Page 34 of Romeo

I stared into his eyes and wished I could have resisted him. Yet, I didn’t regret being with him. I don’t think I ever would. I only hoped this worked out. I was in dangerous territory here. I hadn’t seen it coming, but here I was.

“So that's how it is, eh?”

We looked over at Dante sitting across from us.

“How it is?” Romeo asked him innocently.

“Oh, come on!” Dante scoffed. “You two are holding hands.” He lowered his gaze to our joined hands.

“Yes, and you caught us red handed,” Romeo quipped. “Bully for you.”

I laughed.

Dante kept shaking his head as he replied, “I thought you were gonna walk the plank and sacrifice your job as an apology?”

“He had nothing to be sorry for,” I interjected. This was true. He told me how he felt about me. It wasn’t a come on.

Dante looked from me to his brother, then back at me. “Well, hot damn! So brother, how did you manage to…” he paused. “Talkher into it?” he asked as he spread jelly on his toast.

I again interjected, “It was the other way around.” I beamed at him although I know my cheeks flamed. I looked down in a little embarrassment as I did literally storm Romeo last night, actually locking him in my room. Not looking up at Dante, I took a forkful of pancake and shoved it into my mouth.

“No way!” he stared at me then opened his mouth to speak.

“Dante!” Zia Maria called out.

We all looked over at her.

“Yes, Zia?” he asked his aunt.

“Why are you being so nosey?” she demanded.

“You must be joking, right?” Stephano cut in as he stared at his sister.

“Whataya talking about?” she asked him as she poured some juice from a small pitcher on the table.

“You,” he scoffed. “Have to be THE nosiest person in this house!” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Ha!” she exclaimed. “So says Mr.I Am In Charge Of Your Lives Descalia.”

“Ok, here we go,” Romeo mumbled under his breath as he smirked.

I glanced over at him.

He shrugged and told me, “No worries, it’s always fun to listen to them.” Then he looked back over at Zia. “Just wait for it.”

“So?” Stephano asked her. “I am their father, am I not?”

“Well, let’s see…” She smirked as she raised a serving spoon and set it into the scrambled eggs bowl. “Being a parent lasts forever, I know. But having the right to control their lives does not last forever.”

“I helped bring them into the world.” Stephano shrugged.

“So that means you can make them your puppets?” she argued. “I had thought they were all grown by now.”

He scoffed. “Age doesn’t matter, when it comes to knowing your responsibilities.”

She scoffed back. “Ohh, so since I am older than you, I can tell you what to do then, eh?”

“Chiudere il becco. Why do you keep claiming that?” Stephano exclaimed. “You arenotolder than me.”