CHAPTER 28 Part.2

Angelo's POV

I remember my dad once told me in one of his father-son talks that there comes a time in a man's life when he loses his balls and never gets it back, 'Power of the Vagina', he called it. He emphasised on how powerful the presence of a woman was, using Eve as an example on how she was able to successfully convince Adam to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. He would also point to my mum's and his relationship and I would laugh in my dad's face because even though both my parents were intensely devoted to one another, my mum could be one demanding woman and my dad had no shame being putty in her hands. And I just never saw myself that way with any woman but from looking back into Luciana's large chocolate eyes, my dad's words haunted me.

She was good, I had to give her that - and more.

Having her lips on my chest had my internals spazzing out of control. Her pleading eyes lingered onto mine as she waited expectantly for me to say something after her apology.

Four shitty months and finally she was here. There was definitely anger as I realised how easy I was about to forgive and forget what she said the last time we saw each other.

I carefully contorted my face into a blank stare. She licked her full bottom lips nervously and looked up briefly before looking down again.

"Ar-aren't you going to say something?" she asked in a hoarse whisper whilst focusing her gaze at the messy pile of text books I had scattered all over my living room.

"Something like what?"

"I don't know but... at least something," she huffed out exasperated and I briefly became side-tracked by the small rise of her chest.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

I watched amused as her eyebrows crumpled together in confusion at my intelligent response.

"Is that all you have to say? Okay?" she asked in clear annoyance and I noticed her place more distance between her and I.

I was not amused by that action but I ignored it - for the time being.

Shrugging my shoulders nonchalant, I replied, "What else is there to say?"

"I don't know...just-urgh, you know what forget it, sorry for disrupting your study t-"

Pacing quickly forward I grasped her upper arm tight, stilling her from going any further but the girl was still not getting the message and was trying to wriggle free.

"Honestly, Angelo...Let. Me. Go."

"Or what Luci...anal?"

My smirk widened seeing her head snap up quickly with a highly irritated look on her face. I could see her fighting a retort in her head but for some reason she resisted, which was a shame - I missed her fire.

"Just let me go."

Playtime over, I flung her over my back before walking back to one of the sofas. Dumping her as smoothly as I could on one of the paper littered settees I wedged both her legs between mine.

Purposely grazing my lips with hers east to west, the tips of our noses touched. "Or what, Luciana?"

Lifting my head higher to see her better I noticed the tears blanket her eyes.

Burying my head in the arch of her neck I circled my tongue there for a while no doubt loving the sound of her soft gasp, before kissing the supple flap of her ears. The feeling of her palms gently caressing my cheeks and cupping my neck was enough to provoke me to fulfil the promise I made to her the last time we were in this position, but I couldn't. I needed to get my self-control back.

"I thought you didn't need me, remember?"

Even though it had been months since that day, there was not a day I didn't think about what she had said. It hurt like shit.

I watched carefully now, her chest rising and falling slowly, her face flushed, her eyes having taken a darker colour I could tell she was hesitant and vulnerable. Within seconds tears were spilling slowly from her sides.

"I do need you," I heard her choke out, "I-I just don't think I'm what you need."

Surprised by her answer, I stared blankly at her wondering for a moment if she was actually being serious. "And how exactly do you know what I need?"

My voice void of any play, my gaze fixed determinedly to hers wanting to know why she would say something like that.

"I-I-dun-"

"Get up."

Dismissing the look of surprise from Luciana, I took hold of her hand without her permission and pulled her off the couch and the mass of papers we had laid on top were all scrunched up.

"Oh my gosh I've messed up your papers, aren't those like your assignments, Angelo?" I heard Luciana ask behind me as I lead her out the living room and up the stairs.

"It doesn't matter."

"I'm glad you take so much pride in your work," she replied sarcastically under her breath as we finally reached my en suite bathroom.

My eyes took in the full length mirror that was next to my shower booth and I walked over to it, pulling Luciana in front of it whilst I stood behind circling my arms around her voluptuous curves. For awhile we gazed at our reflection, her body firmly pressed against mine, feeling the heat of one another.

Glancing at her through the mirror I could still detect the doubt in her eyes and the insecurity. Lightly sucking on her collar bone, educing a moan from her lips, I asked, "Do you see what I see? How can I not want this? How can I not need this?"

Twisting her around so that we were face to face, I tilted her head up with my pointer finger and for the brief moment we held each other's gazes I was clear about something. Overwhelmed with foreign emotions I cleared my throat before speaking. "I like my women beautiful."

"What guy wouldn't?" she snorted looking away from me now.

Turning her to face me again, I repeated once again, "Be-u-tee-full."

She didn't seem to get what I was saying so I had to break it down for her once again, "Be-you-fully. I accept you the way you are, so I don't understand why you can't."

Looking down, she started playing with her hands, before smoothing it out on her clothes, I had noticed it was a habit of hers whenever she was nervous.

"Because it's hard to."

"What's hard?"

"Angelo, I don't want to talk about it," she said and left the bathroom abruptly.

I followed her out into my bedroom and sat on the Ottoman in front of my bed with her. "Are you shutting me out again?"

"I-I'm not shutting you out I just don't want to talk about it."

"You're shutting me out," I said frustrated, before taking a deep breath. "Why are you so insecure?"

"It's hard not to be."

"Why?"

"I just don't like myself much."

"And that's why you push me away?"

"I'm not pushing you away, I'm saving you."

Her answer had me confused. "And why would I need saving from you?"

"Because sooner than later you will realise that there's nothing much to me, I'm boring, and I certainly am not beautiful."

"Oh yes, because I'm just another dickhead who wants to get into your pants, right?"

"Yes, exactly that. Guys like you love saying stuff or doing stuff that makes girls like me feel special and then when you're done with us, you just leave us broken and twisted in the wind," she said straight- faced which only made my pissed off levels rise to the max.

"So basically I'm an asshole who preys on girls with low self- esteem just so I can sleep with them, even though I'm a virgin-"

"Being a virgin has nothing to do with it."

"I don't know if you realise this Luciana, but I'm a Christian and my relationship with God is the most important thing to me. You implying that I'm capable of disrespecting women in that way seriously offends me. First of all if I did, that would hinder my relationship with Him, and also, I simply just don't have the time for that."

There was silence in the room. There was still doubt on her face and yes, I was a man but I wasn't immune to being hurt.

"You talk about me preying on you for selfish purposes, yet you're the one who only came here not to really apologise but to ask me for a recommendation letter. "

That quickly brought her out of whatever she was in as surprise and guilt was obvious on her face when she shifted her gaze to me. Her dad had told my uncle who had told me that she had been offered a job but had to get a recommendation, so I couldn't say I was too surprised that she'd shown up at my front door.

"Angelo...that's not how it is."

A bitter filled chuckle left my lips. "Of course it isn't."

"I am sorry, Angelo. I'm just in a very confused stage in my life and I'm trying to do what I think, what I believe is right. Pushing you away seemed the right thing to do...four months ago. It hurt me hurting you."

"You didn't hurt me," I replied which was a bull-loaded lie.

A tear dropped from her eyes as she breathed out unevenly. "Angelo, remember when you took me to- to that homeless shelter to drop off all the things you bought?

"What about it?"

"I came to like you so much more just seeing how selfless you were and you were the one who first planted the seed in my head to want to give more and be less focused on the surface things."

She was stroking my ego. I didn't even know if she realised how good she was at it but I said nothing as I went into my closet to get my shoes. I could feel her getting frustrated and I felt real good about that.

"I'm going out to eat."

"Angelo."

The pleading in her voice stopped me just as I was about to leave my room. For a while neither of us said anything, growing tired and hungry of the pregnant pause I reluctantly turned around as I really did not want to continue the discussion further.

"Luciana, go to the gym or find a new diet or some shit, if that's what's going to make you stop being so damn insecure but you and I know that what you really need to do is lose is all that negativity in your head that's got you thinking you ain't shit."

"You make it sound so easy."

From where I stood, I could see she was fighting back tears and it made me feel like an asshole at what I'd said to her but she needed to hear it.

"I never said that it was easy, I just want you to stop feeling like everyone is against you and stop pushing the people who care about you away," I said unbelieving of how unbelieving she was of herself.

"Damn, it wasn't until I came to America that I realised how insecure girls can be about their bodies, back in Spain it's different."

"How is it different?"

Shrugging my shoulders I said, " I dunno, we're just more chilled, we don't obsess about our looks as extremely as you Americans do."

Surprisingly for me a smile overtook my face as I watched Luciana stare back blankly at me. She was still over-thinking, absorbing, doubting, yet she looked real cute. Power of the Vagina.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," she replied unamused that I'd avoided her question.

"Cool, you can buy it for us."

Smirking to myself I heard her follow me down the stairs, "I'm not your maid anymore and besides that, no real man makes a girl pay for his food."

"And you would know this because?" I asked not liking the thought that some guy, in my absence, may have given her the illusion of how a 'real' man is supposed to treat a woman.

"I ain't buying you shit."

"Calm down, Lucianal," I chuckled to myself as I grabbed the car keys amongst the millions of practise papers that lay all over the centre table.

"Don't call me th-"

"You owe me though," I cut in quickly.

"And I'd like to know how you came about that conclusion."

The way she always took things so seriously had me laughing out loud, "Luciana, I was just joking."

We ended up at a Spanish tapas restaurant as I was feeling for some home food and as expected because it was basically past closing hours the place was pretty much full. Grabbing a hold of Luciana's hands felt natural to me as the waiter led us to a more secluded part of the restaurant and we settled down in one of the booths.

Wasting no time we both ordered for chicken and prawn paella, I had practically been studying the whole day and if it wasn't for Luciana's coming round to my house I would have probably not eaten until late in the evening, so I was not mad about the distraction.

It wasn't until I was about until half of my plate was empty and mid-chew that I looked up and noticed Luciana staring at me. "What?"

She jumped a little but then tried to cover it up by saying I had sauce on my chin.

I made an attempt to rub it away with my arm but went back to eat - I was too damn hungry.

"It's still there," before I could react she'd reached over the table with tissue and gently wiped my chin, which no lie, bordered on a caress.

I don't think she realised what she was doing until we held eye contact, she quickly removed her hand from my face and slurped her grape juice whilst I chewed on happily. She was still fighting it.

"I don't want to make it seem like I only came to you 'cos I needed a favour but I really need this recommendation letter."

"That's interesting," I said trying not to be irritated especially since I did not want to be reminded that she'd only come to see me for one primary reason.

"Well?" she asked exasperated her mouth full.

"I have four words for you."

I noticed her eyes twinkled with excitement and I smiled triumphantly because she was going to be in for a shock.

"Prove it to me."

Her face once again scrunched up in confusion she asked, "Prove what to you?"

"Prove you didn't just come back for a favour and you're not just once again going to run away from me as soon as you get what you want. My uncle will get you a job if you don't get this one, but four months is enough of the games. There's no way we can deny that we feel something for each other but I need to be sure you're here one hundred percent. Are you?"

Moments passed, years flew but in a heartbeat, I heard her, "Yes I am."

"Prove it to me."