by Sienna Parks
We spend the next day in bed, recovering from our night of passion. The only time I leave the bed is to be sick - in secret. I managed to convince Carter to go and get us some food while I ‘freshen up,’ but by the time he returns half an hour later, I’m wiped out, asleep on the bed. I think he assumed it was exhaustion from our sexathon, but the truth is, my body is changing, my energy being redirected to nurture the baby that grows inside me, and the constant lying to him has me completely and utterly emotionally drained.
As the week progresses, we work our way down the countryside, seeing so many quaint, authentic Italian towns that most tourists will never know even exist. We visit olive groves, churches, museums, beaches – I want to experience anything and everything with Carter. The water here is so clear and blue as far as the eye can see, the beaches white as snow. It’s not the season to be out sunbathing, but it doesn’t detract in any way from my appreciation of such wonderful surroundings.
Today we’re driving to Florence. Not only is it an amazing city, full of culture, art and some of the best shops a girl could ask for, it is also where Carter’s family are originally from. He still has family living on the outskirts of the city and he wants to take me to meet them. I’m apprehensive at first, it’s a big deal to meet so many members of his family at once. I don’t speak the language, and when we get back to New York… the spell will be broken, and I will become a distant memory to him in the months and years ahead. I make the decision to learn everything I can about Carter, his heritage, and his family here in Italy. This will be part of our child’s identity, and I want to be able to teach him or her everything I can about where they come from, and the amazing man that fathered them. By the time we reach a little town called Campi, twenty minutes outside of Florence, I am almost excited at the prospect of meeting everyone.
Carter’s aunt Theresa keeps trying to offer me drinks. “No wine for me, thank you.” I think this is the fourth time I’ve refused her in the three hours since we arrived.
She turns to Carter. “Why she no drink? Bambino? Carter!”
His face tightens as he admonishes her. “No, Zia. Cazzo fai madonna. Non spaventarla.” [No, aunt. What the fuck? Don’t frighten her.]
I don’t need to speak Italian to know that he’s not happy with her assumption. My heart sinks a little further into my ever-present despair. When he finishes cussing her out in Italian he moves over to sit next to me. “Are you ok, Addi? Now that I think about it, you haven’t really had much to drink since we touched down in Italy.”
I manage to force a smile. “Trust me. If you had the same travel sickness that I had on the way here, you wouldn’t be drinking much either. The thought of most things, including alcohol, still make me feel a little queasy.” He accepts my answer and goes back to catching up with his family.
There must be about twenty cousins here and five or six sets of aunts and uncles – I have trouble keeping track of everyone. It’s nice to watch Carter in his element, the whole family crowding around, loving him, full of affection. He speaks so fluently and with such ease, it’s a joy to witness, even when I have no idea what he’s saying. He tries to translate as much as he can, but I don’t want him to miss out on enjoying time with his family because of me. The evening passes quickly with lots of laughs and twice as many stories of Carter as a young boy, getting up to mischief with his cousins here in Italy during the long summers. I ask so many questions, gathering information to salt away and remember for our baby in the future. Carter watches me, with a massive, panty-dropping smile as I interact with his family. My face must mirror his as I observe him play with his cousins’ children. They range from eighteen months to nine years old, and they all love him. He’s adorable with them, and I can’t reconcile the man that doesn’t want a family of his own, with the man in front of me, surrounded by family and loving every minute of it. I guess having that level of extended family is more than enough for some people.
We stay in a gorgeous hotel in the center of Florence for a few days, with a view of the Duomo. We spend a lot of time with his family, but he carves out time for the two of us to explore the city together. He takes me around all the famous museums. I stand in awe of The Birth of Venus in the Uffizi, and am completely dumbstruck in front of The David in the Galleria. Having said that, The David is nothing compared to the sculpted perfection holding my hand as I walk the streets of Florence. We leisurely stroll up and down the Ponte Vecchio, Carter making me wait outside while he ducks into one of the jewelers. I take the opportunity to savor the sights and sounds of this magical place; watching as couples from all over the world enjoy the romance that this historic city inspires. He comes back out twenty minutes later, empty handed, telling me they didn’t have what he was looking for.
I’m a little sad when we leave Florence and his amazing family behind, but I’m happy that it’ll just be us for the remainder of our trip. With the top down, a breeze in my hair, and Michael Jackson’s Love Never Felt So Good blasting on the radio, we’re headed for Rome, and for a brief moment in time, I feel perfectly carefree. Just a woman, completely in love with the man of her dreams, an endless future of possibilities sprawled out before us like the vast expanse of road ahead. If only it could stay this way.
CARTER
I wish we could stay here forever. Italy feels like home to me, and having Addi here, and all to myself without the hassles and pressures of work has been amazing. Every day I spend with her, every hour that passes, I fall even more in love with her – if that’s even possible. If there was any doubt in my mind that she’s ‘The One,’ it’s been completely eradicated by our time here.
I’ve brought her to Rome for the final four days of our vacation. It won’t be enough time to show her all the beautiful treasures this city has to offer, but it will give her a taste, and we’ll be back in the future. There’s a myth that if you stand in front of the Fontana di Trevi, with your back to it, and throw a coin over your shoulder, if it lands in the water you’ll return to see it again. I do it every time I visit, and plan to take Addi to see it while we’re here.
The view of Rome from our suite is phenomenal - a panoramic vista of the ancient city, but the view behind me is even more breathtaking. Addi is asleep on the bed, rosy cheeked and rumpled from our afternoon of love making. She’s radiant. The sheets have pooled at her waist, her gorgeous breasts, plump and begging for my touch.
As the sun spills through the windows, kissing her skin, I can’t help but do the same. I crawl onto the bed, lowering my lips to capture her sweet budded nipples into my mouth, applying as little pressure as possible, suckling her, flicking my tongue over the hardened tip. My hand runs from her waist up and over her other breast. She stirs beneath me, her voice sleepy and so damn sexy.
“Mmmmm. I could get used to this as a wake-up call.” Her hands fist in my hair, holding me against her luscious breasts.
“Baby, the Italian diet agrees with you. I swear your tits look even better than usual. So fucking firm and plump. Ripe for me to taste.”
She flinches ever so slightly beneath me. “I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat.” She tries to push me away.
“What’s wrong? A minute ago you wanted me as your human alarm-clock and now you’re shoving me away.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just want to get out of here for a while and grab a snack.” She gives me a saccharin sweet, if not somewhat forced smile, and I know better than to push her when she doesn’t want to talk.
We enjoy a delicious meal in one of the many piazzas that Rome has to offer and Addi seems to have gotten over her funk from earlier. After dinner, we take a leisurely stroll around the city, seeing the sights by moonlight. It feels different at night, but equally as amazing as it is during the day. The atmosphere is filled with romance; couples enjoying their surroundings, and each other. I throw my arm around Addi’s shoulder and hold her close, leading her down a non-descript cobbled alley, but the astounding landmark at the end of this dark little stree
t is why I brought her here. I watch closely, my eyes fixed on her as I pull her out into Piazza di Trevi. Her eyes are aglow, wide as saucers, and glassy with unshed tears. I would give up everything I have to see the smile splitting her face right now - every day, for the rest of my life. She’s so fucking beautiful.
I pull her tight to my chest, whispering in her ear. “Do you like la Fontana di Trevi? La fontana è solo la metà bello come te, il mio tesoro.” [The fountain is only half as beautiful as you, my treasure.]
I revel in the shiver that courses through her body as my words caress her senses.
“It’s so beautiful, Carter. I’ve never seen anything so remarkable in my life. I could stare at it forever and never get tired of how magnificent it is.”
“I know how you feel, baby. I feel the same way… about you.” She turns in my arms, her eyes diverted from the masterpiece in front of her, and locked on mine.
“I love you more than I can ever tell you.”
Her declaration renders me speechless. And that doesn’t happen very often. “Addi…”
Her fingers dance across my lips. “Don’t say anything. Just kiss me. I want to remember this moment when I’m old and gray.”
“I’ll remind you, cara mia.”
I move my hands up into her silky black hair, gripping it, holding her in place as my lips descend on hers. I want to give her everything her heart desires, and if she wants to remember this kiss, then I will pour every ounce of love, passion, and desire I feel for her into it. I nibble on her, relishing her taste and how her breath hitches as my lips brush against soft skin. I lick the seam of her lips, a plea for her to give me what I want; one touch of her sweet little tongue and a familiar spark ignites inside me, spurring me on to deepen our kiss, to claim her as mine. Desire takes over and I find myself devouring her, ravishing her mouth with my tongue. Within seconds I am rock-hard, my cock straining against my pants, desperate to feel her warmth surrounding it. I finally pull back, aware of the fact that I don’t want to have a piazza full of strangers watch me lose control and fuck her until she screams, right here, right now. I swear, sometimes I think that I might not be able to curb that deep, dark desire I feel for her. It’s like a freight train when it hits, an unstoppable force between us, connecting us in a way that I have never felt with anyone else.
“Will you remember this, Tesoro? This kiss, this moment, this immeasurable love between us?”
“Every delicious, earth-shattering detail. Always.”
Our time here in Italy is coming to an end. Tomorrow we have to get on a plane and fly back to our real lives in New York. This has been the best two weeks of my life. Xander’s wedding seems like a lifetime ago; so much has happened, and my time with Addi has been phenomenal. I’ve wanted to ask her to move in with me so many times while we’ve been here, and there have been perfect moments, romantic moments, but every time I’ve wussed out. I’ve played every scenario out in my head. Will she freak the fuck out like she did in the Hamptons? Or will she freak out in a good way? Will she think it’s too soon? Will she think it’s an amazing idea? If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t be so fucking scared to. I’ve decided to wait until we’re back in New York; I don’t want her to think it’s a knee jerk reaction to us spending all our time together over the past few weeks. It’s easy to be with someone 24/7 when you’re on vacation, and I need her to know that I want day to day real life with her. The crabby days when she’s a hormonal bitch, the tired ones when she’s wiped out from work and just wants to crash on the couch, the lazy ones when all we want to do is hang out together at the apartment, and even the angry days when we piss each other off. But most of all I want every single day with her. To love, protect, and just… be, with her.
For our last night in Rome I have a little something special planned for Addi. She once accused me of being a ‘swanktard,’ and even I would say the surprise I’ve organized tonight warrants that title! But here’s the thing… I don’t give a fuck! I know she doesn’t need anything flashy or extravagant, and that’s why I wanted to do something special. It’s been a long road for us to get to this point, and it deserves some sort of fucking celebration!
I wanted to keep it a secret, so I told Addi I had some errands to run and left her with strict instructions to be ready in an hour. I’ve just been to make sure that everything is set up the way I want it, and it looks fucking perfect. All I need now is to go get my girl.
When I open the door to our suite I’m astonished by the angel before me. Addi is a vision in flowing white silk, a roman goddess in the flesh. Her skin is flawless, her hair cascading down her back with effortless elegance, and she flashes me the sexiest grin.
“Like what you see… sailor?” I must have such a goofy look on my face.
“It’s been a while since you’ve called me sailor. That takes me back… to when you wanted to bust my balls all the fucking time.” I laugh, remembering how different things were between us eight months ago.
“I’m sorry, baby. You just annoyed me with all your holy hotness back then!”
“What changed?”
“Your cock is just SO BIG, I decided to put up with you.” Addi’s out to play tonight.
“Wow. If you didn’t look so fucking angelic right now I would torture you for that comment. I’ll give you a pass this once, but only because my dick really IS THAT BIG!”
She slaps my arm playfully before pulling me towards the door. “Come on, before your MASSIVE… ego… stops us from getting out of the room.” I fucking love her.
As we make our way through the streets of Rome I take off my jacket and hand it to Addi shivering beside me. “Why didn’t you bring a coat?”
“It would’ve ruined my outfit.”
I will never understand women. “But my oversized suit jacket sets it off perfectly? You crack me up.”
“Why thank you – Player.”
“Oh come on, baby. Surely I’m past getting that label now? I’m reformed. A new man. I met a ridiculously gorgeous girl and she saved me from turning into the next Heffner.”
“She must be quite a catch. I’d love to meet her sometime.”
“Sorry, baby, I can’t let you. It would go to her head if she knew how awesome she is. I can’t risk it. Her MASSIVE… EGO… might make her forget that she loves me.”
Her face becomes solemn, our funny banter forgotten as she caresses my cheek with her delicate fingers, tracing my jaw, along the scruff that’s grown since this morning. “She would never forget how much she loves you.” There’s something in her eyes, something that gives me pause, a deeper meaning behind her softly spoken words. I try to shake it off, this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, continuing our signature witty banter as we make our way to our destination for the evening.
When we arrive at the Colosseum, Addi is giddy with excitement. “It’s stunning, isn’t it? I wish we had managed to go on the tour while we were here. All the sex distracted me from the once in a lifetime opportunity to see one of the most amazing, iconic, historical wonders the world has ever known. You and your mad skills have a lot to answer for, mister.”
“I’m flattered that you chose my particular… ‘skills’ over some ancient ruins.” She’s about to give me no end of shit for calling something so magnificent ‘ruins,’ but I stop her with a chaste kiss. “BUT… you don’t have to choose between us. I want to give you everything that is within my power to give.” I turn her in my arms, her back to my chest as I direct her gaze to the entrance, which is brightly lit, with an attendant standing outside. “Your evening awaits, il mio bel Tesoro – my beautiful girl.”
She is speechless – I can’t believe I’ve rendered the mighty Addi speechless. “Come on, baby. Let me show you history, the way it’s meant to be seen.”
As we approach the main entrance the attendant greets us, ushering us up into the main walkway around the amphitheater. It is exactly how I pictured it. There are candles everywhere, delineating all that is left of the gladiato
rial holding cells. The walls are steeped in so much history it’s a physical presence, coming to life to tell its stories. Addi remains silent beside me, clutching my hand so hard I’m starting to lose circulation.
“Are you okay? Is this okay?”
She bursts into tears. “Oh my God, Carter. Of course it’s okay. It’s better than okay. I can’t believe you did all of this… for me. No one has ever… I mean… I haven’t ever… not for me… not all this just for me.” Fuck, I don’t know what’s happening right now, but I think they’re happy tears and happy ramblings.
“Addison. Listen to me. This is a drop in the ocean of what you deserve. You are the strongest, most amazing, funny, intelligent woman I have ever met. You need to know that you deserve every good thing that happens to you. Don’t you know how much you’re loved? Your parents worship the ground you walk on, Lily would die for you, and I would do fucking anything for you Addi… ANYTHING. Tell me you understand.” She nods, her shallow sobs tugging at my heart. “This is not the reaction I was expecting.”
That gets a smile. “I’m so sorry, Carter. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My period must be due or something. Freaking emotional much?”
I pull her close, eager to lighten the mood. “You mean God’s high five to men the world over every month? You girls think we get upset that you’re crabby and teary for a few days, when it’s actually the opposite. We’re just so fucking relieved that we haven’t gotten you pregnant, that we’ll put up with any level of crazy!”
She stiffens in my arms, and again, I’m perplexed, but I’m on a mission to make her laugh, and I won’t stop until I hear that beautiful sound.
“Does that put my big dick in jeopardy of not being ridden like a stallion later?” My girl is back – with an all-out belly laugh, and it’s music to my ears. “Seriously! I give you the Colosseum for a night, I have an amazing dinner planned, and I’ve got another trick up my sleeve. I really need to know that I didn’t do it all for a night of spooning.” I can’t even get the last words out without laughing.
