The Rock Star and The Mafia

Chapter 53

Cheri was glad to feel Alessio's body next to hers in their bed, in their room.  And after her breakdown yesterday, seeing the look in his eyes, she knew that they'd both been suffering, needlessly.  

If they could have put their pride aside, leaning on each other in their time of grief, it would have been so much better than the fresh hell they put on one another.

He was still asleep, so instead of waking him, she removed herself very quietly from bed, grabbed her bikini, got dressed and disappeared from their room.

Her sunglasses would cover her tired, swollen and puffy eyes.  Here lately all she was doing was crying.  Dr. Tovar assured her, for what she'd been through, this was completely normal.  He also told her to take as long as she needed to grieve, there was no time limit on grief.

Placing her towel on the lounge chair, she lathered her body with sunscreen and laid down, knees bent, hands resting on the arm rests of the chair.

Her mind showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.  She could feel the tears starting to build again.  Cheri truly was sick and tired of crying but she couldn't get that through to her brain much less her heart.  She ached with loss and she didn't know how to deal with it.

Hoping to alleviate her mind of anything important, she picked up her phone and scanned through the thousands of albums she had stored on there.  She finally picked Boy Epic.  Boss, her guitarist had turned her on to him.

Soon her mind was filled with the musicianship, the lyrics, the instruments and his voice.  Before long, she was humming along with Foolish, looking forward to the next song.

Closing her eyes, Cheri finally felt herself relax, her mind still lingering on past events; seeing Tommaso crying at her hospital bedside, Cassidy being the one that broke the news about her and Alessio losing their baby and the mixture of pain, sorrow and sadness in her lover's eyes.

The last time she saw Tommaso was last night, when he forced her from bed and forced her to confront herself as well as Alessio.  She owed him a huge thanks, otherwise who knows what would have happened.

Cheri couldn't help but chuckle to herself when she remembered the look on that slut's face after she pulled a gun on her.  Cheri thought she might shit herself.

It just made her blood run cold when she ran her finger down Alessio's naked chest, right in front of her and despite the fact she'd mentioned already that he was her boyfriend and calling him baby to boot.  Hello!

"Good morning baby" his rich voice rang out.  Looking to her right was the most delicious sight ever.  Alessio, in his black sweats and shirtless.  Damn he was a fine image for this morning!

"Hey" Cheri called out softly.  Walking towards her, Alessio squatted down next to Cheri, putting his hand on hers.  "How long have you been out here?" he asked, his thumb rubbing her knuckles relaxed her.

"Bout an hour.  I didn't want to lay there tossing and turning.  You looked so peaceful, I wanted to let you sleep" she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Cheri" he said tenderly, noticing her lower lip quivering.  Bringing her left hand up to her mouth, she just shook her head, silently asking him for a few minutes to gather herself.  It didn't work.  She started weeping.

Alessio, now on both knees, leaned over her, his left hand around her head while he laid his right hand across her hand that rested on her belly.

"Oh baby" his voice was filled with so much compassion and worry for her, it wasn't lost on her and she appreciated it very much.

"God I'm so sorry" she said sniffing.  Alessio laid his forehead against hers, alleviating her pain right away.  "Cheri you have nothing to apologize for.  You are still grieving, we both are and what I'm hoping for is that we help each other deal with it" he was right and she knew he was.

"If you could go anywhere and visit, where would you want to go?" he asked her.  She was thoughtful.  No one had ever asked her that question and it was not one that she'd ever indulged herself in either.

"I guess Fiji" she said.  "It just looks so magnificent and tranquil, like nothing from the real world could come in and get you there."  He loved her answer.

"I want to take you away from here for a while, Cheri.  I want to give you a reason to smile again and even if just for short moment, strip your mind and heart of any pain you are having to deal with right now.  Will you let me?" Alessio had never been so sincere about anything.  He also had an ulterior motive for the trip as well.

"Alessio, I would love that more than anything" she said smiling through her tears.  "Can you be packed and ready to go in say, two hours?" was his question.

"Oh my gosh yes!" she exclaimed and getting up with his help she threw her arms around him, loving the feeling of his body with hers.

"Then go pack, mi amore" Alessio told her.  Before leaving, Cheri turned and placed a well deserved kiss on his heart.  "Thank you" she whispered, disappearing into the house.

He'd already told her they would be on a private island that he owned and the house that was theirs, the way he described it, it sounded magnificent.  She'd blushed when he said they would be wearing minimal to no clothing at all, but her body clinched at such delicious thoughts.

She packed her best bra and panty sets, some sundresses, three different bikinis, sandals and toiletries.  Now she needed to find something comfortable to wear for their sixteen hour journey. She chose a strapless, smocked mid-thigh length sundress and her sand brown sandals.

When she was sure she had everything she wanted, her mind drifted to birth control.  She still hadn't gone and gotten her shots and at this point she didn't know if she ever would.  

Going to Alessio's bedside table, she slid open the drawer and found a box of condoms, never opened.   Making sure she had those now, she was completely sure she had everything and boy was she ready.  

They both needed this get-away.  Who knows, maybe something great would happen to them while there.