My Italian BFF

Chapter Four

I laid there stiff as a board, full of tension and fear. As he rolled over and placed his arm over my naked torso, I jumped at the contact.

“I’m going to just jump in the shower.” Climbing out of bed quickly and heading straight through to the bathroom, I needed a little space to get my head straight. I was being ridiculous. It had been two days; it wasn’t an unrequited love story. I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him. Maybe we were just too close to start with to be having that sort of relationship.

“I’ll join you.” Just what I needed. Being in close contact with his naked body again wasn’t going to give me the ability to think things through. I felt like a teenager. It had barely been fifteen minutes, but the thought of him being wet against me sparked my drive all over again. I turned the dial on the shower to cold, in the hopes of dampening my needs. I stepped into the stream before Luca walked into the bathroom. The cold water shocked my system and made me shudder, but did nothing to ease the urge for Luca to ravish me.

He stepped into the shower, instantly reaching out to move a stray piece of hair behind my ear, grazing my cheek as he did. I heard a groan erupt from my mouth and there was nothing I could do to stop it. His tender hand extended and stroked a path from my cheek, over my neck, and into my hair. His movements were painfully slow, evoking a sigh from me. My heart rate was increasing, and I could feel it pounding in my chest. He laid his lips upon my temple, barely making contact, but it made me quiver inside.

I stepped backwards, but he matched me until I was pressed between his muscular pecks and the white, cold tiles. The heat radiating from us seemed to make the whole room climb in temperature, despite the cold water and tiles. As he eased back a little, he ran a single fingertip down the centre of me, following its path with his eyes.

I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to him, holding on to his broad shoulders to stabilise myself. My legs seemed too weak to hold me up any longer. They became more uncontrollable, as his finger swept between my breasts and down to my belly button. Just before its feather-like touch reached the apex of my thighs, he looked up, staring into my eyes as the single finger found its destination. As it swept over that sweet spot, I groaned and bit my lip to try to suppress myself. As it slid inside, I cried out his name. The mixture of the cold water running down my front and his warm touch made my body a battlefield of contradictions.

As my mouth opened, a moan surfaced, the result of his deft touch. He clamped down on my mouth, absorbing the moan against his lips. His hardness in front of me was irresistible. I reached out and started caressing his manhood slowly, matching the rhythm that he was using to caress my soft centre.

The pace was too slow. It was teasing insanity. I gripped him firmly, sliding my hand up and down his hard, powerful shaft, slowly increasing the speed. As his desperation became more evident, he matched my pace, and a hardness came into his eyes. It was then I realised, he was as insatiable as I was. As his need increased, his eyes flashed with something, almost a kind of violence. It wasn’t a scary anger, but a seductive fury.

Lifting me with ease, he lowered me onto him and buried himself in me. As he moved, his powerful hands splayed over my cheeks. Spreading them, as he delved deeper and deeper. I gripped him with one hand and the top of the shower door with the other. Water was spilling out onto the floor; I didn’t notice or care. All I cared about right then was between my legs, taking me to heights I had never experienced before.

He climaxed before me, but he continued his powerful exploration of my body until I exploded around his hardness. He shifted his weight slightly and released himself from me and I expected to find my feet making contact with the shower floor, but they didn’t. He held me there, my legs wrapped around his waist, and pulled me into another deep kiss. My hands roamed through his hair as he paused his assault on my mouth and buried his face in the hollow of my neck.

“God, I love you.” The admission took me by complete surprise, and I was completely speechless. I loved him too, I always had, but it wasn’t until he made love to me that I realised it was more than platonic love. He didn’t come up for air and I didn’t repeat the sentiment. I had no words left in me. I remained clinging to him, not knowing how to let go.

We stayed intertwined all night, only in bed instead of the shower. When he put me down to get out of the shower, it felt like my skin ached for his touch again. It actually felt painful. As we lay in bed, I could see two flashing lights in the sky, just tiny flashing dots.

“Hey, I wonder if they could be aliens.” I pointed to the part of the sky where I had seen the little dots, and he followed my gaze.

“More likely to be planes, I think.”

“Ah, yes, but they don’t appear to be flying anywhere, do they? Just hovering in the sky with their flashing lights.” We giggled together at the thought and just laid there in each other’s arms, staring out of the window at the mysterious dots.

“You know, you could be right. They don’t appear to be going anywhere. Maybe the little green men heard you screaming from space and came to investigate.” I gasped at his suggestion, mock offended, and slapped at him playfully.

“Maybe they are coming to taste your abysmal cooking.” I laughed out loud, heartily at the look of shock on his face.

“That’s low, really low.”

The conversation reminded me of how easy it was to be my true self with Luca. I didn’t have to worry about looking perfect or if I sounded completely insane because he knew my levels of insanity. If we had been a typical new couple, then we might have stayed up all night talking, but we already knew just about everything there was to know about each other. I even had an open invitation to Christmas at his parent’s house, which I had never taken them up on. But just because he was willing to put up with my craziness when we were friends didn’t mean he could put up with it in the future. Maybe I wouldn’t have to lose him if I hid my craziness just a little.

It was strange, Spencer had barely crossed my mind since that first night with Luca. I didn’t know what to make of the admission in the shower. I kept telling myself it was just something he said in the moment without thinking. Wanting it to be true. I wanted him to love me and for us to fall for each other. I had always thought before that I was an optimist, but I wasn’t feeling optimistic. We had made an agreement about what this was going to be; it wasn’t likely he had changed his mind only two days later. Although I felt like I had changed completely in that time.

I never would have had the confidence to make the first move before. I had always felt too shy, not being confident about my body. Looking at the ideal women and knowing I looked nothing like them. I hated walking around naked in front of people, but Luca was the exception in the past. He was often lounging on my bed while I was getting ready for a night out, and it never bothered me. I couldn’t come up with a logical reason for it. He was straight. He never averted his eyes, yet his gaze never made me feel self-conscious.

I reached over to the bedside table and retrieved my phone. Even before I unlocked it, I could see the message sitting there glaring at me. The message from my mother induced dread before I had even read it. I was tempted not to open it and pretend I hadn’t seen it, but if I did that, she would just ring me instead.

Hello dear,

I was just wondering if you would be breaking the habit of a lifetime and coming to Sunday dinner? After all, you are all I have that could be considered family. I know you will say you are working and that it’s a busy day there, but I don’t know how many times I have to tell you to get a better well-paid Mon-Fri job instead. You didn’t do well at school, but surely there is some sort of more suitable job you can get. I spoke to Spencer. His new girlfriend is delightful, but I am rather upset that you failed to tell me that you had parted ways. I did tell you a man like Spencer needed a more accomplished woman on his arm.

Love always, your Mother.

She really was infuriating. I could really do without the, ‘I told you, so' comments and I didn’t know how many times I had to tell her she was writing a text, not a letter. It really didn’t need to be so formal. I always mimicked her form, purely for my own entertainment. It made me feel a little better after reading her hurtful messages.

Hi Mother,

When did you speak to Spencer? I’m glad you approve of his choice. Won’t be there on Sunday. As you predicted, I’m working. I will continue to look for more suitable options.

Rylie.

I had made a promise to myself to stop rising to her baiting me, and just accept her opinion of me. It wasn’t worth my time to argue with her because she had more stamina than me and always won. Luca was already asleep, and I was glad I didn't have to explain my eccentric mother to him. I wasn’t sure where I would start explaining her to anyone. I still didn’t understand her myself.

Hello Dear,

Finally, you speak. I was starting to think you were dead, it has been so long since you contacted me after all. I was speaking to Clarissa the other day, and she said they had an opening at the department store she works in. It isn’t the best job, but it’s much better than bar work. I really do not know how you can cope with working with drunk people all the time. It really is beyond my comprehension. Would you like me to set up an interview for you? I rang Spencer, looking for you, of course, and Carmen answered the phone. We had quite a chat, which is more than me and you do these days.

Love always, your Mother.

My mother really did not understand the concept of family solidarity, but in honesty, I expected nothing else. I wondered if she gave Carmen a lecture about her lack of employment while she was on the phone. I doubted it; it seemed I was the only person who got those. She always rang Spencer’s looking for me, despite the fact that even when we were together, we were rarely at his house. For most of our relationship, he had stayed at my place rather than the other way around.

The fact that I worked in a high-end restaurant seemed to evade her. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw someone get drunk there. She seemed to be under the impression that I worked in some grotty dive bar. I really couldn’t fathom how working in retail was any better than my job, and I certainly would not be attending an interview.

I decided it was best not to message her back and instead let her stew a little. It was the only tool at my disposal to make her understand how much her words hurt sometimes. Not that it worked, but at least it gave me a break from her never-ending criticism. I plugged the charger into my phone and deposited it back on the bedside table. Two simple messages and she had depressed me beyond words. Why was nothing ever good enough? I rolled over and gently placed a hand on Luca’s torso, letting the heat from his flesh warm me. It didn’t do much to chase the chill of my mother’s words away, but it was a start.