Bullied from a young age due to his odd eye colour and shy nature, Giovanni Rossi has always tried to stay hidden in the shadows.
It was all going to plan until he caught the eye of Matteo De Campo.
After finally getting a lead on a well known sex...
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"When I am with him, it feels like I am exactly where I am meant to be."
It was a few hours after he dropped me back off to my room and I could still feel butterflies.
I never thought I would get the chance to feel like this about anyone.
Suddenly, my phone started to ring and I realised that I forgot to call Luca back.
I quickly answered his call and put the phone to my ear.
"Gio! How have you been? I haven't heard from you today and I was getting worried that you hadn't called me back", my older brother said, his worry making me feel guilty.
"I'm fine Luca I've just been busy with work", I partially lied. I had been busy with work but I also didn't know how to tell him about Matteo.
I knew my brother wouldn't care that I like men but it was his reaction to finding out Matteo was the guy I like that I was what I was worried about.
"I'm glad you're keeping busy. I w-", he started to say before stopping. I could hear Lily in the background so I assumed she was reminding Luca to tell me something.
"Liliana wanted me to ask if you were coming for our family dinner tomorrow."
"Of course I am, I can't wait to see you all!", I replied with a huge smile on my face. For some people it may not seem like a long time to be away from your family, but for me, it feels like a whole lifetime since I've seen them all and I've been feeling a little homesick.
"Invite Matteo too, I'm sure Liliana would love to spend some time getting to know him better and I would like to make sure he's treating you right", he said, shaking me back to reality.
"T-treating me right?", I asked, my palms suddenly sweating, unsure of what he meant by that. Did he know that we kissed? Did he know we were something more than just work colleagues?
"Yes, you are living with him so I want to make sure he doesn't make you feel uncomfortable, that's all. I love you, and I just want to make sure you're alright, sì?"
I told him that I love him too and that I would ask Matteo if he wanted to come. After a few more minutes of talking, we said our goodbyes and ended the call.
I put my phone on my bedside table and lied down staring at the ceiling.
I was a horrible liar and I knew that going to my parent's house with Matteo whilst hiding whatever this was, would be a bad idea.
I knew my family would never judge me and would accept me for who I am, but I was still scared.
I want to come out to them and be myself but I couldn't force Matteo to do the same.
I didn't even know if he was out to his father or not and he probably wants to have that conversation with him before telling the rest of the world.
I knew that overthinking this would do more harm than good, so I decided that I should just ask him what he wants to do tomorrow and go from there.
It was the next morning and to say I was anxious was an understatement.
I brushed my teeth, showered and got changed into black bottoms and a dark grey jumper before making my way downstairs.
Proud of myself for finding the kitchen on the first try, I opened the door and was greeted with the smell of pancakes.
Matteo hadn't noticed I was here yet as I slowly creeped up behind him.
"Boo!", I said loudly near his ear as he dropped the spatula he was holding on the floor.
"Merda! Mi hai spaventato! (Shit! You scared me!)", he said and before I could reply, he lifted me up and placed me onto the countertop.
My eyes widened as he came closer and stood in between my legs, his eyes never leaving mine.
"That's not the good morning I expected from you", he whispered in my ear.
"What did you expect?", I asked, wrapping my legs around him, caging him close to me.
"Something like this", he said before his lips claimed mine.
The kiss wasn't like the ones we've had before, this one was fuelled by passion and desire.
My hands were in his hair making him groan as I pulled on it. His lips parted slightly and I took the opportunity to slip my tongue into his mouth. We both fought for dominance, but of course he won.
I could feel his hard body pressed against mine and his strong arms were wrapped around my waist.
Just as it was getting more heated, we both were forced to break apart when we could smell burning.
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he threw away the burned pancake and then came back towards me.
"Now that was a good morning", he whispered, attacking my neck with soft kisses, making me giggle.
"Come on, let's eat", he said, pressing a kiss on my forehead before helping me back down onto the floor.
Luckily, he had already made enough to feed the both of us so I helped him bring everything to the table.
Once we had both loaded up our plates, we sat down and started eating.
"What do you fancy for dinner tonight", he asked, grabbing some syrup and drizzling it onto his pancakes.
"I'm eating dinner with my family today", I said nervously.
"Oh, t-that's nice", he replied, giving me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me", I asked.
