Raison D'être

Training

Anastasia

Walking inside Lorenzo showers me with compliments, but I wave them off because all I did was drive straight. Grabbing a granola bar, I offer Lorenzo but he shakes his head. Taking a bite, I watch as he sits in the barstool in front of me, head in his hand, just watching me. I smile, enjoying the taste and the company he brought me today. "Thank you."

"For? "

"For everything, even something so simple as letting me drive your car. It was honestly the most calming I've felt in a while."

"You're welcome tesoro," I blush at his Italian as he gets up and leads me to the West hall. He goes into the linen closet and hands me clothes.

"You come prepared."

He laughs, "always."

As we walked down, my arm looped through his, he dropped his arm as we parted ways to get changed. This time, I am thankful that Lorenzo gave me a shirt, but I wonder, did he not like what he saw? Putting on the shirt, spandex, and sports bra I walk out, coming to an abrupt stop at seeing Lorenzo. Shirtless. His broad shoulders perfectly sculpted, down to his chest, his obliques, his abs that my hands itch to run touch. He wears his sweats low enough for me to see his toned adonis belt. The light in the room allows me to see all the details I missed a couple of nights ago. "H-hi," I stutter and I mentally palm myself at how stupid I sound.

He turns around, "Anastasia, I think I gave you my shirt. Do you still want it?" He raises a brow pointing to his shirt I was wearing. So I wasn't supposed to wear a shirt...

"Oh um, could I actually?"

"That's fine, I'll have to do without one. If that was your end goal," he chuckles.

I laugh, "you wish."

"Oh really now? What if I was trying to see you like you were with Niccolò? So che hai il corpo di una dea, sotto quei vestiti." [ know you have the body of a goddess under those clothes]

I smile, "I have no idea what you said but Niccolò said something similar."

Lorenzo's amused eyes turned serious, "what did he say?"

I grin, "I don't know Italian, but it sounded a lot like what you said..."

"corpo di una dea?" [body of a goddess]

"Yes, that. What does it mean?"

"Nothing," he mutters. The look on his face is unreadable.

"I really wish I knew Italian right now," I joke.

"Well at this moment, I am glad you don't," he smirks.

I raise a brow before asking, "so what's up for training today?"

"Well today we are going to  review a little of whatever you and Niccolò did yesterday, minus the dancing, and we'll do some combat today."

I laugh, "you didn't like the dancing?"

"Oh I loved it, but with you as a dance partner, it can be-" as he ponders his next word.

"Difficult?"

"Distracting," he says at the same time.

"Oh."

He laughs, "no your dancing was perfect. I just get a little distracted with a partner as gorgeous as you."

"Lorenzo," I waved him off, walking over to the knives. Balancing them out on my fingers as I learned yesterday while running my finger along the blade.