Chapter 18

Gina stood nervously in front of her mirror, scrutinizing every aspect of her appearance. Did her shirt look alright with the capris she was wearing? Did her capris make her look too fat? If she kept that shirt on, should her hair go up or down? And makeup- what color eye shadow and lipstick? Her mind was constantly swirling around all the possible decisions she had to make.

Nervousness clouded her head and her decisions, even though logic told her that if Luke had liked her the night before, he’d like her again the next night. She just hoped that she would be able to find him again. There was something about him that captured her.

If only things hadn’t happened so fast the night before, she would have been able to get his number. If nothing else, it would have been nice to make a new friend in a strange, new place.

Just when she had decided to look for a different outfit, she heard a loud pounding on her door. “Come on Gina! Let’s go already!”

Gina swung open the door to find a slightly irritated Courtney. “I was just going to change really quick, is that alright?”

“What are you talking about? You look great. Let’s go.” Courtney grabbed Gina’s hand and drug her away from the mirror and out of her room, ignoring Gina’s protests the entire way. “Besides, the cab’s out front waiting for us with the meter running.”

“Fine!” Gina huffed, grabbing her purse as Courtney dragged her past the couch. “Relax, would you? I’m coming!”

Courtney laughed. She was so much like Ashley, and the two barely knew each other.

Oooo

The club was packed and the music was blasting. Gina stood at the bar, waiting for her drink, scanning the faces of everyone in the crowd. None of them looked familiar to her, and a sinking feeling hit her stomach. She knew that she wasn’t going to find him there, something inside of her just felt it.

Trying not to let her disappointment show, Gina and Courtney danced the night away. Sure, she had fun hanging out with Courtney, but she couldn’t help but feel let down over not finding Luke.

Sensing that Gina was only putting on a brave front, Courtney asked if they could make it an early night since she was so tired from dancing so much over the past two nights. Gina gratefully agreed, and soberly, the two girls headed home.

Oooo

The following Thursday, Gina was settling into her new job. It was a lot like her position in Italy, but some of the customs were different and more laid back. She was also surprised that some of the customers had even learned her name in the few short days that she had worked there.

She stood at her podium, waiting for the next round of customers to walk through the door, while she re-organized the seating chart. She felt a rush of air be pulled from the entrance of the restaurant, and tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. Before she even looked up, she knew that something profound was about to happen.

She didn’t see him at first, the only one she could clearly see was the tall blond man in front. When he stepped aside to make room for the two men behind him, a familiar image struck her and nearly knocked the breath right out of her.

He recognized her in an instant. His momentary shock soon turned to pleasure, with the corners of his lips rising in a sweet smile. He gave her a quick wink to let her know that he recognized her too.

Just when she wanted to melt, captured in his smile and wink, she snapped back to reality and remembered that she had a job to do. The blond man gave his name, and she found his reservation, leading all three men back to their table. As she led them there, she explained what the specials of the night were.

The three men took their seats, and when Gina tried to excuse herself, Luke grabbed her arm. “I was hoping you could tell me what you recommend.” His eyes teased her.

“Really, anything on the menu is wonderful. We have something to suit every taste.” She said, shyly answering him.

“But what is your favorite dish, and please tell me something other than a salad.” Luke questioned, his eyes locked with hers.

“Oh please, I hardly look like a salad addict.” She rolled her eyes and bent over to look at the menu over his shoulder. Her finger trailed down the list of entrees with a seductive innocence, landing on her favorite pasta dish. “The vegetable cavatelli is my favorite, though if you’re on a date, it’s best to stay away from it.” She teased the three men at the table, giving them all a knowing look.

“I can promise you, sweetheart, that there aren’t any men at this table on a date right now. But we could fix that if you’d like.” The blond man suggested with a wink at her.

“Please Gina, ignore my friend. He has no manners when it comes to women.” Luke told her, obviously impressing her by remembering her name. “But speaking of dates, I know this is short notice, but are you available tomorrow night?”

Gina was too busy smiling to reply. When she saw his smile shrinking, she fumbled for an answer. “I’m sorry. I have to work, but I can try to get out early. Maybe we can meet up around 10:00, if that isn’t too late?”

“No, ten o’clock sounds great. Should I pick you up here?” He asked.

She shook her head no and went over to the bar. She whispered something to the bartender, who returned to her with a pen and napkin. She wrote something quickly and returned to the table. “Here’s my address and phone number. Would you mind picking me up there?”

“Not at all. Tomorrow night at 10 then.” He said, taking the napkin. He looked at the address. “I know just where this is too.”

“Ok, well I’ll let you guys get to your meal then. If you need anything, just let me know, but your server should be able to handle anything that comes up.” She said, slowly backing away from the table. She was in another world, and almost backed right into one of the servers. She turned and smacked her hand to her head for being so stupid.

“I know one thing that’s coming up that I’d rather have her help with than our server.” The blond man said so that only the people at his table could hear him.

“Shut it man! Don’t blow this for me!” Luke warned and glared at his friend.

“Sorry Luciano, but she is hot!” Matteo, the blond, told him.

After the waiter took their order and their food was brought to them, Luke saw Gina making her way around the room, stopping at each table to check on the patrons. She had such an innocence about her, as she smile so freely, like she didn’t have a care in the world.

A few tables away, another woman joined her, both of them checking on the enjoyment of their customers. They both slowly made their way to Luke’s table, a flush crossing Gina’s face when they got there.

“Well, it looks like two of you aren’t on a date, but what about you?” She asked, nodding to the quiet man, the only one to not order the vegetable cavatelli.

“I’m a meat man.” He grunted, not really looking up.

“You’ll have to forgive Nick. He isn’t much for social situations.” Luke said, covering for his rude friend.

“Sorry.” Gina said, not wanting to make the man feel uncomfortable. “Oh! This is Ashley, my brother’s girlfriend. She just started working here too.”

Luciano and Matteo shared a quick look across the table. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He stood to shake her hand. “My name’s Luke, and these are my friends Matt and Nick.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Please, sit. I don’t want to interrupt your dinner.” She gestured back to his seat, and he politely nodded and sat back down. “We just wanted to make sure that everything was ok here and see if there was anything that you needed.”

“I could use some mouth to mouth. I think I’m choking.” Matteo told Ashley, then gave two fake coughs.

“Nice try.” Ashley told him, slightly uncomfortable. “Well, if there’s anything else, I’m sure your server would be more than happy to accommodate you.” She lightly nudged Gina to move onto the next table. “Nice meeting all of you.”

Luciano shot Matteo another scathing look once the girls had left. “What? We could get two for the price of one!” Matteo tried to defend his actions, feeling like he had done the right thing.

“One at a time, my friend. One at a time…” He said, casting a look over to where Gina stood at a table of customers with Ashley.

Oooo

“What’s wrong cara? I don’t like to see those lines between your eye brows.” Dante asked, running his finger from Ashley’s forehead to the tip of her nose.

“Nothing.” She said, lost in thought. “Actually, there is something. Maybe I’m making more out of it than I should…I don’t know if it’s even worth mentioning.”

“If it’s got you this concerned, then it’s worth mentioning, even if it’s just to get it off your chest.” Dante prodded, pulling her over to his desk. He sat in his large office chair and dragged her to his lap.

“I hate saying this because I feel like I’m betraying Gina, but I hate the guy that she likes.” She confessed, her head buried in his shoulder.

“What guy?” Dante asked, somewhat surprised.

“The one that she met at the club the other night. He came in here tonight with a couple of his friends, and something just didn’t seem right. He was too much of a kiss ass to really be sincere, and one of his friends was such a pig that he made my skin crawl.” She shivered involuntarily. “I know that it goes without saying, but just keep an eye on him, alright?”

Dante looked at her nervously. “I thought I was supposed to be the over protective one. Is it really that bad?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. I just got this feeling about him.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m glad you warned me. Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to do to keep her safe.” He kissed Ashley’s shoulder, and they both sat quietly, deep in thought.

Oooo

The next night, Gina left the restaurant and raced home to get ready for her date. Not far behind her, Dante followed. While she showered, Dante sat in the living room, trying to plan what he was going to say. He knew how sensitive his sister was, and he didn’t want to get her upset, but he knew that he had to at least warn her to be careful.

When she came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready for her date, Gina was surprised to see her brother sitting there alone. “Hey Dante, where’s Ashley?”

“Um, she’s at home. I actually wanted to talk to you alone before your date tonight.” He said, a slightly nervous tone to his voice.

“Dante, don’t go pulling the big brother routine on me now. I am so excited about my date, and I don’t need you to put me in a bad mood. Besides, what is so wrong with me wanting to make more friends here. You’re the one that took me from the only home I’ve ever known…from all of my family, friends, and anything that was ever familiar to me.” She protested and stomped her foot.

For a minute, Dante thought she was going to hold her breath until she turned blue too. She knew that he felt bad about the situation without her bringing it up all the time, so that made him angry. “Is it so wrong for me to want to protect you? For me to want to meet the guy that’s going to be taking my little sister out on a date?”

“I’m not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself!” She cried. “Just leave me alone.”

“No! I refuse to let this go. You don’t know anything about this guy and I just want to meet him.”

A loud motorcycle engine roared outside, drowning out the end of what Dante had said. Gina grabbed her purse and ran out the door before Dante knew what was happening. When he got his bearings and ran out the door, all he saw was Gina’s back as the motorcycle took off down the street.

Pissed off, he took out his cell phone and called the only person that he knew would be able to calm him down. “Well, I blew it.” He said once the other line answered.

“What happened honey? Did you lose your temper?” Ashley asked. “Never mind, don’t answer that. Just come home.” She told him sympathetically.

Dante locked up the house and went to seek comfort from the one bright spot in his life.

Oooo

At first she was scared to death. She’d never been on a motorcycle, let alone on one at night going so fast. But the fear soon turned to adrenaline and excitement. The wind rushed through her hair and the bike vibrated between her legs, a combination that made her tingle from head to toe. And one of the best benefits?..Being so close to Luke as her arms wrapped around him tightly.

Once they got away from the city, Luke pulled into a heavily wooded area. After following a short trail, they came to an opening where he had already set out a blanket and knapsack. He parked the bike and helped Gina off.

After swinging her leg over the bike, Gina was grateful that Luke was there to hold her up. Her legs were all wobbly and felt like jelly. The stars in the sky lit up the field just enough for them to see where they were going as he led her over to the blanket.

He pulled some food out of the knapsack and spread it out over the blanket. At first, Gina was a little hesitant to eat, but Luke insisted that she dig in. Realizing how famished she was after not eating at work, Gina went for the food. She didn’t realize until later, that she was the only one eating.

Luke made idle conversation with her while she ate, and smiled when she started to yawn. “Tired?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. All of a sudden I feel very tired though.” She said through a couple more yawns. Her eyes were getting really heavy, and she was doing her best to keep them open.

“It’s ok, you can lay your head in my lap if you’d like.” Luke told her.

As soon as Gina got settled, she was asleep. Luke pulled out his phone and hit a number that was on speed dial. “We’re all set.” He said and hung up.

A few short seconds later, a car pulled into the clearing and Luke got out from under Gina. He picked her up and carried her to the car, buckling her into the back seat. He got in the driver’s seat and tossed the keys to the motorcycle to Matteo. “I’ll see you back at the house.” The two exchanged a nod and took off into the night.

Halfway to the house, Luciano made one final call. “Hello Dante. You shouldn’t have left Italy so fast. It really didn’t matter. I have your sister now anyway. I’ll be in touch.”

Oooo

Author’s Note: Wow, sorry such a long span between updates, but I haven’t really had a huge response to this story. If there’s more interest, I’ll probably keep working on it, but if not, I may end up taking it off the site. We’ll see where we go from here.