Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Gio

Unquestionably, what Gio was doing was technically against the man-code among him and his friends. They’d never actually discussed one, but it was still firmly in place. Coming on at all to one of his friend’s girls was clearly breaking all kinds of rules: rules he never would’ve dreamt of breaking before Bianca. Not only had he just come on to her but he came on strong. He meant to rattle her. He loved what it did to her. Her reaction to his teasing had completely thrown him.

He couldn’t have planned it better if he’d tried. She’d walked right into all his comments, but she’d practically challenged him to try to weird her out. He heard it in her voice—saw it in those eyes. She could go from Bambi to bewitching siren in a second, and he was hooked. He never would’ve thought it about sweet little Bianca, but she had it in her. She probably didn’t even realize she was even doing it and damn it if that didn’t make it an even bigger turn on.

Her licking her lip the way she had, had nearly done him in. It took everything in him to laugh with her when she did, but Felix better hurry his ass up and get there already. His being there might be the only thing that would keep Gio from considering crossing that forbidden line, and if he didn’t know any better, he was beginning to think maybe Bianca would actually cross it with him.

We’ll just have to wait and see, now, won’t we?

She couldn’t be serious. She was just throwing his game right back at him. Right? He closed his eyes as he sat there in the hot tub, visualizing her licking her lips—how those eyes that at times were almost too full of innocence could look deep into his with an unmistakable reckless abandon.

Hearing the game room door open jolted him. Bianca wore a one-piece black bathing suit with a sarong that covered most of her upper legs, but the neckline was low and though her breasts weren’t huge, they’d do just fine.

Gio sat up a little, mentally slapping himself. What the hell was wrong with him? Not only was this Bianca and she deserved more respect than that but he was certain what was going on in his shorts would not be cool with Felix. He needed to get a hold of himself before he was stuck in the hot tub all night. This was not something he’d in any way be able to hide.

He watched Bianca walk toward him slowly with that ever-present smile of hers. His own smile when he was around her was beginning to feel like a permanent fixture on his face. “How’s the water?”

This time he made the orgasmic expression, closing his eyes for a second. “Fantastic.”

“And the wine?” she asked, placing her own glass in the cup holder on the opposite side of the tub where she now stood and began to climb in.

Normally Gio would’ve been disappointed and would’ve even complained about her keeping the sarong on, but in this case, he was grateful she did. He was already having a hard enough time controlling the rousing in his shorts. It was annoying as shit. He’d seen girls climb in hot tubs wearing much less. On a few occasions, some had joined him wearing nothing at all, and he’d never felt this out of control.

One thing was for sure, unless there was another girl there that he could blame it on, he was steering clear of joining Bianca in that tub when Felix was around. He thought it couldn’t get worse, so he figured he’d indulge in watching her expression when her body sunk in the deliciously hot water. He knew what was coming, that thing she did when something tasted or felt so good. But instead she went all the way in, her head going under the surface.

When she resurfaced, Gio literally held his breath. He didn’t think it possible, but the effect she’d begun to have on him was intensified a hundred times over now that she was dripping wet. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering down to her breasts. One look at her erect nipples pushing through bathing suit and his eyes darted away. He was so damn hard he was now worried she might actually notice through the water.

Taking advantage of the moment as she tilted her head back and smoothed her hair down, he adjusted himself. He felt like a fucking thirteen-year-old. What the hell was his problem? Any thoughts of doing the flirting thing they’d done earlier flew out the window. He had to think quickly before she got playful on him. If she even thought about bringing out the sexy siren act now, he didn’t think he’d be able to hold back, and this could not happen.

“So, was your mom born deaf or did something happen to her?” He was going to ask earlier, but he was afraid the subject might be too heavy, and he selfishly wanted to enjoy his cheerful day with her. He now welcomed heavy.

To his surprise, she didn’t seem bothered at all by the subject. “My grandmother swears she wasn’t born deaf, but it’s really hard to determine because she was a preemie born way too early. So there were all kinds of complications.”

She sunk in, resting her head back on the headrest of the hot tub, making Gio eternally grateful that a certain distracting area of her body was now safely submerged. He only wished a certain part of his body would do some submerging also.

“My grandmother has always said it was one of the many infections my mom had before she made it out of the hospital that did it. That’s how she and my dad met—at one of the many different conferences my grandparents and my mom attended for the deaf. That’s why my parents only had one child. My dad insisted he wanted a baby, and my mom was afraid I’d be deaf. So when I was born perfectly healthy, my mom said, ‘That’s it.’ She thanked God for the blessing but wasn’t taking any more chances.”

Gio smiled. He would’ve never guessed someone as perfect and as cheerful as Bianca had been brought up by two parents with hearing disabilities. He was beyond impressed. “So growing up must’ve been really different for you than for most kids.”

She lifted her head slightly to look at him. “That would depend on what you call different. It was all I knew, so to me, it felt normal. And because of my grandparents being so involved and my dad only being partially deaf, I never had to attend any special schools for children with deaf parents. I was speaking normally by the time I started kindergarten. Only occasionally would I sign along when I spoke, out of habit.” She smiled big suddenly. “And none of the kids made fun of me like my grandmother feared they might. They thought it was very cool that I knew sign language.”

They sat in the hot tub for another forty minutes or so, but it felt way shorter than that. The mixture of the wine and the soothing water massage of the hot tub was really doing a number on Gio.

“We better get out now.” Bianca suddenly declared. “One thing is for sure. You’re going to sleep good tonight. So will I.”

Thankful to his heavily relaxed body, he wasn’t immediately at attention when she stood, that is until she turned around and started stepping out as she removed the wet sarong, giving Gio a very nice view of her glorious ass. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the movement starting up in his shorts to stop. Think of something else. Anything else!

“Are you falling asleep?”

He opened his eyes, and she was now outside the tub, pulling a bathrobe around herself. “No, I’m just gonna finish up this last glass and then I’m out.”

“Okay, but don’t go falling asleep,” she warned. “I’m gonna go change, but I’ll be back to check on you.”

Feeling a little warmed by her concern, he smiled. “You promise?”

It was official. He was now in love with her smile. It made him feel happy.

“I promise,” she said softly then walked out.

As soon as he heard her bedroom door close, he was up and out of the tub. He rushed to his room and changed. Suddenly he couldn’t wait to be back in the same room with her.

Once dressed, he practically rushed out into the game room, and even though it’d been just minutes since he last seen her, his heart did this weird thing when he saw she was already there looking so fresh and in her soft pajamas.

“That was fast,” she said.

Gio shrugged. “I just threw on my pajama pants and a t-shirt.”

He had to remind himself where he was and who he was with, because as he walked toward the corner bar in the game room where she stood pouring herself another glass of wine, he had the incredible urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her silly.

He stopped just feet away from her and she turned to him. “You want another glass? I’m having just one more and then I’m done.”

“Yeah, I’ll take one.”

This was the first time he’d ever had wine, and it was at her insistence that it would do wonders to relax his muscles. At first, he’d balked at her offer, but now he had to admit it was good.

“Can I ask you something?”

That gleam he’d seen in her eye earlier when she licked her lips in the car was back. “Uh, yeah,” he said, already trying to conjure up as much restraint as he could in case she said anything that might push him over the edge, especially now that he’d had a few glasses of wine.

“What do you say to girls that show you their tongue?” The gleam was an all-out smirk now.

Their eyes locked. Did she really just go back to that? For a moment, he thought it’d be better if he didn’t tell her—make something up. But the longer he looked in those eyes, the more he wanted her to know. “That if they’re going to show it to me, they better be prepared to use it.”

Her eyes widened a little, but he saw something else in them that scared him, making his heart thump—excitement. If she licked her lips again, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions because he was going for it. His breathing accelerated now, and he was completely lost in her eyes.

She blinked, then her eyes pinched, and she looked away as if she was trying to figure something out. “Is that . . .”

Gio didn’t know what she was talking about at first then he heard it too—music. He focused on it as well. It was Spanish music, and it was coming from outside. It got even louder now. Bianca walked to the window that faced the front of the cabin, and Gio followed her as it became apparent that the music might actually be live.

Her hands went to her mouth when she reached the window. She spun around and darted past him toward the front door. Gio glanced back at her, confused then looked out the window. There was an entire ensemble of mariachis out there. Standing with them—Felix. He held a huge bouquet of flowers. Gio watched until he saw Bianca, who now wore her snow boots over her pajama pants, fly into his arms. Felix hadn’t been blowing her off again. He’d wanted to surprise her and in a big way.

Gio wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but what he felt the moment he saw Felix kiss her was not it. He swallowed hard, reminding himself maybe this was a good thing. Maybe Felix making such a production to surprise Bianca meant he really did care about her.

The decision was the fastest and easiest one he’d ever made. The short amount of time he’d spend with Bianca was all he needed to know she was special—too special to have her heart torn apart. If Felix didn’t have the sense to see that, Gio would make sure he did, even if he had to beat it into him.