Then, Now, Forever (Heartbeat #2)

by Teodora Kostova

  She left Lisa to finish loading the dishwasher and followed him outside. He was lounging next to the door, one foot propped against wall, holding a cigarette between his fingers. Gia knew she had scolded him about his clothes, but she had to admit he looked damn good. Actually, Beppe looked good in anything. He had this energy about him, this irresistible air of confidence and charm that no one could ignore. Even Gia wasn't unaffected. But, she also knew what was underneath all that bravado and good looks. She knew all of Beppe’s flaws, his fears and quirks, his dreams and nightmares. She had traced all the scars on his body and kissed each one, and she knew how his dark eyes turned to liquid onyx when he cried.

  No! Stop thinking like that! You are supposed to be mad at him, remember?

  He turned his head slightly towards her, but didn’t acknowledge her in any other way. Gia moved the stand beside him, leaning back on the wall and crossing her arms over her chest.

  “What's going on?” she asked quietly.

  “Stella and I had a little good-natured fight about football and I pretended to be pissed so that I could sneak out for a smoke.”

  “Not that. Before. Between us.”

  Beppe brought the cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. He exhaled the smoke before he spoke.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Gia threw her hands up annoyance. She was hoping to get this straightened out, but Beppe seemed to be in one of his moods. Too bad she didn’t care.

  “No, I don’t. All I know is that in the car you looked at me differently, like you used to, before...” He paused and took a drag off his cigarette again, casting his eyes down.

  “Before you left,” Gia spat out and immediately regretted it. Considering the circumstances it wasn’t like he’d had a choice.

  “Yeah,” Beppe agreed, still not looking at her. He took one last pull of the cigarette and threw it on the ground, stepping on it. Raising his eyes to meet hers, he continued, “And then you made that sexy sound and all I could think about was how I wanted to hear you make that noise over and over again.”

  Suddenly anger bloomed in Gia’s chest. She had an intense desire to punch him.

  “Listen to me you idiot,” she said through clenched teeth, stepping closer to Beppe. “You spent three years whoring around and what? Now you're suddenly tired of it? You think you can snap your fingers and I'll come running?”

  “It's not...” he tied to interrupt her but she didn't give him a chance.

  “What is it? Have you already fucked all the women in Genoa? Am I the only one left?”

  “How can you say that?” Beppe asked getting angry himself.

  “With my mouth that’s how!” Gia yelled. She was so angry with him that her chest heaved with physical pain. How could he do this to her? After she spent all those years trying to get over him, now he decided to play his little mind games with her? “You’re either going to forget this ever happened and act like my friend, because that is what you are – a friend, nothing more – or we’re over!”

  “Why?” Beppe pushed himself off the wall. His eyes bored into hers as he closed the small remaining distance between them and loomed over Gia’s small frame.

  “Because I’d rather die than be one of your one night stands.”

  Beppe clenched his jaw as if trying to restrain himself from saying anything he’d regret. When he didn’t deny that sex was all he was looking for, the rage Gia felt was replaced by dull ache in her chest. Gia felt hollow inside as he nodded, silently agreeing to her terms. Turning away, Gia stormed back into the house before he could see the first tears spilling down her face.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Beppe walked to the coffee shop round the corner from his building and bought two large lattes with an extra shot of espresso. That was how Gia liked hers and since it was a peace offering, he wanted to make sure he got it right. Hailing a cab, he gave Gia’s address and hoped he wasn't going to end up waking her up. If he did, his chance at forgiveness would be dramatically lowered.

  ‘Orchidea Nera’ opened at 5:00 pm and closed well after midnight, which suited Gia’s natural body clock. She was not a pleasant person to be around in the morning. Beppe glanced at his watch – 10:30 am. Since she’d gone home soon after their confrontation last night, he was assuming she’d had an early night and would be up by now.

  Thinking about what she’d said the night before made him cringe inwardly. Yes, he had acted on impulse. He’d been a complete and selfish asshole to say what he’d said to her when they walked into Lisa’s. He didn't know what had come over him. It had taken all he had not to kiss her right there in the car, in front of Max. The truth was, he'd never recovered from her rejection when he'd returned from Tuscany, but he'd learned to live with it. Yet, when he'd seen her physical reaction to him in the car, everything had changed. Gia still desired him and not as a friend. She still wanted him and that was all that mattered to him.

  He was going to apologise today, make her believe that nothing had changed. Then, as she relaxed and dropped her guard, he’d jump at the first opportunity to remind her how good they were together.

  They belonged together and as much as he hadn’t wanted to, he’d give her both space and time to realise that for herself. She was right – it wasn’t fair of him to disappear for two years and then expect everything to be the same when he came back. But enough was enough. He was tired of wasting his time. Gia was the only woman he’d ever loved and she was going to be his again, whether she liked it or not.

  As the cab came to a stop, Beppe gathered his thoughts, tipped the cab driver generously and got out. Taking the driveway in several large strides, he rang the bell and waited. He had a key but today he had a feeling that waiting for someone to open the door would be the wiser choice.

  The door swung open and the surprise on Gia’s face was priceless. She had not expected to see him on her doorstep, especially so soon after their argument. Beppe took in her sleepy eyes, tousled hair and bare legs. She was wearing a t-shirt he’d left at her house at some point that reached the middle of her thighs, and nothing else. The thought of Gia sleeping in his t-shirt, even after the fight they’d had the night before, made the tension leave his body and his heartbeat start to race.

  “I’m coming in peace. And brought coffee,” he said, giving her a disarming smile. She looked at the drink and then back to him.

  Sighing, Gia walked back into the house leaving the door open for him. Beppe followed her to the kitchen and from the lack of a coffee smell in the house, he’d come just in time. Gia sat in one of the chairs around the big kitchen table and folded her legs under her. Beppe placed the coffee cup in front of her and took the chair opposite so that he could see her face fully as he spoke.

  “Gia, I’m sorry about yesterday. I was out of line.” Gia glanced at him, checking to see from his expression if he was being sincere. Satisfied with what she saw, she nodded and took a long sip of her coffee. “I was hoping we could forget it ever happened and move on. I don’t want anything to hurt our friendship. You and Max are the two most important people in my life.”

  Gia looked at him, meeting his eyes for a long moment. A smile began to tug at her lips.

  “Am I forgiven?” Beppe asked, grinning in return.

  “You grovel very well.”

  “Which is weird because I don’t do it often.”

  “Oh, I don’t know, I can name a few times when you’ve groveled for me,” Gia teased and drank from her coffee cup to hide her wide smile.

  “You’re pretty much the only person I’d do it for.”

  Gia nodded without commenting. After a long moment she stood and made her way to the fridge.

  “I was going to make breakfast. Have you eaten?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Let me see what we have. How about some scrambled eggs on toast?”

  “You’re a chef and that’s the best you can do? Scrambled eggs?”

  She turned to glare back at him ov
er her shoulder.

  “Yes, that’s the best I can do, considering nobody has bothered to go grocery shopping for the past two weeks. But I guess you’re probably not that hungry if you’re going to be picky.”

  Beppe laughed and raised his hands in surrender.

  “Eggs are fine.”

  “Good.” Gia slammed the fridge closed with her hip. She crossed to the sink holding a few eggs in each hand and set about making them breakfast.

  “What time do you have to be at the restaurant today?” Beppe asked as he came up next to her and leaned against the counter.

  “I’m off tonight.”

  “Two nights in a row? That’s unusual. Everything OK?”

  “Yeah, got a call last night that there will be some private party tonight and they’re bringing in their own staff. Nobody’s working today.”

  Beppe beamed with joy – he’d have Gia to himself all day.

  “Great. We can spend the day together.”

  “Don’t you think it’d be better to give each other some space for a few days? Cool off a bit?” She looked at him uncertainly for a second. Was Gia nervous around him now?

  That was new! Maybe his ‘inappropriate’ behavior last night had affected her more than he thought.

  Perfect.

  “No,” he said and folded his arms across his chest.

  “No? It’s not just up to you, you know. Maybe I need to...”

  “Fuck that,” he interrupted. “I’ve known you for seventeen years, Gia. You don’t need to hide from me or cool off or whatever. I messed up last night. I apologised. It won’t happen again. Now, let’s eat so we can go to the supermarket to buy some food.”

  Beppe was not going to give her time to repair the cracks in the wall he’d made last night. In fact, he planned on making those cracks even bigger until there was a Beppe-shaped hole he could slip through.

  ******

  They ended up having a great day once Gia relaxed. After buying enough groceries to feed a small village for a week, they unloaded the bags back at Gia’s, and went for lunch at Beppe’s favorite café.

  “We just bought half the supermarket and yet, we are still eating out,” said Gia right before biting into her four cheese panini.

  “Do you feel like cooking right now?”

  No, she didn’t. It was a lovely day, and after exhausting herself by running after Beppe in the supermarket taking out half the stuff he put in the trolley, she wanted nothing more than to go out, relax under a parasol, eat a sandwich and have a large icy glass of fresh lemonade. Beppe knew that, which was why he hadn't suggested they eat in. He could read her like a book sometimes, and Gia hated it.

  The sound of Beppe’s phone beeping with a text alert brought Gia’s thoughts back to the present. Beppe picked it up, read the text and smirked. Then he typed something back, the confident smile never leaving his lips.

  “Hot date tonight?” Gia snickered and mentally kicked herself.

  “Actually yeah,” Beppe said and winked at her, before rolling some tagliatelle around his fork and stuffing them in his mouth.

  Possessiveness bloomed in her chest. Gia knew she shouldn't be jealous, but she couldn't prevent the tendrils of jealousy working their way through her mind and body, followed closely by anger. Why was she feeling this way? She’d survived his leaving, she’d survived his coming back, she’d even survived watching him fuck everything that moved for so long. Why was she suddenly feeling possessive and jealous?

  What the hell happened?

  “With you,” Beppe said when he’d chewed his tagliatelle.

  “What?” Gia asked, confused, because she’d fallen back into her thoughts and wasn’t sure if she'd missed something.

  “My date. It’s with you.” Seeing her bewildered expression only made Beppe chuckle. “That was Max texting me. Apparently he told Lisa and Stella that the three of us had plans for tonight. That we were going to dinner and then hitting some clubs. Max invited them to come with us. They said yes, so now Max needs us to actually go.”

  Hearing that it wasn't really a date, that there would be a large group going out, Gia relaxed and shook her head.

  “My brother’s got it really bad for Lisa’s cousin. I noticed how he was looking at her last night. I bet this is some elaborate plan to seduce her.”

  “Well, he picked a good day. You’re not working tonight and I had already planned to keep you to myself all day, so it works out perfectly.”

  “I wanted to stay in, watch a movie, rest...” Gia grumbled with a pout. She slouched lower in her seat.

  “Hey,” Beppe reached over the table and took her hand in his, fixing her with his dark eyes. “Let’s get out of here, go to my place, put a movie on and maybe have a little nap. You’ll be able to get some rest and be ready to shake that cute butt of yours tonight.”

  The charming smile Beppe gave her left Gia no choice but to mumble an ‘OK’ and allow him take her to his penthouse.

  Once inside, she kicked off her sandals and flopped on the plush sofa. Beppe sat next to her and tugged her towards him. He switched the TV on and chose the on demand option. Gia rested her head in his lap while Beppe buried his fingers in her hair, stroking and massaging her scalp.

  She fell asleep before the movie started.

  ******

  I love her so much.

  It’s always been her.

  Gia’s mine and I'll die before I let her slip through my fingers again.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  When Gia woke up she was more than a bit disoriented. Where was she? Blinking rapidly, as she shoved her hair out of her eyes she remembered she had fallen asleep on Beppe’s sofa. She also remembered that they were going out this evening and the clock on the wall showed it was almost six o’clock.

  Shit! Gia threw her legs over the sofa’s edge and stood up. It was very quiet, the TV was off, the windows were closed and only the light hum of the air conditioning could be heard. That, and the shower in Beppe’s bedroom.

  So that was where he was. Gia had been starting to wonder where he went off to, leaving her alone in his place. It wouldn’t be the first time. Should she wait for him or go home, change, and meet everyone at Piazza de Ferrari later?

  The sound of the water stopping effectively made Gia’s choice for her. She'd just tell him she would meet up with them after she went home to get ready. Climbing up the stairs to Beppe’s bedroom, Gia froze on the last step.

  Beppe had just emerged from the bathroom, a towel hanging low on his hips. He was using another to dry his face and hair. Gia's eyes roamed over his shoulders that glistened with droplets of water that eventually rolled their way down his chest. Her eyes chased those drops and she watched the muscles on his arms and stomach constrict with every move he made. Her attention was captured by how his towel was in danger of slipping off.

  Gia licked her lips and swallowed, her throat as dry as sandpaper. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Beppe without any clothes on, but somehow that moment felt different. Or rather, Gia felt different looking at him. She was clutching the banister, trying to maintain control, trying not to rush over and touch him. She wanted to trace the lines the water drops were making with her fingers and then with her tongue. She wanted to taste Beppe’s skin again, feel his strong arms around her, have his lips on hers, feel his warm breath as he whispered her name in her ear while he...

  “Oh, hey, you're awake. I was just getting ready to come down to get you up. We have to leave in about half an hour.”

  Gia blinked her thoughts away as she tried to bring her attention to Beppe’s face as he spoke, but failed. His skin was starting to dry and thanks to the cool air in the apartment his nipples were hard and begging to be licked.

  Wait... Were there piercings on both his nipples? Gia only remember seeing one before. She brought her eyes up to his face and found him eyeballing her with a knowing smirk.

  Great. He saw me gawking at him.

  “When did you get your other n
ipple pierced?” she asked, attempting to distract them both from her traitorous thoughts.

  “Oh, this?” he hooked his finger through the silver hoop ring and lightly tugged. His nipple extended forward and Beppe bit his lower lip, looking right at her. Gia caught her breath on a light gasp. The look in Beppe’s eyes at that moment was so incredibly hot, her whole body was humming with the desire to be as close to him as possible. Staying rooted where she was wreaked havoc on her sanity. God she wanted him so bad! Not going to him was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. “I got this about three weeks ago. I guess you don’t see me naked enough if this is the first time you’ve noticed it.”

  Beppe let go of the ring and brushed his thumb over his nipple in a casual gesture before sliding his hand down and hooking it over the top of the towel. Panic rose in Gia’s chest – he was going to take it off!

  Oh, hell, no!

  “What are you doing?” she asked, extending her hand in a futile attempt to stop him.

  “I’m going to drop the towel and get dressed,” said Beppe, his voice the epitome of innocence. “Besides, I might have another piercing you haven’t seen. You wanna check?” With one swift gesture he pulled the towel free and Gia caught a glimpse of his perfect ass before she stumbled backwards and then raced down the stairs.

  “Oh come on, it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before.” She heard Beppe call after her but she didn’t turn around. Back in the living room, Gia looked frantically around for her sandals and bag because she had to leave. She had to get her raging emotions under control.

  Unfortunately, she heard Beppe coming down the stairs before she’d managed to locate her shoes.

  “Hey, what’s wrong, amore?” he asked as he grabbed her upper arms to stop her from running around. “Talk to me.” He’d put a pair of sweats on, but no shirt. His skin was warm and smelled so amazingly good. Gia couldn’t think of anything else but letting go of her control and burying her face in his chest, inhaling Beppe’s wonderful, unique scent. Somehow that thought snapped her out of her primal desires and she wildly shook him loose.