Velocity (13 page)

“It’s fine. Show me around.”

She made a sound. “Not much to show. This is the living
room. The kitchen is over there,” Savannah indicated an area behind a breakfast
bar. They walked down a short hall. “Bathroom. Office,” she said, pointing into
rooms. “And my room.”

Paolo peeked into Savannah’s room. Though it was obviously a
woman’s room, it wasn’t overly frilly. “It’s very nice. I like your apartment.”

Savannah blushed and he was tempted to see just how
comfortable that bed was. She was adorable and beautiful all at the same time.
Yeah, he had it bad.

“So, um, I’m going to open some windows. I don’t have much
in the way of food. We could order something. Places stay open late around
here.”

He shrugged. “I am not very hungry. Just tired, mostly.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve realized—”

“It’s fine. Stop apologizing,
cara
. I’m okay. Just
tired. I’m not used to working like this day after day.” Paolo smiled
sheepishly. “I should be, but I am not.”

“That’ll come.” Savannah said as she walked over to the
window in the bedroom. “We can open this for a bit and I’ll go set the
air-conditioning down to try to take some of the staleness out of the air. Feel
free to get ready for bed. I’ll be in after a few minutes.”

Bed sounded wonderful, and after stripping down to his
boxers, Paolo climbed into her queen-sized bed. It was done up with just a
sheet and a blanket, which was perfect for him. He rolled over onto his side
and must’ve fallen asleep almost immediately, because he didn’t remember a
thing after that.

* * * * *

The next morning, Paolo awoke refreshed. He hadn’t slept
that well in a very long time. He heard his phone chiming and was thankful he’d
plugged it in to charge before dropping into bed. Savannah was nowhere to be
found and he grabbed his phone from the nightstand. It was his brother,
wondering if they had any plans for the day. Paolo had no idea, so he padded
out to the living area and found Savannah in the kitchen with a huge mug of
coffee in front of her.

“Marco is on the phone. He wants to know if we have any plans
for the day.”

“Well, I was going to see if you guys wanted to come to the
college and see my lab. You don’t have to,” she said in a rush. “I know you’re
tired.”

“That sounds like fun. Let me ask him.” Switching to Italian
for the sake of brevity, he consulted with Marco, who was excited at the
prospect of seeing where Savannah did her research. He relayed the decision to
Savannah, who grinned.

“I can pick them up on our way there. We’ll need breakfast
since I don’t have any food in the house.”

“Do you guys want breakfast?” he asked Marco.

Savannah said they would stop by the hotel in an hour and
went to shower. Paolo wandered around, taking his first good look at the place.
She had a smallish television with DVD player and a comfortable-looking couch,
along with two smaller armchairs and assorted tables, but what really struck
him were the multiple bookcases crammed with all manner of books, along with an
eclectic mix of knickknacks.

He read the spines on some of the books and it was obvious
she loved to read for both pleasure and for knowledge, since some of the books
were textbooks. There were hundreds of books in the room. Paolo knew he wasn’t
stupid, but seeing all this and knowing they were going to the lab later was a
little intimidating.

Savannah came out to the living room, a short robe wrapped
around her. “I’m a bit of a book nut.”

“Yes, there are a lot of books here.”

“Hey,” she said softly, putting her arms around his neck.
“Don’t feel weird. I know you’ve never been to college, but you had other priorities.
There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I know. I just feel…” Paolo glanced back at the shelves.
“Like I’m not good enough for you.”

Savannah took his face in her hands. “You are plenty good
enough for me. Trust me, there are tons of people who don’t have half the
brains you do but still manage to have advanced degrees. Sadly some of those
people are even professors, so they’re spreading their mediocrity.” After
giving him a quick kiss, she asked, “Are you going to feel comfortable going to
the school today? There’s no reason you shouldn’t, but I don’t want to force
you to go.”

“I want to see where you work. I promise I will be all
right. I’m just not used to being around people with a lot of education. It
makes me feel like I should be doing more with my life.”

“Maybe you should be. Don’t close yourself off to any
possibility. You can do whatever you want to do.”

He wasn’t so sure, but appreciated her confidence in him.
Marco had told him the same thing, but Paolo had discounted his words, figuring
they were mandatory for an older brother to say to the younger brother he’d
basically been taking care of for years.

After Paolo showered, they got into Savannah’s Civic, which
had thankfully been parked in a small bank of garage stalls behind the
apartment so it hadn’t melted in the hot New Mexican sun and drove to the hotel
before stopping at a diner to grab food. Conversation flowed easily as Savannah
told them all about the city. Her affection for the area was easily
discernible, and Paolo found himself smiling as he watched her describe Sandia
Peak, a park that boasted a pretty scary-sounding cable-car ride. She was
gesticulating wildly as she enthusiastically described her favorite places in
the area. Paolo caught the soft expression on Marco’s face and knew his own
expression must look similar.

Marco paid and they all piled back into her car for the
short drive to the college. She parked in a student lot and they hiked through
what felt like a huge campus until they came to a building labeled “Health Sciences
and Services”. Paolo didn’t have a clue what that even meant and felt a lump
grow in his throat. He’d been enjoying the impromptu tour as Savannah had
pointed out various places of interest, but now he felt out of his league
again.

Savannah pulled the door open and ushered them inside. Her
entire face lit up when, a few moments later, she unlocked another door. “This
is it. I share it with a bunch of other grad students so it isn’t all mine. I
wish it were.”

They stepped inside and Paolo’s eyes widened. This place
might as well have been on Mars for all he understood of the equipment in here.
She patiently led them around the large room, explaining what each thing did
and which specific pieces she used. After a while Paolo’s head spun with all
the different terminology.

She stopped suddenly and Paolo almost plowed into her. “I’m
totally boring you guys, aren’t I? I just get excited.”

“No,
cara
. It’s just a lot of information to take in.
None of us went to any secondary schooling.”

“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t though.”

Why does she keep mentioning that?

“This is pretty cool,” Natalie said. “I’d always wanted to
go to school someday, but it never seemed like the right time.”

Marco turned to her, clearly surprised. “Go for what?”

Natalie looked out the window before returning her gaze to
his. “I always thought business management would be a good skill to have.”

He nodded. “You can go to school if you’d like. They even
have college courses online that you could take on the tour. Or we could get an
apartment—”

Natalie held up her hand. “We can talk about it later. It
was just one of those things I never got around to after my dad died.” Her
focus turned to Paolo. “There’s no reason you couldn’t do something like this.”

“Like this?” He swept his arm over the room.

“Well, maybe not this program, but they must have a million
different majors here, right? I mean, this place is huge.”

Savannah glanced at Paolo. “They do.”

“Like maybe even a vet tech program or something.”

Is everyone conspiring to push me into this?

“They…um…they do. I looked it up,” Savannah admitted with a
sheepish smile.

“You did?” he asked.

“I still think you’re smart enough to do whatever you want
with your life, Paolo. I’ve told you that before. You seem to be good at
helping out in the pens, but imagine how much you could do with a couple of
years of schooling.”

“She’s right,” Marco added.

Paolo nodded, not sure what to say. Even when they’d spoken
about the possibility of him attending college before he hadn’t really
considered it as within the realm of possibility. He had finished the Italian
equivalent of high school with decent grades, but that had been nearly five
years ago. What would a place like this think if he applied?

With one final sweep of the room, Savannah ushered them out
and relocked the door. “I have a tiny little office and there’s some other
stuff around like computer labs, but the lab is where I spend a lot of my
time.” Jiggling her keys from hand to hand, she continued, addressing Paolo. “I
need to get some groceries and stop by the post office for my mail. Do you want
to come with me or hang out with your brother?”

“I can come with you.”

“Is it okay if I drop you guys back at the hotel?” Savannah
asked Marco and Natalie.

“Of course,” Marco answered.

“Why don’t I come back and get you later on this afternoon
and I can cook dinner for all of us?”

Both Paolo and Marco moaned. “Cooking from a home? Count us
in,” Marco said with a grin. “If there is a wine store near the hotel we can
stop and get something to bring.”

“You don’t have to.”

“
Cara
,” Marco said with an indulgent smile. “If our
madre
knew we’d gone to a home for dinner without bringing a contribution, she would
slap us.”

“Don’t argue with him,” Natalie advised. “It’s like arguing
with a brick wall. You’ll get nowhere.”

Savannah laughed. “All right then. Wine would be nice. I’ll
get my errands done and we’ll call you to let you know we’re coming. You can
take a cab home tonight. It’s not too far.”

With the plans made, they trekked back to the car, Paolo’s
brain swimming as he considered. Could he really do this? Could he go to
school?

Savannah wasn’t sure she’d done the right thing in bringing
Paolo to the college, but she’d wanted to show him he could do so much more
than he seemed to believe he could. It wasn’t hard to imagine him with a bag
slung over his shoulder, wandering down the hall on his way to class. Students
came in all ages and backgrounds now, so he wouldn’t even cause a blip on the
radar screen of his fellow students.

Now, as he followed her through the grocery store without
speaking, she was starting to regret her decision. The last thing she’d wanted
to do was make him feel inferior or to put pressure on him. He was leaving in a
few days anyway and she wanted to squeeze every drop of fun out of the time
they had left.

He grabbed the bags out of the trunk and brought them
inside. They hadn’t said more than a few words since they’d dropped Marco and
Natalie off. Savannah wasn’t sure what she was waiting for—letting the silence
continue was only going to make things worse and more awkward.

Paolo was currently sitting at her breakfast bar with a
bottle of water in front of him while he fiddled with his phone. She began to
lay out the ingredients she’d need for the meal. The guys, as they’d mentioned,
didn’t get home cooking very often and she wanted to make something special,
something memorable. In the end she’d decided on Chicken Kiev, her famous
stuffing, and oven-roasted potatoes.

She cut up and seasoned the potatoes before putting them in
the oven. She liked to roast them for several hours to get a good crisp on the
outside, and her mouth was already watering at the thought of eating them. They
were one of her favorite side dishes.

After she got the potatoes in the oven, she decided to start
on the bumbleberry pie she was planning to have for dessert. Savannah had
considered making ice cream to go on top of the pie, since she did have an
ice-cream machine her sister had given her as a gag gift, telling her it would
be another way to get caffeine into her system if she made coffee ice cream,
but had decided she’d rather snuggle on the couch with Paolo. She glanced up at
him still playing with his phone, a look of intense concentration on his face.

If he still even wants to cuddle. If I haven’t totally
screwed things up.

Making a quick decision, she asked him, “Do you know how to
cook at all? Could you maybe help me cut up the berries for the pie while I get
the stuffing ready?”

He finally looked up. “I’ve done a little cooking during the
offseason. I enjoy making my favorite Italian foods.”

She smiled. “I didn’t even consider making anything Italian.
I doubt I could come close to what you guys are used to.”

“I am sure whatever you make will be delicious.” He stood.
“How can I help?”

“If you want to grab that bowl,” she pointed to one on a
high shelf, “you can put the berries in there. You can sit right where you were
to cut them up. I’ll stay on this side so we don’t bump each other while we’re
using sharp objects.”

Paolo laughed. “Yes, that would be bad.” He moved into the
kitchen and grabbed the bowl before accepting the knife and cutting board she
handed him. Savannah began to wash the berries and he transferred them to the
counter. They worked together quickly and efficiently and a shiver worked
through her at the thought of him being here all the time. She’d never even
come close to being with a man she wanted to share living space with, but it
was frighteningly easy to picture this being an everyday occurrence.

Get your head out of the clouds. It’s not happening.

Paolo settled down and began to slice up the berries, albeit
slowly. She didn’t need them for a couple of hours, but at least now he had
something to do. Setting up her own area, Savannah began prepping her stuffing.

“I am finished,” Paolo told her as she finished cleaning the
area where she’d gotten the stuffing ready so she could do the chicken there.
It was a pain to only have one prep area, but at least it was a decent size and
she wasn’t banging into overhead cupboards.

“Great, thanks. That’ll be a big help later. Can I give you
the recipe and get out all the stuff for the mixture they go in and you can
dump it all in? You don’t have to, of course. Feel free to sack out on the
couch and relax. I know you’re still sore.”

“
Ragazza
, I am well able to assist you in making a
meal.” He stalked her around the breakfast bar and she backed up to the small
counter beside the sink. “In fact, I’m well able to do many things. I believe I
owe you an orgasm.”

An involuntary gasp left her suddenly parched lips. “I
wasn’t keeping track.”

“I was.” Paolo indicated her capri pants. “Take these off.”

“What? Here?”

“Yes. Here.” He placed his hand down on the counter behind
her. “Actually, here.”

“Oh. Oh wow.” She made quick work of her pants and panties
and then Paolo lifted her onto the counter and knelt in front of her.

“Perfect.” Pulling her closer to the edge of the counter, he
told her, “Hold on.” Then his face was between her legs and she was
white-knuckling to keep herself upright. The man made magic with his mouth and
it wasn’t long before she’d wrapped her legs around his head completely and
screamed out her release. She was pretty sure people in the other buildings in
the complex heard her, maybe even people on campus, but she didn’t care.

Paolo rose and hugged her tightly before helping her down.
As she dressed herself once more, he grabbed a soapy paper towel and wiped down
the counter. They both set to work finishing dinner.

He stayed behind to watch over everything as she made the
quick trip to pick up Marco and Natalie.

“I’m happy you came alone,” Marco said with a smile Savannah
knew was trouble. “Natalie and I agree that Paolo should try going to school
and we wanted to know if we had your support to convince him.”

“Of course. I don’t want to put unwelcome pressure on him,
and I feel like I did today with taking you guys to the lab.”

“I was watching him,” Marco told her. “Yes, he looked a
little overwhelmed, but he also looked…I don’t know…excited or something.”

“I think he’d be great.”

“We do as well. Paolo is a much smarter man than he, or even
I, ever gave him credit for. I feel badly I did not encourage him before this.”

“I don’t think he was ready,” Natalie offered. “But now? I
think it would be a good change for him. He does live in Marco’s shadow and
though he doesn’t seem to mind that, he’s getting older now. He needs to figure
out what he’s going to make of his life.”

“You can count on me, but I think if we push him too hard
he’ll resist,” she said.

“Yes, agreed. When we arrive, might I be able to speak with
him somewhere private?”

Savannah chuckled. “The apartment’s not that big, but if
Natalie hangs out in the kitchen with me you guys can talk in the living room.”

“This is just your excuse to get the women in the kitchen,
where they belong, isn’t it?” Natalie asked and Marco reached into the backseat
to tickle her. “Stop, stop.”

“Say you’re sorry.” He was grinning at her, but since
Savannah was driving she couldn’t see the expression on Natalie’s face.

“Never.”

That set off another round of tickling. Savannah
concentrated on the road, but nonetheless her mind wandered and she imagined
what it would be like to have Paolo here and to establish that easy camaraderie
Marco and Natalie enjoyed. With a wistful sigh, Savannah pulled into her parking
lot.

* * * * *

The ladies shooed Paolo out of the kitchen with beers in his
hands for him and Marco. After handing one to his brother, he sat on the
opposite end of the couch. They each took a few sips, seemingly lost in their
own thoughts, when Marco asked, “Do you like Albuquerque?”

Paolo shrugged. “I have not seen much of it, but it seems
nice.”

“I can tell you’re thinking about something,” Marco told
him. “What is it?”

His thumb tapped the side of the bottle a few times as he
considered what to say to Marco. Since he wasn’t even sure what he wanted, how
could he communicate that to someone else? As if the answer lay at the bottom
of the bottle, he found himself staring into it.

“I think I might want to try school.” Before Marco could
reply, he went on. “I do not want to be a vet. I know that’s a lot of
schooling. But as Savannah said, there are assistant programs that are
shorter.”

He looked up as a grin spread across his brother’s face.
“And Savannah? What about her?”

“I know it’s only been a few weeks, but I feel
this…connection with her.”

Marco nodded. “That’s how I felt with Natalie.” His brother
shifted to face him more fully. “Perhaps before we leave you can find out more
about the program here at Savannah’s college.”

Paolo took a deep breath. Was this the right thing to do? He
supposed the worst that could happen would be he failed out of school. Somehow
he didn’t think that would happen though. If he got accepted into the school he
would work hard to prove to himself, as well as to Marco and Savannah, that he
could do this.

“I can go there tomorrow to find out what I need to do. I’m
sure it would take a couple of months to get my grades all the way from
Italia
,
and I might need to change the visa I have to one for students.” Paolo blew out
a loud breath. “Until then I will probably stay on the tour and get more
experience.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you could get a job around here.”

“Yes, but what happens if the school does not accept me? I
would be stuck here.”

“You’d still have Savannah.”

“I don’t want to be a burden. I will stay on tour and at
least do something worthwhile until I hear from the school.”

Marco reached over and they tapped the necks of their
bottles together. “I think you’re doing the right thing,
fratello
.”

“What right thing?” Natalie walked into the living room and
snuggled up next to Marco, sinking onto the arm of the couch next to him.

“Savannah, can you come here for a moment?” Paolo called. He
only wanted to make this announcement once, well technically twice, but only
once since he’d decided he really wanted to try this. Standing, he paced away
before turning around.

Savannah appeared in the doorway and leaned on the breakfast
bar. “What’s up?”

“I would like to go to the college tomorrow morning to find
out more about the veterinary assistant program and how to apply.”

With a shriek, she ran and jumped into his arms. Paolo
stumbled back a step, but caught her. Before he knew it, her tongue was in his
mouth and she was kissing him as if her life depended on it. He heard a cough
from the couch and let Savannah slide down his body, sending a cheeky grin
toward his brother.

“I’ll take you tomorrow before the event,” Savannah told
him, her face lit up with a bright smile. “I know my way around, so I can help
make the process go faster. I was
so
hoping you’d decide to do this, but
I didn’t want to pressure you or make you do it for me.”

“I will go back out on tour though,
cara
. I want to
use the time to get more experience.”

“But if you get in, it will probably be for the spring
semester, which is only a few months away. It starts in late January.” She
looked away and then back at him. “We’d be together. All the time. Are you
ready for that?”

Paolo took her beautiful face in his hands. Her eyes were
swimming with so many emotions he couldn’t pinpoint just one. But he thought he
saw joy, and knowing he had the power to make someone else so happy was both
exhilarating and frightening. Somewhere deep inside him, he knew he’d found his
soul mate, his forever
amante
. Gently he kissed her. He hadn’t wanted to
do this in front of his brother and Natalie, but he also didn’t want to put it
off.

“
Tu sei la mia bella donna
,” he
said. “
Per sempre.
I love you. Forever.”

She grinned. “I love you too.”

“Let’s go eat!” Marco said, and Paolo saw Natalie elbow him.

“Leave them alone for a minute.”

His brother laughed, but allowed Natalie to push him down
the hall to who knew where, and Paolo backed Savannah to the couch and urged
her down onto it.

“As soon as they leave I am going to make love to you until
neither of us can walk.”

“Oh my.”

“Yes, oh my.”

And he kissed her again.

* * * * *

Three months later…

“Not this one?” Paolo took the messenger bag off his
shoulder and returned it to the rack. It seemed as if he and Savannah had been
shopping for hours. Who knew going to college would require so much stuff?

He’d gotten his acceptance letter for the spring semester a
week before, and with Savannah off school for a few days for the Thanksgiving
holiday, he’d come into town to see her. When they’d made the arrangements he’d
had no idea she was planning to hijack the visit and make him shop. If she
hadn’t blown him in one of the dressing rooms he’d probably be getting pretty
impatient by now.

“No, see the strap? That canvasy material unravels. I really
think leather might be good for you.”

“Whatever you think is best is fine with me,
cara
.
You’re the expert here.” He’d been hoping to get back to her in time to have
sex before they met a few friends of Savannah’s at a restaurant. He’d already
met Lesley and Katrina, plus Savannah’s parents, and liked them all.

It was Black Friday and Paolo thought only crazy people
would voluntarily subject themselves to this kind of noise and crowds. Paolo
was pretty sure he’d prefer a goring to this.

“You’re not having any fun at all, are you?” she asked,
wrapping her arms around his neck, and he shrugged, not wanting to rain on her
parade. “For me, school shopping is like my birthday and Christmas rolled into
one awesome day.”