Chapter 3

I…was going…to Rome! I…was going…to ROME! Me! In Rome! Going to Rome, going to Rome!

And, not to point out the obvious, but…

I don't think anyone would call this playing it safe. Ah, yes, Ms. Meade? I'll have something for your magazine sometime next month, when I get back from ROME…what's that? Well, thank you for your concern, but really, that would be a little too safe for me. I'm all about adventure…and taking risks…and discovery…and…exploring. I'm an explorer.

"Ahhh, okay explorer, so when can I take you out on an official first date?"

Gio. I grinned. Still distracting me! But, I hadn't felt this happy in a long, long time. Rome, Rome, Rome, I'm going to Rome…where was that phone number for the temp agency, ah, there it was…Gio and I…me and Gio…my Gio…going to Rome…for a month… "Hello, Barbara, this is Betty Saurez, assistant to Daniel Meade at Mode, we'll be needing Angela for a month. Soon. I'm going out of town…out of the country…I'm going to Rome for a month…call me back as soon as you get this message."… Deeee, deee, deeee, going to Rome…mmm, mmm, mmm, going to Rome…

That was pretty much how the rest of my day went. And I did manage to get things done around the office. If anything, I worked even more quickly and more efficiently than I had that morning—actually, that week—maybe even that whole month! The days of sighing and staring at my computer screen or obsessively checking my email and my voice-mail were gone. So gone.

I finished up for the day and left the Meade building with a big smile on my face. I couldn't help it. Maybe it wasn't fair, Daniel hadn't been smiling when he left the office, having just had the shock of his life, but I knew his mom and Alexis would help him through it, whatever the results of that DNA test, and he'd be fine. No, it was time I felt happy and I told myself everything was going to work out.

I walked into Gio's Deli still smiling. He was standing behind the counter, a pristine white apron around his neck, taking an order from a customer. He glanced over at me and his quick grin caused his customer to turn and look in my direction. I took a seat by the window underneath that neon smiling pickle and got out my laptop, but all of my attention was on Gio.

I tapped my fingers impatiently against my keyboard. When Gio's customer was finally out the door, I hopped down from my seat and hurried over to the counter. Gio watched me with a lazy smirk.

"Hey, Betty…"

"That was the slowest order ever…Hi…so, are you done here? Isn't it closing time? I told Daniel…"

"I've had slower; No; not for another half an hour; and what'd he say?" Gio had answered each one of my eager questions as he came around the counter walking up to me. He was practically about to walk into me, so I took a step back, then another, and another, until I felt the wall against my back. Gio stopped inches from me.

"What did Daniel say…well…" I wasn't sure what to do with my hands; I felt odd just letting them hang at my sides. I folded my arms across my chest, effectively blocking him.

His eyes took note of my body language and he raised a questioning brow at me. "Well…?" he paused, folding his arms to mirror me.

I dropped my hands to my hips in a no-nonsense-stance. "Well…he didn't say much of anything about me leaving for a month…"

"That doesn't sound good," Gio grimaced a bit.

"Noooo, it will be fine, see, he just had a really crazy day, and I shouldn't be talking about it, so don't say anything, but he sort of had a family issue come up during lunch. My news just didn't even compare. I'm not even sure he'll remember what I said tomorrow," I laughed awkwardly.

Gio just eyed me strangely. "Huh. But it'll be fine…?"

"It's totally fine!" I smiled brightly.

"Have you been like this all day?" he asked, leaning in more closely. Those arrogant eyes of his inspected mine and then to my surprise, he sniffed twice and said, "You haven't been drinking, have you?"

"WHAT?" I cried, dumbfounded, eyes wide. Unthinking, I raised my hand to shield my mouth.

His mouth twitched only slightly and then he eyed me with mock-suspicion. "You've been laying off that whacked-out perfume, right?"

All I could do was gape at him.

He raised his hands in surrender, "What? You're just a little bit…hyper." He grasped my chin with gentle fingers and tilted my face up just enough… A very slow, very naughty smile pulled one corner of his mouth. "Your cheeks are…pink. And you're kind of…panting. Hmm, pupils dilated. So, if you're not under the influence, Betty, well…then I can think of only one other reason…"

I knew what he was going to say, especially because of the look on his face; I'd watched a couple of shows on the educational channels explaining the science behind reproduction and arousal and pheromones and all of that. I was sure that's what he was getting at, just like Gio to go pointing out the embarrassing.

"Oh, so you're an expert on my eyes now too? You're so full of it," I snorted. "It's not like you can even see the difference between my iris and my pupils anyway. Tch!" I rolled my eyes. In less than five minutes, he'd made me roll my eyes like I was thirteen. Now I was feeling nervous and I didn't know where to look.

Gio's thumb grazed my cheek before letting go of my chin. "So, you're not going to ask me what I was thinking. Fine. Maybe I'm not an expert on reading them, not yet, but I know the difference between dark brown and black. And your eyes…" His voice compelled me to make eye contact again. He rested a hand against the wall behind me, "…are dark brown. Like mine."

Gio bent his head forward, bringing his mouth against my hair, next to my ear. I turned my face towards him, just slightly; sensing my body's reaction to him, which was effectively blocking my pride or insecurity. Okay, maybe now I was panting…

"I still have half an hour before I can turn off that 'Open' sign. So, will you stop distracting me, B?" Gio's nose caressed my temple for a moment before I realized this was all tease.

"Wait a second! Okay, I am distracting you? Hah!" It was too ridiculous. I had to laugh. I saw him smirking back at me. "Just go and do whatever it is that you have to do so we can go, okay?"

Gio's grin widened. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, his hips leaning into mine. "Impatient little thing! Yeow!"

I had poked him under his ribs with my finger. Hard. I blinked nonchalantly and brushed past him. "Okay, so I've been researching airfares…" I retrieved my laptop and brought it over to the counter and pulled up a stool. Gio had turned so he could see me, but otherwise he hadn't budged. I barely glanced at him, feeling nervous and embarrassed all over again…kissing was one thing, but his body pressed against mine felt…well, it felt intimate. Thrilling, yes, to let my mind wander down that path, but I hadn't even been on a first date with him yet. I had no business thinking what I'd been thinking just moments ago. And my embarrassment came from a fear that he might read those thoughts, as he so often did with me, if I wasn't careful. So, I avoided his eyes and rambled some more. "There's a site where you can just name the price you think you should pay, but you're obligated to take the ticket if they have it at that price, so who knows what time we'd leave or how many stops or layovers we'd get stuck with. So maybe it's better to pay for convenience and pick the flight we want…" My rambling about ticket prices continued for another minute before Gio stopped staring and walked with his usual swagger back to the other side of the counter. He lifted a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed. My eyes glazed over, imagining my lips against that skin right below his shirtsleeve, right along that bicep…What the -–! Snap out of it, lunatic!

"Just so long as I get the aisle," he said before disappearing into the back.

I started playing with departure dates and times, just plugging them in to see what kind of airfares I'd get, when I heard the bells signaling someone had come into the deli. I was so focused though, I didn't look to see who it was, but less than a minute later, Gio was coming from the back. I heard him before I saw him.

"I know this lady at a travel agency, she might be able to—-"

I glanced up quickly at Gio when he stopped talking so abruptly. He looked serious, but kind of mad. He looked past me to whoever had come in a moment ago and asked a pretty terse, "Can I help you?"

I finally turned around to see what Gio's problem with the person could be and saw a regular looking guy standing there, reading the chalk board menu.

"Still tryin' to decide," he said.

Gio nodded and walked over to me, closing my laptop as he talked, "Take your time…" He grasped my hand and tugged his head back, motioning me to come with him. I got up, and went around to the other side of the counter, but I felt a bit puzzled. Gio handed me the laptop and quietly told me to go wait at his desk. So I did.

It was pretty quiet in the back. Eventually I heard the bells jingle from the deli's front door. A minute later, I heard the volume on Gio's radio go up a little more, and then some clanging and other busy-noises. I relaxed more into Gio's office chair and then that picture of us under the desk-glass caught my eye again. I felt myself smile. Just then, he walked through with his arms full, on his way to the cooler. I jumped up to get the cooler door for him.

He winked as he passed me, "Thanks, B!"

"No problem," I said, smiling after him. I stood in the doorway watching him rotate some inventory. "So, what was going on before with that guy?"

Gio stopped what he was doing to look at me. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you," he said, matter-of-factly. He went back to what he had been doing.

I frowned, confused. "How was he looking at me?"

"He was a creep."

"He looked completely normal to me. He was wearing a tie…"

Gio glanced at me over his shoulder and shook his head. "Man, you like to argue with me!" He wadded up some used plastic wrap from off the shelves and grabbed a couple of empty boxes before leaving. I followed him.

"I don't argue with you that much," I insisted a bit defensively.

"You're arguing now!" he laughed at me. "Hey, I'm not complaining. It used to annoy me…I think…" Gio's eyes looked off in no particular direction, like he was remembering. And then he snapped out of it. "Crazy thing is, I like it."

Gio's eyebrows darted suggestively and then he picked up a box and hauled it to a storage closet. I watched him for a moment as he got out a broom and headed out to the front. Again, I followed him. I saw that he'd already turned off the 'Open' sign and locked the front door. He must have closed early, right after that last customer.

"Well, I guess that explains why you pick so many fights with me then," I countered, while at the same time questioning why I felt the need to.

"Ah, but it doesn't explain why you always rise to the occasion," he shot back, pushing the broom right next to my shoes. I stepped quickly out of his way as he made a second pass. He made a low chuckle. "Come on back; I'm done in here. You want something to drink before I turn off the lights?"

I smiled and shook my head. He smiled back at me before following me out of the front of the deli.

"I haven't forgotten that you've got some pay-back coming your way."

I gasped silently and sat down at his desk. I opened up my laptop, peering up at him over the top of the screen. The shameless way he stared back at me made my insides lurch. "Don't you have some work to do?"

"Oh, playing it shy now? Okay. But, I'm almost done, so don't get too comfortable."

Gio turned and headed towards the opposite wall. He filled a mop bucket and I watched him as he made the small floor space shine. I didn't want to look away; there was no reason I had to, I had no commitments, no promises to keep, I was free to look. So I let myself appreciate what I had been too guilty to dwell on times before.

He moved well. Like movement was natural to him. Like he knew his body and was comfortable in it. It was an attractive quality. The memory of those hips leaning into mine flashed in front of my mind's eye. We fit. Hilda had noticed; she had said something about it that day when he had helped with her sink and danced with me. But I had been with Henry and had quickly brushed such nonsense aside. Nonsense? Yeah, right. And there was Henry, back in my thoughts, again. Before I could block the thought, a comparison had sprung to mind: one, a tall, lean and long kind of strength; the other, strong but compact. Both attractive, just different. Henry's height had always made me feel small and protected. That had a certain…allure. But, it was definitely more comfortable to kiss someone without craning my neck the entire time. Did I feel less safe or protected in Gio's arms? I winced a little at that mental image, a fleeting moment of awkwardness with my new feelings. I just wasn't used to him yet. To be expected. Anyway, it wasn't that I felt unsafe with Gio. How did I feel? I guess I felt like we were on more equal footing, that he didn't feel the need to constantly be my hero. And now I was on to something…

How many times had Henry tried to save me or fix my problems or protect me from anything or anyone unpleasant? While Gio's M.O. had always been to listen, commiserate, and basically tell me to quit whining and do something about it. He didn't make me feel safe-the opposite, I was a little scared actually, because Gio challenged me to go beyond safe.

I was having an epiphany.

With Henry, I would have filled a certain comfortable role; with Gio, I would define that role.

"Hello? Earth to Betty?" Gio's eyes were laughing. He had finished with the mop, washed, and was now wadding up a paper towel. He made a shot for the wastebasket behind his desk and missed.

I smiled, glad he wasn't making a big deal about either my ogling or my zoning, and reached for the paper towel.

"I got it," Gio was quickly next to me. He got down on his knees, swiped up the paper towel, and then inched his way right up to his desk chair. He swiveled me to face him and leaned in against my knees.

I knew I was staring; I was at least aware enough to realize it. He reached past me, making a perfect toss. Close-range, hard to miss. Kind of like me at that moment.

Gio's voice came out like a frustrated whine, "Betty…come here." When all I could do was stare, he must have decided he'd had enough. Both hands reached up to pull my face down to his and then he was kissing me. Really kissing me. None of that slow, playful stuff that he'd teased me with against the deli wall. This was urgent, prying, sucking my breath away kissing. When my hands reached for the back of his neck, he let go of my face and gripped my skirt at my knees. For a split-second, I froze, thinking he was about to seriously invade my space, but he didn't push. His fingers trailed down from my knees and wrapped around the sides of the chair. And I was back in it. Gio sensed my return and groaned into my mouth. When our teeth clanged together, I could feel his chuckle on my lips. I had to laugh too.

My fingers rubbed against the back of his neck, into his prickly hairline. The humor had replaced the lust as we gazed at each other. "I think I figured out why you smell like soap and citrus," I said, smiling. Wow, he had nice eyes…kind, intelligent, excited…

Gio groaned and hung his head; he didn't say anything.

"It's the soap you keep here."

"Could be worse." Gio's head popped up and he was leaning into me again. "Could be better. Let's get out of here, B." Gio stood up and put out his hand. "Come on. I'll drop you at your house, run home for a quick shower and change of scent—-"

I took Gio's hand and he pulled me up against him. My other hand wound itself around his apron strap. I licked my lips. What? I couldn't help it!

"-I'll pick you right back up and we'll go get dinner. There's this Italian place I've been dying to try. What do you say?"

I smiled up at him. No, I beamed. "A date?"

"Uh-uh-uh, official first date is Rome. We can call this stage two of our exploratory phase." Gio put his arms around me and rocked me into his chest. My face sought out his neck and as I experimentally allowed my nose to just graze his ear lobe, I stiffened. "Don't worry, B. Just dinner. I don't wanna wear you out right before your big game tomorrow."

My head jerked up to look him in the eye. He smirked. Then he winked. Before I could voice any trumped-up indignation at another Gio-innuendo, he had spun me around to face my sleeping laptop. With focus, he made quick work of locking up for the night and leading me out the back door to his van.

The drive from the city to my neighborhood was happy. We talked. We laughed. We anticipated. I guess I was a little eager to continue the evening, and definitely a bit distracted thinking about making an exciting announcement about Rome to my family, because as soon as we reached my house, I hopped out of his van without a goodbye kiss. I hurried back to open the van door and lean against the seat, laughing. There really was no way for him to lean far enough over to reach me, and I was just as content to take in his all-knowing smile and those conceited but happy eyes. My voice was high and chipper as I asked him how long I had.

"Not long," he said. "I'll give you a call before I leave. Just to make sure you're ready. Don't make me wait, Suarez…" Gio's eyebrows lifted in challenge.

I shook my head, smiling, and shut the van door. As I hurried up the steps, I knew Gio was watching from behind the wheel, waiting to see me safely inside. I threw one last happy glance his way before disappearing into my home.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

(a/n: Um, kind of embarrassed to be updating this at all. I have wished many times I'd left my first post as a one-shot. But I didn't *sigh* and it really bugs me to leave something incomplete. I've got 3.5 kids, little ones, time-consumers, and finding the time to write is unreal. Add that to the way Ugly Betty ended the Getty storyline (BOO!) and then the series, kind of hard to be motivated to write my ideal Getty love story with that letdown. For my own sake of feeling like I finished something, I'll try to complete this, but I just know it's not going to be quickly done. So wishing I'd left it as a one-shot. My apologies to all the kind reviewers. Seriously. )