-1Chapter 36

It was a little while before closing time and Gio was in the deli by himself. There weren't any customers in the deli and he had told Jason that he could go home, since business had slowed down a lot and it was nearing closing time. As Gio wiped down the countertop, he thought about what had happened that day. He had sold a decent amount of sandwiches and business had been pretty good.

He had seen Sage again, which was definitely a good thing. Gio really liked Sage, she had become a good friend to him. She had a wonderful personality, and she was very pretty. If Gio weren't so in love with Betty he probably would have asked her out a while ago. But he was in love with Betty and he didn't want to possibly get involved in a new relationship, when he still had such strong feelings for Betty. When or if his feelings died down for Betty , he would start dating again. But right now it wouldn't be fair to any woman, if he started to date her, because his heart was with Betty. Even if her heart wasn't with him.

Gio thought back some more on seeing Sage today. She had brought her brother Paul to the deli. Gio had liked Paul. He was a professor from NYU and he seemed thoughtful, very intelligent, and an all around nice guy. He, Sage and Paul had talked for a while and had a good time together.

As Gio started to put away some of the food, he also thought back on seeing Amanda that day as well as Kyle. Gio couldn't help but smile to himself, when he thought of the stuff that Amanda had said to him. Some of it was actually very funny and ridiculous. Amanda had said that he would lead her to her dream man, because a psychic said so. That whole idea had seemed ridiculous to Gio and he thought that Amanda was getting scammed by her psychic big time. And he had tried to tell her so.

Gio didn't think that he was going to lead Amanda to her dream man, but she was determined that he was. Gio remembered his conversation with Amanda and how Kyle had showed up. Kyle and Amanda seemed to have hit it off and were going on a date Thursday. To Gio they seemed like a good match. He imagined they would have a good time together when they went and saw the band Passion Clippers. They seemed like they could be in synch with each other. They liked the same band, and they had both had the same opinion about Gio and his feelings for Betty.

They had both told him to go after her if he wanted her , to take risks. Gio sighed when he remembered their words to him. They had no idea he wanted to do that so badly. But he felt like he couldn't. He didn't think it was the best thing to do. Betty was with Henry, Betty loved Henry and Gio didn't really have a chance with her. At least not right now. Gio figured that he would try to ride out the wave. He would just be there for Betty as a friend for now.

He'd be there for her when Henry left in a few weeks after the baby was born. Henry would be out of Betty's life for good, she would probably be sad, and need some support. Gio would be there for her, if she would let him. And he would always be there for her, if she would let him. And if it ever evolved into something more that would be great, but if it didn't Gio would have to live with that. Gio started to put some of the other food away, when he heard someone come in the deli.

He looked up to see who it was. He smiled. "Betty!" He said hoping she wouldn't notice the excitement in his voice. "It's kind of late, almost closing time. What are you doing here?"

Betty came up to the countertop and gave Gio a smile. "I was just out and about., and I got hungry. I knew your place was close by so I decided to come here. I hope it's not too late?"

Gio shook his head. "It's fine. I can make you something really quick. What do you want?"

"A Chicken Salad sandwich." Betty answered.

Gio smiled. "Of course." He went and washed his hands and then started to make Betty's sandwich. "So.." he began, as he was making her sandwich. "Did you have some late night errands to run or were you visiting someone?"

"No, I just needed to clear my head. I've.. I've got a lot going on right now." She informed him.

Gio noticed the weariness in her voice. "Is everything okay?" He asked concerned. "Is everyone in your family okay? Is everything okay at Mode?"

"My family is fine and things at Mode are as crazy as they have ever been. But I can handle it. That's not it. That's not what I'm worried about…" Betty hesitated. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Gio about Henry's proposal and him wanting her to move to Tucson with him. She wasn't so sure if she should. She hadn't even had a chance to tell Hilda or the rest of her family about it yet. Or Christina. She didn't know if she should tell Gio what was going on right now. But he is my friend. Betty thought to herself And he's a guy. Maybe he can give me some perspective into what is going on with Henry right now. Maybe I should tell him. Betty reasoned. He's going to find out sooner or later.

"Gio…" She watched as he continued to make her sandwich. "Something big happened to me tonight, I have a decision to make and I wanted to hear your advice about it."

Gio looked up at her and smiled. "Alright hit me with it Betty. Tell what is your dilemma and I'll do my best to help."

"Well, Henry asked me to marry him tonight…" Upon hearing these words, the smile dropped off of Gio's face instantly. His head and his heart started to hurt simultaneously and he felt like his world was crashing down. Henry had asked Betty to marry him? Tonight? How could this happen? Well he knew how it could happen. He cursed silently to himself. This was not what he had wanted to happen at all. Henry proposing marriage to Betty. Did she say yes? No, she couldn't have said yes, or else she wouldn't be here with him asking him what he thought about which decision she should make.

Betty didn't even notice the change in Gio's demeanor. She kept right on talking. "Look I know it's a really big decision. And I love Henry. I do. But I don't know if I could just up and marry him. And move to Tucson with him and the baby. And with Charlie close by. She hates me you know, and I don't know if I can deal with her in my face on a constant basis, if I became Henry's wife. There are so many unknowns and whatifs if we get married. I mean I'm not sure what to do." Betty looked at Gio. "What should I do Gio?"

Gio finished making Betty's sandwich, wrapped it up and put in a paper bag for her. He was very quiet. Unusually quiet. Betty noted to herself. He gave the bag to her. "It's on the house." He said quietly.

Betty took the bag from him. "Thanks. But Gio help! Tell me what you think I should do." Gio looked at Betty, his eyes locking into hers. Betty noticed that he looked rather intense and that there was sadness in his eyes, mixed with a look of longing, and something else that she couldn't quite place at the moment.

"Betty… I don't think… I don't think I can be of any help to you." He said sadly.

Betty frowned. "What? What do you mean you can't be of any help. Of course you can. You have to have an opinion about this. You have an opinion about everything else."

Gio nodded. "I do. But this time Betty…"

"This time what Gio? What's stopping you from saying what you think this time? You always tell me what is on your mind. Why should this time be any different?" Betty looked at him quizzically. What's wrong with him? she wondered to herself. "What, are you afraid that I am going to hate you if you tell me the truth about how you feel?"

Gio looked at her stunned.

"Look Gio, I'm not going to be mad at you for saying what you think. I won't. I promise. If you think that I would be messing up my life by marrying Henry tell me. If you think that I will end up being a coward if I don't take a risk and accept his marriage proposal. Tell me. Tell me if you think I'll be making a mistake if I agree to marry him or if I don't." She looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

"We're friends, Gio. I know that we didn't start out on the best foot, but I have come to see you as one of my good friends. And believe it or not I do respect your opinion. So that's why I'm asking you to tell me what you think I should do about me and Henry. You're the first person I have told about this. I want to know what you think. So tell me about it. Tell me the truth and hold nothing back. Tell me the truth Gio. I can take it."

Gio looked into her dark brown eyes, listening intently to every word that she was saying. She trusted him. Enough to tell him about something this big that was going on in her life. And that meant the world to him. Now could he trust her enough to tell her the truth about how he really felt about her? He felt that maybe he could but he wasn't so sure if he was going to risk it. He finally spoke.

"Betty…" Gio began. "Henry asking you to marry him is a huge deal. And he wants to take you away to Tucson. Away from your family, your friends, your job at Mode. You told me that you are now actually writing articles for some of the magazines at Mode. Every day you are getting a little bit closer to your dreams. Are you sure you're willing and ready to give all of that up for Henry?" He asked.

"I love Henry, Gio, and there are so many thing that I would do to be with him. But giving up all those things, I don't know… I mean I do love him but I just don't know Gio." She looked at him. "What would you do Gio?"

Gio thought for a moment. He then told her what could kill the last chance he would have to be with her.

"If I really wanted to follow my dreams more than anything and that was the place that I was at in my life, then I would follow my dreams. If I felt that the love and relationship that I had with a person wasn't as strong as that desire to follow my dreams and get to where I wanted to be in life, then I would follow my dreams."

Betty nodded seeming satisfied with his answer. "Well in that case…"

"But…" Gio continued. "If I loved someone enough that I would do anything for them, walk through fire for them, do anything for them and I mean anything, including give up my dreams, or change my plans, because they were my best dream and I wanted them more than anything. Then I would give things up and be with the person that I love. Because Betty that type of love is stronger than anything, and well… if I felt that way about a person I would do anything to be with them."

"Liar!" Amanda and Kyle's voices went through his head "You have to take risks to get what you want man…"You got to be more aggressive, if you want Betty. You got to do something about it." "Go after Betty." Everything that Amanda and Kyle had said about Betty went through Gio's mind. He couldn't get what they had said to him about taking a risk and going after Betty out of his mind. Their advice seemed to stick with him, and he tried to ignore it but it kept going through his head.

Betty noticed how deep in thought he was. She decided to leave him to his thoughts. "Well, thanks for the advice Gio. I definitely have a lot to think about and figure out what to do." She grabbed her sandwich and turned to leave.

As Gio watched her turned to leave, he debated on whether or not to stop her and tell her the truth about how he really felt about her. He wanted to do that so badly, but he didn't know if it was the best thing to do. And he wanted to do what made sense. He had to do what made sense.

Gio took off his apron, and went around the countertop. "Hey Betty.. Wait." He called out.
She turned to look at him, giving him a smile. "What is it Gio?" She asked turning to face him.

"This." Gio stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Betty's waist and kissed her. He kissed her with all the passion, and love that had been hidden inside of him for a while. He heard Betty gasp when his lips met hers and he heard something drop. Maybe it was her sandwich? Gio wasn't sure. All he knew was how soft her lips were. How warm they were. How good it felt to finally kiss the woman that he loved. Gio massaged her lips with his, savoring every moment of the kiss. It could be the first and last kiss that they shared and he wanted to make sure it lasted. Gio continued to kiss Betty, and it seemed like she wasn't resisting him. He felt her hands go up and cup his face. They kissed for a while longer and finally Betty pulled away from him. She stepped back from him, her eyes wide in shock and her face flushed from their kiss. Several thoughts were racing through her mind, all colliding with each other.

"Gio.." Betty was flabbergasted. "Why did you do…?"

Gio looked at Betty, his eyes intently looking into hers. "Because I'm in love with you." He stated simply.

Betty was stunned. Gio loved her? Since when?

"You're in l-ove with me." She stammered out.

"I am."

"But Gio we're friends… how could you be in love with me?"

Gio sighed. "Betty I have you loved for a while now. Of course you didn't know about it, because I never told you. I never told anyone. I tried to keep it to myself…"

Betty looked at him waiting for him to continue. Gio took a deep breath, and continued. "Look I know you're with Henry and that you love him. "But Betty…" He shook his head, hopelessly. "I can't help the way that I feel about you. I can't. I tried lying to myself about it and to other people who pointed it out, but I can't do it anymore Betty. I just can't." He looked at her waiting for her to say something. She was speechless. Gio continued talking.

"I love you because you're smart and beautiful, and kind. And because you're ambitious. And funny. And because… there's just something about you. Something That makes you special. I can't quite put my finger on what it is. But it sets you apart from other people, from other women." He stepped a little closer to her. "I see it. I know Henry sees it. I'm pretty sure Daniel sees it as well. Lots of people do, whether they admit it or not. You're one of a kind Betty." He looked down at the floor and saw that she had dropped her sandwich. He picked up the bag and handed it to her. Betty took the bag. So many emotions and thoughts were going through her head because of the kiss and Gio's confession that he loved her. They were traveling through her mind and heart at rapid speed and she needed some time to connect and identify them all. She finally decided to speak again.

"Gio…you love me, what do you want me to… what am I supposed do about that?"

Gio looked at her. "I don't expect you to do anything, about it Betty." He told her honestly. "I don't. I don't expect you to change your mind about Henry or break up with him, or not marry him, or stop loving him. I don't expect you to turn your feelings for him off, just because I told you that I loved you. Just like I can't turn my feelings for you off. I know that it's not that simple. I just wanted to tell you…I needed to tell you.. To show you… that I loved you. I couldn't keep it to myself anymore."

Betty nodded. "Well… thanks for being honest with me." She told him meekly. She knew that wasn't what he really wanted to hear but it was the best thing that she could say to him at the moment. She had to get out of the deli go somewhere and think about everything. Henry's proposal, his love for her, Gio's love for her and how unexpected and strong it was.

"Look Gio.. I have to go." Betty said looking at him hoping that he would understand.

He did. "I understand Betty. I'll see you around?" He asked hopefully not sure how likely that was going to be given everything that had just happened and what was going on with Henry.

Betty nodded. "Yeah…Bye Gio."

"Bye Betty."

She looked at him one last time, smiled weakly and left his deli.

As Gio watched her walk out of his deli and down the street and out of his sight, his smile dropped. His heart ached and his mind raced. He couldn't believe that he had just kissed her and told her how he felt about her. He had no intention of doing that at all. He didn't intend to kiss her and tell her how he felt. But it just… happened. And now everything was out in the open, he didn't feel like he was holding anything back or lying to anyone anymore and that was a relief. But he still wasn't really any closer to being with Betty like he wanted and he may never be. Because she didn't love him, she loved Henry and Henry proposed to her.

If she said yes to Henry…Gio realized that he would never have a chance with her. And that would hurt, that would hurt very badly. She would be out of his life for good. He wouldn't even get to see her anymore, because she would be with Henry in Tucson. Gio knew how horrible that would be, but he knew it was out of his hands. All he could do was wait and hope. Wait for Betty's decision and hope that maybe just maybe even if it was a very small chance that he could some day be with the woman that he loved.

Gio continued to think about Betty as he finished closing up the deli for the night.