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1877 Words
They touched down around eight the next morning. After thirteen hours in a plane, Nadia was glad to be at their destination. They had landed in a private airport half an hour outside Rome. Next to the hanger was a large steel building a garage of sorts that had four sports cars parked inside.
Entering the garage, Dane turned the lights on, and Nadia was amazed by the beauty of the cars. They all looked washed and well maintained. “Are these all yours?” Nadia asked as Dane took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked a steel box mounted on the wall. Inside were four sets of car keys likely to the four cars housed in this garage.
“They belong to the family; they are free to use when needed. Like the jet or the houses.” He said taking a set of keys and pressing the remote starter starting up and unlocking the doors to a flashy blue Mercedes-Benz. The headlights flashed as the engine revved up and Nadia felt thrilled. A week ago, she wouldn’t have dreamt she would be standing here in Italy riding around in a sports car with a multibillion-dollar pop star. Her life had taken an interesting turn.
The airport staff removed the luggage from the storage compartment below and placed them in the trunk of the car. Dane then tipped the flight staff and the airport staff and told them to be ready to go back in a week. Then he opened the door for Nadia and got in behind the wheel.
They drove into the city and Nadia was struck by the beauty and majesty of the city. Dane was telling her about all the things to do in the city and promised her they would do it all.
They drove to an upscale neighbourhood where each house was behind a tall stone wall and a locked iron gate. Dane pulled up to the gate and then rolled down the driver’s window and punched a security code into the digital panel next to the gate. Seconds later the gate slid open allowing them access.
The house was incredible it looked old like one of those stone manors old fashioned Lords, and Ladies might have held dinner parties and balls at. The architecture was magnificent. Dane put the car in park just outside the front door and as they got out of the car the front door opened and a man in a uniform came outside and over to the car popping the trunk and taking the luggage out of the car and into the house.
Once inside they were met by a woman in a maid’s uniform. Dane introduced Nadia to the house staff and then the man with the luggage instructed the maid to take the luggage up to the room he had her make up last night. She curtsied and then disappeared up the stairs with the bags.
“Let me show you around.” Dane offered, placing his hand to Nadia’s back as he ushered her through the house. Dane showed her into an old fashioned parlour with a fireplace and a bar with two white antique sofas in the middle of the room facing each other. It was very beautiful.
The next rooms on tour were the dining room, the study, and then the media room. In the study, there were framed posters of the many musically inclined members of his family as well as mounted platinum records and a display case with awards behind the glass. The media room was probably one of only two rooms in the house that was modern with TV, stereo, and game consoles.
The kitchen was in the basement, but Dane said there was no reason to go down there since their servants would be doing all the cooking while they were there. “Do you have servants in all your family houses?” She asked as they mounted the stairs to the upper level.
“We hire an agency to staff our various homes. We pick the servants we like, and they remain on call. When we are here they work and when we are not the house sits empty, and the servants work somewhere else in the meantime. We pay them very well to be on call. The only house we keep staffed year-round is my parents’ main residence in New York.” He explained as he pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
The room was huge and beautiful with an exquisite antique bed. There was a fireplace with crown moulding, and two wing backed chairs facing the fireplace. There was an old wardrobe, a vanity, and a connected washroom with a large clawed bathtub. She’d always wanted to take a bath in a tub like this one. She couldn’t wait to use it.
On the padded bench at the foot of the bed sat both of their suitcases. “I suggest we change and go see the sights.” He said opening his suitcase.
She liked the way that sounded. Nadia opened her suitcase looking through the clothes she brought. Looking over at his suitcase, Nadia realized he had not packed much. “You didn’t bring much.” She noted.
“I have a few things here. I have a few things at all our houses. It makes it so we can travel light.”
“What should I wear? Where are we thinking of going?” She asked sorting through her things as she watched him take a pair of leather pants from his suitcase. She watched as he changed into his fitted leather pants which looked incredible on him. Then he pulled on a grey fitted t-shirt. He then walked over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and opened it up taking out a leather jacket. “You look like you are ready to step out on a stage.” She smiled as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of the jacket.
“It’s a good look ain’t it?” He shot her a cheeky grin. On him it was. Dane came over to Nadia and wrapped his arms around her from behind nuzzling her neck. “Want to fool around a bit?” He purred kissing her neck.
Nadia giggled. “Maybe later. Right now, I want to see Rome.”
“Alright let’s go shopping.” He said moving back to his suitcase.
“Shopping?” She asked looking at him with uncertainty.
Dane smiled at her. “You cannot come to Rome and not go shopping.”
“But I can’t…”
“Consider it a gift.” He said cutting her off. “Now get changed and let’s hit the town.”
***
They had wasted the day away in some trendy shops. Nadia had not wanted Dane to buy too much, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Telling her he liked to spend his money and could think of no better way to do so than to spend it on her. After shopping, they returned their new things to the house and then Dane took Nadia to see the sights.
Nadia had worried that the language barrier might make things difficult but many of the people she met that day could speak English to some degree, and those that couldn’t Dane would translate for her. “You speak Italian?” She had asked surprised the first time he spoke it to a shopkeeper.
“I speak a number of languages.” He had informed her. “We travelled the world as I grew up, so learning foreign languages was a necessity of life.”
“What other languages do you speak?”
“Spanish, French, Russian, and a little bit of Cantonese.”
“Wow, impressive.” He just kept surprising her.
Later that night they had dinner in the restaurant across from the Colosseum. The view was spectacular, and the food was wonderful. They talked about how they would spend their week in Rome. Dane suggested having a picnic in the gardens and taking a tour of Pompeii. But tonight, he wanted to check out the Roman nightlife.
After dinner, they walked hand in hand in through the streets while Dane told her what it was like to jet set around the world as he grew up. Nadia couldn’t stop from smiling. She was content. This was like a real date, and Dane was very attentive and easy to be with.
She couldn’t believe she was holding hands with him and doing so happily. A week ago, she wouldn’t have wanted to be touched, but now she loved the feel of his hand in hers. Somehow Dane had managed to slip under her defences and break down the walls she had erected to protect herself. Somehow, he had brought her out of her shell, and she finally felt free.
Nadia smiled at Dane as he talked his lips curved in a happy grin as he talked about his childhood. She couldn’t believe it, but she was taken with him. She couldn’t believe her luck that a man like Dane could be interested in her in any way. She wouldn’t have thought she of all people was anywhere even close to his type.
***
The week passed quickly, and Nadia was contented with the attention she had been getting. Dane was attentive and focused on her making her feel like she was all he needed despite the ample willing bodies of female fans throwing themselves at his feet wherever they went. It was an amazing week of fun and sun as they toured the city and the countryside.
Dane spent some of their time teaching Nadia a few phrases in Italian. Simple phrases like ‘my name is’ and ‘where is the washroom.’ By the end of the week, she could speak five phrases poorly. When she tried to use them while they were out and about Dane would often snicker at her attempt and then repeat the phrase properly to help her along.
At the end of the week, they packed up their things and Dane paid the staff. They drove back to the airport where they boarded the plane and headed back to the states. Their romantic week away was over which saddened Nadia. She had been having so much fun just being with Dane, no work or appointments. It had been wonderful, and she felt like they had become closer.
It was a pity the week was over because it was back to the grind and from what Dane was telling her once he started production things were going to get crazy. “But don’t worry baby, I’ll make time for you.” He promised with a playful wink. Nadia smiled. She certainly hoped so. Nadia was very quickly falling for this man.
- Writer
