~chapter thirty three~
I worked myself up all day for tonight, I told Uncle Ted I was staying over at Loren's for a few hours and he was overworking tonight so he didn't mind.
The thought of being painted again by Salvatore caused all the butterflies to return and this time, it would be more sensual.
It wouldn't just be a painting that was for a 'competition' it would be something that we would both cherish, it would benefit us,
Not some old man that owns an art gallery hundreds of miles away
Pulling myself together at lunch I smile pathetically at Grayson who is still sporting his sunglasses, and is now hanging round with his gang friends.
He gives me a grimace and goes back to talking with some guy with tattoos and peroxide blonde hair.
"Dick" I mutter under my breath and take my lunch tray over to everyone else, noticing Aaliyah's absence.
Ever since Grayson came back to school with a black eye things have been very awkward and weird with my group.
I think Aaliyah still feels guilty and is sulking over Grayson, who is still giving her no attention, and I still feel bad about what happened.
Loren, Brittany and Lucas are ok with me but for some reason Lucas is not speaking much resulting in Brittany mothering him.
"Hi" says Loren placing her milkshake down and I put my art workbook on the table smiling at everyone.
"Hi" I say back and then after that all I hear is silence and it annoys me, yes, Grayson got beat up and he's hanging around with the schools 'hoodlums' but there's no reason to sulk around.
"Guys seriously this is pissing me off, did someone like suck all your energy out of you?" I ask them and Lucas scoffs.
"Look I feel bad for what happened to Grayson, but he's handling it in his own way and..."
"Cara, we're not upset about that. Me and Brittany found out about you and Mr Romano" he says cutting straight to the point
"Oh right" I chuckle awkwardly and I look at Brittany who is fiddling with her fingers in her lap, avoiding my gaze.
"We're not together or anything we're just taking things slow and waiting for things with him and Angeline to blow over..."
"Mr Romano is very attractive but this is wrong" says Lucas and I look at him feeling super confused
"Why do you care" I whisper and he looks around, and I notice that he is looking at Grayson.
He waves at Grayson who nods back, "Gray kind of likes you and we are just upset that you prefer Mr Romano- well I am" he finishes
"Well Grayson and me, we just didn't work out before but with Mr Romano I feel like there is much there" I say
"I don't think there's a problem Lucas, she's over eighteen, they're both adults, let them" Brittany defends me and Lucas sighs
"Ok but that's how I feel" he grumbles rubbing his hand through his blonde hair and I watch as he shrugs off his letterman jacket.
"Excuse me I have to get to soccer" he says and Brittany smiles at him, he kisses her lips quickly and walks off with his jacket over his shoulder.
"Ugh, everyone seems to hate me" I sigh stuffing my canvas into my bag, not really wanting to show off my work to my friends anymore.
"Oh don't listen to him Cara" she waves her hand.
"He's not mad at you don't worry, you are an adult and you can do whatever you want" she smiles.
"Thanks Brittany" I say to her with a small smile and I take a sip of Loren's milkshake, noticing her and Aaliyah have been quiet
"Did you guys tell Lucas?" I ask them and they nod not looking at me but to be honest I'm not that angry or annoyed at them.
"I don't mind, just don't tell my Uncle" I chuckle and they nod laughing and for once I feel like the depressed aura we had is starting to dissipate.
I take a peak over in Grayson's direction and notice that he is watching me with a hard expression plastered over his face; I smile again but he ignores it.
Fine
Once the bell rings out I grab all my stuff, apply some lipgloss to my lips and head to the final lesson of the day.
Then I get to go to Mr Romano's house.
After class I said goodbye to everyone, as it's now the weekend and I head over to Mr Romano's office once the hallways are desolate.
I knock on the door and I hear a faint, 'come in' so I open the door to see Salvatore packing some paperwork into his bag.
"Hey" I say softly and he smiles at me
"Hello Mia Cara" he says and I place my arms around his waist and lean my head onto his shoulder as he finishes packing.
"I can't wait for tonight" I say pulling away and he leans into me and gives me a slow, sensual kiss that makes my insides flutter.
"Nor can I beautiful" he whispers and pecks my lips slinging his bag over his shoulder and he picks up his blazer jacket.
"No ones around outside right?" I ask him and he shakes his head, "should just be the caretaker" he confirms and kisses my cheek
"You know that my friends know about us right?" I ask him slowly afraid he will shout or get angry, but his reaction is the opposite.
"No, I trust them" he pauses, "As long as they don't spread nasty rumours that aren't true, you're an adult Cara, you are consensual" he says and I nod.
"I am" I confirm proudly
"Good Mi amor" he whispers bringing out his Italian accent, that rolls like caramel off his tongue.
This is exactly the reason why I pursued him.
We step out of his office and I step away from him as he locks the door, he gives me a fleeting smile and we walk out of the building.
We walk over to his car and I get in loving the familiar smell of his car, I sigh as I get in sitting on the smooth leather seats.
He turns the radio on and we clip in our seatbelts as we pull away from Eastwood, I hum the song on the radio to fill the silence.
"Angeline is with her girlfriends tonight drinking cocktails and margaritas, so she'll probably turn up drunk at two o'clock in the morning" he sighs.
I chuckle at his disapproving glance and he puts his hand on my thigh as we drive down the roads and after twenty minutes we pull into a car park.
"Angeline used to be my best friend you know" he says and I look at him as he turns the key out of the ignition.
"You mentioned that before I think, you were close back in Italy right?" I say and he nods shrugging a bit.
"Closer than now, I think our families always envisioned us together, so it was easy in their opinion for us to get married"
We walk up the stairs to his apartment and once we reach it he scans a card next to the matte grey door and he opens it up.
I glance around the roomy apartment that is decorated with modern taste and consist of monochrome colours giving it a clean look.
"Nice place" I say taking off my shoes and I lean in and smell a vase of flowers he has on the stand which has a note on it.
Cara Angeline,
complimenti per il tuo fidanzamento con salvatore
amore, il tuo migliore amico x
"What does it say?" I ask Salvatore who is kissing my shoulder and he smiles, "congratulations on your engagement with Salvatore, love your best friend"
"Oh" I say letting go of the note and I follow him into the kitchen, putting my school bag down in the living room.
The kitchen is the place with the least decor and it's seems like him and Angeline hardly cook or eat together due to the lack of food here.
"Do you cook much?" I ask him and he shakes his head grabbing a can of soda for each of us and cracks them open.
"Thanks" I say and take a sip of the elderflower presse soda and he puts his hand on the worktop, "you would think we do due to our Italian heritage"
He takes a sip and continues, "my nonna taught me to cook, she wouldn't touch a takeaway or fast-food item" he chuckles.
"But we don't really have time to prepare meals, Angeline either goes out with her friends to eat or orders takeout"
"My Uncle makes the basics for dinner, things like lasagne, burgers, soup that kind of thing- he doesn't really have time either" I explain
He nods and I go and take a seat at the dinner table which is actually gathering a small covering of dust which means Grayson wasn't lying.
Clearly they don't have time to eat proper meals and I make a mental note to make him a proper meal one day.
"Shall I give you a tour?" He asks and I nod standing up taking a sip of my drink and he kisses my cheek leading me around the apartment.
A/N
again this was more of a filler chapter but this was written in my car so if it's a bit shaky and full of errors~ I apologise 🤡
not sure how many chapters there will be after this one, but I still have a lot to write about so I'm guessing 40+ chapters?!
hoping 2021 will be a better year aha ;)
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