by Kailin Gow
“As they say in America, ‘no better time than the present.’”
“Or before I change my mind,” I added.
“Yes, that, too,” Salvatore said, giving me a big grin.
“I’ll call now. It’s a decent time to reach Chase, I think. Then I’m going to shower and I’ll meet you in your room. Maybe we can take in a few sights or something …”
“Or something,” he repeated.
Then he came up and hugged me tightly, giving me a soft kiss on the neck. “You’ll be fine and remember that I’m here for you.”
“I know,” I said.
Salvatore left and I picked up the phone in my hotel room and breathed in. It was time to change my life once again. This time I was going to go about it the right way and it also felt right.
“Chase. Hi.”
“Hey Tay, I was just thinking about you. It’s weird not having talked to you in a few days. Everything okay?”
“Yes it is but I need to tell you something.”
“Can’t it wait until you get back home and we can talk face to face?”
“No, it can’t,” I said.
A thick, instantly tense silence filled the telephone line.
“Okay, what’s up?” he asked cautiously.
“I feel bad saying this but I have to say it right away,” I began. “I need some time off from our relationship. Everything is happening too fast and I’m feeling rushed. I’m just not certain…”
Chase cut in with a sinister and ugly tone. “I knew I should have come to Italy the second I found out you were there with him.”
I had never told Chase that Salvatore was there so who had?
“The second you didn’t tell me he was there I knew something was up. That he’d use that whole European bullshit on you and try to seduce you. You’re not thinking straight, Tay. This isn’t what you really want in your heart of hearts.”
But it is, I thought.
“We’re happy. We have a place and my family got you that Harvard scholarship. I’ve done a lot to change and it’s all for you and for our future together.”
“I will pay you back for that Harvard scholarship. The problem is that I’m not happy, Chase. I want some space. Everything has always been decided for me and for us. It’s a charmed life, one many people may dream of, but it isn’t MINE. I want something different.”
My words made Chase completely lose his composure.
“Damn it, Taylor,” Chase shouted, “you can’t do this. I put too much time and energy into our relationship. You cannot possibly be willing to ruin everything just for some physical attraction to a guy—a kid. It’s not the same as what we have and you know it.”
“He’s not a kid. He’s almost 19 and legal…just a year younger than us. And yes, I do know it.”
It’s better, I thought.
“Look, Chase. I need some time to sort this out and see what I really want. That’s not just time away from you but also my parents and hometown, too.”
“But not time away from him, I bet.”
I didn’t answer. There was no point to it.
“I can’t believe you’re messing things up to have some stupid fling. Rest assured, it’ll be over soon enough and when it is, I’ll be here for you but then we’ll be playing this relationship by my rules—not yours. Wait and see.”
“Chase,” I began but that’s all I got out.
“I’ve got to get going, Taylor. Give me a call when it’s time to come pick you up from the airport.”
“Okay, goodbye.”
“See you soon,” Chase said.
Click.
The phone went dead and I was left sitting there, staring at the receiver and my heart was racing. I had done something bold and when it got back to my parents the entire cycle I’d tried to put behind me in my hometown just months before would be starting again. At least with Salvatore, it wasn’t so bad to be a glutton for punishment because what we had felt so good.
Chapter 9
I found myself on a whirlwind mini Roman holiday, taking in everything I could with Salvatore and loving every minute of it regret free. It was incredible and perhaps it was partially the distance—an entire ocean—but I felt so liberated and didn’t have a single doubt about what I’d decided to do.
“It’s funny that only a half year ago, I was showing you the Smithsonian and trying to give you experiences in the United States,” I commented casually, rubbing my thumb gently on the soft spot of his hand between his thumb and pointer finger.
“And now I get to show you what I’ve grown up with and am so passionate about. I truly love it here,” Salvatore said.
Not that we were to that point but it made me wonder how an international couple decided on where they were going to live if they got married. Was it a 50/50 deal or an all or nothing deal?
“I can see why. The States has amazing things but its history is so small compared to Rome’s. There’s really no comparison in that way.”
“I’ve always been enamored by it because it reminds me of how so many wonderful things can weather any storm and stand the test of time.”
“Just like relationships,” I said.
“Exactly,” Salvatore said.
He stopped walking down the street and turned to me, giving me a brief hug.
Someone who had been walking behind us put on their breaks and veered around us like it was no big deal—almost expected. Back home, people would have said, “Get a room,” or “Who stops in the middle of the sidewalk?” It was just another thing to love about Rome and make me grow closer to my sultry Italian that had my hormones kicked into overdrive.
I had extended my stay in Rome for one day but my weekend with Salvatore was coming to an end all too quickly. It made me physically ache to think about it and I understood what people meant when they said their hearts felt torn apart when they left the people they loved for any period of time. I already had the symptoms.
I let out a slight yawn, which surprised me and seemed to be an idea for an invitation from Salvatore.
“We should go back to your hotel room so I can give you a nice massage and help you wind down. The two of us have been on the go nonstop.”
“A massage. That sounds nice.” The idea of Salvatore’s strong, smooth hands roaming my body—my skin—was definitely inviting. What would likely follow afterwards was, too.
“I cannot wait to spoil you,” he said, squeezing my hand. Then he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Every bit of you is so beautiful…more beautiful than Venus’s statue itself.”
“Too bad we can’t go to Paris and compare,” I said playfully.
“Someday…when you live in Europe these things are easy to do, quite natural.”
“Yes, I suppose they are.”
Back in the room, we ordered in some room service, a few appetizers and a bottle of wine. It felt odd ordering that because I was not of age yet in the United States but old enough to buy a bottle of wine in Rome.
“When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do,” I said, laughing.
“Okay,” Salvatore said. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked into the bathroom and I heard the water running for the large, soaking tub that was in there. A few seconds later he was back out.
Salvatore walked over to me and the intensity in his eyes couldn’t hide what he was thinking and desiring. I felt the same thing and my green eyes were probably alive with thoughts of what I longed for most—his hard, lean body and him inside of me, filling me and bringing me alive, making me orgasm like I’d never done before.
His fingers lingered at the bottom of my t-shirt and he slowly slid it up, making the soft cotton fabric tickle my stomach. Then he unlatched my bra and it fell to the ground, leaving my breasts exposed—to which he took advantage of.
Kneeling down, Salvatore began to kiss my breasts tenderly, bringing them alive with each stroke of his tongue like they were the canvass and he was an artist creating a masterpiece. I delighted in it and
responded to it with eager enthusiasm.
Before I knew it was happening, his lips and tongue began to kiss me down my stomach and his fingers went up to the button and zipper of my shorts and he released them, sliding them down my body in a slow, seductive sweep. The entire time he did that, his lips didn’t lose contact with my body.
Still fully clothed himself, Salvatore guided a very naked and horny me into the bathroom and helped me get into the tub. It was warm and full of bubbles—absolutely relaxing looking.
I slid in and breathed in deeply, taking in scents of lavender from the bubble bath that was alongside the tub’s edge.
“When did that get there?” I asked, knowing it hadn’t been there the entire time.
Salvatore raised his eyebrows at me mischievously and I laughed. “Very well played, sir.”
Then I watched Salvatore take his clothes off. He was doing so casually and setting them to the side but the way he did it was so appealing and it made me feel how pent up I was getting with anticipation despite being in the relaxing bubbles of the soaking tub.
He pressed gently on my back to slide me forward and slid in behind me, sinking down and the bubbles rose, going just below my chin.
With his legs up at the sides, I leaned back into him and his hands were under my arms, massaging my breasts and stomach. It was heavenly.
Neither of us spoke because our sole focus was on the way each other’s body’s felt and how our physical connection was just as perfect as our emotional one. He was obviously aroused and I was, too. The real kicker was when his hand slid down to my pussy and he began to massage it. At first it was tickly but as I gently thrust forward, eager to feel more of his fingers on it, the more aroused I got and it soon became urgent.
From behind, his fingers slid into me and I felt his muscular arms pressing against mine as I enjoyed the release that he was giving me right there in the bathtub.
“Oh,” I moaned as I felt the familiar shudder of pure satisfaction travel through me.
“That felt good, yes?” Salvatore asked.
“Yes, yes, and yes again,” I said. “Wow…that was amazing.”
It took me a second but I managed to turn around in the tub and now I was staring at Salvatore. Bubbles covered my breasts and I had him straddled.
“I am going to slide on top of you and make you come so hard that you won’t forget me when I leave tomorrow,” I said.
“This is good. I was afraid I’d forget about you,” he said playfully.
Then he stopped talking because I slid down on top of him and began to rock my hips back and forth forcefully, taking him into me as far as I could.
He groaned and closed his eyes. Water was sloshing over the sides of the tub but I didn’t care. I wanted him and I was going to take him aggressively and satisfy the insatiable appetite I had for sex with him.
Salvatore’s hands were on my ass and he was gently squeezing it, now responding to my thrusts with thrusts of his own, which made me feel like another climax was on the horizon for me.
We kept going, in perfect sync, as if we’d done that move a hundred times. It was new. It was raw. It was perfect.
Eventually, my inner universe exploded and Salvatore’s did, too.
I pressed against him and hugged him tightly. I didn’t want to let go and the only thing that made me do that was the water turning cold…and the growl of my stomach from hunger.
Then we heard a knock at the door and a voice called out, “Room service.”
“Oh my goodness,” I said, “I’d forgotten all about that.”
“Not me.”
“What if they would have come in the middle?”
“They would have come back. Nothing was going to tear me away from that,” Salvatore said with a gentle smile. He tucked my hair behind my ear and I sprung up, running around and trying to get dressed to get the door.
“Just a minute!” I shouted.
Salvatore casually got up and walked over to the small closet in the corner of the bathroom and pulled out a bathrobe, slid it on, and walked over to the door.
“This way,” he said, opening the door for the room service guy.
“Yes, sir.”
I was in the bathroom, feeling a bit flushed from obviously being busted. The bathrobe gave it all away, even if my glow didn’t.
After the room service guy left, Salvatore walked into the bathroom and started to laugh at me.
“You don’t have to be so modest. Who cares if he suspects we made wild, passionate love in the bathtub? We weren’t the first and we won’t be the last.”
“For only having been with me, you certainly talk like a stud,” I said.
“Well, you know how to make a child a man,” he said. “Everything about you demands attention and curiosity. To not satisfy you would be a tragedy.”
“Everything you say sounds so good,” I said, walking over to him and giving him a kiss. “But right now, I’m starving and am looking forward to this small feast we have for us.”
“Me, too. You must build up your energy for round two.”
“I’ve unleashed the beast.”
“Yes you have and I’m going to make sure you don’t regret it.”
“Sounds fun.”
We ate and watched a movie, cradled in each other’s arms on the couch with the appetizers and wine on the small table in front of it.
Salvatore’s phone rang and he looked down, silenced it, and set it off to the side. I didn’t have to ask who it was to know. It was his ‘fiancé’ and unlike me, he hadn’t said anything to her yet. Of course, we were keeping what we had a secret. It was our secret and that was the best way to protect it and preserve it so no one would be any the wiser. Chase did know but his ego wouldn’t allow for him to spill the beans. What really mattered was that we were each other’s.
Chapter 10
My last night in Rome was magical and amazing, bringing Salvatore and I even closer together. He’d stayed with me, holding me in his arms all night and it felt incredible. I woke with the joy of that feeling but also a bit of sadness that we’d have to be apart again. It was so hard to do yet there were no other options.
“It’s too bad we both have school to tend to,” I said, sticking out my lower lip in a little pout.
“We’ll find a way to make it work,” he said, brushing his fingers under my chin. “This is our secret for now and I shall cherish it forever.”
“My flight doesn’t leave until late afternoon today. What should we do?” I asked. Honestly, I was perfectly content staying right there in the hotel room until I had to go to the airport.
“I have a surprise for you today that I believe you’ll love,” Salvatore told me.
“Really?” I was intrigued about what he could have planned.
“Yes, something that very few tourists know about but most everyone born in Italy does.”
“Fascinating...what is it? Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out. Now, get dressed and we will go have some coffee and pastries before we make our way there. We can keep your luggage in the car until it’s time …”
Neither of us wanted to think about 2:00 p.m. when the flight from Rome to Logan airport would be taking off.
At the café, I enjoyed the steaming dark roast that really brought all my senses to life and when I bit into the chocolate croissant pastry that I’d grown to absolutely love, I said, “I could never get sick of this,” as I chewed. Was it ladylike—no, but I meant it.
“I like it when you act a bit less—proper,” Salvatore told me. “The animal in you is very appealing, you know.”
“You’re just saying that to be nice,” I said. Truth be told, I also enjoyed not having to carry certain airs and not speak what was on my mind the way I had to at home. I’d enjoyed and appreciated my privileged upbringing but it was nice to let loose a bit sometimes. Salvatore had been raised similarly to me but everyone in his family, maybe Italy in general, was more open with their feelings and
their desires. It was nice.
“Okay, I’ve had some great coffee and a wonderful pastry, what’s my surprise?” I asked eagerly.
“We are going to the Ruins,” Salvatore said.
“Didn’t we already go there?”