"Okay then but you can't complain when I inevitably step on your feet." She hummed with a giggle, slowly finding the rhythm and falling into the easy movements with a smile. She still couldn't believe this was happening, she was at a real Italian party just dancing like she belonged there. And, to be fair, she certainly looked like she did. If you ignored the American accent and only looked at her, she looked like any other girl there. Maybe a bit more Irish but still normal.
And she certainly did catch some attention as whispers started floating around about the new girl no one had seen before. Had she always been there? Where did she come from? Had anyone seen her or was she truly new? Not that she heard any of these things, she was too busy focusing on keeping herself in step and not tripping over her own feet.
"But what if it really hurts? Please don't step on my feet, Farfallina," He sighed. The sound of her giggle made him grin faintly, but it disappeared the moment he shook his head. "Nevermind. Everything is fine. See? I can tell that you are having fun. It is like we are in those American movies! Like Dirty Dancing, you know? Except we're in Sicily and I am just a Sicilian boy."
Adone laughed a little. He kept his feet to the rhythm, moving his hips along as well. The moment he looked around, he did take notice of how some people were looking at them, specifically Francesca. Naturally he isn't surprised with their curiosities, yet he wondered if Francesca had any thoughts about it. Hopefully no one is family is watching them. He shrugged the thought off then went back to focusing on dancing.
Frenchie simply rolled her eyes with a snort. "I prefer Footloose but I will accept your uncultured love of Dirty Dancing." She couldn't stop smiling, this was easily the most fun she'd had in a long time, what else was she supposed to do?
If she did notice the whispers and staring, she didn't say anything. She probably wouldn't anyway. She was an athlete, she was used to people staring at her for various reasons. Wasn't like this was particularly new to her.
"Uncultured? But Farfallina, I am a man of culture!" He assured. After clearing his throat, he continued, "I only like Dirty Dancing. It's my mom and sisters who love it; they always make me translate it like any other movie. Even Footloose too."
Adone sighed before looking back up. So far, so good. People are still looking and whispering, but it didn't seem to concern Frenchie. Even if it didn't, he still feels the need to keep an eye on it. Yes it's his home, but for Frenchie, it is not. And he is pretty sure that his mom is watching them from a distance. He grew stiff at the realization of this.
Frenchie pouted as she noticed how distracted Adone was. So she lifted herself onto her toes, reaching up to cup his jaw in her hand and forcing him to look back down at her and make eye contact. She wasn't going to be disregarded, she refused to be.
"I don't know what's got you so distracted but last I checked it's rude to ignore a lady. So keep your eyes on me, Adone." Her voice was sweet but commanding, only softened by the shy smile she wore.
"Che co-" What was happening? One moment he felt her hand on his jaw then the next his wide eyes met hers. His face was warm. For a second, he couldn't hear the music. There was a gap between his lips, but words just could not fall through. For once, he didn't know what to say.
Adone couldn't find a way to defend himself either. He just blankly stared at her until something in his brain made him snap back into reality. "Ah, I am sorry, Farfallina." His left arm moved down to Frenchie's waist, closing the gap between them. "I promise to not get distracted again."
"You better not. No one puts baby in a corner." She giggled, moving her hands to his shoulders. "Otherwise I will step on your feet and I'll make it hurt. And after earlier, I really don't think you want that."
She found the rhythm once again, pulling them back into their dance. Frenchie couldn't take her eyes off of his, something about them was drawing her in. She knew she was staring but that wasn't going to stop her. Besides, weren't dance partners supposed to make eye contact?
"Oh after earlier? No, I don't think I do," He faintly smiled. Adone had to keep telling himself to relax, especially as Frenchie placed her hands on his shoulders. He knows it'd be awkward to have a stiff dancing partner. The reminders were making him a little critical leading to him getting distracted so he stopped thinking about it.
Shivers ran down his spine, but it is hot outside, even for it being nighttime. He tried breaking eye contact by looking down at their feet and the ground. It only lasted for a second until he went back to looking into Frenchie's eyes. She's looking at him, so it's natural to look back, right? He isn't sure.
She couldn't explain why she couldn't take it eyes off of him but after she spent a minute under his constant gaze, she wasn't about to complain. It felt nice, having his complete attention, knowing she was the only one he was focused on. It was mesmerizing, damn near hypnotic. Not that she minded.
She moved one of her hands off his shoulder, sliding it up over his neck to his cheek. She rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone absent-mindedly, just smiling to herself.
He did not mind any of it at all. While he is a bit shy about it (he will not admit this), he likes looking into her eyes. They are pretty. It might be a bit strange given that she kicked him in the shin and also got straddled by her. It might also be strange how he liked having Frenchie's gaze on him. He likes seeing her smile.
Adone could not comput words. Anything he thought, he worried would be the wrong thing or it'd be in his Sicilian accent. Either way, he was anxious of doing something stupid and wrong. Frenchie's hand felt a bit cooler compared to his warm face. "I don't remember seeing this in Dirty Dancing," He whispered. "Do you do this with all the boys you dance with, Farfallina?"
She just giggled, blushing a bright red and looking away for a moment. "Bold of you to assume I dance with other boys. I already told you I don't go to parties and I don't know how to dance. Plus, I'm an athlete. What interest would a guy have in asking a girl like me to dance?"
She was so focused on his face that she lost her place, tripping over her feet and stumbling forward into his chest. "See? Point proven." She laughed when she pulled her face out of his shirt.
Adone smiled, seeing as Frenchie blushed. Did he really do that? Or is she blushing from something else? Why is he so fixated on the blush? And why is it making him blush? He shook his head. "But those are all the reasons that they should've been dancing with you. Sounds like a fun dancing partner to me. Why not ask the boy you're dancing with now, Farfa-"
His left arm instantly wrapped around, trying to prevent her from falling. The hairs on the back of his neck stood. For a couple of moments, he just stood there, watching as she laughed. He used his hand to brush away some hair from falling in front of her face. "I think you proved my point."
Glimpsing up at the moon, he sighed. "It's getting pretty late. Should we keep dancing for a little longer or do you want me to take you home?"
She glanced up with him and watched the moon for a few seconds, the light reflecting in her eyes before looking back down with a smile. "No, let's stick around a while longer. I'll already be in trouble when I get home, what's a little more?" She shrugged with an carefree grin.
She thought again about why she didn't want to go home. It was fun out here, no rules and no expectations. Just her, Adone, and the music. And there was something about that that she didn't want to leave behind quite yet. "Besides…I don't really want this to end so soon." It was a quiet statement, shy and embarrassed as her blush darkened.
Adone laughed as he shook his head. "You in trouble? You shouldn't get into much trouble for this. I'm the one who took you here after all," He pointed out. Besides, Mr and Mrs Russo will listen to him. Worst comes to worst, he'll take the blame and work an extra hour or so tending to their gardens; he doesn't mind. Maybe he could do work in the library and accidentally read one of the history books they have. It's not that bad.
At least they'll be dancing together for a bit longer. His head titled as he was puzzled by the sudden expression on Frenchie, the softer tone. "You know, it doesn't have to end once we stop dancing. You'll be here for awhile, right? And it's never really hard to find me, I'm always here if you ever need a boy to kick in the shin or take you to some random place late at night."
She bit her lip, unable to stop her smile as she tried to find her words. "I-I know that, dork. I'm not stupid. But…I don't know. There's something about this one moment in particular that feels like if I let it go, it'll never come back. I'll never have something like it again."
She looked up at him again, the moonlight reflecting in her eyes. "Don't you ever have moments like that? Moments that you feel if you don't capture them for as long as you can, it'll disappear?"
In the midst of listening to her, he stopped dancing. Dork…Dork, yes he knows that one. But it wasn't just the American synonym for oaf that made him stop. Well, he just is not completely sure what did. And yet, Farfallina still has his full attention for all the reasons, for better or for worse.
"With the right person, you might be able to time and time again. Might not be exactly like this one, but with the right person, it's possible," He assured. Adone glimpsed up at the moon for a second then returned to looking back into her eyes. Those eyes that reflect the night sky. He nodded, "All the time, Farfallina. You shouldn't worry about it, but rather take it in with all your senses then carry on with the moment, enjoy the moment."
(This thread heals my soul. This is the angst relief I needed)
"One of these days you'll call me by my actual name." She giggled with a playful roll of her eyes. "And I get what you're saying. I guess I'm just a little nervous. That if I lean too far into the moment, it'll ruin it." She rested her head on his chest with a sigh. "I don't know, I'm being dumb."
But a few seconds later, she heard her name being called. It was faint and repeated, like someone was looking for her. It took her a minute to recognize the voice but when she did, her head snapped up, eyes wide in shock. "Ah shit, that's Aunt Lina. She's gonna kill me." She stepped back, taking a breath and looked up at Adone. "Thank you…for everything tonight. It's been wonderful." She bounced up onto her toes for a second before huffing. "Damn you tall people." She mumbled before hopping up and kissed his cheek before bounding off down the street, looking back over her shoulder. "Finché non ci incontreremo di nuovo, mia cara!"
(Aw, I'm glad to hear that)
"Ah, do you not like your nickname?" He laughed. "And what should I call your instead. I know you didn't like what I called you earlier." Adone froze when he felt Frenchie placed her head on his chest. Is his heart beating too fast? Is it loud? He said nothing, but rather, he put his hand on the back of her head, gently caressing it. "No you are not. You are living, and living in the moment."
He did not hear anyone calling for Frenchie. Between his focus on Frenchie, the music in the background, and his heart beating, it took him awhile to finally hear it. "Hm?" He glanced back at her, softly smiling. "Don't mention it Farfailln-"
"What?" Adone stood still for a couple of moments. His hand reached up to the cheek Frenchie kissed. "Buona notte?" He said, confused while waving to her.
She waved with a bright smile before skidding around a corner and disappearing. The last thing she needed was to get in trouble with her aunt and uncle on her second day there. Especially when Adone was there and could get in trouble with her.
So she kept him out of it. Was it sudden? Yes. Would she need to explain when she saw him again? Definitely. Would she make the fact that she'd kissed his cheek a problem for later her to deal with? Also yes.
(Do you want to do a timeskip to the next morning?)
Watching her wave, he laughed. Did that really just happen? He stood there, staring in the direction where Frenchie had disappeared. His hand was still touching his now ever burning cheek. It's definitely not the Sicilian summer heat.
Adone turned around to see if his mom was still there. No, all he could see was his uncle and some of his cousins. Thankfully nobody was staring any more. He sighed then went off to home. Will he be able to get enough sleep to wake up in time for work? No. Will he be thinking about tonight the whole time? Yes.
(Yep, I got it!)
Frenchie didn't sleep that night. She'd gotten a light lecture from her aunt about disappearing from her own party but in the end gave up and was just glad she'd had a good time and came home safe. But that wasn't was caused her lack of sleep. She kept thinking about the night before, blushing profusely and squealing softly to herself whenever she thought about it.
It had all been so perfect. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. It was something straight out of a romance novel. She certainly wasn't going to complain. Now if only she could repeat it.
(Cool, thanks!)
Of course Adone was given a speech from his mother. It was not long nor was it something that made him want to completely tune out. He was bombarded with questions from both his mother and oldest sister. For example, "Who was that girl?", "Are you two dating behind my back?", and "Did Mrs Russo know that she was with you?". He answered each and every single one then went off to bed.
Except, he couldn't sleep. Adone tossed and turned in bed before picking up a book on the Ottoman Empire. He couldn't read a single paragraph before his mind wandered off to what had happened. At this rate of his face being warm, his mother is going to ask if he has a fever.
Thankfully, she didn't. Adone did pass out, but had to wake up at eight. His mother, grandfather, older sister, and two year-old niece were already up and about by the time he did. He went downstairs in a white tee shirt and light brown khaki shorts, at breakfast, then was out the house by eight-twenty. Adone showed up to the Russo house by eight-thrity five. His job there is anything they need done really; from gardening to cleaning the library to fixing a bike, he does it all. And today, he's starting off with watering the plants.
Frenchie pulled herself out of bed by eight. Usually she would've been up earlier for a morning run anyway. But instead she got up and took a shower, changing into a light green tank top and blue athletic shorts and her hair up in a high ponytail to go do something that could actually keep her attention.
So she was out back when Adone showed up, going back and forth between bouncing a soccer ball on her thighs, feet, and head to kicking it around and shooting on a couple makeshift goals she'd set up. With no shoes, of course. Because shoes are for losers. She didn't notice him walk up, too invested in keeping her ball balanced on top of her foot before kicking it up to balance on her head.
As he stepped outside into the back, his eyes laid on Frenchie. One foot was outside while the other was still inside. Adone stood still, observing her and the football. His focus went between actually watching what she was doing football wise to her. The way her ponytail was bouncing, and the way her hair was shining underneath the morning sun. The tattoo on her arm. The way she isn't wearing shoes but is playing football.
The corner of his lip crept up until he had a faint smile. He said nothing, rather preferring to go on with what he needed to do. Plus, he considered it a game to see how long it would take someone to notice that he was there. Adone bit the inside of his cheek as he went to pour water into the potted flowers nearby.
She simply kept going, too invested on not letting her ball hit the ground. She kept count of how many times the ball bounced under her breath in Italian, she was currently almost at one hundred and fifty. She dropped the ball back down to her leg and cracked her neck with a sigh of relief.
"Shit, my neck is stiff. Damn tall people, making me crane my head up just to look at them. Him and his stupid, cute face. Perché deve essere lui di tutte le persone?"
