Being His First.
S.L. Man.
And Kailin Gow.
DEDICATION.
To Everyone who believed in me!.
Prologue.
I couldn"t believe that my freshman year of school had already pa.s.sed me by and it was time to get back home for the summer. Part of me was excited, but another part of me was longing to experience something different than the same old, same old that came from being at home. Nothing new or exciting ever happened in my little suburb. Everyone gathered at the country club, talking and acting with dignity, but it was all for impressions sake. Many of them were hardly dignified at heart. Many of them had weaknesses and bad habits, some had abusive tendencies, and some were not the loyal and devoted spouse they appeared to be. For me, that just wouldn"t work. It wasn"t my thing. I longed for authenticity and it was really hard to find it in the environment I grew up in, despite me personally having some truly wonderful parents. Furthermore and sadly, despite loving him, my boyfriend Chase really thought that country club lifestyle was great and ideal. There were plenty of times when I saw how much easier my life would be if I felt that way or was better able to pretend that I did, but the problem was that I didn"t. In a way, I was a pretender like them and that bothered me.
What a year it had been for me at college, too. Dad had suffered his heart attack, making me not regret for an instant that I"d decided against going to Harvard so I could stay closer to home and help him with the import/export business easier. I"ll never forget his words. "That is a big sacrifice to make, Taylor. Are you sure?" I"d replied with the infamous words my dad had said to me throughout my entire life, "First"s always come first." It was his little joke that played off of our last name of First. When I was younger his joke tended to embarra.s.s me, but now that I was nineteen it had become endearing to me, a part of him and very symbolic of our close bond. There wasn"t anything that I would not do to help my dad out and I was excited to be able to spend the summer getting into the nitty-gritty of his business-the one that I would inherit and take over some day.
When I pulled up to the house I was taken aback by the size of it. Yes, it had been the house I"d remembered my entire life, with my parents building it when I was only one year old. However, it was the size of my entire dorm building at college. Coming home every few months made me forget just how s.p.a.cious my accommodations growing up were compared to my dorm room, which also fit another person into it in a fraction of the s.p.a.ce. Being at home had its perks though, s.p.a.ce aside. The tennis court, for example. It was in amazing condition compared to the courts at college, making for a much more enjoyable match when you got to play.
Pulling into my s.p.a.ce in the garage, I decided to save the unpacking for later. I just wanted to get into the house and call Allison, my best friend. I hadn"t seen her in a month and I was longing for some girl time-something we got far too little of now that we were in college. Admittedly, you had to work a lot harder to maintain that 4.0 GPA in college than you did in high school. If I would have ended up at Harvard my life probably wouldn"t have allowed for anything other than school, study, sleep, eat, and wake up to do it all over again.
I walked into the kitchen and froze. Who is that? I wondered. Standing there in front of me was a scrumptious morsel of a man, complete with chiseled body and s.e.xy Italian looks. I had no idea who he was, but if he was new help, my parents had done a good job.
He turned around and looked at me, smiling and showing perfectly white teeth that made his smile really shine. It also created the cutest dimple in his cheeks. OMG!
"h.e.l.lo," he said.
I stared, not able to talk at first. "h.e.l.lo," I finally said. I sounded as shocked as I felt at that moment.
"I"m Salvatore," he said.
"Taylor," I said. "I"m Mr. and Mrs. First"s daughter."
"It"s nice to meet you, Taylor."
Just the way he says my name is disturbingly erotic.
"Nice to meet you, too. What are you doing here?"
"Our parents are business a.s.sociates," he began. "They offered me your guest cottage for the summer so I can finish up my English studies."
"Really?"
"Yes, is that okay?"
"Of course," I said, suddenly feeling self conscious of my every word. "Welcome. Your English is very good."
"Thank you. I"ve been speaking it since I was four; however, I think it can be better so I"m here to make sure that happens."
"Well, good luck," I said. I had to get out of that room. In a matter of a few unexpected seconds, he"d made my thoughts grow l.u.s.ty. "I"m going to get settled in."
"Do you need any help unpacking your car?" he asked.
I looked at him, tempted to say yes, but said, "No thank you. I"ll do it later. I just want to relax a bit first."
"Okay then, Taylor."
"I"ll see you later, Salvatore."
I walked away, repeating Chase"s name in my head. It was not good to ogle over a guy and respond to him the way I just had when I had a boyfriend. I had to remember Chase. Then another thought occurred to me too, one that helped to distract me from thinking about Salvatore"s obvious s.e.xual appeal. I was going to get to have some fun with Allison. I"d really been looking forward to it and having some fun time with her until my parents arrived back from their cruise. I hadn"t counted on having a guy I barely knew, but was clearly instantly attracted to in the house. Thoughts about the parts of him I"d like to know better flickered in my mind. What was I getting myself into?
Chapter 1.
"Hey Allison," I said. "I"m home. Can you come over and hang? I have something interesting to tell you...actually, something to show you."
"Show me? What?"
"You"ll just have to wait and see."
"Unfortunately, I"ll have to wait for two days. I"m in Florida and won"t be back until this weekend."
"What? That is so unfair, Allison."
"I know, Taylor, but I had no choice. My grandma had surgery and my parents a.s.signed me as the one to go and help her out."
"Well, it"s a good reason," I said begrudgingly. "However, it"s still disappointing."
"So, what is it over there that has you sounding so animated?" Allison asked.
"A man."
"Chase?"
"No, not Chase, Allison. His name is Salvatore. He"s from Italy and his parents are business a.s.sociates with Dad."
"An Italian man...hmmm...I can tell from the way you"re talking that he"s a hottie. I"m right, aren"t I?"
"He"s like underwear model perfect. However, I have a boyfriend and I was really looking forward to hanging out with you the next few days until my parents got back, and Chase got into town."
"Try to send me a pic of him, okay?"
"How do you propose I do that nonchalantly?"
"You"ll figure it out. You weren"t the cla.s.s valedictorian for nothing, you know."
"Very funny," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Well, I"ve got to go. See you this weekend, Tay-Tay."
"Alright then," I said. I hung up the phone and sighed. What was I going to do with myself now?
I decided to enjoy some sunshine and changed into my suit and made my way out to the pool, Beat Pillbox in hand, and eager to kick back and enjoy the kick-off to summer vacation, even if it was alone.
I stopped in the kitchen to get a Diet c.o.ke, of course and Salvatore was still in there.
"Would you like me to make you dinner tonight?" he offered.
"You don"t have to do that," I said.
"I don"t have to, but I"d like to. I insist. I"m a guest in your home," he said.
I smiled and saw that he was looking at me from head to toe and suddenly my hot pink bikini made me feel self conscious; almost like I wasn"t wearing it at all. "That would be great. Thank you. Do you know where everything is?"
"Yes, I have almost everything I need."
"And how will you get everything you need?" I asked.
"I think I shall find a way," he said.
I blushed, feeling like he was talking about me. Then I reminded myself that I shouldn"t have such a big ego. He was the type of guy who probably had women chasing him constantly and being Italian he probably chased down plenty of women himself. Real nice stereotype, I thought. Plus, what did it matter because I had my own Chase.
"Well, I"ll see you later then. I"m going out to the pool for a bit," I said.
I walked away and couldn"t help but feel like his eyes were on me. I didn"t dare turn around because I just did not want to know.
Out at the pool, I went right toward the recliner and sunk into the plush cushions, and put on my favorite playlist, a blend of party tunes and songs that made me smile. Then I caught up on a few texts.
Through the corner of my eye I saw Salvatore walking toward the guest house, his summer home. I zoomed in on my iPhone camera and snapped the picture, sending it off to Allison right away. It didn"t take her long to respond either: I claim him when I get back!
I laughed, happy at the thought of my best friend removing the l.u.s.ty temptation of Salvatore from my mind. There was no more sure way to put him off limits than to have her sink her usually hot pink nails into him.
I walked into the kitchen a few hours later, having primped a lot considering I was eating a meal at home with a foreign exchange student I barely knew. Honestly, I had no idea how old he was even.
"It smells great," I said as I walked into the kitchen.
"Thank you. Chicken Ma.r.s.eille," Salvatore replied.
"Yum...one of my favorites."
"I confess. I knew that."
"How did you know that?"
"I was looking for a piece of paper and found Mrs. First recipe for it, marked with "Taylor"s Favorite" on it. My version is different though."
"Well, I look forward to it."
Salvatore turned around, tended to something on the stove top that needed his immediate attention, and I couldn"t help but stare at his b.u.t.t. It was great...one of those b.u.t.ts that wasn"t too flat or too round it was just right. The guy was sickeningly perfect.
I must have drifted off into l.u.s.ty thoughts because I quickly realized that I"d gotten majorly busted for looking at Salvatore"s back side. He smiled, putting his head down slightly. I"d embarra.s.sed him! I couldn"t blame him. I looked like some ogling American boy crazy womanfour words that had never described me before.
"Would you like some cranberry spritzer?" he asked.
"That sounds great. Thanks."
"My pleasure." He made my drink, handed it to me, and said, "Just five more minutes. You can have a seat."
I felt like royalty. I couldn"t recall Chase ever making me a meal. If we dined together it was always at the country club.
"This looks fantastic," I said, looking at the food that was placed in front of me. It smelled so scrumptious.
"Thank you."
"When did you learn how to cook?"
"Mostly from my grandmother. Italian grandmothers love to cook for people-it shows them how much they love them and care. Plus, at one of my summer boarding schools, we had a focus on cooking, and I always have liked being in the kitchen, spending time with our family"s chef, one of my most favorite people growing up."
"Boarding school?" I asked.
"Yes, I spend most summers at boarding schools," Salvatore said.
I thought that sounded so sad, but he seemed really casual about it. Summers had always been my time to do things with my friends and family, enjoying a little less stress and a lot more fun.
"What does your family do?" I asked.
"My parents travel during the summer and when I"m off at school, the house staff tends to all the maintenance and upkeep of the family properties."
"Wow! What is our parent"s work connection?"
"They run The House of Distinzione."
"You"re kidding? That"s my favorite. Every time Dad gets new shipments in I always like to make sure I"m working that day," I said, laughing.