STEFANO {Published/Sample Only}

18

We stepped off the elevator, I led, he followed and I stretched my hand for the door but he grabbed it instead, pulling me to face him.

"Stefano, just for the record- I don't appreciate you telling me to not fucking touch you."

"What? Where did that come from?" I hit the door open, waving him in first.

"Earlier, what you said to me at the bar, rather how you said it to me." He pulled his coat off, hanging it up on the rack while I did the same. "It got lost in all the good stuff after, but don't talk to me like that again."

I tried to think back, but the bar, the bathroom, half of dinner just seemed like a big fucking blur. "Okay..."

His smile was back and he was stepping past me, eyes wide as he looked my place over again. "I want to see your office!"

I nodded to the opposite hall, gesturing for him to follow, feeling that unease again, letting someone into a place that was only mine. I twisted the knob, leaning my shoulders against the door to open it.

"Stefano!" He walked straight to the fireplace, running his hands up the moldings just as he'd done in the main room. "You have two fireplaces in your apartment?"

"Three, there's one in my room too."

He continued to my desk, hand still out, fingers running over the matching mahogany before stepping over to the other side of the room.

"Holy shit!" He whipped his face back over his shoulder, eyes even wider than they'd just been, giving me a look before rolling back to the floor to ceiling shelves. "Stefano.... there are hundreds of trophies here!"

"I told you there were."

"I thought you were exaggerating!" He crouched down, head panning as he looked across each row. Then he reached for the single picture frame, holding it in his hands, stepping back around to face me. "They look really proud."

And this is why I didn't like people in my place, it was too personal.

"... Why did you stop playing, by the looks of it you could have gone pro! You prefer stocks and bonds," he was laughing, teasing.

I walked over, stepping up behind him, his body immediately relaxing back against mine. "Because I couldn't handle the empty bleachers. They were my team."

I plucked the frame from his fingers, taking it with me to my desk. "I... I need to finish some work. I'll be out in twenty."

"Ohh..." He looked around the room real fast before landing back on me. "Okay, do you mind if I take a shower?"

"Down the hall, next to my bedroom door." I pointed him out, listening as his footsteps grew quieter.

I sat on the edge of my desk, staring at the photo. That day still felt so real. Just me, mamma, e papà in St. Louis, sitting in the banquet hall, that picture being snapped the minute they called my name for the Hermann trophy- both of them jumping up with me, they were so proud. I walked back over to the shelves, tucking the frame away, hiding it from sight, but always knowing where it was.

I continued out, shutting the door behind me, following the hall across the main room, seeing a plume of steam in front of me, escaping from the bathroom door that was slightly ajar.

I was slowing, hearing the water sloshing inside, the pattering growing louder with every step closer.

I'd dreamed about this- having a man in my shower. I'd daydreamed about what it would be like to be where I was at this exact moment, and I'd fantasized about what would happen next.