Liviana sat at her bedroom window like she did every night. The window was situated on the front of the apartment building and looked out onto the street. From here, she could watch her world, as small as it is, go by.
After living here for three months, she could count on one hand the number of times she had ventured out of the apartment. New places and people scared the hell out of her.
Moving right after her grandmother's death only heightened her fear. She lost someone dear to her and was forced out of the only home she had known to have to come to this place. At least her mother was still with her. However, she worked all the time and was away more than she was here.
Liviana's sad eyes shifted up to the sky. The full moon resembled a lightbulb hung in a dark room; completely round, softly glowing yellow against the limitless darkness behind it.
"Hey, gorgeous. Lovely night isn't it?" she heard him say followed by a titter of flattered laughter.
There he is, right on time for his nightly walk about town to flirt with all of the women. Although a hopeless flirt, he was not a pervert or Lothario.
This man was as much a part of this street as the lamps or fire hydrants or the hookers he showered with compliments and praise. He was always here as if patrolling the neighborhood to protect those same women who always rebuffed his harmless advances.
Sometimes he noticed her sitting in her window, watching. He would smile and wave but continue on his way. Sometimes he would even say hello.
She, however, would say nothing in return. Her tongue tied in knots refused to cooperate and greet him. Rendered mute by her nerves, she would smile and wave with what she was sure could only be described as an idiot simper on her face.
She watched him as he strolled down the street toward her. Her eyes focused on the ever present purple beanie on his head. What color is his hair? Is it short or long?
He had intense dark eyes but she could not be sure of their color never having gotten close enough to him to see. However, his lashes were so long and thick the distance did not diminish their beauty one bit.
The green shirt he wore was unbuttoned at the bottom from above the waist of his pants down. When strutting down the street, his shifting torso or the gentle night wind would tug at the shirt, pulling it back give her a peek of his defined abs.
Daily Liviana eavesdropped on the gossipy old women who lived in the building and sat on the stoop during the day to talk about everyone in the neighborhood. Because of them, she knew his name is Guido Mista. He liked fighting and did a lot of it.
The old biddies called him a common street thug. They said he was no different and no better than a schoolyard bully. He liked to mug men coming out of the theater and used the excuse they had trash talked his favorite actor.
But as far as Liviana was concerned, Guido Mista could also be seen as a neighborhood watchman, a protector. He might beat up men, but he never hurt a woman. He looked out for those same women he shamelessly flirted with every night. Should any man raise his hand to a woman, Guido was there to beat the hell of him.
Her belly fluttered when he came closer. She should speak to him. Just say hello. What could it hurt? She believed he was polite enough to speak back, but...what if he didn't? What if she was the one woman he ignored because he deemed her to not be worth his attention?
Leaning out of the window, Liviana resolved to make this the night she spoke to him no matter what happened. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw he was only a few feet away from her, walking with his hands shoved into the pockets of his loose light colored khaki pants. His eyes were turned up to the moon where hers had been focused earlier. Until she saw him.
God, maybe she was the creeper. Sitting here night after night, watching him, waiting, hoping he would notice her. Ugh...could she be anymore of a weirdo?
Her eyes turned back to that lovely goddess of the night sky shining her light down on the earth. Please, give me strength, she prayed to Luna.
"Bella notte," she said, talking more to herself than to him.
"It is a beautiful night," Guido agreed, stopping in front of her. "Hi there, beautiful. My name is Guido Mista."
OH. MY. GOD. Liviana finally got what she wanted. She had his full attention. Those gorgeous eyes, black in color, the pupil indistinguishable from the iris, were looking straight at her.
Her green and gold hazel eyes followed his as they traveled from the top of her head to her waist - the only parts of her he could see presently. Her hair, a shade somewhere between a maroon auburn and mahogany brown, reached her shoulder blades and presently hung loose curling at the ends.
His dark eyes focused on the mole, her mother called it a beauty mark, above her top lip near the outer left corner making her feel more self-conscious than usual. His eyes continued down to her waist where the rest of her body was hidden on the other side of the windowsill in her room.
She felt like a dumbass for hanging out of the window as an amused grin perked up the corners of his mouth. Perhaps it was better being invisible.
"What's your name pretty lady?" he asked, giving her a rakish grin.
"Liviana Vesco. And you are?" she asked in return.
If she already knew his name and called him by it, he might assume she is some sort of stalker. Not a creeper. Just painfully shy yet very interested in getting to know him.
"Guido Mista," he introduced himself, extending his hand to her.
Liviana reached out hoping he did not notice the slight nervous tremble to her fingers. His fingers were warm and dry when they touched her cold, sweaty ones.
Oh, God, how embarrassing! Sweaty palms! Gross!, her inner voice screamed in a humiliated panic.
Rather than shaking her hand, he brought her hand to his lips pressing a kiss the back of it. Thank God the back of her hand can't sweat. Her belly somersaulted with happiness as an electric thrill of delight raced up her back.
"It's very nice to meet you, Livi. Is it okay if I call you Livi?" he quickly inquired when she stared at him.
"Y-yeah," she stammered, pushing her hair behind her air and glancing down as her entire body warmed. "I would like that. My nonna called me Livi."
"You love your nonna, huh?"
"Yes, very much, but...," she replied sadly, picking at the dead leaves on the red begonias in the flower box attached to the windowsill. "My nonna died about six months ago. It's just me and my mom. We moved here three months ago."
"Oh? Don't get out much, do you?"
"Not really."
Liviana did not get out all being becoming somewhat agoraphobic after moving. She did not like change and new places or people. And they had been through some big changes over the last six months.
The first few days after moving in, she roamed the neighborhood to familiarize herself with the basic landmarks such as the grocery store, the ice cream shop, the open air market, the movie theater, and the popular restaurants. People were friendly and spoke to her but she still felt like an unwanted invader in the neighborhood.
Of course she never really felt like she belonged anywhere. Called a strange child by adults who were just putting it, she was subjected to much more awful nicknames by the other kids. Was it so weird she preferred the company of her books and the people on the television and movie screen rather than real people? At least those people could not hurt her.
"Would you like to come out of there sometime? We could take a walk. Give me a night or two to get the money and we will go to a movie," he said.
Liviana almost chuckled. The night or two would be required to glean enough money from other theater goers on dates so he could go on one of his own. She found the irony hilarious.
"Sooo..." He dragged the toe of his shoe across the sidewalk while massaging the back of his neck. "What do you say? Wanna go out with me?"
Could he possibly be as nervous as me?, she wondered. Come to think of it, she had never actually seen him with any woman like on a date, only speaking to them in passing, offering a few ingratiating compliments.
"We could take that walk...tonight," she added, her voice rising with a hopeful lilt.
"Tonight?" he repeated as if he had not heard her correctly.
She nodded enthusiastically. Despite her quivering tummy and gradually shredding nerves, she knew she needed to push past all of that. No time like the present with a healthy does of handsome motivation standing in front of her.
Liviana shoved her feet into the closest and most convenient pair of shoes, her black ballerina flats. Not exactly made for walking, but she did not want to waste time putting on socks and sneakers.
She knew she had to hurry before she lost her nerve entirely. She was sick of being a coward and living her life as a shut in. Rather than going through the house to exit through the front door, she went back to the window and stuck her leg through the opening.
"What are you doing?" Guido asked, genuinely flummoxed when she straddled the windowsill and swung her head under the window.
"I'm coming out," she replied matter-of-factly as if going through the window was the most normal way to leave one's house.
"You're crazy," he chuckled, stepping forward to reach up to assist her.
Liviana inhaled sharply when his hands enclosed her waist and pulled her the rest of the way through the window. Her hands rested on his shoulders as he lowered her safely to the sidewalk, setting her lightly on her feet.
"You could have fallen and hurt yourself, you know," he scolded her in the kindest of ways.
She swiftly stepped back from him, taking her hands off of his shoulders and hiding them behind her back. Intent on getting out the fastest way possible before wimping out, she had not considered the possibility of falling.
Besides, the window in only five feet off the ground. Her eyes lowered to the concrete bleached white by the sun. But that sidewalk would surely leave a mark if she had lost her grip and slid out.
"You coming?" Guido asked to get her attention. When her eyes met his, he held out his hand to her. "Take it. I don't bite." He winked. "Not unless you want me to."
Liviana giggled nervously while heat prickled at her face. She tried to covertly wipe the sweat from her palms, sliding them along the back pockets of her jeans as she brought them from behind her back.
Once again, her breath caught in her throat when his fingers enclosed her hand and his palm pressed to hers. She coached herself to continue breathing, concentrating on taking deep inhales followed by a long exhale.
She could not tell if her shaking hand and tight chest was from anxiety or excitement. Probably both. It could also be from the adrenaline rush of instant attraction. Or maybe the thrill of falling in love.
I'm such an idiot, Liviana admonished herself. She had been reading too many bad romance novels lately.
Two of the local working girls on this street were walking toward them conversing while on duty and waiting for a customer. Her fingers tightened around his hand while waiting for him to address them.
"Good evening ladies. Looking good as always," he complimented them.
"Hi, Mista," the brunette in the purple polyester tube dress cooed.
"You too, honey," rejoined the bottled blond in a black leather mini skirt and red corset.
"What do you like to do in your spare time?" Guido asked her to make conversation as they kept walking.
"I cook a little. I'm trying to learn my nonna's recipes. I've always heard the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," she nervously babbled.
Once the words were out of her mouth she was instantly seized by overwhelming embarrassment. Heat over took her so quickly she felt a little dizzy.
"Well, I like to eat. Good food is an important part of a good life. Eating should be an experience for all of the senses and thoroughly enjoyed. It should not be something you have to do to survive. Maybe you can cook for me sometime."
"I-I would l-like that," she stammered, her voice thick and her tongue clumsy.
"What else do you like to do?"
"I love to read too," he replied enthusiastically. "What do you like to read?"
"Oh, I'll read anything. Novels of all kinds. Short stories. Magazines. Women's magazines with their informative articles can be particularly interesting. Recipe books. Some include little anecdotes or background explanations with the recipes. Hell, I'll even read the back of cereal boxes if there is nothing else at hand." She giggled self-deprecatingly at her own silliness. "Lately my favorite has been romance novels," she confessed, staring at the scuffed toes of her favorite flats.
"Do you read the really cheesy ones where the couple meet, hate each other, have angry sex, then fall in love?"
"I really hate those. I prefer the extra cheesy, love at first sight and happily ever after ones," she reluctantly admitted.
"Everyone is a sucker for a fairy tale ending," he rejoined which made her feel a little less stupid. "Anything else you like to do?"
"I like watching tv and movies. My mom says all of that TV is going to rot my brain." She laughed lightly. "I prefer to read. When I read, I can get lost in another world. This one, and all of it's shit, just goes away."
"Yeah. That's the best part of reading. For a little while, we get to be someone else and escape to somewhere else."
A group of four men dressed in cheap suits and wearing too much fake jewelry were coming toward them taking up the whole sidewalk despite walking two by two. They looked like bunch of kids too old for trick-or-treating dressed up as gangsters.
Liviana gripped Guido's hand tighter, pushing her shoulder into his arm as the men not much older than them came closer. She kept her eyes on the sidewalk, refusing to acknowledge them with the smallest of glances.
The men made way for them forming a single file line against the wall of the building.
"Hey, nice ass, sweetheart," one man remarked after they passed by causing the others to laugh uproariously.
"Hey, dickweed, have a little respect for the lady!" Guido yelled out at him with a backward glare over his shoulder at the man.
"What are you going to do about it if we decide we take your little girlfriend and show her what it's like to be with a real man?" another challenged him.
Guido whirled around to face them, pushing Liviana behind him.
"Real man, huh?" Guido muttered, looking him up and down with a sneer of disgust on his face. "Awful big words from a man with such a small dick."
"Motherfucker!" The insulted man raised his fist and lunged forward.
Guido had a much longer arm and powerful upper cut. He caught the shorter man under the chin, lifting him from the concrete, and sending him flying backwards with the single punch.
A second man ran at him, but Guido picked him up and body slammed him on the sidewalk. The third rushing to aid his friends was hit with a right hook and pushed into the wall of the building.
The fourth guy, the youngest and smallest of the four, visibly vacillated, unsure of what to do. He glanced at his half conscious friends then at Guido who held both fists up, ready to strike.
Guido waved the wanna be gangster forward with a wiggle of his fingertips. The man did not take him up on his invitation to come at him. With another glimpse at his friends groaning in pain and rolling on the ground, he literally turned tail and ran away from them and the man who beat their ass.
Guido Mista. Neighborhood protector. He lowered his fists and turned to her. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he looked her over from head to toe as if searching for injuries despite the fact he had been between her and them the entire name. They never came close to laying a finger on her.
"Are you okay?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Liviana asked, grabbing his fist to examine it.
His knuckles were red and swollen. The blood on them did not belong to him since he had avoided knocking the men in the teeth.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he insisted, pulling his hand away and putting his arm across her shoulders to turn her and begin walking. "Let's go."
After walking a little ways, neither one saying a word, they came to the entrance to the playground. Guido stopped under the arch iron entrance bearing the name of the park.
"Are you afraid?" he asked.
"Of what?"
Liviana needed him to be more specific. She was afraid of a lot of things.
"You're shaking." He took both of her cold and trembling hands between his as if to warm them and stop them from shaking. "Are you scared of me?"
"No. Not you," she replied, giving him a smile with a slight quivering of her lower lip. "You protected me."
She was terrified of those men though. What if she had been walking down the street by herself and encountered them? They probably would have grabbed her and made good on their threat by taking turns raping her in the alley. This is why she chose to stay indoors. The outdoors and everything in it was too unpredictable, too frightening.
But Guido Mista was there so that didn't happen.
"You have nothing to be afraid of when I'm around," he promised her.
"I know." She smiled up at him, believing him wholeheartedly. He had launched into that fight without a single thought to his own safety.
Guido led her to the swings, letting go of her hand to take a seat. He kicked off, thrusting his legs out in front of him to gain height.
Liviana sat down on the seat comprised of a wooden board of the swing next to him. She gingerly dug her toe into the mulch covering the ground that had been hollowed out by hundreds of little feet scooping out the underlying sand. Rather than really going for it like Guido, she simply rocked back and forth.
He seemed to be intent on going over the bar as he swung higher and higher. Suddenly he launched himself out of the seat, flying through the air the stick the landing like a champion gymnast. She clapped enthusiastically for him.
"I'd give it a nine point eight," she joked as he walked toward her with a big smile on his face.
"A nine point eight? What the hell?" he demanded, pretending to be outraged. He came to stand in front of her to plead his case. "That was fucking perfect! I demand a ten!"
Liviana flattened her foot in the deepest part of the hollow in preparation to push off, but Guido caught the metal chains to hold her still. She bit her lower lip to hide the apprehensive tremor as he lowered his body to squat down to be eye to eye with her.
"What can I do to change you mind to give me a perfect score?" he inquired, his eyes meeting hers.
"I-I d-don't kn-know," she stuttered. "What would you suggest?"
"Well..." His black eyes, the pupil undiscernable from the iris, skirted down her face to focus on her lips. Those mesmerizing eyes returned to capture hers. "There's one thing I want to do."
His eyes flickered back down her lips, those gorgeous lashes brushing his cheek. When his eyes opened, they reconnected with hers and her temperature rose until she was sweating.
"That is...if you don't mind."
Is the man who steals money, taking it by force, actually requesting permission to kiss me?, she asked herself. But he treated women differently. Even when flirting with them, he treated them with respect and most often offered compliments. Liviana was certain he would not harm her.
"I don't," she whispered breathlessly as he leaned toward her.
The pink tip of his tongue darted out to move across his bottom lip that was so much thicker than the top. When his lips touched hers, she inhaled and held the breathe. His lips felt silky smooth and pliant against hers. They were still slightly damp from where he had nervously licked them seconds before. Since she did not back away, his lips lingered, pressing gently to hers.
When their lips separated, Guido remained crouched down in front of her. A slow smile stretched his mouth when their eyes found each other again.
Liviana could feel the blush heating her cheeks to what she was sure had to be a vivid cherry red. There was a pleasant throbbing from her heart that spread throughout her entire chest.
"What do you think, Livi?"
"Oh, a ten, without a doubt."
Guido laughed. He looked so handsome. So sweet.
"I'm so glad you talked to me. I've wanted to know who the girl in the window is for quite a while now."
"You have?"
He nodded, smiling at her her.
Her heart beat faster, knocking on her sternum as if requesting to be set free. A warm, prickling sensation fanned out through her torso and reached the tips of her fingers and toes making them tingle.
Her eyes followed his face as he stood up in front of her. When his hand extended toward her, her line of vision shifted to it. Once more, she took his hand to allow him to lead her wherever he wanted to take her.
"I'm taking you home," Guido informed her as they approached the gates to leave. "It's late. It's not safe for you to be out here."
"But I'm with you. I'm not worried," she told him, his fingers flexing around her hand.
"And that's why I'm taking you home. To keep you safe."
"Okay, Mister Mista," she agreed, swinging their hands back and forth between them.
"Mister? You don't have to be so formal," he teased her. "You can call me Guido."
They both laughed before lapsing into a comfortable silence between them where no words were needed.
At her window, Guido knelt down on one leg, extending his hand to her.
"What are you doing?" Liviana laughed, staring at his proffered hand as if it was something dangerous.
"I'm going to help you up. Step up here," he directed her, patting his bent knee.
Liviana took his hand, placing her foot on his leg that made for a surprisingly solid human step. She faltered a little as she pushed her foot off his thigh to launch herself through the window. Losing her balance, she flailed her arms to find it as her body shifted backwards rather than forward.
Acting on instinct to keep her from falling, his hands shot up and flattened onto her behind to prevent her from falling backwards to hit the sidewalk. With his hands planted firmly on her ass, he pushed through the window to safety.
Flustered and embarrassed, Liviana scrambled off her belly to sit cross legged on the floor. Her behind still tingled from where his hands had slapped to her ass cheeks to push her into the window. She sat on the floor for a few seconds to catch her breath.
"Are you okay?" Guido asked, poking his head through the window.
"I'm fine," she assured him, crawling over to the low window to talk to him.
"I told you I'd take care of you, Livi."
"Yeah, thanks for that," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear.
"Liviana?" her mother called from somewhere in the apartment on the other side of her bedroom door. "Are you all right? What are you doing in there?"
"I better go," he said, backing away from the window with his hands in his pockets.
"Good night, Guido," she said with a smile.
"Good night, Livi."