Chapter Eleven. If someone would have told me a few weeks ago that I would spend a night watching a girl sleep, I would have laughed them off

Rocco

If someone would have told me a few weeks ago that I would spend a night watching a girl sleep, I would have laughed them off. Rocco Matthews does not do that kind of shit. Usually when a girl falls asleep, that’s my cue to get the hell out of there, if not before then. Last night when Alyssa fell asleep in my lap, it never once occurred to me to leave her. Watching her sleep was one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. She’s so beautiful when she’s sleeping. What I wouldn’t give to watch her sleep every night for the rest of my life. What the hell am I saying?

Normally, falling asleep is no trouble for me, but right now my eyes will not stay closed. I really wanted to sleep for at least an hour before going out with Alyssa tonight, however, it’s not going to happen. Despite being awake most of the night, the anticipation of spending more time with my girl tonight has me beyond ecstatic. There’s also a small part of me that is a little concerned over the fact that Alyssa agreed to give us a shot so easily. When Leah came in last night, she told me Alyssa hasn’t been sleeping since everything with Jeff. She thinks Alyssa is doing better in the last few days, but I’m still worried. I’ve been hoping she is over her ex and not just using me to deal with her breakup. I definitely feel a little better about that since she slept the whole night when she was with me. She didn’t even wake up when I carried her from the couch to her bed. This isn’t just some fling for me. It’s the first time I’m actually interested in having a relationship with someone.

Before I can think about that anymore, Shane and Troy are coming in from the gym. There is no way they will let me sleep now. Remembering Leah needs their help, I get out of bed and head out to talk to them.

“Hey. You guys free on Sunday?” I ask them sitting down at the kitchen table.

“Depends. Need me to keep your girl company for you already?” Shane asks with a dumbass grin on his face.

“I will never ask you or anyone else to do that, jerkoff.”

“Never say never.” Maybe I should just paint the damn rock myself.

“Leah is in charge of the Halloween party. She needs help painting The Rock. Said she’d buy dinner.”

“I’ll help,” says Troy. “I’ll ask Paige, too.”

“Already being asked for favors by the girlfriend’s friends.” Shane’s shaking his head.

“Just say no. You don’t have to be an asshole about it. She didn’t ask me. I offered to help and said I’d see if you guys were free.” I’m getting pissed off that he’s acting like this.

“I’m just busting your balls, Rocco. Chill out. Alyssa and the girls are cool. Just let me know what time. So, I guess we’re going to the Halloween party, too? I’m not getting dressed up,” he warns.

“There’s no way in hell I’m getting dressed up either. I will definitely be going since Alyssa will be there.” They both look at me.

“You’re welcome.” I look at Shane wondering what he’s talking about. “If I didn’t threaten to ask Alyssa out, you would have never done it.”

“What? When did you do that?” Troy asks.

“Dude, it didn’t have anything to do with you. I actually forgot about that. It’s kind of sad you thought you’d have a chance with my girl.” I run my hand through my hair. I’m not even sure how it happened. “It just sort of came up. We went over this before class earlier. There was an opportunity to bring it up, so I took it.”

“The other day.” He ignores me and turns his attention to Troy. “He needed a little push, so I gave him a week to ask her out. Told him I’d ask her out myself if he didn’t. He’s full of shit trying to say he forgot about it. You should have seen his face.”

“You’re crazy man. It’s obvious how much he’s into this girl. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.” At least someone has some common sense around here.

“I needed a push? What the hell does that mean? Wait. You weren’t really going to ask her out?”

“Oh no. I was dead serious. I probably wouldn’t have given you a full week either,” he says grabbing a bag of chips from the cabinet. I’m ready to knock the smug look off of his face. “What happened to you being so concerned about Vicki?”

“I’m not sure what to do about her. For right now, I’m not going to worry too much about it because Alyssa isn’t from around here. Since Vicki isn’t allowed near campus courtesy of the restraining order her father finally agreed to, it shouldn’t be a problem. I haven’t said anything to her about the situation yet, so don’t bring it up.”

“If you’re really going to try to make something of this with Alyssa, she needs to know,” Shane says.

“I know and I’ll tell her. Just not now. I don’t want to scare her off before we even have a chance to get started. No one has even seen the bitch since the last incident. Her parents sent her on some extended vacation. Hopefully, she’ll stay wherever they sent her.”

“You should tell her sooner rather than later.” He’s right, but I’m not ready to chance it. “All kidding and psycho bitches aside, I’m really happy for you. Don’t screw it up because I won’t hesitate to jump right in there. I’m sure as hell not the only guy you need to worry about either.” I shake my head at him. Even if I didn’t ask Alyssa out, there’s no way she’d date Shane anyway. He’s not good enough for her. Damn, I’m not even sure I’m good enough for her.

“What’s going on later? You guys heading to the Village?” I ask.

“Logan and I were thinking about hanging out here since neither one of us feels like going. There’s a hockey game on. Want to grab some beer and order takeout from somewhere?”

“Sounds good. I’m going to run out for a quick dinner with Alyssa. I’ll grab beer on my way back. Order whenever you guys get hungry.”

“I’ll grab it. I have to go out anyway. You actually coming back tonight? Or will you be too busy?” Shane raises his eyebrows.

“Shut the fuck up, Shane,” Troy advises him turning on the TV.

“Okay. Okay.” He’s still laughing, though. “Is she coming back here with you?”

“Get her to come over, Rocco. This way Paige won’t give me a hard time about coming here instead of me going over to the party. If there is another girl here, I might have a chance. I’m really getting tired of her sorority sisters. Especially Carrie. I’m so sick of listening to her whine over you. Shit! Does Carrie know about you and Alyssa? I’m definitely not going over there.” It sucks that Carrie gives Troy so much shit about me, but I really can’t stand that girl.

“I’ll ask her, but she has class at seven tomorrow morning. She might not want to.” Noticing the time, I get up to get ready. My phone is buzzing letting me know there is a text message. Alyssa is on her way back and wants to know where we are going. Seeing her name on the screen of my phone does shit to me that I didn’t even know existed.

After throwing on my boots and grabbing a jacket, I say goodbye to the guys and head around the corner. Alyssa is coming out of the stairwell when I pass it.

“Hey.” She smiles at me. “I’m not late, am I?”

“No,” I say taking her bag from her. “I just left because you said you were on your way. Figured I’d meet you at your apartment. Besides, I missed you.” My hand goes around her waist.

She stops just in front of her door and peers up at me. “You missed me even though you just saw me two hours ago?” I shrug my shoulders and smile at her. She reaches up on the tips of her toes to kiss my cheek before opening the door and heading in. There’s that damn feeling again.

Within ten minutes, we are in my car driving away from campus. It feels so good being alone with her outside of school. There are always other people around and I feel like they are preventing me from really getting to know Alyssa. It’s obvious she keeps some stuff tucked away because she doesn’t want everyone to know certain things, but I want her to be able to talk to me about anything. I want her to know that she doesn’t have to keep things from me.

“Are you going to tell me where we are going, yet?” she asks. Even though it’s dark in the car, I can still see the sparkle in her eyes when she looks at me.

“Well, it’s not somewhere I’d ever think to take my girlfriend on our first date, but I’m limited since she has a time limit on a weeknight.” The look she gets on her face when I tease her makes me want to do it all the time. It’s a mix between her trying not to admit that she loves when I do it and wanting to punch me in the face. It makes me laugh every time. “Think of this as a pre-date. The next time we go on a date, I’m going all out.”

“Two important rules you should know about me are I need to get a certain amount of sleep and I need to eat before I get hungry. If either one of those things fails to happen, I give a whole new meaning to the word bitch.” This makes me laugh even harder because I cannot believe for one second she has it in her to be a bitch. She is so sweet and innocent. “Go ahead. Laugh all you want. You’ll be sorry if you ever have to witness either event.” She crosses her arms over her chest and turns to look out the window.

“You’re so cute when you try to be serious,” I say reaching over taking her hand. She doesn’t fight me. “I have to admit, it would be very interesting to see that side of you. Just not directed at me, of course.” This makes her smile.

“It’s not pretty,” she confirms. Then she starts to chuckle herself.

“The guys are staying in our apartment tonight to watch a hockey game. They’d like you to stop by when we get back. Actually, Troy wants me to beg you. He said he’d have a better chance of his girlfriend wanting to come over if she knew she wasn’t going to be the only girl.” I’m trying to hide how disappointed I’d be if she says no.

“The guys want me to stop over?” she asks with a little bit of disappointment in her voice.

Damn. That’s wasn’t how I intended for that to come out. “Well, that or I’m crashing at your place until you kick me out.”

Her smile returns. “I’ll come over for a little while, but don’t forget I have class earlier than you. Oh and don’t be mad when I’m not cheering for your team.” She nudges my arm with her elbow.

Doesn’t it figure the girl I actually like is a Philadelphia fan? My old man would not be happy. “How can I get you to switch teams?”

“How can I get you to switch teams?” she counters.

“Guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

When we pull into the parking lot, she looks at me with a smirk on her face. “You talked to Leah, didn’t you?” This makes me laugh. How’d she guess?

“She may have mentioned something about this place.” Alyssa just smiles and jumps out of the car before I can get there to open her door. “Will you ever wait just two seconds for me to get the door for you?” I ask.

She wraps her arm around mine pulling me towards the door. “Don’t forget important rule number two. You need to feed me before I get hungry.”

Surprisingly, there is no wait when we walk in. It’s a little upsetting because I was hoping to prolong this night as long as possible. After sliding into opposite sides of the booth, the hostess hands each of us a menu. Alyssa puts hers to the side without even opening it. “I thought you were hungry. Aren’t you going to look at the menu?” I ask opening mine.

“I don’t need to look at the menu.” I look up at her. “I know the whole thing by heart. Besides, I always get the same thing.”

“Every time?” She nods. “Guess I better hurry up then,” I say glancing down at the menu.

“I’m not rushing you. I’m not starving. Yet.” She winks at me when my eyes glance up to hers. It takes a few minutes before either one of us looks away. The only reason I do is because the waitress stops by introducing herself and asks what we want to drink. We are left alone again after she rushes off. Glancing back down at the menu and picking something quickly, I close my menu and direct my attention back to my girlfriend. She’s watching me when I look up. “Tell me something about yourself that I don’t already know.”

“Like what?” I ask her.

She shrugs her shoulders. “Whatever you want me to know.”

“There’s a lot I want you to know about me,” I admit. “Where do I start?”

“We have plenty of time for you to tell me everything.”

“It’s going to take more than one meal for me to tell you everything.”

“Like, I said, we have plenty of time.” She gazes over my shoulder at something with a smile on her face. “Hmm, tell me about your mom. That’s a good place to start since I’ll be meeting her soon,” she says bringing her attention back to me.

“My mom is pretty cool. We’ve always been really close. She’s actually excited to meet you. She asked about bringing you by the house this Sunday to meet her and my stepdad, but that was before I knew that we were helping Leah.” I’m not sure how much is too much to tell her. The look on her face frightens me. “What?”

“You told your mom about me?” Was I not supposed to? She is looking over my shoulder again. I cannot quite bring myself to turn to see what she is looking at, but the curiosity is driving me crazy.

“I did. Was that wrong?” The waitress returns with our drinks and takes our order.

“No it wasn’t wrong. It’s just…” She doesn’t finish what she was saying until I ask her to. “I’m a little nervous to meet her. I’m afraid she won’t like me.”

“How can anyone not like you?” I’m truly confused.

“You’d be surprised.” She is glancing over my shoulder again and this time my head involuntarily turns around. I don’t see anything that would make her so interested to keep looking over there. “I’m sorry.” She realizes that I noticed she is distracted. “Look at that elderly couple over there.” She nods her head in the direction over my right shoulder across the room. This time, I notice them two booths back. It’s easy for us to see them because their table is slightly angled toward ours. I turn back unsure of why they are so fascinating to her. She continues without me asking this time. “They are the cutest couple in the whole entire world.” Her eyes glass over, but she’s still smiling. “Who knows how long they’ve been together, but look at how they still look at each other. The wife set out her husband’s napkin and silverware, then put his straw in his drink for him. Not because it was expected of her, either. She’s taking care of him. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him, but something definitely is. His hands are very shaky. I could tell when he reached out and touched her on the arm after she helped him. The smile she gave him was so adorable. They’d obviously do anything for each other. It’s so sweet to see how that kind of love still exists in this crazy, messed up world.” A tear starts to run down her face, but she catches it. How did she manage to gather all that information about them in such a short amount of time? “I’m sorry,” she says again wiping her eyes on her napkin. “When people ask me what I want out of life, what they have,” she points to them again, “is exactly what I think of. I never say that because people would think I’m crazy. They want to hear about what I want to do for a living and wonder how much money I’d make. But that right there,” she shakes her head, “is happiness in its greatest form.”

“Why do you think people would think you’re crazy? Wanting to be loved and loving someone that way is anything but crazy.”

“It just seems like people tend to define their happiness by how much money they make or the things they own. They forget about having loved ones by your side to make anything you do worthwhile.” She watches them for a few more moments before turning back to me. “Anyway, back to your mom. You think she’ll like me?”

“I know she’ll love you.” Smiling at her makes her smile too.

“Hope so. Is she mad we already had plans for Sunday?”

The waitress places our food on the table and I stop her before she can walk away. “The elderly couple over there?” I indicate the table I’m talking about and she nods. I can feel Alyssa staring at me, but I don’t turn to look at her. “Please put their meal on my bill.”

“Yes, sir,” she says a little confused. “I’ll let their waitress know.”

“Thank you,” I tell her.

“What did you do that for?” she asks.

“Just because,” is all I say to her about it. “No, my mom isn’t mad. She isn’t like that, but she is excited to meet the girl I’m dating. She’s also a little fascinated I’m willing to help out your friend.” That gets a chuckle out of her.

“I don’t see why that would fascinate her at all. You’ve been nothing but a sweet, caring, kind gentleman since sitting next to me in lab last week. She has obviously done a great job raising you.”

“Gentleman? Wow. My mother wouldn’t believe that. She knows the kind of guy I was before meeting you and she wasn’t the least bit happy about it, either.” No point in lying about it. “I am going to try my best to be the kind of person you think I am, though.”

“I don’t want you to change for me.” She stopped eating and was staring at me. “Okay, that’s not entirely true. I’d definitely have a problem with you sleeping with someone else, but I don’t want you to change who you are because of who you think I want you to be. I’m liking you just the way you are right now.”

“You’d have a problem with me sleeping with someone else? Are you telling me that you want me to sleep with you?” It makes her blush. Her head immediately falls and I cannot help but laugh at her. “I’m seriously just teasing you. Well, kind of.” This time her hands go to her head, so she is covering her face. I reach over and pull her arms down. When she picks up her head, the frown on her face causes my laughter to subside.

“Your mother. Go back to talking about your mother,” she says through closed teeth.

I laugh again before continuing. “My parents married after they found out my mom was pregnant with me. It only lasted two years. They got along just fine as long as they didn’t live together. When I was four, my mom married my stepfather. He’s a nice guy.” I shrug my shoulders looking down at my plate. “They never had any more children. He’s not really dad-material, if you know what I mean. I think that bothered my mom. She absolutely adores kids, but he’s the kind of guy you were talking about earlier. His job is very important to him. He’s an executive for a financial company. They have a huge house, a few cars, go on a few vacations a year, but he works too much. My mom is alone a lot and I hate that. She keeps busy with friends and this charity she hosts every year. The families of the fallen police officers we help out love her for everything she does for them, so it’s worth it to her. She says she’d never be able to get that type of satisfaction from any paying job out there.”

“I’m sure it’s very rewarding,” she says.

“Yeah. Some of those kids are pretty awesome. There are these twins that we are pretty close to. My mom helps their mom out all the time. She has no family left. Her husband has been gone for a few years.” Alyssa is starting to get a little upset about the conversation. “So, your turn. Tell me something that I don’t know about you.”

She’s trying to think of something to tell me. “There really isn’t much to tell. You know about my family. My mom took off. Dad raised me along with the help of my aunt and uncle. He and Jill married a few years ago. That’s about it.”

“Your aunt and uncle?”

A sad look crosses her face. “My uncle, my dad’s only sibling, and my aunt uprooted their lives to move near us after my mom took off. My aunt quit her job to take care of me while my dad went to work. She didn’t want my dad putting me in daycare. We were all very close. About nine months ago, they were coming home from a long weekend away. It was a drunk driver. They both died instantly.” Her eyes have filled with tears again and she is taking a deep breath to get herself under control. My hand covers hers. She opens her eyes when she knows she won’t cry.

“I’m so sorry.” What else could I possibly say?

“Me, too,” she says and then is quiet for a minute longer. “What is your major, anyway? I guess it’s pretty crappy of me not to know that.”

“No it’s not. We’ve only known each other a week. Like you said, there is plenty of time to get to know each other.” She smiles up at me, but she is playing nervously with the green napkin which is now sitting on the table next to her plate. “Forensic Science.” I take the last bit of my chicken.

“Forensic Science?” I acknowledge her question. “Like CSI?”

I laugh a little and nod at her again. “Yes, kind of like that. My mom didn’t want me to be a cop, obviously. This is my way around it. Of course, my stepdad wants me to follow after him and head into the financial world. Sitting behind a desk or in board meetings at all hours of the day isn’t my thing.”

“I learned a lot about you tonight, Rocco Matthews.”

“Yes, you have. And you didn’t even run out of here screaming. That’s a good sign.”

“No. I don’t plan on it either.” Hearing that makes me feel pretty awesome.

“Ready to head back?” She nods her head and we stand to leave.

Another waitress comes over to us. “The couple whose bill you paid would like to say thank you, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” We walk over to the table and the woman looks up at me.

“Are you the kind, young man who paid for us to eat tonight?” the woman asks me. Her hair is almost pure white, like a puffy cloud on a beautiful sunny day.

“I am. I hope you enjoyed it.”

“We truly appreciate what you did, but if you don’t mind, could you please tell me why you did?” My gaze shifts quickly to her husband. Alyssa was right. It does look like he isn’t in the best of health. When I look back to the lady, she is waiting for me to answer. I really hadn’t planned on telling Alyssa why I did it, but now I don’t have a choice. In all honesty, I’d like for this lady to know.

“Well ma’am, you and your husband have managed to restore my new girlfriend’s faith in love in a matter of a few minutes. I could really never repay you for that.” I know Alyssa is looking at me and I see the lady in front of me shift her eyes to her.

She smiles at Alyssa and reaches over to take her hand before speaking. “Sweetheart, it’s still out there. You just have to find the one person who makes you feel it.”

Alyssa puts her other hand on top of the lady’s small, fragile, wrinkled hand. “I think I might have, but don’t tell him that. It will go right to his head.” I start to chuckle next to her. “May I ask, how long you have been married?”

Her husband speaks up before she does. “Fifty seven years last month.” Alyssa is watching the two of them as they hold hands across the table and stare at each other for a few moments.

The wife turns back to Alyssa. “Whatever happened to you before, dear, don’t ever let it hold you back when you find the right one. You’ll know, trust me.” She stands up and gives Alyssa a hug.

“Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your night,” she says to the two of them before looking up at me.

“You’re very welcome. Thank you again, young man. Please, take care of this beautiful girl you have.”

“My pleasure. I definitely intend to,” I assure her and take my girl by the hand leaving the restaurant.

When we get out to my car, she quietly waits for me to open the door for her. Once I do, she doesn’t climb in right away. Instead, she turns to me putting her hands on my chest. “You are truly the sweetest guy ever. I’m not sure why you chose me, but I’m so glad you did. I’m the luckiest girl in the whole entire world!”

My mind cannot think of an appropriate response to answer her. She has no idea the lucky one here is me. The only thing I’m able to do right now is exactly what she deserves. I kiss her like she is the only girl in this crazy, messed up world.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30