“What do you mean you’ll get something for me?”
“What size are you? I get it ordered now.” He picked up the phone and dialled a number.
“You can’t order me clothes.”
“I can. Tell me, quick.”
I gave him my sizes and he spoke to someone in Italian. He hung up the phone with a smile.
“Where are we going to eat?”
“The restaurant by the fountain. It’s good there.”
“I can’t afford to eat there.” I balked at him.
“I can. It will be good. We have a table by the window, we can see the fountains in a way most people can’t. Now go take a shower.”
I sniffed at myself. “I don’t smell. Or did you want to join me?” I cocked my head and grinned at him.
He growled; then shook his head. “If I come in the shower with you, we won’t leave. Go, freshen up and then we can go.”
He kissed my lips in a way I hadn’t been kissed before. It wasn’t a peck on the lips to get to the sex. It wasn’t a goodbye peck after the sex. There was feeling there, but at the same time it was normal. Like it was something we had always done. My heart raced as I touched my lips, to savour the feeling he had given me. Then I ran to the bathroom to catch my breath. I danced around in the shower, enough to wake me up and get ready for our night together.
With a towel wrapped around me, I went back into the bedroom and to my overnight bag. My breath caught in my throat as Antonio stood before me dressed in his suit. He looked like a model who had stepped out of a magazine. The top buttons of the crisp white shirt were open, showing off his dark chest hair, and the jacket showed off the muscular frame of his body.
“You didn’t shower?” was the only stupid thing I could say.
“No, I like the way you smell on me.”
My cock thickened. It hurt a little, a reminder of how much fun we had had over the past day, but it was worth it. I would do anything to get close to him again.
A knock on the door disrupted the moment. He spoke Italian to whoever was on the other side of the door before closing it.
“Max, a little help, please.”
I dashed to the door and relieved him of the suit bag he was trying to hold onto while he put the shoes down on the floor. I didn’t recognise the name on the bag, but it looked expensive. Mind you, anything written in Italian looked expensive. I caught a glimpse of navy blue, which always suited me, and a white shirt which matched what Antonio was wearing.
“Wow,” I whispered into the suit.
Antonio took it out of the bag and helped me put it on. He made quick work of the buttons but left the top two open on the shirt. When he was finished he kissed me on the lips again. I’d never had someone take care of me like this before. James did, but more as a brother. This was different.
“You look good,” he said, his voice breaking.
“You too.” I took a breath and looked into his eyes. “Thank you for the suit.” My eyes fell down to take in more of his suit.
His finger lifted my chin so I could look into his eyes once more. My heart beat fast as our eyes locked; it was as though he could see who I was inside. His lips brushed at mine once more and it didn’t matter where I was, I was with him.
“Come on, the show starts soon.” He took my hand in his and led us out of the room and to the lift.
Chapter Fourteen
The aquatic-themed circus show was amazing. The stunts performed in and out of the water against the backdrop of a mystical world filled me with awe. I thanked Antonio a few times as we walked hand in hand to the restaurant. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said we had a good view of the fountain. Our table was right by the window and as we sat down we caught the end of a fountain display in time to a Celine Dion song.
When the menu was handed to me, I choked at the sight of the prices. It was way above what I would normally pay for dinner, which made it way above anything I could claim back on my daily expenses. In my head, I started to work out what was on my various credit cards and how I could afford a couple of hundred dollars without it having to be split over two cards. Because that would be embarrassing.
“Why are you biting your lip?” Antonio asked.
“Oh.” I’d been caught. “I couldn’t decide on the chicken or the steak.”
“Steak, always steak in a place like this.” He chuckled.
I put the menu down to distract myself from the numbers which screamed at me. Antonio took my hand once more.
“What are you really worried about?”
I sighed, and then slipped my hand from his so I could take charge. With a deep breath, I let go and told him. “This is all really nice, but I can’t afford much more than a soup and a side salad here. Cabin crew aren’t well paid you know. We get paid with the experience as opposed to actual money.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. I’m paying.”
“You can’t pay for everything.”
“You can get breakfast in the morning.”
I feigned a sigh. “Okay.”
“You’re having steak then?”
“How can you afford steak in a place like this?” It still didn’t sit well with me.
“Our business does well. We don’t have to worry much, and we have a good team at home.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me much about what you did, apart from pasta and sauces. This can’t all come from food.”
“True. We export other things. Things you can’t get easily. It’s a good business for people who can’t get what we have.”
A cold shiver swept through my body. The expensive hotel, the suits, the posh restaurant. He wasn’t short of cash. Even his car had to cost more than I made in a year, or three.
“You’re a drug dealer?” I kept my voice low.
Antonio laughed and shook his head.
My mind whirled even more. “Are you part of the Mafia then?”
Antonio sobered, looked around the room, and then leant over to me. “No. I’m not part of the Mafia either. Everything I do is legal.”
I sighed in relief, but he wasn’t as happy as he was before. Like always, I’d ruined a good thing before it had started.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to think. You seem to have a lot of money, and it’s not something I’m used to.” I reached out to grab his other hand and stroked my thumb across the back of it. “I want to get to know you, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. But when people hear my name they all go for the money. I didn’t want that with you.”
“What name?”
“Baldini.”
I shook my head. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I guess it’s a big thing?”
Antonio laughed. “Yeah, it’s a big thing. My family have plantations in Italy. We export some of the finest Italian foods around the world. My brother manages most of it; I oversee the marketing and some of the accounting. Stuff I don’t have to be in the country for. Right now I am working on the American side and seeing what we can do. Like this hotel – their restaurant wants some of our produce.”
“Then the hotel is a business expense?”
“Yes.”
“And this dinner as well?”
“No. This isn’t.”
“Oh.”
“We’re guests of the restaurant. They want to negotiate a deal. I said someone important was meeting me here, so they arranged dinner. I have a meeting tomorrow after check-out, but it will be quick so we won’t miss any time together.”
My heart sank. “So you didn’t come here to see me?”
His face dropped. “Of course I did. When you said you were coming here I wanted to see you. I booked the hotel, then the restaurant called me, they’d heard I was staying here. They have tried to get me here for some time. I never had a reason to come, but for you.
“Oh.”
“Please, don’t think I am seeing you by chance. I’m here for you. I wanted to see
you.”
“But why? You’re gorgeous, you could have anyone. Why fly to Vegas to see me?”
The waiter chose that moment to turn up and ask us what we wanted to drink. Antonio ordered wine for dinner, and I settled on water for now. We ordered food, and I followed Antonio’s recommendation on the steak.
The silence between us was thick. When the waiter left I wondered what else I would learn about Antonio. As soon as I had the chance I would google the company and find out what I could, but then again would I be more interested in the money than the person? His hand reached out for mine and I savoured the touch of his skin. It was the person, him I was interested in.
“You were the most beautiful man in the bar that night.”
I scanned his face to see if he was telling the truth. I couldn’t read him, not yet, but his words, his touch, told me all I needed to know.
“You’re good with your words,” I replied.
“It’s true. I lost my breath when I saw you. When you went backstage I wondered if you were a performer. If my friend hadn’t been so drunk I would have chatted to you, but instead I had to get him home.”
“Then you came back and saw the real me.”
“It wasn’t the real you though, was it.”
“Are you asking or telling me?”
“Telling you.”
“You don’t know me.”
“But I want to. If you let me.” He then spoke soft words in Italian to me, kissed my hands and then looked into my eyes. “Okay?”
A chuckle escaped me. “I have no idea what you said.”
“But you felt it, right?”
I took my time before I answered. It was too perfect to be real, but I couldn’t see any hidden cameras around, but then I guessed that was the point of them.
Antonio squeezed my hand, bringing me back from my thoughts of being set up. If he was, he was doing a good job because I was falling for him. I nodded my reply, not trusting my voice to stay calm as my body had already warmed to the notion of being with him.
Our steaks arrived, and I used the time to find out more about his company and what he was doing. When I asked about his parents, he tensed.
“Do they know you’re gay?”
Antonio took his time before he nodded and then asked me about my family. I gave him the good version; the happy scenario where I’d lived with Gran and then James brought his flat and I moved in with him.
“What about your mother, father?” he asked.
My body went numb. I knocked back the small amount of wine left in my glass and then answered his question. “I don’t see her anymore.”
Antonio shrugged. “Okay. I don’t see my father anymore. It’s okay.”
Then he winked at me and broke the tension we had created. A smile spread across his face, and within that moment, the saddest aspect of my life was pushed to one side by a man I was falling for. There would be more questions later, but no more were needed for tonight.
The waiter took our plates away and asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu. Antonio declined on our behalf.
“We’re going to have our desserts upstairs.”
The waiter mumbled something, and then ran away with our plates.
“Antonio,” I cried out, but then laughed.
“Come on, you’ve been dressed too long, I want you naked.”
Antonio signed the bill and like two school kids we sniggered as we left. I noticed Antonio drop some notes on the table as we left.
“Let’s walk around the fountain. I want to catch at least one of the songs in the open air,” I said.
“Really? It’s all the same.”
“I know, but…” I bit at my bottom lip.
“What are you worried about?”
I shook my head. “Not worried, it’s that I’ve always seen these alone. I want to watch one with someone.”
“You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?”
I reached for his hand and dragged him in the direction of the exit and outdoors.
Crowds were gathering by the small manmade lake outside the Bellagio hotel, awaiting the music and the dance of the water fountains.
The air outside still held the heat, which didn’t mix well with the glass and a half of wine I’d had at dinner. It made me a bit tipsy. I wasn’t drunk though, it was a good sensation which ran through my body.
I squeezed Antonio’s hand, and even braved a kiss to his cheek in public. Except I missed my foot, tripped, and knocked into someone. Antonio righted me, but the damage had been done. I’d knocked a drink down the guy.
“I’m sorry, please let me give you something for your lost drink,” I said.
“Max?” The shrill voice sent shivers to my bones. “Drunk again, I suppose. This won’t do.”
“Graham, I’m sorry, I missed my foot as I—”
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard it all before. Now you’ve ruined my night as well as your career.”
I gasped. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t think you’ll be flight ready tomorrow. Not in the state you’re in. You won’t be able to perform your duties.”
“I’ve had one glass of wine,” I cried out.
“And the rest.” He pushed past me and stormed off in the direction of Treasure Island.
My body went numb at his words. What could he possibly do to me?
“Max,” Antonio said. He said my name a couple more times before he yanked my hand for me to face him.
When I looked in his eyes, I knew I was going to fuck this up too. It was a matter of time. He was too good a man to deserve the shit I would put him through.
“I’m going to go,” I said and shook my hand free.
“What? No. Where?”
“Back to my hotel. I’m a fuck up, Antonio,” I said as I bit back the tears. “You’re best off without me. Thank you for dinner.” I turned around and jogged towards my hotel.
“Max, what the fuck?” his voice boomed behind me.
I didn’t turn around. Hopeful I would catch up with Graham, I kept going. I would apologise, beg, and do anything to make sure he didn’t take this further. To prove I wasn’t drunk.
Despite my efforts, I didn’t catch up with him at the hotel. I went to reception and asked them to call Graham’s room for me, but he either wasn’t there or didn’t answer. I got them to try a couple of times, but they declined a third request and suggested I try later.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but as I went to answer it, it died. I never did keep it charged enough. Back in my room, I asked the operator to call Graham’s room for me, but again there was no reply. My nerves were shot. Where could he have gone, and what could I do? The hotel refused to give me his room number, but even with that information I didn’t know what I would do.
Fucked. I was fucked, and there was no other way around it. In times like this, it was always better to numb the pain than it was to fight it. I opened the minibar and took a couple of bottles of whisky out. Before I could open them, there was a knock at the door.
James stood on the other side of the door, hand poised to knock again.
“You need your ears cleaning out,” he said.
“What do you mean? I can hear fine.”
“Really? I was shouting your name in the casino. Everyone else could hear me but you.”
“Got a lot on my mind.” I turned around and walked back into the room. “Want a drink?”
“Max, what are you doing? What’s going on, and why are you in such an expensive suit?”
I threw my head back and let out another “Fuck.” I reached for the whisky miniatures, but James grabbed them out of my hand.
“You don’t need these, for fuck’s sake.” He put them back in the fridge.
“They’re going to charge me anyway, it’s all computerised now.” I scowled at him.
“Serves you right, now tell me what’s happened.”
I huffed, except James stood there and took it all with pursed lips. He folded his arms across
his chest. His way of telling me I couldn’t get away with anything. I told him what had happened at the fountain with Graham, how Graham had accused me of being drunk and had said my career was over.
James raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re not drunk though,” he said.
“I know, that’s what I was trying to tell him, but he didn’t listen. I ran here to find him, but he’s not in his room.”
“Okay, so where’s Antonio?”
I stared at him.
“Oh, Max. Come on, he flew to Vegas to be with you. Please don’t tell me you ran out on him.”
“He deserves better, I’m a fuck up. Always have been.”
James didn’t say anything. He hugged me and with his lips by my ear, whispered to me. “You’re not a fuck up. Sure you fuck things up now and then, but you’re not a fuck up, okay?”
The tears fell out of me, and I couldn’t stop them. No matter what I did, they kept coming.
“What am I going to do, James? I don’t want to stop flying. I can’t stop flying.”
“First things first, call Antonio.”
“My phone died.”
“Charge it then, you idiot.”
I snapped into action, grabbed a charger out of my suitcase and plugged my phone in. It took ages to start up again.
“Once it’s charged a bit, you’re going to call him. Then you’re fixing yourself up and coming downstairs so you can meet the rest of the crew.”
“I don’t want to see them, not like this.”
“You do, and we’re going to take photos. We want witnesses to confirm that you’re not drunk.”
“Oh.”
“Yes. Now get on the phone to Antonio and then we can get going. I need a piss anyway.”
My phone flared to life, and there were missed call notifications and messages from Antonio. They started with “come back” to “what’s happening” to “answer the phone.” There was a message in Italian as well, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what it said. I called him, but there was no answer. I tried a couple more times, but gave up on the fourth attempt, knowing I’d fucked it up.
James didn’t ask me how it had gone but ushered me out of the room and down into the casino. The crew were there, and they were all in a much worse state than me. It would be easy to show how drunk they were and how sober I was.
Up in the Air 2: West Coast Page 10
