Separated by the Sea

La Festa

Note: Since this chapter is about a party, there are several songs along with the text. Enjoy!

Dez POV
I woke up to the opening and closing of drawers. I groggily opened my eyes and saw Piero in his closet, searching for something to wear. His hair was wet and a towel rested on his shoulders. I could have stayed there forever, checking out his nicely shaped figure, bare except for a pair of red underwear. Daaamn...
He picked a simple t-shirt and jeans, brought them over to the bed, and set them down.
"Buongiorno, beautiful. How'd you sleep?"
"Great." I started to get out of his bed, but he pushed me back down and got on top of me.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Nowhere?"
"Good answer." He pressed his lips against mine and I fell back against the soft blankets. My hands seemed to have a mind of their own because they were trailing up his back and getting tangled in his hair. He smelled so good, probably because of the soap he used. I was disappointed when he pulled back, but was happy to see that I left my mark. His lips were plumper than usual and his hair was a total mess.This is definitely the best way to start out your day. Making out with a gorgeous Italian. I scolded myself as I playfully pushed him off and got out of the bed before he could get a hold of me again.
"Leaving already?"
"Yes. You need to get some clothes on, like now."
"Why? We came into this earth wearing nothing at all."
"Sure, Adam*. I gotta go change and stuff. Your mom might need help preparing for later." (*Referring to Adam and Eve.)
He gazed at me and pouted as I left him on his bed. I stuck my tongue out at him and left to change into simple jeans and a plain pink shirt. I bounded down the stairs and followed the loud commotion to the kitchen where all the ladies were preparing/cooking the food for the party. "Hey Dez!" Clover called from the opposite side of the kitchen where she was cutting up potatoes. I smiled at her and bumped into my mom on the way over to her. "Uh, sorry," I muttered but she seemed too busy to notice. Next to Clover, Malia was harshly mixing a bowl of cake mix. I bet she was pretending I was that cake...
Eleonora was at the stove, cooking several things at once. Mariagrazia was next to her cutting up vegetables and humming quiety.
"Do you need my help with anything?"
"We're pretty good here in the kitchen. We've been at it since 6 this morning, so we're mostly done. You can go out back and see if the guys need help setting up the tables." Eleonora said without looking up from the stove.
"Oh, ok." I moonwalked out of the kitchen, but nobody saw, because they were all occupied.

Did you see the moonwalking bear? 😂

Outside, the guys were messing around. Reece and Theo were wrestling on the ground while Jay just watched with a small smile. Gianluca was sitting in the shade under a tree and scrolling on his phone. At one of the tables, Ignazio was "stealthily" eating cookies. "So this is what you call setting up?" I said aloud to no one in particular. They all looked over at me and for one small moment, I felt like I had the authority. Reece jumped up and dusted himself off. "We're done already. Is it a sin to have some fun?"
"No, but there's still stuff to be done. Play time isn't until after."
He smirked and came up to me. "There's always something, or someone, to be done,"
he said in a hushed voice.
I pushed him away as Francesco came out holding a few trays of food. "Hey guys, the other packs are going to be here in an hour."
I shrieked in excitement. "It was nice talking to you Reece, but I gotta go change."
"What's wrong with what you're wearing now?"
"It's hideous and disgusting. Ciao!"
I ran inside and in my room, pulled my newest teal dress out of the bag it was in.
It's so pretty! I carefully put it on, trying not to rip it. My outfit was great, but my hair was wild like a bird's nest. I grimaced and went over to Maria's room. She was wearing a ruby red dress and was putting on her earrings. "Oh my gawd, you look so pretty!" I yelled out.
"You look nice, too, but um, your-" she said while staring at my hair.
"Yeah, I have no idea what to do with it. I was hoping you could help me out?"
"Yeah, I'd love to!" She pulled out the chair in front of a huge mirror and gestured for me to sit in it. She seemed to know exactly what to do with my crazy hair. She tied and twisted it up into a bunch of intricate braids and stuff. I have no idea what she did, but it ended up looking really nice. "Thanks. You're a real lifesaver."
We walked down the stairs together and went out to the backyard. It was full of people I didn't know and a lot of them stared at us as we walked out. They whispered amongst each other and I felt slightly awkward. Mariagrazia ditched me to go hang out with some of her friends and I was left standing alone. I searched the crowd for a familiar face and jumped when an arm was put around me.
"Calmarsi, Dez. It's just me. Wow, you look amazing in that dress. When did you get it?"
I turned to look at Piero and he placed a quick kiss on my cheek.
"I got it that one day when you were gone. Mariagrazia and Clover helped me pick it out."
"Sorry I was gone all day. I was busy with some boring pack business. Oh, do you want to meet some of the other pack leaders?"
"Yeah, that would be cool."
He led me over to a group of guys that were talking in Italian.
"Hi guys. This is Destiny. She is quite eager to get to know you," Piero introduced me and I gave them a polite smile.
Two guys with awesome hair and beautiful eyes stepped forward. They seemed like they were very close, probably friends.
The guy with a lip piercing spoke first. "Hi, I'm Benjamin, but you can call me Benji like my friends do. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
He was about to hug me or something, but he saw Piero watching him and just shook my hand instead. How awkward.
"I apologize for my friend. He has no idea how to greet beautiful women. He gets nervous." Benji glared at him as he, the other dude, brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'm Federico Rossi, or Fede. I actually prefer Fede most times."
He was so handsome I almost forgot Piero was still standing next to me, staring at me and watching me give Fede googly eyes.
What? It's not like you see this many good looking guys on one day all the time. Might as well seize the moment.