An uneasy feeling took hold of me, when I saw the pub from the outside, an old, dilapidated building on the dark side of downtown. But the rock music coming from inside and my curiosity made me overcome my doubts, and I curiously followed Sally entering the pub. Holy shit! There were a lot of people inside, but I could barely see them, since the air was thick with smoke. They weren't just smoking cigarettes, but also weed; I could smell it! Finally, we made it to the bar. A group of boys and girls were standing there, smoking, drinking, and talking.
"Frank!"
As soon as Sally called his name, a tall guy with black hair turned around, coming toward us with a huge smile on his face.
"Hi Sally, you're finally here! I've missed you," Frank said in a warm voice.
The way he was looking at Sally said more than a thousand words: he's in love with her!
"I've missed you too, Frank," Sally whispered, sighing softly.
Then she stood on tiptoe to kiss her boyfriend, and he returned her kiss, gently pulling her into his arms. My God, they're so cute! After a few seconds, Sally turned to me, and I saw that her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling. My heart melted when I saw her that happy! She winked happily at me, making me smile.
"Frank, here is she: my bestie Sofia!" Sally introduced me to her boyfriend.
He gave me a curious look from his gray eyes, and I had to admit that he has very good looks.
"Hey Frank, nice to meet you! Sally has told me so much about you," I said a little shyly, and he winked at me.
"The pleasure is all mine, I'm finally meeting Sally's best friend. Welcome to the Dragon's Den, Sofia!" Frank replied with a smirk.
Then he rummaged in his pockets, finally pulling something out: two cigarettes!
"Would you like a cigarette, Sally and Sofia? There's a little bit of weed in it."
I was speechless; was he actually offering us a joint?! I should have known better before coming here. Sally accepted the cigarette without hesitation. I stared at her in disbelief, while she was smoking the joint.
"Thanks, Frankie Boy, the stuff is so good!" she told him with delight, and he chuckled before taking a long drag on his cigarette.
I felt it boiling up inside me. How could Sally be so stupid as to smoke a cigarette with weed, even when it's her boyfriend offering it to her? I cleared my throat loudly to get Sally's attention. She turned to me, giving me a questioning look.
"Have you lost your mind, Sally? I can't believe you're smoking weed!"
I was quite upset, but Sally just rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, Sofie! There's only a small amount of weed in it, you can't get addicted to it," she assured me.
"Want to try it? You can take a puff of my cigarette."
Sally and Frank were looking at me expectantly and I was really pissed!
"No! You know exactly that I don't smoke, Sally... and certainly not a joint!" I snapped at her.
Sally hesitated for a moment before throwing the cigarette on the floor and stubbing it out. I nodded at her, smiling, but then my attention was diverted...
I noticed someone leaning against the door, looking over at us. My heart skipped a beat when our eyes met... The guy is very tall, with large shoulders and dark blond hair. He's wearing a dark brown jacket and black jeans.
Jesus, he's gorgeous, absolutely irresistible! Now he was actually walking toward us, and the way he was moving, confident and elegant... so fucking sexy!
"Hi Frank," he greeted the friend in his deep voice, breaking eye contact for a few seconds.
"Hi Marco," Frank replied with a smirk.
Marco turned to face me, and only then did I see that he has deep blue eyes, ocean eyes! Holy shit, I have a weakness for blond guys with blue eyes. He seemed amused, and I only now did I realize that I've been staring at him the whole time! What must he think of me, as I was acting like a little girl.
"Hi," I said, a little shyly.
He gave me a little smile, but didn't say a word. I noticed he was checking me out of the corner of his eye. With any other guy, I would have felt bothered, but Marco was curious and discreet at the same time, and there was a soft expression in his blue eyes making my heart race.
Marco is not only beautiful, but there's something about him... All I want is to get to know him better. Why isn't he talking to me? Maybe I should say something? Suddenly, the smile vanished from his face, and he sighed deeply before turning around. What was going on?
"Do you have a joint for me, Frank? I need one right now," he asked his friend, and Frank nodded eagerly.
"You're lucky, Marco, I've still one here, it's the last one! I think I'll have to buy some more later."
Frank took another cigarette from his pockets, giving it to Marco, who lit it immediately. He looked kind of unhappy, while he was taking deep drags on his cigarette.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The amazing guy who has caught my attention from the very beginning, is a drug addict! I didn't know exactly why, but I was totally disappointed. I cleared my throat loudly, and Marco looked at me with a sad expression in his blue eyes.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? You've stared at me for minutes without saying a word," I snapped at him.
"You'd rather smoke a joint than talk to me? Poor Marco!"
He was choking and looked away, embarrassed. Silence! Marco didn't answer, and I realized that my words were hurting him. Once again, I didn't think before speaking, and I hated myself for it!
Marco raised his eyes, looking so deep into mine that I held my breath. There was so much sadness and pain in his gaze that it touched my heart! I don't know how long he was looking at me like that, but then he just turned around and walked away. I was standing there, in complete dismay. What the hell is wrong with him? I was lost in thought when I noticed Sally gently stroking my back.
"Hey Sofie, why don't you follow Marco? He looks kind of sad, maybe he needs some company," she said with an encouraging smile.
"And he's fucking hot, isn't he? What are you waiting for, sweetie?"
I vigorously shook my head.
"Please, Sally! I highly doubt Marco's interested in my company, as he hasn't said a word to me," I replied with a shrug.
"I need to use the bathroom. See you later."
Sally did her best to cheer me up, but I just wanted to be alone for a moment. I gave her a quick smile before heading to the restrooms.
**********
Ten minutes later, I was walking back along the long corridor from the ladies' room to the back entrance of the pub when I saw HIM! Marco was standing by the wall right next to the door, looking at his phone. He couldn't see me because his back was to me. I didn't feel like having another one-way conversation with him, without getting any answers. So I decided to sneak past him, walking on tiptoe as not to be noticed. I already had my hand on the doorknob when I heard his deep voice behind me:
"Wait! Please wait a moment!"
Fuck! I took a deep breath before turning around and looking straight into his blue eyes. He was staring at me so deeply that I blushed hard, my cheeks burning. I cleared my throat awkwardly and tried to pull myself together.
"What do you want, Marco?"
I crossed my arms and gave him an indifferent look, while I was waiting for his answer. Apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed.
"I, I'm sorry, I didn't say a word earlier! I was totally focused on getting that fucking joint," he replied, running a hand through his messy hair.
Jesus, he's so hot! But I was still confused and wanted to know more.
"You know what the problem is? Your friend Frank offered the stuff to me and Sally too," I said angrily.
"And she actually smoked it. She's my best friend, I care about her a lot, and I don't want her to get addicted!"
I shot him a nasty look, and he cleared his throat nervously. He seemed to be searching for the right words, then a little smile appeared on his handsome face.
"Don't worry, piccola! Frank can be an asshole sometimes, but he really likes Sally."
He leaned his right arm against the wall directly above my head, getting closer.
"He gave her a cigarette with a small amount of weed. She won't get addicted," he assured me.
My heart skipped a beat when he gave me a sheepish smile.
"I don't know your name yet, piccola."
I was confused as he was calling me "piccola" (baby girl) with a perfect Italian accent. Is he Italian?
"My name is Sofia," I replied, a little more friendly.
"Sofia! That name suits you perfectly; a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
He winked at me, smiling, and I was already melting. Just a moment ago, he'd seemed totally reserved, and now he was flirting with me like a smoothy.
"Why don't we go back inside and take a seat? We can talk and get to know each other better," he suggested, giving me an expectant look.
"I think that's a good idea, Marco!"
He laughed happily, and I could not help but laugh with him. We entered the pub from the back door, getting to the tables. There we saw Sally and Frank sitting on a corner bench, making out quite passionately. They were so engrossed in the moment that they didn't notice us. We decided to sit in another corner of the room to give them some privacy. As soon as we sat down, I couldn't wait any longer.
"Can I ask you something, Marco?" I exclaimed excitedly, and he nodded eagerly.
"Sure, we're here to talk. What do you wanna know, piccola?" he replied, giving me a warm smile.
"Hey, you called me piccola again! Your name is Italian, you speak Italian... Are you Italian?" I asked curiously.
He cleared his throat nervously, and the smile disappeared from his pretty face. What was wrong now? Why does he suddenly look so sad? I felt uneasy.
"Marco, is everything alright?" I said anxiously, but he shook his head.
"Not really! But to answer your question: I'm American, since my dad is American," he replied, taking a deep breath.
"My mom is Italian. My parents divorced ten years ago, and my mom moved back to Italy."
Oh no! Poor Marco was forced to live with one parent after their parents' divorce. I gave him an empathetic look.
"Why did your mom move back to Italy? I mean, without you?" I asked gently.
"My brother was born when I was six. After he was born, my mom got sick! She suffered from severe depression, and the doctors advised her to return to her homeland. That's where she could best recover."
I listened to him, sincerely touched, while he was telling me the unhappy story of his childhood.
"My dad is George Williams, he's the owner of Williams Software Incorporation, and he's a fucking workaholic! All he cares about is his company and money, always money," he exclaimed, clenching his fists in anger.
But that wasn't why I was staring at him in disbelief. Marco is George Williams' son, the heir to Williams Software Incorporation! It's obvious, however, that he isn't happy with his life, but even seems to hate his father.
"Even though my mom begged him to move to Italy with her, my dad refused to leave the US and his company. After a few years, she'd gotten used to living her life in Italy without him."
He was overwhelmed by emotion and cleared his throat nervously before continuing:
"When she finally asked my dad for a divorce, he didn't even try to change her mind! He'd already met another woman, and they got married just one year after the divorce."
Marco looked exhausted, since the memory of his parents' divorce was deeply upsetting him. I felt so sorry for him.
"Unfortunately, my dad got custody of me, so I was forced to live with him and my stepmother!"
He swallowed hard, and I saw tears shimmering in his beautiful blue eyes. Oh no!
I just wanted to comfort him and spontaneously took hold of his hands! It felt so good to feel the warmth of his hands, and it touched me deeply, even though I only met him two hours ago. He looked into my eyes, smiling hesitantly. I'm just amazed by the intensity of his blue eyes! He's so fucking beautiful and yet so unhappy. Probably he's taking drugs to forget.
"I'm so sorry, Marco! I hope you feel better now that you've poured your heart out to me," I said encouragingly.
He nodded, still holding my hands. Now he began to gently caress the palms of my hands with his fingers. I tried to concentrate on our conversation, even though my heart was pounding like crazy!
"What about your mom? Do you ever visit her in Italy? It's such a beautiful country," I said, smiling, and he nodded eagerly.
"Yes, of course! I spend my summer holidays in Italy every year, with my mom and my little brother," he told me.
"They live in Lucca, in Tuscany, and yes... it's the most beautiful place in the whole world!"
Marco gave me a radiant smile, and in that moment, he was simply irresistible.
"Thanks for listening, piccola! What about you? I bet your life is perfect."
He looked at me expectantly, and I chuckled.
"I wouldn't call my life perfect! Okay, my family is fine. My parents are both veterinarians," I told him.
"They met at university in Berlin when my mom decided to study there. She's from Louisiana, and my dad is German. I have a ten-year-old brother named Sven. That's my story!"
We both had to laugh, and there was a feeling of confidence between us, as if we'd known each other forever.
"Well, very interesting! I bet you look like your mom. You're a Southern beauty with a touch of exoticism, " he said with a huge smile.
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. He's such a smoothy! After locking eyes for a breathless moment, I checked the time on my phone. I startled when I saw that it was already half past midnight and I had to be home by one.
"Fuck! It's already past midnight and I have to be home in half an hour!" I exclaimed.
Then I looked around nervously but couldn't see Sally anywhere. Where the heck has she gone? Marco noticed my agitation.
"Are you looking for Sally?" he asked.
"Yes, I can't see her anywhere! We came here in her car. How am I supposed to get home now?" I said anxiously, letting out a deep sigh.
"She's probably gone somewhere with Frank where no one will interrupt them making out," he replied with a smirk.
"If you want, Sofia, I can give you a ride home on my motorbike. Yeah, I'm a biker!"
I was immediately thrilled by the thought of riding home with him on his motorbike!
"Thanks, Marco! I'll quickly text Sally to let her know you're giving me a ride home," I replied happily.
I sent my bestie a message before leaving the Dragon's Den with the hot guy I only met a few hours ago.
Later, while we were riding home on Marco's big bike, I wrapped my arms tightly around him to hold on. Marco has a pretty fast riding style, and the wind was whistling around my ears, but it couldn't bother me because I pressed my face against his strong back. It felt like heaven! I was just happy and had such a good feeling about Marco Williams.