The Last Prince

'm' for...

"Damn, girl, has there been a day where you and this dude aren't together? All I've heard from you lately is 'Teo this' and 'Teo that'. Who'd've thought Sky could be this sprung?"

The smile that seemed to be permanently plastered on my face widened a little more as Michaela teased me on the phone.

It was true; for the past two weeks, besides the time I spent working at the cafe near campus, all my time was spent with Matteo.

I had never felt such an immediate and intense connection with someone; it was like he was the person I didn't know I was waiting for.

Now that I've found him, I never wanted to not be around him.

"Seriously, Sky-- it's a good look on you. He seems to treat you well and is making you happy. I like you 'happy'."

A knock on my door a second later interrupted my 'Matteo thoughts', and I felt my face start to heat up.

"Alright, Kayla, I gotta go."

"Oh, is it date night? You gonna go get your back blown out?"

I turned away from the door, smirking as I shook my head.

"Hush! I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, girlie."

After getting off the phone with Michaela I walked over to my door, taking one final glance in the mirror. After letting out a nervously excited breath, I pulled the door open.

Dressed in all black, per usual, Matteo clenched his jaw the moment he saw me, smiling as he sighed in content.

"Hi, beautiful."

Aaaaaaaand... butterflies.

He always gave me butterflies when I was around him, and tonight was no different.

"Hi."

I rubbed my arm self-consciously as his eyes drank me in; he tilted his head a little, smiling as he spoke.

"You're missing something."

I tilted my head, my eyebrows fuzing together as I wondered what he meant.

"Huh?"

He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a red, velvet, rectangular box and a smirk was on his face as he looked down at it.

He opened the box and I sucked in a breath when I saw the diamond-encrusted 'M'. I instantly knew what the 'M' stood for, and when Matteo's voice came out, it was a little shaky and kind of unsure.

"Do you-- do you like it?"

I bit my lip when I looked up into his worried hazel eyes, nodding as I smiled.

"Teo, I love it."

He sighed in relief before we stepped into my room. I swayed a little, smirking as I watched him put the necklace on me in the mirror.

"Soooo...'M' for...?"

Matteo's eyes met mine in the mirror and he had a cocky grin on his face.

He grabbed my hips and spun me around, leaning down so that his lips were hovering near my ear.

"Mine."

✨

As Matteo used one hand to steer, the other grabbed my hand and he kissed it as I settled into the luxury seat.

We hadn't really talked about his parents or his family life yet, but I knew they had to be loaded just based on the cars Matteo has picked me up in.

On the first date, it was a Range Rover, a Lamborghini on the second, a different Lamborghini the next date, and even a chauffeured Phantom.

Although I've been learning to mask my shock when it came to his obviously opulent lifestyle, I doubt I'll ever get used to it.

"You okay over there, Shortcake?"

"I'm good."

I smiled, thinking back to how he came up with the nickname.

I was working at the cafe one afternoon and he came in to visit, saying he was in the mood for something sweet. I was on my break, sitting at one of the back tables, eating a snack, when he joined me.

After telling him it was my favorite thing on the menu, I fed Matteo a bite of my blueberry shortcake. He said it was pretty good, but he knew that I tasted better.

✨

Matteo surprised me with a visit to the aquarium, and as we followed the small tour, we stopped in the arctic aviary. As I stopped in front of the albatross habitat, Matteo wrapped his arms around me from behind his chin resting in the crook of my neck.

"You know the albatross is one of the only mammals that mates for life. The male will leave for months at a time, doing his 'dude thing' but, come mating season, he'll always come back to 'the one'. Year after year after year after year-- it's just her."

As the larger of the two birds in the habitat tucked its beak against the smaller bird's neck, I felt the butterflies just as Matteo's lips trailed against my collarbone.

Was he my albatross?

🌹