Forever Altered (18 page)

“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.

Alyssa

I’ve
been dancing with the girls long enough that my back is lightly covered in
sweat and I’m starting to feel disgusting.  Finally a slow song comes on
and I use the opportunity to try to escape.  Just before I make it out of
the crowd in the middle of the dance floor, a strong, well-defined arm is
wrapped around my waist and a mouth is at my ear. 

“Where
do you think you’re going?  I’ve been patiently waiting for my turn,” a
voice whispers.  My body automatically relaxes into his when he twirls me
around.  My arms effortlessly wrap around his neck as I pull myself into
his rock hard chest.  He tightens his grip on me around my waist. 
“Do you know how much self-control I had to exert in order to tolerate the way
these assholes were staring at you the whole time you were dancing?  If I
would have known how well you move, I may not have pushed you so hard.”

Hoping
they are still watching, I give him a small kiss only to tip my head back, so I
can look in his eyes.  “Hmmm, I wonder how jealous they are of you right
now,” I say cheering him up.

“Sunshine,
I know how jealous I’d feel if you were dancing with someone else.  You
know, this song makes me think of you.”

“It
does?  This doesn’t seem like something you would listen to.”

“You
have me doing all kinds of crazy shit I never thought I’d do,” he replies then
starts singing some of the lyrics to me.  He releases his hold from around
my waist only to run his hands up and down my sides so
friggin
slowly, I’ve started to sweat again.  It’s not at all disgusting this
time. 

“This
is my new favorite song,” I tell him. 

As
the song ends, he closes his eyes and our foreheads touch.  “We need to
get the hell out of here.”

I
pull back to look at him.  “You want to leave?” I ask baffled. 
“Doesn’t your mom need you for anything?”

“I’ve
already stayed longer than I usually do.  No, my mom doesn’t need
me.  Actually, she won’t even be looking for me until eleven o’clock
tomorrow morning when we are supposed to meet her for brunch.”  I can tell
he’s nervous.  “It’s up to you.  We can stay or we can duck out now
and head to my house.”  I know what he’s really asking and there is
nothing I want more than to get out of here as soon as possible.

“I
just need to grab my purse,” I say never looking away from him.  He nods
and leads the way to where we left it along with his jacket.

Before
we exit the front door to head to the valet, Rocco wraps his jacket around my
shoulders.  Shortly after that, we are pulling out of the lot heading for
his house.  He has said before his house is only a few miles from
here.  Suddenly, I’m thinking about what will more than likely be
happening tonight and my stomach is twisting in knots.  Maybe I shouldn’t
have agreed to stay at his house.  Would he take me back to school right
now if I asked him to?  I cannot escape the thought of how after all of
the girls he’s been with, I might not measure up.  Imagining I may not be
good enough for him has a horrible feeling settling in my chest. 

“Hey. 
You okay?”  A concerned look crosses his face. 

“I’m
great,” I say watching his fingers play with mine.

“You
know I will take you anywhere you want to go, right?”  He looks worried
that I might have changed my mind.  It’s almost as though he’s just as nervous
as I am.

“I
want to be wherever you are.”  Despite being nervous, it’s the absolute
truth.  If he were to take me back to school right now, I would be
crushed. 

“Do
you have any idea how much I love you, Sunshine?” 

“I
might, but I’ll let you tell me every day for a really, really long time.”

“There
is nothing I’d rather do,” he replies squeezing my hand. 

Rocco
pulls off of the main road only to come to a quick stop.  There is a closed
gate in front of us and it doesn’t open until he punches in a code on the
keypad outside the driver’s side window.  The long driveway leads to the
most beautiful house I’ve ever seen.  Even though it’s dark, the outdoor
lighting shows enough of the light gray and stone exterior of a home exquisite
enough to be on the cover of a magazine.

“Wow. 
I cannot believe you live here,” I say mostly to myself.

“Only
for the last four years.  Max had it built for my mom as an anniversary
gift,” he says shaking his head.  “I’ve always thought it was a little
excessive, but now that I have you, I can understand why he does such
extravagant things.  There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”  He
drives around the side of the house and passed the four car garage.  At
the back of the house, there is another two car garage and what looks like a
separate entrance.  “This is actually where I live.  Mom had a whole
apartment with its own garage built for me in hopes of keeping me here as long
as possible,” he chuckles. 

I
follow Rocco up the stairs to his apartment.  “Is it okay I if I show you
the rest of the house tomorrow?” he asks over his shoulder.

“Sure,”
I answer him.  He has to punch in another code into another keypad to turn
off the alarm and he sets it again once we are through the door.

On
the other side of the hallway is a set of double doors that Rocco reaches over
to open and gestures for me to go in ahead of him.  “Welcome home,” he
says.  His mom spared no expense at the building and decorating of his apartment. 
The first thing I notice is the huge fireplace that takes up most of the one
wall set in bricks.  The rest of the room is decorated in many shades of
brown from the dark chocolate leather sectional to the light beige color on the
walls.  The TV that hangs on his wall makes the one in his school
apartment look miniature.  All of his electronics are neatly placed in a
cabinet underneath of it.  Through the living room I can see there is a
small kitchen with stainless steel appliances and dark cabinetry. 

“How
often do you use your kitchen?” I ask him. 

“Other
than getting a beer from the refrigerator, I haven’t used it at all,” he
chuckles nervously setting both of our bags on the wooden coffee table. 
“Are you sure you are okay staying here with me tonight?”  Rocco crosses
the room to me.  He runs his thumb along my cheek before putting his arms
around me. 

“Why
would you ask that?  It’s not the first time I am spending the night with
you,” I point out.

“No
it’s not, but it is the first night that you seem nervous to be around
me.” 

“I’m
always nervous around you, Rocco,” I confess.

“Why
are you nervous around me?” he asks looking at me through hooded eyes. 
His hands have been running up and down my back quickening my breathing. 
When I don’t answer him, his hands still and he starts to pull away from
me.  “Nothing has to happen tonight that you aren’t comfortable with,” he
says seriously.

The
absence of his touch on my body leaves me shivering in contrast to the burning
he leaves wherever his skin touches mine.  There is nothing I want more
than for his hands to be all over me and to spend the night wrapped in his arms
with nothing in between us.  “Rocco, I want you to make good on the
promise you made me,” I tell him almost breathlessly.

“Which
promise is that?” he asks.   
      

“The
one where you said by the time you were done with me, I’d never doubt how you
felt about me again,” I remind him. 

The
wicked grin that spreads across his face says he is remembering the night he
made that promise to me just as clearly as I have ever since.  “Sunshine,
you have no idea what you’ve just unleashed,” he declares sweeping me off of my
feet.  His lips are covering mine as he carries me down the hallway
kicking the bedroom door open.  When he sets me on the end of the bed and
slides his hands down my legs to my feet, I get my first glimpse of his
room.  This time it isn’t the décor that strikes me.  Every flat
surface in the room is covered with a lit ivory candle leaving a soft romantic
glow to the entire room.  He doesn’t notice me looking around until he has
removed both of my shoes.  “No stone unturned,” he says nodding to
something behind me. 

When
I turn around, a vase full of peach roses is sitting on the nightstand.  I
stand and walk over to them to touch the smooth petals.  “You bought my
favorite flower?” I question as he comes up behind me.  “When did you have
time to do all of this?” 

“Unlike
you, it only takes me five minutes to get ready.  I had plenty of free
time this afternoon,” he whispers running his hand down my arm.  “I just
needed help lighting the candles.” 

“I
have one hell of a boyfriend.”  Normally, it would have bothered me that
someone knew what was happening between us tonight, but I don’t have time to
think about it.   As he tilts my head back, his lips find the side of
my neck.  He mumbles something that sounds like ‘damn right,’ but I cannot
really concentrate on his words when his hands and tongue are keeping me
distracted the way they are. 

“I’ve
wanted to rip this dress off of you since you walked out of your bathroom
earlier,” he gets out through kisses he is trailing down my neck and
shoulder.  I’m barely able to refrain from telling him to do just
that.  Before I give him permission to destroy the best dress I’ve ever
worn, I can feel it loosen as the zipper is being pulled down my back. 
When the dress hits the floor, he reaches for my hand to help me step out of it
and spins me around.  As Rocco looks down my body, I hear his sudden intake
of air.  “Fuck, Alyssa.  This is going to be over before it even gets
started.”  His reaction has me thrilled I bought the new black lace bra
and panty set the other day.

I’ve
never been good with ties, so I am secretly thankful he already removed it
before we even got here.  Reaching up, I take my time with the buttons of
his shirt before pushing it off of his shoulders where it meets my dress on the
floor.  There is no time wasted when he rips off the undershirt he had
on.  His bare chest at my fingertips feels so much better than feeling it
through his shirt.  Every inch of him is toned muscle.  My hands
slide down his perfectly sculpted abdomen until they reach his belt that is
hard to get off because Rocco is trying to help me.  I pushed his hands
away making him sigh.  “You’re killing me,” he says causing me to
giggle.  Eventually I am sliding my hands inside the top of his pants and
pushing them down.  When they get low enough that he is able to kick them
off himself, he lifts me up and lays me gently on his already turned down
bed.  He climbs over top of me and whispers, “You are even more beautiful
than I thought.”

Over
the next few hours, Rocco proves exactly how much he loves me.  Despite
his urgency at the beginning, he takes his time as he worships every inch of my
body, just like he said he would.  His touch is nothing but tender the
entire time.  Every time he kisses me, the passion between us is
overflowing.  The sweet words he whispers have me falling for him all over
again and making me putty in his all too capable hands.  He has me falling
apart multiple times, sometimes alone, but most of the time right along with
him as if he choreographed it.  We manage to leave the bed a couple of
times.  Once he put music on and we slow danced around his room.  If
I remember correctly, one of the songs wasn’t even slow.  Another time we
went to get a drink in the kitchen, but we only made it back as far as in front
of the fireplace.  Later, both of us dozed off only to wake up a short
time later.  I’m not sure what time we finally fell asleep for the night.

It’s
some time in the morning.  I can feel the sun shining into the room
warming my skin.  The smell of roses and the lips that are making their
way from my fingertips to my neck remind me where I spent the night.  “A
girl could get used to waking up like this,” I mumble slowly opening my
eyes. 

“Good
thing because this is how I plan on waking you up many more times,” he says
pressing himself up against the back of me, so I’m very well aware of just how
he plans on waking me up.

“Too
early,” I say pretending to push him away. 

He’s
chuckling behind me.  “I only have two more hours with you before my mom
steals you away from me.  I’m not wasting one second of it,” he
clarifies.  I remember I’m just waking up and probably need to brush my
teeth before I turn to face him.  When he tries to kiss my lips, I cover
them and tell him exactly that.  “After every place your mouth was last
night, you cannot seriously be worried about a little morning breath.”

I
can feel my face brighten to the deepest shade of red ever.  Immediately,
Rocco is hysterical laughing at me.  When I try to get out of bed, he
grabs ahold of my arm preventing me from getting away.  “I’m sorry,” he
says trying to calm down.  “There is no way you can possibly still be shy
around me after everything we did last night.”  I relax into his chest
where he cannot see my face. 

“It’s
different,” I say pouting because he laughed at me.

“Sunshine,”
he’s humorless now.  “That was the most amazing, mind blowing night of my
entire life.  You are absolutely incredible.”  He takes his t-shirt
off of me I had borrowed last night to sleep in.  The foil package has
already been opened and is ready to go.