Mi Corazón

Chapter 6- Lovino

Chapter 6- Lovino's POV

I must admit that after a few glasses of wine and and half an hour of laughter, I really loosened up. I wasn't completely drunk- I could still form coherent thoughts and make logical decisions- but I wasn't completely sober. I laughed. I was laughing a lot. Half the time I didn't know what I was laughing about but whatever it was, it was funny as fuck.

"Wait, who owns the Ragazzo?"
"My grandpa but he's hardly ever around. When he retires, I want to take over but I don't know if he'll let me." I sighed.
"Right." Antonio muttered, rubbinng his chin.
Feliciano came back with the bill which Antonio payed.
"When's this bingo night thing starting anyway?" I asked.
"Any minute now. I got us a ticket. Do you like bingo?"
I smiled. "I've never really told anyone before but... I love bingo."
"Really?"
I nodded.
"Wow, you are full of surprises." He laughed. I laughed too.
"I really like you Antonio." I felt the red flush colour my cheeks. Where the fuck did that come from?! Antonio just smiled.
"I really like you too, Lovi." He said.

"What's on that chain? The one you're wearing around your neck?" He asked, squinting at it. It was beneath my shirt.
I looked down.
"Oh, you'll laugh."
"No I won't I promise."
I hesitated, but then pulled the chain out from under my shirt. A silver crucifix hung on it. I waited for Antonio's response. He said nothing, but smiled, and pulled from beneath his shirt a silver crucifix pendulum chain almost identical to mine.
"I keep it close to my heart." He smiled.

He understood. We thought alike. Not even my own brother had understood me fully before. And here I'd found a Disney loving, bingo playing, pasta eating, church going man who liked me. And I really liked him back.
"Hey, maybe good ol' Jesús can give us a boost in our bingo chances." Antonio laughed.

"ARE YOU READY TO PLAY BINGO?" An over enthusiastic man called from on the tiny platform stage.
About three people gave a half-assed "Yeah."
I shouted "WOOOOO!" and applauded loudly before noticing the silence and wishing a vile death upon myself.
"Tonight's jackpot is a whopping €200!"

As the guy called out number after number, Antonio and I took turns blotting ink on them with an odd sort of bingo dabber thing. Someone won €35 for the line. Only the full house left. We only had 5 numbers left. We could win this.
"TWO AND ONE, KEY TO THE DOOR IT'S NUMBER 21."
We had that. Antonio dabbed it. 4 to go... I shouldn't get my hopes up.
"SEVEN AND EIGHT, 78."
Damn, not ours.
"SIX AND FOUR, 64."
Yes! I dabbed it out. 3 to go.
"FIVE AND FIVE- SNAKES ALIVE! IT'S 55!"
Yes! Only 2 left! Still, I shouldn't get my hopes up in case we didn't win it.
"ALL ON ITS OWN, THE LITTLE DUCK, IT'S THE NUMBER 2."
Antonio dabbed it out.
"Only one to go, Lovi! We could win!"
"Don't get your hopes up." I muttered.
I looked down at our card and the vast expansion of red circles over numbers. Only the number 7 left. I loved bingo. I knew all the calls. Lucky for some, the number 7! If we heard that it meant we had won €200. I must admit I was quite excited.
"FOUR AND THREE, 43."
"BINGO!"
A middle-aged man called bingo and made his way to the stage very very slowly, just to rub it in.
Fuck. I honestly thought I was in with a chance. Why the hell did I think something that lucky and amazing would happen to me. Antonio clearly felt the same. His head was resting in his hands, his eyes droopy and disappointed.

The caller read out the man's numbers and checked them.
"7, 21, 78, 64, 55, check 43, 37 and 2." The caller read. He winced. "Ooh, number 37 hasn't been yet. That's a false claim. Sorry."
The man walked back to his seat looking defeated. Served him fucking right.
"Now let's continue." The bingo man said. "WHO'S CLOSE TO BINGO?"
A loud cheer arose. Shit. Almost everyone in the restaurant.

"THREE AND SIX, 36."
I held my breath but luckily nobody called it. We needed 7. Come on 7.
"ON ITS OWN, LUCKY FOR SOME, THE NUMBER SEVEN!"
Holy fucking shit!
"BINGO, BITCHES!" I yelled, startling the man calling the numbers and slamming my dabber down on the table so hard the ink spilled out everywhere.
I grabbed Antonio's hand and flew up to the stage with my sheet. The guy checked the numbers and we collected the €200. It was ours. What the hell would we do with €200?! Well, anything we wanted!

I looked at Antonio and he was glowing. It was like all the light of the sun had converged and collected in this one person. I grinned at him and jumped up and down a bit. We hugged. He squeezed me tight and I draped my arms around his neck and just gazed into his eyes.

God, he was beautiful.
He was so beautiful.

Before I could protest, Antonio scooped me up and carried me bridal style out of the restaurant and into the car, cheering all the way. He went to the driver side and got in.

As he buckled up and was about to start driving, his phone chimed in his pocket so he took it out, looked at the screen and then put it on silent.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"Francis and Gilbert. They're in Venice."
"Venice?! Those sons of bitches! They left you behind!"
"No, I... I told them to."
"What?"
"The rule was we stay in each place for two nights and then move on. Plus, Francis is married to an English guy so he can't stick around too long anyway. I told them to go on without me."
"Why the hell would you do that?" I asked.
Antonio paused. He blushed a little but he was also doing the thing where he tilts his head to the side and fidgets with his hands when he's nervous.
"Because, Lovino..." I loved the way he said my name slowly and rhythmically, like he was reading a poem within it, "...because I probably won't see you again after I go home, and I couldn't bear to live with myself having only seen you for 2 days my life. I needed more time with you. I still need more time with you. But to be honest Lovi, a lifetime wouldn't be long enough."
He stared at his feet, his eyes glossed over and his eyebrows creased to a frown.
I laughed softly. He was right. Forever wasn't enough.

"You taking me home then or are we just sitting in your car outside a restaurant all night?"
"Lovi it's only 7:00."
"What?!"
"I called for you at 5:30."
"Why did we go out so early?"
"I couldn't wait to see you." He said.
"Stop it with your mushy romantic tendancies and let's go!"
"Where?" He asked.
"We've got the whole evening." I said. "Wherever the hell you want."