Finding Beauty in the Darkness

“I’m fine right here. I can see the television.”

“Not without straining your neck! Look, the bed is huge. I’ll even draw an imaginary line across the middle.”

“Nope.”

“Fine.” I throw the sheets back and climb out of bed.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“I’m not taking over your bed anymore while you sleep on the couch. I’ll find somewhere else to sleep. This place is humongous. Surely, there’s a room that’s not occupied.”

“All right. All right. Chill, woman. I’ll lie down in the bed. Just don’t try anything while I’m sleeping. I would hate to have to handcuff you back to the headboard.”

I roll my eyes. “You wish.”

Gio grunts. “What are we watching?”

“Vampire Diaries. Have you ever seen it?”

“Can’t say that I have,” he responds dryly.

“Ohh! I’ll start it from the beginning. It’s an awesome show. It’s about this cheerleader, Elena. She falls in love with this guy, Stefan, but he’s a vampire.” Gio grumbles something about being too old to watch this shit, but I ignore him. Everyone knows The Vampire Diaries is the shit.

After showering and blow drying my hair, I throw a robe on and head back out to the bedroom. Gio’s on his laptop, typing away with his cell phone attached to his ear and barking orders to whoever is on the other line.

“Okay, Nico. I will see you in a little bit. I know… I know I’ve been MIA. I’ll explain over dinner tonight…okay…bye.” After he hangs up, he looks up realizing I’m standing there.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. That was my brother, Nico. Why aren’t you dressed?”

“Oh! I needed to grab the bags of clothes you had Johnny pick up. Thank you by the way. As much as I love wearing sweats all day, I’m dying to get back to dressing up to leave the house.”

Gio scratches his stubble, looking a little uneasy. I don’t know what the big deal is. He’s seen me naked before, and I’m in a robe. “I’m going to use the guest bathroom to get ready. I’ll meet you downstairs in thirty minutes so we can leave.” He jumps out of the bed, practically running out of the door.

“Okay, sounds good,” I say, but he’s already shut the door behind him.

* * *

We’re in the back of the car on our way to drop off Gio. Johnny is driving and Rome is in the front seat. Gio and I are sitting in the second row and Caesar is sitting in the third row. We pull up to a beautiful hotel and Gio turns to me and frowns. “Caesar and Johnny will be with you at the coffee shop. Please don’t do anything stupid. We don’t know where Weston is or if he’s hired anyone to follow you. Stay with my men at all times. Even if it’s to use the bathroom. After you’re done meeting your friend, Johnny will drive you back to the club.”

I want to make a sarcastic comment, but Gio is wearing his serious-business-mode hat, so I just say, “Okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Wait! Is that your hotel?”

He turns to look at what I’m seeing. Standing about ten floors high, the hotel in front of us isn’t just a hotel. It’s like an Italian paradise in Vegas. While most hotels here are sleek and modern, this hotel gives off a more enchanting, worldly feel. With large white pillars across the front, beautiful green plants and trees surrounding the area, and a breathtaking fountain in the center, this hotel screams class and wealth while still making you feel at home. The balconies facing the street are made up of white wrought iron railings and have planters hanging from each one. The roof is a beautiful royal blue, reminding me of the pictures I’ve seen of many places in Italy.

“Yes, one of them.”

I stare at it for another few seconds. Giovanni and his family have taken the beautiful pieces of Italy and brought them to Vegas. “It’s beautiful, Gio.”

His face stays in business mode but his eyes smile at me. “I’ll give you a tour one day. But right now, I have an important meeting to get to and you have a friend you haven’t seen in almost a year.”

With that, he’s out the door, along with Rome. The ride to the coffee shop is quick and quiet. When we arrive, I spot Amber immediately and jump out of the car. Johnny calls my name, but I ignore him, too excited to see my friend. Amber sees me running, and just like in those movies where the guy and girl run toward each other in slow motion, we run at each other. Only when we meet and our arms go around each other, we topple to the ground laughing. We hug each other on the ground, both of us in tears but grinning.