Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Gio

Last night had been rough. Each day that passed, having to see Bianca with Felix was that much worse than the last. It made Gio wonder how much longer he could take being here. But then they’d have another one of their moments, and the more urgent question became how in the hell would he ever bring himself to leave? He couldn’t decide which was worse: having to see her with Felix or never seeing her again—at least only as often as he ever saw Felix, which, if he wasn’t training him, was only every six months or so.

Felix had left early that morning. Gio hadn’t even been up when he left, and if he had been, he would’ve pretended not to be. Felix would be gone for almost two days. The last thing Gio wanted was to witness their long goodbye.

After taking a shower, he called his mom to check in. She’d asked him to call at least once a day, so he figured he’d get it out of the way now. Then he called Jack. The night of Noah’s dinner, Jack had discreetly asked him to call him when he could. Gio had the next day, and Jack told him he was going to hold off on adding the rest of the guys to the title of the gym because of a lawsuit he had pending. He didn’t want any of them getting dragged into it as part owners. He even offered to take Gio off the title because if the lawsuit got ugly, which his lawyers didn’t anticipate it would, they could come after Gio as well. Gio had told him he wasn’t worried and to do whatever made him feel better. Since getting Gio’s name off the title would involve a lot paperwork and getting it signed and notarized, Jack said he’d hold off on that for now.

In this morning’s call, Jack told him things were moving along. The lawsuit was going to be dismissed, but it’d still be some time before he could get the guys on the title. He seemed worried that somehow they’d find out he’d only added Gio’s name and be hurt. Gio told him what he was sure was the truth. None of them would think anything of it and would understand but guaranteed him they wouldn’t find out from him. His lips were sealed until Jack told him otherwise.

Bianca was having breakfast alone when he walked into the dining room. “Morning sleepyhead,” she said, smiling brightly when she glanced up and saw him. “Feel good to sleep in?”

“I didn’t actually,” he said, taking the seat across from her and already feeling his heart rate speed up just from being this close to her. “I had some phone calls I needed to make.”

Gio knew Ignacio and Ray had both gone home yesterday to be with their families until Felix got back. Felix had flown them out first class and had offered to fly Gio to Los Angeles also, but Gio passed, saying he wanted to get some more snowboarding in on his days off. That’s when he and Bianca had had another one of their moments. It had obviously surprised her he wasn’t leaving like the other trainers. They’d all gone snowboarding a few times since the time he first went alone with Bianca, but he hadn’t gone back with her alone since.

Amparo poured him a glass of juice and let him know she’d be back with his breakfast.

“So who’s snowboarding with you today?” She glanced at him then back down at her plate. “Evelyn?”

Gio had just picked up his juice but stopped before taking a sip. He’d been in the room with her for less than five minutes, and already he was getting the urge to say things he shouldn’t. Last night Bianca had mentioned she had class this morning and an online seminar she had to watch today. It was disappointing to say the least that she wouldn’t be going with him, but at the time, he’d thought it for the best. “Nope, I’m going alone.”

Her eyes met his, a little surprised. “Really? Why?”

Gio shrugged. “No one else to go with. I haven’t even called Evelyn.” He knew it didn’t matter, but he wanted that clear. He hadn’t called Evelyn or responded to her texts and had no intention to, though he’d told Felix otherwise to avoid any questions. “So I’ll be flying solo. Unless . . . ” he smirked. That did it. She was caught in his eyes again. And though he felt a little evil and like a bad influence, the thought of spending an entire day with her beat out any hankering to do the honorable thing here and not dangle the bait. “Unless you play hooky and join me.”

The doe eyes made their appearance, and Gio breathed in deeply. “I shouldn’t . . . ” She bit her bottom lip then smiled.

That wasn’t a no, and that alone made Gio’s heart step it up a notch. “But?”

“I guess I can skip class, but I really have to watch that stupid seminar.” She smiled as brightly as she had when he first walked in the room. “I can do that tonight though.”

The excitement Gio felt was different from any he’d ever felt because it was laced with something else. Something perilous seeped in along with the exhilaration: something that took a little from the thrill of knowing he’d have her all to himself today. Strangely, the silent warning was what made the time he spent waiting while she got ready after breakfast that much more agonizing.

By the time they were in the car, Gio felt like a kid ready to board a rollercoaster. It was as if his body and soul were already anticipating what was to come. The whole way to the ski resort, they spoke just as comfortably as they always had with the difference now being that, unlike in those first few days, they kept stopping sometimes mid-sentence to just stare in each other’s eyes.

The only thing that kept Gio from kissing her was he had no way of knowing how close Felix was to all his staff. The driver would be witness to it with one glance in the rearview mirror. If Gio did give into the insatiable urge he had now, it wouldn’t be just a soft kiss that could be construed as a friendly kiss. If he did this, he was going for it all the way.

They reached the resort and the driver got out. Gio knew he had less than a minute before the driver opened the back door for them. He couldn’t stand it any longer; he had to at least taste what he’d been obsessing over for days now.

He leaned into her as she undid her seatbelt, and her head jerked up at the feel of his body pressed against hers. Her eyes were immediately on his lips, and he leaned in, licking her bottom lip softly, making her gasp. For one horrific moment, he thought she might protest and that he may have just ruined everything. Then to his surprise, she brought her hand around his neck and pulled her to him, kissing him wildly, making him groan in her mouth. The door opened and they flew apart. Gio was certain this was what it felt like just before you had a heart attack, because his heart had never beat so violently. He gulped hard, trying to get it together as he got out of the car and at the same time savored the taste of her still in his mouth.

They didn’t say too much as they made their way to the lift. Bianca mentioned the crowd not being bad and maybe trying a new, more difficult trail this time. Gio could barely think straight. He could still feel her soft lips on his, taste her tongue in his mouth. Once they were on the lift, he turned to face her. “Bianca?”

She looked in his eyes but said nothing. Gio had considered possibly apologizing or at the very least explaining why he’d done what he’d done, but he saw her eyes on his lips again, and the moment she licked her own, his entire train of thought was shot. He leaned in and kissed her again, only this time it wasn’t nearly as wild as in the car. She let her head fall back as he kissed her deeper, his tongue seeking out every inch of her delicious mouth.