My Italian BFF

Chapter Two

The next morning, I woke, and realisation dawned on me. I had slept with Luca, the closest person in my life. I ran through the events of the night before in my mind and I didn’t regret it for a second. It was easily the best decision I had ever made. The events playing over in my mind set my body on fire again. I knew I shouldn’t, but I really wanted to do the entire experience again. Feeling slightly self-conscious of my nakedness, I raised and jumped in the shower and dressed before he had the chance to wake. I was in the kitchen cooking omelettes when he emerged from my room.

“Morning.” I made a weird little wave that I regretted the second I did it. I was trying my best not to act strange, but instead, I was acting insane. As he walked towards me, he was laughing at me. Luca leaned over and kissed me on the lips, a simple gesture that felt right in the moment. He reached and took the plate next to me and moved to retrieve cutlery for us both. He spent so much time over at mine that he knew his way around my apartment about as well as he did his own place.

“Thanks, Dolcezza.” Just like that, he meandered over to the tiny dining table, barely big enough for two people. I joined him, still deeply uncomfortable. He was my friend, and I was worried we wouldn’t be able to go back after the previous night. I just knew I couldn’t lose Luca; he was too important to me.

“About last night…” I faltered completely; I had no idea how to finish that sentence. I didn’t even know what I wanted. Part of me wanted to do it again.

“It’s not a big deal. Stop over analysing everything.” Clearly, he wasn’t as into it as I was, or he would have thought it was a big deal. I thought it was earth-shattering. I didn’t think a man had ever been that attentive to me in the bedroom before.

“I just don’t want it to change things between us.” I looked at him, almost pleading with him to say it hadn’t changed anything and we were still besties, although part of me wanted him to bend me over the table.

“Well, I’m afraid it’s too late for that.” I felt the regret in the pit of my stomach for the first time. “I always knew you were a knockout, but after last night, well, let’s just say I’m not going to forget it in a while.” My emotions were all over the place and he wasn’t helping the situation. I blushed in embarrassment.

Nobody had ever really described me that way before. After breakfast, I dumped the pots in the sink and headed over to the sofa to put a movie on. When I looked back over at the kitchen, Luca was washing up, ever the gentleman. He had always been the same, opening doors for me and always feeling the need to place a protective arm around me when we were out together.

“You don’t have to do that; I will do it later.” I couldn’t help but feel like it was every woman’s dream, sleeping with your best friend and then him doing the housework.

“You cooked, I’ll wash up. My mother would be ashamed of me otherwise.” I liked his mother, although I had only met her once when she had come over from Italy to visit him. She was a hearty, friendly woman with a heart of gold. She was a deeply religious woman who believed in men looking after the women in their lives. Eleanor would definitely not have approved of our actions the night before.

Luca was much less serious about his religion and certainly wasn’t saving himself, but he wanted his mother to be proud of him and his actions. As soon as Luca introduced me to her, she treated me like family, inviting me to join them at the vineyard and affectionately calling me Piccolo, which Luca had informed me translated to my little one. The pet name made me feel like family, like an adoptive daughter almost.

It was more love and emotion than I had ever received from my mother. Eventually, he joined me on the sofa, and we sat watching a comedy together. It wasn’t long before we were laughing together and behaving the same way we always had.

When the movie ended, he sat up and looked serious. “I think we should do that more often?” A bit heavy for so early in the morning and completely non-specific.

“Watch a movie?” It was foolish to play stupid, but I needed clarification before I answered something he wasn’t even asking.

“No, not the movie, the getting naked in bed together was more what I had in mind, Dolcezza.” The suggestion and the way he pronounced the words made me quiver.

“I can’t get into anything right now; I’ve just split up with Spencer, and I don’t want to ruin the friendship we already have.”

“I know. I had more of a friends-with-benefits situation in mind. You’re going through a hard time, and I don’t want to get into anything right now. Things are too hectic at work for that. We know each other well and we're clearly compatible in the bedroom. Just a suggestion. Think about it.” He gave me the usual peck on the cheek and said his goodbyes, leaving for the restaurant.

The restaurant didn’t open until 11 am, but Luca had to be in early for food prep. I wondered to myself how it would be between us at work. Would our night together make things awkward? I sat thinking about Luca’s proposition. Not knowing if I could handle having an intimate relationship and not get attached.

At the end of the day, it was just s*x; I had kissed him multiple times before and nothing had changed between us. He had seen me practically naked many times, and nothing had changed. Nothing had even changed since the night before, not really. I wanted to do it again, there was no denying it.

I sashayed into the restaurant, full of purpose and a newfound confidence that I had been sorely lacking the night before. I didn't even feel self-conscious wearing the little black dress that made up my work uniform. I hated wearing dresses because of the way they clung to my stomach and exposed my legs and didn't usually wear them. Unfortunately, I had no choice when I was at work, but at that moment my usual preoccupations with my appearance had vanished.

There was no denying I had gone from feeling ugly and worthless to feeling desired, and that was down to Luca. I dumped my things in my locker and slipped behind the bar. My principal job was mixing drinks for the seated guests, which the waitresses would request, but at busier times I also had people at the bar, often waiting on a table about to finish up.

I was serving an older man and woman at the bar when Luca emerged from the kitchen. He smiled at me the way he always did. I concentrated on my customers and getting their p*****t once I had set their drinks on the bar. Luca was getting himself a drink of lemonade, and I hoped he would take his time over it so I could speak to him before he vanished back into the kitchen.

The man was taking his time, and it was driving me crazy. I could feel myself squirming with the urge to tell Luca my decision. As soon as the beep of the card machine signalled that the p*****t had gone through, I dashed to the other end of the bar as gracefully as I could, not wanting anyone watching to see me running around. He was just about to leave when I reached him; I grabbed his arm and some of the sticky clear liquid spilt over the rim of the glass.

“Yes.” He instantly knew my meaning, his eyes lighting up at the prospect, filling me with even more confidence than I had before.

“Tonight?” How could one word be so suggestive, so desperate, and make me so hot and bothered? The moments of the night before seemed to play on a reel inside my mind, and I flushed at the thought of the passion he had invoked.

“Yes.” Just three words and we had set ourselves on a fresh path, agreeing to so much with so little. Like me, he would have been careful not to have our meaning known while we were at work. The boss had a strict no-dating rule and although he wouldn’t fire us for it, he would certainly find another excuse to make us leave if he found out. Mr Carlson could be really nasty if you were on his bad side. Thankfully, so far, I hadn’t been. Just before Luca retreated, he winked at me. It was nothing new. He had an obsession with winking, but it sent a shiver running through my body.

I seemed to spend the rest of the shift, counting down the minutes until I could head home. Luca and I finished at the same time, and it left me wondering if he was coming straight back to mine or if he would head home first. I didn’t really have a preference either way. The last hour seemed to drag by, people were finishing their meals, and the kitchen was already closed for the evening. Luca would be cleaning down the kitchen and getting ready to leave. I, on the other hand, was still serving drinks.

When he finished in the kitchen, he perched himself on one of the bar stools nearest the kitchen door, but in full view. He looked odd in his work clothes and dressed nothing remotely like everyone else in the restaurant. He always refused to wear a chef's jacket, wanting instead to cook the same way he had back home. As such, he was sitting in a food-splattered tee.

I was so busy staring at him, I completely missed the customer trying to get my attention. He had already finished his meal and there was only one other table left, but he had decided he wanted a drink at the bar before he left. Luca looked up from under his long eyelashes and chuckled to himself, no doubt finding my preoccupation amusing.

As we finally left, having had to wait for the old man not to have one drink but three, I was annoyed and exhausted. It had been a long shift and my feet were sore from the heels I had chosen. I didn’t normally wear heels, but part of me was showing off for Luca’s benefit. So I had selected the one pair of heels I owned for special occasions and, as such, they weren't remotely bedded in and my feet weren't used to their confines, usually opting to wear converse for work. Unlike the waitresses, I could get away with wearing trainers, because my feet were rarely seen by the customers.

I walked out the door slightly in front of Luca and said my goodbyes to the girls before heading in the direction of home. Luca caught up with me and casually draped his arm around my shoulders. He did it all the time. He was always very touchy-feely, but suddenly I was self-conscious about the other staff seeing us like that. It was a ridiculous notion. They saw us like that all the time and knew we were close friends. Half the staff thought he was gay because he never dated women, ever. I knew it was purely because he preferred to focus on his career, but people gossiped. As I walked, I winced a little. I was sure I had given myself blisters.

“Feet hurting?”

“Occupational hazard.” Shrugging my shoulders as though it didn’t bother me. Before I could comment further, he stooped to his knees right in front of me.

“Jump on.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ll be fine. I’m too heavy for you to be lugging me around.”

“I lugged you around perfectly fine last night. Come on.” I blushed but obliged, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding on for dear life as he hoisted me effortlessly onto his back. I let my arms dangle down the front of him and leant my head over his shoulder until my mouth was level with his ear.

“Thanks, Luca, I appreciate it.” Luca was amazing, kind, sensitive and brutally honest. Which meant when I asked how I looked, I knew he would always tell me the truth instead of letting me walk around looking a mess. I laid my head on his shoulder and let myself relax into him; it really had been a long day.