You will be mine

Chapter 25

The next day I wake up in an empty bed. Last night we slept in the same bed just as friends. Now I truly understand his decisions he has made through the years. All the choices he made were made out of love. Can I still blame him for following his reasonable mind? Of course not, and I'm okay with everything now.

Michael and I are on the same page, and from now on things don't have to be awkward anymore. We are friends now, companions for a month. An entire month I'm stuck with the man I first loved, then hated, and now finally come to respect him.

Suddenly a soft knock sounds at the door, and I turn my sleepy head to the side. Michael enters the room, already fully dressed in khaki trousers and a white shirt. He looked so normal in his outfit, almost as normal as back in the days. Michael from then would never wear a suit and tie, but eventually when wen wen we grew older, we both have changed. The most important thing is to embrace the now and find new happiness again. We both need to learn to be happy again.

"What's this?" I ask him, a lazy smile appearing on my face when I see the plate in his hands. "Breakfast on bed." He says cheerfully. "That smells delicious." I smile up at him, letting the smell fill my nose. "That's because I made it." He chuckles proudly. "And because Italy has such wonderful bread and pastry." He adds while placing the plate on the bed.

I gently crawl up against the headboard and eye the food with an empty stomach that grumbles with enthusiasm. "I'm aware of your cooking skills, Michael. There's no need to compliment your skills every time you conjure a splendid meal on my plate." I joke.

"Maybe it's time you cook something for me tonight," Michael orders me with a grin. "No, I won't. I can't cook." I admit with a low chuckle. "Everyone can cook. I'll help you." Michael informs me. "I don't want my beautiful kitchen to explode under your mercy." Michael chuckles at my horrified expression.

I eye him, shocked about what he just had said, but more shocked at his playful mood. "I would never ruin your kitchen, only your dish, maybe." I grin boldly. "Hmm, okay." He says, his mouth quirking upwards.

"Did you go to the bakery?" I ask him curiously. "Yes, otherwise you wouldn't have breakfast." Michael answers. "I hope you didn't wake up early to buy these delicious sandwiches, but I have to thank you this is so good. There are special specimens in it. Hmm, very nice." I say with my mouth half full.

Michael gazes at me, one brow crooked up in surprise. "What?" I ask bravely. He's probably thinking I'm disgusting for answering with a bit of food in my mouth. I'm such a pig sometimes. It's been a long time I had to adjust myself in the presence of someone else.

"Nothing, it's just, you seem happy." He admits out of the blue. I swallow a piece of sandwich and look at him. "I am happy, I think," I admit honestly and quickly take another bite. Michael smiles at me and eats a local pastry. "Is that good?" I ask him curiously. It seems delicious.

"Yes, here, take a bite." He holds the pastry to my face. I look at him and take a small bite, his eyes never leaving mine. "Hmmm, that's good." I gush happily. "It's cannoli with chocolate and vanilla." He informs me like a specialist. "That's so good," I answer.

The rest of the time we ate in comfortable silence, gazing at each other from time to time. Afterward, I helped him to put everything in the dishwasher before getting dressed.

"What do you want to do, today?" Michael asks me when I was busy looking in the closet for casual clothing. "I don't know," I answer him. "We can do lots of things here. We can go biking, hiking, swimming, having a drink." Michael says with his thoughts somewhere else.

"All of it sounds great to me. I'm an easy person to please." I answer sweetly, winking at him to ease his doubtful mind. "Great, I'll walk you to the local market then and perhaps grabbing a bite later this evening. I'll release you from your duty for today. Tomorrow you're going to cook with my help." Michael says, a playful smirk on his face.

"We'll see, but I've warned you. You'll enter a warzone at your own risk." I sigh wickedly. "I'll survive, don't you worry about my safety, but thanks for your concern though," Michael says playfully. "Who says I'm concerned about your welfare?" I ask him smugly. Michael shrugs and shakes his head in disbelief, a light in his eyes returning. I make him laugh, so that makes me even more pleased about the situation we're stuck in.

The playful mood between us lets me forget the things that brought us here in the first place. Maybe I still have doubts about our future together, but I'm truly happy to be here with him. Reconsidering him as only a friend, not a lover is weird knowing we also started as friends. I'm glad Michael isn't pushing me toward him, if so he would push me further away from him than getting closer to each other.

"I'm going to change so we can head off to whatever place you're taking me," I say, taking my clothes in my arms. "Aren't you going in your cute pj's?" Michael eyes me devilishly. "Of course not!" I say. "And you...Are you going to wear that?" I ask him, teasingly. I look at him in appreciation, trying to fake a puzzled look. Of course, he's wearing decent casual clothing, but if he tries to mess with me I'm going to do it to him.

"What's wrong with how I'm dressed?" He asked, looking down at his clothes with crooked eyebrows. "Oh nothing, just messing with you," I answer before vanishing into the bathroom with a massive grin on my face.

After an hour, we walk into a small local market, people surrounding us. The younger folks rush from left to right to find the groceries they need, the rush of life making them more on edge. "I never thought it would be so crowded," I admit, not knowing where to look first. "Does it trouble you?" Michael gazes at me.

"No, not at all. I just thought there would be fewer people here, that's all." I say. Michael nods and smiled at me. "At this side of Tuscany, it's still free of foreigners. I think we are the only Americans walking here at the moment." He informs me.

I follow my nose because of the unfamiliar scents. "Maybe we need to buy vegetables for tomorrow. I can make pizza?" I ask him with enthusiasm. Yeah, I can't screw up a pizza. I only need to be careful while chopping the vegetables.

"Sounds good," Michael answers before he takes my hand and ushers me to follow. His hand in mine never seemed weird or uncomfortable. I felt he wants to take care of me, protect me like he did when we were younger. I always felt safe in his presence.

After we bought our vegetables for tomorrow, Michael and I walk to his place. Michael made sure after we bought the food we needed, he had dragged me past small restaurants so I could choose which one we'll have dinner tonight. Michael arranged a reservation in a small, but very cozy restaurant where they serve only Italian food. The dishes of other restaurants would suffice for us too, but for today we wanted the Italian experience. And because Michael knows the place, we didn't need to discuss it any further. Il Nostro Posto had three stars, so I can't imagine the food will be bad.

I lay the vegetables in the fridge, already thinking about the pizza I'm going to make. Shit, we forget the dough and meat. "Michael?" I say unsure. "Yeah?" He answers me from the living room. "We forgot dough and meat," I inform him. "That's alright, I'll fetch it tomorrow morning," Michael answers before continuing on his phone.

I enter the living room and place myself on the sofa, him still busy on his phone. I take my phone out of my pocket and text Tessa. "Hey, how are you? Miss you..X."

After a few seconds, I received a text from her. "I'm great. How's Tuscany?" She questions me, ending with a goofy smiley. I shake my head with a small smile on my face. Tessa already thinks I'm hooking up with Michael.

"Tuscany is beautiful. We're having dinner tonight in a small restaurant." I text her.

"You need to wear that white dress." She orders me. I frown at her question. Wich white dress? I have many white dresses.

"Which one?" I ask.

"The one with the small straps and V-neck. Wear that dress!" She instructs me.

I roll with my eyes. Of course, she means that dress. I don't know why I brought it in the first place. It makes me uncomfortable because of the short length.

"Don't know I'm going to wear that one..." I text Tessa back.

"Please, wear it for me then!" She begs.

The style queen..."Okay," I answer her shortly and look up to see Michael still busy. I toss my phone beside me and lay back a little.

I'm still not convinced we belong together, and I don't know why. Something is holding me back. I do trust him, but do I trust myself with him?