Chapter Sixteen. This past week has been one of the greatest of my life

Alyssa

This past week has been one of the greatest of my life. Last Friday when I heard Rocco’s broken voice on the phone and felt the worst pain in my chest from worry, I knew without a doubt that I was in love with him. There was nothing I wanted more than to take the pain away, even if I had to bear it myself. That’s not something you would do for just anyone. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t known each other very long. The feelings I have because of him, for him, are all the proof I will ever need. I was irrefutably put on this earth for the sole purpose of loving Rocco. Everything I have gone through up until now was just to prepare me for a life with someone who loves me as much as he does.

We’ve spent just about every possible minute together since Saturday when Rocco told me that he loved me. Waking up to him sleeping beside me Sunday morning was something I won’t soon forget. While I lay there watching him sleep, the only thought that crossed my mind was wanting this to be an everyday occurrence. Every night since then, he stayed with me until after I fell sound asleep with the exception of Wednesday night when I slept over at his apartment. I had only gone over to watch a movie after class with him and the guys except when it was over, he wouldn’t let me leave. Not that I put up much of an argument. We ate most meals together. Sometimes we ate here at school and we went out a couple of times, too. He’d walk me to class if he could. My roommates don’t mind him being around, either. Thank goodness for that because I really do like our apartment much better than his.

I’ve been stuck in this chair for over an hour now while Leah plays with my hair and finishes up my makeup. There is no reason I couldn’t do these things by myself other than she insisted. To be honest, I’m actually so nervous to go to this dinner tonight that I’m overly grateful to her for helping me. Rocco has been reassuring me how it’s really no big deal, but meeting his mother is definitely a big deal to me. Well, there’s that and the fact that the heels Leah insisted I buy to go with the dress she picked out are literally a deathtrap. Whoever invented heels should be shot.

“Hold still, Lyss. I’m almost done,” Leah says pinning the last piece of my hair in place. She left most of it down, but pinned up the sides so they weren’t touching my face. My best friend knows me well enough to assume I will constantly be pushing it away. It drives her nuts when I do it. “There. You are done,” she exclaims. “And absolutely beautiful I might add.” She is looking over me into the mirror she had me sit in front of so I could watch her.

“You are the best roommate ever!” I tell her.

“I know,” she smiles at me. “Now go get the dress on. Rocco will be here to get you soon. I don’t want him seeing you until my masterpiece is complete.”

“Are you sure this dress is appropriate to wear? I’ve never been to anything like this.” Nerves are starting to get the best of me, again. We must have had the dress talk about twenty times in the last week. Leah swore it was perfect, but I’m unsure now that it’s time to put it on.

“Alyssa Adler, so help me, if Rocco walks in here and you aren’t ready…” she starts.

Holding up my hands in surrender and grabbing the dress from my closet, I run into the bathroom before she loses it. I pull it on quickly and carefully not to mess up my hair or my makeup. Having to fix me would really set Leah off. The dress is actually very pretty. It is a dark charcoal gray and it’s just loose enough to give me room to move, but tight enough to show way more than I am used to. It is a bandage style dress, with sheer lace capped sleeves. The back is mostly open and there is a touch of sequin accents which give it just a hint of sparkle in the right light. I find myself twisting and turning to look in the mirror the way Leah does. A soft knock on the door startles me.

“Almost ready, Sunshine?” Just the sound of his voice makes my heart beat faster.

“Be out in a sec,” I yell through the door sliding my feet in my entirely too high black heels. Luckily, I don’t stumble when I walk to the door. One more glance down at myself and I think how nice my tattoo looks in these shoes. Shame I won’t be wearing them again.

When I open the door, Leah, Erin, and Julia are standing there. “I need to make sure you look perfect first,” Leah informs me. “Spin around.” I do as instructed and by the time I’m facing her again, Leah has a huge smile on her face. “Marvelous! Okay, Rocco. She’s all yours. Just don’t mess her up until after you leave the dinner,” she warns.

“How the hell could I mess her up?” he asks her confused walking into my room as I step out of the bathroom. When he sees me, he stops dead in his tracks with his mouth slightly hanging open in the midst of talking. I cannot help but notice how handsome he is dressed up. He is wearing black pants and a black dress shirt with a blue tie so dark and shiny it almost looks black. The suit jacket he had slung over his shoulder is now practically hanging by his fingertips almost to the floor.

“Do I look that bad?” I ask suddenly worried he doesn’t like the dress.

“Bad is not even close to what I’m thinking, Sunshine,” he manages to get out. “You are absolutely stunning,” he says after a long pause. Instantly, I feel relieved as he comes over reaching out for my hand. He pulls it up to his lips kissing it and leans down to kiss my cheek.

“Don’t you dare mess up her makeup, Matthews! I will seriously kick your ass!” Leah threatens. Her attention is drawn to the kitchen where there is a knock at the door. The sound of a few voices reaches us.

“Let me see. Let me see,” Paige is calling as she comes in my room. “So beautiful!” she squeals.

“Holy shit!” Shane blurts out from behind Paige making us all look up at him. Rocco’s look is a little more intimidating than ours, though. Erin and Julia are sitting on Leah’s bed trying to hide their giggling. “Damn Rocco. You’re going to be busy fighting them off tonight, man.” Troy hits him in the back of the head. “What? Do you really think I’m the only one who is going to notice how hot she is? I get that you are in love with Paige and everything, but even you have to see it.”

“No. You are just the only dumb ass to say it out loud,” Troy says to him. Paige snickers beside him.

Rocco brings his attention back to me. “I got you something,” he announces pulling a box out of his jacket pocket. He holds out a long, rectangular light blue box with a white ribbon wrapped around it. There is only one place that can be from and I own absolutely nothing from there. I look up at him completely shocked and he nods for me to take it. Slowly, my hand reaches out and he places the box inside of it. Slowly, I open the box to see a beautiful platinum diamond heart necklace staring back at me.

My eyes do not wander from the overly expensive gift Rocco has given me. “Rocco, I cannot…”

“Sunshine,” he interrupts before I can say anything else. “Please don’t tell me you aren’t going to accept it. It literally took me hours to figure out which one to buy for you.” He takes the box back from me and removes the necklace before placing it around my neck. We are staring at it in the mirror. “It doesn’t shine nearly as bright as you, but it is still beautiful,” he whispers.

“It is. Thank you, so much. I love it!” I turn around and throw my arms around him. “I love you,” I tell him before kissing him.

“Oh. My. Goodness! What the hell did I just say to you two about the makeup?” Leah shouts.

“Let’s go before I get in any more trouble,” Rocco chuckles. “Do you have a bag ready for tonight?” He asked me to stay overnight at his house tonight and have brunch with his mom and stepfather tomorrow.

“Yup. It’s over on my bed.” He goes over to grab my bag and his jacket he had draped over my desk chair.

“I already pulled my car up to the door right outside.” He’s holding his arm out for me to hold onto which I graciously accept.

“Please don’t let me break my neck in these things.” Leah is grumbling behind me. She thinks all girls are born knowing how to walk in heels.

“I would never let you fall.”

Leah is handing me her clutch purse which I’m sure she stocked with all of the makeup she just used on me. I have no plans of actually using any more of it, but it’s best to keep that thought to myself. She pulls me in for a hug. “Have a great time.” Then she whispers our usual, “Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.” I’m sure my face turned a light shade of red since everyone is standing around us.

We leave right after another round goodbyes. I mean, seriously, we aren’t getting married. The sendoff is very unnecessary, but I know it’s only because they love me. Rocco maneuvers me down the steps outside of the building without incident. Once we are on the highway a few miles from school, I notice the frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” We haven’t even been gone for ten minutes.

“Shane’s right, you know?” He hasn’t let go of my hand since we got in the car.

“About?” Am I really going to have to pry this out of him?

“You look really hot,” he says with a wink. “Those bastards will be all over you.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” I encourage him even though the idea is absurd.

“No? Why not?”

“Because I’m only going home with you. More importantly, I’m only in love with you.”

This gets me his biggest, brightest grin. “Yeah you are.” I cannot help but giggle. He’s so cute when he thinks it could even be possible for me to love someone other than him. He really has no idea what he’s done to me.

The rest of the ride goes by fairly quickly. We have both relaxed from any earlier anxiety. I’m actually feeling a little excited to meet his mom now. He is telling me about some of the other people who will be there and who he would like to introduce me to. I mention how I’ve been wondering if he would be interested in coming home with me to meet my dad and Jill one weekend before the wedding. He seems thrilled about the idea, but only after asking for close to the millionth time if my dad is really alright with me getting the tattoo.

A little tension sets in when we pull into the driveway for the country club. I know I don’t belong in a place like this. My hand automatically goes to the necklace around my neck. Will these people think I am only with Rocco because of his family’s money?

He pulls to a stop and gets out handing the valet his key. “Take care of her for me okay?” I see him pat the guy on the back.

“Of course, Mr. Matthews.” They know him by name. Why am I surprised?

My door pops open and I hear Rocco tell the guy that he’s got it. He reaches for me. “This is my job,” he winks at me pulling me into his arms. Then he whispers in my ear, “Whatever you are thinking, please stop. These people aren’t the rich snobs you are thinking they are. I promise. Unfortunately, they are all going to love you,” he sighs. As long as he has ahold of me I feel so much better. He leads inside.

The building and the landscape are exquisite. When I tell Rocco what I think, he just shakes his head. “It’s just a building with overly expensive shit thrown around in random places. It’s no big deal.” He takes me into the large ballroom greeting people along the way. There are pictures of many fallen officers set up on the table at the entryway. Some of them are from years ago. My attention is drawn to the beautiful woman heading our way. She is fairly tall, maybe a little shorter than Rocco. Her hair is pulled up into a fancy up do and a very dark brown. Once she’s closer, I can see her eyes are the exact same shade of blue that I have grown to adore seeing every day. “There she is. The most beautiful woman in the room,” Rocco declares when she has reached us. She immediately hugs him and kisses him on the cheek, but he never lets his hold on me falter.

“Now, Rocco, I know you were raised better than to lie to your mother,” she says smiling warmly at me. If I didn’t see the resemblance, I would have never guessed she could be old enough to be his mother. She doesn’t look a day over thirty. “Clearly, I’ve been dethroned by the astonishing young woman you have on your arm this evening.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. It will never happen again,” he teases her. “Mom, this is Alyssa. Alyssa, my mom, Rose Lewis.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Lewis,” I shake her hand she already has extended to me. She surprises me by reaching over to hug me.

“Likewise, my dear. But please, call me Rose.” I acknowledge her request. “So, tell me that my son has been treating you exceptionally well. A mother needs to be able to sleep at night without worrying about her son’s manners.” She quickly glances to him with a grin before giving her attention back to me.

“He has been nothing but a perfect gentleman since I’ve met him.” I sink into Rocco’s side as he puts his arm around me. “Thank you for doing such an incredible job with him.”

“Rocco, I absolutely love her!” she exclaims hugging me again. “You are very welcome, Alyssa. If he gives you any trouble, please do not hesitate to call me. I will take care of it.” I agree. An older man has come to her side. He looks to be much older than her. It’s hard to tell if it is because he actually is or stress has made him appear that way. “This is Alyssa. Alyssa, this is my husband, Max.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he nods at me and I respond respectfully. “Rocco. Good to see you. Everything is well, I presume?”

“Everything is just perfect. Thank you, Max,” Rocco says to him pleasantly.

“I apologize, but I’m going to have to steal your mother. The staff has some questions for you, Sweetheart.” You can definitely tell he loves his wife by the way he looks at her and speaks to her.

“Please excuse me,” she says. “I’m really looking forward to brunch tomorrow where I can actually talk with you, Alyssa. Have a great time tonight. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you, Mrs…I mean, Rose,” I correct myself earning another smile from her. She kisses Rocco once again before walking away.

“I told you she would love you,” he leans down to say in my ear. “Come on. Let’s get a drink.” He orders a beer for himself and a Cosmopolitan for me at the bar.

When he hands me my drink, I take it even though I should not be drinking here. “Think it’s a good idea for me to drink with a bunch of cops around? I am underage, remember.”

He laughs at me. “You’ll be fine. They’re all off duty tonight,” he whispers.

Rocco walks me around for the next half hour introducing me to some friends, police officers he knows, and families who are being honored tonight. It is mostly just small talk until one particular guy seeks him out. “Hey, Matthews. Don’t I get an introduction to the most talked about woman in the room?” Rocco brightens at seeing this guy.

“Tony! How are you?” Rocco says giving the man a one-armed hug.

“You know. Same shit, different day,” he responds.

“Tony, this is my girlfriend, Alyssa. Alyssa, this is Tony. He was my dad’s only partner in his twelve years on the force.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say seeing the sadness cross his face briefly.

“Likewise,” he responds with approval. “Girlfriend? I’m impressed, Rocco,” he mocks. “It’s about time you found someone. Make sure he’s good to you, okay? Cause if he’s not,” he tells me before Rocco steps in.

“Watch it, old man,” Rocco advises and I laugh. He’s so cute when he thinks people are flirting with me. They really only do it because they know it will get a rise out of him.

The two engage in small talk for a little while. “Is everything okay with..?” Tony starts before Rocco puts an end to that part of the conversation. He looks to me than back to Rocco. “Make sure,” Rocco cuts him off again with a nod, but he doesn’t answer. “Soon,” Tony adds.

“I know,” is how Rocco eventually responds. I’ll have to remember to ask what that was about later.

Out of nowhere, we hear a small voice yell out, “ROCCO’S HERE!” just before a little boy plows into him.

Tony laughs walking away, “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Rocco lifts him up automatically. “Hey, little buddy. What’s up?”

“Where have you been? You haven’t been around to see us,” the little guy says to him.

“I know. I’m sorry, dude. Remember it’s a little harder for me to come over when I’m at college. I’ve been thinking about you though,” Rocco tells him.

“Who is she?” a little girl asks standing there with her arms crossed staring at me. She is clearly related to the little boy and very irritated that I’m here with Rocco.

“That’s my friend, Alyssa,” he winks at me.

“Your friend or girlfriend?” she wants to know.

“Awww, Sweetie. You will always be my favorite little girl, you know that.” He leans over picking her up, so he is now holding both of them. He’s twirling them around and they both start laughing. I watch him play with the two of them and remember how good he was with the boys at the park.

“I’m so sorry,” a voice says suddenly next to me. I turn to see a red-headed woman standing there staring at the kids shaking her head. Then she looks over to me. “I’m Carla. That fresh, little girl would be my very feisty five year old daughter, Callie, and the sweet, laid back little guy is her twin brother, Collin. I cannot explain how they are so different. It really is one of life’s mysteries,” she chuckles.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Alyssa,” I greet her.

“I’ve only been here about five minutes and about six people have come up to me saying Rocco brought a date. I can see why some of the girls aren’t so happy about it,” she winks. “Other than your obvious beauty, you must be one special girl, Alyssa.”

“Guess that is why your daughter was not too happy to see me here,” I say embarrassed.

Carla starts laughing lightly. “There are girls of all ages jealous of you this evening.” She shakes her head. “But, again, I’m sorry about her. Since we lost their father two years ago, Rocco has been there for them. They both look up to him and apparently my daughter has developed a bit of a crush on him. I would say she will grow out of it, but I’m not so sure.”

“I understand the fascination,” I tease her. We both laugh. “I am very sorry about your husband. I cannot imagine how hard things are for you.”

“Thank you,” she nods. “It hasn’t been easy being a single mom without close family to help. My husband and I were high school sweethearts. Even being married to a police officer, I never imagined I’d be widowed with two small children at thirty-four years old. Rocco and his mother have been amazingly helpful. I couldn’t do this without them.” We hear an announcement in the background that dinner is being served shortly and everyone is being instructed to find their seats. “Collin and Callie, come on. It’s time to eat.”

“No, Mom,” they both whine.

“You said we could go to the fun room before we ate,” Callie states.

“I did, Sweetie, but they are calling us,” Carla tells them. The exhaustion on her face is apparent. Despite her beautiful features, her eyes show signs of sleepless nights and stress. I wish there was something I could do for her.

“How about you go eat? Rocco and I can watch them while they play.” I see Rocco turn to look at me with a smile on his face.

“That’s very sweet of you, but there is no way I could ask that of you. I don’t want you guys to miss your dinner,” Carla says walking toward the kids. Callie and Collin start to run away from her making Carla sigh.

“You didn’t ask me. I offered, but now I’m insisting. Please, go and enjoy your dinner. We will be fine. I’ll make sure Rocco doesn’t lose either one of your children,” I encourage motioning for her to head to the room behind us.

She looks to Rocco and he winks at her nodding to the direction I did. “Get out of here before she changes her mind, Carla. She’s good at doing that,” he tells her before chasing after Callie and Collin to the room set up for the kids.

“What about your dinner?” Carla asks.

“Don’t worry about us. Enjoy,” I call over my shoulder as I follow Rocco.

“Thank you, Alyssa.” I just wave at her.

When I finally catch up to the three of them, the kids are already bouncing in one of the two inflatable houses. I walk over to where Rocco is standing watching them through the netted side. “Is it safe to have these things inside?”

“Such a worrier,” he says shaking his head putting his arm around me.

“Rocco, come in with us!” Callie calls from inside. She doesn’t like when he comes near me which makes me laugh a little.

“Good thing no one else is in here,” he says removing his shoes to climb in with the kids. Watching him with kids warms my heart. If we ended up getting married, I would definitely reconsider my decision of never having children. This man should never be denied the chance to love a child of his own as much as he loves these two kids.

They play for a little while and I hear Collin tell Rocco he’s hungry. I find one of the employees and ask him to bring the kids their dinner in here. When I return, the two kids are running barefoot from the first bouncy house to the other one which is more of an obstacle course. Collin goes right through and comes running out of the other side. Rocco asks where Callie is just a second before she calls for him.

“Rocco, help me. I’m stuck,” she yells. We run around the other side where we can see her. “I cannot get over this wall.” She is stuck in between two walls where she had to slide down one and then climb up over the other.

“Hold on, Callie. I’m sending Collin in to help you.” He goes in but cannot help her.

“I want you to help me, Rocco.” She is starting to panic a little and it crushes me to hear it in her tiny voice.

“I am way too big to fit inside of the opening, Callie. Listen to me. I’m going to tell you what to do, so you can get out.”

“I’m scared,” she says starting to cry.

“Don’t be scared, Callie. I’m coming to get you,” I tell her slipping off my shoes. “Don’t let anyone look up my dress,” I whisper to Rocco as he laughs at me with his eyebrows raised. “That means you too, Matthews,” I inform him.

I cannot believe I’m going to climb through this thing in a dress. What the hell did I get myself into? I reach the part where Callie is and look over at her as I’m sitting on top of the first wall. She starts giggling. No, scratch that. She is hysterical laughing looking up at me.

“What is so funny?” I ask her.

“You are too big to be in here. You look silly,” she says.

“Not nearly as silly as I feel. Now give me your hand,” I say smiling down at her. She reaches up to me and I pull her up. We eventually manage to get out the way I came in. The second we are out, Callie is in Rocco’s arms. He reaches out for me and pulls me into them kissing me on my cheek. Callie kisses my other one.

“Thank you for saving me, Alyssa.”

“You’re very welcome. Just stay out of that one now,” I tell her as I’m sliding my feet back into my shoes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the waiter bringing in the plates for the kids along with ours. We have a good time eating and playing for a little longer before the other kids start filtering in. Dinner must be winding down. Carla eventually strolls in talking with Tony and searching for her kids. When she finds us, she says goodbye to Tony and comes over to us. Callie meets her halfway jumping into her arms giving her a quick summary of what she has missed. “Mommy, we had so much fun with Rocco. I ate all my dinner and Alyssa had to climb in the bouncy house to help me out. I got a little stuck.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry,” Carla says looking at me.

“It’s okay, really. No harm done. And I think it might have earned me a few points with her, anyway,” I tell Carla as Callie leans over to me putting her arm around me.

“Can we go play again, Alyssa?” she asks.

“No more. Mommy is going to play with you. Rocco and Alyssa have some other people to talk to now,” Carla tells them. “Thank you guys so much. That was probably the hottest meal I’ve eaten in, well, I cannot tell you how long.”

“It was our pleasure,” I assure her.

A few minutes later, Rocco and I are strolling around the main room, drinks in hand, where a DJ has begun to play. Lots of people are dancing and having a good time. A few of the girls Rocco introduced me to earlier, come over asking us to come dance with them. I am shaking my head no, but Rocco opens his mouth.

“She’d love to,” he says earning him a nasty look from yours truly.

“Have you forgotten about the shoes I’m wearing?” I remind him.

“No and you haven’t stumbled once tonight. You’ll be fine. The girls really want to get to know you,” he pleads softly, so I have no choice but to agree.

“We’ll bring her back soon, Rocco,” one of them says as I’m whisked away from the only person I really want to be with right now. Good thing I love to dance.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30