From London to Rome

Chapter 23

My shift at work is finally over. This week seems to be awfully long. I have been swamped with assignments and required reading. The remainder of the time was split between spending time with my friends after classes and hanging out with Luca. We got together a few times this week, mostly in my flat. Seeing each other in public isn't as carefree as we'd like it to be. We still don't want people to find out about us. For me it's not as much about the people I know, but mostly about all those thousands of girls that love Luca. Neither of us seems to mind keeping it private so far. My siblings know already, some of his friends know. For now, that seems to be enough for us. Although I really do want to tell my friends soon, I want to share my happiness and excitement with them. We spend a lot of time at my place; cooking together, watching movies or just cuddling on my bed. I know we cannot stay like this forever, one day, people will have to find out. But for now, I'm happy with Luca wanting to protect me by keeping us out of the media.

After getting my stuff from my locker I make two caramel lattes. Luca arrived around 20 minutes ago and is sitting at a table in the back. We didn't have any plans for today, so I'm curious to find out why he came all the way here. He normally doesn't come to the café on the weekends. There are a lot of people walking in and out, especially on a Saturday afternoon like right now. It only increases the chances of Luca getting recognised, which is something we have tried to avoid the past few weeks.

I place the coffees on the table and sit down across from Luca. He puts his phone down and smirks at me. He is definitely hiding something, but I don't know if I should expect something exciting or scary. He takes out something from under the table and places it in front of me. It's a piece of paper. I don't get what's going on and Luca doesn't look like he's going to explain anything. I take the paper and look at what it says. From shock, I drop the paper and look at Luca with big eyes.

"No way! How did you get these?!"

"I have my ways." Luca doesn't say anything else, but I'm way too excited to ask further questions. I've always wanted to go, but never had the opportunity to actually go. I don't know how Luca managed to get the tickets, but I'm forever thankful.

"Noah is going to be so jealous when I tell him I'm going to a Spurs game. A champions league game even."

"I can see if I can get an extra ticket so he can come. I actually would like to meet your siblings."

"No, you don't. Hailey is only going to scream and Noah will probably threaten to kill you. They are both rather overprotective of me. Actually, we're all really overprotective of each other."

"So, you don't want me to die yet? Am I worth keeping around?"

"Yes, you are. But don't make me change my mind though. You don't want to know what siblings are capable of."

"I hope you're joking, but having a sister myself so I guess you are not kidding."

We talk some more about our siblings. We come to the conclusion that our sisters, Hailey and Adrina would probably get along great. They are only half a year apart in age, they both love to gossip about celebrities and they spend the majority of their time on Instagram and YouTube, preferably following beauty channels. I think Noah and Luca would also get along. For guys, it seems like just the love for the same football club is enough for a friendship, so they will be fine.

I saw Adrina twice this week. I started teaching Luca to play the piano. At least, I'm trying to teach him. It turns out we're both pretty stubborn, which makes things very interesting. Adrina had enough to laugh about while we were playing. I think it will take quite some time before Luca can play anything, but I like spending time with him.

"How did that work thing turn out?" Luca told me about some new job opportunities a few days ago. He was supposed to hear more about it yesterday.

"It went quite good actually. My mum set up a meeting for next month." Luca's mum is a former model and fashion designer. She got Luca into the modelling business years ago and still arranges shoots for him. She has a huge network, so she helps Luca out a lot.

"What are you doing the rest of today?"

"Work on assignments. Maybe start studying for my exams. They are just a few weeks away, so it's getting time to start preparing for them."

"Baby, you have been studying so much all week. You need to take some time off as well."

"I know, but I have to get it done eventually. I just get a little carried away sometimes."

"Why don't you come with me tonight. The guys are getting together." Luca must have seen my hesitation because he immediately assures me that he won't leave my side. "I know it may be a lot to deal with, but I'm there with you. And if any of the guys act stupid, you can just ignore them."

Luca doesn't take no for an answer, so after some persuasion, I give in. It won't hurt to not study for a night. And it will be fun to see Finn and Julian again.