Part Five – To new horizons

After we clinked our glasses together and took sips, Zara put down her wine glass and tilted her head to the side as she asked, "So when were you going to tell me?"

I blink a couple of times before I ask, "Tell you what?"

"That you are the son Vittorio of course." She says, leaning back a little in her chair and twirling some of her red hair around her right index finger.

Ah, that.

I look down at my dinner and ask her, "Are you angry that I didn't tell you?"

She shakes her head before saying, "No, if anything the payment card makes much more sense now." She pauses to take a bite of ravioli, I watch the way she closes her eyes and her shoulders relax, she's enjoying the pasta before she says to me, "But the question is, what should be done now?"

I slice my pasta and say to her, "I'll understand if you want to back out of this date now."

I feel a foot slide up my leg as she smirks at me and says, "Now why would I do that? I meant what I said earlier, Pola is away for the weekend." She paused to lick her lips before adding, "It could be fun to finish what we started in the pool."

I clear my throat and rub the back of my head before I say to her, "I know you know that I got out of a serious relationship not that long ago, I don-"

She stops me cold, by leaning over the table to kiss me. Her lips carriered the sweet taste of the wine on them. They were firm, yet soft, dry yet moist, but most importantly I felt an electric sensation run down my spine, something that was never there with Brooklyn.

When the kiss breaks, she leans back a little and touches my lips with the fingers on her left hand as she says, "The past is the past, live in the moment, Cristiano."

She sits back in her chair and takes out her lipstick to reapply it while I sat dumbfounded, that was probably the best kiss I'd ever had. After my mind catches back up to the moment I say to her, "As much as I would like to indulge with that, I do have plans with Vittorio this weekend."

Zara winks at me as she says, "Those start tomorrow, tonight is mine."

I feel a smile creep onto my face as my cheeks get hot and I nod slowly, I think I understood where she's going with this. The rest of dinner passed in a bit of a blur, if I'm honest about so did most of the night actually, I think we might have had a lot of wine.

XXXXX

I'm startled awake by sunlight hitting my face, I look around the room I'm in. It doesn't look like mine, that was when I noticed my tongue felt like a carpet again and I sit up in the bed, looking around more I see lots of little glass bottles by a mirror that I know for sure is not mine. I rub my face before I spot my clothes on the floor; I lift the blankets slowly to see that I'm naked. I slowly put them back down as I try to recall last night. I remember going out to dinner with my mother, only to have it switched out on me to be on a date with… oh, oh, oh!

I lean over to check the wastebasket beside me and let out a breath that I apparently had been holding when I see the spent condoms inside of it. At least we had used protection, wish I could remember most of it.

My attention snaps to the bedroom door as it opens, walking in I see Zara, without clothing on, two cups of coffee in her hands. She smiles sweetly at me before putting one down beside me and then crossing around the bed to put one down on the other side. After she's done that she slips under the covers and snuggles up against me, drawing a little circle on my chest with an index finger as she says, "I enjoyed last night."

I felt my cheeks get hot and I admit, "I don't really remember it."

She laughs before saying, "Well, we did drink a lot of wine. But you were good, and I saw a very tender side of you after." She paused, biting her lower lip before saying, "It was something I liked seeing."

I take a moment to sip some coffee and let out a sigh, it was good coffee. I feel Zara move in the bed to straddle me as I put down the cup before she asks, "Do you have time before you need to head to the docks?"

I grab my phone and see that I still have about an hour before I need to be there as I say to her, "I think so."

She grins and leans against me to open the nightstand beside me and take out a condom as she purrs out, "Then let us refresh your memroy."

XXXX

When I finally managed to make it to the docks, I saw my mother standing by the boarding ramp of her hull, she was dressed in a relaxed outfit, but also perfect for the November weather. Once I get close to her she smiles at me as I apologize, "I'm sorry I'm late!"

She looks at her phone before telling me, "You're still more on time than Littorio would be. How was our date last night?"

I felt my cheeks get hot and I rubbed the back of my head as I started to board her ship I said, "I didn't wake up at home."

She laughs and pats me on the back as she says, "Sounds like you might take more after Littorio than me."

So, if she's laughing, that's a good sign, I think. I look back to see her smiling at me still as I ask, "You're not mad?"

She shakes her head before saying to me, "Zara came to me on Tuesday, saying that she wanted my help getting you alone. When I grilled her about it, she told me that she found you interesting. Besides, I like Zara."

I blink a couple of times and I ask, "You do?"

"I do." She confirms as we get aboard and start to get underway.

XXXX

It took us most of the Saturday to get to the island. During the trip my mom and I started to really get to know each other. I also got to learn about my father, he'd been a captain in the navy for the Empire, a good an honorable man.

As we pulled into the port at the island I noticed another hull was already docked, my head tilted to the side as we came around the stern and I saw the name on the stern I felt my mother hug me from behind as she said, "I got what I wanted from this weekend already Cristiano, I feel like we're closer now, that you might start calling me Mamma in public."

I reach up and pat her hands as I say to her, "I think I can do that."

She gave me another squeeze as she says, "Now, go and enjoy this weekend with Zara, but I'm not ready for grandchildren yet, do you understand?"

I laugh and hang my head as I say to her, "That's fine by me; I'm not ready to be a dad."

She brought her hull alongside Zara's and extended a ramp before handing me my kit bag. As I look across the ramp, I see Zara standing there in a very fashionable green dress with a big white belt around her midsection, big sunglasses on the top of her head, and a big smile on her face as she waves at me as she calls, "Ciao, Cristiano!"

Vittorio hugs me one last time as she whispers into my ear again, "Remember to live in the moment, Cristiano."

"I will mom, I will." I respond as I cross onto Zara's hull and into living in the moment.

XXXX

XXXX

La fine

A/N: Thanks for riding along with this one, next up is Brooklyn, she really needs her happy ending.