"I can't believe you're almost done, honey. I am so proud of you."
Ally blushed at her dad's compliments. She had called Lester earlier in the day and after shoving every customer out of the way and put his new employee into the line of fire with them all at the store, he had dived into a conversation about anything and everything. She had told him that she was almost done with everything and there were only a few more weeks until she was coming home.
Home. It was a strange thing to call Miami home still. For the past few years, home had been in Venice or in New York, not Miami. But who was she kidding, any where that her dad was would always be home to her. Lester had practically raised her after her mom, Penny, took a research fellowship in Africa and then subsequently Thailand, where she was right now. Her parents had divorced somewhere in the middle of everything and Ally really hadn't seen her mother in years. The last time she had really spoken with her was just before she decided to go back to school herself after getting her Masters.
Her dad was just always there. Supporting her, loving her, letting her follow her hearts desire and Ally would never ever forget that. If he had asked her to rob a bank for him, she probably would. There was absolutely nothing she wouldn't do for her dad. So in the middle of going on and on about packing and making sure everything she owned could still fit inside the three suitcases she brought, she asked him about his life and the store, and found that he was dating.
Dating. Her dad, Lester Michael Dawson, was dating.
Blinking her eyes and shaking her head, Ally leaned forward and was very interested in finding out all she could about her father's new girlfriend. Name, age, height, weight, if she had any priors...nothing was off topic.
"She's beautiful, honey. You don't have to worry about me. She's teaching me not to be such a cheapskate."
"You?"
"Yes, me. And don't knock me saving money. That money helped you out with Columbia," Lester pointed out.
It was true, it definitely had. She had gotten a few scholarships and grants along the way, but the rest was definitely her dad's doing and she was immensely grateful for it. She wouldn't have been able to apply for this program at all without him.
"But, she's good to you?"
Lester smiled back at her. "Yes, honey, she is. You'll get to meet her when you get home. Speaking of...I may have rearranged your room a little."
"Define a little..."
The hour went on and before she knew it, it was nearing five at night and looking around her room, she needed to clean it. Not that that was on the top of her list, but it still needed to be done. Saying goodbye to her dad and promising to call him again next week, Ally closed down her computer and started on sweeping up all the mess of clothes to launder and cleaning up the dirty plates sitting on the tables and her desk and somehow, inside her open wardrobe.
But just as soon as she started to clean things up, the bell echoed throughout the house. Ally threw the clothes back on the floor and furrowed her brow. No one should be coming around now. The Nicoletti's were gone on their annual Naples trip, and took Rico with them for good measure, Lazzaro was on his annual trip with friends to Pescara, and it was Sunday...wait, it was Sunday. Sunday.
"Crap," Ally muttered, as her eyes went wide and she raced down not just the main staircase, but the visitor's one as well. Out of breath and stumbling over her own feet, she pulled open the door and started apologizing immediately. Her words were fumbled and she was rambling and if he understood anything she actually was saying, she wasn't ever letting him go.
She saw him smirk at her, but it didn't stop her from apologizing even more. "I am so sorry. I'm such an idiot. After seeing you every day this week, I don't know why I forgot to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"The family, they're gone for the week," Ally told him, still beating herself up about not remembering to tell him.
How could she have forgotten? In between him wrapping things up at the conservatory, which meant more free time for him, they were at Santoli's, or she was showing him around the university and he had gotten to see her use her TA powers to shoot down some other student's dreams when they asked for the third extension on a paper in a week. When either of them wasn't handling private matters or sleeping, they were with each other and there had been so many opportunities to tell him...or was there?
As she recalled most of that time spent together was spent stealing kisses and getting wrapped up in his music and...no, there had definitely been time to tell him. No excuses, Ally.
"I'm so sorry, Austin. I can't believe I didn't tell you."
"Ally," Austin stopped her, and pulled her hand back from her hair. "It's okay."
She bit her lip, still scolding herself inside.
"Stop beating yourself up. It's really okay," he assured her more. "More time to spend with you."
She didn't stop smacking herself internally, but his comment did make her smile. More time to spend with him, and she would take it, seeing as the days were dwindling down into nothing before he had to leave. With his flight all booked and most of his bags all packed, she was dreading the day she would walk with him to the ferry and say goodbye. She wasn't ready for that yet.
In the space of just a handful of weeks, Austin Moon had become such a big part of her life and Ally, although she knew she had a life and job and reality to get back to, didn't want to. She didn't want to go back without him by her side. It was funny to her just how much she wanted him in it. In her romantic past, she was the one who didn't want the long commitment, knowing that it eventually led to separation and hurt and all those feelings that she saw her father go through, she was trying to avoid. But with Austin, suffering all those feelings might just be worth it.
Leading him up to the main level, Ally only now just saw he had his guitar with him as he placed it by the door and took his shoes off. She watched him leave it there as she tried to straighten up some of her mess she left behind from lounging around earlier in the day and doing absolutely nothing but reading and eating. She piled books on top of books and shoved them out of the way, reminding herself to return them all to Benedetto's shelves before they returned and jumped a bit when she felt Austin come up behind her.
Swiftly turning her around, Ally looped her arms around his neck as he pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. If the family was here, she could just imagine their looks and hollers at them, and maybe even a big brother talk from Dante with Austin about his intentions. With them out of the house, she could and would definitely be enjoying Austin's kisses without prying eyes or comments. She nipped at his bottom lip as he let her breathe and instantly wanted his lips back on hers.
"I am sorry Austin. I know you were expecting this grand dinner..."
"Hey, I'm not expecting anything than to spend time with you."
"You need to quit being so nice about this. I'm screwing you out of an Italian dinner," she said, taking a seat on the sofa next to him. "I mean, I can make you something, but apart from the coffee, I'm not the best cook in the world."
Austin smirked at her. "What can you cook?"
"Does water count?" No, Ally, water does not count, she silently scolded herself.
His hand covered her own. "Lucky for you, I can."
"You can? You can cook?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?" he turned towards her. "I'm not just a one trick pony."
Ally pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh at his comment. She definitely knew that. He was more than just Austin Moon, the musician. He was also Austin Moon, the jokester, the amateur photographer, the horror movie lover; Austin Moon, the mattress kingdom's prince, and let's not forget Austin Moon, the lost King of Carnevale. But to Ally, he was Austin Moon, the man she was falling in love with hard and fast. So, so fast.
"Okay, what can you cook?"
"Only the best pancakes in the world. Seriously, they're the best," Austin pulled her up off the sofa with him and headed towards the kitchen. "I'll teach you and then you'll be able to cook something besides water."
"But, wait..." Ally caught up with him. "What if we don't have ingredients for these 'best pancakes in the world'?"
Austin blew her comment off. "Benedetto looks like a pancake eater. I'm sure you do."
She watched him browse the cabinets as soon as they entered, pushing boxes out of the way and pulling down some others. Ally sat back and leaned against the little table inside the sliding doors, looking and quite honestly, enjoying the view as he reached up high and his shirt came up, exposing the skin just above his jeans. Yea, she was definitely enjoying the view.
"How did your meeting with your label go?"
"It was good," Austin turned back for a moment to look at her, before returning to rummage through the Nicoletti's cabinets. "They liked all of the songs I recorded here. I only have a few others to record when I get back to LA."
"Have you picked your lead single yet?"
"Not yet. That's not for a while."
"Can I put my vote in for 'West Side Story'?"
"You sure do like that one," he smiled big at her, and switched his rummaging for ingredients to pulling out a griddle pan from the bottom cabinet. "I bet you have it memorized."
"I can't help it. It's so good," she emphasized. "If it's not your first single, I might not be a fan anymore."
Ally heard him chuckle at her, and roll up the sleeves on his chambray shirt as he turned towards her. "Oil, or non sticky spray?"
"Oh, um," Ally got up and opened the spice slider that hid between fridge and the rest of the butchered block counter tops. Her eyes searched up and down before she picked it out and just as she was going to grab it, he did instead.
"Okay, ready to learn?"
"Ready to learn," she nodded, and let him lead her around the kitchen. They mixed, they stirred, they shook, they added in Austin's secret ingredient to which he made her swore not to tell anyone about, and they poured it onto the waiting griddle, listening to it sizzle to make the perfect pancake.
Austin put her in between him and the stove, his hand guiding hers in making their brinner - apparently that was slang for breakfast for dinner, according to him. He liked brinner and was determined to make her like it just as much. Ally leaned back into him as he nuzzled his nose against her temple and together they flipped over the flapjacks that were smelling like the best things in the world. This was something she never would have done with any one else; especially not with Evan, the high school boyfriend, or with Carlos, the R.A.
This was something you did with a true boyfriend, the kind that you could see a future with, the kind you wanted to introduce to your parents, no matter how horrible they might be...they flipped the pancakes once again and poured more mixture onto the pan to make even more.
"How many of these can you actually eat?"
"Austin Moon 101: Pancakes are my favorite thing in the world to eat," he told her. "Dez, my crazy ass friend I told you about, once made an Uncle Buck sized pancake for me; complete with a giant sized butter chuck and syrup all over like it was a fountain. It was my best birthday ever."
All Ally could do was laugh, imagining the scene in her mind. "I'll make a note. I've always liked pancakes, but I love French toast."
"Are you serious? Pancakes kick French toast's butt."
"Um, I don't think so," she turned around in her little cage of him and the stove. "How can you say no to a bit of cinnamon, vanilla, and banana toppling over a yummy, gooey, buttermilk toast? My mouth is watering just talking about it."
"Betcha my pancakes will make your mouth water too," he poked his tongue out at her for fun. "And will make you reevaluate your breakfast choices from this day on."
She shook her head and curved her lips upward. "We shall see..."
+++
He couldn't have imagined a better Sunday if he tried. His day had started off like normal. He woke up, scarfed down a bit of burnt toast because he wasn't paying attention to the appliance, headed to the conservatory for a while to write more on what was possibly the last song he would make in Venice for his album, and then headed over to the Nicoletti's, all while dreaming up a great Italian feast that he had gotten used to and was looking forward to.
However, instead of being greeted with the great Italian feast, he was in the middle of an empty home, with a gorgeous girl and showing her how to make his famous pancakes. He had prepared himself for more loud conversations but welcomed this quiet little dinner for two even more. It was nice, almost like they were a real couple; which he actually wanted to be with her.
After arguing with her on the awesomeness of pancakes versus every other breakfast food, which he was still trying to knock French toast off the top of her list, they were back in the living room and she had taken over his guitar. He had assumed that she didn't know how to play and was teaching her how, but somewhere in the middle, she was teaching him that she knew much more than she was letting on. Her fingers flew over the strings like his did over the piano and Austin was starting to think there really wasn't anything she could not do.
She sang, she was a living map of Venice, she wrote her first song when she was five, she conquered Columbia University in three years, not the usual four, she spoke perfect Italian, she could handle living with a very large family, she was from Miami (which wasn't really the point he was trying to make, it was just a cool coincidence)...she couldn't dance though. But that was something he would gladly teach her over and over again.
"Do that again," he told her, the chords she was playing speaking to him. It was a soft chord that stood out and had the making of a killer melody. Austin bobbed his head up and down, watching her hands again before looking up at her eyes. The notes she was playing were really speaking to him now and lyrics were popping up in his mind to go along with it. "Da, da da dum...da da dum, da da dum."
"Nice lyrics there. Mine go like this," Ally played the notes once again from the beginning and started to sing. "Okay, maybe I'm shy, but usually I speak my mind. But by your side, I'm tongue tied."
Austin closed his eyes and waved his hands in front of his face between them. "Wait, wait, wait. You wrote another song? When was this?"
Ally stopped her playing. "Remember that part about me auditioning for MUNY? We had to do an original song. This was one of them I wrote."
"How many did you write?"
"Just a few," she shrugged her shoulders, slipping the guitar back to the case she had pulled it from. "Wait right here."
As soon as he nodded at her, he watched Ally race up the stairs in the corner. He wasn't sure what she was after, but he did hear her door opening and a tearing of something hard, and was that just an entire library hitting the floor? In moments, her brown hair was bouncing behind her and she was back on the couch next to him with a ratty old notebook. When he said old, he meant ancient. The corners were torn, the giant "A" that was written on the cover had faded to a light, barely visible gray color, and the ties that held it close were fraying. Austin watched as she pulled it to her chest and held it protectively like it was solid gold.
"Okay, I've never really shown this to anyone before. My mom gave me this notebook before she left for her first expedition and told me to write everything in here so when she came back, she could read it and know all that went on while she was gone. She came back, but she didn't read it," her voice fell a bit, but she turned it right around. "Ever since, I've just been writing lyrics, feelings, everything in here. It's where my music lives."
Austin watched as she took a breath and let the book fall just a little bit from her chest. This was something important to her, something that she held her entire childhood inside and she was going to share this with him.
"Just keep in mind I was still a teenager and while I still have a lot of the same ideals, it was a long time ago. I've matured and...well, you'll see," Ally started to unravel it, opening it up to the middle of the book versus the first page and he reached to her, to hold it open before she stopped him. "Don't touch my book."
"Seriously?" Austin kept his laugh inside. "You're sharing this with me, but won't let me touch it?"
Ally shook her head. "But, play your cards right, and I might change my mind."
Austin pulled her body closer towards him on the couch. Even if he couldn't touch the book at the moment, he could definitely touch her. His chin on her shoulder, she went from page to page and read out lyrics and her inner thoughts from when she was just sixteen. They were cute, he decided, and as they read on, got more intense, had much more feeling and when she flipped to the end of the book, where she explained she just wrote a new piece the other day, he was fully infatuated with her.
"There's no gravity when you're next to me. You always break my fall like a parachute. When you're holding me so weightless, I can barely breathe. You always break my fall, my fall...like a parachute," Austin read the words aloud, each line becoming much more real as he said them. Looking back up at her, he had skipped over to the next verses. "I know this life isn't gonna be perfect. The ups and downs are gonna be worth it. As long as I'm with you."
He didn't want to sound like a total girl here, but his heart was really beating hard against his chest. The lyrics, these lyrics...there really was nothing she couldn't do and the words she had written had him in knots. His hand slipped over her silky skin and he made her look over at him. He watched her eyes flutter close as he kissed them faintly and trailed down to her nose. Cupping her cheek, Austin pulled her even closer and kissed her again. He was used to his lyrics turning his fans on, but had never experienced it himself...and Ally's did just that. These were lyrics that he only wished he wrote.
Ally shifted in his arms and Austin took it upon himself to touch the book she told him not to and place it on top of his guitar. He could taste the syrup from their brinner on her lips as his tongue danced around hers. He playfully bit at it and felt her smile against him. He brushed back her hair back from her face and her arms moved up his arms, looping around the back of his neck. Their kiss had turned into something hot and passionate fast and he had no intention of stopping it at all.
He tried to pull her even closer, but stopped and tugged on her cardigan instead. It wasn't a normal cardigan like you would imagine, it was oversized, and something you could see every middle aged librarian wearing day to day. Somehow, Ally made it work for her, but he still wanted it off of her. Austin let his fingers unfasten each button and started to push the garment off of her body. The whole studious look on her worked, but right now all he wanted was to feel her skin against his.
Tossing the jumper towards his guitar, he assumed, Austin was back to pulling her close and feeling her bare arms up and down and smiling into her mouth as her hands rippled down his neck and took hold of his tag necklace. If he could get any closer to her, he would.
He would.
Would she?
Pulling back from her tantalizing lips Austin nibbled on her own, catching his breath just like she was. "Yea, I'm definitely keeping you around."
Ally smiled into his mouth and kissed him softly before untangling herself from him and getting up from the sofa. Leaning back, Austin watched as she bent over to pick up her journal and pull it to her chest again. He slowly let her hand fall out of his grip and let himself check her out as she ran her hands through her hair, pulling it back from her face. He was raised to be a gentleman, through and through, but at this particular moment, all he could think about was how smooth her skin would be next to his and where she was ticklish and if she tasted just as sweet underneath all her clothes.
It was funny to him. He hadn't come to Venice to fall in love, or even fall in like...but that was what was happening right now. Austin was falling in love with Ally. He was healthy, took his vitamins every day and was at no risk for a heart attack at his young age...so there was no other reason for the way his heart beat out of his chest every time he thought of her, or every time she just looked at him. When he went to a cafe, he always looked for blueberry tarts now, just in case there was one and he would pick one up for her even in he wasn't going to see her that day. Every time he looked at something - a building, a bridge, a square, he just wasn't looking at old architecture, he was wondering the story behind it and wanting her to tell him about it.
He was in love with her. Austin Moon was in love.
Getting up from the sofa, he didn't hesitate one bit and kind of loved when she jumped at his touch to her waist and turned her around in one movement. Backing her up step by step to the hard wall, he leaned down and captured her lips once again. He had no clue where she was actually heading, he just knew that he didn't want to be without her by his side tonight. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders again, with the book safely in one of her hands. "Ally..."
She stopped him from talking any more, her fingers shutting his mouth shut before she slid her hand down into his and pulled him with her. Up the stairs. There were sixteen steps from the floor they were on to the next level and ten more after that to the room she had called her own for the past six months. Looking around for a moment, Austin noted the suitcases on top of a dresser and a few boxes all packaged up to ship. It almost looked as packed up as his own place was; of course, he had only brought two suitcases with him to take back. His thoughts about leaving were silenced in an instant as Ally came back into his arms, without her book and kissed him again.
She ran her fingers through his hair, her tongue sliding across his bottom lip and dancing around his own tongue before her lips kissed down to his chin over to his cheek and to his neck; and if it was one thing that drove him crazy, it was a sexy-as-hell-woman kissing his neck.
Austin pulled on her arms, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around his waist with ease before walking her over to the bed and laying her down on it. Her legs were still wrapped around his middle and it was his turn to kiss and tease her with his lips on her neck. His hands started to roll up the hem of her plain blue shirt, his thumb tracing over her skin towards her belly button. Ally's legs dropped from his waist as he moved down her body, and he smiled seeing what his cool breath did to her skin just above her jeans.
He fiddled with the button and stopped himself from going any further. He wasn't going to take anything she didn't want him to take or do anything she didn't want him to do. It was the same issue weeks ago before the first Carnevale ball. He had to be sure that she wanted this as much as he did.
"Ally," he crawled back up and hovered over her, staring back into her rich coffee colored eyes. "I want you."
Her hand cupped his cheek while the other slid down his side. "I want you too."
"And I don't want to do anything if you don't. This, you..." Austin took a breath, leaning down to her and kissing her lips. She leaned into him, arching her back just so and their kiss suddenly became something of legend. He felt her roll up his own shirt and her fingers float across his torso.
"Austin," Ally finally came up for a breath and looked back into his own gaze. "Stop talking and make love to me."
And he did as he was told. For hours.
+++
"But I hate it, don't call me that."
"But it's beautiful. Aletta. Why do you hate your real name?"
"It's old and no one can ever pronounce it right," she shrugged her shoulders as she sat on the kitchen counter in the early morning hours.
"I did, right?" He smiled when she nodded her head.
Their night had lasted and lasted and lasted...and if she could relive it, which she had every intent on doing, she would. Austin Moon was not only a talented musician, but he was amazing in bed. So amazing that she was sure he was the one joking about her handcuffing him to her bed and never letting him go. Ally had to admit, it sounded like a good plan. With only a few days left until he left, it sounded like a damn good plan.
She had originally come down for a midnight snack, only to realize she left most of the downstairs lights on and had to scramble to turn them all off, all while wearing his shirt that he wanted back. Austin had followed her downstairs and in between him feeling up her legs and kissing up her neck and almost taking her on the stairwell, they had managed to turn them all off. Picking up one of the crackers he had found in the upper cabinets that she had figured out Benedetto was hiding from Silvana and putting it in her mouth, Ally looked up to find Austin standing right in front of her and tucking back her hair behind her ear.
"I think your name is beautiful."
She blushed. She never blushed.
"Austin," her shoulder slumped down a bit. "What's going to happen?"
"You mean with us?"
She nodded. She wanted to know. She had to know; because now that she had had him...all of him, there was no way she was letting him go. This wasn't some fling to her; some random fling that she would through to the side and dive head first back into her studies. This was Austin and he was more. He was so much more to her than any of the others ever would have been. She didn't want to say she loved him and scare him off, because Lord knows, she'd done enough of that, and she didn't know if it was love, but it was definitely more than like.
It was something in between, where you couldn't stop thinking about the person and where everything in the world disappears when you're with them, but yet it still wasn't full blown love where you wanted to shout it from every rooftop you saw. Ally knew she wanted something with Austin, but with both of their futures up in the air right now, she didn't know where they stood.
Maybe tonight wasn't the night to talk about it all. Maybe tonight was just for being with each other and soaking up all the time they had left. Maybe tonight was for her to fall even harder for him, for her to explore and taste him, and make love to him like he did to her.
Austin cupped her chin and kissed her lips lightly. "I have no clue," he said honestly. "But I know I don't want to ever be without you."