Florence: Where It All Began

Chapter 13

You're not sure how it's possible, but the next morning you awake to find him gone. You're surprised he didn't wake you up as he was getting out of bed, but between the little bit of jet lag you have and the extra physical activity you've been engaging in, it makes sense that you were in such a deep sleep. You sit up and notice a plate of food sitting on the table for you accompanied by a rose and what appears to be a note. You jump out of bed and retrieve the note, beginning to read it:

"Good morning, I'm sorry for having to leave without saying goodbye but you were sleeping so well and I didn't want to wake you. I've left you a nice breakfast to enjoy when you get up. Take your time waking up and have a nice, restful day.

P.S.- Be ready at 4 this afternoon for a fun evening out.

- Tony."

Wow.. you are speechless and almost a little teary eyed. You've never been treated this well by a man before and it makes you feel so cared for and appreciated. You enjoy some of the fruit and croissants that he left for you and then start your work day. Thankfully, you don't have much to do and get done with everything around mid-afternoon. You tidy the room up a little and then go take a shower to ready yourself for tonight. I wonder what he has planned. While you are in the shower, you hear the phone ring but aren't able to answer it because you're rinsing the soap out of your hair. So you check the messages when you get out and find there's one from Tony.

"Hi, it's me. I'll be back earlier than expected, around 3 o'clock. Hopefully you listen to this soon so we're able to have a little extra time out tonight. I'll see you soon"

3 o'clock? That's only a half hour from now. I better hurry. You go as quickly as you can to finish up and it turns out you had more time than you thought- the time on your alarm clock is fast. You check the weather and it's a rather cool day out so you decide on a nice pair of dress jeans with a blouse/sweater combo. You are hoping this isn't too casual for Tony, he's usually dressed pretty nicely. You wait quite impatiently for his knock on your door and when you hear it, you're a little confused because he's using the main door again and not the connecting door. You jump up and run over, opening the door to find your man standing there looking better than ever, wearing blue jeans, a light blue button down, and a casual sport coat over it. The blue shirt he's wearing makes those gorgeous eyes of his pop and you are just utterly captivated by him.

He stands there smiling and says, "Wow, you look amazing."

"Oh stop it. You're going to make me blush!"

You both laugh.

"Are you going to start being formal again, using the front door?"

"Yea I figured I would be proper tonight since we have a date," he says.

You just smile, "Gotcha. Do you wanna come in for a minute before we go to... wherever it is we're going?"

He chuckles, "Yes please."

Once he's inside the door you turn to face him and he quickly grabs you and kisses you. You fall into his arms and then he pushes you against the wall. It gets hot and heavy QUICK. He presses into you and you feel the bulge in his pants. So you reach down with your hand and start rubbing him through his tight jeans. He pulls your hand away and stops kissing you.

Laughing and whispering, he says, "Woah, let's slow down. I actually need to talk to you about something."

Suddenly every good feeling you were just experiencing vanishes and you are left with a sense of dread. As a million thoughts are flooding your mind as to what he could possibly want to talk about, Tony goes to sit down on the bed while you kind of just stand there stunned.

"Umm, I've been thinking," he says.

He hesitates before he speaks again which gives you just enough time to panic. Oh my God, he doesn't want to see me anymore. I shouldn't have come here.

"Do you remember last night when I got sort of quiet and you kept asking me if I was okay?"

"Yea," you say.

"Something actually was bothering me but I didn't know what it was at the time, which is why I just told you I was tired."

"Did you figure out what it was," you ask.

"Yes, I had a lot of time to think today. I'm worried that because of the activity that you and I have participated in the last couple of nights, that you think I've only asked you here for that."

"I'm sorry Tony, what do you mean?"

Please God, let him spit it out soon, he's making me a nervous wreck.

"Well, as you're aware, we've been intimate," he says smiling. "I don't want you to think that I've only asked you here for sex. As great as it's been, I want more than that. I really enjoy being with you and I feel a genuine connection with you that I haven't experienced with anyone in years. And that's why I want you here with me, to see if that connection is real and then if it is, where it goes. Outside of the bedroom."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm not good in bed?"

He laughs, "Oh, God no! I just want to make sure we're on the same page. I don't want only a sexual relationship with you. I want that, but I also want so much more."

You visibly breathe a sigh of relief and giggle, just from all of the anxiety leaving your body.

"Thank God," you say.

You walk over and sit down beside him and he takes your hand in his.

"You scared me to death Tony. I thought at first you were gonna tell me you'd made a mistake by bringing me here and then I thought you were telling me you just wanted to be friends."

Tony laughs, "No, I want it all. But I also don't want you to feel pressured into something."

"Why do you think I would feel pressured?"

"I don't know I guess maybe because of me paying for everything. Maybe you feel like you have to give me certain things because I'm paying for you to live in Italy. And maybe you think I'm just a lonely old man who has no one and you feel sorry for me."

"Oh stop being ridiculous! I'm surprised you would think I'd do that."

"Well, it's hard to know without talking about it and I'm only trying to be sure. If I'm going to be serious about you I need to know if you're serious about me. I can't go through anymore of the wishy washy, we're on then we're off, bullshit."

You take a moment and just sit there thinking about what he could be talking about. You know it has nothing to do with you and it occurs to you that you don't know what he's been through. There's still so much of his life that you don't know about and you don't know who's hurt him or in what way.

You look at him and say, "Tony, I don't know what exactly you're referring to, but I need you to know that I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here because I enjoy being with you, and I don't see that changing. The connection you felt? That's real and I know because I feel it too. I've never felt more comfortable with anyone so quickly. I mean, I've never, ever gone to bed with someone so quickly. My point is, I really like you and genuinely care about you, and like you said, I want it all. The good, the bad, the running through rainstorms and nights spent in bed. I'm here for it, for all of it."

He just stares at you for a moment smiling before responding, "Wow. I wasn't expecting you to say that but it's nice to hear. Thank you."

"You're welcome, and I meant it; every word."

He smiles at you for a second and then leans down to kiss you, very softly and romantically.

"Should we go now," he asks.

"Yes, lets go have some fun."

Tony stands up and reaches his hand out to help you up and leads you out the door.