Page 8 of Two Chances With You

“Take me, as if I were her…Her, even though she doesn’t want you, even though she sucks the life out of me every day that goes by, doing her best to separate us…” She hands me the glass. I toss it back, all in a single gulp. It’s chilly, it’s delicious, it’s perfect. Then I give her a kiss, as intense as the desire I’m experiencing. Our tongues taste of champagne, sleepy, lost, tipsy, anesthetized…Suddenly they come to life. I run my hand through her hair, and I’m caught, a helpless, happy prisoner of tight, intricately worked locks. I hold her head like that, lost in my hands, helplessly, hopelessly mine, while her kiss grows steadily more greedy. It’s as if she wants to climb into me, devour me, reach all the way down to my heart. Wait, what are you doing? Stop. It’s already yours.

Then Babi pulls away and looks at me. And I’m scared at the intensity that I sense, that I had never glimpsed before. Then she takes my hand, she lifts her skirt a little to one side, and she guides my hand in. Then she leads me, up, farther up…up her legs. She lets her head fallbackward. Her eyes shut. A smile on her face. A hidden smile. A sigh escapes her, loud and clear. My hand, she guides it farther up. Without haste, until it reaches her panties. There they are. She gently pulls them aside, and I lose myself with my fingers in her pleasure.

Now Babi is sighing louder. She undoes my trousers and yanks them down, quickly, eagerly again, like never before. And gently she finds me. She stops. She looks into my eyes. And she smiles. She licks my mouth. She bites me. She’s hungry for me. She leans against me, she pushes, she presses her forehead against mine, she smiles, she sighs, she starts moving up and down on my hand, hungrily losing herself in my eyes, as I do in hers…

Then she slips off her panties, she gives me one last light kiss, and she caresses me under my chin. She gets up on all fours on the bed, and she pulls the skirt aside, uncovering herself from behind. She lays the skirt across her back and turns her head to look at me.

“Please, Step, take me forcefully, hurt me. I’m begging you. I swear it, I’m dying for it.”

It strikes me as incredible but I do as I’m told. I obey, and she starts moaning like she’s never done before, and I practically faint with pleasure, desire, the love I could never have thought possible. I’m still panting with pleasure just in remembering it, and it almost takes my breath away.

“Hey, Step!”

“Yes?”

Suddenly I’m back. It’s Paolo.

“What’s going on? You just stopped in the middle of the road.”

“Huh?”

“You’re surprising me. Have we suddenly become courteous? I’ve never seen you do anything like it, let a young woman cross when she doesn’t even have the right of way! Incredible. Either America has really done you good or else you’ve changed. Or else…”

“Or else?”

“Or else that young woman reminded you of someone else.”

He turns to look at me.

“Hey, don’t forget that we’re brothers.”

“In fact, that’s exactly what I’m worried about. And that’s a ‘dumbcrack,’ in case the fact escaped you.”

Paolo laughs. I start driving again, reaching out for some sense of self-control. And I find it. Then one long breath. Another, longer one. And the pain of knowing that that high tide will never leave me.

Chapter 3

Here we are, Step. It’s number 237. Wait just a second, let me open the gate. Now park here, number 6, that’s mine.” Paolo is clearly proud. We get out my bags. “The elevator runs directly from the garage.” He’s proud of that detail too.

We ride up to the sixth floor. He opens the door as if it were a bank safe. Burglar alarm, two different locks, heavy armored door. On the door is his name.PAOLO MANCINI, a little printed card set in a small gold-framed holder. Horrible, but I don’t tell him that.

“You see? I put one of my business cards in the nameplate. It’s even got the phone number. Good idea, right? But why are you laughing? You don’t like it, do you?”

“Of course I do. But why on earth do you always assume I’m lying to you? Seriously, I like it, trust me.”

He smiles back, a little more relaxed, and shows me in. “Okay, come on, now take a look. Here it is…”

The inside of the apartment isn’t bad at all, new hardwood floors, white walls.

“It still needs some furniture, but just think, I had the whole place renovated. Just look, I had dimmers put in, so you can have the lights as bright or soft as you want, you see?” He goes over to one of the switches and turns the lights up and then down. “Cool, right?”

“Super cool.” I stand by the front door with my bags in hand.

Paolo smiles happily at his brilliant idea. “Let me show you to your room.” He throws open the door to a bedroom at the end of the hall. “Pampadapah!” He mimics a trumpet fanfare with his lips. Paolo stands in the doorway, beaming.

“Huh…” There must be some surprise awaiting me. I walk in.

“I got your things and brought them over. A few sweaters, your T-shirts, your sweatshirts. And look here…” He shows me a painting hanging on the wall. “There was still one panel by Andrea Pazienza. This is one you didn’t burn.”

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