SO I APOLOGIZE GREATLY! For the Getties that know, I was MIA while dealing with my own relationship sadness and I couldn't bring myself to write another chappy. But after some soul searching and time I am back. I never like to leave people hanging so for those of you that are still reading this, THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Again, please leave feedback on if you love it, hate it, what to fix of it. Viva la Getty!
Chapter Four. Leaps and Bounds
Thursday. Almost one whole week since Betty had last seen Gio. After telling Gio about the expansion of his sandwich shop, they spent the night celebrating by laughing, eating, talking, kissing, toasting with champagne, kissing, oh yes, and more kissing. It was a magical night that was healing for both of them and yet solidified the bond between them even more so than it had been before. The hole that had been between them had finally all been diminished. By the time the town car got Betty home that night, it was the wee hours of the morning, but nothing could remove the smile that was plastered on her face.
And now it had been forever since she got to be in his presence again. Sure, they had talked every day on the phone several times a day. Work was just keeping them both so busy. Betty was getting prepared for the celebration dinner that was taking place tomorrow as Gio was running his deli and setting up the other sandwich shop that Betty had surprised him with. He was stressed but regardless was like a little kid with excitement about the whole project. Even more so that both the Rossi and Suarez family were helping to get in functioning order. And both families got along so well together, which was frightening in itself, there was far too much activity always going on in just one family, and with both together, it was a huge fanfare. Sadly, every day Betty wished she was there, but there was just no time.
So here she sat, curled up under her covers, her multi-colored pajamas that screamed comfort, as she took another spoonful of ice cream as she watched TV. She finally was able to get out earlier than expected from work, only 8PM, and finally was able to relax now at 10:30. She had been hoping to see Gio, but she knew he was over at Marco and Gabriela's house. Just as she was about to take another spoonful, her phone rang as the familiar melody playing, instantly knowing who it was on the other end.
"Hi," was all Betty could say before the smile crept across her face.
"I've wanted to hear your voice all day," Gio's husky voice said through the phone.
"Me too. And I got out of work early today too, and by early I mean 8. I knew you were at your brother's, otherwise I would have stopped by. It's been forever it seems."
Gio laughed, "Miss me hunny?" Betty rolled her eyes at this and waited for him to continue. "You should have called I could have easily gotten out of there earlier. You could have come here, drink some wine, enjoy a treat….."
"What kind of dessert? Did you make something?! Now I wish I could have had that rather than this ice cream," she babbled excitedly into the phone.
"Well I think you would have enjoyed it better than ice cream, but I don't think it's the kind of treat you were thinking of," he said with a chuckle.
Betty flushed red as some thoughts flew through her head at what he was implying which only made her more anxious. "Oh," was all she could whisper back to him.
"If only I could see your face now. Or are you thinking of me with my shirt off?" Gio teased which helped to un-cloud her mind.
"You are a dangerous man Giovanni Rossi. No one should be allowed to be with you alone."
"You know you love it. Speaking of alone time, I still owe you a dinner date, and I was thinking that tomorrow night would be perfect, since I believe there is a little shindig that we have to attend on Saturday."
"Don't remind me," Betty said half jokingly, "It's been a long enough work-week, and I am going to not want to see anybody from work on the weekend. At least it's for a joyous occasion."
"You still didn't answer my question B."
Betty laughed as she snuggled further into her pillow, wishing she was next to Gio instead. "Of course I would! Why wouldn't I want to see you?"
"You were just saying how I was dangerous to be left alone with."
"If I could smack your arm, I would right now."
Gio chuckled lightly as he yawned into the phone. "How about I come pick you up around 7:30? I think you'll enjoy what I got up my sleeve."
"Ohh, what is that?" Betty asked in a questioning voice.
"Nope, you aren't finding out that easily Suarez. You will just have to wait until I pick you up tomorrow. So until then, you should have sweet dreams."
"You expect me to sleep now?" Betty said annoyed, "You have me all excited about tomorrow."
"Well I need sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day and you should rest up yourself. Don't want me tiring you out or anything."
"Gio!"
"Goodnight Betty."
And with that, he hung up leaving Betty in a whirlwind of feelings, wondering what was to come next. Forgetting the melting ice cream that sat on her nightstand, she turned off the light in her room and got under the blankets. Her thoughts were racing but she knew that if she let her body stay awake on purpose, it would. Breathing deeply, her thoughts drifted to Gio and the surprises he might have in store. And slowly but surely, her breathing became heavy and her thoughts became her dreams, and a smile grazed her sleeping face, waiting for morning to arrive.
Work was torture through the day, and it was even worse that Betty knew she had another long day of work. She knew she would have enough time to get back to her house and that Gio was going to show up to her door. What was worse was that she was giddy with excitement.
It was their first date! The first official one anyway.
Betty had no idea how he would act. All she knew was his speech, the Blue Note, Montauk, ice cream, dancing….. her thoughts had to stop there. She knew he was a passionate guy when it comes to things that he likes, and only knew that it would be even more so. Or would it be? They had hung out enough and did the 'exploratory phase' before the whole Italy thing. They didn't really go on official dates, so it wasn't like anything he usually described.
But here Betty sat, on the couch, her leg twitching nervously while she was in her favorite sundress and sweater. Suddenly the door bell rang making her jump. She smoothed down her dress and as calmly as she could went towards the door.
"Oh Betty, stop being jumpy. You already have made out with him, so you know he likes you already," Hilda said with her hand on her hip.
"Hilda!"
"What! I'm just saying! Just don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said with a wink as she walked up the stairs.
Betty pulled open the door slowly and spotted Gio standing there with his hands behind his back. She stopped since the breath was knocked out of her. He was in a nice pair of slacks with a dark blue button down shirt. When Betty reached his face, she realized he was looking at her, his brown eyes piercing into hers. He had the slightest of a smile that grazed his features.
"Hi," she said breathlessly, almost sounding like she had sprinted to the door.
"Hey Betty, you look great," he said as his smile widened.
"So do you. Why are your hands behind your back?"
With that, Gio cocked his head to the side before slowly bringing his hands forward. There, between his magical fingers, was a half dozen bouquet of roses. Orange roses.
"Gio, they are beautiful!" was all that Betty could exclaim as she took them from him and inhaled their delirious, intoxicating smell.
"I saw them and just had to pick them up for you. Do you know what they stand for?" He said as he touched the petals gently.
"No, I know the basics, red is for love, white is for purity, pink is for admiration, yellow is for friendship….."
"And what colors make orange?"
"Red and yellow….." Betty said hesitantly and confused.
"Right. So the combination of those two is the best of both worlds. Basically, from what I figured out, it shows that the passion grows, one from friendship to that of romance," he finished as Betty looked at him in awe when he finished. "I thought they were something different, I've never seen anything liked them, and thought of you instantly."
He looked at her while she still stood still. He chuckled and grabbed the flowers from her and walked toward the kitchen to grab a vase to put them in. When he finished with that he walked back towards her and grabbed her hand and started walking out the door. "Come on B, as entertaining it is to see you standing in a doorway, we don't have all night."
They got into Gio's van and he started driving to the mysterious destination. The radio was on softly and was the only noise that could be heard besides the muffler of the van as it drove down the streets. The sun was starting to set as Betty looked out her window towards the lovely sights that were down below. Before long, they pulled up near the Brooklyn Bridge, at a little park that was near by. There were lots of cars parked nearby and people walking around.
"What are we doing here?" Betty said as they pulled up into the parking space.
"You'll see," Gio said with a little smile. "I just need to grab some stuff out from the back of the van. Stay there."
He jumped out of the van and walked around to the back. She heard him mumbling to himself and whistling as he grabbed everything that he needed. The door closed and before she got a chance to open her door, it opened with ease as Gio looked at her expectantly. She saw a blanket and a fairly large sized backpack in his hands as she slid out of the van. He threw the backpack over his shoulder and grabbed her hand as they walked towards the park. Once they got closer she saw why the park was so crowded.
There was a large screen set up in the middle of the park.
Betty got slightly excited at this point and wondered if it was what she thought it was. They stopped when Gio found a decent spot and took the blanket and spread it out. As they sat down, he took the backpack off and started to pull out the different things that were packed in there. Betty's eyes were amazed at all that he was able to fit into there: Some smaller sandwiches, different varieties of cheeses, with crackers and fruit, her favorite dessert, and a bottle of red wine with two glasses.
"Are we having a picnic dinner?" she asked as she turned to look at him.
"We are having dinner and a movie," he said calmly as he grabbed the corkscrew so he could open the wine bottle.
"A movie?"
Gio smiled as he looked at her as he worked to get the cork off. "I did some research to see what was going on in the city and I found that this park every Friday night in the summer plays movies outside for all to enjoy. You just need to show up. I figured it would be something different for us to do, and with it being such a great night, why not?"
Betty couldn't help but fall just a little more for the man in front of him. He could be so romantic without even realizing it. He got the bottle finally opened and poured each of them a glass of wine. As he passed it to her, their hands brushed and a slight blush crept across her cheeks.
"So what movie is it that we are seeing?"
"What better story than 'The Princess Bride'?"
It was a classic love story with action also in it, and a book that Betty absolutely loved and a movie that never got old. "That sounds perfect," was all she said as she grabbed a grape from the fruit that he laid out. "What sandwiches did you bring?"
"Oh, just some new creations that I'm adding to the menu sometime soon. It was a couple of things I picked up on my trip," Gio said as he picked up one of them and unwrapped.
They sat and talked and enjoyed the glass of wine that he brought. The sun set and the view near the water front was breathtaking. It finally was dark enough and their attention was brought to the screen which finally lit up. Betty got all excited, for she never did something like this before. Gio put his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder as the movie started, both being content to be with the other.
By the time the movie ended, everyone was gathering their stuff, but not them. They were still snuggled into each others arms. Betty turned to Gio with a gentle smile on her face. No words needed to be said between them, because the moment was what they enjoyed the most. The glow from the big screen made Gio look almost angelic. She couldn't help but lean in and kiss him, with all the feelings that were just pent up inside of her at that moment. For so long she was keeping herself from giving into the feeling of something exciting and new and passionate, and here it was in front of her, waiting for the taking.
Gio was the one to pull away first and looked deep in her eyes. He was stroking his thumb back and forth across her arm which was sending goose bumps down. She saw the fire behind his eyes, the passion that was there and she knew he was trying to keep his emotions in check. "Ready to get going?" he said in his husky voice that only made Betty melt into his arms a little more.
"It's only 11, what are we going to do now?"
He coughed slightly, "Well I had made dessert for us but I didn't bring it on our picnic. It needs to be served warm so I have to heat it a bit. So we should get going, unless you'd rather not want it."
Betty smiled as she watched him clean up their picnic space. Once everything was packed up, Gio put his arm around her and they walked to the van. They talked the whole way back to his apartment, mainly about the movie and the book and the adaptation between them. Quickly enough they were walking up the stairs hand in hand to his apartment. He fumbled with the keys and cursed under his breath as he tried to open the door. What seemed like hours later, the door finally opened and they walked into the apartment.
It looked almost exactly the same as when she was here after that fateful softball game. Betty almost forgot how much she had missed his apartment. She sat down on the couch as Gio busied himself around. Light jazz music emerged from the stereo and she heard him whistling in the kitchen, the clanging of drawers opening and closing as Gio worked on what she liked to call, "a masterpiece." The apartment was still dark but before it was over he walked over with a lit candle and sat it on the table in the living room. The soft glow gave a haunting yet intoxicating look to the room. He lit a few more candles and smiled before walking back to the kitchen were the most thrilling smell emerged from.
"It smells delicious," Betty said as she watched his retreating form in the kitchen.
"Well it better, I only slaved away at it all day," Gio said, a hint of teasing in his voice.
"Is that apples I smell?"
The answer to her question became clear as Gio walked around with a hot plate and a tray of warm apple crisp. He ran quickly back into the kitchen to grab the plates and forks, and the last important ingredient: vanilla ice cream.
"Apple crisp, I love apple crisp!" Betty said excitedly as she bounced in her seat.
"It is always good, though peeling all the apples can really get old."
She looked at him incredulously, "You did this all from scratch?!"
"When do I half-ass anything? Of course it is! Nothing short of great for my girl."
He gave her a plate full of apple crisp and passed the ice cream over before taking his own heaping amount as well. He couldn't help but look at her as he ate, watching her enjoyment on her face with every bite of the apple crisp. Just knowing that something he worked on made her smile made Gio feel like a million bucks.
"Did you mean what you said?" Betty asked at last, "Man, this is really good apple crisp!"
"Ha! I'm glad you enjoy it. And what do you mean?"
"That I'm your girl?" she said shyly as she looked down into her plate.
"B, you always have had a hold on my heart, when are you going to accept that?"
She looked at him incredulously, almost as if that bit of news took her by surprise. Deep down she always knew that, but hearing the words solidified the idea and rocked her to the core. Betty couldn't speak, she was practically speechless. Gio looked at her expectantly, waiting for a response. Time seemed to stand still and Betty finally got to her senses. She knew what she had to say, but it wouldn't come. So Betty did the only thing that she could do.
She jumped him.
In one swift moment, she dropped her dish and jumped on top of Gio, abandoning all rational thoughts that she had. Gio gasped in surprise at the sudden change as his back was pressed into the back of the couch. She dug her hands into his slightly grown hair and let one of her hands fall and trace up and down his chest. Gio's breath hitched in his throat, holding back the moan that wanted to come. He trailed his hands up and down her back before letting one slip into her hair to pull her closer, giving him more access to her mouth as he kissed her.
Betty was completely caught up in the moment and she pulled away from his lips, panting, grasping for some oxygen, before leaning down and capturing the nape of his neck. She let out a smile as she heard Gio groan softly when she got to a particular spot and made sure to spend a little bit extra time there. She slowly started nipping her way towards his ear and he tore his mouth away from hers. Gio gave Betty a wolfish look and the next thing Betty knew she was flying.
"GIO!" she squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs wrapped around him as he held her steady.
"You can't expect to just jump me Suarez and not get a response out of me," he said as he kissed her hard on the mouth as he leaned her against the wall, taking Betty by surprise. "It's my turn now."
He continued walking down a hallway and turned into his bedroom, the musky smell engulfing her senses. He placed her gently on her feet and bit his lip, looking like a little kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I know you wanted to take things slow…." He started to get out before he felt a pair of lips gravitate towards him. He was pushed down onto the bed as Betty stood in front of him.
"I know what I said, but right now, screw what I said," was all Betty said before lying down besides him. They got lost in the feelings as they explored the passion between them over and over again into the wee hours.
Betty woke with a start in the morning before groaning softly to herself as she could barely move any inch of herself. She took in her surroundings as the memories of the night flooded back. She realized that she had fallen asleep at Gio's apartment. Sbe turned to her left and saw Gio, passed out, face down in the pillow, snoring softly. Betty could only chuckle to herself. She knew it was still fairly early but her adrenaline was keeping her awake.
She slid out of bed and picked up Gio's button-down shirt before slipping it over her head. With a yawn she walked towards the kitchen, admiring the gorgeous day that was outside. Everything just felt right, being there this morning. As much as she didn't want to rush things, she felt that it was the perfect time for her and Gio to go to that next phase.
She looked for the pan and pulled some eggs out from the fridge. She decided to make breakfast for her and Gio to enjoy. Betty smiled, remembering that she did have to get ready for the Hot Flash celebration that evening, but there was enough time to just enjoy the luxury of relaxing in one another's arms. As she was finishing up the eggs, she heard a shuffle behind her and she saw Gio leaning casually against the door in a pair of boxers and looking at her.
"Now that is what I call a good wake up call, a woman making me breakfast while dressed in MY clothes. You are going to be the death of me B," Gio said as he walked towards her and hugged her. "I don't know how you are moving already at this hour in the morning."
"Well we have to get ready later for the Hot Flash bash, so you better get in the spirit, we got another long night ahead of us."
"Will you promise that?" Gio said with a wink before stepping out from her grasp.
"If you behave," she said as she swatted the spatula she was using at him.
They both smiled at one another and Betty couldn't help but sigh. Here was everything she dreamed of. She couldn't have been more thankful for second chances because here she was, ready to take the leap, make the jump, and stride in bounds to know what true love was. She knew she couldn't let it pass her by a second time around. Betty leaned in and kissed Gio shortly but passionately on the lips.
Everyone had wondered if risking it all would do anything for her. And all Betty could respond with is…..
Risking it all gave her the world, and she couldn't be happier.
There is going to be an epiloge with this also, so look for one more chapter! It was going to be a one shot but I felt like it could work into this story. Again, thank you for reading and PLEASE leave reviews on what you think! :)