Chapter 9

Emiliana

My head was throbbing and my mouth was dry like the desert. I had no idea of the time as I groaned and rolled over in my sheets. However, I did find a glass of water standing on the bedside table, it looked enticingly cool and untouched so I took it hastily, downing its contents with no struggle. 

I fought to drag myself upright, the slight dizziness that invaded my brain was agonising but I needed something to ease the hunger rapidly taking over my body like an army preparing for war. 

I plodded out of my bedroom, heading down the hallway to the large kitchen. I opened the fridge and let the coolness hit me like an ice block to the face. 

“Ahh!” I moaned in delight into the cold space. “Whaaaaaaaa!” I shrieked. 

The sudden thump of heavy metal music threw me from the refrigerator door and caused me to stumble back, landing with a dull thud on my backside. The hard marble slapped me mercilessly, stinging my skin loudly as it echoed around the room. 

Green eyes stared down at my bruised form and I suddenly realised I was in my underwear.

“What are you doing?” I shouted over the heavy drums and screaming voices. He smirked menacingly at me and raised his hand. He was holding the remote control to my speakers.

I clutched the side of my head as I sprung up from the floor, reaching for the remote in his grasp. His reflexes were too fast for me and he held the remote too high for me to reach. 

“Stop it!” I muffled my ears to avoid the harsh sounds penetrating my eardrums. “Stop it!”

The music stopped immediately and I stood facing Giovanni in my bra and panties. 

“That wasn’t funny!” I shouted at him, allowing the anger to roll off me in waves. His lips turned up playfully as his eyes trailed the curves of my half naked body intensely. I shoved my hand onto my jutted hip aggressively, pissed off that he had the audacity to: one, scare me half to death, two, rape my eardrums with hideous music and three, to check me out.

“Enjoying the view?” 

He paused for a moment before nodding in approval. He was infuriating me with his silent gazes and I wasn’t in the mood for them.

I stalked to my room, throwing an oversized T-shirt on before returning to the kitchen. My headache was proving to be even more painful than before thanks to Giovanni’s prank and my brain was giving up on me.

I tiptoed back into the kitchen to find Giovanni perched on one of the stools at the middle island, sipping a coffee and flicking through the pages of a newspaper.

As I edged closer, I observed his muscular form. He was wearing a well-fitted white shirt, black slacks and a matching black waistcoat. The ensemble fit him like a glove, holding his rippling muscles tightly like a stripper on a pole.

He slid a mug across the counter to me after noticing my quiet presence.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, taking a sip of the steaming dark liquid. I felt the warmth spread across my chest down to my extremities, while the caffeine worked its gentle magic on my head. 

He momentarily slipped a packet of aspirin across the surface, landing it perfectly in front of me. I fumbled with the packet, my fingers shaky and weak. I pulled out two tablets and sank them down with the remainder of my morning brew. I sighed loudly as the caffeine hit the spot perfectly. 

My head fell into my hands and I instinctively massaged the impending headache away. I needed to go back to bed, curl up in my sheets while feeling sorry for myself so that I could recover from whatever I had been drinking last night. Tomorrow would be the start of a new venture and I needed to be fresh for it, I was also sure that Giovanni didn’t want to be babysitting me all day.

“I’m going back to bed.” I mumbled, slipping down from the stool and heading back in the direction of my bed. “Let yourself out.” I waved dismissively at Giovanni.

I stayed in bed all afternoon until my stomach begged me to find sustenance. I had just woken up from a great nap and the empty pit of my belly was growling in protest. I peeled myself out of bed reluctantly with one goal in mind - that was to reach the kitchen before dry heaving.

I slipped into some jogging bottoms to cover the chill that seeped through the skin on my legs. I was racking my brain, thinking of what I had in the cupboards that I could eat quickly without my stomach realising it had been too long. 

As I stepped into the kitchen, I found Giovanni sitting at the large glass table at the back of the room. I searched my thoughts, questioning myself on whether I did tell him to leave or not. I wasn’t complaining, the sight alone was welcoming and my stomach fluttered slightly as I watched his slow movements.

The orange skyline oozed it’s rays through the large window and cast an array of hues over his strong features. He was scrolling through his phone as I entered and his gaze lifted softly towards me. His deep green eyes were a softer shade of emerald as he observed my timid form. 

“I’m hungry.” I responded to his inquisitive gaze. I wasn’t sure why but his stare felt like he was questioning my life choices and I found myself joining in. Now I was glad that he had decided to stay, I just wasn’t willing to admit it to him - something about his aura gave off the hint of assurance and I didn’t need to inflate his ego further.

I pulled open the refrigerator door where a plate lay invitingly on the shelf. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich lit up my eyes like Christmas lights and I pulled it out hungrily.

“Mind if I join you?” I asked as I pulled out a chair opposite him. The screech of the metal scraping across the marble flooring made me wince in pain while Giovanni remained unaffected. I took his silence as acceptance - not like he had a choice - and plonked myself down. 

The sandwich was gone in moments and then I was thirsty. Giovanni slid a glass of water towards me like he could read my mind. How did he seem to know my every need?

“Thanks.” I gulped down the ice cold refreshment, revelling in its coolness as it soothed my scratchy throat. I was in a much better mood now. 

“How come you’re still here?” I asked, knowing all too well he wouldn’t respond. 

He didn’t.

This time I didn’t react to his silent treatment. I was semi-grateful for it if I was being honest because the last thing I needed was a chatty sally in my ear hole while I nursed a hangover from hell.

I stood from the table, sensing that Giovanni was happy to sit alone and headed into the living room.

I curled up on the couch, switching on the TV to the latest episode of the Bachelor. It was only six in the evening but it gave me enough time to worry about the long day ahead of me tomorrow. 

My father wasn’t going to take it easy on me, I knew that much. But after the dispute yesterday, I was dreading facing him. Neither one of us were the type to apologise, we were known as being the most stubborn in our family, so the following day had me worried slightly.

Giovanni’s soft but certain footsteps joined me in the living room. He sat in the single chair that rested against the large window and cast a dark shadow across the floor. The skyline behind him was a beautiful silhouette, the Chrysler building could be seen in the distance but it was only in the form of a black shadow. I reverted my gaze back to the screen, the last thing I wanted him to think was me checking him out.

“You don’t need to stay and watch me.” I told him, avoiding his powerful green orbs. He reclined further into the seat, making himself comfortable. He was clearly ignoring my words but I wasn’t fully up to the challenge of getting him to talk. 

I did have a vague recollection of him speaking to me last night though, but in my drunken state, I had no doubts that I could have dreamt it - possibly hallucinated it.

“If you’re staying, there’s a guest bedroom round the corner.” I gestured with the remote, pointing it towards the other side of the private elevator. When he still didn’t make a sound, I made no further attempts to converse, I just carried on watching my program. 

It seemed like our relationship of sorts was going to be that of one way conversations and that just made things so much simpler for me. If there was no conversation between us then there was no further connection. I couldn’t deny that the close proximity I had found myself in with him over the last few days was intense, almost magnetising but that could be avoided easily enough. Talking to him would bring a whole other card to the table, his smooth tone alone had the hairs on my neck sticking up. If I got to know this guy, who knows what would happen?