10 chapters WOW !
I want to tell you all that Katrina Kay is helping me edit the story. She's the best beta reader!
Happy reading
Chapter 10: The Right One
Maura woke feeling a lot of emotions.
Happiness was the strongest, thanks to Jane. Yesterday after Jane's heavy confessions, they had gone to have gelato, and they'd laughed because this time Jane didn't know the owner, and they'd had to wait in the line like normal customers.
She felt…cherished, too. Jane always made sure to pull out her chair for her, held the door open for her, gave Maura her jacket when she saw that Maura was cold. Maura had to admit sometimes she would think about taking a cardigan when they went out, but she enjoyed wearing Jane's clothes too much. She sighed when she remembered when Jane gave up her tank top on the beach.
But sadness was also present. She only had two days left in this paradise, only two more days with Jane. On the next night, she was going to go to Rome for her mother's art show. She had been excited for it before Jane.
Jane.
Maura finally got up to shower and get dressed. She wanted to go see Jane right away, but she remembered that the tall girl was going to have breakfast with the Gilbertis, so Maura was going to have to wait to see the beautiful girl later.
Maura sat on the table eating some pastries Guido had made that morning and drinking cappuccino. She thought about her first day with Jane, when they had gone to the bookshop and the cafe. Maura would never forget the taste of that cappuccino - it was wonderful in itself, but the one she had been with had made everything perfect.
Maura wanted to do something special for Jane, who always took her to places and gave her amazing memories. After a little brainstorming, Maura came up with the perfect idea for a day with Jane.
An hour later Maura decided to go to see Jane. She chose to walk on the beach since both of their houses were nearby. After a few minutes, Maura saw the raven girl playing football with Frankie and Gio. The girl was fast and strong: she threw the ball far and the boys had to run to catch it.
The blond girl walked closer to them. Jane immediately felt Maura's presence and turned to greet her.
"Morning, bella." Jane kissed her softly.
"Good morning, Jane," Maura replied with a smile.
Both boys came to say hello to Maura, too. "Hey Maura, what's up?" Frankie asked.
"Hello Frankie, I'm fine, better now." She looked at Jane and winked. Jane blushed.
"Buongiorno! Are you blushing, Jane?" Giovanni asked, laughing.
"No, of course not!" But Jane was clearly embarrassed.
Maura came closer to Jane, standing on her tiptoes to whisper seductively in her ear, "I love when you blush."
Jane shivered and cleared her throat. "Maur, do you want to play football with us? We're just playing passes so no need to worry about getting hurt!"
"Oh Jane, I'm afraid I don't know how to play. This sport isn't very popular in France," Maura replied.
"I'll teach you if you want," Jane offered.
"Ok, I like learning new things. Even though last time I almost drowned when you taught me something. But I still really like you as my teacher!"
"Come on Maur, don't be a drama queen! You couldn't have drowned, it wasn't that deep." She leaned close to the blond and whispered, "And I love being the teacher."
Maura smiled. "Did you know that people have drowned in as little as 30 millimeters of water lying face down, in one case in a wheel rut? I could easily drown there."
"I wouldn't let that happen!" Jane challenged, leaning to capture Maura's lips in a loving kiss that was interrupted by a sound of a throat being cleared.
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but can you at least give us the ball before eating each others' faces?" Both girls blushed to a deep shade of red at Giovanni's teasing.
Jane threw the ball at Gio and began to kiss Maura again. She placed her hands on Maura's hips, pulling her closer as Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck. The kiss was slow and sweet, and Jane smiled into it before they pulled away for air.
The ball smacked into Jane's head. "OW!" Jane rubbed the side of her head. "Who did that?" She glared at them, but each boy pointed at the other.
"Um, Jane, weren't you going to teach me?" Maura interrupted, trying to help the boys avoid Jane's wrath.
"Yeah, here, hold the ball like this." Jane showed Maura and stood behind her. "Now you have to throw it, like this." Jane held the ball over Maura's hand, her other resting on the blond's hip.
Maura didn't care about the ball anymore. The way Jane was holding her…but she had to focus, she had to show Jane she could do this.
"On the count of three, you throw, ok?" Jane whispered close to her ear. Maura could only nod.
"One, two…three!" The throw was good - not fast or long like Jane's, but very good for a first time.
"That was great, Maur!"
"Thank you." Maura smiled.
They played for an hour, but then Maura told Jane she had a surprise for her, one they had to go to her house to get. They took Jane's Vespa to her house.
"The surprise is this way." Maura lead Jane to the kitchen.
"A basket?" Jane asked when she saw it on the counter.
"Yes! We're going to have a picnic!" Maura exclaimed.
Jane would never have decided to go on a picnic - too romantic and cheesy. But Maura had changed that in her: she would do anything if Maura was beside her.
"I love it!" Jane hugged her tight.
When they arrived at the park, Jane helped Maura off the Vespa and they found a nice spot near some trees. Jane laid the blanket on the grass and sat on top of it. She stretched her legs so that her dirty Vans were touching the towel, but when Maura looked at her, Jane quickly moved her feet. Maura sat beside her, legs tucked underneath her, and started unpacking the basket. They'd packed some of Guido's delicious sandwiches and fresh lemonade.
After they'd cleaned up, Maura leaned back to rest against a nearby tree and Jane rested her head on Maura's lap. Maura played with Jane's curls and looked thoughtful.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Jane asked.
"It's nothing."
"Hives, Maur." Maura had told Jane about her condition caused by lying.
Maura sighed sadly. "I have only 2 days left. I'm leaving tomorrow night for Rome."
"Don't worry about that, let's just enjoy now, okay?" Jane sat up and hugged her. But Jane was also devastated. She didn't want Maura to go, but since they lived in two different countries, she knew they had to part sometime.
"I promise you'll hear from me." Jane said. "We have technology on our side - we can Skype, email, text each other."
"But it won't be the same. I need you beside me. I need your hugs and kisses," Maura said, mouth still sad despite her small smile.
"I can give you those right now." Jane leaned to kiss Maura, who kissed back passionately. Their tongues fought as their hands caressed. Jane reached her hand to draw circles with her thumb on the soft skin at the back of Maura's neck, while Maura let her hands wander the curves of Jane's sides.
Their embrace was becoming heated by the second by the time they broke apart to breathe.
"Wow, that was… great – no, perfect!" Jane grinned.
"It was…we're good at kissing," Maura teased, poking Jane in the ribs. Jane responded by tickling her, and soon she was straddling Maura where she had fallen onto her back.
"Stop, Jane, please!" Maura laughed breathlessly.
"Okay, okay, but you got what you deserved!" Jane ceased her assault and kissed her nose instead.
"I- I want you to come to dinner tonight, to meet my mother," Maura blurted out suddenly, biting her lip nervously as she looked up at Jane, waiting.
"I-I… don't know." Jane wasn't good with parents. She was worried she would cause the wrong impression tonight.
Jane got off Maura and laid beside her, looking at the sky. Maura notice the worry in her and turned to face her.
"I promise she'll like you. It's only dinner. Only you, me and her. What could go wrong?"
Jane couldn't deny Maura anything. She would go to the moon if Maura asked.
She turned to face the blond girl. "What time?" she said with a slow grin. Maura's answering smile was broad and happy as she kissed Jane again.
-R&I-
Four hours had passed since Maura asked Jane to join her and her mother for dinner. And one hour remained until dinner was served. Jane was so nervous, she couldn't remember if she'd washed her hair yet, so she washed it twice.
Getting dressed was the worst part. She couldn't just show up in ripped jean shorts - she needed to look decent. So she put on the best jeans she had brought with her - because while they exactly up to the Isles standard, at least they didn't have holes - and a white tank top under a dark blue long sleeve shirt that she rolled to her elbows. She even cleaned her white Vans a bit. Ready to go…or at least she hoped she was.
At 7:00, right on time, she rang the bell, and Maura opened the door seconds later.
"You came." Maura beamed at her.
"Of course I did. I said I would, didn't I?" Jane replied with a wink.
"And you brought flowers, how sweet!"
"Actually they're for your mom to, you know, make a good impression. But I got you something too."
"You did? What is it?" Maura asked excitedly.
"Well…" Jane began, but she was interrupted.
"Maura? Why are you standing at the door for so long? It isn't polite to make a guest wait at the door," a woman said from further inside.
Maura led Jane to the living room. "I want you to meet my mother. Mother, this is Jane Rizzoli, my dear friend."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Isles" Jane offered her hand.
"You too," Constance replied, looking at the girl up and down and nodding, ignoring the proffered hand.
Jane lowered her hand and put it in her pocket, her stomach sinking until she remembered the flowers.
"Oh, these are for you, Mrs. Isles." Jane handed the flowers to the older woman.
"Thank you." Jane couldn't tell if she was pleased or disappointed. Mrs. Isles was hard to read.
"Mrs. Isles, dinner is served," Guido interrupted at the doorway.
"Chef Zamboni, could you please put these in water?" Constance asked, handing the bouquet to Guido.
Maura felt embarrassed at how her mother was treating her friend and tried to distract Jane.
"Jane, this is Chef Zamboni. Guido, this is Jane Rizzoli, my close friend." She smiled at the old man, knowing he would treat Jane well.
"Rizzoli? Una italiana?" (An Italian?) he asked.
"Solo attraverso il sangue e il cuore. Io sono di Boston," (Only by blood and heart. I'm from Boston) Jane answered in perfect Italian.
"Shall we start dinner?" Constance proposed.
They went in to sit at the table. Jane never saw so many forks and knives - which one was she supposed to use? She was getting more nervous by the second. Maura, seated across from her, saw the distress Jane was in and silently showed her where to start.
"Jane, isn't it? Tell me about yourself," Constance asked.
Maura seethed at her patronizing tone. Her mother she never treat her other guests like this.
"Yeah, it's Jane. Um…I'm from Boston, as I already said, uh, I'm 18 and I'm here with my family for the summer."
"Do you come often to Italy with your parents?"
"Yes, every summer. But only my ma and my brother are with me." Jane replied.
"What about your father? Maura's father is out on business. He's a very busy man, so he couldn't come with us."
"Well, my father doesn't like Italy, so he prefers to stay in Boston." The more they talked, the more Jane felt like she was being interrogated.
"Is he also a busy man?" She knew what Constance was asking, but she wouldn't be intimidated into feeling ashamed of her father.
"I don't think so, Mrs. Isles. He's a plumber."
"A plumber? Does he make that much money, that you can come to Italy every summer?"
Jane didn't like the question at all. Maura was so embarrassed and ashamed by her mother that she couldn't keep silent and let the questioning continue.
"You don't have to answer that, Jane. I'm sorry my mother has to be so nosy."
"That's okay, Maur." She smiled across the table at Maura, then turned back to Constance. "To answer you question Mrs. Isles, he does. He owns a company, but even though he's the owner, he decided to continue to help with plumbing jobs. My brother and I are well taken care of," Jane replied coolly.
They ate in silence for a while. Maura kept sending Jane apologetic looks, but Jane only shook her head and smiled affectionately. They were finishing the main course when Constance decided it was time for more questions.
"What do you want to do when you graduate, Jane? You'll be attending college, I assume?"
"Actually, no, I'm not going to college, I'm going right to the Academy. I want to be a homicide detective," she replied, proud of herself for going after her dream.
"A police officer? Oh, what a shame," Constance said, in a disapproving voice.
Who did she think she was, to talk someone's dream down like that? Jane thought. She'd been trying to control herself since she was introduced to Constance, but enough was enough.
"Detective, actually, not just police officer, and I don't think I need your approval," Jane snapped.
"Well, at least you won't throw money away like Maura. She thinks she's going to medical school to cut up dead people." Constance gave a fake, mean laugh.
"Mother, please stop" Maura pleaded, hurt in her eyes.
Insulting her was fine, Jane thought, but insulting Maura in front of her was the last straw.
"That's it!" Jane declared as she stood up, Maura following. "I was fine with you throwing ** at me, but Maura's your daughter, and she's the most intelligent person I've ever met or ever will meet. She'll be brilliant in whatever she decides to do, and those dead people would be lucky to be cut up by her. So you think sending her to medical school would be a waste of money? You're wrong!"
Jane was breathing hard, furious at Constance.
"Jane- " Maura tried to speak, but Constance interrupted.
"Enough! I'll not allow a person like you to talk to me like this. Please leave now, and don't even think about coming back!" Constance stood, anger bringing her to her feet.
Jane looked at Maura, waiting.
"Jane… I think it's better for you to leave." Maura lowered her head in shame.
The tall girl was hurt, but she understood. She walked herself out.
The moment Maura heard the door close, she couldn't hold her words back any longer.
"Why did you do that? Do you have any idea how Jane is important to me? Mother, I love her!"
"Love her? Maura, stop being a silly girl. I have no problem with you dating girls, but please, have standards. Did you see her clothes? She is not the right person for you."
"I can't believe you said that! She's…she's perfect!" Maura ran to her room and locked the door. She threw herself on the bed and wept.
Half an hour of crying later, she heard something knocking on her window. Jane was in the backyard throwing pebbles up at her.
"Hey, Maur." Jane smiled at her, but Maura could only manage a wobbly half-smile in return.
Jane climbed to the room, Maura helping her through the window frame.
"Jane, what are you doing here? Mother won't like a bit if she finds you." But even if Maura wanted to be mad at Jane for climbing to her window, she couldn't. Jane had stood up for her at dinner and now she was here, and everything would be fine.
"I didn't give you your present, by the way. Here." Jane pulled a box from her back pocket and held it out to her.
Maura opened the box to see a silver necklace with the sideways loops of infinity symbol held by a thin, delicate chain. Maura raised her head to let her eyes meet Jane's.
"I'll be with you forever. It doesn't matter how far away you are."
Maura's eyes filled with tears again. Jane's gift and words were the most beautiful she had ever received. She hugged Jane tight, saying thank you over and over again against Jane's neck.
"Would you help me put it on?"
"Of course, turn around." Jane locked the necklace closed and leaned in to kiss Maura's neck.
Maura pulled Jane to her bed, where they lay facing each other. Maura reached to caress Jane's cheek, tracing her jaw while Jane drew circles on Maura's arm. After a long silence, the blond spoke.
"You're the right person." She leaned and kissed Jane, slowly and tenderly enough to put her love into the soft contact of their lips. "I love you, Jane."
Jane pulled away from the kiss with a smile so bright Maura thought it could light the whole world. "I love you more."
Maura hugged Jane and laid her head on the other girl's chest.
"Not possible," Maura said, Jane kissed the words away.
Oh.. love!