Chapter Seven #4
“I’d been to Venice with Nonna when I was nine, and had wonderful memories of that trip, so I didn’t think twice,” Lorenzo says.
“As soon as I arrived, I tried to get a job. Otherwise, I couldn’t stay long, and the more I walked around, the more certain I became that I wanted to be here for a while.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be…
So I used my free time to busk. I found my favorite spot, got authorization, and played day after day.
I didn’t have a lot of money, so I was staying at a cheap hostel in Santa Lucia.
” He pauses, looking at the pretty horizon beyond the railing.
“Some days, I stayed up all night, roaming around, and in those quiet hours, the city was mine.”
“I know what you mean,” I tell him. “On my first night here, Jeremy and I walked back to the hotel in the dark and had the strange and wonderful feeling that we were the only humans in Venice.”
“Yeah, that’s how it was for me too,” Lorenzo says, and we smile at each other.
“At night, the city felt strangely safe and cozy despite looking a bit gloomy.” He adjusts his hair, lost in thought.
“No cars, no noises, just the occasional water taxi or vaporetto and a couple turning into an alley, seeing where they’ll end up.
” He looks at his hands. “I didn’t feel afraid alone at night.
I felt blessed. I felt I could finally enjoy the streets, alleys, and canals without the crowds that swarmed them during the day. ”
I nod, agreeing.
“I had very little money, just enough not to be hungry, to have a roof over my head. But I didn’t care as long as that meant I could stay one more day to explore, to discover a new treasure, something only I had noticed.”
I’m enthralled by his story, fascinated by his courage.
“And that’s how I started to live day by day and think only about that day and the next.
Putting all my efforts into what I could see and control, I regained control of myself.
” He looks at me intensely now. “One might think that living such an uncertain life would make me anxious. But funnily enough, I was anxious when I had a stable career and a home to call mine. In my new life in Venice, on the other hand, I had zero anxiety. I simply lived and trusted. I had nothing to lose but all to gain.”
The corners of my mouth rise a little more.
Until I catch a hint of something dark in his expression. Something that tells me he’s not lying but also not being completely honest either.
He’s telling me the narrative he built for himself after winning. When you recount a victory, you don’t focus on the suffering unless you’re looking for compassion, and Lorenzo doesn’t want my pity—he wants my admiration.
That’s not what he needs, though. I already admire him. So now I can challenge him.
“Did it hurt physically or only emotionally to play on the streets, day and night, without plans or prospects?”
I wonder how I would feel if I didn’t have a job to get back to. If I knew the odds of succeeding in the career I once had were against me. If I were starting over in a new city without knowing what the future would hold.
Lorenzo avoids my gaze, and I hope I didn’t poke him too intrusively.
“The physical pain faded over time,” he says, his voice low and husky, then he looks at his hands. “But my fingers weren’t fast or skilled enough. And that hurt emotionally.”
I nod with sympathy and embrace him with my warm gaze. My hands stay on my lap, though. “You should try again.”
He scoffs. “Why? Just to be frustrated?”
I sense I shouldn’t answer that. So I ask instead, “Was Mr. Marchesi the one who gave you the opportunity that changed your path?”
Lorenzo nods, confirming that while Venice enchanted him, his boss was the real hero.
“When Luigi found me, I was stationed near the hotel in the middle of a path he took daily to get his groceries. He stopped to watch me every time. He tipped me generously, and we often talked. An unlikely friendship formed between us, and he decided to hire me.”
“Wow…” I sigh, amazed. Some coincidences—or fate, perhaps, or God—change people’s lives unexpectedly like magic, for better or worse.
“You are really blessed, Lorenzo.”
“It’s useless to be blessed if you don’t seize the opportunities you’re given,” he says.
It’s such a truthful statement that I feel its power under my skin, quickening my heartbeat.
I’m blessed to be here in Venice. To have been dumped by a man I didn’t really love. To have a best friend who didn’t fall for me.
I’m blessed to have met Lorenzo.
I hold his hand, and he looks at me with sudden alertness, his green eyes firmly capturing mine.
“The magic I found in Venice is you,” I say.
He looks at me with his eyes glowing like liquid emeralds under the low sunlight, and then I’m in his arms.
Kissing his lips.
We both rise as one unit, and his hand sinks into my hair as he kisses me with fervor. I squeeze the back of his neck and press myself against him, melding my torso to his chest, making sure there’s not a single inch of space between us.
His tongue explores my mouth, triggering an explosion of pleasure that spreads from my chest to the rest of my body.
I’m breathless, overtaken by intense desire.
He attacks me with quick, hungry kisses, and I run my hands down his neck, then his shoulders, and then his muscular biceps as he holds me in place with his strong arms.
We are both so full of lust that things move quickly.
He makes me walk backward, lips still kissing mine, until we’re at the wall, and my back is pinned against the rough bricks.
It’s a shadowy corner. Here, we’re less likely to be seen from another terrace or window.
Knowing we’re as private as we can be on the roof of a building, I let our burning passion guide us.
I feel the muscles in his back and lower my hands until they are on his perfectly round butt.
I squeeze it hard, and his grunt of approval is muffled by my lips, which capture and bite his.
I want to get rid of our stupid clothes, but we can’t be naked here.
We need to go to my room. I have to find a way to get him there.
I owe him…and God , I want to pay my debt.
My hands slide around him, and I grab the front of his pants. He moans.
“Jesus, Daisy,” he says between his teeth, “you’re going to kill me.”
I laugh and kiss him, messing up his perfect hair, inhaling the smell of him until it’s part of my being.
He lifts my T-shirt, running his hands over my bare back and belly, giving me shivers.
His fingers then move up, meeting the resistance of my bra, and he opens his eyes to give me a fake frustrated glare.
“I thought I’d have easy access every time.”
I smile, nose on his. The correct answer would be that I didn’t know I’d meet him today. But I go for the sexy reply because that’s what we do. That’s who I want to be with him. “You’ll have a free pass from now on. Just rip it off.”
Smirking against my lips, he handles the closure on the back, and the bra opens, freeing my breasts, which are eager for Lorenzo’s hands.
He squeezes them, pressing me harder against the wall, and I lean my head back in enjoyment. Oh, I wish it was dark. I wish we were naked up here under the stars, lying on the table and making love with Venice in the background, shining its lights on us.
I hold his head between my hands and look at his face, absorbing every line and detail of his features as he plays with my nipples. My breath is loud. I love this. I want more. I want everything he can give me.
He misinterprets my staring, though, because he hesitates. He thinks I’m overthinking. He fears I’ll run from our all-consuming passion as I’ve done before.
I’m not able to escape my feelings anymore, though.
This is the Venetian romance I want. It’s better than anything I’ve ever imagined. I can’t possibly stop.
I kiss him with everything I’ve got.