by Pepper Pace
“Shall we shower?”
She nodded wordlessly.
Once she was undressed, he guided her to a small shower/bathtub combination that barely allowed the both of them to fit. They had to stand very close. Gio could not stop himself from holding her full ass while pulling her close so that their bodies captured his erection between them. He loved the feel of her full curves, so soft and yielding against his hard body. He could not get enough of her.
He ran the washcloth with its fluffy suds over every part of her body as if he was worshipping her form. She let him wash off her makeup but balked when he wanted to wash his hair
“But it will take me forever-” She began to protest.
“I will book an appointment for you at the salon at my own expense-”
“But they won’t know how to do my hair.”
“We have African hair stylist.”
She gave him a dubious look before stepping under the shower spray and allowing her hair to get drenched.
In that moment his heart surged. He took his time washing and conditioning her hair. She had to admit that she loved every second of the attention. She never thought she’d ever let some guy do this for her—not when it literally took hours for her to get it pressed and curled to her liking.
There was a lot of things about Gio that was beginning to surprise her. She felt such an attraction to him that despite knowing that he had chores that he needed to attend to, she was willing to do whatever was necessary to lighten his load—and that included taking one for the team and sleeping with him at every available opportunity.
Sidney did not get to fulfill her wish to lather his chest with soap because the moment his washcloth-clad fingers parted the lips of her pussy she lost all control.
They lay in bed much later, not using the covers to conceal their nudity.
“What did Nicco say to you?” He asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t even know. He was trying to hit on me, so I basically tuned him out. Oh. He was trying to brag that he could have been my butler but because he was the big wig in charge, he made a change to the assignment.”
Gio just grunted his response.
“Nicco seems like a dick. But I am happy that he reassigned you. I have a feeling that he believes that he would have ended up in my bed if he hadn’t made the change.” Gio’s brow gathered darkly and he pulled her closer. She snuggled against him and after a moment looked up at him. She saw that his light eyes appeared troubled, but he smiled at her and his expression cleared.
“Why are you single, Gio? Really?”
He looked suddenly embarrassed.
“I don’t know. I stopped trying, I guess.”
She twisted her lips and looked doubtful.
“I have lovers, plenty of them. But there is more to love than just sex.”
“Yes,” she agreed, still waiting.
He sat up causing her to sit up, too. “When I was a young boy, the girls would say Gio, your eyes are so beautiful. Our children would have such beautiful eyes but then those very same girls would move on to someone who had something better. When I was a young man the ladies would say Gio, you are so handsome, but they would move on to someone who was better looking. Later, women would say, Gio you have such big muscles, but they would find someone smarter. When I studied harder then it was that you are too boring.”
“You date a lot of shallow women.”
“It’s not that. It’s just…not love. It doesn’t matter how good you look on the outside if people are unable to see what’s on the inside. So what about you? You’re…beautiful.”
“To you, I am. But not everyone back home would see that.”
He pulled her into his arms. “You are exactly what I like Sidney Wyatt.”
She didn’t speak. It was going to be hard to say goodbye to this man.
True to his word, bright and early the next morning Gio sent Sidney to the hair salon. Before she left he fingered her springy wild hair. To him it was beautiful in it’s natural state but she would not entertain even the slightest idea of wearing an Afro on her private excursion with him.
As he was preparing to get the car gassed up he got a call from Nicco.
“Come to my office,” Nicco said.
“I’m busy.”
“Well get un-busy. I need to see you. Now.” Nicco ended the call and Gio cursed under his breath. This was the last few months that he’d have to tolerate the annoying man, he reminded himself as he returned to the lower deck.
Nicco was sitting on the edge of his desk waiting for Gio.
“Come in Gio. Have a seat.”
“I told you that I’m busy Nicco. What is it?”
Nicco stared at him. “Are you having a sexual relationship with your guest?”
“What?” Gio asked in disbelief.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t have a problem with it. Look, I know that you two have been spending a lot of time together. You’re going off schedule a lot, and I don’t have a problem with it-”
“Well why in the hell would you? I have a job to do and I do it. My guest has no complaints and when my job is done what I do is none of your business!” Gio was so mad that he wanted to grab the little weasel and strangle him.
“Gio calm down, man.” Nicco smiled and raised his hands. “Look, I know things between us have been tense-”
“They haven’t been tense. They’ve been real.” Gio calmed some, although his eyes narrowed. “If you didn’t get the picture from last night, then understand my words; my guest isn’t interested in you.”
Nicco held up his hand and chuckled. “Hey, don’t be insecure man. Do you think I’ll take her away from you the way I took Francesca?”
For one brief second Gio thought about smashing his fist into Nicco’s face, but then he realized the bigger picture. He’d be thrown off the ship, arrested and not only would he not be able to spend these last few days with Sidney, it would ruin his ability to get his dream job.
“If I had even given Francesca half a try she would have never looked your way, and as I know the proper way to treat another human being, she would have never been hurt. Now, if you are done with your chat I actually have work to do and I’m sure you do too. I know that kid you’re looking after is probably snapping his fingers for you as we speak.”
Gio saw Nicco’s jaw clench as he turned and left the room.
He stormed down the corridor practically quaking with a need to smash something. He thought about Sidney. She would never go for a guy like Nicco. But wasn’t her ex-fiancé a guy like Nicco?
“Do you really like my new hair style?” After talking to the African hairstylist, Sidney had decided to be daring. The stylist had utilized the fact that her hair had reverted to give her a twist-out. Now her locks flowed freely in spirals that surrounded her face.
Gio was driving but the question gave him an excuse to touch one of her spiral curls. He tugged it gently and watched it spring back into place.
“I love it Sidney. I’m telling you that you would make a magnificent influencer.”
She gave what he said some deep thought. Then she turned to him in excitement. “I took a lot of video and pictures. What if I turn that into a YouTube video? Like an inauguration into a vlog?”
“I love it. You should do it.” He said. “Sidney, I will subscribe to your vlog. I’ll be your first fan. And you know what this means, right?”
“No.” She gave him a suspicious look. “What does it mean?”
“It means that I’ll need to take plenty of pictures and videos of you.”
“You know what? You’re right.” She was going to try her hand at it. It couldn’t be her career—at least not initially, but she wanted to try to make a travel and lifestyle vlog.
As they drove through Naples, Gio talked enthusiastically about the local sites, the foods and the various attractions. It was a long drive but neither noticed as they enjoyed the company of the other. Something in Sidney changed during the trip as she grew m
ore comfortable in Gio’s presence. She realized that she was happy—really happy. It had been so long since she could say that, and because of it she came to a startling realization. She truly was over Wesley.
It had a lot to do with Gio, but not because she was trying to mentally replace Wes with him—she knew that Gio was just for now, not forever. But being with him reminded her that she was not the girl that had been left at the alter, or a girl that led a simple, basic life. She was a girl with all types of possibilities—if only she would open herself up to them.
She knew she would have had an amazing time in Europe attending all of the planned excursions even without Gio’s presence. But because of him she felt prized. And if she believed even for one second that he did this with all of his female guests then she probably would have still had sex with him, but she would have never opened up so completely.
“You have to try the limoncello, Sidney. You liked the lemon gelato that we had in Marseilles, but just wait until you try our gelato here in Naples.” He saw the way that she gazed at him with a smile on her face. “What?” He asked.
“What you just said,” she beamed. “You said something that no man has ever and will never say to me again; ‘You liked the lemon gelato that we had in Marseilles but just wait until you taste the gelato here in Naples.’”
He chuckled, but he didn’t say that he wanted to say these things to her all the time, every day and not just for the duration of the cruise.
“Okay, we’re going to make a stop were we can see Mount Vesuvius,” he said. “Do you know the history?”
“Well it’s the volcano that destroyed Pompeii.”
“Yes. But imagine a volcanic eruption so powerful that it released 100,000 times the thermal energy of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings.”
“Oh my God. Are you serious?”
“Yes. One didn’t have to meet the heat of the lava, just the hot ash, pumice and gasses did the majority of people in.”
They parked the car and Gio gave her the interesting facts about the deadly events that buried more than just the city of Pompeii.
“We don’t really have time to visit Pompeii,” he said apologetically as they returned to the car.
“Well, I heard that they have displays of people that were covered in lava. Real people.”
“They have casts of people but after two thousand years there is nothing more than a bit of bone or teeth that’s survived.”
“So yeah,” she said with a frown. “I’ll pass on Pompeii.”
They continued their drive until they made a pit stop in Salerno to use the restroom and to get the lemon gelato.
“Which is better? The one in France or the one here?” He asked as he licked his iced confection.
She didn’t know which was better. They tasted exactly the same, and that meant that both were exquisite. But of course she lied and said the one in Naples was the best.
After a while of listening to music and Gio singing along in Italian to the popular songs, they finally reached a local lemon grove where a quaint house was nestled among the trees.
He opened the car door for her and Sidney stood looking at a cobblestone path that was lined with fragrant flowers. The path led to a house that was straight out of a storybook. It was an old but well kept 2-story stone house with a bright terracotta roof. On the tiled porch were planters filled with berries or herbs.
She whispered in awe.
“This is like going back in time.”
“Yes. This house is hundreds of years old. Come, I will introduce you to my friends.” They walked hand in hand into the house. The front door was opened as if no one worried about flies or an air conditioning bill.
“Ciao. Anna? Tomas?” Gio called as he entered the house and Sidney followed nervously. Again she stared silently, trying to take in everything. The house was old with polished stone floors covered by bright rugs. Big wooden furniture decorated the room with vivid flashes of color. She could tell that although quaint, it was the home of someone comfortably wealthy.
An older, white haired woman appeared from a back room. When she saw Gio a broad smile spread across her pretty face.
She spoke a greeting in Italian and hugged Gio, who towered over her. The woman turned to Sidney and offered her hand.
“Hello. I’m Anna. Welcome to our home. My husband Tomas is in the grove. He’s picking fresh lemons for today’s lunch.” Anna continued talking not giving Sidney a chance to introduce herself. She was so nice that Sidney instantly liked her despite not being able to get a word in.
“Anna, this is my friend Sidney. She loves new culinary experiences and this is her first visit to Italy.”
Anna ushered them into the house. “Well you brought her to the right place, Gio.” Anna took her hand and held it as she led them to a large kitchen.
“We used to have culinary classes here for the tourists, and then treat them to a four course meal, but I’m getting too old for that. Besides, I enjoy travelling too much to spend my retirement cooking for a living.”
“What Anna is not telling you is that she was trained by an Italian chef that earned three Michelin stars.”
Sidney was impressed and tried to tell her how amazing it was, but Anna wouldn’t hear it. She made a dismissive motion and continued talking.
“I’ve worked in five star restaurants but there is nothing like a touch of home. So I retired to open a cooking experience out of my home. But now, I’m too old. I only do it for good friends like Gio—or if someone is going to pay me a lot of money.”
Sidney hid her smile.
Tomas came into the house carrying a basket of lemons, baby artichokes and other herbs. He hugged Gio and then surprised Sidney by giving her an equally big hug.
Well, it was settled for her. She officially loved this couple.
They drank something called aperol spritzes while Gio and Sidney learned from an expert how to make fresh pasta. With three hands to aid in the meal preparation, lunch did not take long at all to prepare.
Sidney tried not to stuff herself on the delicious food but Anna kept piling her and Gio’s plates with more and more food.
“You should stay tonight. I’ll cook you a delicious breakfast.”
“We can’t,” Gio said apologetically. “We have to get back to the ship.
Anna gave him a confused look. “You’re already back on that ship?”
“Yes, actually this is the first tour of the season.”
Anna looked at Sidney. “Do you work on the ship, too?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m a guest.”
Anna smiled mischievously. “No, you’re not a guest. You’re a friend Sidney. You’re welcome to my home anytime. You must come back, yes?”
Sidney looked at Gio who had a distant look in his eyes. When he realized that Sidney was looking at him, he took her hand and smiled at Anna.
“I’ll be sure to bring her back.”
Sidney felt warm goose bumps run up and down her body.
She hated to leave Anna and Tomas’ home, especially when Tomas presented them with two bottles of lemoncello that he’d handmade right there on the farm. Gio tried to press some folded Euros into Anna’s hand but she protested and wouldn’t take them.
“Anna,” Gio said firmly. “I would feel guilty if you didn’t take this-”
“And if you had brought some tourists here today then I would accept your payment. But you brought Sidney.” She patted Sidney’s hand. “And she is a friend. So keep that until you return with lazy people who don’t want to knead the dough.”
“Okay, fine,” Gio said reluctantly. Everyone hugged and kissed as if Anna was a grandmother seeing her family off after a visit. As they drove away, waving out the window Sidney shook her head.
“The were really nice. And that food was so good!”
“Yes and she let us video tape it. Anna doesn’t say much about it, but she’s a pretty big deal here in Naples. You should definitely incorporate this into your vlog.�
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“Oh I plan to. She is so sweet, and she’s a celebrity?”
“Yes she is.”
“You took a lot of good pictures today.” Sidney said, while thinking about how she would structure her vlog.
“That’s because I took so many of you,” Gio replied.
She felt more goose bumps.
Chapter Fifteen
They returned to the ship while it was still daylight even though it felt as if they had been gone for days.
“Naples is technically my favorite place in the entire world!” She announced.
“Yes. I’m pretty partial to it myself.”
“I wish I could have seen where you live.”
“We would have never made it back to the ship—for more reasons than one.” He kissed the back of her hand as they boarded the ship together.
Gio left her at the penthouse promising to return by dinner.
She missed him the moment the door was closed after her, but she realized that he wasn’t her boyfriend—not in real life, only in her fantasies.
She stood out on her balcony and looked down at the people on the outdoor deck below her as the sun set over beautiful Naples. This time she didn’t feel like the loneliest person in the world.
She was looking at the pictures and videos taken on her cellphone when Gio returned.
“Hungry yet?” He asked as he joined her on the sofa.
“I’ll probably never be hungry again,” she replied honestly.
“Yes, I figured as much. There’ll be no more stops until we return to Barcelona. How do you feel about three entire sail days?”
“I enjoyed the tours but it will be nice to just relax for the next three days.” What she didn’t say is that she didn’t want to think about the fact that in three days she would never see him again.
Over the course of the next few days, Gio and Sidney explored every inch of the ship, from attending the art gala while wearing a tuxedo and evening gown, to visiting the ice skating rink and catching midnight movies on the open air screen. They swam in both the private pool areas as well as the VIP guest areas. They danced the night away at the crew parties and then spent the night making love in Gio’s cabin.