Page 95 of Here to Stay
She looked up and her eyes flashed, furious, and I felt everything in my body align. She shook her head as she hugged me. “You’re better than enough. You’re mine.”
I turned to look at the couple of boxes of books and things I’d accumulated since I’d been here. Julia turned to look at them and sighed. Neither of us wanted to be the first to say it. I pushed our foreheads together and spoke in a low voice. “I have to go.”
She nodded and pressed herself against me again. “I know, but you don’t have to be on your own anymore. We’ll figure it out.”
I thought about the mess I’d have to deal with back in New York, about needing a new job, about Sofia and Blue, and I almost caved from the weight of it all. But she was here and I would figure out how to make my way here too. This place and her had become my home.
And I had people. I didn’t have to do any of it on my own. “I want to make this work. I want to find a way to come back here.” Sofia had said she would too, so maybe there was a chance. Maybe...
She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch with her. We walked by Pulga, who was busy inspecting all her new toys.
I closed my eyes, remembering the mess my parents had made of Sofia’s life, again.
“I think we would all be better off here. Blue and Sofia too. I just can’t make any decisions until a few things are clearer.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
The way she looked at me, with such certainty. I felt like I could trust it was true.
“I know,” I said, smiling at her. “We just need to get through the next few months. I’m out of a job and need to get Sofia away from my parents once and for all. But before we get into all that, I owe you something.”
My heart started racing thinking of all the things that were up in the air, but I had to say it before any of it could really start. “I love you.”
She smiled that smile that only happened for me and she leaned in close, so much that our foreheads smashed together. “I know. I love you too.”
I closed my eyes, breathing out some of the tension of the last two days. “It’s going to be hard, but we can do this.”
Julia nodded and brought her hands to either side of my face. “You have me now, baby. Even if we can’t see each other until you figure things out with your sister. I’ll be here waiting. We’re doing this, right?”
I nodded, feeling grateful and overwhelmed, hoping we could figure things out. “I hope I can come back here to you, that I can bring Sofia too. All of us together.”
There was not much that was certain right now, but for the first time I felt like I had something solid. I was grounded in the people in my life, in my friends, in Julia.
As her lips touched mine, I felt like the entirety of my life was centering on this moment, on sealing this promise we were making. It’d been so long since I’d touched her, since I’d felt her skin under my hands.
I gasped, suddenly desperate for her. “Julia.”
Her eyes were mirror images of my own hunger. I stole my tongue into her mouth. Ravenous for her. Just as I was about to make quick work of her clothes, my phone rang.
I cursed and she sighed, but it was the ringer I had for work people.
I grabbed it from the coffee table and when I saw the number, I turned the phone so Julia could see.
She sounded as puzzled as I felt. “Mitzy Sturm?”
I put her on speaker and answered. “Ms. Sturm, how can I help you?”
I heard two matching scoffs at my greeting. “I thought we’d gotten past formalities, Rocco.” I smiled at her cantankerous tone. “We wanted to hear how you’re getting on since that asshole Phil managed to get you fired.”
I took a deep breath and looked over at Julia, who sucked her teeth at the mention of Sturm’s CFO. “I’m all right. Getting ready to go back to New York and start looking for work.”
One of them clicked her tongue and I could almost see the thunderous expressions on their faces. “We were hoping you’d still be in town.”
I shrugged at Julia, who was looking confused. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, Muffy and I let Duke buy us out. We’re no longer part of Sturm’s.” I knew they’d considered leaving if the IPO was approved.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said honestly.
