Chapter 76: Road Trip

Antonio is the first person I see when we walk into the lobby. His eyes are fixated on his phone, typing some words on it. Once he sends the text, his gaze wanders around the lobby. Within seconds, he finally finds my father, Dante, Carlo, and me. He smiles at the sight of me and then gets up from his seat, approaching us calmly.

"Good morning," Antonio says.

"Good morning," My father and I say.

It's now 10 in the morning, the agreed time for Antonio and I to leave for the Ricci's villa. The drive there from here will be quite long, around five hours. It's going to be an exhausting trip, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. Time and energy wise.

"Are you ready?" Antonio says.

"Yes," I say.

"Would you like to go with Dante and Carlo or with me?" Antonio asks.

That's a good question. Decisions, decisions. Even though I'd rather be with Dante and Carlo, going with Antonio is a better choice for the moment. Leaving with Antonio will be enough to prove that I trust him. And in return, I'll gain more of Antonio's trust. The drive to the Amalfi Coast will be long, but enduring Antonio's company shouldn't be difficult. I'll only have to do it once. If I'm too tired to interact with Antonio, napping is my best solution.

"I'll go with you," I say.

"Alright," Antonio says.

"You can go now. I'll see you at home," my father says.

"Okay. Bye, father," I say.

Being the gentleman he is, Antonio opens the door of his car for me, letting me enter the vehicle first. Once I'm settled in the car, Antonio closes the door and goes to the driver's side. I watch silently as he walks in front of the car and steps in.

"If you want to play some music, just connect your phone to the car's Bluetooth, okay?" Antonio says, putting on his seatbelt.

"Okay," I say.

On my phone, I search through my playlists for something that'll fit the vibe of our short road trip. My eyes set on my chill house music playlist, so I play it on shuffle. Despite how cloudy it is today, I hope the weather on the Amalfi Coast will be warmer and sunnier. It better be sunny because I don't put on my pretty, white summer dress for nothing. I want to take a couple of pictures while we're staying there.

"About your gift, it's truly a thoughtful one. I love every part of it," Antonio says.

"Well, I've spent hours on it, so you should absolutely love it," I joke.

"Oh, it's absolutely perfect. I should get it displayed in a museum," Antonio chuckles.

"Yeah. You should," I say, smiling at him.

I watch the sea as we drive through the vacant road. Listening to the music currently playing, I bob my head a little to the beat and tap my fingers against my thigh. I turn to Antonio, and his eyes are locked on the road. Feeling my eyes on him, he glances at me.

"What's up?" Antonio asks.

"Nothing," I say. I was going to ask if I could roll down the window and feel the breeze through my hair, but I guess that would be inappropriate since the weather is quite cold at this moment. I don't want both of us to end up getting colpo d'aria.

"Anyway, I have a gift for you, too. It'll be waiting for you in the villa," Antonio says.

A gift for me? What will he give me this time? Giving me gifts whenever we go on dates is already a routine for him, but it still catches me off guard most of the time. He usually gives me accessories. I wonder what he will give me this time. Hopefully, it's not as crazy as a gun, just like what he gave me when he brought me to watch the sunset on a yacht.

"It's your birthday, not mine. You don't have to," I say.

"But I want to. I love giving you gifts. You'll see it later," Antonio says with a wide smile.

"Alright."

I'll wait and stay curious. We'll see what he's gotten for me later. I already have too many accessories, so it better be something else. It doesn't have to be an extravagant gift either. Something as simple as a plushie would suffice for me. I'd probably return them anyway when our relationship's over.

Both of us go silent again. Only the music blasting through the car's speaker accompanies us. I quietly hum the song's lyrics as I stare at the road ahead of us. From what it looks like, the sky is getting brighter as we leave the area. That's great. We're finally getting some warmth again.

"Do you want to stop by a gelato shop first? There's one nearby. I absolutely love the matcha-flavoured and coffee-flavoured ones," Antonio says.

"Sure. Why not?" I say.

"Alright then. We'll be there in a couple of minutes," Antonio says.

With my phone in my hand, I send a quick text to Dante, letting him know we'll be visiting a gelato shop. Within seconds, he replies with a thumbs-up emoji. How straightforward of him.

I'd love me some matcha-flavoured gelato. We should definitely visit the shop. The road ahead of us is still long. Going on a drive non-stop would be boring as fuck, so taking small breaks will be beneficial for our sanity.

"Here we are," Antonio says as we pull up to the gelato shop.

From the outside, I can see that the place is right by the beach from the sight of the blue sea and beige sand. This seems like the perfect place to enjoy some gelato. The gelato should taste as good as Antonio claims. That way, I can also enjoy the view.

"Nice view," I say.

"The gelato is even better. Come. Let's order some," Antonio says.

Both Antonio and I ordered matcha-flavoured gelato. Antonio gets two scoops of it in a cup, while I have two scoops on a waffle cone. As for Dante and Carlo, they won't order anything. Because of that, only Antonio and I are eating the sweet and slightly bitter matcha gelato as we sit outside and watch the waves on the shoreline.

"You're right. This is good," I say. I then take a small bite of the gelato and let the creamy dessert melt in my mouth.

"I've told you," Antonio says. "Wait. You have a little bit of- there."

Antonio wipes the corner of my lips. I look down at his thumb and see some green liquid on it. He then licks his thumb, leaving nothing left on it. My cheeks turn hot at the sight. It's a simple gesture, yet he looks so attractive when doing it.

Fuck. Remember. He's the enemy. Don't fall for his charms again, Alessandra.

"Uh, thanks," I say.

"It's nothing. What do you have in mind when we get to our destination?" Antonio asks.

"Well, you're the host, so tell me our itinerary," I say.

"For starters, when we get to the villa, we can have some tea and snacks while watching the sea. Even better, we can do all that while we relax in the jacuzzi. Dante and Carlo are welcome to join," Antonio says, smiling at them.

"That sounds nice," I say.

Actually, it's not as nice if there's Dante and Carlo with us. I mean, how could I concentrate on getting the words out of Antonio with them around? Instead of that, we'll only feel awkward. That'll also hinder me from getting the information we need. It shouldn't happen. With our tight schedule, I must spend every second with Antonio to achieve my only goal: getting Antonio to confess.

"Don't let us disturb you both. Just enjoy your vacation," Dante says.

Thank you, Dante. As much as I want to enjoy some time with you, I'd rather do it when we're alone, not with Antonio around. I'll make it up to you once we're back home.

"I'm serious. It'll help us all with the soreness from the long drive," Antonio says.

"Dante's right. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine," Carlo says.

"Alright then. Let me know if you change your mind," Antonio says.

That's settled. I'll be spending the afternoon with Antonio in the jacuzzi, drinking some tea and eating some snacks. While we're at it, I might have to be a bit cuddly and touchy with him. Gosh. Just the thought of it makes me feel icky, but it must be done. I can only hope Antonio won't think of it any further, but I guess that'll only be wishful thinking. There's no way he won't be tempted to do something more if I do all that.

"What else do you want to do?" I ask.

"Well, there's this restaurant that makes killer pasta arrabbiata and crab ravioli. So, why don't we visit the place later for dinner?" Antonio asks.

Both sound good. I've been wanting to eat penne all'arrabbiata lately. I'm so glad Antonio recommended a restaurant with that on the menu. That way, I don't have to worry about choosing something to eat for dinner. Even though wine could make me a bit sick, having that with the pasta will be the perfect combo. So, YOLO, I guess.

"Oh, yes. Absolutely. I've been craving some penne all'arrabbiata, so it'll be perfect," I say.

"Great. And as for tomorrow, we could go to the beach early in the morning for a swim or in the afternoon to watch the sunset. Your choice," Antonio says.

Swimming early in the morning? In the autumn season? Damn. I don't know whether Antonio's a psycho or a masochist. It'll be way too cold to swim in such cold weather. Based on the weather forecast, tomorrow will be cloudy and cold, so no, thank you.

"Let's watch the sunset instead. I'm not really in the mood for a swim lately," I say.

"Alright. If it's cold or raining, we can stay inside and watch some movies instead," Antonio says.

Yes. That's so much better than swimming in the damn morning. I hope it's sunny tomorrow, even though the forecast has shown that tomorrow will mostly be cloudy. I really want to watch the sunset on the beach. It's been a while since I watched a sunset.

"That's settled," I say.

"Alright. Let me know if you have any other places you want to visit," Antonio says.

"I will."

At the moment, I don't have any places I want to visit in mind, so I'll stick to Antonio's plan. With how he has everything planned, it seems like he'd rather us stay in the villa most of the time, which I don't mind. Being in public for too long will make it harder for me to concentrate. Now, all I need to do is act accordingly and make him confess everything he has been refraining from saying.