Losing Her Wings

Chapter 25

Raya wasn’t sure what to say to Joey as he asked her to be his girlfriend. He’d already told her about having had two girlfriends that he’d never told his family about. He’d dated a girl Marta when he was fourteen, who had been his best friend and then another girl Daisy, who was also a good friend, when he was sixteen. Neither had been in any way Italian and neither had been a serious relationship, and they’d even stayed friends until they had left school last year. But Raya knew that, with his last vow of dedication, promising to give her everything she ever wanted and to do anything she ever wanted him to do if she would only be his girl, that he was in no way asking her to have a similar relationship to those he’d already had. No, Joey had already told her that he wanted her to meet his family, and how they would love her instantly, just as he had and so she knew that he was really asking her to be a real, serious girlfriend so that he could tell his parents about her. And that only made her smile.

Biting her lip, she didn’t know what to say as she looked up at him but she knew that she really wanted to be his girlfriend, no matter how little time they’d spent together so far and all she could do was tell him that. Standing on her tip toes, Raya couldn’t help but kiss him softly, smiling nervously as she bit her lower lip and started to back away, over to the steps leading up to the upper garden. But Joey didn’t know what to say or do. She’d completely rejected his first attempt to kiss her because she said she didn’t know him well enough, and even though he knew that her kiss answered his question he wanted to hear it, unable to stop smiling as he watched her walk up the steps, not even glancing back at him. “Raya…” He called out, jogging over to the steps as he followed her, not sure where she was going, or why she was leaving. If he was allowed to kiss her, then hell, he wanted to kiss her. And when he finally caught up with her, gently catching her wrist as he turned her to face him, he tried to contain his excitement over how great his night was turning out, especially when he‘d only agreed to come to watch over his little brother and keep Danny from beating the stuffing out of Angelo. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked cheekily, finding it ironic that she’d returned to the willow tree, where he’d tried to kiss her before.

“Nowhere…” Raya smiled softly, backing over to the willow tree to put some distance between herself and Joey, who she was dying to kiss again, but he knew what she was up to and wasn’t about to fall for it as he placed his bottle on the stone wall around the water fountain and buried his hands in his pockets.

“Really?” He contemplated, stepping up close to her, standing as close as he could, all too able to see the look in her eyes that was telling him to back off because she wanted him to get closer. And he quite liked it. “So…you know, you never answered my question.” He hinted quietly.

“Really, I thought I did.”

“Nope. Not even a hint.” Joey smiled, knowing that he was chancing his luck, but he didn’t care. She could tell him to back off, or that she only kissed him because she couldn’t find the words to admit that she wanted to be his girl. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he knew she was his.

“And what would it take to convince you?” Raya wondered, intriguing him so much that he didn’t much feel like running around it and playing games. He seriously liked this girl and he wanted her to know that he was willing to work as hard as he had to for every look, every smile and every kiss. Touching her chin tenderly, he took the plunge and kissed her, ever so gently brushing his lips against hers. And when Raya responded to him as sweetly as she did, the tips of her fingers brushing against his jaw, he couldn’t help but smile as he pulled back from her, making certain that she was sure she wanted to keep kissing him.

Joey knew that with their parents tough rules, and how hard her life had been up until now, dating hadn’t exactly been her number one priority and she might not have kissed a guy before, so he wanted to make sure he wasn’t pushing her too far, too soon. After all, they’d only known each other for little more than an hour or two. But when he saw her soft smile as she edged closer into another kiss, he knew that Raya felt whatever it was that he was feeling, and hopefully already felt that they’d been together for years. And knowing that she felt the same, made him feel a whole lot better about starting over new. As much as he loved kissing her, the way she opened her mouth slowly against his, teasing him with half kisses every now and then, that only made him want her more, he knew that he had a lot of explaining to do. He didn’t want his friends butting in and telling her all the lies he’d told them, trying to break them up just so that he wouldn’t be serious about a girl. Joey knew that if he ever had a chance of keeping Raya as his girlfriend then he’d have to have a serious talk with his friends and make sure that they knew the truth about all those ridiculous stories he’d told them and how serious he was about his girl. But right now, he could forget about that, because he was with his girl and no-one else mattered. “Maybe we should go back inside.” Raya whispered softly as she parted from their kiss, leaning her forehead against his.