We agreed that yes, we were the Americans and yes, it was an astonishing thing that we both spoke Italian and yes, we’d have whatever was on offer. No, we weren’t fussy, and yes, we were happy to have the locally made Dolcetto red wine.
We were seated at the corner end of one of the trestles, wedged in next to a family of seven. At first, our neighbors seemed a little shy, but then Sebastian shrugged out of his jacket and pushed up the sleeves of his T-shirt. A little girl in the party, a dark haired ragamuffin of about five, noticed his tattoo and asked her mother about the ‘picture’.
Her mother tried to hush her, but Sebastian smiled and explained to her that it was because he was a sailor and a soldier, and the ‘picture’ reminded him of his work.
“Is that because you forgot?” asked the child, clearly puzzled.
The whole room burst into laughter. I joined in, but seeing how at ease he was with the little girl made me sad for things that might have been.
It was clear the child was completely smitten with him, because she asked her mother if he was an angel, then reached up to stroke his short-cropped hair.
The meal finished with a small bowl each of gelato di miele honey ice cream, a local specialty. Sebastian ate most of mine, as I’d already eaten enough. He really was a bottomless pit when it came to food.
By the end of the evening we were practically family, and all on first-name terms. It had been a wonderful evening, full of laughter and quiet enjoyment, as I saw Sebastian chatting to his new, little friend. But I also couldn’t help noticing that Sebastian had drunk almost a whole bottle of wine by himself, although it didn’t seem to have had much effect. On the other hand, I was feeling a little lightheaded after two glasses.
“Having fun, baby?”
“Do you realize this is our first dinner-date?”
He frowned. “What about back in San Diego – that Sicilian place?”
“That doesn’t count: you wouldn’t let me finish our meal because you wanted to drag me back to the hotel.”
“Oh yeah, I definitely remember that!”
“Besides, your friend, Brenda, was spying on us. I’m half expecting to see her now, tossing her hair over her shoulder and thrusting her boobs in your face like she used to.”
His expression was amused. “She thrust her boobs in my face?”
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t notice. Anyway, if any boobs are to be thrust in your face, they’ll be mine. Right, Hunter?”
He laughed. “Anything you say, boss. Looking forward to it.”
“But then I was thinking,” I went on, “if this is our first date, I probably shouldn’t sleep with you. I don’t want you thinking I’m easy.”
Sebastian gazed at me appraisingly, then pulled out his phone and started scrolling through the numbers.
“Who are you calling?”
“Well, my date just told me she wouldn’t sleep with me, so I thought I’d see if I had Brenda’s number on speed dial.”
Ouch. He was much better at this game than I was.
“Fine, fine. I’ll sleep with you. But if my reputation is in ruins, it’s all your fault.”
Sebastian grinned at me, then stood up to pay the bill.
I realized we hadn’t discussed how we were going to split up the costs for this vacation. Maybe if he paid for one night and I paid for the next: that would be fair.
We left the ristorante with the good wishes and prayers of our new friends, the little girl blowing kisses to her ‘Angelo’.
But the angel proved he had a devilish streak because the moment we left the ristorante, he pushed me up against the wall and kissed me hard, holding my waist with one hand, and running his other hand up between my thighs.
He pressed his body up into me and I could feel his arousal by my hip. I was seriously considering taking him there and then, when the ristorante started emptying, and we were very nearly caught in flagrante delicto.
The women looked envious, and the men called out several coarse suggestions. I was very glad the darkness hid my embarrassment.
“Shall we try and make it back to our room this time?”