Spirit Desire

It seemed Natalie's purpose in life was to try and get me to talk and try to strike up some form of relationship with Leone—preferably the romantic kind. Even after telling her numerous times that I was not looking, that being long before I had even met Leone.

It was true, I wasn't interested in trying to form any sort of relationship with anyone unless it was something strictly platonic. I had just graduated and I wasn't too keen on anything occupying my time besides working towards paying off my student loans. Natalie just rolled her eyes once I told her that was my reason, she had just said I had my whole to pay off a debt but not my whole life to, as she put it, ride the Italian Stallion.

The second reason I wasn't trying to have a relationship with anyone was still her brother. After all, dating someone for three years and having a crush on someone for more than five wasn't going to fade away too easily. Even though it had been months since we had broken things off I wasn't too ready to delve into anything new—especially with someone who would be close to the both of us.

Of course Javier wasn't going to just leave all that easily. His sister was my best friend and our friends were in the same circle. So whenever we were all together I would no doubt hear about the girls he slept with the previous weekend and my heart would sink a little, though it had no reason to. I wasn't with Javier and I was probably not going to be with any time soon. But whenever I saw him and he gave me a hug where his arms wrapped around my frame and his hands gently squeezed my hips, I forgot all about him being unattainable.

It was a mistake telling Natalie about the kiss Leone and I had shared in his car—especially the fact that I shamelessly recounted every moment and how attractive I thought he was at that moment.

"I'm just saying, if you remember the kiss all that well," she spoke quietly into the phone, I rolled my eyes as I figured out she was most likely with Chris and he was hearing all of our conversation, "then you should go for it again. God knows that boy needs to release some tension."

Chris yelled out in agreement form her side and I chuckled, "no thank you, I don't want to help anyone release any thing. I'm perfectly happy being alone right now. That kiss was just a spur of the moment and I just remember it well because it's the first kiss I've had since," I cleared my throat awkwardly, "well because."

"You're so stubborn," Natalie whined and handed off the phone to Chris who spoke loudly into the receiver. "Do you want to come hang out with us," he paused as Natalie named off some restaurant, "we're going to get Italian food." He snickered and I wish they could see me rolling my eyes.

"Har har," I mumbled, "no thank you. I need to run some errands today."

"Come one Adriana," he mumbled into the phone, "I'd rather not have to take Natalie shopping all by myself." He whispered the last part and I could hear Natalie and him bickering from the other side.

"I really need to run some errands for my mom and I need to get my mom's car looked at. I promise I'll take her out some other day."

Natalie yelled something along the lines of her not being a dog that needed to be walked before we ended the conversation. I quickly tied my hair up in a messy bun and deemed my outfit of a crop top with shorts good enough to leave the house with in almost ninety degree weather. The leather seat of the mini cooper burned my skin as I slid in and turned on the car.

I followed diligently the directions towards the mechanic my brother had referred me to. I had laughed once he told me the name of the place--Luigi's—just because it had reminded me of the Cars movie.

My foot tapped impatiently on the floor beneath me as I waited for whatever mechanic to come out from beneath a car he was working on. I cleared my throat again as I knocked lightly on the car being worked on. Almost automatically the person rolled out from underneath the car.

"I need my oil changed," I mumbled as I gestured towards my car sitting idle a few steps from us, "and something to do with the engine fixed."

I froze once I saw the mechanic, out of all the people I wanted to see it was Leone standing before he. His white tank top stained with oil spots and his jeans hung low on his hips.

"I know I said I would see you soon, but I didn't know you wanted it to be the next day tesorina," he grinned crookedly as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on the hood of the truck he was working.

My hands tugged at the hem of my crop top as I shrugged my shoulders. "You're a mechanic?" His gaze didn't waver from my form for a few minutes before he straightened.

"Among other things," he shrugged nonchalantly and wiped his hands on a small white towel, my face scrunched as I noticed the black smudges he left all over it.

"Other things?" I questioned before he hiked up his jeans on his hips and we walked over to the mini cooper.

"Accountant, mechanic, bassist, I sometimes cook," he paused and popped open the hood of my car, "I'm very gifted with my hands."

I couldn't see his face as it was underneath the hood of my car. I was thankful for that because a blush broke out all over my face at the connotation his words held. Maybe it was wishful thinking. Regardless I would have been more than eager to test it out. Purely for investigative purposes of course.

"And how did you discover that?" I asked leaning over his shoulder and trying to figure out whatever was going inside the car and watching his finger move knowingly.

"General consensus from everyone who's the pleasure," he grinned as he looked over his shoulder to look at me, "but don't worry, it wasn't too many people." He winked and his breath fanned over my face.

I shrugged my shoulders, “the less people the less reliable the consensus."

"You can be a judge if you like tesorina," he winked once more before straightening up and turning--our chest mere inches away from each others. "A few things need to be adjusted," he motioned towards the car, "and I'll be glad to change your oil anytime."

The closer he was to me and the more innuendos—at least I took them as innuendos—he said the farther away the thought of staying single strayed from my mind. God, I just wanted to jump him. I'd gladly be a willing participant in figuring out if he was as good with his hand—amongst other things—as he claimed to be.

"I should have known you worked here," I spoke as I sat in a chair next to Leone who was working diligently.

"Why's that?" he questioned.

"This place's name is Luigi's, I should've have known you would have worked at a place with such an Italian name. And because you're obviously skilled with your hands," I winked at him and the smile he sent my way almost made me melt into a puddle in the chair I was in.

"I don't usually work on cars," he explained, "It's my uncle's place and I'm the accountant. I just like working on cars whenever things are going slow for him," I raised an eyebrow because I would have never expected him to do anything so 'smart'.

I had expected him to do something more along the lines of construction work, a mechanic, maybe even a chef--but not an accountant. The thought of Leone sitting in an office revising numbers and possibly wearing a suit or something similar had made me giggle.

"So you're good with numbers too?"

"I'm a man of many hidden talents, maybe if you’re lucky you'll know them all," he winked again.

"Leone, at least look like you're working," a voice yelled from behind us, startling me but only making Leone laugh and place his hand on my shoulder in some sort of comforting gesture.

They shot off into a conversation in Italian, I pushed myself to try and understand something. Luckily knowing Spanish and all the family trips to Rome had paid off and I could gather some words from the conversation. There was the usual how's your mother, who's your friend, and the I don't pay you to stand around and talk to girls.

"This is my uncle, Luigi. The family has a thing for names starting with L's," he introduced us and I immediately extended my hand out in greeting, his uncle grabbed a hold of my hand but instead of shaking it he pulled me up from the chair.

"No, no. Abbracci e baci solo," he said happily before grabbing me in a hug and kissing both my cheeks.

I laughed as he let me go and pushed me towards Leone again. They started talking in Italian again before he waved his hand and turned to me, "I'll take care of your car, and you don't worry about it." He smiled before retreating back into the building.

"Do you like Moroccan food?" he asked as he closed the hood of my car and I trailed behind him.

"Can't say I've ever really tried it," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Good. There's a great place just around here, let's go," he smiled and motioned towards his car that was parked just outside the general area of the auto shop.

"Aren't you working?" I questioned, but followed behind him nonetheless.

"Not anymore tesorina, all thanks to you," I raised my eyebrows in question as he opened the passenger door. "Zio Luigi said to take the day off since you’re obviously a friend, and because he thinks you’re pretty," he laughed.

"So your 'zio'," I mimicked his accent which gained a quick smile, "thinks I'm pretty?" I asked unabashedly. It's nice and all to make out with a boy and have them display their attraction to you so forwardly but nothing was better than to be called pretty.

"He's not the only one tesorina," he placed his hand on my knee and gave it a quick squeeze before speeding off in the direction I could only guess was towards the restaurant he was taking us to.

He stopped in front of a small restaurant in the center of the city named Cous Cous, whose claim to fame was their unrivaled cous cous. I only laughed but Leone reassured me that it was the best cous cous he had tried in his life. With his hand on the small of my waist he led us into the restaurant that smelled greatly of incense.

"Booth or table?" the waitress asked as we entered the quaint restaurant. I prayed he would answer table just so I could add a bad quality to the list I had been making up in my head--so far there was none and that just made my 'I want to be single' composure waver. Everyone's knows those who choose tabled in that situation are the kind of people you don't want to be around.

"Booth," he answered. I rolled my eyes as the waitress led us to the secluded booth at the far right corner of the restaurant. The whole place was lit by candles which were littered throughout the space and I sunk into the fluffy cushions that made the booth look more like a curved couch.

It reminded me of one of the soap operas my mom used to watch when I was younger. All I was waiting for was a beautiful girl to come out belly dancing to music to make the picture complete.

After a long conversation and disbelief on his part, Leone laughed when he realized I really had never been to a Moroccan restaurant. He took it upon himself to give me a detailed description of every dish on the menu and once the waitress came back to take out orders he ordered way more food than I thought was necessary.

"So, you know about my extremely skilled fingers," he said as he grabbed a slice of what looked like pita bread, "what do you do tesorina?"

"Nothing at the moment," I shrugged my shoulder.

"Natalie told me you're a nurse though?" he questioned.

"I just graduated in May," I took a sip of the tea Leone had ordered, "but at this moment I'm still part of the 'college grad doesn't have a job after commencement' statistic."

He laughed and placed his hand behind his head, his body relaxing onto the cushions in a way that made me want to just press up against him. "I was like that when I graduated, don't worry about it. I would have never guessed you were a nurse though," he added the last part as an afterthought.

"What did you think I studied?" I asked curiously. To everyone else I knew it seemed that was the only job they could ever see me doing.

"I don't know," he shrugged his shoulder and looked at me intensely, as if that would somehow tell him my preferred future. "I thought something more academic, like Math or English. Maybe even history or ethnic studies"

"And you've managed to name my two worst subjects," I laughed, "I could never do either because I would never be a teacher, nor could I ever pass a math test with more than a C. I'm stuck nursing people back to health."

He was about to speak again but was cut off by our waitress bring various plates of food to our table. Leone looked at the food contently as it was placed in large dishes in front of us. Just like I had thought, it was way too much food for the both of us, but he quickly explained.

“It’s a lot, but I figured since it’s your first time eating Moroccan then you should try a little bit of everything.”

I just smiled and gave in to his request to serve me a plate full of small bits of everything he had ordered. Once again he gave long descriptions of the dishes and once again gave his word that the cous cous we were about to eat was definitely the best in the city.

“And now this,” he pointed toward a dish with some sort of meat and spices that gave off a heavenly aroma, “they say,” he lowered his voice, “is an aphrodisiac. All the mint in it at least.” He placed a large serving on his plate and on my own.

“Have you tested out this theory?” I asked as he handed me my plate and explained how the food was traditionally eaten. With your hands he had said, much like eating with a tortilla, he laughed when I had rolled my eyes and snorted.

“Ah tesorina,” he nodded his head and had a look of concentration on his face for a few moments, “trust me, I don’t need any help right now.” He winked and I felt myself sinking further into the paisley cushions as my cheeks burned an unnatural shade of red.

The early dinner went by quickly and the conversation flowed nicely between the both of us. The more we talked the more I found out about Leone. He had graduated from a small liberal arts school out east three years ago and had absolutely hated it—he was a beach kind of guy, he had said, he could not deal with coats and snow. He said to have been glad to be back home with his family—which consisted of his parents, two brothers and a sister—and with all his friends.

The more I asked the more he asked and we had gotten to know the basics on one another. His family of five rivaled mine of six. His parents had been happily married for thirty two years while he said some word of comfort after I told him my father had passed three years before. He had learned to play the bass when he was thirteen and he laughed at my complete lack of musical skills. I listen, I told him, I don’t play. He promised to sometime show me how to play the bass but I assured him it would be a lost cause.

“You’re so cute tesorina.”

I scrunched my nose and smiled because I was oddly okay with being called cute. Usually I would have hmmphed or rolled my eyes because cute was an adjective for kittens or the small toiletries hotels always stocked your bathroom with. Cute was definitely not for a girl. But I smiled and continued eating because he hadn’t said it in a baby kind of cute.

When the bill came a huge discussion came along with it. While Leone was arguing about him paying the bill—all of the fifty something dollars it had come up to—something along the lines of him being a man and having invited me out to dinner I also argued about paying since I was the reason the bill came up to so much. He would just roll his eyes and put his card with the bill.

After much arguing he decided he would pay the entire bill and the next time—if there was a next time—I would treat him out to dinner, or I would cook for him. Either one he claimed was good enough for him, I had learned that with most guys—actually people in general—food would settle any bet, argument or debt.

By the time Leone and I left the restaurant it was already dark outside but it was still unbearably hot. I quickly grabbed my hair and formed a messy bun atop of my head as Leone led us to his car, he would be driving us both to his uncle's auto shop where I would be able to get my car.

“Here we are,” he said as he turned off his car and slid out of his seat. Like the gentleman he had proven to be throughout the chance meetings I had had with him--he said it was all due to his strict Italian upbringing--he opened the passenger door and helped me out of the car.

His hand was on the small of waist and I reprimanded myself for deciding to wear a crop top, the skin underneath his hand seemed to be on fire. "I'll see you another day tesorina."

"Thanks for lunch or dinner and all, it was great," I mumbled as I leaned on my car.

"You're welcome," he smiled before leaning in for a kiss.

A tiny peck--nothing more. When he pulled away I was quick to pull him back in, my hands looping behind his neck and he wasted no time in completely making me forget my stance on being with someone. He gently pushed me up against the car and pressed himself flush against me before his hands grabbed a tight hold of my hips.

"Let's make out inside of your car," he mumbled against my lips, I could have laughed at how juvenile the whole thing was instead I nodded fervently and clumsily unlocked the passenger door.

Leone was quick, his large hands on my hips and his mouth never leaving mine as we slid into my car. His body pressed mine up against the other door as my tangled themselves around his hips, our heaving chest pressed up against each other's and I swear to god the inside of the car was hotter than outside. It was a Titanic sort of situation.

"Fucking hell," he muttered as he looked down at me, his hands quickly going to my hair and letting it down from its messy hold. The black waves of hair cascaded around my head and his hands ran through the strands before he continued kissing down my neck and chest. My hands were digging into his shoulders, pulling him down closer to me.

His hands were skilled as he unbuttoned my striped crop top. My hands scrunched up the fabric of his black v-neck. He quickly disconnected himself from me and pulled his shirt over his neck and I couldn't help but marvel again at his tattoos. Almost all his chest and lean stomach was covered by ink in different colors and text I couldn't decipher in the haze of the moment. My fingers were quick to press against his skins as if his tattoos were Braille and I was trying to decipher a secret message that was written only for me.

"Fuck tesorina," he groaned, hands pressing against mine as his eyes raked all over my frame. I could only say the same thing back as I sat up a bit and my hands grabbed at his shoulders again.

He groaned at the contact and hiked my legs up to his hip, his hands wandered down my hips to grab my bum and pull me closer to him—although I would have thought any closer was physically impossible. I stroked his chest as his hands moved towards my back, trying to unclasp my bra. He succeed and his hands lightly skimmed over my skin, his barely there fingers causing goose bumps to appear all over my skin and I thanked God I had given into the moment.

I arched up against him, his hands roaming all over my skin as I trailed my lips down his neck. I sighed contently as his lips moved against my skin and his hands left my skin on fire. I was shocked at how quick thing had escalated in a matter of minutes but I couldn't have stopped it even if I had wanted--God knows I didn't want to.

The charm of the moment was cut off as Leone's elbow hit the steering wheel and a loud honk came from my car. We both stopped and looked at each other with wide eyes before laughing loudly, his frame dropping against mine.

“Cazzo,” he breathed against my neck, “you have the tiniest fucking car in the world.”

I laughed again as I played with strands of his hair, his breathing tickling the sensitive skin on my neck. He quickly sat up and grabbed his shirt from the dashboard. I shook out of my reverie and became aware of the situation we were in before my cheeks turned red and I could barely look him in the eyes.

"I think" I started as his hands ran through my hair, "that got out of hand." His hands trailed down and helped me with my bra and top, hands lingering on my skin.

"You're right," he muttered as he grabbed his shirt from on top of the dashboard pushed his arms through, "I blame it on the so called aphrodisiac dish back at the restaurant."

I laughed again before combing my hair with my fingers, "I should go home, it's getting late." I pointed towards the clock that now read seven thirty; he nodded his head and stretched his arms out.

“I’ll see you some other time Adriana,” he said as he placed his hand on the door handle and turned, “and remember you owe me.” He spoke playfully but I still rolled my eyes.

“As if you’d let me forget,” I laughed.

He placed a kiss on my cheek and squeezed my knee before sliding out of my car and making his way towards the mustang slowly. He waved slowly once more before speeding out of the parking lot recklessly.

Dear God, that boy would be the death of me.