Back to Me

The Perfect Moment

I felt someone gently shake my shoulder. I stretched out like a cat as I always do, and that is when I realized I was in a car, opening one eye. I saw John standing outside the car with a worried look. His grey eyes seemed to be searching for something. He had taken off his dark gray suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves at some point. "Are you sure you don't want me to escort you to your apartment, Miss Colfer?" he breathed. It is still strange to hear him call me Miss Colfer.

When Alister insisted I have a bodyguard six months ago, I requested John, thinking it would be less weird, but since the engagement announcement, I have been Miss Colfer. I put all my energy into making a believable smile. "No John, it's late. I know you are ready to head home . Jerry is inside if I need anything. I will be alright ". He gave me a skeptical look before running his hands through his hair several times, giving him a messy look that strangely looked good on him. He loosened his tie and undid his top button. He used to tell me he hated his uniform constricting his neck. This has been the most relaxed and vulnerable he has been with me since the announcement.

Knowing I would not change my mind, he heaved a heavy sigh as he held out his hand to help me out of the car ." Tomorrow is hospital day," I reminded him, accepting his hand before stifling a yawn with the back of my other one. John nodded slightly. I could tell he wanted to say something instead; he walked silently to my building and opened the door for me, never letting go of my hand, which was odd. Jerry was sitting at his desk, half-asleep, watching a tiny t.v with the volume turned down. He jumped slightly when he noticed us entering the building. He nodded to John before smiling at me warmly, turning his eyes back to the tiny TV, looking more awake. " See, perfectly safe ." I smiled up at John. He rolled his eyes at me.

" I will pick you and your Nonna up around noon," he said just above a whisper, dropping his voice an octave and tucking a stray hair behind my ear before turning on his heel, walking back out of the building like nothing happened, leaving me staring after him, wondering what all that was about, shaking off the weird feeling that washed over me. I dragged my feet to the elevator, saying a quick Good Night to Jerry on the way.

I've been trying to keep myself as busy as possible. If I keep pushing, I won't think about it. If I don't think about it, I won't get sad. If I don't get sad, I won't miss him as much. My plan is working, sort of. I have been spending as much time with Nonna as I can. Setting up and advertising for a New Artist has kept me pretty busy. Tomorrow is the opening night for my gallery. I have been at Amanda's right hand since I was 16, but this is different because this time, everything will be in my name. The restaurant being short-staffed has been a blessing in disguise. I grab as many shifts as I can to keep my mind busy. I rarely come home to our apartment. When I do, I shower, sleep, and leave again. I can't spend too much time in the apartment. It's almost like he is a ghost everywhere and nowhere all at once.

I stumbled into my apartment, dead on my feet. I quickly locked my door before dropping my bag and keys. Unfortunately, I missed the table. I left everything lying where it landed. I was too tired to care. I pulled the two pens I had been using as chopsticks out of my hair. I shook out my bun before taking off my watch, lying it with my phone on the table beside my bed before falling face-first onto it. I fell asleep almost instantly, still in my white button-down shirt, black pencil skirt, and heels.

I woke up to my phone ringing. I swatted at it with my eyes closed and successfully knocked it off the nightstand. It quit ringing as I heard it hit the floor smiling triumphantly until it started ringing again. I covered my ears with my hands, trying in vain to stop the annoying sound that would not stop. I finally turned on my very bright lamp to look for my phone. It had fallen on the floor, half under my bed. "If you are not bleeding or on fire, you're about to be, " I growled, turning off my way to bright lamp. You read too many werewolf books when you were younger, Principessa. You got the growl down to perfection, Angelo laughed.

." Describe the perfect moment. "Enzo blurted, with a board tone unfazed by my annoyance or Angelo's dig at my teen fascination with supernatural romances.

"What?" I asked, reaching down and unceremoniously taking off my heels and sighing in contentment as I wiggled my toes "This testa d'osso said the perfect moment would be catching a home run at a Redsocks game. Can you believe that? " Enzo grumbled . I put my phone on speaker before rolling out of bed ." Yes, I can. It's Angelo. I'm surprised he wasn't holding some hand-crafted beer in his other hand," I said, taking off my uniform shirt and grabbing a random tee shirt off the floor. I instantly realized it was Parker's and threw it across the room, wincing and dramatically wiping my hand on my leg, trying to hold back the scream that was bubbling up in my throat.

"I need to clean my room tomorrow." I mumbled, "That is not a bad idea, Principessa," Angelo said. "Bingo" I shouted when I spotted a tank top and shorts on the back of my chair. "What are you doing ?" they asked in unison. "Nothing," I blurted, pulling my shirt over my head. "What about you, Enzo? "What's the perfect moment?" I asked, putting on my shorts. "That's not why we called Kristen," Enzo sighed. I climbed into my bed, rolling my eyes. I have had similar conversations with these two in the past. I knew that the only way to get off the phone and back to my much needed sleep was to answer their random question. I picked up my phone and turned off the speaker, putting it back to my ear.

" In my bed, wrapped in my warm blanket with my eyes closed, nobody asking me anything ." I sighed, snuggling into my pillow and pulling my blanket over my head. "See what you did. You broke her. It has to be around 1:00 in the morning for her," Angelo stated. "It's three, "I mumbled into the phone, rubbing my eyes. Your descriptive abilities are so much better than that spider monkey," Enzo declared, slightly annoyed. Why is he annoyed? He was the one calling me way too early in the morning. Enzo is most likely on his second expresso. It had to be around 9 am in Maremma. Assuming he wasn't working, he most likely wasn't because he was with Angelo.

Sighing once more, I closed my eyes to envision the perfect moment. "I am standing on the beach with sand between my toes. hearing the surf gently break, the summer sun is warming my skin, and a soft, salty breeze is blowing through my hair. Someone puts a drink in my hand as loving, comforting arms wrap around my waist and pull me into a loving embrace." my voice cracking at the end, I cleared my throat, bringing myself back to reality, and waited for them to approve so I could get back to sleep.

I waited for what seemed like forever. I knew the call had not dropped because I could hear people going about their day around them. They are most likely sitting outside a cafe by the sounds of people talking and the road noise. I heard Mona's voice in the background and realized they were at the little cafe down the street from the villa.

I waited for what felt like an eternity, and neither one of them said a word. Finally, after a while, I had enough waiting. "Hey, Mario and Luigi, I'm tired. It has been a very long day tomorrow will be even longer trying to get these photos to sale. I need to get some sleep, "I yelled into the phone, yawning." "You win. That was epic," Angelo said with a squeak in his voice, sounding shocked. "That's why we call the expert," Enzo chuckled , sounding pleased with my answer. "Tell Iz I love her. Good Night," I said, a little more blunt and annoyed than I meant to be. "Get some sleep, spider monkey," Enzo said in a soothing tone before disconnecting the call. I turned off my phone and put it under my pillow. I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.

"That's nice," I said to no one in particular, feeling the warm sun on my skin. I reflexively took a deep breath. Salty air filled my lungs. I could tell I was sitting in a soft, reclined beach chair. I had my big sun hat on my face shielding my eyes from the sun like I do when I'm taking a nap on the beach. I heard the ocean softly breaking. I moved my hat off my face. I was on the beach right outside Nonna's Villa in Maremma. I sat up and looked down at myself. I was wearing a long light white cotton dress. My long black hair was braided over my left shoulder. Putting my feet down, I noticed instantly I was barefoot, feeling the sand between my toes. "How did I get here?" I stood up and walked to the ocean. It felt like there was a magnet pulling me toward the water.

"Beautiful, isn't it, Spider Monkey?" I turned around, and there he was. Enzo is about 6'1 his dark curly hair was down. It was longer than I remembered. It went past his shoulder blades, where I remember stopping, and went to his mid-back, blowing behind him in the breeze. He was wearing a white button-down dress shirt. The top few buttons were undone. He was wearing jeans with the legs rolled up to keep them dry. He had a big smile and his dimples were showing.

He stopped a few feet away" Like what you see, spider monkey ?" he chuckled, raising an eyebrow with a coky expression. It wasn't until that moment I realized I was openly gawking at him with my mouth open. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I found my voice. "Enzo how ?" Not answering my question, he held his hand out to me. I put my hand in his. He pulled me in for a hug before spinning me around to face the water. He pulled me into his chest, warping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder ." What was going on?" I asked, leaning back into his chest more.

He leaned in close, and I could feel his lips on my neck. "You asked me what my perfect moment would be. This is it," I shivered; his lips brushed against my neck as he spoke. I turned my head to look at him. Enzo's lips hovered over mine. I could feel his minty breath on my face. I no longer cared what was happening or how we got here. The only thing that mattered at that moment was his lips on mine. I moved to close the small distance between us.