I clung to Vince's arm and students walked past us, eyeing us like we were a different specimen.

"You okay, bambino?" Vince's voice caused me to look away from the boy who looked an absolute mess. He kept tripping and he didn't stop to lace his shoes.

Messy.

"No. I want Tino and Gianni" I mumbled truthfully. Tino and Gianni. I liked them a lot. A lot more than I thought possible.
It was in the way the were so different. The way they touched me differently and yet, aimed for a common goal.

Was it love?

I wouldn't know. I had never been in love before but it felt like Elysium with the heat of purgatory.

Was it?

"Now, I feel pretty useless" Vince said and my eyes widened as I looked up at him apologetically.

"I didn't me-" he chuckled, cutting me off while I narrowed my eyes at him playfully. I held his hand and swung it back and forth as we walked through the campus. It was so large and there were so many flowers.

I loved flowers!

"Wanna grab something to eat?" He offered and I nodded, still distracted by the bright flowers on the green grass.

"Can we call Gianni later?" I turned to him and he hummed, leading us to somewhere I assumed we'd eat something. I only hoped it wasn't something like what Gianni liked to eat.

Ugh.

Thinking about Gianni, my mind reverted back to last night.

How he held his lip in between his teeth as he looked up at me through hooded eyes like I was the only one who could bring him the relief he needed.

How the veins on his arm pulsated and were even more visible as he gripped my thigh while Tino pounded hungrily into him like he wasn't deep enough inside him.

Or how Tino stared into my eyes, silently swearing to take me just as hard while veins pulsed on his neck and that vein on his forehead. He drove into Gianni so hard, it made my core tingle. The sound of their hips slapping filled the air along with Gianni's groans and occasional moans. I heard him mumble my name.

Tino's animalistic and unhinged grunts.

"Bambino, everything okay?" Vince asked and I realized we were in the restaurant that smelled like fried chicken. A wave of nostalgia hit me and I thought about Christmas and New Years at home.

Did I miss the restriction or did I miss my mom? I knew I'd never give up the freedom I felt now that I'd had a taste of it.

"Can I get a burger?" I smiled up at Vince who patted my head and chuckled.

"Of course, bambino. Anything you want" he smiled at me and I grinned, feeling excited. Even more excited for tonight. I was going on a date! I had read so much about dates and even watched it in a couple of movies.

A couple of students were around and we had caught the attention of quite a number of them as we found a place to sit. I didn't appreciate the attention and Vince seemed to noticed this.

He glared at the students he could find and they instantly looked away.

"If you weren't s-so tall, they wouldn't be staring" I whispered, glaring at Vince who took mock offense and slammed the menu against the table.

"Me? I'm pretty sure if you weren't so short and pocket-sized, they wouldn't be staring" he eyed me and I giggled. He smiled and I picked up the menu, reading through it.

"I'll be right back, Bambino" he kissed my forehead and walked towards the counter. I hummed to myself and kicked my feet back and forth.

A familiar pale girl walked up to me with a snarl on her face and I eyed her.

"Stay the fuck away from Professor Ricci!" She hissed like a violent snake on NatGeo wild. I eyed her and shook my head.

"And why would I do that? He's my boyfriend" I shrugged and her eyes widened. She eyed me as tears welled in her eyes.

"H-he's dating you? W-what?" She stuttered, still confused and I sighed, hoping Vince would come back and she would stop making me feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, she left before Vince came back with chips and ketchup and a burger. I remembered how my mom would occasionally bring back a box of pizza or barbecue -it could be anything- on her way from work but I didn't let that linger.

"I'm going on a date!" I squealed and Vince choked on his chips, coughing violently. I bounced excitedly in my seat and he glared at me.

"Bambino, I have a feeling you're out to murder me" he grumbled and took a sip of the weird Pepsi in a covered disposable cup.

I ignored him and bounced in my seat, grinning at him.

"I'm excited" I whispered, my feet bouncing as I thought about it. Vince slowly looked up at me and smiled. He flicked my forehead lightly before nodding.

"I'm happy for you, Bambino. You truly deserve all the happiness. Maybe you don't know this but you're like...the sun or more like the stars. You bring the light to wherever you go. You've come to mean so much to me and I promise that like a little sister, I will give everything I can to protect you and keep that smile on your face. Anything" I shivered and tears brimmed in my eyes. I stood up and hugged him while he chuckled, patting my head. I couldn't help the tears that rolled down my cheek.

A couple of minutes later, we walked into Tino's office and I made myself comfy on his chair, swiveling around in a fit of giggles.

I grabbed a book off the table, eyeing the other books on the table.

Macbeth was written on the cover. I had read a couple of Shakespeare's books but they weren't my cup of tea. Probably because when I read Romeo and Juliet, I hated his definition of love -or maybe because it had a tragic ending.

Sad endings couple make me cry and put me in a bad or somber mood for days.

William Shakespeare managed to evoke all of those things at once. I was never reading any of his books again.

I sighed and the door was pushed open. My heart jumped in excitement and I squealed, jumping into his arms. Tino chuckled and hoisted me up, spinning me around as he placed kisses all over my face. I giggled and hugged him, inhaling his scent because it felt like a million years.

I pouted, thinking about Gianni. I missed him too.

"What's with the long face, il mio Fiore?" He held my chin up and my eyes roamed over his face.

"I miss Gianni" I mumbled and he kissed my forehead.

"Gianni is probably at home waiting for us, Si?" I nodded. His voice caused shivers on my skin as he stared at me.

*pats the side of the couch where I'm sitting and takes a sip of my Ribena in my wine glass as I stare at you*

Please don't let my book (or any book you read) set a standard of beauty (or anything) for you. This goes out to all of my readers -no matter your gender.

It's like reading a very dark romance novella and letting it set a standard for your romantic relationship. Some things are meant to remain fiction.

As a matter of fact, I do NOT believe in beauty standards. Everyone is beautiful in their own special way.

I could write about a woman with the longest legs and the perfect 38-24-38 hourglass shape or a man with the perfect jawline, abs chiseled by diamond, 6"7', Perfect smile, and wears a pretty large shoe size *wink wink* just because that's the picture I have in my head for the character.
This doesn't mean that you're not beautiful. This doesn't mean I'm not beautiful. This doesn't mean other people aren't beautiful.
It simply means that I have a specific character phenotype in my head. It also means you should let the character remain what they are -characters- and enjoy the book.

Beauty standards are shit. They shouldn't exist and you should have no reason to believe that you aren't beautiful.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

There will probably be a triple or quadruple chapter update to make up for the seemingly distant smut scene *sips some more Ribena from my glass wine (I'm tapping into my femininity element🧚🏽‍♀️)*

*Sorry it's a late chapter. I've been hella sick for a couple of days. Enjoy!
-Aduke🌹