“Are you attracted to me?”
I felt the heat of the blood as it rushed up into my neck. I forced myself to ignore it even as I felt the warmth stain my cheeks. Elio’s earnest expression made me want to be as completely open with him as he was being with me.
“Yes I am.”
“And I think you are beautiful, and kind, and you make me feel good inside.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t ready for that.
“I’ve hesitated to share my feelings for you. From the first moment we met, I knew, but you were just a child. I want to be clear, it is not simple lust, Sienna, it is real love, and it has grown deeply with every year we have been friends. I don’t want you to think I’m like the other boys you live with in that house or that place you work. I have respect for you and want to treat you the way a woman should be treated.”
I put the fork back down on the table. Every word he spoke filled me with emotion. Elio was saying what I knew he truly felt. I found myself unable to speak, so I just continued to look at him.
“Now.” He took my hand and kissed the back of it. “I am not going to ask you to be my girlfriend just yet. I want to earn it and prove to you we are meant to be together. However, I would like to give you this.” He pulled out a small box and opened it to show me a chain with a small pendant on it. I studied it and recognized the bird was the same as the tattoo he had on his back.
“I know you already wear one, and I’m assuming it’s something special?”
Tears once again fought their way to the surface as I pulled my own broken necklace from my pocket.
“It was my mother’s. She gave it to me a long time ago.”
He took the broken chain from me and removed the small teddy bear and put it on the chain along with his. He stood and turned me around then brushed my hair off one shoulder and fastened it around my neck. I held the two pendants between my fingers. The little teddy bear that my mother had given me was now accompanied with a black bird.
“It’s part of our family crest. The bird is a crow, and it represents family.” He stumbled for a moment and went on. “I want you to feel you are part of the family now.”
“Thank you, Elio. It’s beautiful.” It was all I could manage to say. I was overwhelmed with emotion and felt something shift inside me. For the first time in my life, I felt love.
“Now, please, Sienna.” He smiled, and the mood instantly lightened. “Eat, or Mama will be after both of us.” I laughed along with him as I picked up the fork.
And that was how the next two years went. I would finish my job at the dockyard then race off to my secret life beyond the swimming pond. I was always welcomed with open arms by Elio’s parents, who seemed to love me almost as much as they did their own son. Things changed for the better since that day, and life had new meaning. I began to take more care with my wardrobe and my body. It was like parts of me were finally becoming found. Cara was happy for me, too. She even talked about someone she met at the dockyard. I never questioned why Renzo or Andrew stopped hitting me or why Renzo backed off trying to touch me. I was just glad they did.
Elio never forced himself on me, never pressured me. The only thing he would do was gently kiss me on the cheek and wish me goodnight before we would part.
One day, I bolted from one of the bedrooms, hoping I could outrun him, but instead I ran into one of the flowerpots, catching it before it tumbled to the marble floor. I saw a flash of white and knew I needed to run.
“No!” I raced out of the hallway in a fit of laughter with Elio close behind trying to tackle me, his body all sweaty from his workout.
“You can’t outrun me, beautiful!” He grabbed me around the stomach, but I was able to slip away and run out to the patio. When I whirled around, he was gone.
“Elio?” I laughed quietly. “Where did you go?”
Francesco chuckled as he stepped out through the patio doors holding a tray of fresh lemonade.
“Hey.” I smiled warmly at one of my new best friends. “Have you seen Elio?”
“I have not.” He started to place the glasses on the table.
“I think I outran him.” I heaved forward to catch my breath.
“Oh, sweet Sienna.” He shook his head knowingly as though what I said was so far from the truth. “No one outruns Elio.”
“That so?” I lifted an eyebrow and held out my arms to show him that I just had.
One moment I was standing there, and the next I had a six-foot-three Elio wrapped around my body as we both flew into the pool.
When I kicked to the surface, he had a huge, smug smile on like he was five and had just won a game of tag.
“I thought I lost you.” I grinned. As he swam toward me, his expression changed to a more serious one. He slowly backed me up to the side of the pool and used his arms to trap me in place.
“You’ll never lose me, Sienna, not if I can help it.”
My heart filled, and I found my eyes traveling down to his lips. He often said such sweet things to me, and I never knew how to respond. Love had never been a part of my life until I had let him in, and now…now I knew I did love him. I was young, but not too young to know I wanted more from him. Suddenly, whatever version of love we had, I relished it and would follow him freely.
I moved my hands to his shoulders then slid them over so my arms wrapped around his neck.
“I don’t want to lose you either.”
My body responded to his closeness, and I knew he felt it too by the way his pupils dilated and his breathing quickened.
“May I,” he stood and steadied himself while his warm hand cupped the side of my face, “kiss you?”
Elio wasn’t one to ask for permission from others. He was a natural leader, but he treated me differently, and I loved it. I nodded and waited for him to respond. He pressed his lips to mine and slowly started to move with the kiss I followed his lead and felt a tiny spark of lust brew in my belly. I moved my hands up his arms and back down his back, feeling the heat spread through me like heavy, thick molasses. Once I gave him a little moan of enjoyment, he reached down and urged my legs to wrap around his waist. I felt his interest, and I found myself wanting more, wanting the kiss to go deeper.
“Francesco?” I somehow muttered through the kiss, and that seemed to make him realize that we were on display for all.
“Come on.” He helped me out of the pool, and we ran together across the lawn to the pool house.
He shut the door and pulled a couple of long lounge cushions off a pile in the corner and threw a blanket over them. I removed my shirt, and when he turned to me, I threw myself against him, wildly demanding.
“Damn.” He threw himself back into our kiss as he walked me backward then pulled away only long enough to lay me on top of the cushions. His thumb hooked into the waistband of my skirt and pulled it down over my wet legs. He stepped back and removed his clothing while admiring me in my bra and panties. I saw him pull his wallet from his pocket, and he removed something then tossed the wallet back onto the wet pile.
He held up the small pouch and smiled at me.
“This is for your protection as well as mine, cuore dolce.”
I smiled back and nodded my agreement and silently thanked the gods he was such a gentleman. The thought hadn’t even entered my head in the heat of the moment.