From London to Rome

Chapter 8

I dread morning lectures in general, but today it's even worse than usual. It seems to take forever before the lecturer finally lets us go. I left Luca a note saying I went to class, but since I still haven't heard from him yet, I assume he's still asleep. I rush to the station to get home as quickly as possible. On the way, I pick up two coffees. I definitely need one after barely sleeping all night and I'm pretty sure Luca can use one as well when he finally wakes up. Hangovers can be the worst, at least if I have to believe my brother. I know my brother is cranky as hell so I hope Luca is not the same when hungover.

I was right about Luca still not being awake when I come home. I put down the coffees as quietly as possible so I won't wake him. Even if I don't want to wake him, I can't spend all day watching a sleeping guy, can I? Maybe I can just let him sleep a little longer. He looks really peaceful and really cute. Even sleeping he manages to be incredibly handsome. Before, I wasn't able to look at him for this long without getting caught staring. Of course, I did my fair share of staring at his pictures, but those can't compare to the real-life version lying in my bed right now. His dark hair, messier than usual. His mouth slightly open, letting out a soft snore. His arm resting on top of the blanket, his tattoo showing from underneath his t-shirt sleeve. God, he's handsome.

My stomach starts to growl loudly. I didn't have time for breakfast this morning because I slept through two of my alarms after a mostly sleepless night. I don't want my crazy stomach noises to wake Luca, so I silently get up and go to the kitchen to get myself some food. Wondering how I got myself in this situation once again, I quickly eat a sandwich. Just a week ago, all I did was stare at his pictures and watch his movies, now he is sleeping in my bed. Luca Bianchi is sleeping in my bed!

I still don't know what to do with him but I walk back to my room anyway. I quickly see that I no longer need to wake him up. He is sitting on the bed with his face in his hands. I'm curious to find out what he remembers from last night. He looks up when he hears me walking past him to my desk.

"Thanks for the coffee. At least I'm a little more awake now." I see he already finished his coffee. He must have been up since I left the room 15 minutes ago. Or he just drinks his coffee really fast.

"No problem. I needed some myself as well."

"Based on my headache and waking up in this room, I assume I didn't just dream about texting you in the middle of the night while being completely hammered and then coming here?"

"Nope. You actually did all of that. Only you didn't come straight here, you went to the community park where you asked strangers if they knew where I was." He buries his face in his hands again. Everything about him screams embarrassment right now.

"First of all, I'm really sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night and probably keeping you up all night. Secondly, I am deeply ashamed that I did all that." He doesn't look me in the eyes, but I can feel he truly is sorry. "And I want you to know this isn't how I normally am." He must have seen my confused look because he starts explaining himself immediately. "Normally I would never drink as much as I did yesterday. Never before did I do any of what I did yesterday actually. Calling a girl when I'm drunk after taking the subway towards where she lives. I wonder what mum would say about that." He looks defeated. I decided to cut him some slack and just let it go. As if I cared to be awake all night staring at his perfect face. But I can't tell him that, so I just play it cool. As far as that is possible with Luca still sitting on my bed.

"You do have to explain one thing though..." Luca looks surprised I let it go that easily. I am about to take a huge risk asking him, but somehow, I am not nervous at all. Well, I have been taking risks ever since the day I met him last week. "Last night, you kept on talking about leaving. And not wanting to let something behind." He looks doubtful about what to answer. I can only imagine what it must be like to find out what your drunken self did the night before.

"I don't really know how to explain it; I have to leave for a job tomorrow. And it isn't something I don't want to leave behind. It's someone." At this point, I'm no longer able to keep my face straight. Of course, he has a girlfriend. He is freaking Luca Bianchi, girls are drooling over him every chance they get. How could I be so stupid not to realise this earlier? He just took me out the other day because he was feeling sorry for me. "No. No. Stop thinking whatever you're thinking. It's nothing like that." How does he know what I'm thinking? Is my face that obvious?

"It's just... Okay. I'm gonna sound like an idiot saying this. I really enjoyed spending time with you and talking to you this past week. I hoped we could hang out some more. Get to know each other. Yesterday my manager called me that I have to fly to LA for an emergency audition. Apparently, some actor cancelled and they need a replacement as soon as possible. That is the reason I got as drunk as I did. Just when I meet a nice girl, I get called to leave for what could be weeks."

That is a lot of information to take in at once. My brain is still grasping the first sentences. He thinks I'm nice and he wants to spend more time with me. But my excitement slowly fades when I realise he will be leaving tomorrow.