“First, thank you for coming today. I wouldn’t make the deadline if it weren’t for you both. I owe you one.”
“You don’t owe me,” Giovanni replies easily. “If anything, I owe you.”
“Thank you, my friend.” Enzo throws him a grin. “Okay. First, I’ll go inside and get the gelato, but we’ll be outside for the shoot itself. Any flavor, Tessa?”
Giovanni cuts in before I can speak. “She can’t eat almond, hazelnut, or pistachio.”
“Thank you,sweetie.” I nod toward Giovanni with a mock flourish. “Lemon would be great, please.”
“Fior di latte for me, thank you.” Giovanni turns toward me. “Sweet cream,” he translates, as Enzo heads into the shop to place our order.
A few minutes later, Enzo comes outside bearing two giant gelatos on skinny, waffle-esque cones. I eagerly grasp mine, lighting up at the smell of bright, zingy lemons and baked vanilla flooding my senses.
I take a small lick of my gelato and moan. “Oh my God, this is so good. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything better in my entire life.”
Giovanni licks his gelato and gives me a funny look I can’t place.
Enzo picks up his camera. “The good news about this shoot? It’s going to be quick. Have to finish before the product melts.” He tosses a wink in my direction. “We’ll start with these flavors, then for the second half of today’s shoot, you’ll each get a second gelato. The campaign is all about bringing people together. Theowners want to focus on love: love of people, love of gelato. It will be easy for the two of you.”
At this point, I might melt before the gelato does. I can tell how much Enzo means to Giovanni, and I don’t want to make this difficult for them. But pretending will be ten times harder with a lens in our faces.
I hedge a glance at my surly companion, who appears to be extremely interested in the texture of his gelato, looking anywhere but at me.
“Let’s begin. Start by hugging each other with one arm. Loosely wrap the other one around your partner, so your gelati are posed behind the back.”
We turn and gently hug each other, careful not to touch the gelato to our clothes.
“Tessa, tilt your chin up at him, and Gio, look down into her eyes. That’s perfect,” Enzo praises, snapping picture after picture.
“I feel so awkward,” I mutter to Giovanni through my wide smile.
His smile drops for a moment. “You’re fine.”
“Now, take a lick of each other’s gelato.” He chuckles. “This is so much easier than a regular shoot, because I don’t have to worry about germs.”
“Right,” I say a bit too loudly. “Because we make out all the time.”
Enzo’s face twists in confusion as Giovanni sighs. “Nice one,” he deadpans. “Very believable.”
I say nothing as I raise my cone toward Giovanni and tilt my head down to take a lick of his gelato. He does the same, while Enzo takes more shots, complimenting us in between clicks. It’s getting hotter and hotter outside, unseasonably warm for September, and both of our breaths are melting each other’s gelato.
Giovanni glances at my hand, where gelato drips down my thumb. Before I process what’s happening, he sweeps his finger over the melted gelato and sucks it into his mouth. His lips pucker and his cheeks cave in before removing his finger on a “pop” sound and returning to our pose. My heart stutters, and I feel soaware. Aware of his eyes, his hands, his mouth.Him.
“Alright, relax for a minute. I have to run in and get more product. We only have a few more shots left. You’re doing great.” Enzo jogs into the shop for more gelato.
Giovanni straightens and throws his gelato away in the garbage can next to the bench, but I haven’t moved my hand since his finger touched it. Gelato is melting all over my fingers now, and he quirks an eyebrow at the sight of me. Grabbing some napkins from the bench, Giovanni brings them over, snagging my now-liquid gelato in the process.
“I’ll just throw this away. You okay?” He gives me a once over.
I bark out an uncomfortable laugh, throwing my disintegrating napkin in the trash can next to him, missing the rim by at least a foot. Much to the chagrin of my middle school basketball coaches, my height never intersected with my aim.
I pick it up quickly and drop it in the bin. “Oh, yeah. It’s so easy to get stuck in these poses.”
Enzo comes out of the shop with two new cones. One appears to be peach, the other strawberry. He hands them to us, giving me the muted pink one. I can’t help myself from taking a quick lick. This time, I’m prepared for the delicious burst of flavor, so I suppress my moan. The strawberry, tasting creamy and fresh, might be my favorite.
“Both of you hold your gelato level with your collarbones. Move closer together. Gio, I want you to stand slightly behind Tessa and whisper something in her ear to make her smile.”
We both look at each other for a minute. There’s nothing he could possibly say to make me comfortably smile right now. I’m still slightly stressed out, grappling with some very complex feelings that linger from watching Giovanni suck melted gelato off his finger.
