𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐈

I. Without You

Please don't be a ghost reader :)

The hotel room was huge. Basically big enough to be an apartment, which made sense because it was the price of rent for an average apartment in Rome. You were lying next to your boyfriend on a double bed, he was leaning on his elbow, and staring at you with a smile. At that moment, it was just you and the sound of the fire burning in the fireplace next to you. It was perfect.

Riccardo decided to turn on some random playlist on your phone. It was a song by an Italian band, Måneskin, which you idolized and couldn't keep silent while listening to it. If not because of your tears, then because of your squawking while singing.

That's why you started trying your best at following the lyrics of the song, but in the end you only made the Italian smile wider.

"C'mon, say something, Ricky" you snapped, cupping his cheek with your hand.

"You are the one woman who means the most to me in this world. You are my everything, my love, my universe. Everything I do, I do it for you. So let me just look at you."

You loved him. You'd love him 'til the end of time.

It was wonderful to just cut yourself off from the world, lie on the bed with him, cover yourself with the duvet and live with the knowledge that someone felt what you felt, that someone was lying a few centimeters away from you and planning a future with you.

If there were words to describe this feeling, they would be the most beautiful words ever spoken. Because it wasn't pleasant, happy or beautiful. It was above and beyond everything.

He was charismatic, magnetic, electric and everybody knew it. When he walked in every woman's head turned, everyone stood up to talk to him. He was like this hybrid, this mix of a man who couldn't contain himself. Whether it was his charming smile, his captivating eyes, or his confident stance, people just couldn't help but be attracted to him. He carried himself with an alluring aura that made him a formidable presence in any room, causing both men and women to sit up and take notice.

"What did I do to deserve you?" you asked, unable to stop smiling.

"You know, I could be a better boyfriend. Spend more time with you, buy you gifts, take you on dates more often, treat you with even more respect."

"I swear It's perfect the way it is. You don't have to-"

"Wait, let me finish," he interrupted, raising his hand, and for a few seconds you saw something unusual on his face, uncertainty. "You really do mean everything to me, totally, absolutely everything. You blew my mind years ago, and nothing has changed since then, nothing to diminish my feelings for you. Well, I guess it's just time."

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and you watched his every move, confused. You didn't know what he was talking about until he pulled out a box with an engagement ring from under the covers.

"Mi vuoi sposare?" His hand reached out to touch your face, his touch gentle and reverent as he whispered the question that would change both of your lives forever. "Will you marry me? Will you make my life even more beautiful by becoming my wife?"

You were surprised, touched, and more than a little bit overwhelmed. You were sitting there in your joggers, devoid of any makeup, and yet here he was, looking at you with hope, waiting for your answer.

"You should kneel, idiot." You just said, to which he sighed dramatically and got off the bed, doing exactly what you said.

And still fixing his eyes in love on you. You froze for a moment, it— he was beautiful.

You took a deep breath, gathering your thoughts, before finally speaking up. "Yes," you said, a smile slowly spreading across your face. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Be my once in a lifetime"

Rolling his eyes, he returned to the bed, never taking his lips from yours. He positioned himself above you on the bed, his body pressing against yours as he continued to devour your lips with a fierce intensity.

You couldn't believe what just happened.

When you calmed down and your emotions subsided, you only realized what was on your finger and why Riccardo was so happy.

"You didn't expect that, did you?" A sly smile played at the corners of his lips as he looked down at you, his body still pressed against yours. He was clearly proud of himself, reveling in the fact that he had managed to surprise you once again.

"No, I didn't," you admitted with a small laugh, still reeling from the intensity of his kiss.

"I was going to do it tomorrow over a big dinner with candles, but I don't know. I guess I felt that this moment was less hackneyed, more real, more ours."

"You really are full of surprises." you dragged out the last letters, while he pulled your phone out from under him and switched the song. Unlike you, he hated rock music, and you listened to a few rock songs regularly. He chose "Without You" by Lana and placed the phone on the night stand.

He chuckled softly, his eyes glittering with mischief. "Of course I am," he teased. "And I have plenty more surprises up my sleeve just you wait and see, amore." He leaned in closer, his lips hovering just above yours, a tantalizing distance away. "But for now, I think I'd like to show you just how much I want you right now."

His hands began to wander over your body, his touch gentle yet possessive, the heat between you growing with every moment. He kissed you again, his mouth moving over yours with a primal hunger, as if he couldn't get enough of you. "All my dreams and all the lights mean," he murmured, his voice rough with desire. "Nothing without you."