief and amusement. He walked towards the bathroom, his broad shoulders moving rhythmically with each step he took, a testament to the countless hours he spent lifting weights.

“Idiot,” I mumbled to myself, rolling my eyes at his audacity even as my heart thrummed in my chest.

I got up and made the bed, but found it impossible to ignore the soft sounds coming from the bathroom. The shower started running, followed by a low groan that sent shivers down my spine.

I busied myself with fluffing up the pillows and rearranging the throw blanket, trying to drown out the quiet, yet unmistakable, sounds of pleasure coming from the bathroom. But every groan that leaked through the bathroom door only added fuel to my imagination.

My heart nearly stopped as I heard a low groan of my name echo off the bathroom tile. It was a sound of pleasure, raw and unchained. Hearing my name from his lips in that way, with that tone, made the air in my lungs feel too thin to breathe.

“God, Stephanie,” he moaned again, this time more audibly than the last, his voice drawing out my name in a desperate plea. The sound reverberated through the room, raw and uncensored, leaking past the bathroom door and assaulting my senses. I felt a flush creep up my neck and spread across my cheeks.

He uttered my name one last time before letting out a deep moan, one so deep he must have reached the peak of his pleasure. I wondered what his ropes of come looked like right now, spurting out on the tile floor, swirling down the drain in coiling spirals of white. I wondered what his face looked like at that moment of sweet release, eyes squeezed shut, teeth biting into his bottom lip.

The shower turned off, and the door opened, releasing billows of steam into the room. Vincenzo stepped out with only a towel wrapped around his lower half. He fixed his gaze on me, walking up to me like a predator stalking their prey. His hands ran from my ribcage until they stopped at my ass, giving it a firm and possessive squeeze. His eyes were dark, the playful mischief from earlier replaced with a heated intensity that made my pulse quicken.

“You should join me next time,” he said, his voice a husky rumble that rippled through me.

I wanted to, so badly. But I knew it was a bad idea. Vincenzo would take my heart, crumple it up, then throw it in a meat grinder. We were better off as friends.

“I’m going to shower,” I blurted, near running to the bathroom.

After getting ready and saying goodbye to his family, Vincenzo and I headed back to the airport. The air between us on the way back was so charged that I didn’t dare step foot into the apartment alone with him. I texted Jessica, asking if she was available for some Christmas shopping and pleaded for her to meet me at the nearest mall.

She replied instantly, her excitement apparent in the rapid succession of emojis. These digital images felt disproportionally animated and loud amidst the quiet, tense atmosphere between Vincenzo and I. I glanced over at him, his eyes focused on the road ahead but body stiff with unspoken tension.

“You can just drop me off at Brookfield Place,” I said to him. “Jessica will give me a ride home.”

Hopefully, there would be no home tonight, and I could spend the night at her house. I needed a break from Vincenzo to reestablish the invisible barrier that I had worked so hard to maintain between us. But it felt like the barrier had cracks, and no matter how hard I tried to mend them, they could not be fixed. It was just a matter of time before it shattered, and I would be swept up by the tide of longing that was Vincenzo.

“Is here good?” he asked, pulling into a parking structure.

I was pretty sure this was the opposite side of the mall I was meeting Jessica at, but I wanted to get out of his presence.

“Uh huh,” I said, opening the door while the car was still coming to a stop. “Thank you!”

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said.

“See you,” I mumbled in return, slamming the car door shut behind me.

It felt like gravity was three times lighter and the temperature had cooled by twenty degrees being out of his presence. I exhaled deeply, the cold winter air forming foggy clouds in front of me. I felt my phone buzz from the pocket of my coat, and I scrambled to take it out.

Jessica texted, saying she was at the food court. I shot her a response, saying I’d be there in a couple of minutes.

Navigating through the labyrinth of stores and the sea of Christmas shoppers, I clutched my bag tighter to avoid getting pick-pocketed in the crowd. The twinkling lights intertwined with pine garland, ornamented trees at every corner, and holiday songs floating through the air felt strangely out of place in my chaotic mind.

Finally, I saw the illuminated sign of the food court and moved towards it like a moth to a flame. Jessica was sitting at a corner table, tapping away at her phone.

“Hey, Jess,” I said, feeling my lips crack into a genuine smile for the first time that day.

She looked up from her phone, her eyes brightening when she saw me. “Hey! How was your trip?” she asked, gesturing for me to sit down across from her.

The trip was just another lie that I had fed my best friend. She thought the purpose really was to meet his family for the first time. I was a terrible friend for not telling her the truth about my situation, but I couldn’t do it.

“It was good,” I said, putting on a smile that could rival a thespian’s. “His mom is really nice.”

I told her all about Vincenzo’s family, and to be fair, I really did feel that way about them. His mom was welcoming and kind, and his nephew was so adorable.

“Awe, that sounds like fun. It’s nice you get along with his family,” she responded. “Now he just needs to meet yours!”

“Yeah...”

“You aren’t able to make it home this year?” she asked.

“No, not this year,” I replied, looking down at my hands and avoiding her gaze. The truth was, Cesare didn’t want me gone for that long, and when an organization was paying your $100,000 tuition, you didn’t tell them no.

“Can’t Vincenzo pay for it?”

She had assumed it was money troubles, and if it was before I met Vincenzo, it would have been. I used to have no money as a student and my family wasn’t very well off.

“He’s not my sugar daddy, Jess,” I said, frowning at her.

“I know, I know! But I mean, he lives in a penthouse, for Christ’s sake, and a plane ticket is like $200,” she said, her hands extending so dramatically they almost knocked over her coffee. “Speaking of which, you haven’t invited me over to see it in person, the photos—”

“I will soon. Vincenzo and I are going to enjoy spending Christmas by ourselves.” I shrugged off the question, trying to keep my tone casual. “We’ll have a party after New Year’s, okay?”

She pouted jokingly and responded, “He’s monopolizing your time. I miss hanging out with you.”

I almost laughed out loud. It wasn’t Vincenzo that was monopolizing it; it was the injured criminals I treated in the warehouse.

The two of us stood up from the table and started strolling through the mall, distracted by the glittering holiday decorations and echoing strains of cheery music from nearby stores.

“What are you getting him?” Jessica asked.

“Um...I don’t know.”

What did Vincenzo like? There was so much about him I didn’t know. Heck, I didn’t even know his last name and age until yesterday.

My mind swirled with possibilities, digging through the fragments of information I had about him. While doing his laundry and cleaning his room, I noticed he only had one pair of cuff links that he used for his suits. They were simple silver pieces, worn from years of use.

“He needs cuff links.”

“But cuff links are so...boring,” Jessica said, making a face when I voiced the idea to her.

“I think it’s thoughtful,” I countered. “It’s something he will get use out of.”

Jessica conceded, and we walked to a men’s specialty store. The store was nice, but the dollar prices on the pieces were something Vincenzo would use as toilet paper. But I wasn’t a rich mafia man who could buy diamond encrusted cufflinks on a whim. I was still a medical student, albeit it less struggling now that Vincenzo paid for most things.

I picked out a pair of sterling silver cufflinks with a matching tie clip, simple and elegant. I knew Vincenzo didn’t appreciate over the top designs, always opting to wear solid, dark colors and rarely chose patterned clothes.

“Would you like to get these monogrammed?” the sales rep asked as he rang up my purchase.

That seemed like something Vincenzo would like.

“Yes, please.”

“If you could fill out this form,” the sales rep asked.

He passed me an obnoxiously long form and a pen. It felt like far too much text to just get a monogram on the clip and cufflinks; three paragraphs about delivery, shipping and payment methods, another two on care and maintenance, and still more on returns and exchanges. And, I had to sign and initial on each page.

Finally, I passed the form back. The sales rep said they would arrive by the 22nd, and would be gift-wrapped.

Feeling a sense of relief, I thanked the sales associate and exited the store, Jessica hot on my heels. As we continued our holiday shopping, I couldn’t help but think about Vincenzo, and what he would think about my gift. Would he think it was stupid?

It didn’t matter , I reminded myself. This wasn’t real. When I told him I had to buy it because Jessica was around, he would understand. Then, he could toss it in the trash.

I felt a small pang of hurt in my heart at the idea of him throwing my gift away. I really needed to get it together.