My jaw dropped when I saw my ex coming into the living room. I could not believe my luck. Vini came straight to us, but Carla stood in his way.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came to see my love. It's her birthday!" he came past his sister with determination. "Val... Happy birthday, amore!"
He pulled me into a hug, which I didn't have the courage to refuse. I didn't want to make a scene, and with us, there was always a scene.
"Grazie, Vini." My eyes shot back and forth.
"God, I missed you so much." He ran his tattoo-covered hand through the shaved side of his head, shifting in place.
"Come on, Vini. Let's talk outside." Carla pulled him, but he barely moved. "You can't be here."
He brushed her off, turning to me. "We need to talk, my love. I'm so sorry about how things ended between us. But I'm a different man now."
My breath instantly picked up at the start of our routine. I swallowed, looking around.
You gotta stand your ground, Val. Be strong.
"No, Vini. I stand by my--"
"You can't be serious!" He raised his voice, but it was drowned in the noise of the party. Carla and I startled. It was like being in the presence of a ticking bomb.
Vini pinched the bridge of his nose. "See what you make me do?"
"I'm sorry."
He reached out to touch my face, and I flinched.
"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" He snorted. "Baby, it's me!"
"Vini, please..." My eyes begged him.
"Just hear me out, okay?"
"Vini..."
"I'm asking nicely." He said between teeth. "What we had was real, babe. How can you be over me so soon?"
We had broken up years ago. It served to show how delusional Vini was. He came closer, and I stepped back, hitting someone. Ash was standing right behind me.
"Is everything okay here?" He stood tall.
"Sì, Ash. This is my ex, Vini, and he's already leaving."
"I am not," Vinicius retorted, now in a thick accented English. "Stay out of this, ragazzo. This not your business."
"It is my business if it involves her." Ash came to my side. Vini's eyes flashed with understanding. It was like watching a train wreck unfold.
"I see how it is..." He turned to me in Italian. "You're sleeping with this clown, aren't you, you fucking whore?"
He grabbed my arm with unnecessary force and tugged it, but before he could do anything else, Ash hit him square in the jaw. In a split second, everybody was looking at us. Carla screamed for her brother to stop and go home with her. Vini didn't listen, he was taken with rage. He hit Ash's face and got tackled through the door in return.
They were now rolling on the front yard, throwing punches at each other. Carla and I came right behind them, begging for them to stop. The only things that did the trick were my cousins and brother breaking them apart by force and my grandmother threatening to call the police. It took four cousins just to hold Ash's Scandinavian fury. In the end, Vini went home with a shame-stricken Carla coming undone in tears.
I took Ash to the bathroom to tend his wounds. The first minutes of it were completely silent.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked me after I took care of his raw knuckles.
"Why would I?"
He hissed when I touched his open brow ridge. "Because I made a scene at your birthday party," he whispered.
"Vinicius made a scene at my birthday party," I corrected him. "I've seen him lose control before... You did a good thing today. If anything, I'm the one who should apologize for that asshole."
He held my wrist, making me stop what I was doing, and bore into my eyes. "Did this piece of shit ever beat you?"
I stared back, giving him a loud and solid "no".
"You wouldn't lie to me about that, right?"
He seemed worried. This guy cared about me, I had come to the conclusion. Say anything about us, but never say we didn't take care of each other.
I started to care for his wounds again. "He'd never gone this far, but I can see why you think so."
"I've never seen you this scared before... Of anyone."
"Yeah..." I looked down, hating myself for letting Vini have any kind of power over me.
"Hey." He lifted my chin up. "You're safe."
"I know."
"I'm here for you. Always have, always will."
I started to feel uncomfortable with how vulnerable I felt, how helpless. I had always liked to think I could take care of myself, fight my own battles, and I hated to be proven wrong.
"I'll kick everybody's ass for you." His lips arched into a smile, breaking the tension.
I caught myself smiling back. "Thanks."
"Any time."
I held Ash's face with both hands and planted a thankful kiss on his pink lips. He pulled me in by the waist, making me sit astride him. I felt him growing hard between my legs, then deepened the kiss. He snaked one hand up my dress, finding my clit. I started panting, pulled his hair, making him growl in pain and pleasure.
"Val, let's cut the-- Oh!" Lia came in and we instantly broke apart. Thank God we weren't naked yet.
"Shit..."
"I'm so sorry!" Lia yelled, even though that was her house, this was a common bathroom, and we had forgotten to lock the door.
"No, I'm sorry!" Ash turned his back at her to hide his erection.
"no, I'm sorry!" She insisted.
"Oh, my God, will you both stop!" I yelled. "Thanks, Lia, we'll be out in a minute."
She nodded and left, mumbling. I could distinguish the words, "just friends my ass."
***
The next day Matteo took us to the airport. He spent the whole ride chatting with Ash, who by this far had apologized a thousand times for his fight with Vini, and for breaking his front door on the process. Matteo dismissed it every single time, stating that he would have done the exact same thing if Vini had laid a hand on me.
I, however, kept silent the whole ride, looking out the window. I was thinking about everything Ash had been doing for me. First buying me the ticket, then coming all the way to see me, putting up with my family like a dream boyfriend, and then kicking my ex's ass to defend my honor... It seemed that the list was endless.
Not to mention the passionate love-making from the previous night. How he held my hands for the whole time and made me feel adored and cherished. The things he whispered, his hot breath on my ear and how every hair of my body jerked up whenever he called me the sweetest caring names. How my nerve endings eagerly responded, in spite of all the gentleness of the unhurried act.
When we got to the airport, Ash insisted he would pay for the wrecked door and told my brother if he or anyone on our family ever went to Denmark, they had a place to stay. He was being overly nice.
"You don't have to be so nice to them, you know," I said once Matteo backed away to give us some privacy.
"I know, but I like them," he said, making me arch a brow. "I swear I'm not just being polite. I do this because I want to."
"Okay, then." I sighed.
He swept me off my feet with his embrace, breathing into my hair. "I miss you already."
"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" My feet touched the ground again.
"I'm sorry, min sol..." He frowned. "Nothing would make me happier... but I have that photo shoot and interview tomorrow."
"Yeah... You're gonna be with an open brow and lip in those pictures." I gave him a bittersweet smile.
"Hey, I promise we'll see each other again first chance I get... And I'll call you every day."
"Promise?"
"Cross my heart... And if that asshole tries anything, promise me you will call me."
I snorted. "What? You're gonna fly all the way back to Italy just to kick his ass again?"
"I just might, miss! He'll back away, I promise" He gave me a sly smile and winked. "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
I stifled a laugh. "Still with the misplaced Godfather jokes?"
"Parting is such sweet sorrow..." he started. "Come on, you know the rest."
"That I shall say good night till it be morrow... Except we won't be seeing each other tomorrow."
I hated to admit it even to myself, but these goodbyes were getting harder every time.
"Then come here and purge my sin." He pulled me closer, still referring to Romeo and Juliet. This guy was unbelievable.
He leaned down to kiss me. I didn't give my best at first, because I was genuinely suffering. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me tight against him, making me commit to the kiss. He wouldn't accept any less, I could feel it. He wasn't kidding when he said he already missed me; this kiss was making it very clear.
I rubbed his back and his hair. I wanted to feel every part of him while I still had the chance. For once I didn't care if there were people watching.
Everything about that kiss was painful; his taste in my mouth, the feel of his touch and how good he smelled... I was afraid I would forget all of this, afraid the show wouldn't be renewed and we would never see each other again, that fate would stop crossing our paths.
The last call for his flight was announced.
"I have to go now." He swallowed hard, closing his eyes.
Our foreheads were still touching. Then he inched away, reluctant to let my hang go.
"Ash!" I called when he had taken a certain distance. "Call me so I know you had a safe flight."
He only made a heart with his two hands and smiled with his lips closed. His blue eyes were flooding with tenderness. My heart felt full and heavy at the same time. I hated to be feeling that way about him.
____
AN: Don't forget to vote, comment, and add the book to your library if you dig it. Thanks for reading!