Friendship, Texas Series: Volume 1

by Magan Vernon

  “You live alone?” I asked as I sat down on her bed, looking around the room at the other bed that didn’t have any sheets or pillows but was covered in art in various phases.

  “For now, at least. My roommate went home for the summer.”

  Alone in a room with an incredibly sexy woman. By now, usually, I would have both of us out of at least one item of clothing. But with Virginia, it was somehow different. As much as I wanted to see all of that creamy white skin, I was afraid that the moment I did would be the moment this fairy-tale bubble we were in would end.

  “Are you really going to sit there and watch me work?” she asked, picking up a charcoal pencil.

  “That’s what I said I was going to do, isn’t it?” I asked, leaning back against her the small metal headboard, trying not to crumple any of her papers or sit on a wet paintbrush.

  “Okay. Suit yourself.” She turned and plugged her phone into a small black charger. “Do you mind if I put on some music?”

  “As long as it isn’t some weird screaming metal.”

  Virginia smirked. “What kind of girl do you think I am? Only Journey and whatever else pops up on this playlist.”

  Smooth vocals filled the room as Virginia put her pencil to paper. The music faded away and nothing but her and the scratching pencils against the canvas remained. I was mesmerized, watching her move so methodically and beautifully as she swept along the branches of the banyan tree.

  Her movements were like a beautiful lullaby, and I was in a trance. So much of a trance that I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until I felt the wisps of fine hair on my cheeks.

  Smiling, I reached out to grab Virginia and instead came up with something cold and wet.

  I opened my eyes to see my hand covered in green paint and a giggling Virginia kneeling on the bed in front of me with a paintbrush in her hand.

  “Shouldn’t fall asleep while an artist is working,” she singsonged.

  “Oh, you’re so going to get it!” I darted forward, grabbing the paintbrush with one hand and then tackling her down to the bed so she was on her back with me above her.

  She giggled and squirmed as I hovered above her. I held both of her hands above her head with one hand and used my other to dangle the paintbrush above her face. “You know I have to get you back for that.”

  “You wouldn’t paint my pretty face now, would you?” she asked with a pout.

  “Nope.” Slowly, I brushed the paintbrush along the skin where her shirt didn’t meet her shorts.

  She squirmed as the cold paint hit her skin. “Totally not fair.”

  “Now, do I go higher and make this into a flower …” I pushed her shirt up with the pads of my fingers then painted a line up to her belly button.

  “A flower has roots …” she whispered huskily.

  “It does,” I murmured. With a shaky hand, I made my way back down to the waistband of her shorts.

  Releasing her hands, my fingers tiptoed down to the button and zipper, slowly working them down. She arched her back, and I pulled her shorts off, tossing them to the side and leaving her in only a very silky pair of blue panties.

  “It would be a shame to ruin these,” I whispered, running the paintbrush right to the edge of her underwear. “Maybe I should paint with something else …”

  “If you think you’re getting a brush or charcoal pen near there, you’re sorely mistaken,” Virginia said, wide-eyed.

  I smirked and lifted her hips up, before slipping those panties down her legs until they were off and at the end of the bed.

  Her breath caught in her throat as I lifted her to me, breathing into her hot mound. “You know, you could always just go back to painting,” I murmured before running my tongue down the length of her sweet flesh.

  She gripped the sheets, her red hair spread out on the pillow like a Mediterranean sunset. “I could, but what would be the fun in that?”

  “I guess I’ll just have to show you how I make artwork.” Putting my lips on her flesh, I spread her lips apart with my tongue before sucking hard on her clit.

  Virginia moaned instantly, her body wriggling against my mouth. I circled my tongue inside her then added my thumb. She clenched around me, crying out. “Oh, God, Sonny. Don’t. Stop.”

  I kept moving as she clenched tighter, coming hard on my thumb. I kept going, moving my tongue faster and my thumb in the opposite motion. Her body climbed to the brink again, and she pushed her hips forward, grinding on my face.

  She moaned and squirmed, coming again and again. It wasn’t until she was begging me that I finally stopped and sat up, meeting her wide green eyes. Leaning in, I kissed her hard on the mouth. Her tongue mingled with her own salty taste. Just feeling her moan into my mouth had my body already tensing and my dick straining even harder against my jeans.

  I wanted to take this beautiful girl right there on her bed. I wanted to feel all of her against me. But if I took her now, what kind of guy would I be?

  The guy who was going to get laid by a girl in an Italian dorm. Which, if my dick had its way, was exactly what was going to happen.

  Before I could think about my next move, the phone Sammy gave me vibrated from my pocket. Since he was the only one who knew the number, I had an idea what the call was about. And that was a sign that I needed to stop.

  Slowly, I pulled back, breaking the kiss. “Hold on, it’s my cousin.”

  I slid the phone out of my now way-too-tight jeans and held it up to my ear. “Hey, Sammy.”

  “Sonny, I know you’re with the bella, but we need you to get to the house. The baby’s coming.”

  Chapter 7

  The next few days were a blur of families coming in and out of the small apartment with food and taking random shifts at the restaurant so Sammy could sleep. Even though nobody was sleeping in the house.

  Michael Samuelle Conti was already a little old Italian man and liked to yell for no reason at all. When he wasn’t yelling, he was attached to his mom’s boob, which she had no shame in whipping out whenever and wherever. Sometimes, I would go into the kitchen to help with breakfast, and there would be a boob in his mouth and the other one practically dangling in the sugo.

  The new addition to the family meant I actually had to do what I came to Sicily to do: work.

  I was up at four in the morning every day to get the bread in the oven, sometimes with one of Sammy’s kids following me or even Sammy, half-asleep, trying to get Michael to pass out by taking him for long walks up and down the stairs and through the kitchen.

  I’d work until at least midnight, if not later. By the time I’d even think about calling Virginia, I’d remember that I never got her number, and unless I wanted to log into my Facebook on Sammy’s ancient laptop or connect to Wi-Fi on my phone in some café and find her, I had no way of contacting her. Through conventional means, that is. I could have gone all romance hero, shown up at her dorm with a boom box, and played some kind of crooning song, but by the time I’d even think about it, I’d be asleep.

  I was about to nod off while putting the octopus in the fryer when I heard a familiar laugh then whispering.

  There Virginia stood, with a group of friends, walking by the restaurant.

  Shit, I had to look like the biggest dick in the world for not even trying to contact her after two weeks. Normally, this was just what I did and tried to avoid seeing the girl ever again, but something about meeting Virginia had turned everything I thought that was true into something else. Maybe that guy from the plane was right about all of this.

  Without even thinking, I walked in a haze toward the front of the restaurant.

  The closer I got, the more the view in front of me fused together. Yes, it was definitely Virginia with her sunset-colored hair and a little sundress. But she was also with a group of people. Two guys and a girl. This was either a double date or someone who wanted it to be a double date.

  “Sonny!” the other girl said, turning toward me.

  I must have met her at the c
lub that first night, but I couldn’t remember her name, and all I could focus on was Virginia’s wide eyes staring at me.

  “Hey, y’all looking for a bite? Conti’s has the best urchin, and I’m frying up some octopus now,” I said, forcing the biggest smile.

  The other girl started to say something when Virginia finally spoke. “We were just heading to the bus stop. We’re going to Mondello, but thanks for asking.”

  Virginia wasn’t thankful I asked. She didn’t smile and barely acknowledged my presence. As soon as she finished talking, she looped her arm through her friend’s and headed in the opposite direction of the restaurant.

  One of the tall American boys behind her shrugged at me then followed along with his friend. The boys looked like two lost puppies.

  “You should go with them.” I felt the arm over my shoulder before I turned to see Sal next to me.

  “I can’t just leave y’all without anyone to help.”

  Sal waved me off. “We’ll be fine. I’ll call Michael if we need someone, and I’m sure Sammy would come down too. He could use a break.”

  I stared down the street where Virginia had turned, out of my sight. There was a pain in my chest like I’d never felt before. A longing, aching one.

  “You sure?” I asked Sal again.

  Sal patted my back. “Go get your girl.”

  Chapter 8

  While Palermo was a big, dirty city that reminded me of an old New York, if I’d actually ever been there and didn’t just go off what I saw in the movies, Mondello beach was one of the most beautiful places in the world.

  Riding Sammy’s moped down the winding roads, I watched as the cityscape disappeared and the rippling ocean and white sandy beaches slowly started to peek over the rocky hills.

  Mondello was a fishing village that had slowly evolved into a beach where the locals liked to frequent.

  Parking my moped, I immediately started scanning the beach for a streak of red hair.

  It didn’t take long to find her and her friends sitting near the water’s edge. Virginia had pulled her hair into a bun on top of her head, showing off the creamy white skin and freckles that dotted her back and the parts of her body not covered by her blue bikini.

  What the hell was I supposed to say to her? I guess the truth probably wouldn’t hurt. That I was busy and couldn’t make time. But if I really did care about her, wouldn’t I have made the time?

  All of these thoughts kept playing as I mindlessly walked toward her. She was laughing and smiling, the skinny American guy next to her ever so slightly brushing her hand every time he’d talk to her, but she’d pull it away.

  I didn’t say anything until I was right behind her, and then it was the other girl who smiled up at me. “Sonny? Are you stalking us now?”

  I wanted to respond with something equally smartass, but when Virginia turned toward me with those big green eyes narrowed in my direction, all resolve left me.

  “Hey, Virginia, can we talk?” I asked.

  “I think you’ve had two weeks to talk,” she quipped.

  The guy next to her made an “oh, damn” face but didn’t say anything.

  “Two weeks I’ve been working my ass off at the restaurant. I didn’t have your number to call,” I replied, keeping my hands at my side. God, I wanted to deck the guy next to her, who now scooted even closer like he had some kind of claim.

  “I’m sure the great Sonny Conti could have found a way,” she muttered.

  I opened my mouth to reply, but the other guy responded first. “Dude, why don’t you just take a walk? Obviously, Virginia isn’t impressed by that stupid Southern drawl and just wants you to leave.”

  And that was it.

  I balled my hands into a fist. “What the fuck did you just say, you pretentious hipster ass?”

  The guy raised his hands. “Hey, man, no need to get physical. I don’t want to fight.”

  “Yeah, you should have thought about that before you opened your mouth.”

  I went to step forward but instead of kicking sand in the stupid guy’s face, Virginia popped up between us, putting her hand on my chest. If my heart wasn’t already racing, it was now threatening to leap out of my chest from her touch.

  “Fine, Sonny. Let’s take a walk.”

  I went to reach for her hand, but she pulled it out of my grasp. She turned, heading away from her group of friends toward the rainbow row of little huts for people to change in before going to the beach.

  Finally, Virginia must have felt like she’d walked far enough because once she was right next to a little yellow hut and out of eye and earshot of her friends, she spun around to face me.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

  Before I could say anything, she held her hand up. “Wait, never mind, I know. I pegged it from the beginning. You’re one of those player guys who can get any girl you want, and once you’ve had them for a night, boom, you’re done. And you know what’s even crazier? That I knew that, yet I still fell for you.”

  I shook my head. “Virginia, I can’t even deny that, yes, I’m all of those stupid ass things, but with you, it was different.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Different in the fact you haven’t even tried to contact me in two weeks?”

  “Well, first off, I didn’t have your number. And I’ve been working my ass off these past two weeks since Sammy’s baby was born.”

  Virginia opened her mouth to speak, but I stopped her, stepping forward and cupping her face with my hands and forcing her eyes to meet mine. “But that’s no excuse. I should have found a way to get to you. It was stupid of me. I haven’t been getting much sleep, and it’s not just because I’m working four a.m. until midnight. It’s because I’m missing you.”

  “I doubt that,” she muttered.

  Leaning in, I gently kissed her lips once then twice before pulling away so I could meet her eyes. “If you give me another chance, I promise I’ll do better by you. Promise.”

  Before she could respond, I kissed her again, pouring everything I could into her lips. I was tired, so fucking tired, but missing her touch trumped everything else.

  She reciprocated hard and fast, moaning as she parted those sweet lips and let me taste her. Her hands wove through my hair, gripping it tightly.

  I groaned, moving my arms around her waist and lifting her up to press her back against the wall of the little building.

  Her core was pressed against me, and I moaned as she arched her back and grinded even harder on my straining length.

  I kissed down from her lips to her neck then ran my tongue down to where her breasts practically spilled out of her bathing suit.

  “Think a public beach is the best place for this?” she asked between pants.

  I looked at her with a grin then cupped her ass, pulling her off the side of the building.

  I let my hand go briefly to open the door to our left then walked her inside the little beach hut, letting the door swing shut behind us.

  “You really expect me to just have sex with you in here?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she stepped out of my grasp, her bare feet barely making a sound as they hit the ground.

  I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside before taking her back in my arms. “Yes.”

  Before she could say anything more, I sealed my lips with hers. I almost didn’t expect her to kiss me back, but when she nibbled on my bottom lip, I groaned into her open mouth, tasting her sweet tongue.

  Gripping her ass, I lifted her up, and her legs wrapped around my waist.

  My kisses trailed down her neck while I pushed her bikini top aside with my nose, letting her straining pink nipples hit the warm air before I circled each one with my tongue. She moaned softly, tilting her head back and digging her core into my groin.

  “Damn,” I murmured as her legs dropped to the ground.

  “Don’t tell me you’re already done,” I asked and raised an eyebrow, praying she wasn’t a
bout to leave me in a tiny beach hut with a raging hard-on.

  She smirked then slowly got down on her knees in front of me. I watched wide-eyed as she unbuttoned and unzipped until I was practically poking her in the eye.

  “The question is …” She circled her index finger along my head.

  “Do I play …” Ever so slowly, she ran her tongue down my length, sending a shiver through my body.

  “Or do I just leave you here wondering like you did me the past two weeks?”

  Before I could even think of what she said, she was standing up with her hand on the door.

  Without thinking, I grabbed Virginia and spun her around, a small smile on her lips before she kissed me.

  “Did you really think I was going to just walk out there topless?” She quirked an eyebrow.

  “Hey, it’s a popular thing in Sicily. But chasing after you with my pants down may have been frowned upon.” I grinned before sealing her lips with mine again.

  She broke our kiss slightly to tug my pants down to my ankles, and I slowly stepped out of them. “If we’re going to do this, you can’t just walk away. I know you probably say this to every girl, but …”

  I stopped her midsentence by kissing her. “I won’t. I’ll even give you the number on this throwaway phone and put myself ‘in a relationship’ on Facebook. Whatever you want.”

  “Whoa. I didn’t say anything about a relationship.”

  I grinned, slowly tiptoeing my finger down until I felt her wetness against my fingertips. “Oh? Friends with benefits then?”

  She bit down on her bottom lip before gripping my shoulders as I twirled my fingers inside her, rubbing my thumb over her clit.

  She came hard and fast, her body quaking around me.

  “I want to feel you on me so bad,” I murmured, kissing her and continuing to work my hands inside her.

  “I hope you have a condom,” she breathed into my lips.

  Thank God, I brought some from home. They were hard as hell to find in the little tourist shops in Sicily. Reaching down, I grabbed my wallet out of the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out the gold foil packet.