Everything I want: Will Alfie and Lily's love survive?... (6 page)

“Yeah, it’s all good, Lenny. I have made my choices, and I’m definitely not looking back. Maybe seeing him today will give me closure now. We broke up over the phone, and it’s a long time ago now. It wasn’t as scary seeing him as I thought it would be, but then again, I’ve grown in many ways since
then.”

Lennon nodded and smiled. “You sure have, h
oney.”

Chapter 6
– Dilemma

I
n the days following my encounter with Alfie, I kept myself really busy. It helped push the thoughts of him further from my mind. After a week, my feelings about meeting with him were under control. I wasn’t allowing them to consume me the way I had in the
past.

I had a distraction, which helped tremendously, in the form of a really hot guy named Luca. He was a friend of my manager Louie. Luca was Italian but had lived in the USA for the past two years. Louie introduced us the day after the festival, and we’d hit it off right
away.

There was something that really attracted me to him, and he was fun to be around. When he asked me to dinner on my day off, I didn’t know why, but I had no hesitation in saying
yes.

Lennon and Cody were flummoxed when I agreed. They had been ready to do their usual routine of putting him off when I smiled and acce
pted.

When I told Holly about my date, she freaked out. She couldn’t believe I actually wanted to date
him.

Holly suggested we double date at first. It made sense, because I didn’t know him very well. Although he was Louie’s friend, none of us knew much about him, outside of what Louie knew of him since he’d been in the
USA.

Luca drove us to Fort Lauderdale, and we had dinner in a small, family run, Italian restaurant owned by his uncle, Giovanni. His family was so warm and welcoming, and I felt relaxed in their friendly com
pany.

His uncle was very complimentary when he spoke about me to Luca. The authentic Italian food, and the rustic presentation, was absolutely to die for and all completely org
anic.

When Luca disappeared into the kitchen to thank his cousin Marco personally, Holly squeezed my hand under the table. “Damn girl, when you get back on that horse you do it in style. He’s freaking gorgeous,” she whisp
ered.

I nodded in agreement and gave her a smug smirk, feeling pleased she approved. What she said was true. Luca was a gorgeous looking man. The added bonus being he looked the opposite of A
lfie.

Luca’s dark brown hair, beautiful almond shaped eyes, and kissable mouth were only a few of the finer attributes of his appearance. It was his mouth that my eyes had honed in on initi
ally.

He had a very sexy smile. Oh, and the way his tongue kept flicking back and forth between his lips each time he took a drink from the wine glass he was holding. It was such a tur
n on.

The unconscious act of flicking his tongue over those plump, deep pink lips, and his slow, sexy smile, which made those chocolate brown eyes twinkle mischievously, were what did it fo
r me.

Luca was almost as tall as Alfie, but his gentlemanly physique and the way he presented himself could not have been more different. I liked that about him as
well.

After dinner Luca took us to another friend’s club, ‘Clouds’. He strode straight past the long line of club goers, who were waiting patiently to gain entry. He fist bumped a massive, muscle stacked, security guy, who stood in a black suit and bo
wtie.

“Jonnie, how are you d
oing?”

Jonnie, the door guy, transformed his face from menacing to pleasant. “Luca, welcome back, great to see you, dude.” He stepped aside and nodded at us as we walked past him and entered the
club.

Like Louie’s clubs, this nightclub was a mega- club. The venue was massive with five different rooms, each catering to different genres of music. It was filled to capacity. The throng of party goers had the place jum
ping.

Luca told us that they had some amazing acts perform there. Lady Gaga had just performed there in recent w
eeks.

As we entered the foyer, a very elegant looking woman in her late twenties approached us. She was exceptionally beautiful and carried herself with such g
race.

Tall, slender, and leggy, she was dressed impeccably in a white, figure hugging dress. She sashayed toward us, her long sleek brunette ponytail swishing from side to side behind
her.

“Well, Well! If it isn’t sexy
Luca!”

A humorous grin spread across his face, as he stooped to kiss her cheek. “Louisa, these are my friends, Holly and Brett, and my date,
Lily.”

Louisa eyed me up and down and extended her hand to me. “You’re a very beautiful girl, Lily. Luca’s a lucky man. Make sure you take care of her.” Her voice had a slight accent, and she scowled at
Luca.

Luca huffed and shook his head, a smile on his lips. “Lily, I didn’t plan this, and I know it is way too early for you to meet
all
of my family, but this is my sister. I didn’t know she was working ton
ight.”

I snickered at how awkward Luca seemed, as Louisa pulled me toward her and hugged me wa
rmly.

She showed us to a VIP section. The seating was brilliant white, plush, padded leather and was arranged in a rectangle around a huge low square t
able.

There were black drapes on either side, which could be drawn for privacy from the other VIP areas, but with the ability to mingle with the others if we, and the other sections, decided to do
that.

As we were being seated, I noticed that the drapes to the next section were already drawn, indicating that someone important was next t
o us.

Each sectioned off area had a view of the main dance floor downstairs as well. There was a central pathway, shared by all the VIP sections, leading to the stairway and restr
ooms.

We settled down, and a waitress brought two bottles of champagne in coolers. She set them on the table at the end. Luca leaned in and spoke in her ear, and she nodded, smiled, and headed back to the
bar.

He had invited two other couples to meet us at the club, figuring it wouldn’t be much fun sitting in a cordoned off section with just the four of us. Alexis and Kyle were friends of his from the office. I liked Alexis a lot; she was fun-loving and a little ditzy, but I could see there were no flies on
her.

Another couple, Harry and his wife, Marla, were his close friends and neighbors. They were a little loud, but after talking to them, I figured that they were mainly lacking in confidence, and that was their way of hidin
g it.

Conversation was a little strained between all of us at first, but once we found common ground, we all relaxed and began to have a lot of fun toge
ther.

Luca walked over to where I was sitting and looked down at me, flashing his sexy smile. “Dance with me?” It was a question rather than a de
mand.

I smiled back and nodded, placing my hand in his as he led me to the dance floor. He was a very smooth mover, and it felt nice to be with someone I felt I might be interested in romantic
ally.

I hadn’t slept with anyone since Alfie. To be honest, I was scared to get involved with anyone again because of how hurt I was by everything. I was as scared about that part. Up until now, any guy that tried to take it a little further than second base with me was gone within
days.

Always finding flaws in their personalities, or I tried to compare them to how I felt when Alfie touched me. Zack, a lovely guy I’d met at one of Louie’s clubs, was the only one who got a little closer, but even with his laid back attitude, I just wasn’t feeling it with
him.

Now I was in the arms of a hot, beautiful, Latin man who had piqued my interest. Although, I wasn’t sure yet whether he was someone I wanted to pu
rsue.

Luca was very attentive toward me and seemed attuned to my every need. He was considerate and affectionate, without excessively touching me just for the sake of it. He had laid hands on me at times, demonstrating his protective side. Other than that, he was respectful of my s
pace.

When we arrived, he had placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me to where we were seated. He opened doors for me and checked if I was okay at regular intervals. His timing was just right, and it didn’t feel forced or overbea
ring.

As we danced, his hands were placed on my body with perfection. One splayed across my back, the other resting on my hip. He didn’t take liberties, and I really liked his consideration fo
r me.

I was wearing a halter neck dress, and where Luca had placed his hand, it was mainly over the material of my dress. Only his thumb was touching the exposed flesh on my upper
back.

As we got lost in the music, I leaned into him, resting my head on his chest. His thumb began to form a lazy arc, back and forth across my
skin.

It gave me a tingling feeling. Not a feeling as intense as what I felt with Alfie but a warm feeling that I was enjo
ying.

Luca took a sharp intake of breath and bent his lips to my ear. “You have beautiful skin, Lily, it feels like satin and smells like paradise,” he murm
ured.

I smiled and tilted my head back to meet his gaze. “Paradise has a smell?” I rolled my eyes, and he smi
rked.

“Sure, it smells just like you,” he te
ased.

He tilted his head. “May I?” His eyes flicked to my lips. As they did, my tongue coated my dry lips in anticipation of what he wanted to do. I smiled and nodded, telling myself I was ready for
this.

He closed the space between our lips and pressed a gentle, soft kiss on my mouth. He drew back and smiled affectionately into my
eyes.

“Mmm… I think I may need another.” Both of Luca’s hands moved up to cup my face. His long fingers burrowed into my hair as he pulled me toward
him.

His hot, moist lips parted mine as his tongue probed my mouth, begging for entry. I obliged, parting my lips, kissing him back. My tongue tangled with his. For the first time since Alfie, a kiss was turning m
e on.

Luca’s hands slipped to my hips. His fingertips grasped the material of my dress, pressing into my flesh through the material. Then he pulled my body flush against
his.

I heard the effect our kiss had on him as he softly groaned against my mouth, before clearing his throat, when his lips left mine. We were both a little breathless when our eyes
met.

Sensing he was holding himself back, I was thankful for his self- control. I could see he wanted more with me, but I wasn’t ready for
more.

Luca flashed his sexy smile and led me back toward the seating area. Holly had been people watching and was pointing out a girl that was obviously very extro
vert.

She was dancing wildly in the center of the dance floor alone. Luca grinned and crouched in front of me. “Bathroom break for me. I’ll be right
back.”

It was getting late, and the music had taken on a slower tempo. I slumped back in my chair, suddenly tired. A ballad by One Republic began to play, ‘Stop and Stare’, and I thought their band’s music played nearly as much as Crakt Soundzz did these
days.

The heavy black drapes, separating us from the next VIP section, moved, and my eyes were drawn to the small chink of light, which opened more until there was about a foot gap in the otherwise black wall of fa
bric.

What I saw caused a sudden jolt of electricity to strike me in the center of my chest, a metallic taste forming in my mouth from its effect. I’ve had it once before, right before I passed
out.

Alfie was sitting about twenty feet away from me in the next VIP area. My first instinct was to look away, but I couldn’t. One Republic’s track was blaring around me. Ryan Tedder‘s voice filled the room with words of a song which was so full of meaning for the both o
f us.

As always, it hurt to look at him and not be able to touch him. My body and soul were screaming to be in his arms again. Just once. The girl I had seen him with in magazines and on the internet appeared beside him, and I wanted to
die.

He turned and looked up at her. A slow smile spread on his lips, but he didn’t touch her. He didn’t reach out for her. He couldn’t be near me and not touc
h me.

She climbed on his lap and straddled him, and he leaned back against soft white seating, his hands still resting by his sides on the c
hair.

I wanted to scream. To climb over the half partition and pull her off of him. He was still smiling at her though. Then, his hands moved slowly from their resting place, to rest on her
hips.

I was choked, a wave of nausea attacking me. It should have been me over there with him. Struggling to swallow past the dry lump in my throat, I watched as one of Alfie’s hands moved around to her back. He stroked it gently, affectionately, back and forth. His hips arched a little. He was talking to her. The only thought I could muster was it should have bee
n me.