II – 'The start of something big'
The taxi pulled up to the curb and the driver turned around, "Here we are…Do you need a hand with your luggage?" Betty was too busy staring out the window to hear the driver, so he repeated himself. "Do you need a hand with your luggage Miss?" Betty heard him this time and replied to him whilst her gaze was still fixated on the person outside. "Oh ah, no no no, I'll be right thank you; I've got someone waiting for me outside". And with that comment she flung the door open and tried pulling her hand luggage and small suitcase out of the door at the same time as herself. During her attempt, Betty was about to go face first into the gutter, but was caught just in time by a pair of strong and capable hands. After finally standing up straight, gathering her luggage on the ground beside her, fixing her hair and pushing her glasses up her nose, Betty looked at the man in front of her and gave a huge welcoming hug and said, "We're here Gio, we're really here!"
Gio embraced Betty with all his might and they stood on the pavement for a few moments just enjoying each other's comforting holds. As they pulled apart, they looked into each other's eyes and were about to kiss when an 'excuse me' cough came from the cab driver. Betty and Gio snapped out of their love trance and looked at the driver. "Ohh, I'm so sorry. I so totally forgot!" Betty said to the driver as she was getting some notes out of her wallet. She handed over the fare whilst rambling "I was so excited to see my boyfriend that I forgot to pay you!" The cabbie signaled his departure with kind words to the love birds and was on his way.
This left Betty and Gio standing on the pavement surrounded by luggage. Gio motioned for them to go upstairs by grabbing the handle of the largest suitcase. This prompted Betty to adjust her shoulder bag and grab the handle of the smaller case. With that, they both made their way into the lobby of the apartment building. Following Gio, they soon arrived at the front door to their apartment. Betty's mind was brimming with thoughts about their apartment, she couldn't believe it; they actually had their own apartment and were going to start a life together, starting with the exploratory phase.
Gio released the luggage handle and quickly spun around to face Betty, startling her. He too was just as excited about this new adventure they were both about to endeavor together. 'Hmm…together', Gio liked the sound of that. "Are you ready Betty? All you have to do is say yes!" They both chuckled, and Betty couldn't stop grinning. Gio took that as a yes, so he turned around and was about to put the key into the door when Betty wrapped her arms around his chest and leaned into him. Resting her cheek on his shoulder blades, she closed her eyes and hummed enjoying the cuddle. Gio was a little surprised but acted quickly and moved his free hand to cup her clasped hands around his chest. They paused for a minute to savor the moment; Betty continued to sigh deeply with content whilst Gio sighed with a hint of sexual frustration. All of a sudden, Gio let go of the key in the door and swiftly spun around to face Betty. As they stood there, face to face, both with a hunger burning in their eyes, Gio leant in to kiss Betty but before he was able to taste her lips, he felt her grab his biceps and was unexpectedly pushed up against the door and pinned by the force of Betty's mouth planting a lustful but longing kiss.
Whilst returning the kiss with just as much force, Gio managed to snake his arm around Betty to hold on to her whilst he turned the key to the apartment with his other hand to let them in. Feeling the slight fall backwards as the door opened and the sweeping across the threshold, Betty let a little scream out in her throat but was silenced with Gio's reassuring and ongoing kiss. Still holding onto Betty, Gio managed to maneuver their way inside the apartment, shutting the door and this time pinning her against it. Betty moved her hands up and down his arms finally resting them around his neck. This allowed them both to deepen the kiss that neither of them wanted to end. As their kiss heightened there was a knock at the door. Each let out their own little moan and groans before parting their lips, but instead of completely separating, they kept their heads joined together at the forehead, just looking longingly into each other eyes. The knock at the door sounded again and this time a voice accompanied it saying, "I'm sorry to disturb, I'm your next door neighbor and just wanted to remind you that your bags are still in the corridor." With that statement, Betty's eyes widened and she said half screaming, "GIO!! We forgot my luggage!" She then slightly pushed Gio out of the way and flung the door wide open.
The neighbor was still standing there and Betty greeted the older lady. "Hi, I'm Betty and this is my boyfriend Gio, we've just moved in today" The lady replied, "Lovely to finally meet you Betty. Gio has not stopped talking about you since he's been setting up the apartment. Well I'll be off now, I just wanted to greet you when you arrived and since you left your bags outside, I thought it would be perfect to introduce myself. My name's Sheryl and I live two doors down the hall. We'll catch up properly when you're better settled. Bye for now". "Ok, nice meeting you" Betty said loudly as Sheryl walked off and down the staircase.
Betty then turned around and actually looked inside the apartment for the first time. Gio was standing just inside the door and moved a little to the side so that she could see what he had done to the place. She was gob-smacked when she saw the living area filled with furniture in place and boxes ready to be unpacked. She then turned to Gio and enveloped him in a big hug. Gio held onto Betty as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. "Ohh Gio, this is amazing. You've been here the whole time setting our apartment up. It's amazing." "Surprise!" Gio exclaimed. "I wanted to surprise you, but you got me first when you slammed me up against the door!" They both chuckled; Betty tried to hide her face as she went a slight shade of red. Gio rested his hand on her face and tilted it so that he could look into her face. He said to her, "I like that side of you Suarez! Don't be shy about anything around me, ok? 'Just be', remember?!" And with that, he planted a tender kiss on her lips before pulling away and talking about the apartment. "So, I only put the furniture in place, we can always move it around, but I just had to get it in here and the boxes, well we can empty those as we go along. There's no rush, right?" Looking at Betty with a cheeky grin and waggling his eyebrows at her, she bashfully replied, "Exactly, the exploratory phase is only the first step of many. But first, we have to bring my suitcases in!"
Gio made his way outside the doorway to grab the largest suitcase, whilst Betty followed, picking up her bag and smaller suitcase. "Ladies first B" Gio said grinning from ear to ear, motioning her through the doorway and into the flat; Gio followed Betty and closed the door behind him. Both of them walked to the centre of the apartment and put the bags on the floor. Betty stood where she was and turned around in circle soaking in her new living environment. The content look on Betty's face made Gio's heart smile. When Betty finally faced Gio, she took a step toward him, put her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. Gio automatically wrapped his arms around her shoulders and planted a kiss on the top of her head before resting his head on top of hers. This was only the beginning…