Sneaking my way through the house, I made my way back to Giorgio’s room. I was happy when I entered and saw him nibbling on a sandwich and chips that I hadn’t brought him.
“Dinner?” I asked.
“Yeah, they brought it about an hour ago,” Giorgio replied. He looked up and smiled. “Nice PJs.”
“Thanks, you too,” I replied.
Awkwardly, I lingered by the door. Giorgio watched me for a second, his head tilted, then he chuckled. “You’re just gonna stand over there?”
“Um… I guess I didn’t know where I should go,” I replied honestly.
“Well, you’re dressed for bed,” Giorgio responded. “Come to bed.”
My heart jumped up into my chest. “Okay.”
Giorgio was sitting on one edge of the bed, so I walked over to the other side and sat down on the edge. I slid in a little bit, pulling the covers over me, and was relieved that Giorgio didn’t immediately move, but instead continued eating. I pulled out my phone and started to scroll through it, pretending as if I was distracted by what I was looking at, but keeping an eye on Giorgio as well. He finished his food, even picking up the crumbs off the plate, then he stood up, carried the plate over to sit on top of the dresser, already starting to move better, and returned to the bed.
He looked across at me and smiled. “Can I join you?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Giorgio climbed into the bed, settling himself under the covers and laying down on the pillow. He stared at me for a little bit, though I pretended not to notice, and eventually his eyes drifted shut. A few minutes later, I could hear him snoring in and out quietly.
Ah.
So it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but maybe that was better. Just like I had been down in the dungeon, I was there as a comfort to him, and that made me happy. I spent an additional twenty minutes or so scrolling through my phone, then I eventually set it down on the bedside table and crawled deeper into the bed with my back to Giorgio. Just as my eyes were drifting closed, his arms curled around my body and pulled me even closer to him, spooning against me. It felt amazing, and with him holding me tight, I drifted off to sleep.
That became our routine for the next few weeks. I’d visit first during the day, where we’d talk and continue to get to know each other, and then after turning up at dinner to keep up appearances for my family, I’d return to his room to share his bed at night. What started out as friendly cuddling at best, quickly evolved into something more intimate. We’d curl so deeply into one another before falling asleep at night, that pulling myself out each morning was becoming progressively more difficult.
The same was proving true for Giorgio. I was trying to get out of bed the next morning and Giorgio wrapped me up tighter and pulled me back in.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said simply.
I laughed. “We can’t just lay in bed forever,” I said.
“Why can’t we? I have literally nothing going on,” Giorgio said. “I don’t think you have anything going on.”
“I don’t,” I said.
“So stay here,” he said. “Stay in bed with me.”
I wanted to do that. More than anything, but if my brothers, or worse, my father knew I was spending my nights with Giorgio, they’d kill him for sure. “I have to keep up appearances.” My hand was out and resting on his cheek before I could stop it. “I’ll be back soon.”
He seemed disappointed, his jaw flexing and relaxing, but eventually, his arms loosened around me. I pulled myself from his hold and stood up, but Giorgio remained in bed like a pouting child. It was cute.
“I’ll see you later,” I said and slipped out.
I was only about five feet from his door when the tether that had tied us together pulled, begging me to return. It was what I wanted too. I wanted to go back and climb back into bed and stay there until someone dragged me out.
A guard turned the corner and spied me. He looked me up and down and raised his brow. “Miss Cavetti? Is something wrong?”
I stormed at him. “I’ve been looking for a guard for an hour,” I lied. “I feel awful.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I think I may have the flu. I need some medicine,” I replied.
“Er, of course, Miss. Should I have it delivered to your room?”
