Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Bianca

The angora scarf Bianca wrapped around her neck should have brought on a little guilt. She’d purchased it just a few weeks ago with thoughts of Felix caressing the soft fabric. Now all she could think of was that she’d soon be snuggling up next to Gio in it.

She’d been tempted to call Toni while she was in the bedroom changing. A very small voice in her head wanted Toni to talk her out of this: tell her she was making a huge mistake. But the much louder, more compelling voice all but snuffed out the little one. It screamed what she really wanted to do and that was to be with Gio all day. Have him hold her and kiss her like he had on the lift when she’d nearly melted into one huge puddle. As dangerous as she knew this could be, Bianca could hardly wait for it to happen again.

On the ride to the movies, Bianca struggled to concentrate on what she was saying as she looked into Gio’s eyes. “There’s this really nice hiking trail we can check out after the movies. It’s well kept for wintertime hikers and on the easy side.” She lifted her fingers to air quote. “Kid friendly,” she smiled, feeling her insides warm as Gio’s eyes traveled down to her lips again. “It, um . . . ” she licked her lips, noticing his eyes widen and hoped he didn’t think she’d done that on purpose, “leads into a meadow where families with young kids can take them for snowball fights and build snowmen.”

Bianca paused to inhale deeply. She had to. The way he was looking at her did something to her that left her in need of catching her breath. “It’s really beautiful, but the best thing is it’s kind of a local secret. So it’s never crowded, and the times I’ve gone out there during the week I usually have the whole place to myself.”

“Why do you go by yourself?”

Her eyes were immediately on his lips at the sight of them moving. “I, um . . . just love the trail. You’ll have to see it to understand, even when it’s not wintertime. I went up there a lot when I was deciding whether I was going to stay up here or move back down to Los Angeles. It’s a great place to think.”

She licked her lips again. “Stop doing that,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

They reached the theater and the driver got out. Just like all the other times, Gio’s lips were instantly on hers. She loved the way he kissed her with such need: a need she could barely fathom. This guy could have any girl he wanted. Evelyn had obviously been ready and willing to do it in the men’s bathroom with him after knowing him for only an hour, and he’d passed it up—passed her up. He’d never even called her. If all he needed was one thing, Evelyn was a phone call away. Yet here he was needing Bianca as if she were his last fighting breath. She’d never felt anything like it, but it completely captivated her.

The door opened, and Bianca could feel the enormous effort it took Gio to pull himself away from her. Getting it together or at least trying to after every limb in her body had gone flaccid, she struggled to compose herself as she climbed out of the car. The driver had to use a little extra strength as she held his hand to get out.

They bought popcorn and soda though Bianca got the distinct feeling they weren’t going to be doing much eating or even watching of the movie. The theater was as empty as she expected it to be. It was the first showing of the day on a weekday. They were literally the only ones in the theater. No sooner had they sat than Gio’s big arm was around her, and she let her head fall back onto it as he dove in. She was rewarded with one of the longest, deepest kisses he’d given her yet.

It wasn’t until many minutes later when they came up for air that she noticed there were now a handful of other people in the theater. Since they were in the very back row, and she could only assume Gio had led them there purposely, she didn’t have to wonder if anyone sat behind them.

They spent the rest of the two hours doing much of the same, stopping only briefly a few times to take sips of their soda or when they had to shush each other because their moans would escape them a bit too loudly. Mostly Bianca, but at times even Gio got carried away. That usually led her into a giggling fit where she’d have to bury her face in his chest to muffle the sound. She was grateful that the theater was so empty, although she was certain they’d annoyed a few people, not that Gio seemed to care or even notice.

After the movies, they walked across the street and grabbed a couple of slices of pizza. “This is probably the best pizza up here,” Bianca said, biting into her slice.

Gio once again attempted to make an unpleasant expression and as usual failed miserably. He still looked every bit the amazingly hot guy that he was. Bianca laughed.

“What?” he asked, raising his brows.

“You may as well give up trying to look anything but delectable.”

He smiled the smile that now made her insides flutter. “Delectable, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said, biting into her slice of pizza.

She finished chewing as he stared at her, wiped her mouth and then, without even realizing it, licked her lips. Before she could respond any further, his hand reached out and squeezed her arm. “You’re gonna have to stop doing that. Don’t you realize I can’t keep my eyes off you, and each time you do that . . . ” He scooted his chair closer to her side of the table, leaned in, and pecked her a couple of times before really going in for it with a long ravenous kiss as if they hadn’t just made out for over two hours straight, and ended it with a groan.

With her legs gone to mush again, she blinked as he pulled away slowly but stayed close enough to look profoundly in her eyes. “Every time,” he said, then glanced down as if to make sure she wasn’t doing it again. “Every time you do that, that’s what’s gonna happen.”

Bianca gulped, knowing he couldn’t possibly mean when Felix was around too. She wouldn’t ask because she wasn’t ready to discuss that subject yet, but she did wonder exactly what would be discussed when the time came. When this flirtation started, she thought that’s all it would be. Even when she’d allowed herself to fantasize about the possibility of something like this happening—maybe just one kiss—nothing more, she never imagined feeling this kind of intensity from him or herself. The very thought of being in the same room with him and Felix now made her cringe, and she should’ve been mindful of Gio’s words when he’d said he couldn’t take his eyes off her because he’d been watching so closely he noticed.

His eyes were immediately troubled. “What’s wrong?” She shook her head and attempted to look away, but he watched her so closely it was impossible to hide any emotion from him. “What is it?”

“I just thought of Felix for a moment . . . of being in the same room with the both of you after today.”

Gio’s features went instantly hard. “Let’s not worry about that now.”

Bianca nodded, agreeing quickly. She too didn’t want to ruin the rest of the day. There was still so much time left, and then they had tomorrow morning. Her heart began to race but for a different reason now. It suddenly hit her that once Felix was back this would be over, and the thought nearly made her gasp, but she held it in, knowing how closely Gio still watched her.

Gio cleared his voice. “I was gonna say before you interrupted me by laughing at my expression . . . ” The hardened countenance he wore just a moment ago was now replaced with a sexy smirk. “It’s just that once you’ve had my mom’s pizza, you’ll know why nothing else even compares. There’s nothing like real Italian homemade pizza.”

“Hmm,” Bianca smiled, hoping her comment would not sound cynical. “Maybe someday I’ll get to try it.”

His smirk went flat as their eyes met and he did that thing that rendered her virtually helpless to so much as glance away from his beautiful green eyes. Then he smiled again. “Yeah, maybe you will.”

They finished eating, and Bianca gave the driver instructions on how to get to that special meadow she’d told Gio about. She’d taken Felix out there once, and even though they’d had a nice little walk, he hadn’t seemed too excited about it. This was one of those things that either you loved as much as Bianca did or she wasn’t sharing it with you. So they hadn’t gone back since.

Toni was the one that turned her on to it, and she’d loved it from the moment she took her first hike there. Of course, that was late last summer when the leaves were just starting to turn colors, so the spectacular views were breathtaking. But she’d been going back at least once every two weeks. So far it had been just as amazing no matter what the season.

They reached the beginning of the trail, and Bianca told the driver where it would be best to park. Like the theater, there were very few people there: a few couples and a man walking his dog. The sun shone so brightly against the white snow for a moment as the clouds opened up they actually had to squint.

“Wow.” Gio was looking at the area with that same admiration she remembered feeling when she first saw it.

“And this is nothing.” Bianca smiled, relieved that she hadn’t talked up the place too much and he actually seemed genuinely impressed. “Just wait until you see the meadow.”

Bianca would never tire of the way he gazed at her. “Then lead the way, beautiful.”