What was worse, pneumonia or having to stop kissing Edoardo?
Eleonora really couldn't decide.
Her hands were tangled into his hair, holding him against her. Not that it was without his consent, given his hands on her waist were doing the same thing.
She couldn't believe she was kissing Edoardo.
Just minutes ago she'd be telling him she didn't like him, not even a little. She'd been telling him that for almost a year.
God, she was full of shit.
How could she not like him?
He was stupidly charming, and he always seemed to care about her. Part of her had forgotten what it felt like to be truly cared for.
Not that she thought her friends and her brother didn't care about her, but she'd always felt like it was better to keep certain things to herself. With Edoardo, she felt like he really wanted to know those things.
A surge of newfound passion prompted her to pull him even closer, throwing one arm around his shoulders.
He chuckled against her lips. "We should get out of the rain."
"Probably."
"Do you want to stay at mine again?"
Eleonora pulled away, trying to clear the kissing-induced haze in her brain so she could think about it properly. Edoardo leaned his forehead against hers, and she marvelled at how she once thought this boy anything more than a teddy bear.
She could stay at his house again. But that was probably going to give him the wrong idea.
"I should probably go home."
Edoardo sighed, and it was so cold she could feel the warmth of it against her lips. "Okay."
She chuckled at his tone, leaning up to kiss him again.
He pushed her rain-soaked hair out of her face, cupping her cheeks in his hands. He pulled back after a long moment, locking eyes with her.
"So not even a little bit, huh?"
Eleonora laughed, but she remembered the look on his face and her laughter died.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
Edoardo shrugged. "I probably shouldn't have made you say it."
He let his hands fall from her face to his sides. The rain had calmed to a steady drizzle now as opposed to a full-blown thunderstorm. They stood there for a second, just looking at each other.
She wanted to kiss him again.
He reached for her hand, linking their fingers together. "Come on, I'll walk you home."
She nodded, reaching her free hand over and sliding it up his arm. She rested her head against his shoulder as they walked, aware it was probably making their journey harder but not really caring. He didn't seem to mind either, leaning down to kiss the top of her head every once in a while.
They reached her building far too soon, Edoardo pulling her gently into his arms as they stood outside.
He leant down, burying his face in her hair. She could feel his breath against her neck, and she felt warm despite the cold rain still falling softly around them.
"I don't want to say good bye."
She blushed at his words, tightening her arms slightly around his waist. She pulled away from him so she could look him in the eyes, smiling softly.
"Tisanina?"
He grinned, nodding before leaning down to kiss her. She knew he intended it to be quick, but the entire walk home she had been deprived of his lips on hers and wasn't going to let him go that easily.
He made a sound of approval when she reached up to cup his cheeks, holding him against her. One of his hands moved up to tangle in her hair while his other stayed at her waist.
Dear lord he could kiss.
It felt like there was fire in her veins, like she might combust at any moment. It was wonderful.
Edoardo walked her backwards until they were resting against her apartment wall. She was glad it was late and no one could see them, and even more pleased that Filo wasn't home.
After kissing until she was well and truly out of breath, Eleonora led Edoardo upstairs to her apartment. Thank god she'd cleaned up a bit earlier.
"You sit on the couch, I'll make tea."
"Yes, ma'am."
She rolled her eyes at him, walking towards the kitchen. "Lemon?"
He voiced his approval, and she didn't need to look back at him to know he was grinning.
She leant against the kitchen counter while she waited for the water to boil, not fully believing that Edoardo was sitting on her couch. She brought her hands up to either side of her face, shaking her head with a grin. One night could change everything, couldn't it?
Once the water had boiled and the tea made, she brought their cups out the living area. She sat them down on the table next to the couch, knowing they needed to cool for a bit before they drank them.
She sat down next to Edoardo, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and pulled her into his side.
"I wish we had cookies" she said, and he laughed in response.
"You know, I was wondering, does tricking everyone with the raffle count as false advertising?"
Edoardo laughed. "I don't know, probably."
"I've been kissing a criminal" Eleonora mock-scolded him.
He just laughed again. "Well, what else was I meant to do? I told Chicco that under no circumstances was I going to kiss some random girl."
"Mm-hmm." Eleonora tried not to look too pleased.
Edoardo leaned in to her, placing his lips briefly on her cheek. "I don't want to kiss anyone but you."
She could feel her face heating up, giving away her emotions. His face was still centimetres from hers, and he leaned in further, brushing his nose against hers. She grinned at the gesture, turning her face slightly towards his.
Their lips met for the hundredth time that night, and Eleonora marvelled at how quickly something could feel like home.
She brought one hand up to wrap about his shoulders, the fingers of her other hand tangling into his hair.
He pulled away from her for a second, grinning. "You really love my hair."
She made to retort, but he was kissing her again and pushing her gently back onto the couch and her words got lost in her throat. Their kisses became hungry and she pulled him further on top of her, eliciting a groan from him in response.
After who knows how long, they pulled away from each other to catch their breath.
"We should drink our tea" she said, and he chuckled in response before sitting up and reaching for his cup.
"I wonder how the party turned out" he mused.
Eleonora shrugged, picking up her cup and taking a sip. "Eva's probably passed out at home, Giovanni's probably watching everyone who comes near Martino like a hawk, and Rosa is probably crying in a corner."
Edoardo laughed so hard he almost spilt his tea. "I'm sure Rosa's just fine."
Eleonora pursed her lips, giving him a disbelieving look. "I don't know, she and Silvia might team up."
Edoardo nodded, faking sincerity. "You're right, I'll just have to kiss her anyway."
She shoved his shoulder gently, knowing he was kidding. "You're an idiot."
He shrugged, taking a sip of his tea. His face turned serious, and Eleonora wondered what he was thinking about. She reached over, rubbing her thumbs against his cheek.
"What is it?"
"Nothing" he murmured. "I just hate that we let those coglioni in."
Eleonora took another sip of her tea before placing her cup back on the table. "It wasn't your fault, you didn't know."
Edoardo shrugged before placing his cup down next to hers. "Still. I hate people like that."
Eleonora nodded. "Me too. I mean I was so worried about Eva and then I ended up dumping Martino in it, they're just the worst of everything."
Edoardo rested his arm on the back of the couch, and Eleonora took the opportunity to tuck herself against his side. He chuckled quietly, wrapping his arm around her and pressing his lips to the side of her head.
"My brother, Filo, I always worry about him when he goes out. I worry he's going to run into guys like that. It's crazy to think he has to be so brave just to exist sometimes."
Edoardo nodded, his face still resting against her head so she could feel the movement. "I get people having their own beliefs, but I just can't tolerate people like those guys from tonight. Especially when they hurt my friends."
Eleonora smiled, because he'd just said he considered Martino his friend. She looked up at him, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
Edoardo tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, keeping his hand there and gently rubbing his thumb against the side of her face.
"I should let you have a shower and go to bed" he said.
Eleonora nodded, though she wished he could stay. But she'd said no to going back to his place for a reason, and having him stay at hers posed the same problems.
"I'll walk you downstairs."
He shook his head, getting to his feet. She held out her hands and he pulled her to her feet as well.
"You stay here and stay warm. You can walk me to the door if you want, though."
She just grinned.
Walking him to the door was convenient, because she could lean against the doorway while he kissed her good bye.
He trailed his lips down her neck like he had earlier that night and her breath hitched in her throat. He chuckled in response, the vibrations of it against her skin causing her even more pleasure. God, he was going to be the death of her.
He pulled away from her, grinning like an idiot.
"Bye, Ele."
She smirked at she responded with "bye, Eduardo".
He rolled his eyes at her. "You said my name earlier, I know you know it."
Eleonora just shrugged. "Sorry, no recollection of that."
He grinned again, leaning in to kiss her again. He pulled away quickly, and she knew they'd both stay kissing all night if they could.
"Okay, I'm going now" he said. He leant his forward against hers, sighing. "Bye, Ele."
"Bye."
She watched him leave, tracing her bottom lip slowly with her index finger. He turned around when he was almost out of her sight, waving at her. She returned the gesture, trying not to grin like an idiot.
Kissing Edoardo had been amazing, but a warm shower after standing in the rain was a whole other level of good.
Eleonora leant her head back against the tiles of the shower, closing her eyes and letting the warmth envelope her. She stayed in there far too long, finally getting out when her fingers were pruned from the water.
She walked back to her room in her towel, flopping down on her bed.
She still hadn't fully comprehended the night's events, but she knew she wanted to kiss Edoardo again as soon as she could.
Her phone buzzed and she reached for it, thinking and hoping that it was Edoardo. She opened it to find a message from Eva.
So after the raffle was drawn, you and Edoardo both disappeared. After he hadn't been the prize after all. Weird.
Shit.