0042 - All that Matters

Luca's POV

The house was quiet when I stepped in.

Louisa was the first to appear, her footsteps soft on the floor as she came to meet me.

“Welcome back sir,” she said in Italian.

I gave her a short nod. “Thanks, Louisa. Please, don’t worry about dinner. I’m not hungry.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, maybe ask if everything was okay, but I didn’t give her the chance. I climbed the stairs without another word, loosening my tie on the way up.

The hallway felt colder than usual. Maybe it was just me. Maybe it was the silence.

Inside my room, I dropped my jacket and slumped into the chair by the window. My head leaned back. I closed my eyes.

After a moment, I got up and walked over to the stereo shelf. I slid open the glass cabinet and picked a disc—one of those old Italian ballads I liked when nights felt heavier than usual. 

I slid it into the stereo, pressed the button, and listened to the soft sound before the music filled the room. Slow. Familiar. The kind of music that lets your thoughts go places you don’t always want.

I left it playing and headed to the bathroom. The water ran warm, steam curling around the edges of the mirror as I stepped into the tub. I leaned back and closed my eyes. Let the sound and the heat wrap around me like arms.

That thought of Maria crept in me gently, like a whisper I tried to ignore. I hadn’t asked how she was, hadn’t looked for her, hadn’t even checked if she was home. It wasn’t like me.

She’d been distant lately. Or maybe I’d been the distant one.

The guilt sat quiet in my chest, but heavy. And slowly, it pulled me up from the water.

Wrapped in a towel, I walked to the screen that I use to see Maria's room. I hadn’t used it in a while. I used to keep it on more often, back when Maria still stayed in her own room.

But these days, she stayed mostly in my room so there wasn't much need for the screen.

I turned on the screen. The camera still worked.

Maria was there, asleep.

I tilted my head slightly. It was early. At least, early for her. She didn’t usually go to bed this soon. Maybe she was tired. Maybe something else.

Either way… I missed her.

I turned off the music. The room went silent again.

After slipping into fresh clothes, I made my way to her room. The hallway felt cold or maybe I was just overthinking it.

She didn’t stir when I opened the door. Her breathing was soft, steady. She looked peaceful. For a moment, I just stood there, watching her.

Then I moved closer.

I slid into bed beside her, gently. My arm wrapped around her waist as I pulled her into me, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

She shifted slightly, murmuring, but didn’t pull away.

Another kiss, and her eyes fluttered open—sharply at first. But when she saw me, she softened, her lips curving into a small smile.

“Hi,” she whispered, her voice a little sleepy.

“Hi,” I replied, brushing her hair back. “You were asleep early.”

“Yeah… guess I was tired.”

I kept kissing her. Her forehead. Her cheeks. Down to her neck.

“How was your day?” she asked, her voice still low and sleepy.

I didn’t answer with words. My lips moved to hers. She responded. Her hands found my back, then my chest. I felt the curve of her hips under my palms, the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her clothes.

I undressed her slowly, gently. My breath caught when I saw her fully, her skin soft under my fingers. I kissed down her chest, my mouth finding her breasts, and she let out a moan that made me want her more.

I was already hard. She could feel it. I knew she could.

“I’ve missed you,” I whispered, before kissing her again.

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to.

Her body said enough.

I moved over her, lining myself against her body. Her hands grabbed my back as I slid in—slowly. Deep. She gasped, her eyes closing as her head tilted back.

“You’re mine,” I said against her ear. “All mine, Maria.”

She moaned again, wrapping her legs around me as I moved.

I took my time. I always like to do so with her. Every touch meant something. Every stroke, slow and full. I wanted her to feel it. All of it.

Her fingers tangled in my hair. Her breathing got louder. She whispered my name. Over and over.

I loved the sound of it.

When it was over, I didn’t move away.

I laid there, between her breasts, my head rising and falling with her chest as she stroked my hair.

Neither of us spoke for a while.

Just the sound of our breathing.

Then I said it, almost to myself. “I wish we could just remain like this forever… because that's all that matters.”

She didn’t answer.

But her fingers kept moving in my hair.

And I stayed right there.