All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(37)
I grinned at that and said, “I can’t comprehend a man who had you, but still wanted to sleep with other people. It makes no sense whatsoever.”
“You seem to have a pretty high opinion of me.”
“For good reason.” I swung my leg over him so I was straddling his thighs and kissed him. He didn’t break contact as he set his wine glass aside, then took mine from me and put it beside the other. When both his hands were free, he slid them underneath the hem of my shirt and caressed my back.
“I feel so good when I’m with you,” he murmured as he brushed his cheek to mine.
“Same here.”
He kissed me and said softly, “Tell me something about you, Nicky.”
“Like what?”
“Anything. I just want to know you.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Start at the beginning. What did you want to be when you were a kid?”
I threaded my arms around his neck and said, “Promise not to laugh.”
“I can’t promise that. What if you wanted to be a Muppet? Or the Hamburglar?”
I burst out laughing as I sat up and looked at him. “How did you even come up with that?”
“No idea.”
“It doesn’t sound nearly as stupid now to admit I wanted to be a superhero.”
“That’s so cute.”
“Told you I always wanted to help people. When I was little, it seemed like superpowers were the best way to go about it.” I gently brushed his hair from his eyes and told him, “Your turn. What did you want to be?”
“A painter. I imagined it would be a wonderfully exciting life. I figured I’d move to the tropics like Gauguin and run around barefoot all the time and create fantastic, wildly original paintings that no one understood, but that someday everyone would realize were brilliant.” Luca grinned at me and added, “A total and complete lack of talent made pretty quick work of that fantasy, which is probably a good thing. It’s really hot there. Plus, have you seen the size of the insects that live in the tropics? They’re like something out of a horror movie.”
“If we both got to live our fantasy, I would have swooped in and saved you from the giant insects.”
“My hero,” he said, and pulled me down into another kiss.
*****
Nana and Jessie showed up early with a big crate of booze. Luca and I had pretty much been making out like a couple high school kids when they arrived, and we were both a bit flushed and tousled. “You two can go back to what you were doing,” Nana said with a knowing wink. “Jessie and me got some work to do in the kitchen. We’re gonna try to recreate this drink I had in Hawaii. It was a real humdinger!”
We decided instead to get the casseroles going. I pulled them out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter, and as I preheated the oven I told Jessie, “I wanted to give you a little taste of home, but I’m not sure which of these are what you’re used to, if any. I kind of had to fake it with stuff I could find at the local market.”
“Are those tuna casseroles?” he asked.
“The fact that you could recognize them is a good sign. That’s what I was going for, but like I said, there was some improvisation involved.”
Jessie grabbed me in a hug and sounded a little choked up when he said, “Thank you. I can’t believe you did that for me. It’s because of what I said when I was drunk, right?” I nodded and he stretched up and kissed my cheek before tightening his embrace again. “This was incredibly thoughtful. You even put crushed potato chips on one of them! That’s perfect.”
“Oh good, that part was right. I’ll add them on the other two variations, in that case.” When I let go of him and reached for the bag of chips, I noticed the little parcel I’d bought earlier and handed it to Nana. “I got you something,” I told her. “I hope you like it.”
When she unwrapped the tile, she got a little choked up, too. “It’s my hometown, under a big gay homosexual rainbow! This is the best present ever. Thank you, Nicky!”
“You’re welcome.”
She pulled me down to her height and kissed my cheeks. “You’re such a good boy, and I’m so happy you found yourself a hottie to have gay sex with.” An embarrassed bark of laughter slipped from me.
“Me, too,” I said, glancing at Luca. He was biting his lip to keep from laughing.
Soon people began filtering in for the impromptu party. Fiona got home from work, kicked off her shoes, and gladly accepted the big glass of wine I offered her. Matteo and Allesso showed up with even more alcohol, followed by ten more cousins and their partners. While people snacked on pigs in a blanket (the most American appetizer I could come up with from the Sicilian market), Nana decided to record a quick segment for her cooking show and Jessie began filming with his phone.
She stood up on a little stool behind a rolling cart holding a huge ceramic bowl, and said, “We’re gonna try to recreate this cocktail I had in Hawaii. It was called something like Sex in a Volcano.” She put a glass vase in the center of the bowl, which stuck out a couple inches past the rim, then began pouring stuff around it. “Since we’re not in Hawaii, I had to improvise a bit. I think the drink I had contained rum and some other stuff. I grabbed whatever sounded good at the market.” She poured in a bottle of gin, followed by a smaller bottle of brandy. “Just go nuts. Add what you like. Me, I like vodka.” She poured an entire bottle of it into the bowl, which filled it nearly to the rim.