“I have something to tell you,” she confessed. “I…” Her face flushed bright red as she was clearly embarrassed about what she had to say. “I’m a virgin.”
“What?” I cried out, unable to believe what she was telling me. How could such a gorgeous girl have gotten so far in life without hooking up with someone? Was that why she was so prissy and buttoned up? “Oh.”
“I still want to,” she eventually said coyly. “I… I’ve been waiting for the right person, and I know this seems mad but I feel like we have something. That there’s a connection here. I know that it might seem crazy because we don’t really know each other, but I feel like…” she trailed off, as if she wasn’t sure how I’d react to all of this.
“I feel it too,” I confessed. I really did. There was something here, I’d already recognized that, which was why I’d allowed this to go this far. Of course Bella didn’t know that I was turning over a new leaf, that I wanted to let her in because I wanted to keep her there.
“Will you be my first?” she asked, biting down on her lip.
She had no idea what that question did to me, how it made me feel. Not only did it turn me on more than anything ever before, but it also made me feel special, desired, needed.
And I liked that, a lot.
“Of course.”
*****
Bella
The next thing I knew, we were making out like horny teenagers, unable to get enough of each other. My hands were tangled up in his hair, and his were everywhere, all over my body, sending pricks of pleasure coursing through my veins.
I’d never been so sure of anything in my life.
As soon as I’d seen that spark of vulnerability, that speck of the true Enrico, I made up my mind.
I knew that it was rash for someone who’d held onto her virginity, waiting for the right person – but Enrico did feel right, and this strange, unusual moment felt right too.
He pushed me back until I was lying across his desk, and he stared down at me, letting me in via his deep hazelnut eyes once more, showing me into his soul.
“Are you sure?” he whispered, and I nodded confidently as a reply. My body felt like it was screaming out for him, I was sure!
As if to prove my point, I arched my back and reached out for him, tugging him back to my lips, where we kissed some more.
Damn, I loved kissing him! He alternated between soft and hard, fast and slow, in a way that got me really riled up.
And then he made it even worse, by rubbing my entrance through my lace panties with his fingertips, sending a whole bunch of unexpected, wild sensations bursting right through me. A hot pool formed in my stomach, and started to trickle through my entire body.
I began panting wildly against his lips, showing him what he was doing to me, even if I wanted to keep it to myself. It was a little embarrassing that I couldn’t contain myself, but Enrico didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed quite excited by it!
I wasn’t planning on staring at his bulging erection, but every so often I caught sight of it and it filled me with excitement and fear equally.
He was just so big!
“I need these gone,” he suddenly growled into my ear, yanking my underwear down until I heard them fall to the floor.
I felt an anxious thrill race through me as I realized how cold and exposed I was for him. He could now see all of me – things that no one ever had before – there was no going back.
“Beautiful,” he exclaimed, examining me.
I gulped, as his fingers edged closer to me. I was hot, I was wet, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to like it.
But then he slipped a finger in and he moaned as if it was the sexiest thing ever, and I allowed my head to roll back in ecstasy. It felt amazing!
Seeing how much I was enjoying this, he slid in another finger experimentally, exploring me to find out what I liked. Then another…
“So tight,” he murmured, leaning in towards my stomach. “So wet.”
He placed on chaste kiss on my torso, then another, slowly working his way down. I had no idea what he was doing, I was just lying there enjoying the sensations.
Until his tongue darted inside of my entrance, and I buckled with the crazy rush that I immediately felt.
“You like that, huh?” he sounded pleased with himself. I tried to get my breath long enough to reply, but it was if it had been sucked right from me, and that only got worse as he flicked his tongue all over me, finding places that I didn’t even know I had.
Just as I could feel myself building up to something huge, just as I felt like I was about to explode, he pulled back leaving me cold and alone.
“What…?” I started to sit up, wanting to discover what he was playing at, but then I found him unzipping his pants, finally releasing that thick, throbbing erection, so I slowly lay back down, expectantly waiting…
And then he was hovering over me once more. My chest was tight, but with anticipation. This was really going to happen, and I couldn’t wait for it.
“Are you ready?” he asked, trying to gauge my reaction.
I gulped down and nodded. Then I felt him tentatively teasing my entrance, trying to see how much I could take.
“Go on,” I whispered, ready for more, and he gave me just what I wanted. It stung at first as he pushed in, but because he’d already gotten me so worked up, it was much easier than I expected it to be.
He thrust slowly at first, trying to work out what was right for me, but as he sped things up, the pool of desire that was sitting in my stomach started to spread, started to engulf me, and it wasn’t long before the waves were crashing over me and I was thrashing and crying out underneath Enrico’s expert touch.
*****
Enrico
“Are you okay?” I asked Bella for the hundredth time. I knew that I was driving her mad, but I couldn’t stop myself. She’d just given me herself, given me everything, and I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t appreciate that.
I appreciated the hell out of it.
As I watched her gathering herself together, dressing herself once more, I started to imagine a future with this beauty. I could see myself really, seriously falling for her, and that didn’t terrify me as much as I thought it would.
I saw us together, happy, both of us following our true dreams rather than dealing with our families’ expectations. And that idea was amazing.
“Can I paint you?” I blurted out unexpectedly, causing her to turn and stare at me like I was a madman. “I just…”
“Yes,” she gasped, looking as if she’d actually surprised herself. “Here?”
I had a secret stash of art stuff at work, just to touch now and again, just to keep me comfortable, so I nodded hesitantly. I knew that this was insane, we’d gone on one weird set up date and now I was about to show her my most vulnerable side ever, but since she’d given me her virginity it felt right to do so.
Plus, I really wanted to.
I felt like I was slowly peeling back her layers, getting past the bitchy girl, and seeing the truth underneath. That was the Bella that I wanted to get on paper.
“Just sit there,” I nodded to the desk, wanting to capture the moment where I’d just taken her virginity. I wanted to catch the moment, all of it. No one else would know what that place meant to us, but we would. I’d always see it every time I looked at the painting, and that thought filled me with a secret thrill.
“Like this?” She was sitting awkwardly, looking more than a little uncomfortable.
“Try to relax.” I smiled at her, grateful that she was allowing this to happen – this whole crazy day!
As I started to draw with the pencil, she tensed up once more, so I started to ask her questions, to get her talking, and she began to fall into a more natural stance. I also got to learn more about her, which was also cool. The more I got to know, the more I saw the truth of her, the more I liked her.
I knew that I was in danger of falling for her hard, and that filled me with an intense joy.
***
I added paint sporadically over the next few days, enjoying seeing her face on paper, even if I couldn’t in person. Since that day, it had been too awkward – things had gotten really crazy here with the business and everything – but luckily she understood. We were texting and talking constantly, and it was helping us get through that.
I couldn’t wait for Bella to see the finished product. She hadn’t seen the picture at all yet, and I was excited for her reaction. I’d captured a side of her that I wasn’t totally sure that she was aware of. She was sweet, kind, soft – nothing like the hard faced prissy chick that she presented to the rest of the world.
I hoped that she would be glad that I could see that side of her.
But then someone stepped into my office, and I had to stuff my artwork away from prying eyes once more.
“Boris?” I asked quickly, trying to act like I’d been working. “You okay?”
“Look Enrico,” he slid down into a chair. “I’m gunna level with you here.” His expression was erratic, which terrified me. Something very serious was happening here, and I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. “Your dad wants you to take over where he left off, and everything is in place for that, but you need to decide where your loyalties lie.”
“What…?” This was all a little too much to take in. What did he mean? Take over the company, or the other stuff? And what was he on about loyalties?
“He knows that you’ve been seeing the girl,” he whispers simply, proving to me that even from jail, my dad had eyes everywhere. “He knows that you’re hesitant.”
I sat there in shock for a few seconds, while he simply stared at me. My heart was pounding, my head racing, did he need an answer now?
“Just give it some thought.” He stood up and started to walk from the room. “But soon enough, you’re going to have to decide who you are, and what you want from life.”
There was a threatening undertone to his voice, one that told me the decision might not all be mine, that they might not actually let me walk away from all of this…
*****
Bella
“I don’t understand.” I cried out to my phone in utter frustration. What the hell had gone wrong? Why had Enrico suddenly stopped talking to me?
“Maybe it’s because you gave him what he wanted?” my sister replied cruelly, making me regret confiding in her. I’d only done it because I knew how much more experienced she was with the workings of a male mind. I should have known that she was going to be a complete bitch about it…
“It can’t be that though.” I didn’t want to keep telling her my story, but there was no one else around to damn well listen to me. It was Pru, or no one. “We had sex, then he drew me…”
“Still weird, by the way,” she couldn’t resist jumping in.
“…and we’ve been texting and talking ever since. It’s only been since Thursday that he’s stopped.” I’d gone over and over it in my mind, and I couldn’t think of anything to explain this sudden change. There was nothing that I’d said that could have put him off.
“Dad’s pissed off with you,” she carried on, digging the knife in deeper. “He only told you to pretend to like the guy, he didn’t tell you to fall for him.” Luckily our parents only knew a little bit, and that was only because I’d been forced to confess. They’d been wondering why I was so unhappy, and I had to tell them something.
“I know.” I sighed deeply. My father had been praising me, thinking that I was the only smart one in the family, the only one to see through the Abattelli family, but then I’d let him down for falling for Enrico.
“Look,” Pru moved closer to me, throwing her arm over my shoulder in an unusually affectionate gesture. “Men are shits. They all are.”
I felt a tear trickle down my face at her words. I didn’t want to be at the receiving end of a guy treating me like rubbish – especially not one that I cared so deeply for, that I’d been so wrong about over and over again.
“Do you really think I ended all of those engagements?” she finally continued, in a sad voice.
“What do you mean?” I gasped. I’d always seen Pru as this strong, independent woman that tossed men aside when she grew weary of them, and as much as I mocked her for it, I was always a little jealous. But now, I was seeing a whole new side to her.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds, gathering herself before continuing. “I always act like I’m the one who does the dumping, but I’m not.” She sighed deeply, as if this was hard for her to say. “I get clingy, needy, jealous.” Wow, I could never imagine my overly confident sister being that way. “I push them away; they get sick of me.”
“I…” I didn’t know what to say, so I hugged her tight, praying and hoping that this guy, whoever she was with now wouldn’t treat her that way. I could see now that she was vulnerable too, that she had walls just like me, and I wanted better for her.
“So I know how you feel, okay?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly, realizing that this moment of brutal honesty would change us forever. I already felt like we were closer, and that maybe… just maybe, we might start working on the same team.
If a better relationship with my sister came out of all of this mess, then there would be at least one silver lining.
“Just forget about him, okay?” she offered me one final piece of advice, and I nodded agreeably, even though I knew wouldn’t be quite that simple…
*****
Enrico
Bella had stopped trying to call, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. Sure, it was understandable because I hadn’t been answering, but it stung all the same.
I just couldn’t. I couldn’t deal when I wasn’t sure where my future lay.
Of course, I knew what I wanted to do, but this wasn’t just about me. I had so many expectations weighing on me, and that was the killer. Boris and the rest of my dad’s men were on my back all the damn time, trying to get me to take his place. They kept promising me money and power, which wasn’t tempting me, but the fact that it would kill my dad if I didn’t follow in his footsteps, was.
My dream was to be with Bella, to be an artist, but I didn’t think I was good enough for it. I thought that the Abattelli name dictated my future, and I wasn’t sure that I could escape it.
I was being torn in a million different directions, and I had no idea which way I should turn.
I wished I had someone that I could turn to for advice. Someone that could help me. Without a mum or any siblings it was difficult, and my dad had ensured that all of my friends were his friends. Looking back, even when I was in high school, he’d pushed all my friends away, leaving me with no one.
He’d manipulated me my entire life, and now I was a byproduct of that.
But even as I knew that, I didn’t know how to shake it off. It was maddening.
*****
Bella
It had taken me a few weeks, but I’d finally gotten to a place where I could get out of the house and act like normal. I’d been utterly floored by Enrico, but now I was moving past that.
Sure, I wasn’t over him – I didn’t think I would be for a very long time – but I was moving on, and that was something.
As predicted, myself and Pru were becoming increasingly close. We could both see how huge the walls were that we’d built around ourselves, and the effect that had caused on everything else, and we were trying to break them down, to be more for one another.
I hated everything that had happened, but I was glad for that one reason.
“Shall we go to lunch today?” Pru asked me, in a routine that was becoming increasingly common for us.
Our parents didn’t know yet, but she’d dumped her latest fiancé – herself this time. She realized that he wasn’t right for her, and that she’d only been staying because she was afraid of another failed engagement.
Luckily they were distracted anyway. Dad had found someone else to merge his business with – someone genuine this time
– and that was keeping them both very busy, leaving me and Pru to sort out our own lives once more. The only difference was this time we weren’t alone. We had each other.
“Sure,” I grinned. “Where are you thinking? The Italian?” We generally always went to the same place, so I wasn’t sure why I was asking really.
“Um, no.” She seemed oddly distracted. “I think we should go to this new little bistro…”
“Sure, whatever,” I replied, checking my appearance in the mirror. Even that looked different these days. The pinched expression, the too much makeup, the prissy pinned up look… it was all gone. I was a new, freer, more casual me, and it was kinda nice to look at.
I was even starting to write. Just a little bit, but that was enough to make me feel happier.
Of course, I’d kept this to myself. I hadn’t even told Pru. I didn’t want anyone to know in case I failed. I would tell the world once I was certain that it was something I was good at, something I could actually succeed with. But I still had it all the same.
As we walked along, we chatted effortlessly, making me wonder why we’d wasted so much of our lives at one another’s throats. It was so silly looking back now.
But by the time we arrived at the restaurant, I couldn’t help but notice that Pru was acting increasingly weird.
“Okay, what’s up?” I eventually asked. “Do you have a new boyfriend or something?” I was suspicious; there was definitely something on her mind.
“No, of course not!” she exclaimed, far too dramatically. “There’s nothing.”
I stared at her for a few seconds, trying to make her crack, but she refused to meet my eye. In the end, I turned my attention back to the menu, deciding that she could tell me in her own time.
If she had someone, then I was happy for her.
“Okay,” she finally conceded. “I’ll tell you…”
But before she could get her sentence out, a familiar masculine voice broke out, grabbing our attention. “Bella?” he asked.
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