The blonde. Sergeant Stephanie Leer. She was texting him. Luca. My Luca. The one who just professed how interested he was in me, and how beautiful I was 'inside and out'. When would he be back? He was staying with her? I braced myself on the counter and slipped the cell phone back into the bag. My mind raced with what to do. I was angry but more so hurt. He was hiding this from me, even if he had an innocent explanation.
The front door opened and Luca walked back in. I quickly perked up and decided to see if he'd tell me something. Admitting to having looked at his phone wasn't going to work.
"Close your eyes." He said.
I did. Erasing the romantic dinner from existence as the darkness claimed me. I focused on my breathing. In and out. Slower still. What I needed was patience and a calmer head. No matter what, I wasn't going to be taken for a fool.
Warm hands caressed my shoulders suddenly, jolting my senses. Luca let out an audible 'mmm' by my ear. Goosebumps formed on my skin. My body was reacting separate from my brain.
"My mom makes these special lotions using scents imported from Italy. I thought you'd like this one."
I did like it. It was floral and light with a hint of vanilla. It smelled like a wild flower garden. Damn him. I kept my eyes closed until I felt his hands rub on my neck. He was trying to get sexual. My body reacted in kind. I couldn't have this though. Not now, after seeing what I did on his phone.
"Luca...let's finish eating." I blurted out, turning to face him.
He stopped abruptly and frowned.
"Something wrong?"
Yes. He and Stephanie were wrong. Him thinking he could hide it from me was wrong. And me hoping he'd want to date me was wrong.
"No. I'm just hungry still."
We sat back at the table and I began to finish my food, taking care to look at it closely instead of Luca. I could feel his gaze on me as he drank the rest of his wine. I needed to act normal. I swallowed the last bite and sighed, looking up with a tiny smile.
"Thank you for dinner. It was good."
He searched my face, no doubt wondered what I was really thinking. I knew he was smart and intuitive.
"Did something happen after I left to go outside?" He asked.
"No. I'm just thinking about what you said earlier. How you aren't looking to date."
"Ah..." He said, hesitantly.
"It's not that I don't want to date, it's just that I'm careful now."
Now? From his ex? My interest piqued but the blonde sergeants message was still there too.
"Your ex broke your heart?" I asked.
He got up to pour more wine in both of our glasses.
"You can definitely say that. I asked her to marry me. It wasn't what she wanted though. She was younger than me." He said. "Not unlike you."
💋💋
Being compared to a hurtful ex felt like a slap. I understood he was making a comparison on age..but given the lie he was hiding, it felt disingenuous. A convenient coincidence.
"I'm younger than you, but not by that much." I retorted.
He'd never actually told me how old he was, I didn't think.
"You're 26 Mila and I'm 32. A six year difference. It's not too wide of a gap but..."
"But you think, no you assume, I am immature or don't know what I want?"
"Mila..." He began.
"I'm not you know. I'm mature. I've lived on my own since high school, throughout college and afterwards. I was dumped by an ex too. I've dealt with both my parents dying...my grandpa."
At this point I began to cry, the silent tears streaming down my face. How had this dinner date taken such a turn? Luca stopped talking and stood in front of me. He pulled me into him. I appreciated the gesture and desperately wanted to melt into his muscled frame but couldn't. The text message loomed.
"When you leave here, are you going home? To your place?" I blurted out, the question hanging in the air.
He turned my chin up to look into his eyes.
"Yes, of course. Where else would I go?"
The hazel irises burning holes into my darker ones. He seemed so sincere. Fuck. Reaching down, he swiped the tears away gently then let his finger linger on my lip.
"I want to be here Mila, with you, only with you."
Before any more thoughts could come, his lips were on mine. Then his hands were lifting me up. I straddled him, legs clasped behind his back. We were lost in the passion of the moment. I needed him as much as he needed me.
We ended up laying on the couch, me underneath Luca as he moved in time to the invisible song playing just for us. Still clothed, I felt his length hard against my leg. He was kissing, running hands along my leg on one side, the other behind my head. He didn't try to take it further but rather held back. I assumed due to his reluctance to commit. And sex signified just that to him, a commitment.
"Is this too much?" He breathed, stopping the kiss.
I licked my swollen lips and looked at him.
"Yes, no."
A smile spread across his face.
"Which is it?"
"I think we both want this but..."
His hand smoothed my hair back as he adjusted his hip on top of me. He might have been worried about crushing me.
"You don't want to go further if I won't commit?" He asked, more of a statement than a question.
Darn him. Still behaving like a gentleman, which made zero sense when I knew he was keeping Stephanie a dirty secret. I couldn't take my eyes off of his.
"Maybe."
💋💋
The night wasn't going as planned. I wanted to finally get on the same page as Luca. Break through his wall and get him to open up. See if we could date. Instead, I'd discovered he was either staying with Stephanie Leer, the rude sergeant, or she was staying with him. I didn't know if they were sleeping together or god knows what.
Luca lounged on the couch, a blanket over his lap. I watched him from the hallway. The soft glow of a movie bathing the room in light. I'd excused myself to go to the bathroom and now was having trouble going back to where he was. It was easy to be objective when I wasn't laying on his chest. I could easily figure this out..without having to tell him I'd looked at his phone.
I'd follow him home.
Creeping back into the bathroom, I called for an Uber. But I gave instructions for the driver to park in front of my neighbors two doors down. They were away on vacation so it wouldn't appear odd. I said I'd be out as soon as I could, run the meter as long as it took. I felt sort of ill planning this, but knew it was the best option.
He'd either show me he was cheating or not. I just had to time it so I could get the driver to follow. And doing it without raising suspicions with Luca would be risky. He noticed everything.
"You ok Mila?" Luca called out.
"Yeah! I'm coming."
I swallowed the anxiety and walked back into the living room. He reached for me as I neared the couch, tugging me off my feet and onto him. I laughed as his hands made me straddle his lap. He was hard, and his lips found mine. As before, everything ceased to be. There was only him. Luca.
Just like when we first danced. How warm he was. Muscled. In control. He cupped my ass as he deepened the kiss. I moaned into him, utterly unable to do anything else. Our tongues moved in a passionate dance. Luca wanted me just as much as I wanted him. But my plan....my plan needed to happen first. I needed answers.
"Luca..." I breathed, pulling back.
Our lips disconnected with a noise and he looked pained. It wasn't what he wanted or expected.
"Yeah?" He whispered, staring at my lips.
"It's getting late. Before we let this get out of hand...or get too tired.."
His eyes looked up to meet mine. He understood what I was saying.
"I can go." He softly said. "But tomorrow I want us to talk. Figure things out."
"Ok."
I couldn't argue. I hoped that I was wrong about the blonde sergeant. There might be a reasonable explanation. But if there wasn't...we'd have nothing to talk about. I lightly kissed his lips one last time then got up off of him. He groaned and adjusted himself. My cheeks flushed. Luca was so sexy.
"Get some good sleep tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, I'm not training. We can meet for lunch."
He went to the front door and pulled me in for a hug.
I hoped we could move forward.
I hoped I was wrong.
💋💋
Sitting in the back of the Uber, we followed a few car lengths away. Luca left at a leisurely pace and I ran out the back, using the backyard gate to sneak out. We were now driving towards the base.
"Is he your boyfriend?" The driver asked me.
"No." I replied, anxiety building.
I wanted to see if Stephanie was there waiting for him.
"You're not the first fare I've taken to spy on someone believe it or not. These fucking marines...or should I say their wives."
"Wives?" I inquired, finding that statement odd.
"Oh yeah. The cheating they do here..."
We pulled up to an apartment complex. It was junky and looked to have been built in the 60's. Luca wasn't kidding when he said he lived in a place like this. Probably to save money. We were hidden behind an SUV and he didn't appear to know I was there. He got out of his Jeep and beeped it locked.
I strained to see him.
The blonde sergeant ran up.
Then she hugged him.
**This story is only found on Wattpad. If found on another site, it was stolen. Thank you for reading.💋**