Betty's First Trip to Rome the Prequel - Chapter 20 – Three sun-dried tomatoes aren't enough

Gio and Betty found their seats on the plane. Daniel had bought first class tickets so they were very comfortable seats. Gio stashed the luggage overhead and Betty slipped the rest of the cupcakes under one of the seats in front.

Gio said "Window or aisle?"

Betty gladly took the window seat. She soon felt her anxiety disappear. It was replaced with a strong feeling of relief. Gio sat down beside her and he felt relieved too. They had made it onto the plane.

She started digging out Gio's coins and jewelry from her purse and putting them onto her tray. She pulled out and put back at least a dozen packages of dental floss.

Gio smirked and said "Uh oh. I don't think you packed enough floss for a whole month."

Betty laughed and slapped Gio's forearm. She shyly withdrew her hand when she touched his bare skin.

Gio said "You'll be happy to know you can buy it in Italy."

Betty laughed again and said "That's great because I love flossing; it is so much fun now that I have my braces off!"

Gio shook his head in disbelief "And I thought you were the girl that never had any fun."

Betty rolled her eyes at Gio and said "Comparatively."

Gio said "Well, this is good to know. I'll remember to add flossing time to the schedule."

Betty smiled and continued to rummage around her purse. Gio was pleased to notice his handkerchief, moist and crumpled, was stored in it.

The last thing Betty took out was the small box from Claire. She put it on the tray with Gio's coins, belt, gold chain, bracelet, ring, watch and the long chain with a cross.

A flight attendant passed by "Do you want a pillow?"

Both Gio and Betty responded "Yes!"

She gave them pillows and blankets and said "Hurry, you need to get ready and buckle up. We will be pushing back from the gate as soon as the pilot gets the okay. You have to put everything away. I have to go now to prepare for the cross check."

Gio collected the coins and put them in his pocket. Then he threaded his belt back into his blue jeans and buckled it.

Betty brushed her hand over Gio's jewelry and said "Look at all this stuff!"

Gio looked up and said casually "You don't like it? I don't need it. I just need my watch."

Betty picked up the gold chain and held it out for Gio "No, I like it. Here."

While he put it on she picked up his bracelet and watch. She gave them to Gio and he put them on. It took a few seconds for Gio to buckle his watch strap. Betty picked up his ring and told him to hurry up. Finally he held out his hand for the ring and Betty slipped it onto his finger for him. Then she picked up the long chain with the cross and put it over Gio's head. Gio smiled at her and sat patiently as she arranged the chain on him. Betty's fingers touched the bristly hair at the nape of his neck.

Betty said "Why did you cut your hair? Why did you cut it so short?"

Gio responded "You don't like it short?"

Betty said "No. Not this short, it was better before."

Gio said "No problem. I won't cut it until you tell me too. How long do you like it?"

Betty gazed at Gio and she smiled. She said "What do you think about guys wearing ponytails?"

Gio's eyes widened with surprise and he replied reluctantly "Ah, it's okay, I guess."

Betty laughed. She enjoyed seeing him squirm. She said "No, no, not a ponytail. Hmmm. What do you think about mullets?"

Gio was horrified. He didn't want to be caught dead with the ridiculous outdated hairstyle.

He was speechless for a moment and then he laughed "You're pulling my leg aren't you?"

Betty laughed gaily and said triumphantly "Got you!"

Gio said "You will pay for this! I don't know how. I don't know when. But you will!"

He thought for a minute and said "Maybe I'll start calling you R."

Betty said "R?"

Gio said "Yeah R. Short for Rosa. What do you think?"

Betty's smile disappeared and she said firmly "No! Not R please, no."

Gio noticed her sudden change of manner and looked at her with concern. His joke hadn't gone over well. He didn't understand why not. He said gently "Okay, okay, I won't."

Gio had been warned by Daniel to tone down his joking and teasing and Daniel was right. Daniel had talked intimately and at length with Betty and he knew her state of mind. Gio realized he should follow all of Daniel's instructions to the letter.

The only thing left on the tray was the small box from Claire.

Gio looked at the box and said "Open it!"

Betty said "I don't know. Should I? Maybe I should open it later."

Gio said "Come on. Have a look. Open it. I know you want to."

Betty slipped off the paper and removed the lid from the box. It contained a pair of pearl earrings.

Betty said "Oh my god, they are beautiful! These will look lovely with my B necklace!"

Gio said "Put them on. Let's see how they look on you."

Betty pushed back the hair from her face on the opposite side from Gio and put on an earring.

The flight attendant rushed by them again and urged them to hurry and get their belts buckled for departure.

Betty asked Gio to hold the hair on his side so she could fasten the second earring. Gio turned in his seat and reached over the short distance between them. He pushed the silky strands of her hair back from her face. Betty fumbled with the earring and finally secured it in place. She put the box back into her purse.

Gio continued to hold her hair back and look at her ear. Her ear was something he didn't see often because it was usually hidden under a heavy curtain of hair. It was delicate and pretty. He stared at the luscious pearl adorning her soft plump earlobe. The sight of her earlobe enticed and tempted him. He imagined feeling and tasting the contrast between the cool silky surface of the pearl and her warm soft skin with his lips and tongue. She was only inches from him and he knew she would be able to hear his breathing and feel his breath on her ear. He gently released her hair and sat back in his seat. He closed his eyes and tried to commit the wondrous sight to memory.

Betty held her hair back from her face and turned to Gio and said "Look at me! I don't have a mirror! How do I look?"

Gio opened his eyes and turned to look at Betty. She was smiling at him with a bright happy smile and he could see both of her ears. Her exquisite ears, each decorated with a single pearl, framed her glowing face. Gio was awestruck. He was captivated by the sight of her. Her lips were tantalizingly close to his. He thought of and discarded several answers as inappropriate.

Gio concentrated on keeping his hands still and said simply "Good. You look good."

Gio watched as Betty released her hair and turned away to look out the window. His eyes feasted on the sight of her. It was the first time he'd been alone with her since the fight.

Gio thought about the long flight ahead. The flight would be the first night he would spend with Betty. It would be the first of many nights. He thought about the month long trip. It was going to be incredible. Four weeks in a city he loved with Betty by his side every moment. The trip would be an awesome first date. He hoped it would be his last first date. He hoped to never date anyone other than Betty. She was the one. He had found her. He was waiting and hoping and wishing for her to find him.

Betty looked out at the activity around the plane. The headlights of the baggage vehicles shone brightly as they drove along the tarmac nearby. She could see the ground crew start to retract the gangway from the door of the plane. She was excited and nervous to go on this flight. She had not been outside of North America before and she was indebted to Daniel for giving her the chance to go.

Betty was concerned for Daniel. She was concerned for two reasons. Daniel had just lost his job to Wilhelmina Slater and Daniel Jr. had entered his life. It was a challenging time for him and Betty felt bad that she was leaving him now. She was worried he wouldn't be able to cope. He often needed her help. She helped him at work all the time. She helped him outside of work too. Just a few days earlier she helped Daniel find a tutor for Daniel Jr. She was proud of her ability to look after Daniel and his problems. She loved Daniel and she loved helping Daniel. She wanted to continue to work for him. Now she was going to be away for a whole month and she wondered if he would find out that he could survive without her. She hoped he wouldn't find another assistant he liked better. She worried he might not need her anymore when she returned from Rome.

Betty was concerned for Christina. She felt like she was abandoning her best friend at a difficult time in her life. Christina's baby had been conceived solely for Wilhelmina's financial gain. Wilhelmina wanted power in the company and she had succeeded in getting it. The baby entitled her to one-third control of Meade. And the first thing that happened was that Daniel had lost the job he loved. Betty didn't want to leave Christina in the care of someone like Wilhelmina. She was very glad that Claire was going to help Christina. She thought it was remarkable how the Meade's opinion of Christina's pregnancy had changed so much in recent days.

Betty was sad when she realized that she had not thought of her mother all day until Gio joked about her name. She was named after her mother. Her mother's name was her first name so Rosa was the name on her passport. Ever since her mother's death years ago she thought of her often. She usually thought of her many times a day. But today she had not. She felt guilty that she had not. As a young woman her mother had traveled all the way from Mexico with her father to start a new life. They had no money and no family in New York City but they came so that their children could have a better life. It was a huge sacrifice. The family was always the focus of Rosa's life. Later, when she suffered from and finally succumbed to cancer, she was very strong and brave. The advance of the cancer was slow, relentless and painful. Her mother cared for her family the best she could until the end. Tears formed in Betty's eyes as she remembered her mother's agonizing death. At her funeral the cards were inscribed with ' Loving wife and wonderful mother.' And this day, the day Betty was traveling to Europe on a pleasure trip with her dear friend Gio, a day that was among the happiest days she'd ever anticipated, she didn't think of her mother. Not even once. Betty felt a deep sadness that the memories she had of her mother were fading. She never wanted to forget her mother. She blinked away the tears. She wished she could always honor her mother's memory the way she should.

Betty was concerned about Henry. It was very sad that his baby son had such a terrible disease. She didn't want to think of Henry having to struggle to care for a sick baby and especially not when he was estranged from the baby's mother. She had loved Henry. She thought she had loved him with a true and lasting love. She was shocked to discover when he returned and proposed to her how much her love for him had diminished. She wondered how it could have happened. How could she have been so deeply in love with him a few weeks ago and be out of love now? He was her knight in shining armor, the prince in her fairy tale, and then he wasn't. Was she not the person she thought she was? Had she been deluded about her feelings for Henry? She questioned her ability to love. She wondered if her love for Henry was shallow because she had a defect in her personality.

Betty thought about Gio. She thought she was falling in love with him. She knew she already liked him dearly and she thought very highly of him as a person. She trusted and respected him. She thought he looked cute. He made her laugh. She wondered what other man would think to invite his little sister to a show. It meant a lot to her that he took her dream of being a writer seriously. She admired that he worked hard and had a fun attitude to life. And she knew that he was unfailingly caring and supportive of her. She knew he loved her. She knew he loved her with a deep abiding love.

She wondered whether the feelings she had for Gio would grow into real love. She wondered if she was capable of loving him with as strong a love as his love for her. Her experience with Henry made her doubt her ability to love him in the way he deserved to be loved. She didn't want to give Gio a flawed or fickle love. Henry's reappearance had severely muddled and disturbed her mind. It made her insecure. She wondered if something was wrong with her. She didn't think she was ready to start a new relationship yet. She wondered if she'd ever be able to return the quality of love that Gio was offering her.

Oftentimes Betty could see in Gio's bottomless brown eyes the appeal of an adorable puppy. She wanted to hold and cuddle the puppy. But occasionally when she looked in his eyes she saw a wild and dangerous animal lurking there. It was watching her and it scared her. She knew Gio had a passion for her that was intense. She was afraid his passion would consume her. She felt a visceral panic when she saw that look in his eyes and it made her want to run away. Her conversations with Hilda helped her understand it so she could overcome the sensation when she experienced it. She wondered when she might be brave enough to handle the animal in Gio. Until then she thought it would be best for him to stay her friend.

Gio gazed at Betty as she looked out the window.

He imagined asking her if she wanted to join the mile high club. He imagined her saying "yes" and then she'd hold his hand and he'd whisper sweet nothings into her ear until they got a chance to sneak into the lavatory together. As soon as they were inside the door he'd hug her and growl "come on and french me, Suarez" and she'd say "who calls it that?" and he'd say "I do" and she'd grab his head and kiss him fast and she'd do it deep. Then he'd push her away from him and she'd look at him in surprise her lips parted and breathing heavily. He'd tear off his t-shirt and she'd slide her hands over his skin and say "come on and french me, sandwich guy" and he'd say "who calls it that?" and she'd say "I do" and he'd grab her head in his hands and kiss her hard.

He'd kiss her passionately and deeply, each kiss more urgent than the one before. He'd kiss her until she was moaning from pleasure. She'd caress his rough chin and stroke his bare chest brushing her hands downwards lower and lower until she reached his belt and he'd gasp as she took hold of the buckle. She'd ask him for a turkey and sun-dried tomato sandwich and he'd exclaim "I knew you were an eater" and he'd unbutton her blouse. He'd savor the sight of her, overflowing her black lace bra, and she'd say "there's a problem with my sandwich, I want more sun-dried tomatoes" and he'd reach inside her blouse and put his eager hands where they wanted to be. He'd massage her rhythmically until they were both breathing hard and moving in unison and say "aren't three enough?" and his hands would turn into bold explorers uncovering new territory and his lips and tongue would become greedy pirates plundering its hidden treasures.

She'd unfasten his buckle and beg "please, I want more tomatoes" and he'd murmur hoarsely "but more than three would overwhelm the smoky flavor of the turkey" and she'd plead for more and reach into his silk boxers and slide her hand down and repeat it until he'd groan and curse and choke out "it'd be wrong" and she'd push her body into his and finally cry out in frustration "I think I can handle it" and he'd fall backwards against the door and breathe "whatever you want" and surrender and do as she demanded.

Betty felt the airplane move; it was pulling back from the gate.

Gio didn't realize it but Betty could see his reflection in the airplane window's glass. She could see that he was gazing at her. He was staring at her intently. She felt trapped in the window seat. There was no way out except past him. She felt panic rising within her but she used the insight that Hilda taught her to quell the feeling. She wanted to go to Rome with Gio and she refused to let her irrational fears ruin the trip.

Betty took a deep breath and turned to look at Gio and said "It's time."

Gio replied "It is?" He didn't have any idea what she meant.

"Yes, it's time to put our seat belts on." she answered.

Gio said "Oh, right, of course. I just want to get out some magazines first."

Gio tried to relax. He knew he wouldn't join the mile high club on this flight but he wondered whether he might on the return flight. He hoped they'd be more than friends by then. He knew it would be amazing if they did it. He decided to scope out the lavatories and see what they were like. He hoped they were bigger than the ones in economy class. He thought about the requirements for the club. He wondered if it was technically necessary to wait until the plane reached cruising altitude or if waiting only until the wheels were off the tarmac would be sufficient.

He reminded himself to be careful. Betty was not blind. Her vision was fine. It was even better than fine because she could see right through him. She could tell from the look in his eyes what he was thinking. He had to banish his impure thoughts lest he scare her off again. He worried the urge to kiss her could overpower him at any moment. He had to be vigilant. He had to ensure he didn't overstep her boundaries. He vowed that for as long as was necessary he would restrain himself and act like a perfect friend. Gio considered it a small task to earn the chance to share a sublime love with Betty for the rest of his life.

Gio knew the trip would be four weeks of pleasure, but he also knew that for each moment of pleasure there would be as many or more moments of torment. Gio closed his eyes and recited a silent prayer.

The End - Author's note: This story is continued in my other story "Betty's First Trip To Rome" Search for it by add date Jun 20/08 or last update Sep 6/08.