From London to Rome

Chapter 38

Skylar

"These pictures are amazing, Sky." Luca is looking through the pictures I took of him and Aiden. I love the pictures. Aiden is such a happy and cheerful kid and Luca is amazing with him. Seeing the two of them play together, Luca helping Aiden eat his dinner and Aiden insisting that Luca would put him to bed; all of it made my heart swell with happiness. That little boy may not have a father anymore, but I'm positive he has an amazing male role model who loves him so much. I've seen how Luca is with Adrina, they have the natural sibling rivalry going on. They are constantly teasing and annoying each other, but at the same time, they are super caring and protective of each other. With Aiden, Luca is so sweet and caring. He played with Aiden for hours, without complaining even once.

Everyone can see how handsome he is. But what most people don't know is how sweet, caring, helpful and funny he is. No matter how sad or stressed I am, he always manages to make me forget about everything and make me laugh. We can goof around, acting like children. But just a minute later I can talk to him, really talk to him. Discuss our goals for the future, talk about our families and friends, and almost every topic you can think of. I grew to love him for all of this. Watching him today only made me love him more. Watching him with Aiden was not just adorable, but super sexy. It's common understanding for most women that guys that are good with kids are a turn on, but I clearly underestimated the effect it actually has. My ovaries have been going crazy all day. All I could think about was a future with Luca. Will we ever have kids? Will they be just as adorable as little Aiden? I picture Luca running around with our kids, a girl with blonde, curly hair and a boy with blue eyes and Luca's dark hair.

I know I shouldn't think that far into the future; we've never discussed anything that has to do with marriage or kids. God, we didn't even have sex yet. I'm thinking about this way too much, but I can't help it. What would you do if you see the sexiest man you've ever seen, play with his little cousin?

Once we arrive at my apartment, I grab two beers from the fridge and throw myself on the bed.

"I loved meeting Aiden, but man, that kid got me exhausted."

"He is very energetic indeed. You'll get used to it. That is if you want to go again."

"Why wouldn't I? I love your family. For as far as I've met them."

"I still feel guilty about how I handled things with my parents. I should have just told them and face whatever opinion they may have had, but I was being a coward."

"You don't have to keep apologising. You explained that you wanted to keep me from your mother's opinions and I trust that you have a good reason for that."

"I was trying to protect you, but I was also trying to protect myself. Everyone thinks I come from this perfect happy family, but that's far from the truth. I don't want people to judge me or my family, so I keep them away from everyone and everything as much as possible. Years ago, I learned to build these walls around me, so no one would see the fucked-up part of me."

"You're not fucked-up, Luca. No family is perfect."

"Still, I hid such a big part of my life from you after you told me so many things about yourself. After everything you've been through, you opened up to me, trusted me. And I just couldn't do the same."

"All that matters is that you told me, not when. Please don't blame yourself." Luca and I talked a lot about our past and our families after the fight that we had, but seeing him like this again pains me. Whenever he talks about his family, I can see the hurt in his eyes. The hurt of a little boy who wanted his parents to be home. I know his relationship with Valerie and Adrina is really special, but every kid needs their parents to be there for them.

Luca lies on his side and opens his arms for me.

"Come here, baby." I don't waste a second and scoot into his arms. I wrap my arms and legs around him and rest my head in the crook of his neck. The addicting scent of his cologne hits my nose and I feel his chest rising steadily. I could stay like this forever.

I don't know for how long Luca and I have been lying like this, but I wish it would never end. Luca has a football game tomorrow so I should probably set an alarm so we don't oversleep. Before I can reach for my phone, I feel Luca shifting below me. He presses a kiss on the top of my head and whispers in my hair.

"I love you so, so much, Sky. I don't know how to tell you, but I love you so much it actually scares the shit out of me." Luca must think that I'm sleeping. I don't know what to do. Should I move? I want to look at him and tell him I love him too. But what if he only told me because he thought I was asleep. Will he freak out when he realises I am awake? I can't stay still any longer, so I lift my head off of Luca's chest to find him looking at me already.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was already awake."

"Did you hear..."

"Yes, I did. I love you too, Luca."

The smile that appears on his face is worth millions. My smile is probably just as wide as his right now. Never in a million years did I expect to find a boy that I like, and who likes me back. Let alone fall madly in love with someone. But I found Luca. And he made me and my life so much better. I learned to open up my heart and as a result, he filled it with love. It sounds so cliché, but it's true. He taught me how to love and I can never be thankful enough for that.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"I'm just thinking about us."

"I like the sound of that. Us."

Before I get lost in my thoughts again, Luca presses his lips against mine, making my brain stop working completely. All I can think of is the feeling of his lips and his hands on my body. A feeling that I have grown to love over the past months. We've done this so many times, laying on my bed and making out. But his time I want more. I'm done waiting. As far as I'm concerned, I found the perfect guy.

I pull away from Luca just enough to tuck his shirt over his head. God. His body never ceases to wow me. His muscular arms, his abs, the tattoos on his arms and those dreamy blue eyes staring into mine. I'm glad I'm already sitting otherwise my knees would have failed me. I glide my finger over his tattoos, tracing the lines of the compass with the arrows on his right forearm. The moon phases on his left elbow crease.

"You know, that one reminds me of you."

"How come?"

"You're my moon. You shine your light in my darkness. That sounded less cliché in my head." No matter how cliché it was, I love it. I kiss him again once I get rid of my own shirt. Luca pulls me closer and deepens the kiss. I can't be close enough to him. I move my hands to undo his jeans, but he stops me.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I'm a thousand per cent sure." I wiggle out of my skinny jeans a little less charming than I hoped for. Luca gets rid of his own jeans leaving him in a pair of black boxer briefs that do nothing to hide the growing bulge in his pants.

"God, you're beautiful." He leaves kisses all over my body and I giggle once he reaches my belly. His head slowly moves lower, till he reaches my panties.

"Are you really sure, baby?"

"Yes, I am."