Page 22 of Alessio

“Perhaps it was written with the intention to put yourself in their place.”

Ginevra paused the game and turned to give Alessio all of her attention. A small smile curved her pretty, pink lips, and the sly glint in her eyes only added to the appeal. Alessio stared back, engrossed in the conversation, and unwilling to back away.

Good, Corrado thought. Now he can see why … maybe.

There was something about Ginevra.

Something that fit.

Not just him.

Alessio, too.

“Maybe, it was written like it was,” Ginevra said, “because the author wanted to write it for you, for me, the man walking down the street, or the woman sitting on the bench in the park … for my friend at college, or the professor at the front of the class. For anyone. So, every person could see the words and put themselves there. Because once a name gets attached to a book, whether we mean to, we put a face and a person to who wrote it, or what we believe about the person who wrote it based on the penname they chose, and what it means. Like this, we read it differently.”

Alessio relaxed into the couch, considering. “Huh.”

“And they could still be talking about the color yellow, and not something else, so …”

“It’s sunlight, Ginevra.”

“Says you. Not once, in any of the four stanzas, does it reference the sky, clouds, the color blue, and it doesn’t even use words like overhead, or up above to make us think high, like the sky. So, no, it doesn’t have to be the sun just because you want it to be.”

Her argument made, she went back to her game, unpausing it and clicking away at buttons on the remote.

“Jesus Christ,” Alessio muttered, turning his attention away from her only for his gaze to land on Corrado in the hallway. For a brief second, something unknown flashed in Alessio’s eyes, almost like he didn’t know how to feel about the fact Corrado was there, watching them. Just as quickly, something else replaced it. Cunningness. “Looks like we have a visitor, Ginny.”

She peeked around the edge of the couch, craning her neck just enough to see Corrado in the hallway, before going back to the game. “Seems so.”

Corrado put his focus on Alessio, for the moment. “The haircut is new.”

“I like to come back with something new, don’t I?”

Ginevra passed a look to her companion on the couch. “What does that mean?”

“It means he changes his appearance with different things when he’s away on …” Corrado considered his words, and how he wanted to say that. “… a job. That’s how he got the piercing in his nose, the ones in his nipples, the second sleeve of tattoos, and more. Sometimes, he keeps them, and other times, he doesn’t. All depends.”

Alessio grinned over at Ginevra. “Reminds me of where I’ve been.”

“Except you didn’t really leave, did you?”

Just like that, Alessio’s smirk faded away as his gaze turned back on Corrado. “I wasn’t here. Same difference.”

“According to you. How are my parents?”

“Fantastic.”

Corrado nodded. “Good. And, if you want to be here, you don’t have to trick me away, Les.”

“Or you shouldn’t keep falling for it.”

The snickers from the woman on the couch made Corrado narrow his gaze. Alessio’s smirk was back in place, like he enjoyed this.

“What are you two doing?”

“Reading poetry,” Ginevra said, although he couldn’t see her now she’d slid lower on the couch.

“And gaming,” Alessio added, “or she is … she beat your score, too.”