Love Made in Italy

by Ava Danielle

  “How did Trevor get here?” I try to distract my mind from the images of Rob.

  “He followed us because he was worried, he’s my best friend and when I told him we were coming here, he didn’t trust anyone.”

  “He knows about my past?”

  “Are you mad about that?”

  “No, I’m actually thankful now. If it wasn’t for him, we might not even be here.” I feel a calm overcoming my fear and anger.

  “That’s the truth.” he rolls closer to me and hugs me tight.

  “What about your legs? You’re in a wheelchair.” The thought of him being disabled because of my past horrifies me.

  “I’ll be fine.” he kisses my cheeks.

  “Will you ever walk again?”

  Daniel laughs, “Of course. It’s just precaution. The hospital doesn’t want a lawsuit for someone falling, so all patients are stuck in wheelchairs, these days.” He winks at me.

  “Okay, you, two, enough with the lovey-dovey shit,” Trevor says as he saunters back into the room.

  Daniel kisses my lips and promises to be back later, the nurse rolls him out so the two of us can rest and heal quicker. Trevor kisses my forehead. “I’ll be back to check on you later.” He leaves me alone in the room. I can’t believe any of this happened. As I try to gather my thoughts, I wonder if anyone from my family has come by to check on me. None of this makes sense. Were we supposed to die? Or was he just trying to scare us? These are answers we will probably never get. I’ll never understand, what has happened over the last few years. My life races through my mind. I’m all alone with my thoughts. This is scary, but I need time to put everything together. I have to get a new perspective on this all.

  – ### –

  Daniel rolls himself back into my room. “Good morning, beautiful,” He says with a loving smile. We’re both feeling much better. He stands up from his wheelchair and lies down in the bed with me and we watch some television. I need mindless entertainment so my mind will slow down. The sun is shining bright for it being Seattle. We enjoy each other’s company, but the hospital food, not so much.

  “The yoghurt is disgusting.” I put the spoon back on the tray.

  “I can’t wait to finally cook us something decent,” he adds as he flips through the channels.

  “Turn it to the news,” Trevor says, striding into the room.

  Daniel changes the channel and the three of us watch the news about Rob being imprisoned and his family crying over the news. His lawyer speaks out and I notice Katherine in the background, she looks a mess.

  “I guess that’s what you get when you turn into a bitch.” I roll my eyes while the two laugh at me.

  “He’s going to get forty to life with no parole,” Trevor adds.

  “Good. Oh look, it’s my mother next to his mother. Nice. Do you guys know if she ever came to visit me?” I turn from Trevor to Daniel.

  “She didn’t.” Trevor breaks the news to me.

  “Super, when’s the plane leave for us?” I ask them.

  “As soon as you’re all healed up, babe.” Daniel leans in and places a tender kiss on my lips.

  I’m ready to get away from it all. I’m ready for Daniel and me to start a new life in Las Vegas. Seattle has no future for me. The past needs to be destroyed here. I have to leave it all behind. I have no reason to ever call this place home or have any memory of it being home. My new life starts with Daniel. My life will start over in a new city, with new people. My old life will be left here. This will no longer exist. The old Sophia died when Rob shot me. I have been reborn to spend the rest of my life with Daniel, far away from this twisted city that chewed me up and spit me out.

  “Home,” I whisper as we walk through the front door of Daniel’s apartment. But is it really home? Can I pick up the broken pieces and start over here? Can I move forward and leave the past behind us? I will never know if I don’t start at some point. I won’t know if I just sit back and dwell over everything that has happened. The worst is over. It’s time to move forward.

  “Yes, home.” He puts our bags in the bedroom. “But, we need to figure out what to do now.” He seems annoyed.

  I follow him into the bedroom. “What do you mean?”

  “Your things are all in storage, clearly there’s not enough room in this apartment for all of our things,” he says as he starts unpacking.

  “No, there’s not,” I sigh as I sit down on the bed and look down to the floor.

  For a split second I was worried if he still wanted a future with me. We hadn’t really discussed where all this leaves us. I’m not sure if he still wants to be with me, after everything he had to go through because of my past and all the baggage I bring. It seems that every time we think it’s starting to look up for us, another obstacle pops up. Someone is always trying to ruin me…ruin us. I’m over it and I’m sure he’s sick of it by now, too. I can’t say I blame him if he doesn’t want to be with me anymore.

  “Do you still love me?” I ask.

  Daniel’s eyes get really big and he shakes his head. Butterflies and worry hit my stomach.

  “Why do you continue to question my love for you? Sophia, I’m deeply in love with you, no one, and nothing can ever change that, and nothing changes that. You’re stuck with me whether you want to be or not. I told you, we’ll go through thick and thin together, forever,” he places a soft kiss on my lips.

  “It’s just, my past almost got you killed,” I sigh.

  “Your past almost got you killed too and I won’t let that happen, ever. I love you future Mrs. Keller.” He smiles at me. “We just need to find a new apartment.” He places his finger under my chin and raises my head. “We need a home that is ours, not yours or mine, but ours.”

  In the middle of unpacking our things and getting cleaned up, Daniel receives a phone call from Trevor for us to meet out for dinner. He wants to introduce his girlfriend to us. I’m all for a distraction. I want to hear about someone else’s life story, and shift my focus away from mine, for once. Moving forward, that’s our mantra.

  “What the fuck am I going to wear?” I dig through the closet. I only have the few clothes that I brought from Italy.

  “Clothes,” Daniel smirks at me.

  “Fucktard, of course clothes. But, I have nothing,” I complain.

  “Guess we need to go shopping,” he adds.

  “Oh, not again,” I mumble.

  “What the fuck do you mean, not again?”

  “You have bad taste in clothes, remember?” I joke.

  “I beg to differ, besides we’re looking for clothes for you, so this shouldn’t be too hard,” he laughs as grabs me and dances around the bedroom with me.

  “Fine, take me,” I give in.

  “Right here? With pleasure.” he pushes me onto the bed and gets on top of me.

  “Not really what I meant, but sure, I won’t deny you,” I pull his lips with my teeth.

  He pulls back and gets off me, says, “Let’s go shopping,” and leaves the room.

  “Are you fucking serious?”

  “Sure I am. Grab your purse. We’re going to get you some clothes,” he laughs from the kitchen.

  That man gets me horny, teases me like crazy, and then makes me wait. I asked him once why he does that, and his response like any other man I guess, “To get you all wound up, and because I love driving you crazy.” And, every time, I fall into his trap, because I never know when to expect it.

  – ### –

  He drags me into the mall around the casinos. I’m overwhelmed with all the store choices. Where in the world am I going to find new clothes with the limited amount of money I have left? I want to buy everything. I probably should’ve mentioned to him, I’m never safe in a mall. That’s one thing I missed in Italy, but my wallet sure didn’t miss it, one bit. In Sorrento, there was no mall where I could spend all my money on useless things. I have this crazy thing about stilettos. A girl can never have enough shoes. And he will see that soon enough.

/>   “Here we go.” We hold hands as we walk into a store with lots of pretty dresses. I didn’t even bother looking at the sign of which store we just walked into.

  “I’d like you to try this, and this, and this.” He hands me a ton of shorts and shirts. “Oh, and this pretty dress.” He smirks as and pushes me towards the dressing room.

  He glances left and right, and suddenly he’s in the fitting room with me.

  “What are you doing?” I ask him, stunned, as he closes the door behind us.

  “Helping you change.” He pushes me into the wall and wraps his hands around my hips as he kisses me.

  The heat between us is infernal.

  “You can’t just come in here with me,” I whisper so no one can hear me.

  “I’m in here now, aren’t I?” He smiles as he unbuttons my shorts.

  “You’re crazy,” I whisper, but not making a move.

  “About you,” he says as he pulls my shorts off and gets down on his knees and peals my panties off with his teeth. “Mmmm, my favorite flavor. You.” He says before his tongue licks across my delicate folds.

  His tongue is soft and hot, but rough against my skin. He pushes between my lips and slips his tongue deep inside me. I moan and can’t believe his tongue is inside of me while we’re in a dressing room. His fingers squeeze my thighs as he continues to enjoy me. I drop the clothes to the floor and entangle my fingers in his hair.

  “You’re so wet,” he hums. “This is what I did to you back home, isn’t it?” His breath is so hot. He sucks my burning clit between his lips.

  “Uh huh,” I moan as the world fades away. I only feel him. His hands, his tongue, and his lips are heavenly.

  He’s seducing me. He’s teasing me. He’s making me cum in public. But I won’t stop him. I beg him to take me. I want him to continue. When he touches me, I lose all control and any coherent thought.

  “Don’t stop,” I beg as he gets back up and kisses me, letting me taste myself. The sweet taste of his lips, our breathing each other in, it exceeds any expectation.

  I unbutton his pants as his lips kiss their way down my chest. He’s always so gentle with me. He kisses, nibbles, and sucks on every inch of my body. His right hand covers my mouth as he prepares for my moans. He’s testing me. I rip his jeans off and before I could say a word, he thrusts his hard cock inside of me. He’s losing control, too. I love having that effect on him. He thrusts harder and harder and it’s taking both of us total control to stay quiet. I struggle to keep my orgasm silent, riding wave after wave of pure ecstasy. I feel his body tense and his cock twitches and throbs inside me as he fills me with a hot burst of his own satisfaction. A knock at the door yanks us back to reality. “Everything okay?” Daniel slowly moves his hand from my mouth and I mumble a quiet, “Yes, I just tripped over a pair of shorts.” I try my best to sound convincing. “That happens. Let me know if you need anything,” the lady responds and seems to walk away.

  “Oh my god, Daniel. What if she knows?”

  “So?”

  I push him off of me, “get dressed,” I demand as I try to put my own clothes back on.

  “Hey wait, you still need to try these on,” he points to the shorts and shirts he had picked out.

  “They fit,” I say as I pull my panties up.

  “You don’t know that,” he buttons his pants up.

  “I don’t intend on trying anything on with all that moisture down there,” I laugh.

  “You’re such a bad girl.”

  “I’m the bad girl? Who’s the bad boy making me a bad girl?”

  “Guilty as charged.” He raises his hands with the biggest smile. “Let’s buy these and go home.”

  The lady at the register didn’t make this situation any easier, “Did you find everything okay?” Daniel and I smile at each other and I nod my head yes. “Oh, that’s perfect, I hope to you guys come again soon,” she smiles as she packs the clothes into the bag. “We intend to,” Daniel adds and puts his hand into my back pocket giving my ass a little squeeze. He doesn’t even care there are people in line behind us.

  “We intend to, huh?” I laugh as we walk out the store.

  “Of course, tonight, in our bed,” he laughs.

  – ### –

  With my dark blue lace dress, showing off every curve on my body, black heels and a black cardigan wrapped around my shoulder, I think I’m ready for our dinner date.

  “You look stunning, I picked a great dress,” he brags, winking at me.

  “You’re not looking so bad yourself,” I stare him down while he wears these sexy black slacks and a light blue button up shirt, beyond sexy. I can’t stop staring at him.

  “You ready to go?” He finishes tying his dress shoes while I apply the last of the lip gloss to my lips.

  “Ready. What’s Trevor’s girlfriend’s name?”

  “Olivia, if I’m not mistaken.” He takes my hand as we leave the apartment.

  “Where are we going, anyway?”

  “SW Steakhouse, they have one of the best soup choices. It’s inside a Casino, the Wynn, ever heard of it?”

  “Nope, I’m new here, remember?”

  “And, I will show you all the cool places to go.” He kisses my hand.

  – ### –

  We meet up with Trevor and his girlfriend outside the hotel… casino… resort… restaurant. I’m not even sure what to call it because it’s all wrapped in one. It is Vegas, after all.

  “Daniel, Sophia, I’d like you to meet Olivia.” We all shake hands.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I smile as politely as I can because this girl is gorgeous and I feel a bit intimidated.

  “Let’s go sit down, I made a reservation so it shouldn’t be too long,” Trevor says.

  Daniel leans in and kisses my cheek. “You going to be okay?” he can tell I feel a little out of place.

  “Yes. I’ll be better once you get me a glass of wine.” I try to sound convincing.

  “So, Trevor tells me you’re from Seattle,” Olivia starts the conversation once we’re seated.

  “Yes, born and raised.” I try to keep it simple.

  “I told her a little about you living in Italy,” Trevor adds to make sure I’m not thrown into a conversation I want to avoid.

  “I’m so jealous,” she says as she sips on a glass of water.

  “I do miss it here and there.” I fight to hold the tears back when remembering my time in Italy. But, Daniel’s hand on my knee calms me down.

  “You’ll have to tell me all about it one day.” Olivia smiles and I nod taking a sip of my wine.

  “So, a job came open at the office,” Trevor tells Daniel.

  “Oh really? What position?”

  “It’s an office job, admin, someone to hire and keep the jobs going,” he says.

  I look between the two when I notice Olivia roll her eyes.

  “Typical men, talking about work,” she giggles.

  “Well actually, I think we’re both looking for jobs since we’ll be settling down here,” I say with no doubt in my mind that’s exactly what Daniel is thinking, too.

  “She’s right. Can you consider me for the position?” Daniel asks Trevor.

  “I already considered you, I was hoping you’d take it.” Trevor takes his glass and they toast.

  “Now it’s up to me, I guess,” I join them as I congratulate my fiancé on his new job.

  “When do I start?” Daniel asks Trevor.

  “Next week?”

  “Perfect,” they agree.

  “So what do you do, Sophia?”

  “I used to be a Nanny in Italy. I took that position as a summer job after my junior year at the University of Washington, Foster School of Business. It turned into a much longer break than I had planned. But, that’s life. That’s the only real work experience I have, though.”

  “What are you looking to do now?”

  “I’d actually take any job,” I say as I take another drink of my wine.

  �
�Anything?” She looks excited.

  “Well, I mean, I’m not going to pick up the Las Vegas trash or become a stripper. But, something besides that, sure,” I say with a chuckle.

  “Oh girl, we’re way too pretty to deal with the Vegas trash, I can tell you that much. I own a boutique in the Mile of Shops… the Planet Hollywood Mall. You should come in and check it out. I’m looking for someone to run the business side of it. I’m so busy making the dresses, I’m having a hard time keeping up with the finances and all that,” she sighs.

  Daniel and Trevor both look at me waiting for an answer.

  “I’ll stop by this week, and we can go from there,” I smile.

  “Wonderful, if you know any of that, you’d be my lifesaver. I design all my clothing and that takes most of my time. You know, we have to look sexy for our men,” she smiles.

  We continue to talk about our future plans that I wasn’t aware of.

  “What do you mean house? Don’t you think we’d be fine with an apartment?” I ask Daniel as we get on the subject of moving.

  “Well, I mean, she’s got a point, you’d barely be there, might as well find an apartment, but a house does have more room,” Trevor agrees with Daniel after all.

  “By the way, where’d you get that beautiful dress from?” I ask Olivia as we leave the restaurant.

  “I designed it. You like?” She does a little spin and Trevor smacks her ass.

  “It’s gorgeous.”

  She’s wearing a coral short dress with a bit of a fluff at the bottom, it’s wicked sexy and I envy her style. She’s not wearing heels, she’s got these sparkly sandals on her feet and it really works with the dress. I always thought women that didn’t wear heels were crazy, but she makes it look amazing; especially with the coral nail polish on her toes. She definitely radiates beauty.

  “Thanks. I always try out my dresses first to see if they’d sell or if anyone would actually be comfortable in it.”

  “Wow, that’s smart,” I add.

  “You can try anything you see when you come in, I can’t wait to hear what you think,” she smiles.

  She seems to think we’re best friends and I’m still a bit skeptical meeting new people or even getting close to anyone again. I know she can’t be bad, but I’ve been mistreated so much, I still hold back a bit. She is pretty nice though, that’s for sure. I have to make a mental note about her hair. I need to ask her where she goes to get it done because it’s gorgeous. I envy her natural beauty.