SHADES OF LOVE

CHAPTER 19

Wednesday night. 

It'd been almost forty-eight hours since you and Ignazio had been together, and you missed him already. Due to some last-minute commitments, he and the guys had to fly back to Italy early the previous morning for a little less than two days, but you missed him nonetheless. 

So many weeks in a row with Ignazio had definitely and irrevocably spoiled you. Indulged you. Allowed your obsession with him to run wilder than ever.

Thankfully, school had restarted after the festive break, so you were counting on your full days to keep you distracted from missing your boyfriend too much. 

It also sucked that Mr. Barone and Ms. Martin's long-awaited dinner date had to be postponed until Thursday. Though apparently the postponement had only stepped up their game, since they'd been texting back and forth like crazy for the last two days.

In contrast, Ignazio had barely called or texted you since they left. Even the call you'd made to him the past night had been less than brief. He'd been in the middle of something and barely said hello and goodbye. You knew you shouldn't resent him for that—you were well aware that he and the guys would be busy—but still, it made you more than a little skittish that Piero found time to flirt with Julia over text and Ignazio didn't.

What could you do? In the end it was up to you to deal with how you were feeling about it...

Finishing your night tea, you rinsed out your mug, then turned to stare out the window at the evening sky. You crossed your arms on the window ledge and leaned over it, letting your mind shift down a gear and meander slowly for a few minutes. 

Your home was so quiet. Too quiet. You'd put Alice to bed a few minutes before, but it lacked something else. Someone else. Him.

God, you couldn't wait for Ignazio to come home the next morning. Even though you were fully aware it wouldn't be for long—he and the guys were on the final stage of their stay in your hometown. And it was already hurting like hell to let him go. And have to go back to the old routine of flying to each other whenever there was a chance.

You headed to your bag for your phone to text Ignazio a heartfelt 'Missing you' before going to bed, only to find the battery had died. Fighting off fatigue, you exhaled roughly, "Perfect."

You grabbed the charger out of your bag and plugged the phone into an outlet by your bed. As soon as the screen flickered to life, you found three missed calls from Ignazio, time stamped from an hour before. You immediately called him back but it went straight to voicemail, indicating that his phone was off. 

Groaning in frustration, you had no choice but to go to sleep without talking to him. With a sigh, you made sure your phone was silenced and crawled into bed. 

After tossing and turning for a while, you finally crashed.

"Angel."

You woke to Ignazio's voice and utter darkness. "Ignazio?"

The mattress dipped as Ignazio slipped between the sheets, rolling toward you.

"I'd better be the only one crawling in bed with you." He caught you around the waist and pulled you back against him, spooning behind you.

"What are you doing here so early?" Blinking, you checked the time. 3:04 A.M. "Is something wrong?"

"I got on the first flight I could find as soon as we were done," he whispered, the delicious and unmistakable scent of his skin soothing you along with his voice. "I tried to call before boarding but your phone was off."

You moaned softly at the heat of his nude body. "My phone was dead and when I tried to call you back you must have been already on the plane."

He exhaled long and slow when you reached around the back of his neck and clung to him. "I had two really shitty days," he said. His chest expanded as he breathed you in, nuzzling and wallowing in your scent. "God, I needed you. So damn much."