Chapter 158
1656words
I couldn't stand being in the same place as him, as I still wanted to pluck each hair strand off his head for letting me get electrocuted again. I shot him a glare from the corner of my eyes. Noticing my anger filled gaze, our eyes momentarily met before I shifted them back to the window and scooted away from him.
But as if a small gap between us was unacceptable, he moved closer to me and me not wanting that moved away from him again. That motion got repeated many times until I found myself plastered against the door with Alessandro flushed against me, his eyes still looking forward.
What wrong with him!? I exclaimed inwardly before snapping my head to throw him a glare.
"Hmm?" Alessandro hummed in wonder, a faint smile gracing his lips as his eyes settled back on my peeved expression.
"Do you mind?" My eyes darted at our hips that were mushed together before looking back at him, hinting him to move away.
A condescending smile spread wide on Alessandro's lips and I grimaced, knowing fully well that he was enjoying this.
"No, I don't mind because if I move too far away from a certain someone sparks will fly all over the place."
My eyes narrowed to a pair of slits, the skin between my brows puckered and my lips pursed slightly. Alessandro can somehow change the parameter where it's safe for me to walk before I get shocked. It can go from hundred meters to one meter and since I don't know what the required distance was, I have no choice but to stick close to him.
"No other person has ever infuriated me so until I met you." I grumbled under my breath before turning my head away, counting the heads of the people that we passed by whilst propping my head up on my fist.
"That's exactly what I want, to be the only person who occupies your mind and body." My heart stumbled over his words and feeling his hand brushing the back of my head before they went to grab my chin so that I would look at him, revealing the red streak across my cheeks sets a tingling feeling down my body before darting my eyes to the side as I couldn't handle the intense look in his eyes.
"Sir, we have arrived." The voice of the chauffeur driving the limousine tore through the agonizing silence, and I let out a breath of relief as Alessandro unclasped his grip on my jaw.
"I see. I will call you when we are going to leave." Alessandro said to receive a slight bow from the middle-aged man behind the steer. We stepped out of the vehicle with Alessandro holding my hand to guide me to this expensive looking restaurant. The windows of the one story restaurant shone its orange light that came from the inside on the streets. We waltzed on the red carpet that trailed to the entrance of the restaurant with at the front a trendy chalkboard with specials written on it.
The small bell that hung above the door rung once we entered the dining place and on cue the hostess came up to us, wearing a smile reserved for customers, but this one seemed brighter than normal as the hostess's eyes were twinkling with excitement.
"Mr. Valentino, welcome into our humble establishment. Your table for two has been prepared and the servers are ready to serve you." Alessandro gave a nod of acknowledgment. The hostess' eyes shifted to meet mine, and she offered me a smile before guiding us to a table next to a wide window. On our way, I noticed how the tables, though decorated, were devoid of people. Finding it weird how we were the only customers, my brows furrowed.
We sat at the round table with a lit candle in the middle, giving the table a soft glow. She handed over the menu to us and as I opened it, I was faced with a language barrier, as the menu was written in Italian. Taken aback, I glanced flustered over the menu, trying to decode the words. Noticing this, Alessandro said something in his mother tongue whilst pointing at some cuisines listed on the menu for the woman to nod before she took the menu cards away from us.
Frazzled, I watched the woman disappear in the kitchen. "I have already ordered for us."
"Right…" I drawled out, not so sure whether I should berate him for choosing something for me without discussing it or to leave it and be thankful that he took the lead, as I was just embarrassing myself for lacking any Italian vocabulary.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to pick up the language before you know it." Alessandro said with assurance in his tone as if he knew what went through my head. I gave him a slow nod, saving him the comment on how I won't be in Italy long enough to learn the language, as I will be gone by the end of the week.
A few minutes later a waiter came out of the kitchen pushing a trolly with our food and some red wine on it. My mouth watered at the sight of the medium rare steak placed in front of us on the table. The waiter poured the wine in the wine glass before placing it on the table. Ecstatic that I could finally eat offered the tall lanky man a smile, "Thank you."
The man smiled back at me, revealing the dimples in his cheeks. "Prego caro." His smiling eyes lingered longer on my face before he took his leave. I blinked a few times, confused, as I didn't understand what the man said.
"What did he say?" I inquired Alessandro, who stared at me with a blank expression, letting no emotion through except for the sharp look in his eyes.
"He said no problem. Shall we eat?" He grabbed the utensils and so did I. Taking the chance, I stretched out my neck closer to Alessandro, who sat on the opposite side, whispering in a low voice as if what I was about to say was going to be insulting.
"Why aren't there any other customers here? Is their business not doing well?"
Alessandro hummed, chowing down the food in his mouth before answering nonchalantly, "That's because I rent out the whole place."
My eyes bulged almost out of my skull on hearing his answer.
"Why would you rent out a whole-!" The unique eyes watched me intently, seeming to be interested in my every movement and words. His unbothered expression basically told me that his wallet wasn't hurting, and I was quick to clamp my mouth shut and rectify my words.
"Forget it, I shouldn't try to understand how a mafia's thought process works." I let out a heavy sigh while cutting my steak, the juices absorbed in it being released and glazing the plate with it.
Alessandro quirked his brow. The corner of his lips pulled in a faint smirk. "Is that a stereotype that I hear?"
"No, it's experience from past relationships-oh" My brain solely focused on how the meat melted on my tongue, letting my mouth prattle away and before I realized what I was saying, I was too late in stopping it.
Hesitantly, I looked over my plate and settled my gaze on Alessandro's face. He wore a serene smile as he held the wineglass, showing no signs that my words affected him. On the quietness that surrounded us as I had halted my speech, Alessandro spoke with a calm voice,
"Please continue with what you were going to say and while you're at it, list out each person's name that you've dated before." The smile on his face didn't match the cold look in his eyes. They were like the abyss, swallowing the light to leave behind an empty husk that made every fiber in my body clamp up.
I will say nothing with you looking so unnerving, you jackass. I grumbled inwardly while jabbing another piece of meat with the fork to bring it to my mouth.
Between my chewing, I said, "Then there's no need for me to say their names. My relationship with my past partners was purely physical."
"To the degree that they would maltreat you, right?" Alessandro asserted, and I froze where even my constricted throat couldn't swallow down the meat that was minced inside my mouth. My heart hammered against my ribcage at the memories of me getting hit, my painful cries flashing before my eyes. Trying to still the panic that was about to rise in my body, I closed my eyes and took in a slow breath before exhaling it out and answering Alessandro as I swallowed down the lump of meat.
"You know, you have been using the wrong toothbrush the whole time." My voice came out indifferent, but it carried an undertone of displease with it that made the brows of Alessandro rise with mirth as he had expected me to lash out at him for mentioning something so intrusive.
"Why you say that?" He asked, not hiding the intrigue in his mellow voice. Tilting my head to the side, my green eyes formed half-moons as they matched the condescending smile adorning my lips.
"Because your mouth is still full of shit. Shall I recommend you a good toilet brush?"
