MARCO

The DRAGON'S DEN, San Francisco City

I felt a bit uncomfortable when I saw the club from outside, an old dingy building at the dark side of the City. But the rock music coming from inside and the curiosity let me win my doubts and I followed Sally, as she entered the club excited. Holy shit! There were a lot of people in the club, but I could barely recognize them, since the air in the club was opaque due to the many smoke ...They were not only smoking cigarettes, but also weed; I could smell it! We arrived at the bar; a group of boys and girls were standing there, smoking and discussing something. "Frank!" As soon as Sally called out his name, a tall guy with black hair turned around and came towards us, with a large smile on the face. "Hey Sally, finally you're here! I've missed you." Frank said with a warm tone in his voice. The way he was looking at Sally told me more than thousand words: he was in love with her!

"I've missed you too, Frank!" Sally whispered, then she kissed him and while he was kissing her back, he pulled her gently into his arms. Oh my God; they were so cute! After a few seconds, Sally turned to me and I noticed that her cheeks were blushed and her eyes glowing. It warmed my heart to see her that happy! She winked at me and I giggled . "Frank, here she is: my bestie Sofia!" Sally introduced me to her boyfriend. He looked at me curiously with his grey eyes and yes ... He was really handsome! "Hey Frank; nice to meet you! Sally has told me so much about you." I said a bit shy and he winked at me. "I'm glad to finally meet the best friend of my girl! Welcome to the Dragon's Den, Sofia!" Frank smiled, before pulling out something of his pockets: two cigarettes! "Do you want a cigarette; Sally, Sofia? There's a bit of weed in it ... "

I was speechless: was he seriously offering us a joint? I should have known better before coming here! Sally accepted the cigarette without hesitation; I looked at her in disbelief, while she was smoking the joint. "Thank you, Frankie boy, the stuff is so good!" she told him satisfied and he giggled, before taking a deep drag on his cigarette. I felt the anger building up in me; how could Sally be so stupid and smoke a cigarette with weed, even if it was her boyfriend giving it to her?! I cleared my throat, catching Sally's attention. "Have you lost your mind, Sally? I can't believe that you're smoking weed!" I was very nervous, but Sally just rolled her eyes at me! "Don't worry, Sofie! It's only a little quantity of weed; you can't get addicted from that." she assured me. "Do you wanna try the stuff? You can take a puff at my cigarette." Sally smiled and Frank looked at me full of expectation; now I was really pissed off! "No! You know exactly that I don't smoke, Sally ... certainly NOT a joint!"

Sally was hesitating for a moment; then she threw the cigarette on the floor and crushed the butt beneath her heel. I smiled at her in relief, but then my attention got distracted ... I noticed someone leaning against the entrance and looking in our direction! My heart skipped a beat, as our eyes met: the guy was very tall, with large shoulders and light brown hair. He was wearing a dark brown leather jacket and black jeans. Gosh, he was beautiful! He was actually coming towards us; the way he was moving; confident and elegant ... so fucking sexy! "Hey Frank!" He greeted his friend and just for a second he interrupted our eye contact. "Hey Marco!" Frank answered him. Marco turned towards me and only in this moment I noticed that his eyes were deep blue; blue like the ocean! Holy shit; I had definitely a weakness for blond guys with blue eyes. He seemed to be amused; I realized that I was staring at him all the time ... What should he think of me; I was acting like a chick!

"Hey!" I said a bit shy. He just raised his hand in greeting, but didn't say a word; I noticed that he was checking me out. Any other guy would make me feel uncomfortable, but Marco was curious and discreet at the same time and there was something in his blue eyes that made my heart beat faster: sincere admiration?! Gosh, he was gorgeous and I wanted nothing more than knowing him better! Why didn't he speak to me; maybe I should say something?! All of a sudden the smile disappeared from Marco's face; he took a deep breath, then he turned away. What the hell was happening now?! "Do you have a joint for me, Frank? I need one right now!" he asked his friend and Frank nodded with a smirk on his face. "You're lucky, Marco, this is the last one! I guess I must buy new stuff later."

Frank took another cigarette of his pockets and gave it to Marco, who started smoking immediately. He didn't look very happy while he was taking deep drags on his cigarette. I couldn't believe my eyes: the guy, that catched my attention from the first moment, was drug addicted! I couldn't help myself, but feeling really disappointed. I sighed loudly and Marco looked at me with a sad expression in his blue eyes. "What is your problem, huh? You were just checking me out without saying a word ..." I said angrily. "Do you prefer smoking a joint instead of talking to me? Poor Marco!" He coughed, then he looked away embarrassed. Silence! Marco didn't say anything and I realized that I hurt him with my words: Sometimes I hate myself for not thinking before speaking!

Marco lifted his gaze and looked straight into my eyes; there was so much sadness and pain in his gaze! It was touching my heart and I held my breath for a moment. Suddenly Marco turned around and walked away, leaving me behind completely confused. What was about that guy?! I was lost in my thoughts; then I felt Sally softly caressing my back. "Hey Sofie, why don't you go after Marco?! He looks sad; maybe he needs some company." she said with an encouraging smile. "And he's fucking hot, isn't he? What are you waiting for, sweetie?!" I shook my head. "Gosh Sally! I don't think that Marco wants my company; he didn't speak one word with me!" Though Sally was doing her best to cheer me up, I felt the need to be alone for a moment. "I've to use the bathroom. See you later!" I gave her a little smile, before leaving the room.

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Ten minutes later I was walking along the corridor from the ladies' room back to the club, when I noticed him ... Marco was standing near to the club entrance, checking on his phone. He couldn't see me, since he had his back turned towards me. I wasn't in the mood for speaking to this guy without getting answers! If I managed to sneak past him, maybe he wouldn't notice me?! I tried my best not to get noticed while I was walking on my toe tips to the door; I was reaching for the doorknob, when I heard his deep voice behind me. "WAIT! Wait a minute, please!" Shit! I took a deep breath, then I turned around and looked straight into his blue eyes. Oh my God! He was staring at me so intensely that I blushed; I could feel my cheeks burning! I took another deep breath to pull myself together. "What do you want, Marco?" I crossed my arms, waiting for his answer.

As it seemed, I wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed! "I, I'm sorry; I didn't say a word before! I was only focused on getting that fucking joint." He explained, while he was running his hands through his hair. Gosh, he looked hot! But I was still confused and wanted to know more ... "You know what's the problem, Marco? Your friend Frank offered the stuff also to me and Sally." I said angrily. "And Sally accepted it! I care about Sally and I don't want her to get addicted!" I gave him an angry look and Marco coughed nervously. He seemed to be lost in thoughts for a moment, then a smile lighted up his beautiful face! "Don't worry, piccola! Frank might be an asshole sometimes, but he really likes Sally." He leaned his arm against the wall, just above my head, and came closer.

"He gave to her a cigarette with a small quantity of weed; she won't get addicted!" Marco assured me; my heart was beating faster as he gave me a sheepish smile! "I still don't know your name, piccola!" Holy shit! He was calling me "piccola" with a perfect Italian accent; was he Italian?! "My name is SOFIA!" I answered with a little smile. "SOFIA! This name suits you perfectly; a beautiful name for a beautiful girl ..." Marco winked at me and I was literally melting away. "Why don't we go inside and sit down somewhere? We can talk and know each other better." Marco was looking at me expectantly. "I think it's a good idea, Marco!" He laughed and I was laughing with him, then we went finally inside.

As we came to the tables, we found Sally and Frank making out intensely! They were lost in the heat of the moment and didn't even notice us ... We decided to sit down in another corner to give them some privacy. As soon as we had taken our places, I couldn't wait to ask him: "May I ask you something, Marco?" Marco smiled happily. "We are here for talking: just spill the tea, piccola!" I giggled. "Hey, you called me again PICCOLA! Your name is Italian, you speak Italian ... Are you Italian?!" I was dying to know the answer! Marco coughed nervously, his face changed expression. What the hell happened now? Why was he looking so sad again, all of a sudden?! I was feeling unsure. "MARCO?! Is everything okay?" He shook his head. "Not really! But to answer your question: I'm an US citizen, since my dad is American ..."

Marco was breathing deeply. "My mum is Italian! My parents divorced ten years ago and my mum returned to Italy!" Oh no! Marco was one of those kids who was forced to live with ONE of their parents after their divorce. I took a deep breath. "Why did your mum return to Italy? I mean; without YOU?!" I asked sadly. "My brother was born, when I was six years old. After his birth, my mum got sick! She suffered from a strong depression and the best way for her to recover was returning to Italy." I watched him with a mix of emotions, while he was telling me the sad story of his childhood. "My dad is George Williams, he's the owner of Williams Software Inc. and he's a fucking work alcoholic! All he cares about is the company and money, always money!" Marco was very angry now; I noticed him clenching his fists!

But that was not the reason I was looking at him in disbelief: he was George Williams' son, heir to Williams Software Inc.! Wow! But it was obvious that Marco wasn't happy with his life, he hated his dad ... "Though my mum pleaded him to move with her to Italy, he refused leaving the USA and his company! After a few years, my mum got used to live her life in Italy without my dad." Marco cleared his throat a few times, before he continued speaking: "When she asked my dad for the divorce, he tried not even to change her mind! My dad had already met another woman, they got married only one year after the divorce."Marco seemed to be exhausted; he was breathing heavily. "Unfortunately, my dad got the custody of me and so I was forced to live with them!" I noticed his amazing blue eyes filling with tears; oh no!

I could not resist to take his hands in mine; the feeling of the warmth of his hands was touching me deep inside, though I met him only two hours ago ... Marco looked at me, forcing himself in a little smile; I was amazed by the intensity of his blue eyes! He was so fucking beautiful ... and so unhappy; he was probably taking drugs to forget. I cleared my throat. "I'm really sorry, Marco! Hopefully you're feeling better now, after opening up to me." He nodded, still holding my hands and caressing softly the palm of my hands with his fingers. Oh my God! I tried to focus on our conversation, though my heart was beating like crazy! "What is about your mum? Do you visit her sometimes in Italy; it's such a beautiful country!" I winked at him and he laughed.

"Yes, of course! I'm spending every summer break in Italy, with my mum and my brother." he told me. "They're living in Lucca, in Tuscany and yes ... it's the most beautiful place in the world!" Marco was looking at me with a smile on his face; he was just gorgeous! "Thank you for listening to me, piccola! What about you; I guess you've a perfect life!" He winked at me and I giggled. "I wouldn't call my life PERFECT! My family is okay, my parents are both vets." I told him. "They met in Berlin at University, since my mum decided to study there; she's from Louisiana. And my dad is German! I've a ten-years-old brother, his name is Sven. This is MY story!" I laughed; Marco was laughing with me and in this moment I was just happy. "Very interesting! I guess you're coming more after your Southern mum; with a touch of exotic." He winked at me and I blushed!

After a few seconds I checked the time on my phone and was shocked: it was already very late! "What a fuck! It's half past midnight! I must be at home at 1 a.m." I exclaimed; I was looking around, but couldn't see Sally nowhere. Where the hell had she gone?! Marco noticed my discomfort. "Sofia? Are you looking for Sally?!" he asked me. "Yeah, I can't see her anywhere! I came to the club with her in the car; what shall I do now?" I sighed heavily. "Probably Frank has taken her to a place, where they can make out undisturbed!" Marco said with a smirk on his face. "But if you want, I can take you home, Sofia! I have a motorbike ..." I laughed happily: a motorbike! Wow! "Thank you, Marco! I will quickly text Sally that I'm leaving the club with you." I sent the message to Sally, then I left the club with the guy I met only a few hours ago ...

Later, while we were driving home on Marco's motorbike, I pressed my body closely to him and wrapped my arms around him. That feeling, the wind in my face, while Marco was driving fast, was unbelievable. I was really happy and I felt that something beautiful was beginning ... with Marco!

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