Venetian Valentine

by Kristian Parker

  I looked around to see if he’d drawn undue attention. My paranoia levels were going through the roof.

  “We just missed our direct train.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “We can either change in Roma or we wait an hour.”

  “Change at Rome. I just want to get out of here.”

  He nodded.

  The ticket person asked him another question.

  He turned to me with a smile. “Club Executive?”

  Dead tired and starving, I nodded. I would welcome any little comfort on this godforsaken trip. I slumped back against the wall. I could not wait to sit on a comfortable seat and maybe even try to get some sleep. We hadn’t had a great deal of rest the night before, which had been no bad thing, but it had started to catch up with me.

  My fatigue left me around the time I noticed a man dressed all in black. He held one of those awful masks and was looking up and down the concourse. How on earth were they here?

  I turned my back to him and nudged Sergio ever so slightly.

  “They’re here.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  Sergio pulled himself together with his superhuman strength, which I couldn’t help but admire. Taking the tickets, we started to walk slowly towards the platform.

  “How long until the train?” I muttered.

  “Twenty minutes.”

  “We can’t just stand here waiting for him to recognise us.”

  Sergio nodded, lost in thought. He took an about-turn and led us to the doors. “Outside quickly. I have an idea.”

  We went back out onto the busy concourse filled with people. The sun sat high in the sky and with it being the Saturday of the carnival, we had better cover here than being out in the open on some platform.

  I dared to look behind me and couldn’t see the man anywhere. Maybe we were finally getting a bit of luck.

  “He’s not there,” I said with relief.

  Sergio was scanning around.

  “How on earth did he know we’re here?” I asked.

  Sergio shook his head. “He won’t know for sure. If this is as big as it could be, one of his friends will be at the airport and another at the other station. I dread to think about what is on that phone. They are throwing everything at it.”

  For the hundredth time, I checked my pocket. It still had the phone in it. I hadn’t trusted it in the rucksack. I shuddered to think so many people were out to get us. “I can’t wait until we put some miles between us and this place.”

  “Look, they might suspect we know about Valeri, especially if that poor lady has connections with him. They will have a good idea of where we are headed. We cannot let our guard down for a second.”

  The realisation that even miles were not going to get the heat off us hit hard. I didn’t like being a fugitive one bit. I wished time would move forward and it would all be over. “We have to get to the train first.”

  Sergio smiled and winked. “Never fear, Sergio is here.”

  He went down to some street sellers who were peddling their wares to the masses of people coming in and out of the station. They had the usual rubbish, and I had no idea what Sergio had in mind. Before long, he returned with two carnival masks and a very proud smile. I had to smile too at his stroke of genius.

  “You wanted to be anonymous? I give you mystery.”

  He handed me one with a harlequin design and put a star-covered one firmly on his face. Trust him to get the most flamboyant ones at the stall. I supposed hiding in plain sight could be our best option and quickly strapped mine on. We were like Clark Kent with his magic glasses on, when no one knew he was Superman.

  We made our way back into the station, where we had less than ten minutes to catch our train. I started to hurry, but Sergio pulled me back, holding my hand to keep me in pace with him.

  “We will make it. Don’t be scared. We are on, no?”

  I struggled to stroll through the place as though we didn’t have a care in the world. I imagined eyes staring at me with every step I took. We passed perilously close to the man in black who stood by the turnstiles, scanning everyone coming into the station.

  He looked as hard as nails and I wouldn’t have had any chance in a straight-up fight with him. He had an earpiece and every now and then would mutter something. The bored arrogance that never left his face meant he hadn’t seen us. His boredom had worked to our advantage.

  As soon as we were swallowed up by the crowd on the other side of the turnstiles, Sergio gave a tug on my arm and we dashed to our platform. We were escorted to the front of the train where the Club Executive carriage awaited.

  It had been the best idea so far. The carriage wasn’t the Orient Express, but the comfy brown leather seats were tempting me. The shaded windows meant we could cocoon in here for a few hours, at least.

  I sank onto one of the chairs and closed my eyes. I had no idea how this would end but to be finally making some miles had to be a step in the direction. At least we were doing something to find a resolution to all this.

  Executive class was obviously more for business travellers in the week. With it being a Saturday, we had the whole carriage to ourselves. What a treat to have some peace at last. I silently prayed no one would join us.

  The train manager appeared, smiling. The smile faltered ever so slightly when he saw the state of our clothes and the smell of diesel filling his immaculate Club Executive carriage.

  He had probably been happy to have this carriage for himself until about ten minutes ago.

  “Good morning,” he said in the sing-song way Italians do.

  I smiled. Did I look so very English?

  “You are our only passengers today in Club Executive. Everyone is travelling the other way for the carnival.”

  I smiled at the relief on Sergio’s face.

  “We will get on our way and I will bring you some drinks. There is a menu on the side if you wish to order some food.”

  Sergio took him aside and had a conversation with him in Italian. He handed him a note and the train manager nodded and left us to it. With a jolt, the train pulled out of the station and soon started to pick up speed. I had never been on a high-speed train before and under normal circumstances, this would have been exciting, but I just wanted to get to Sorrento and find Antonio Valeri. I had started to build him up in my mind as some sort of saviour and I hoped this would be the case and not just wishful thinking.

  Sergio sat opposite me on the seats and smiled. “We should get changed. We stink. That poor man must think we were dredged up from the lagoon.”

  I laughed. “We may as well make use of the fact that we’re the only ones on here.”

  I stood and stripped down to my underwear. Sergio did the same. I couldn’t not stare at his lithe body. He crouched down in his black boxers and rifled through the clothes Gianni and Isabella had given us, looking as if he were going through a trash bag.

  “Let’s see what hideous clothes my brother packs for a weekend away.”

  He handed me a pair of black jeans, a black T-shirt and a striped shirt.

  “Not as bad as it could have been.”

  He winked at me.

  I shook out the clothes, ready to put them on.

  “Not so fast.”

  He pushed me down onto the seat and ran his hands up my legs, stopping on my thighs.

  “What are you doing?”

  He pulled my legs apart and, on his knees, moved closer.

  “Sergio, we can’t.”

  “Of course we can. He will not be back for half an hour. Sergio made sure of that.”

  I couldn’t believe he could think about sex at a time like this. I also couldn’t believe that my cock started to fire into action. My gondolier had a potent effect on me.

  Sergio noticed this and reached forward to squeeze my balls through my boxers, basically flicking the On switch for my cock to strain to get out of the confines of my underwear. It had a willing accomplice in
Sergio.

  He freed it and leaned forward. His breath on the head sent shivers up my spine and I gave myself up to the moment. Perhaps I did need this more than coffee and croissants. He massaged slowly, moving my foreskin back and forth, kissing around the base and my inner thighs.

  I closed my eyes and leaned toward him, stroking his hair and letting my body go limp. He could do what he liked and get no argument from me. He needed no further hint and took me in his mouth, making me moan as he held himself there for a minute before sliding up and down my shaft, taking me in, at first slowly, but soon picking up speed while cradling and kneading my balls.

  This mental detachment from our woes couldn’t have been sweeter. The familiar rush built, and I pushed my hips up to meet it, letting out another groan as Sergio expertly brought me to a shuddering climax that seemed to last forever.

  He licked my cock clean then put it back in my pants. “Now you can get dressed.”

  “Come here.”

  He slid next to me and I put my arms around him. Our skin touching grounded me. “You are an amazing person, you know that?”

  “I am not, really. I am just Sergio.”

  “Well, I like Sergio. I like him very much.”

  He kissed me, long and hard. I could taste my cum in his mouth and it turned me on. I reached inside his boxer shorts to find his hard, thick cock and he straddled me, never breaking the kiss.

  I pulled at his cock, dragging his waistband down with my other hand and now he broke the kiss and leaned back. I picked up the pace, holding his arse cheek and kissing his nipple, his strong gondolier legs gripping my hips. Sergio groaned and ran his hands through my hair, down my face and around my neck, getting louder and louder until hot spurts of his cum erupted onto my chest. His body twitched as the last drops squeezed out and he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.

  “Now you can get dressed too,” I whispered.

  We were fully dressed and sitting by the window, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in our mouths, when the train inspector came and asked if we wanted refreshments. I could have cried for a coffee and I think he sensed my urgency as he dashed off.

  Poor Sergio had to wear tracksuit bottoms and a sweatshirt. His face held a sullen resentment, but I did think it chivalrous that he had taken them for himself.

  “Never in my life have I looked so scruffy. Fucking Gianni. When this is all over, I am taking him shopping. You see if I don’t.”

  I couldn’t help laughing, which didn’t make it better. He stuck his tongue out at me and muttered to himself.

  The Italian countryside sped past. I knew I should be looking out of the window and taking it all in, but I couldn’t take my eyes off my ridiculously handsome gondolier…even though he was currently experiencing a sartorial breakdown.

  Thankfully the train manager came back exceptionally quickly with coffee and a selection of antipasti, pieces of bread, crackers and cheeses. We hadn’t eaten since the amazing meal the night before at the tavern, and we’d done a fair amount of exercise since then, one way or another.

  We set up a little picnic on the table and demolished it. I had tasted better but made the best of it. Sergio’s face screwed up like an accordion.

  “This is supposed to be executive?”

  “I’m so hungry I could eat anything.”

  “That is just as well,” he said, scowling at some plastic-wrapped bread but ripping it open and eating it anyway.

  The coffee, however, tasted like nectar. “This more to your liking?”

  He took a sip and leaned back in ecstasy. “Now that is what I needed. I can’t start a normal day without this stuff, let alone running on roofs or hiding in boats.”

  If I tried hard, I could almost imagine that my Italian husband and I were on a day out instead of travelling from one end of the country to the other to try to avoid spending the rest of our lives in some Italian prison. If only my fantasy were reality.

  Sergio smiled at me and ran his foot up my leg, leaving it by my groin. I reached down and massaged it.

  “What did Isabella mean?”

  This had been preying on my mind ever since we had left Burano. It would be prudent to know sooner rather than later if Sergio had a history of violent crime.

  He looked irritated and more than a little cagey. “She had anger speaking. Don’t pay any attention.”

  “She said that you had brought trouble to her door before. That wasn’t just in anger.”

  Sergio sighed and stared out of the window. “In Rome, I got into a little trouble.”

  “Go on.”

  He shifted uncomfortably but I needed to know. I had placed a huge amount of trust in him in the last few hours.

  “I don’t want you to think bad of me, but I will tell you. I worked in a bar. I met a guy. A very handsome German guy who had come to live in Rome for work. He told me he worked in banking. I believed him. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “When?”

  “About eighteen months ago. We lived the best life. He had a beautiful apartment near the Trevi Fountain. A big difference from my poky little flat about three train rides out of the city, I can tell you. We went to restaurants, the theatre, everything. I didn’t think anything about men treating me then. It’s hard to live on a barman’s wage. Then one day the police woke me up, knocking the door in.”

  “That must have been terrifying.”

  He laughed.

  “This is only how it begins. He had been laundering money all over the place. Stupid me had got into trouble with my bank and they had taken my card off me. It is hard keeping up with a rich boyfriend on bar wages. He said he would give me cash if I transferred money to him. I believed him when he said he would do me a favour. Turns out he had hundreds of little scams like that, and it all turned into a huge big thing. Scumbag had got all his friends, colleagues and even his own mother caught up in it.”

  “Sergio, that’s terrible.”

  And I think I have bad taste in men. Matt might have turned me into a shadow of my former self but at least I hadn’t come foul of the law. Well until today.

  “They arrested me and put me in prison. They didn’t trust me not to run. Klaus had already done a runner. They still haven’t found him. It took me all that time to prove my innocence. Gianni threw everything at it. Isabella still hasn’t really forgiven me. Poor girl being pregnant through most of it didn’t help.”

  I reached across the table and took his hand. “But you were released in the end.”

  “Of course. They had no evidence of me being anything other than a stupid idiot. Gianni insisted I come home and take over the gondola for a while. He said he must spend time with Isabella and the baby, but I know he wanted to keep his eyes on me. Two weeks into my new life, I come knocking on the door with you. They had every right to be angry.”

  I really could understand it. Poor Isabella and Gianni must be at their wits’ end now. Sergio attracted his share of bad luck. Would I be good luck for him? “He’s a good brother.”

  Sergio’s eyes filled with tears, which he wiped away with the back of his hand.

  “He is the best. When our parents died, I was twelve and he eighteen. He raised me for the last part of my childhood. He wouldn’t hear of them taking me into state care. He worked all the time on that fucking gondola and how did I repay him? His livelihood is at the bottom of the canal and he can’t stay in his house if he wants to protect me.”

  I shifted to his side of the seats and put my arms around him. I pulled him towards me, and he rested his head on my chest. Guilt welled up inside me. If he hadn’t been taking me to that tavern, he would have gone home as usual and no one would be caught up in this awful nightmare. I might have bumped into him on my planned trip to Burano and we could have still had dinner. Why did this damned situation have to get in our way?

  “We will get this sorted and you can pay him back tenfold,” I said, kissing his head.

  “You are very kind, but even if we get this fixed, your h
oliday will be over. You will go back to England and I will be left paying him back for the rest of my life.”

  I hadn’t thought about the future that far. I couldn’t see past making it to Sorrento and getting the heat off us. As I let the thought of what lay after that trickle in, I realised I had met someone who gave me feelings I hadn’t had in a long time. I couldn’t dismiss this as a holiday romance. I also knew our emotions were skyscraper high. We were clinging to each other as the only stability each of us had at the moment.

  “You know, I came here to mend a broken heart,” I said, stroking his hair. “I thought I had done got the dream, at the age of twenty-five. I had the love of my life who I met at university. We were saving for our first house and everyone thought we’d get married.”

  “This man is a fool,” spat Sergio venomously.

  “Not just a fool, a cruel one at that. He used to keep me down so that he could control me. Thing is, I didn’t even realise. It’s only now that I’m beginning to see things clearly.”

  “How did he keep you down?”

  “Oh, the usual stuff. He called me ugly or fat or useless. He once told me I couldn’t meet his family unless I lost weight.”

  “You are none of those things, and I’ve only known you since last night.”

  He’d made me feel more alive in the last few hours than Matt had in the five years we’d been together. No matter what happened, I didn’t regret making this trip. If nothing else, it had shown me that life had more to offer than staying in a flat with a mean, drunken fool who spent the day taunting me and putting me down.

  “He made my friends strangers to me. He’d behave like a pig if we were out with them to the point where they said they’d see me but not him. Of course, he made me feel so guilty and he’d act up if I did dare see them without him. In the end, I just didn’t go.”

  Sergio gripped my hand and kissed it. “This man didn’t see the wonder in you. Why would someone want to control you? I would let you be as free as you like, then when you come back to me, you’re coming through choice. Then I would be the richest man in the world.”

  “Thank you, my gondolier.”

  With my arms wrapped around him, we fell fast asleep.