Brooklyn:
After being forced to spend one summer in Italy with her grandma, Brooklyn always found her way back to the cobblestone streets but not for the feeling of a summer never ending, but for Valentino, a boy who radiates trouble and sees throu...
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POV: Brooklyn Summer #3 "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were big things." – Kurt Vonnegut
The first thing I wake up to is the smell of bacon. It gets me to sit up in bed and check the alarm clock, which makes me groan because my sleep schedule will now mess up.
It's 3 p.m., but I haven't slept that well in years. The fact that Valentino's presence can somehow contribute to this lingers at the back of my mind, but I push it away along with the heavy white blankets. Comfort is no longer welcomed; the warmth I felt earlier now burns my skin with reminder and mortification.
The sins of the night are never the same in the light.
I crawl onto his lap, burying my face into the crook of his neck.
My cheeks turn bright red at the memory of last night, but as I get out of bed and head towards the bathroom, more comes rushing back. Ones that I decide that I wish I could forget.
One rough, calloused hand slightly lifts my leg while the other glides a loofah up my legs, stomach, neck, and down my back. The scent of roses fills the air as more is lathered on my body, and I close my eyes and focus on the sound of a voice with an Italian accent singing a song.
As the rest of the memories rush in, I stand in the middle of the room more out of shock than embarrassment. It's not like Valentino has never seen me naked, but the level of intimacy we shared last night was nothing like stripping bare in front of someone. It was heart-to-heart, selfless, and filled with something that was a little crack in the armor I've placed around my heart.
Valentino never answered my texts or calls, but he held and cared for me when I needed it most. His actions contradict each other, sending my brain into a spiral of confusing thoughts. There was nothing I hated more than mixed signals.
I walked back to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face and headed to the kitchen when I heard a loud bang. Valentino was behind the island, pulling plates out of the cabinets, unknowingly flexing his back muscles that I could see move beneath his white shirt. I took hesitant steps towards Val, even though it was my house, but he had a way of making everything he stood on his. Valentino started placing a generous amount of food onto the plate, pretending I wasn't there, but I could tell he noticed by the sudden tension on his shoulders.
Maybe I should crack a joke?
"Why was Cinderella so bad at soccer?" I strolled into the kitchen and sat on one of the stools, popping a strawberry into my mouth. After a minute, I thought we would just sit in silence and eat awkwardly, but it wasn't until Val's forest green eyes met my dirty brown ones that I got a response.
"Because she was always running away from the ball," Val replied with no sign of emotion in his voice. The tension in the air was so bad that my chest heaved from my heavy breathing. I just want to eat my freaking strawberries, but I couldn't even do that right when the juices that dripped down my lips had to be cleaned from my tongue. The action was anything but innocent, and by the way Val took a shaky inhale of breath, I know he was affected too.
I need to get him out of here.
Faking a yawn, I stood and grabbed my plate. "You know, Valentino, this was really nice, and believe me when I say that I'm very thankful for what you've done, but I'm really tired."
"You just woke up." Val leaned back in the chair and tilted his head a little. A look that I could describe as possessiveness overtaking his eyes with darkness I've never seen. He shouldn't be jealous if he so easily threw me away in the first place. Anger licked its way through my body in a way it never had before.
"Are you expecting someone?"
"Yes," I lied.
At this confession, Val froze the cup that was mere inches from his lips and stared up at me. His body suddenly rolled off into a dark edginess, which turned on all the alarms in my body, but I held my ground. I couldn't let him win this game that he's playing with me. Val thinks he could just go and leave when he wants, and I'll be here waiting for him like the girl I was years ago.
That was his first mistake; I'm no longer that stupid girl anymore. I don't need a boy to come save me anymore, not from my father, mother, or even myself.
"Yes, I'm expecting someone, so get the fuck out of my house." I tilt my chin and watch as Val stands to his full height, which easily towers over me. It would intimidate anyone else, but I know that Valentino is still just a boy. A little boy who feels as much as everyone else does.
He takes a step toward me, and on instinct, I take one back.
"Who. Is. It?" Val gritted the words through his teeth in a voice he had never used with me before. It was rough, dark, and filled with something that caused my mouth to go dry.
He takes a step, and I take one back.
"None. Of. Your Business." I bite back, my voice dripping with hatred.
"You really want a dead body on your hands, princess. I suggest you get the 'I'm sorry for your loss' cards ready, because believe me when I say that boy is a walking dead man."
It wasn't until my back hit the wall that I realized I was trapped. Valentino took another step toward me, his body heat mingling with mine in the mere inches between us. My eyes were met with his chest until his hand gripped my chin and his eyes searched mine. I didn't understand why until his lips crashed onto mine.
One of his hands instantly gripped my hair to deepen the kiss that was anything but innocent. The roughness, neediness, and possessiveness of it all consumed my body in a way I can't explain.
I was on fire.
Valentino bit my bottom lip, demanding an entrance that I gave without hesitation. His tongue explored my mouth like he was in new territory, but he had been here before. Our previous kisses were sweet and innocent; nothing like this. Our teeth clashed, and I tugged on his hair, getting a groan in response. Valentino took his other hand and grabbed my right leg to place it on his hip to pull me closer. My chest pushed into his hard one, and I let my head fall back on the wall to invite more of the wet kisses Val was placing there. He took his tongue and licked the column of my neck all the way to the back of my ear, which he nipped.
"Delizioso," Valentino murmured in my ear.
Oh god, what was I doing?
I pushed Val off me, leaving us both panting and dripping with the need for more. Our eyes met, and I saw the reflection of a younger me in his eyes, raw and oblivious to the dangers of the world. I could care less that the girl fell a thousand times for the boy Valentino was, but would she fall for this?
The man he's become is rough and cold, so different from the caring boy who used to kiss her bruises and scratches.
Would the boy Valentino was fall for me?
The girl who is nearly a woman now has built layers of walls over her heart and is no longer innocent. She doesn't care what happens anymore, as long as she makes it another day.
The people we've become are so different from who we were, and it makes me think: Would we ever fall for each other again, or will our changes destroy us? ____________________________________ A/N: OMFG this is not the ending of the steaminess, watch out for the next chapter 👹👹
