Our Story

Chapter 27

The following morning, there were no more flowers waiting for Jinyoung at the reception counter. But no disappointment because the one he really needed was sitting, relaxed, on one of the couches opposite the reception counter, with his legs crossed.

Mark looked up at him and got up to his feet, reaching for his hand. "Morning, baby," Mark said, making Jinyoung flushed.

Jinyoung was sure he heard a giggle and it turned out to be from that female staff he had talked to. She gave him a thumbs-up and Jinyoung just smiled at her, embarrassedly.

"What're you doing here?"Jinyoung asked and Mark raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't expect me here? That hurts. I thought I could spend the day with you."

Before Jinyoung could give any response, Mark tugged at him and took him outside. "I've rented this," Mark pointed at the sleek honda parked there. "Anywhere you want to go, I can drive you there."

"Okay. Great. So I guess you're still a rich man."

"I've my own savings account." They occupied the driver and passenger seats, Mark driving the car out into the streets. He looked so confident, for someone who was driving on a foreign land.

"Do you even know where I'm planning to go?"

"I don't need to know that at the moment," Mark said, sounding smug. Some minutes later, he pulled up at the car park of a restaurant. They had an Italian breakfast there.

Later, they were on the way to Ostia Antica, just as Jinyoung had planned. It was a former seaport and now most one could see there, were ruins. To tell the truth, Jinyoung had never imagined he would be walking around a historic site in Rome, with Mark. They visited the museum there as well and took pictures of themselves together with the statues in the background.

They grabbed lunch before heading for Tivoli where there were two villas Jinyoung wanted to visit. The first one was Villa d'Este, where the garden was a must to see. It was a great experience for him to stroll around the garden, with Mark's hand in his.

What he did not know was it would be even better to be on the terrace of the villa, which overlooked the garden and where he and Mark shared small kisses on the necks and temples, ignoring the noise of the tourists around them.

Next, they were in Villa Gregoriana, which reminded Jinyoung of Orto Botanico, as there were a lot of trees and also a beautiful waterfall. The highlight of the place, at least for him, was small caves. Being in one of them, felt like he and Mark had been separated from the rest of the world.

The last stop, according to his plan, was the beach in Anzio. On the way, they stopped by a store to buy beach towels, which were much needed. When they got to the beach, the late afternoon sun could keep only its faint orange tint across the sky.

Jinyoung and Mark lay down on the towels, with their feet touching the sandy ground. In comfortable silence. No one could have mistaken them for friends, given that they were pretty much all over each other.

Mark's hand was in Jinyoung's hair, raking his fingers through it and playing with the strands. His other hand supported his head so that he could look at Jinyoung, from above.

His hand moved from Jinyoung's hair to his lips, parting them slightly. "Can you just kiss me, instead of teasing me like that?" Jinyoung whined but Mark's response was just a laugh.

"As of now, I just want to picture how your lips fit mine," Mark said, "We've all the time in the world, for kisses."

"Okay." Jinyoung said resigned but Mark's lips were already in his hair for a peck. Mark knew how to play with him.