Caught in the Middle

Chapter 29

Carina (carina)
Allegra spensierata sei carina (carina)
Ma con il broncio sembri ancor più bella
Tu sei la stella che manca in ciel
Perché carina, carina, carina sei tu
Simpatica e dolce ogni giorno di più
E col tuo candore carina tu sei fatta per amar

- Carina - Nicola Arigliano (https://open.spotify.com/track/5yivxFwuIMvhWWQclRNuLC?si=d7266f0283bf4035)

I scatter the last few rose petals from the bag to finish the path leading to the bathroom when my phone rings in the living room. I take one final look around our room before closing the door to run down the hall in time to answer the call. "This is Maya." The placemat on the kitchen counter is askew and I tuck the phone between my shoulder and ear as I pull on the edges. "The wolf has found her way back to Rome." What the hell? I look back at the phone to make sure it really is the front desk calling and not some weird prank call.

"Uhm, Borris. I'm afraid you've lost me." Our security guard chuckles over the phone while I do a full three-sixty around the apartment, lost in thought as I double check everything against my mental checklist. "You asked me to inform you when Dr. Deluca-Bishop is here. She just stopped in the garage." I jump into action, dimming the lights and sprinting through the doors. "I'll give you another fifty if you keep her down there until I get there." My feet slip on the tiles near the elevator when I turn around too quickly.

Fuckity, fuck, fuck! The fucking flowers. I run back to our apartment just as I overhear my wife's voice on the other side of the phone. The way back down to the lobby takes longer than it ever has before. When the elevator doors finally open, I'm met with the scene of my wife, seconds away from shoving the poor security guard out of her way. "Hey, hey, my love. Take it easy." I walk up behind her, placing my hand on her back. "Thanks man." Borris happily takes the fifty-dollar bill from my hands, looking down at the money as he contemplates whether it was worth being yelled at in a foreign language.

"Babe, please. I asked him to hold you off for a minute." I move around her until I'm facing her while she keeps glowering at Borris in irritation. "Well then he should have said that instead of lying to me about some dent in my Porsche." He looks at me for permission before he walks back to the front door. "Uhm, hi. Your car is fine, if we can get back to us now?" Carina's gaze travels down my body and a smouldering look takes over her features as her lips pull into a wicked grin. I hand her the flowers before going in for a lingering kiss on her cheek.

"Buonasera, bella." She takes a step away from me, inhaling the scent clinging to the flowers in her hands. "Are you ready for the most romantic evening of your life?" Her smile turns ecstatic as she vigorously nods her head up and down before looping her arm through mine. "Why did you need to bribe Borris for more time? Didn't Queen-of-the-Clipboard Maya get everything done?" I look up into her inquisitive eyes after hitting the button for the elevator to take us back to our floor. "You underestimate the clipboard, love. I have meticulously planned and executed every detail of tonight, to perfection and beyond."

She pretends to fan herself by pulling on the neckline of her dress. "Your obsession over order is so hot." I poke her in the side, willing the elevator to move faster. "I want to do things the right way, remember? Flowers, meeting you at the door, walking you up. That sort of thing. The first time we hooked up, I was waiting for you in my bed. Naked, if I recall correctly." She slaps the flowers against my chest, before pulling me through the open metal doors. "Exactly. What's sexier than walking into that again?"

I follow her down the brightly lit hall, shaking my head at her back until I see the seductive sway of her ass as she takes a few steps away from me. My eyes are glued to her every mouthwatering curve, traveling their way up to her knowing smirk looking over her shoulder at our door. "It's not very gentlemanly of you to let me open the door myself while staring at my ass." I try to hide my blush from her, before jogging the few steps to our front door to stop her from opening the door herself.