Page 55 of Whatever You Need

She waved her hands through the air, smirking at me. “Don’t look at me like that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Will you stop embarrassing me?” Leave it to her to bring up our first night together.

“How am I embarrassing you? If I wanted to do that, I would bring up the night when you ‘technically’ first met. The night you were handcuff—” I leaned forward and kicked her in the knee to prevent her from finishing that sentence. “Ow.” She winced and reached down to rub her leg.

I picked up my martini and took a generous sip while Marco laughed beside me. I bumped him with my shoulder. “Whose side are you on?”

“If I were you, I would pick her side.” Ava waggled her eyebrow suggestively. “She’s the one you’re taking home tonight.”

I buried my face in my hands and groaned, feeling mortified beyond words.

Marco held his beer out, trying to hide the twitching at the corners of his mouth. “I think we should do this more often.”

“I disagree,” I mumbled.

Ava spent the next thirty minutes entertaining Marco with embarrassing stories about me. I sat back while he held my hand in his lap as they both laughed at my expense and teased me every chance they could. I chuckled when she told the story about how we stumbled upon a group of naked guys running around in a farmer’s field that were pledging for their fraternity. They explained as we drove them back to campus that their clothes were taken and they had to find their way back in their birthday suits without being captured. They never forgot how we helped them from getting caught and we ended up with open invites to all their parties, and free beer for the rest of college. Best freshman year memory.

Ava’s phone buzzed on top of the countertop. She held the screen up, showing Marco a picture of a smiling Madison. “Excuse me for a second.” She slid off the stool and walked to a quiet part of the room.

“Have you figured out what you want to do for dinner?” he asked before taking a sip of his beer.

We had plans to grab a quick bite to eat downtown and then head back to his house to decorate the tree we picked out last night. I might have gone a little overboard on decorations at Macy’s today during my lunch hour.

“I wouldn’t mind just grabbing a couple cheesesteaks from Jim’s to-go.”

He shook his head with a smirk. “You and those damn cheesesteaks.”

“I eat healthy all week, so I can treat myself on the weekends.”

I worked out at the hotel gym every morning before work and ate clean Monday through Friday. The weekends were a different story.

He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, you won’t hear me complain. Besides, you’re a cheap date.”

“I also want to bring your grandmother a Christmas gift when we visit her on Sunday. Would you mind if we made a quick stop before we leave the city?”

He brushed a piece of hair off my shoulder. “Of course not. I think it’s sweet that you’re thinking of her.”

“I’m sad that we won’t get to see each other on Christmas.”

Christmas was less than a week away. Marco and his mom were bringing Sophia to celebrate the holidays at Matteo’s in-law’s house in Delaware. My mom was here until the new year and I was expected to spend Christmas day with my family. Marco and I were celebrating this weekend. His gifts, along with all the decorations I bought for the tree, were stashed in the trunk of my car.

Ava made her way over and slid her phone into her purse. “It looks like my adult time is over.” She drained the rest of her drink. “Drew and Madison are outside waiting for me.”

I grabbed my coat from the back of my stool and Marco helped me slide my arms through the sleeves. He signaled for the bartender’s attention. “We have to get going anyway. We’ll walk you out. Let me just pay the tab really quick.”

Marco signed the bill and placed his credit card in his wallet. He laced his fingers with mine as we followed Ava outside. Marco, being the gentleman he was, walked her to her waiting car where we said our goodbyes.

Holiday lights decorated the buildings as we walked through the Christmas market outside city hall. The sidewalks were crowded with people of all ages, some carrying their shopping bags, others just taking in the storefront windows while sipping hot chocolate and enjoying the street performers providing entertainment. Marco put his arm around my shoulder for warmth, but I really loved how comfortable he felt. The more time I spent with him, the easier and natural it became.

“Tell me again what you’re looking for?” he asked as we sidestepped over a patch of ice.

“I’m buying your grandmother a scarf. She’s always wrapped up in a blanket every time I visit her.”

We moved around the little white tents and spent the next fifteen minutes laughing our asses off as we talked about everything from favorite holiday movies to the worst gifts we ever received growing up. Marco told me that he and Matteo always got more clothes than toys when they were younger. And of course, he teased me about how spoiled I was growing up.

“Let me get this straight.” He pulled me to a stop in the middle of the crowded sidewalk. “You had a Tiffany necklace replaced three times because your housekeeper kept throwing it out?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t her fault. The instructions said to wrap the necklace in tissue paper to prevent the chain from tangling up. She would find rolled up toilet paper on my vanity and throw it out thinking it was garbage.”

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