(Renata Pellegrini)
Humm, that smells good, I feel my mouth salivate and my stomach rumbles for food. I open my eyes, sit up in bed and my stomach twitches, making me feel discomfort and a snore echoes out of my belly.
“Buongiorno!” Filippo enters my room holding a tray of breakfast. “You woke up on time,” he says with an almost invisible smile on his lips, having only a small line marked on them.
I keep watching him and he is wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but without the suit, the baby blue social blouse is folded up to the elbows, and on top of the blouse he is wearing my pink barbie apron. I hold back my laughter.
“You … you slept here?” I ask, coming to my senses. I feel my cheeks flush.
“Sì, ragazza,” he answers as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
“W-where?” I ask looking at the floor, bite my lip and in my mind a small hope arises that he will answer that he slept in the same bed as me.
I know it’s wrong to share the same bed without being in a relationship, but it feels so good not to feel alone.
He leaves the tray beside me on the bed and removes his apron. I notice the open buttons of his blouse leaving part of his chest showing. I remember how warm and soft it is, my hands prickle, wanting to touch him one more time and feel his heart beating beneath my hand. I slide my fingers through the little gums of his well-defined abdomen…
“Enjoying what you see, ragazza?”
I feel my cheeks heat up and he lets out a giggle, all self-conscious. Conceited!
“I’ve seen better,” I say and try to disguise my embarrassment.
“So sorrowful, piccola,” he says with a sad face.
“The truth hurts,” I say looking into his eyes and giving a wink, smiling feeling more at ease.”
I look at him like a fool, I think this is the first time I am not tense around him. It is still a shock for me to admit that I am in love with my boss, the richest man alive today and who last night said he would give his life to protect mine.
“You are the strangest girl I have ever met, ragazza, you make me want to do strange things, I feel like holding your hand and just watching you sleep peacefully makes me light. I feel like seeing you smile and I hate it when you cry, I’ve never felt anything like this and I can’t tell if I’m enjoying feeling this. What are you doing to me, huh?” Filippo spoke softly as he caressed my face. I still hadn’t fallen asleep, but I didn’t dare move a muscle, hearing him say such cute things made everything I felt for him triple in intensity.
I always wanted to love and be loved, but I never imagined that I would love someone so out of my reality and right now I don’t care. There is no Mr. Valentini here, only Filippo. Just me and him. Two people who share the same feeling, and even though only I know this, I still don’t have the courage to confess to him.
“Ragazza ungrateful!!” He exclaims, bringing me back to reality. “I risked myself in the kitchen to prepare for you this chocolate-filled cornetto and the Brazilian-style cappuccino, and you ‘tell il tuo bellissimo ragazzo’ that you find other men better?” – “Your beautiful boyfriend,” he says with an angry face, but I know he is not by the little mark at the corner of his mouth indicating a tiny smile.
“I didn’t know you had such a dramatic boyfriend,” I say smiling, and only when he smiles too do I notice what I just said.
“He finally took me over,” he leans over me and kisses my lips.
His hand goes to the back of my neck and gently pulls my hair, I open my mouth and his tongue touches mine tenderly, I rest my hands on his shoulders and return the kiss. Slowly we stop the kiss and finish with a kiss.
“Chocolate,” I whisper as he pulls away from me. His mouth tastes like dark chocolate, my favorite.
He sits down on the bed and I finally notice how I am dressed, my body covered by a blue silk V-neck sweater. How did I dress you?
“I dressed you,” he replies as if he has read my thoughts.
Why doesn’t this bed open a hole for me to hide in?
“Yeah, well, thanks?” I say awkwardly.
“Let’s eat,” he takes one of the cornetto. “Open your mouth,” he says in a firm voice, I do as he tells me without taking my eyes away from him. “This!”
I chew the first piece of the cornetto and can’t help it, a moan of pleasure escapes my mouth, making Filippo give a satisfied smile.
“You look beautiful when you smile…” I cover my mouth, God, today I am giving my thoughts too much voice.
“You also look beautiful when you moan my name…”
“Bastard!” I throw the pillow in his face, but he deflects and the pillow falls on the floor.
> At the company, ten minutes before lunchtime:
I pack all the documents that I will take to Filippo to analyze in the afternoon in a folder, now I have to go to the restaurant across the street, Sophia told me that they sell macaroni there on Wednesday days and that Filippo always sends his assistants to pick it up for him, this is the only one he asks for. I will do it without him having to ask me.
I take the corporate card and put it in my purse, without further ado I leave the company and walk to the traffic light, today the traffic is very busy.
In the middle of the street, I only noticed the sound of a car speeding up when the other people started screaming and running away from the road, but for me it’s already too late, the car is practically on top of me, I can see Veronica on the steering wheel. My body is paralyzed with fear, the light is red but the car is coming all over me.
“Run, you idiot!” – my mind screams at me, but my legs don’t obey.
I close my eyes waiting for the impact on my body, but a hand grabs my arm and pulls me quickly back to the corner of the street, unfortunately my leg rubs against the hot exhaust pipe of the car.
“Thank you,” I thank her breathlessly as I feel my leg throbbing more and more.
I look at Veronica’s car and she goes on her way as if nothing happened, I control my breathing and look at the person who saved me. Gaius.
“You saved me, thank you so much, Caio,” now calmer, I express my gratitude once again.
“You’re welcome, I just did what anyone should have done.”
“But only you did,” I say and he reveals a shy smile, this is strange, Caio always smiled a lot while we talked.
“Come, let’s take care of your leg.”
I rest my arm on Caio’s shoulder and he helps me to return to the company, as I enter everyone looks at me without understanding what has happened to me. Caio gently leads me to the female employees’ dressing room and helps me to sit on the puff.
“Amanda has already gone to lunch?” I ask, trying to distract myself from the pain.
“Yes, I was going to get some peach tea, the one here ran out, that’s when I saw you.”
“I see, I was very lucky,” I answered, smiling.
Caio goes to a cupboard and gets the first aid kit, then sits down on another puff, takes my leg and puts it on top of his. I feel a stab of pain as soon as his fingers touch around the burn.
“It’s not so bad, let’s clean it, sterilize it, and bandage it. Then you just need to take some medicine and in no time you will be as good as new.”
“I don’t even know how to thank you, you are being such a hero right now,” I say as he pours water over my wound.
“Will you go on a date with me?”
“Date?” I ask, checking to see if I heard correctly.
“Yes,” he answers smiling, “A new restaurant opened nearby, I wanted to go there with you. Of all the girls I have talked to, none have been like you. You are beautiful, integrated, fair, very nice, and don’t care about other people’s social statuses. I admire you a lot and I want to have a chance to win you over, I may not be rich, but I want to make you smile a lot”
No, no, no, what the hell, Caio! Why did you have to propose just for me?
“What are you guys doing?” Filippo’s deep voice fills the whole room, both Caio and I tense on the puff, he slowly moves his hand away from my leg.