Love Behind Door 8

Getting to know each other

He sheepishly smiled and rushed inside without giving me a second look and at that moment I wanted to badly tell him that it wasn't at all awkward and the feeling was mutual but I bit my tongue and got over it. I did not want to hurry things or make him feel awkwardly bad about having glanced at a girl's neck knowing fully well myself that I would've done the same to him had we switched positions.

If only he knew how much I wanted him. I also figured it's quite uncommon for me to fall for someone within such a short period. I know nothing about this man and that's when it hit me, I was completely oblivious to even his name let alone other details.

I went indoors to ask for his name.
"I'm Raphael," he announced, "with a 'p' and 'h'. I'm sorry but I hadn't asked for yours either."

If I hadn't mentioned formerly, his alluring accent, every time he spoke, sent a spiral of butterflies down my gut.

"Oh! I'm Emery!," I said with a smile trying not to be so beguiled, "Are you from here?"

"Italy, yes but not Venice," he started, "Mother's from Rome, father's from Turin, grew up in Turin with occasional visits to the capital."

"Why do you live here now? What do you do?" I asked abruptly. Curiosity does get the best of me.

"I moved here recently because of some problems that arose while I lived there. My mother left my father for her boss when I was 15. I never heard from her again. My father got depressed and I had to work several jobs while schooling to make enough for us both. He went to therapy for years and progressed eventually. I never went to college. My father moved in with his friend when I told him I wanted to leave for Venice to fulfil my dreams. I've always had a passion for cooking so I figured I'd acquire a job in that field. I also happened to love Venice. I currently help around a restaurant. The one I mentioned before. My ultimate goal's to be a chef."

I was dumbfounded. This only made me cherish him more. A guy who's driven by passion and overcame such challenges only proved how strong, capable and determined he is. I showcased a shocked yet proud expression on my face at which he laughed immediately.

"Now that's impressive! I'm sorry about the crappy parts you had to go through but I'm proud of how far you've come and I'm certain you'll be a good chef one day!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks, I hope so too."  

"Umm... you still on for dinner or you're not hungry?" he asked hesitantly.

"You know what, let's go! I think I need something now that you mentioned food."

I hadn't changed into anything yet so I decided to wash my face in his tiny bathroom to freshen up. He wore a hoodie over his vest and we both set off on a 5-minute walk down the street to this infamous restaurant.

We ordered a steak and a mac-n-cheese with diet coke. Neither of us was starved so while ploddingly swallowing up our dinner he decided to ask a question I wasn't quite looking forward to answering.

"So tell me a bit about you," he said, "I bet you're not from here though because of your accent."

The way he asked it made me feel as if I was on a date with the man of my dreams (of which he was except it wasn't an actual date)

"You're right. I'm English. Grew up there til I was 13. That's when Mama died. My father wanted to start new so we moved to Matera. My dad met a woman and they took off. They had twins and I had to be their caretaker as well until recently when I was promised in marriage to one of her friends. My father wasn't on my side so I ran away."

"Quite rebellious of you. Wasn't there a better option? And why Venice?" he smirked.

"Not any I could think of then. It happened all so fast. A distant aunt of mine lives here in Venice. I wasn't going to set off to find her so late. I thought I'd stay somewhere tonight since I'm not quite familiar with the city either. Maybe you can give me a tour tomorrow?" I asked raising my eyebrows hoping deep down he'd take this as a hint of my liking him even though I didn't want to seem desperate. 

"Gladly." he smiled in response.

We finished our meals and reached back. For some reason, I had oddly begun to start feeling better about everything and less overwhelmed than I was that morning.