Chapter Three #2
“Sweet one, little savior,” he half whispered, his lips so close to mine, “thank you. Grazie. For saving me and, more importantly, saving Jin Woo. We owe you two lives.”
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from those captivating eyes, but I did my best to shake my head, not breaking eye contact.
“No, don’t worry, it was just what anyone would do.”
“No,” he gave my face a firm squeeze, a chastisement, and something hot and liquid rippled through me. He was just so much, so in control despite his elegant beauty; it was as if he had stolen every breath out of my lungs.
“not anyone. You. You risked your life for us, and now we are yours,” he quirked a mischievous smile, “if you’ll have us.”
I was pretty sure that my brain had completely short-circuited. If I had tried to speak, all that would have come out would have been derpy monosyllabic sounds and grunts if I were unlucky.
Maybe this was what it was like when maidens in Greek myths stumbled upon gods. Though Ettore was no brash Zeus. Maybe Apollo or Hermes.
“Can you both shut up?” mumbled the lump near the fire.
Ettore turned, snarling, completely different than how he had been with me a moment ago.
“What the fuck did you say, Stronzo?”
The lump froze and seemingly deflated, and I had to bite my lower lip to ensure that I wouldn’t laugh.
“We’ll be quieter,” I called out, and Ettore snorted and proceeded to glare at the lump as he tucked me in even more.
“Do we know his name?” I asked Ettore in a stage whisper.
“No, if you ask me, it’s asshole, Stronzo, but if his mother felt generous on the day of his birth, she may have blessed him with something else.”
I let myself sink into Ettore’s heat and fire. I was sure that there were things that I should be doing, but it was so nice just basking in Ettore’s presence, even if it was platonic.
“What did he do?”
“Other than being unconscionably rude to my little savior? Well, he tried to get the redhead to leave us on the beach like a rat-faced coward!” He hissed the last word loudly, and the lump was very conspicuously still.
Ettore ran a fine, long-fingered hand through his hair, collecting himself slightly.
“Anyways, the redhead wasn’t having it, so, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
“Do you know when he and Jin Woo will be back?
The door, which had mostly blended into the wall, swung open with a decrepit wheeze that made me worried about any strong gusts.
Two large figures bundled into the cabin and closed the door behind them with a slam that sent me wincing. The door was probably on its last screw.
Both figures began to unwrap their layers.
They were odd layers: fishermen's sweaters that were falling apart, life vests that I was very familiar with, and what looked like hand-knitted shawls.
When the last layers were peeled off, they revealed two men: Not-Oskar, who turned away from me the moment that he saw me, and Jin Woo.
When I was in Seattle on my rare Saturdays off, I would rarely move from the couch; instead, I would watch K-drama after K-drama; apparently, the not-too-dark plots and beautiful people soothed my soul like nothing else.
One of my good friends, Sanna, also adored K-pop, and so I had consumed a good deal of it too.
Jin Woo looked like he didn’t belong in the real world.
He looked like the crown prince in a historical K-drama, strong but handsome in a beautiful way, or the leader of some incredibly popular K-pop group.
I had spent who knows how long pressed up against him yesterday, but I hadn’t really been able to see or appreciate all of him.
He was tall, maybe 6’4, and well built with wide shoulders; his hair was artfully tousled. He looked like a prince out of some fairy story.
When he saw Ettore and me, his face broke into an easy smile.
“Etto, Mina! You are both up! I was starting to get worried!”
“Cuore mio! You must be frozen! Come warm up with our little savior and me!”
Jin Woo leaned down and kissed Ettore on the cheek, who smiled and pulled him down so he was on the other side of me, leaning across to give him a passionate kiss, with more than a little tongue.
I would never admit it, not under pain of death or anything else, but I was breathing hard and was flushed when they finished, like a sex starved nun. Jeez, I needed to get laid.
“Such a prude my love is,” Ettore said conspiratorially. Jin Woo was blushing, his aristocratic features entirely red.
I started to get up, so that Jin Woo could be closer to Ettore and closer to the fire, but two arms pulled me back down.
“Where do you think you are going, piccola?” Said Ettore.
“Have we made you uncomfortable, Mina?” Asked Jin Woo.
Having both of them so close was doing funny things to my brain, and, well, other places.
“I thought you both might want to sit next to each other, and plus Jin Woo just got inside, he should be close to the fire.”
“How considerate.” Jin Woo smiled down at me.
“She is, isn’t she?” Ettore chimed in.
There was a snort from somewhere else in the room, but I couldn’t get myself to care, being so consumed by the sandwich that I was in the middle of.
“Don’t worry,” Ettore continued, “Ohs are made out of sterner stuff. Though we are both worried about you, you were in the water for quite a long time.”
“It seems that you all are made of sterner stuff, and I’m not,” I said teasingly.
“Of course!” Jin Woo said confidently, “You are delicate—”
I could feel my eyes turn into slits. I may like being sandwiched between two strong, handsome men, but I was a feminist.
“Because I’m a woman?” I asked, wondering if the warning tone in my voice was quite obvious. I had dealt with more than enough sexism for one lifetime, thank you very much!
“No no no no no!” Ettore tutted, shaking his head vigorously, “Delicate for other reasons. Don’t listen to us! We’re silly, so silly!”
That was suspicious as hell. I eyed him, and he made his eyes even more liquid and deep, and I conceded. For now.
“Fine. I guess.”
Jin Woo leaned closer, and the three of us got cozy. I could feel the two other men communicating above my head (again, what massive men they were, both of them) in the way that couples did sometimes.
Outlined by the shadows cast by the fire, Not-Oskar was highlighted in gold like some dark god. If we were sticking to the Greek pantheon, maybe a Hephaestus, or Ares, because he was not misshapen at all.
I knew him. I knew him. Even years later, I knew him. I would never be able to forget him. Not even if I tried.
So, I gave it one last go. Just one last time before I fully remanded myself to the label of ‘crazy, delusional girl.’
“Oskar!” I called out. Not in alarm, just to get his attention.
He turned.
“Yes?”