STEFANO {Published/Sample Only}

16

I held the door, gesturing him into the building, closing the door behind us- finally in a safe space, the weights I had just felt immediately dissolving.

He stepped past me, eyes up on the walls, the windows, his eyes just as wide as his smile. He liked it. I tapped his back again, feeling an instant rush as I led him towards the elevator.

"There's a lot of history here." And it was clear across town from the rest of mia famiglia. "I waited years to get in, took some good ole fashion bribery. Our company handles half of the co-op boards' accounts now."

We stepped into the elevator and he turned on his heels, bumping my side, my heart stalling as he smiled up at me. "This suits you."

I led him down the hall, stopping in front of my door. No one, besides family, had ever stepped foot inside my place. Parties, friends- always met at Luca's. My apartment was too personal, too risky. "This is me."

I pushed the door open, watching him, his eyes lighting up again, jaw dropping, a few sharp inhales while he looked around.

"Stefano!" He whipped his face back towards mine, smiling ear to ear, making me feel really fucking good. "This is incredible!" He walked straight to the fireplace, rubbing his fingers over the original mahogany before walking to the window, staring out at the park. "This... it's like stepping back in time, I.." He continued around the main room, fingers sweeping over every thing he passed.

Then he stopped at the bookcase, bending down to look at the frames before lifting on his toes to see the higher shelves. "You have a lot of photos up, I didn't peg you as this type of guy."

This type... "What does that mean?"

"Sentimental I guess...." He was still looking over the photos and I heard some muffled muttering scattered between a few laughs. "Lots of you and Luca."

"Yeah, we travel a lot together, work together, always together," I laughed. "We're close."

Then he stepped to the other side of the bookcase... oh shit... the cologne was still there, right at the ledge. Please don't fucking notice, keep walking.

"Did you see my..." I called over but it was too late, he was already reaching for the bottle. Fuck, so embarrassing.

"I didn't know you wore this." He pressed the bottle to his nose as he looked over the books on the shelves.

"I don't."

He stopped, abruptly dropping the bottle back down, taking a step back, his head rolling down, eyes sinking shut. "I, am, an idiot. Of course. I'm intruding... this..." He reached back for the bottle. "Belongs to someone else, another man." He was shaking his head, rolling his eyes, retreating.

"No, it doesn't."

He looked from me to the bottle, rubbing his thumb over it. "You know my abuela bought this for me on my sixteenth birthday, and then every birthday after that," he laughed under his breath. "I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd outgrown it. And then when she died I didn't have the heart to stop wearing it- it reminds me of her."

"And it reminds me, of you."

He flashed his eyes to mine, staring at me from across the room. "You... you have this here because of me?"