We Need a New Room Mate (Danielle Savre and Stefania Spampinato)

Chapter Twenty Nine

"I didn't say you had to leave,"

"Text me when you're there?"

"Si, si," Stefania nodded her head as she pulled on her jacket. They had spent the last twenty minutes laying on her bed, not really talking, just laying with each other. She had texted Gio and he said it was fine for her to come over so that's exactly where she was headed. 

"Good," Danielle smiled as she leaned in for a quick kiss. "I'll see you later,"

"I'll see you later," Stefania replied as she shut the door behind her. 

"I'll see you later," Jaina mimicked from the sofa. 

"Shut up," Danielle laughed as she walked over to her best friend and flopped down next to her. "I hope she's alright,"

"What, did you not talk upstairs?"

"Not really. She was kind of teary and we just laid on her bed for a bit," 

"Ahh, I see, I see," Jaina nodded her head slowly. "Well, I'm sure she's fine and you'll see her again tomorrow," Danielle smiled softly and turned her attention to the television, trying not to let her thoughts get the best of her. About twenty minutes later, she got a text. 

SS: Just arrived :)

Stefania pressed the buzzer and waited for Gio to let her up. She quickly went up the stairs of the apartment building and knocked on his door. 

"Open!" She walked in, very familiar with her little brothers place and put her jacket on the side. "Ciao, ciao," He said as he walked towards her, tea towel in his hands. "Have you eaten? I just made food,"

"Ah, I have no appetite right now," Stefania said as she followed him through to the kitchen. "Papi called me earlier,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Just to see how I was doing because I haven't spoken to him much since I moved,"

"Right... I feel like there's something else to this," Gio said as he pulled a dish out of the oven. 

"Si," She took a second to compose herself. "Well, he asked if I am dating someone because he thinks I should be by now or it will be too late,"

"Classic,"

"And I said... well, I said I'm kind of starting something new," Gio paused what he was doing and looked at his sister. 

"You told him about Danielle?"

"No, no, no! I wanted to though. But he was asking questions and I said we've only been on one date even though it doesn't really feel like that, well I didn't say that bit to him, but he wants to meet this person soon... and, I'm not sure what to do about that," Stefania let out a deep breathe. "Why does this have to be so difficult?"

"You could probably stall for a bit," He said as he served some of the food onto a plate. "Because, as you said, it's only been one date so even if it was a guy, you wouldn't be introducing each other yet anyway. Are you sure you don't want any?" 

"No,  I'm okay," Stefania said, shaking her head. "My head has just been a bit of a mess. Because he called at about one and Danielle came to Royal Central when the day was over and she could tell I was upset but I just... I don't want to not date her. I've been planning our next date and I want to plan more,"

"Oh, you're so soft," Gio smiled as he ate. 

"She makes me soft! I can't control it. She came to see if I was okay after we'd gotten home and we just laid on my bed together," Stefania paused for a second and rolled her head back as she felt her eyes start to water. "Gosh, I really like her," She laughed softly and swallowed hard. No more tears. 

"Stefania..." Gio sighed as he watched her sister fight back the tears. She was always the strong one for them. Always. It was weird seeing her so upset over something that shouldn't even be an issue. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine," She breathed out, moving around on the spot. "See what I mean though? I'm not giving her up because he isn't accepting. That's already some form of progress. Just the next step that I have to figure out,"

"Why don't you tell me about what you have planned for your next date?" Gio suggested. "Because clearly, you've been thinking," 

"She's really sweet when it comes to trying to pick up Italian and always listens when I talk about Sicily and watches me when I cook so I haven't booked it yet because I don't know when she is free, but there's this place that does Italian cooking lessons for beginners and it looks really nice and just... cute. And then afterwards, I found this place," Stefania pulled out her phone and went to her camera roll where she had an abundance of screenshots. "She has this weird obsession with English football team shirts,"

"Right," Gio laughed as he looked over at her phone. 

"There's a place that has every football shirt, not just English but also English. Besides the point, the aesthetic seems like something she'd love and then I can buy her one as well,"

"Oh, that's cute," Gio smiled. "You're going to be walking around in her football shirts soon," He teased but Stefania just smiled at the thought. Some of Danielle's shirts had Danielle on the back, some had Savre and some had actual players names. She liked the idea of having Danielle's name on the back of her shirt. 

"By the way you're clearly thinking about wearing her clothes, I think you know what to do when it comes to Dad. You told Danielle a bit about him, didn't you?" Stefania nodded her head. "Maybe just, after a couple more dates, bring it up again and let her know when you're going to tell him. I mean, we kind of know how he'll react but you never know,"

"Yeah, I get you," Stefania sighed. "I'll figure it out when the time comes," She stayed for a couple more hours and eventually made her way home at about half eleven, quietly opening the door and heading in. The television was playing but she couldn't see anyone around. She slipped off her shoes and hang up her jacket but accidentally tripped over one of Danielle's sliders. 

"Huh?" A voice could suddenly be heard from the sofa and Stefania saw a blonde head of hair pop up. 

"Hi, sorry. Your stupid slider," Stefania whispered, wanting to just dive into her arms. 

"They're not stupid," Danielle laughed, still laid out on the sofa as she rubbed her eyes. "Are you headed up?" She asked, craning her neck slightly. 

"What are you doing?" Stefania asked as she walked over to the sofa and leant over the back of it. 

"I was watching something but kind of fell asleep," 

"Tired?"

"Not anymore," Danielle smiled, eyes seeming to sparkle as she looked up at Stefania.

"I'm going to change, then I'll join you?"

"Sounds like a plan," They both were smiling as Stefania went up to her room and quickly changed into a pair of shorts and large t-shirt and she was quick back down the stairs. The brunette simply crawled on top of Danielle, faces mere centimetres apart as she looked into the bright blue eyes. 

"Hi," She whispered.

"Ciao," Danielle replied with a soft smile. She was almost certain that Stefania was able to feel her heart beating. 

"What comes next?" Stefania asked, tilting her head to the side and laughing as her hair brushed down on Danielle's face. 

"Oh! Um... Baciami?"