He heard a car pull up and a car door close so he walked to the window to see if it was Felix. The driver walked around the car, opened the back door and a girl stepped out. “The hell?”
Gio couldn’t see very well due to the window fogging up already and the snow still coming down pretty densely. From what he could see, she was glammed up just like all the other girls he ever saw around Felix. But why would she be here now? Felix said he wouldn’t be up until later tonight. Then Gio remembered. I’ll make sure you have company. “Ah hell.”
He’d planned on checking out the rest of the compound. He’d gone straight in when they got here but he’d gotten a glimpse of the other cabins out there. Most importantly, he was anxious to check out the gym. If this main house was any indication he was sure everything in the gym would be state-of-the-art. If this was what he was thinking he’d now have to deal with the awkwardness of hired entertainment instead.
Gio waited in his room for a few minutes trying to think of how best to handle this. Even when Felix had mentioned making sure Gio had company he didn’t think he was serious about hiring anyone for him. He’d heard some of Felix’s crazy stories and he had a feeling they might get a few nights of fun with the snow bunnies, but he wasn’t expecting something this soon.
He froze when he walked into the front room and saw one of the most breathtaking girls he’d ever laid eyes on. She’d just taken off her beanie and scarf. She stood by the door, her dark hair a bit undone, looking a bit startled herself.
Gio gulped, now not sure if he wanted this or not. He’d never been with a hired entertainment of any type and wasn’t sure exactly how this worked.
“Hello,” she said, speaking up first. “I’m Bianca. Felix’s… um, girlfriend.”
Gio let out a breath. Although he was a tiny bit disappointed she wasn’t here for him he wasn’t ready for the stress of having to figure out how to go about this. Felix had talked about some crazy shit he’d done now that he had access to so many women.
“Hi.” He took a few steps, meeting her halfway and pulled off his beanie before reaching out his hand to shake hers. “I’m Gio. I’ll be training with Felix.”
Now that she was closer, she looked familiar and Gio cursed himself for never watching any of the celebrity gossip shows. He should have anticipated this—done his homework. As stunning as this girl was she had to be a model or celebrity of some kind.
Her eyes brightened suddenly bringing more emphasis to how big and nearly black they were. She had to be a celebrity. Only they had amazing perfect smiles like hers. Damn, how did Felix keep his cool being around women like this all the time?
“I remember you!” she said smiling.
Gio blinked cluelessly feeling a little panicked. Could it be possible that Felix had already brought her around and he didn’t remember her? There was no way he wouldn’t remember this girl but the name did ring a bell.
“You’re Giovanni Bravo, Felix’s friend from high school, right?”
Gio nodded, still having no idea who this gorgeous thing was and how the hell she knew him but the more he looked at her the more familiar she seemed.
“I’m Bianca Rubio from high school.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure you don’t remember me. You were the popular heartthrob and I was the tomboy softball player.”
Suddenly it hit him and his mouth fell open. “Bianca?” Unbelievably, her big eyes got even bigger. “World History, Bianca?”
She laughed. “Oh my God, you actually remember?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He looked her up and down remembering her hair was always in a tight ponytail. It was down now and went almost to her elbows—as dark and straight as he remembered. He took her in completely from top to bottom. “Wow, you look so different.”
Did she ever. He thought she’d looked familiar but he would’ve never put two and two together. She looked too damn different now. In high school, she was just one of those girls that, save for those big eyes, went unnoticed for the most part. She was quiet, kept to herself. The one thing he remembered about her most was how hard it was for her to contain her laughter once she got going. It was absolutely contagious and the best part was he could tell it embarrassed her which always made him smile.
She sat next to him in World History class senior year and he often had to borrow her notes or paper or even a pencil. She’d always been so nice about it, too, rolling her eyes playfully but never refusing.
He also remembered feeling a little disappointed when she often had to leave early because she was on the softball team and had a game.
“I was surprised when Felix remembered me but I’m even more surprised you do.”
“Why’s that?”
She’d begun to remove the layers of clothes she wore. “Because you were so popular with the girls, how in the world would you remember all of them? Especially one you hardly knew.”
Gio smirked. “Actually, you looked familiar to me I just couldn’t place you. But you look so different now and I’d never seen you like this.” He pointed at her hair and then down the front of her. “All done up. I was thinking Felix had hooked up with a supermodel or something.”
Unlike most girls who might’ve blushed at a comment like that, she just smiled and tilted her head. “I’m sure he’s had his share of supermodels, Gio. Don’t remind me.”
It hit him just then. She actually did consider herself Felix’s girl. He thought of the girl Felix had just brought to the gym last week and for a second felt a little bad for Bianca.