The sun had set hours ago, but the night was far from cold. Sophie, Domani, and Alessandro had retreated to the guest house when everyone parted for the night, and now with Alessandro in bed, Sophie and Domani were curled up together on one of the couches downstairs. The television was on, though low, but they had stopped paying attention to it some minutes ago.
It seemed like they couldn’t stop touching each other. That they never did. It had been a week and their entire situation didn’t seem any more realistic. Domani would often pull her close just to feel her breathe, or rest his hand on her chest to feel her steady heart beat. He bruised her just to see the marks, the discoloration of her skin that meant yes, That’s where they found themselves; Sophie laying against one arm of the couch and Domani leaning gently into her, his hands underneath her shirt against her stomach and waist and his mouth on her neck, lightly marking in a place no one would see underneath her hair. She had her face turned towards the television, but her eyes were closed; the only sign she was still awake were her soft, trembling sighs. Several quiet minutes passed before he pulled slowly away, kissing her neck and smoothing a hand over her skin as he leaned back to look at her.
She turned her head back toward him after a moment, feeling his eyes on her and shifting a little more into his hands as if to ask why he had stopped.
“Are you going to come back with me?” he asked her softly. They had talked about this briefly the day before – Domani had to return to Milan, his holiday ended with January, along with Alessandro who had to go back to his mother’s for his birthday on the 31st. Domani wanted her to return with him, so they could truly start their life together. But there was a problem – Jake.
Sophie nodded slowly, shifting again so that she could look right up at him without having to keep her head turned. She reached up and touched Domani’s face, cupping his cheek and brushing her thumb over his jaw.
“But,” she whispered, starting slowly, “Maybe a week or two after. I want to talk to Jake, and ask him to consider coming with us.” She lifted her other hand to his face too, looking up at him as he watched her. He leaned down and gently kissed her.
“Do you think he will?”
“I don’t know.” Their voices were still soft, though there was no reason for them to be whispering. “At this point, I don’t think it would be fair for us to force it on him.”
Domani shook his head in reply. He smiled shortly after. “How am I going to let you out of my sight now,” he murmured.
“Good question,” Sophie answered, smiling softly in return. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But,” she added, dropping her voice to a whisper again, “You’ll have time to make your flat presentable. I’m sure it’s an absolute mess.”
He pinched her lightly for that, making her gasp, though it quickly turned into laughter.
“Ow!” she gasped, laughing even more as he started to tickle her. “Honestly- Domani!” She squirmed, laughing as he slid his hands up her sides, tickling her incessantly. She hit him in the chest, but it only made him grin and tickle her harder. “How do you expect me to live! There! Quit!”
Finally she grabbed his forearms and dug her nails into his skin. That got him to stop. “Ahh,” he gasped, whipping his hands away as she caught her breath. He grinned again, rubbing his arms.
“I don’t,” he murmured, grin widening as he watched the confusion bloom in her eyes. “I don’t expect you to live there. I want to buy you a house.”
Sophie grinned to match Domani’s, reaching up and cupping his face again. “Where?”
“Anywhere you’d like,” He kissed her softly. “As large as you’d like.”
She tugged him down closer, but he kept his eyes on her. “I want to make you happy,” he added.
“You do,” she breathed. They kissed again, the tips of her fingers playing in his hair.
“I want you to marry me,” he whispered.
Her first answer was a soft noise against his lips as her arms went around his neck, and the next kiss was deeper than the previous ones. Sophie wrapped her arms around him more tightly, holding on.
“I will,” she whispered, barely audibly when they had parted just enough to speak. They kissed again, letting it go until they were breathing each other, Sophie’s arms tight around Domani’s shoulders and his hands in her hair. The night settled around them, carrying on without them. When they did part, several long minutes later, Sophie pressed her face to his shoulder, still holding onto him. She turned her head into his neck, and with a kiss whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he whispered back, dipping his head to her shoulder and kissing the exposed skin at the curve of her neck. He felt her smile against his skin. The television clicked off beside them.
Sophie let her head fall back into Domani’s hands, on the small pillow. “Take me to bed,” she murmured.
He smiled, and with another kiss did just that.