Stay (13 page)

Once the diplomas were all handed out, Giano walked down to meet me, and Randi instantly rushed over.

“Can you believe we are done!” she squealed, not hiding her excitement. “Hello, Mr. Diamante,” she greeted Giano.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulder and tucked me into him while Randi babbled on about her plans for the day as I took in the moment, safe in this man’s arms. It took some time, but we eventually worked our way through the crowds. Since I wasn’t the picture of popularity, we weren’t stopped often and were one of the first to exit.

In the car, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had finished. I stared at the paper in my hands. It had her name on it—Angelina. I knew this day would come, but now that it was here, I felt slightly cheated. What did I have that was my own?

“What’s wrong, angel?” Giano asked as I stood at the kitchen island, absently looking at my diploma.

“Was Angelina your angel?” I didn’t know why that was bothering me right then, but it was.

His face softened as his mind went back to the time when he had his little girl. “No, Angelina was Angelina, a beautiful, little girl with a beautiful name.
You
are my angel.”

Stupidly, that made me happy.

Chapter Seventeen

Life began now. All this time waiting and here I was, just as lost as I had been all those years ago. I had to decide if I was going to attend college. If I did, what would I study? Would my life always be as Angelina?

There was a graduation party at Randi’s, and although I didn’t want to go, she had been the one friend to remain loyal to me all this time.

Throwing my cover up on, anxiety filled me at the thought of wearing the tiny two piece Randi had insisted I must have for her pool party. Randi had always been the brave and confident one. She had always hated that I wanted to remain covered up when we were out by the pool. Having changed around each other enough over the years, she would constantly tell me I was hot and needed to show off my body. Therefore, I gave her the chance to pick my swimsuit for her party. Our last shebang would be done the way she wanted, even if I felt like it would kill me.

As I drove my car over, I was more and more nervous by the second. I shouldn’t have been there. It wasn’t my scene. Outside of Randi, I really didn’t have friends. Sure, people waved sometimes in the hallway. I’d had had a lab partner here and there whom I had to communicate with, but no real friends except Randi, and even she didn’t really know me.

I parked my car down the street a little ways since her driveway was already overflowing. Walking up, I nervously twisted the hem of my cover up in my hands.

The house seemed to tower over the neighborhood. It was upper-class suburbia, but Randi’s house was by far the largest on the street. At three stories high, it had five bedrooms and four bathrooms with a pool in the backyard along with a guest house that also served as a pool house.

The back gate was open, and the music was already blaring. The sounds of teenage fun could be heard all around as my schoolmates hung out in the backyard and in Randi’s family pool where there wasn’t much room to move since the place was packed. People I didn’t even recognize were filing in as the time went on. No longer was this party about our graduating class; it was a full on social event.

I nursed a beer so I could seem to fit in as everyone around me did keg stands and tossed back the drinks one after another. This was so not my scene.

After a quick hello, Randi practically disappeared into the thick of the party, leaving me to be the wallflower in the corner.

I had been there about an hour when a guy I had never seen before approached. He had blond hair that was slicked back from being in the pool and blue eyes that seemed to match the color of the water. His swim trunks were board shorts that hung low on his hips, showing off his six-pack and the well-defined muscles in his arms.

The music was playing, and whoever was pretending to be DJ switched it to a slow number as blondie moved his hands to my hips, trying to make me sway to the song with him. Feeling the need to fit in, I relaxed and tried to get into the movement without getting too close.

He moved in behind me, his crotch to my butt as his hands roamed the exposed skin of my flat stomach. I could smell the alcohol on his breath when he leaned down and ran his nose along the crook of my neck. Then his hand moved lower, cupping my sex, only the tiny fabric of my bikini as a barrier. His fingers slid roughly between my lips, and my entire body went tight. He groaned at my reaction, his erection now felt against my backside.

My insides burned, and I wanted to puke. Fear grabbed ahold of me and wouldn’t let me go as his fingers fumbled roughly over my bathing suit bottom.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. This was what teenagers did at a party.

“Feel me,” Blondie moaned as he rocked into me, and his finger tried to push my bottoms aside.

The memories flooded. No longer was I at a party, but back in the white room with the hidden secrets. The finger trying to push its way inside was no longer the blonde’s, but my father’s.

The alcohol smell made my stomach churn more. Unable to fight it, I hunched over and puked on Randi’s patio.

“Oh, hell, baby, you’ve gotta learn to control your alcohol. I’m out,” Blondie said, releasing me harshly.

Everything around me spun as the voices became muffled, and I felt like I would faint. Suddenly, Randi was in front of me, shaking me.

“Lina, snap out of it. What did you drink? Giano is on his way, girl. You’ve gotta get it together.”

Giano. He would save me yet again.

Randi guided me out front, not knowing I wasn’t drunk in the least bit, but rather seized by panic. Of course, she did this so Giano wouldn’t see the copious amount of alcohol being ingested by a ton of underage kids.

Leaving me out front, she gave me a quick hug, handed me my purse and my keys, and then returned to her party without looking back.

I watched as he pulled up with Alanzo and hopped out of his truck. The man screamed power and authority in every step he took toward me. Once he reached me, I collapsed in his arms and sobbed, not caring who saw or heard me. Strong arms of the man who had been my shelter wrapped around me, giving me comfort.

After I settled some, he guided me to my car where he used my keys to click the locks and then tucked me into the passenger seat. Rounding the car, he slid in the driver’s seat and started the engine. I watched him wave Alanzo off before taking my hand in his and not letting go until we arrived home.

Something in his touch always calmed me. Did he know he had that effect on me? How would I ever survive without him? That night showed me no one else could touch me. Giano held everything in his touch.

We arrived home, and Giano led me by the hand to his bathroom where he immediately began drawing me a bath in his garden tub. I stood in front of him in only my bikini as he moved around.

“I’m not drunk, Giano,” I decided to clarify.

“I know, angel.”

Shocked, I stammered, “How?”

“I’m always watching you. I’m never far away.”

I wrapped my arms around my stomach protectively. Giano had watched me completely melt down by the touch of a man. Great, that only added to my humiliation.

“Angel, do not be ashamed. This is why I have told you many times it’s not a boy you need, but a man who will cherish the gift of your body and understand when to be gentle and when to be rough.”

I managed to open and close my mouth, but I couldn’t get words to come out.

“You need gentle right now. You need to wash away your day, so relax in the bath while I make us some dinner.” Without giving me a chance to respond, he left the room.

The bath was both a blessing and a curse. I took off the cursed bathing suit and slid my naked body into the warm water. Using a washcloth and Giano’s body wash, I took care to clean my entire body and try to wash away the memories of the day. Only, as I thought about what lay ahead, I let my fears creep in.

I had graduated, and Giano and I hadn’t discussed what came next. Many times over the years, I had counted down to this very time. Now it was here, and I was petrified of it.

Feeling sick to my stomach for an entirely different reason, I got out of the bath, dried off, and covered myself in Giano’s robe. Going to my room, I quickly dressed then went to the kitchen where Giano was setting the table, and I could see the lemon pepper chicken on the counter.

My stomach tightened, wanting to eat, but still churning with anxiety.

“What’s on your mind, angel?”

I shook my head, not wanting to have this conversation.

“I can’t fix it if I don’t know what it is.”

“I don’t know what comes next,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Swiftly, Giano moved to me. Then, with my chin cupped in his hand, he brought my eyes to meet his. “Angel, the future is yours for the making. You have filled a piece of my life that I thought would forever be empty. I know life goes on, and you must do what you feel you need to do. I will remind you that things aren’t necessarily safe for you as Angelina and definitely not safe as Fallyn, but I will help you in any way.”

Tears filled my eyes. “I want to stay.” This was it. I had put it out there. Would he send me away?

“Don’t you see, my angel? There is nothing I would deny you. Please stay with me.”

Chapter Eighteen

One Year Later

Today was my birthday, July twenty-seventh. Fallyn Nicola Valencia was officially eighteen years old. I was an adult. I had survived the countdown. One day at a time, I had made it through, spending this last year attending college via online classes which had given me more time to spend with Giano.

There was only one thing I wanted today—
him
. I planned to have him, too.

We were going out for dinner, so dressing in my favorite little black dress, I added my high heels that I had spent days practicing in my room to be confident walking in along with my earrings, bracelet, and a small anklet Giano had given me.

Giano wore my favorite steel grey suit with a solid black button up, leaving the top two buttons undone, giving me a tease of his chest hair. His hair was spiked to perfection, and his black shoes had him looking like a heart-throb.

Thinking this all through, I made sure to pick the upscale restaurant that had the wine Giano loved the best. With it being such a big night for me, he had a limo to drive us, and this only added to my plan to keep his glass full. Sometimes, a girl had to take things into her own hands, and this was my time.

We entered and were immediately seated in a private corner. Our lighting came from a soft overhead lamp and a small candle on the table. The flames danced in Giano’s dark eyes as I watched him shyly, wondering if I could pull this off.

After dinner, we arrived home with our tiramisu, and I took out two plates for the rich dessert before pouring Giano another glass of wine. I didn’t hesitate in my plan to get what I wanted.

I kept the wine coming as I watched the man in front of me relax further and further. I moaned loudly as the explosion of flavors hit my tongue while Giano watched me, the desire evident in his eyes.

“Something good, angel?”

I licked my lips in my practiced seduction. “So good,” I replied in my sex kitten voice.

We finished dessert with Giano watching my every move as I had wanted him to. Then he moved to the couch while I went to my room to take off my little, black dress and heels. Making my way back out to him, I decided it was do or die time. Tonight would either end in my every fantasy come true or a complete disaster.

Climbing on his lap, I didn’t give myself time to second guess. I wanted this.

He looked up at me, confusion on his face. I was wearing a black lace number I had picked up a long time ago with Randi when we were buying her lingerie for prom night.

I leaned in, cautiously brushing my lips against his. He growled, which only excited me further.

“Do not play childish games with a man, angel,” he warned.

“I’m no longer a child, and this is not a game, Giano,” I whispered as I leaned in and placed a small kiss against his neck.

He hadn’t moved, but he hadn’t thrown me off him yet, either. That was encouraging.

I was shaking, worried he would reject me. I wanted this. I needed this. I needed to be normal. Graduating, I was the only virgin left in my entire school. I wanted to share this with the one person who knew me best. I knew Giano would take care of me.

Bravely, I brushed my lips against his again. He opened his mouth to say something, but feeling this chance, I took his bottom lip in mine and sucked, tasting the wine on his lips.

Hands came up and cupped my head, holding me to him as his tongue darted into my mouth, exploring and seeking. I moaned as our tongues danced inside my mouth.

Arching my back, I pressed my barely covered breasts into him and rocked myself, feeling him grow beneath me.

As he devoured my mouth hungrily, I shimmied, adjusting my panty-less core against him. His hands moved down to my hips where he controlled my grinds, and the added pressure of him sliding me against him only turned me on more.

I broke away from our kiss, needing to breathe as the burn built inside me. I was about to combust.

He moved his right hand, his thumb finding its way between my pussy lips, rubbing my clit in circles, and I went off like a rocket.

Giano laughed, but I didn’t care about the shame I should have felt. Maybe I should have, but I was too caught up in how it all felt. This didn’t hurt in a bad way. No, every second felt like an intense build-up of pure ecstasy. The walls of my pussy lips were no longer something to protect my sensitive opening, but were now a bundle of nerves ignited with desire and ready to feel every movement against them. Every inch of my skin was ready and needy for more attention. The only pain inside me was the burning desire to never stop.