I woke up to the sun filtering through the crack of the curtains, the light shining directly onto my face. I huffed and rolled over, coming face to face with Toto who was still asleep. He looked peaceful, his face not contorted at all. His hair was messy atop his head and his shirtless chest poking out above the duvet.
I took the time to admire him. His built arms were gripping the blanket, holding it around his waist tightly. His chest was perfectly chiseled and free of any hair. After last nights kiss, something within me had shifted the way I viewed Toto. I always knew he was attractive, but now I saw the extremely alluring side of him.
Amidst my appreciation of Toto in all of his sleeping glory, I had failed to notice that the Austrian man was asleep and beginning to grin. "Bärchen, did no one tell you it is rude to stare?" He announces, startling me as my wandering eyes darted up towards his face. My cheeks were immediately a burning shade of red.
"Good morning Toto." I beam back at him and take the time to admire the crinkles that had gathered around his eyes thanks to the smile that was consuming his features. "Did you sleep well?"
"Not as good as Bahrain, but I dreamt well." His smile had turned into a smirk and I immediately covered my face with the blanket. I hear shuffling of Toto getting up and the bathroom door closing. I reach over for my phone and notice I had a message from Lewis.
Lewis
Morning loser. Breakfast?
Me
Morning to you too sunshine. Sounds good. Lobby in 15?
He sends back a thumbs up and I get up. Walking over to my bag, I grab out my pair of blue mom jeans and a black hooded jumper. I pair it with a white oversized jacket and scarf and air force ones. I quickly change, making sure the shower was still running and Jack was still passed out in the crib only meters away.
As I was tying up my shoelaces, Toto emerged from the bathroom and I quickly walked in to apply some makeup and brush my hair and teeth. Walking out, Toto had a blue button down on with a pair of black pants. "I am going to breakfast with Lewis." I declare my plans to him and he quickly peers over at me.
"You look awfully dressed up. Is it a date?" By the tone of his voice, I could tell he was trying to make it sound as if he were joking, but an underlying tone made me believe he was also curious to know if it was or not.
"Maybe." I wink and he quickly looks back down at his phone. I walk over and put my hand on his shoulder. "Jack is still asleep so once he wakes you are welcome to come and join." He looks up at me with an expression that made me weak. "We still have to bike around Imola. You promised."
He nodded and then resumed replying to the emails on his phone. I grabbed my bag and walked out the door, heading to the elevator to get to the restaurant. As the door opens, I see Lewis smiling down at his phone.
"Good morning buddy!" He startles before smiling and pulling me in for a hug. He greets me quickly and we walk out of the elevator and towards the hotels restaurant. We are seated in a more private area and they immediately come over to take our orders. Our beverage orders quickly arrive and I take a moment to truly appreciate the coffee, while Lewis enjoys his tea.
"Good race yesterday. Was a stressful one to watch." I admit, proud of what my friend had accomplished yesterday in the race after all the obstacles that were thrown their way.
"It ended better than I ever thought it would." He shrugs, not one to ever gloat in his success. "Toto was pretty keen to get back to the hotel though. Didn't even stay for a celebratory glass of champagne." His smirk was hinting that there was a reason Toto wanted to leave so quickly. I roll my eyes and know that he is insinuating his usual 'Toto likes you' act.
"He is not into me Lewis. You've gone crazy!" I exclaim, a little too loudly, looking around to ensure no one is looking our way. Lewis chuckles and leans back in his chair. I join him and then take another sip of coffee. The food arrives and we spend the next 5 minutes stuffing our faces. I was hopeful that the previous conversation was over.
"Are you crazy? He's totally into you!" I just about choke on my food at his statement, not anticipating the resuming of the topic. I know Toto kissed me last night but at the same time, I thought it was just something that happened in the moment. "You will see."
"I mean, he did kiss me last night." I admit, looking down as I keep cutting up my avocado and bruschetta toast. I avoid eye contact with him, not wanting to see him realise that his suspicions may be correct.
"He what?!" Lewis face held bewilderment, my admission shocking him a little. It was something that I didn't think I would tell anyone about. But the moment Lewis began grilling me about my relationship, or lack thereof, with Toto, I knew I had to tell someone before I exploded.
"We kissed. Briefly. And then went to bed, in seperate beds before you say anything smart. And with Jack in the room. Then he wakes up this morning and asks if we are going on a date." I say in bewilderment.
"He's jealous. He wants you. He also needs to learn that he can get hotel rooms with conjoining bedrooms so you can be separated..." He winks, insinuating the separation from Jack for more privacy. I giggle softly and shrug my shoulders at his statement. "I'll prove it to you that he wants you if you don't believe me."
"Please don't do anything stupid." I beg and he just laughs, almost manically. We finish eating and am joined by Toto who tells us he has got some bikes and was ready to head off when everyone else was. I was excited that Lewis was coming along.
Once we get cycling, we all look around as we pass through the beautiful city streets. I admire the cafes, shops and the decor. It was like a movie. Lewis and I stayed behind Toto, who was leading us around. I could hear him and Jack talking ahead of us but couldn't quite make out the conversation
"Don't be a pest Lewis." I yell as he keeps stopping in front of me, almost making me crash into the back of him. He laughs and pulls to the side, this time trying to ram me from the side. I avoid his attempts and do my best to give him an angry look, but my giggling gave it away."Stop it."
"Make me." He retaliates and I immediately swerve my bike towards him. My wheel clips his leg and he has a moment of unbalance as he rides off, his laughter echoing through the streets we are cycling down.
"Oh I certainly will make you." I call out as I begin to cycle quickly to where he has stopped and is holding his stomach. Once I get there, I go to grab him but he rides off. I call after him. "Get back here tough guy."
"Come on guys." Toto yells from his distance well ahead of us. Lewis gives me a smile and be head off behind the guy who was ruining our fun. We all chatted as we rode and stopped in at a couple of places that looked really pretty. We took pictures, and every place we stopped, Lewis took the opportunity, in his attempt to get a rise out of Toto, to wrap his arms around me or playfully flirt.
Toto wasn't showing much, but that was the way he always was. Cool, calm and collected externally. Lewis and I both knew this as we kept up the game. Once we arrive at the front of a nice shop, Lewis announces he is going to get a water and use the loo. Jack follows his idol in, Lewis saying that he can help Jack.
Toto grabs me and leads me to an area that was a little less populated and hidden. As soon as he is pleased with the location, he spins me around and goes to lean down to kiss me. I lean back and avoid his kiss, not wanting to be caught with him like this. Not yet.
"What if people see?" I ask, looking around quickly. It was cold so we had our hoods up, and so did the others around us, but I was still scared we would get caught. But part of the fear excited me. I sweep my eyes around again.
"I don't care right now. Look at me maus." He commands and I immediately look up. "Good girl." His praise made me weak. I grabbed his biceps and look from his eyes to his lips briefly. Toto's eyes mirrored the desire that I felt and immediately he was drooping his head down to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed back with equal passion.
"I will never tire of that. Haven't stopped thinking about last night all day." He mutters as soon as we pull back. "I am going to take you out for dinner tonight. Just the two of us. A date." He holds my cheeks in his large hands. His nose was going pink and I couldn't help but beam at how cute it made him appear.
"What about Jack." I ask, wondering what plan he has about his son who is definitely not old enough to fend for himself in a hotel room just yet. I reach up and fiddle with the collar of his jacket.
"I will pay someone 5,000 euro if I have too. But I am sure Bono will do it for me." He jokes and I laugh at him, but it made me feel warm inside that he was willing to blow so much money just to be able to take me to dinner. I smile and lean in against his chest. He wraps his arms around me and holds me incredibly tight.
"Lets head back lovers." Lewis yells out from a couple meters away as he approaches on his bike. He catches my eye as Toto begins the walk back to the bike, his arm wrapped around my shoulder, and winks at me. I smile back at him and mouth 'date' with raised eyebrows. He smiles and gives me a sly thumbs up, accompanied by a 'told you so'. From there we begin the quick ride back to the hotel.
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Sorry for the slow update this week! Been super busy but hopefully will get back into a rhythm now :)