𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓸

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓮𝓷

𝓐𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓸 𝓟𝓞𝓥

I sat on the couch in Luca's apartment, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts were racing a million miles a minute. 

He kissed me.

HE KISSED ME!!!

YES! ALBERTO 1, BRUNO 0!!!

Something weird did happen, though. It's almost like his eyes... changed. Like they were human instead of siren.

Did that have something to do with the kiss?

WHO CARES? HE KISSED ME AFJHSFKAJFSLAH

I don't know how long I sat there, a stupid grin on my face, but it was night when I got up and began to get ready. I fixed another batch of trenette al pesto, then took a shower and got ready for bed. It was only an hour later, when I was drifting off to sleep on the couch, that Luca walked in. 

He marched back into his room and stayed there for a while. I expected that he'd just stay there like he usually did, but he surprised me by coming back out into the living room in a tank top and shorts.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me up off the couch, dragging me back towards the hallway. I let out a sleepy grunt of protest, my vision blurry with exhaustion. Luca ignored me and pulled me back into his bedroom, pushing me onto the bed. 

A sudden spark of energy flickered through me, and I sat upright. "Luca? What are you doing?" I asked nervously. Luca just shook his head and crawled under the covers on the other side of the bed. Should I... ah, what the heck, I thought before sliding under the blankets. 

Luca pressed close to me, wrapping his arms around me and burying his head in my neck. I hugged him back, savoring the salty sea-spray scent of his hair. I gently kissed the top of his head, and he shuddered. 

This is nice. A lot more comfortable than the couch. 

Why would Luca invite me here? 

I don't know. Honestly, I don't care.

This feels right.

But as I drifted off to sleep, I could have sworn I felt the wetness of tears where Luca was leaning against me...

When I woke up, Luca was gone. I stretched, then got out of bed, rubbing my eyes to get the sleep out of them. I then walked out into the kitchen, where Luca was busy making breakfast. I felt my jaw drop at the fast expanse of food, carefully made. 

Luca slid a plate onto the counter, laden with sausages and croissants. "Buongiorno, Alberto," he said. I smiled at him, staring at the food. "Is.. is this all for me?" I asked. Luca nodded, walking over to me and leading me to the stool. 

"Eat," he demanded, pushing the plate towards me. "We're going someplace today." I nodded obediently before diving into the feast. 

When I finished, Luca put the handcuffs on me again- not nearly as tight as they were the first time we met- and led me out into the hall. I noticed that he was taking me down the less crowded hallways, where there weren't as many people to watch us. He then pushed open a pair of double doors, guiding me out into blinding sunlight. 

I was awestruck. The air here was so fresh that I couldn't resist taking a few deep breaths. There were dozens of trees, casting a pattern of light and shadow on the ground. The sky was clear and blue, reminding me of the ocean.

A car was sitting on a dirt path, a few yards away from us. Luca took the handcuffs off of me and began walking towards it.

"Where are we going? I thought I wasn't allowed to leave the building," I said, looking back at the facility. It was huge and gray, an ugly blot in the landscape around us. Luca laughed, a bright sound that I had never heard before. "You aren't," he said. "I'm doing this in secret."