Chapter 36: "Romano"
"Hi", Leo greeted me in the morning kissing me on my forehead. I smiled at him, trying to get over the flutter inside my chest from his simple touch. Things have been... I don't know how to describe it... aloof between us. After that night he sleeps with me every night, but we maintain our distance. More like I maintain my distance because I was afraid he would ask more questions and I won't be able to answer them. He would greet me with a morning kiss and then we would be off to school together after that we were pretty much on our own. I felt like Leo was still pissed at me for hiding things from him. Also, he has been disappearing off again. I asked if his mom was okay or not. He told me she was fine. Even I knew that since I have dropped by once or twice to visit his mom. His mother has been doing quite well these days. In fact Eleanora is quite a cheerful woman with a witty personality. We would mostly talk about Leo and our shared love for Italian food. I didn't bother mentioning this to Leo as he might get overprotective of me. Till now Eleanora didn't have any of her breakdowns in front of me as I was careful around her.
"What did you make for breakfast?" I asked yawning. I hated mornings but nowadays I would look forward to it. It was almost 100 degrees outside in Florida and so Leo cooks shirtless as it gets pretty hot inside the kitchen even with the cooler on.
"PB & J waffle sandwich and breakfast burrito", he said giving me a plate full of food. I was grateful to Leo for this, amidst his busy schedule he would still take the time off to cook for us.
Finishing my plate of food, I was about to leave for school when Leo stopped me. "Princess?"
"Yeah?" I stopped in my tracks.
"Are you free tonight?" He asked, looking at me with those bright blue eyes.
"Uh-huh".
"Great! Come home as soon as possible, I have something planned for us", he said excitedly winking at me.
...............
School has been hectic lately. It was a series of submitting homework and sitting for tests. Like today Mr. Irwin decided to take a pop quiz on US history.
Sebastian and George does history with me and they weren't happy to hear that. Recently Sebastian has been hitting the gym a lot and now he has abs. How do I know about it? George likes to remind us of it every two hours. "I swear on my boyfriend's abs if Mr. Irwin ends up giving us another pop quiz on-", that's when Mr. Irwin chimed in.
"We are going to have another pop quiz today!"
"Dammit Mr. Irwin!" George said banging the table with his fist.
After we were done giving the quiz which was horrible by the way George started sulking," I am sad. You have to cheer me up tonight. And that involves getting your ass ready to get-". Right then the bell rang.
"Oh my god please stop. This is too much for me", I cried out before they could spare me any details. We got up to pack up our bags.
"You have to come to George's party then", Sebastian said. "Or else I wouldn't stop G from giving the details about the way I blo-".
"For the love of god please stop!" I was cringing now. "Okay I will come to your party". George invited us over for a party he is hosting at his place next week but I wasn't really inclined to go as school was drowning me with homework.
"Yes!" They high fived. "That actually worked. Thanks babe!" Sebastian kissed George and it was the cutest thing ever.
"What class do you have next?" I asked George who already had his notes out and was reading it while we walked by the hallway.
"Chemistry. I have a quiz today but I totally forgot to study for it", he said. We dropped him off at class after that Sebastian and I were off to our class which was Math.
"You know the weirdest thing happened yesterday", he said.
"What?"
"I saw Leo in my neighbourhood. You know how I live quite faraway from here. The only person who lives here from our grade is Jules and Abby. I wonder who he was visiting".
"Really? That's weird".
"Yeah. When I asked him about it he quickly denied. But I did see him", he said. We walked into the class taking a seat in the second row. Before I could ask anything the teacher walked into the class.
..............
The whole house was a fire hazard. There was candles everywhere illuminating the dark room. I was a little scared at first but then I saw the little note attached on the door. "To have dinner with the sexiest delivery boy ever. Follow the signs". I had to roll my eyes to that but also I was grinning ear to ear.
I followed the signs which lead me to the dining room. And then I saw Leo waiting for me with a smile on his face,"Surprise princess".
Was it possible for him to be any cuter? I had this urge to run towards him and kiss him breathless but he had his own plans. He came from behind me, wrapping his hands around my waist. "Do you like it?" He whispered kissing me on my neck causing a sigh to escape from my lips.
"Mhmm. Love it", I turned around to kiss him on the lips. I was going for a peck but it turned out to be a full blown makeout session. My hands found its way into his hair pulling him closer while his hands were griping my waist pulling me closer. We broke apart when we needed to get some air.
"I love you", he whispered kissing me again. This time it was just a small peck. "As much as I would love to make out with you now I can't because the food is getting cold", like the gentleman he is, he pulled the chair out for me I took a seat. He went inside to bring the food.
"For appetizers we have buffalo chicken cheese balls with ranch dip", he placed it on the table and we immediately started digging in.
"Oh my god. This is so...", I took a bite, relishing every bit of it,"Good".
"Thank you! This is my mom's recipe. She used to always make them when I was young".
For mains we had chicken parmesan with spaghetti which was the best I have ever tasted. Finally for dessert we had chocolate ice cream with brownies. "I never made ice cream this is the first time I ever tried to make it. I hope its good", He said nervously as he scooped some on my brownie.
I took a bite out of it. "Are you kidding me? This is so rich and so much better than the store bought ice creams".
We finished eating and I helped Leo clear the tables even after he insisted me not to help him. We even blew out the candles.
"So what do we have planned now?" I asked.
"I was thinking stargazing but there are no stars in the sky. So I guess we are staying in", he said pulling me closer. "We could do some of this", he kissed me on my lips leaving me breathless. "You know this is my new favorite hobby".
I laughed. "I could say the same too", he picked me up placing me on the kitchen counter. He placed a small kiss on my collarbone making me sigh. His fingers trailed down my back as he planted kisses up my jaw and finally on my lips. His lips coaxing mine open as always he got my heart beating like frenzy against my chest. He was a good kisser. Scratch that, he was a great kisser.
For a moment we stopped kissing and he was staring back at me, breathing hard, his eyes hooded with desire. "I am sorry princess for overreacting that day. Its just I can't let anyone hurt my girl anymore. I love you and I'll always protect you from everything".
I wish it was easy for me to say it. I regret not telling him that I love him back. I know I do but somehow I can't get enough courage to say it. He deserves better, he deserves so much better me. "You know I am the lucky one. You are the best thing that happened to me. And no, Leo you have already apologized to me for that. It was my fault too. I wish... I wish I could tell you about...".
"No, you don't need to tell me. You just need to know I'll always be there for you, princess. You don't need to worry about anything".
...........
"Well that movie was good!" Leo said sarcastically pulling the blankets on us. It was almost midnight and we were snuggled together on my bed.
"Uh huh given we didn't even watch half of it as we were too busy making out".
He laughed. "I told you princess, I am just trying put my hobby in good practice".
"Mhm".
"I have got something to tell you", he said sounding all serious. In fact I had something to ask him too. I wanted to ask why was Leo visiting Sebastian's neighborhood.
"I finally went to meet my father yesterday".
"And then?"
"Turns out he doesn't hate me for troubling him all these years and he is very sorry for what he did to us. He even said.... that he was never able to forgive himself for leaving us. Also, he promised me he will continue to bear expenses for my mother's treatment".
"What did you tell him?"
"I forgave him after all these years. I know what he did was wrong but I can't hold a grudge against him forever".
"I am so glad you did that. I am so proud of you Arsen", I said messing up his hair.
"Turns out my dad lives lives few blocks away from Sebastian's house. He was asking me what I was doing there. I wasn't ready to tell him about my fucked up life just yet so I lied to him".
"No wonder he was asking me- it all makes sense now".
"Oh he even asked you? And-", he paused.
"And what?"
"Nothing princess", he kissed my hair,"go to sleep", he said yawning. I wonder what he was going to say.
..........