Ace came from the bar towards me with two drinks in his hands. He was so sexy in that tuxedo. I loved that chaotic air that always surrounded him, but the suit just looked as if it was created for him.
"Do you know what I discovered?" He said excitedly sitting down next to me and handed me my drink. We were facing the dancefloor.
"What?" I asked taking my drink, avoiding his gaze and trying to control my thoughts about his hotness.
"Zoe is gay." He said hiding a laugh. "Looks like Amanda," the groom's sister, "and her are more than best friends."
"Oh." I said driving the glass to my lips. I felt dumb that I could have been jealous for a moment.
"Yeah, oh." He chuckled. He took a sip from his drink too and glanced at the dancefloor. "Oh, and maybe the bartender asked for your number." He mumbled averting my gaze.
"Really?" I asked turning around to look at the bar. The bartender was shaking a cocktail, the muscles in his arms flexing as he did so. "Did you give it to him?"
"No." He replied seriously turning to face me. "I told him to fuck off and that you were my girlfriend." His expression didn't change, as if it was the best thing he could have done.
"Why would you do that?" I slammed his leg. "He is cute!" I exclaimed teasing him.
He shrugged and squeezed my hand that was on his leg, looking again at the dancefloor while he took a big gulp. We remained silent for a few seconds. My mind travelling in time.
"Do you remember when we danced in my birthday?" I asked absentmindedly.
"Why? Do you wanna repeat again?" He asked glancing at me with a mischievous smile, arching an eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe not that kind of a dance," I told him reminiscing, "but yes." I stood up and pulled his hand. "Come on, dance with me."
He let out a deep breath and let his drink on the table, following me to the dance floor. We made our way through the crowd. I began to move my hips and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He did the same with my waist and we danced at the rhythm of the music. He grabbed my hand and made me twirl. I laughed throwing my head back and he caught me again looking at me with amused eyes. I didn't know where he had learnt, but he was such a good dancer.
All of a sudden, a small hand tugged my dress. I glanced at the little girl and I knew it was Claudia because her hair was a mess. Ace pulled apart and watched us as I took Claudia's hands and began to swing her arms, dancing as she laughed. I made her spin and saw that Ace had Morgan in his arms. She was whispering something in his ear.
Ace pouted his lips. "You don't wanna dance with me?" The girl shook her head and pointed at me with her little fingers. He let her on the ground and looked at me rolling his eyes. The girl stared at me shyly. "She wants to dance with you." Said Ace. I grinned at him and he gave me an unsamused gaze.
"Of course! Come here, Morgan." I took the girl's hand while she took her sister's, and we made a little circle. They both laughed as I moved my arms, dancing with them. We kept on dancing for a long time, Ace sat on a chair watching us. I knew he took us some pictures. He always did, I got better at noticing. When I did a move, the girls laughed and tried to copy me.
Morgan waved her little hand for me to bent down.
"I like your necklace." She said pointing to the little diamond. I smiled and approached my face to hers.
"Do yo want one?" I asked. She nodded eagerly. "Then, you'll have to ask your brother." I said glancing at him. He gave me a confused smile and I grinned. I guess he'll have to buy another one.
You know what they say, diamonds are a girl's best friend.
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The chairs were scattered around the place. I was playing with Claudia, she was standing and I was sitting on a chair. We were trying to come out with a cool handshake. She was hysterical. Ace had Morgan on his lap. She was asleep, her thumb in her mouth and her head rested on his chest while he caressed her hair. It was adorable.
One of my weaknesses were guys that liked children and animals. And he liked both.
Ace told me that Morgan was a little bit more girly and Claudia was the sporty one. It was clear, she wouldn't stop moving and running around. She was insatiable. Morgan was way more delicate and shy.
"Claudia, your brother can't handle you. That's why he brought me tonight." I joked looking at him out of the corner of my eye.
"You can't handle me?" Asked the little girl glancing at Ace.
"You're just too much." He chuckled and kissed Morgan's head.
Claudia muttered some words in Italian before speaking to me. "Well, I prefer you." She said turning around and grinning at me, tapping her palms on mine. "Let's do it again!" She jumped and we tried to do the handshake again. I messed it up on purpose and she laughed at me. "It wasn't like that!"
"My bad." I giggled.
"Ace." Said Giulia approaching us. "It's time for them to sleep." Ace nodded and glanced at Morgan. Claudia heard her mother and replied with a loud "Noooo!", kneeling down dramatically.
"Yes, look around. You see? No children around here. Every kid is sleeping and you guys are already late."
"Can Martina come with me to my room?"
"I don't see why not, but she can't stay there tesoro, you both have to sleep on your own." The girl nodded and her mom looked at me. "You guys don't mind leaving them in their room?"
"Of course not." I replied smiling. Ace then stood up, with Morgan in his arms. We began to make our way towards the hotel, Ace first, Claudia and I following him. She was grabbing my hand and she jumped as she walked. I swear this girl didn't run out of power. I glanced at her little body trying to find a turn off button.
We arrived to their room and Ace opened their door with the key his mom gave him. There were two separate beds and Ace laid Morgan down in one of them gently. He took off her shoes and covered her with the sheets.
"Come on, Claudia." He waved at her. "Bed." He said pointing to the other one behind him with his thumb. She made a face and took off her dress and shoes. She had a t-shirt underneath and she went to bed with it. Ace covered her with the sheets and gave a kiss on the top of her head. I went to do the same and she whispered at me.
"I like that you are my brother's girlfriend."
I stiffened and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Claudia."
"Buonanotte." She whispered.
We walked in silence towards the reception. It was a shame they didn't see each other that much. It was clear that it was a beautiful family and that they loved each other. Ace took care of her sisters really well, but I understood that if his parents couldn't be at home for most of the time, he wouldn't be the one taking care of them. He was not their father and the girls seemed just happy being in a boarding school.
"You're quiet. What are you thinking?" He asked as we walked.
"That you're a really good brother." I said sincerely. He smiled and continued walking. A sudden cool air ran my back and I shivered.
"Are you cold?" He asked. I nodded and he handed me his jacket, putting it around my shoulders. I put my arms inside the sleeves and laughed at how big it was.
"Thanks."
We arrived at the reception and the party was still going, even though it was almost twelve.
"I'm grabbing another drink, do you want one?" He asked putting his hand in the low of my back.
"Yeah, why not." I shrugged. I went to sit down on a chair when I saw his nonna and decided to sit down next to her. I smiled at her and she did too. We watched people dance for a while until she turned to face me and talked.
"I've seen how my grandson looks at you." She said very serious approaching her face to mine. I cocked my head as if asking her to explain herself. "He had that girlfriend before, but that girl didn't love him." She said shrugging it off. "He looks at you in a different way. You must be speciale."
"I-" I didn't know what to say. I opened my mouth but she cut me off.
"I know sometimes things are complicate. Ma è un bravo ragazzo, he is a good boy. I just wanna ask you one thing: don't hurt him." She said, her eyes full of tender.
"I won't." I promised her. She smiled at me and I glanced at the dancefloor and saw Valentina coming closer.
"Nonna, I'm stealing her." She grabbed my hand and I stood up. "Come on, Martina. Let's dance."
I turned around to look at her grandma and she smiled kindly. I did too and went to the dancefloor with Valentina. I totally forgot about Ace and the drinks. We danced for a while and even though I was moving and I had Ace's jacket, I wasn't hot. Everything was open and the air came inside, refreshing the place.
Valentina and I didn't have the opportunity to cross any words since the DJ announced a slow dance.
"Valentina, I think it's my turn." Ace came behind me and grabbed my waist. Valentina smiled widely and went to find her husband. I turned around and glanced up at him with my hands on his shoulders.
"Hey." I smiled.
"Hey." He said biting his lip.
He began to swing softly and I let myself get carried by him.
"You were wearing a red dress when we met." He said lowly. For some reason I began whispering too.
"True." I gave him a little smile. "Seems like a long time ago."
"6 weeks." He replied quickly. "But who's counting." He shrugged. I threw my head back and laughed. "You look good in red." He said glancing at my lips. I smiled sheepishly and put my head on his shoulder and lowered my hands to his chest. My lips were near his neck. "I have a room here, would you stay with me?" He asked softly in my ear.
I glanced up at him again and ran my hand through his hair, removing it from his eyes. I nodded slowly. He smirked and went to give me a kiss on the lips, but I was quick to pull apart.
"What?" He asked.
"Your whole family is here, Ace." I mumbled looking around.
"So what?" He frowned.
"What would they think?"
He scoffed. "Do you really think they believe we're friends?"
"I thought we were friends." I said with a frown.
He glanced at my lips and then stared into my eyes. He took a deep breath. "What if I don't wanna be friends anymore?"
My heart skipped a beat. I suddenly felt dizzy and I felt as if I was about to throw up. I pulled apart quickly and stepped back. "Mhm. I need some fresh air."
I began to walk towards the garden. The air was cold and the night was dark. You couldn't even see the stars. Everything was lit up with little lights around the bushes. I breathed deeply. I knew Ace was following me and that made me more and more nervous. I couldn't do this.
"Martina, please. Let's talk." He said behind me. His voice gentle. He put his palm on the low of my back.
I didn't turn around. "Ace, please don't ruin it." I said quickly closing my eyes hard. "I'm too messed up for this."
He grabbed my arm and turned me around. I was looking down now, so he bent down a little bit for his eyes to meet mine. "You always say that Martina, but you won't even try."
I stayed quiet avoiding his gaze. He scoffed and stepped back. He began pacing around, his hands waving as he talked. I've never seen him like this.
"You always run away, you never wanna talk about things that matter. You tell people just enough" he raised his thumb and index finger and put them almost together, "for them to consider you friends, but not enough to ever let them truly know who you are. You never tell people your thoughts, your feelings. You don't let people know your fears. Just... the surface." He pointed at me. "You're one of the most outgoing people I've met in my life and, you still keep things to yourself. And you don't even do it on purpose, you've surely been like that all your life."
He stopped pacing and stood in front of me. I stared at him and our eyes locked. He lowered his voice a little. "You don't wanna get too deep, or maybe too close. I don't know why you do it, but I need you to open to me. I wanna know you, I wanna know what's inside your head, what's inside your heart." He put a finger on my chest signaling the place where my heart was.
I was frowning and my lips were parted, breathing heavily. Trying to comprehend what he was saying, trying to believe that nothing that he was telling me was true. But the reality was that it was.
"I don't know if you push people away because you think they'll leave you, but let me tell you one thing." He took a deep breath and grabbed my face with his hands.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Ace." I whispered.
"Let me finish." He took another deep breath, this time he lowered his hands and took mine. He glanced up at the sky, licked his lips and glanced at me again. He was struggling to talk. "You know, I thought I liked you."
My heart was about to break at those words. He might had seen my face because he continued quickly.
"But... It's just a stronger feeling. It's like you're stuck in my mind, but I don't want to get you out of it. I-" He looked down, took another deep breath and then glanced up at me. That intensity in his eyes making my heart melt again.
"Martina, I'm falling in love with you."
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Okay, I think you're gonna love me for this.
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