The phone number presented an interesting conundrum that Leonardo was still puzzling over the next day. Was it a home phone? If so, he ran the risk of getting someone other than Ezio and would then have to explain why he had phoned the house. He had never been good with lying and with the school year over, it seemed unlikely for a teacher to be calling. That meant it was probably a cell number but that did nothing to ease his nerves. Even though Ezio was not technically his student anymore, Leonardo was still hounded by the fear of being caught with an underage young man. There was no evidence of their one time together but certainly having his cell number would raise a few eyebrows.
“This is ridiculous,” he muttered aloud. “Clearly he wanted me to call or he wouldn't have given a number, and he wouldn't have given out one that just anyone would answer, right? Right.” He punched the digits into his phone and hit “send” before his resolve faltered.
By the third ring, he had completed a mental one-eighty and was convinced he'd dialed the main house. He was paralyzed by the thought that any minute Maria or Giovanni or perhaps even Claudia would pick up and ask who was calling. Hanging up hardly seemed an option either, when most phones these days had caller id. When the possibility of having to leave a message struck him, he nearly dropped the phone. Then the ringing abruptly ended as someone—or something—picked up and Leonardo braced himself.
“Hello?”
He released a silent sigh of relief at the familiar voice on the other end, although it came over the line as a low mumble and barely sounded coherent. Leonardo glanced at his clock, wondering if he'd picked a bad time, but saw it was nearly 10.
“Um, Ezio? It's...Leonardo.”
“Oh. Hey.” It was amazing how much his voice could change over just two words. He sounded surprised at first and then his voice dropped into a softer tone that made a stupid smile break out on Leonardo's face and something flutter in his chest.
“Hey,” the teacher echoed, instinctively adopting the same tone. “Did I wake you?” There was a rustling sound and Leonardo tried hard not to think of Ezio in bed, Ezio moving around under the sheets, Ezio probably wearing very little under the sheets...
“Yeah but I don't mind.” He was beginning to sound a little more awake now. “We had a ton of people come over last night; Federico wanted to throw one last party for me. I drank so much soda I don't think I stopped vibrating from the caffeine until close to 4.” He chuckled and Leonardo couldn't help shaking his head, even though he knew Ezio couldn't see it. “So...what's up?”
“I was calling about your birthday.”
“Yeah?” There was a slightly breathless quality to Ezio’s voice that made Leonardo's pulse leap.
“Yes.” Leonardo licked his lips nervously and struggled on. “I was thinking if you don’t have any plans—with your friends, I mean—I would like to take you out to dinner.” The words felt so awkward, they were nearly painful.
“Yeah, sure! I, uh, I was hoping you’d want to do something.” It was a little gratifying to hear Ezio also stumbling over his words, his blush practically audible through the phone. “And then after dinner…?”
“We’ll talk about that at dinner,” Leonardo said firmly. He'd given this whole situation plenty of thought and vowed that if they were going to do this, they would do it right, like adults. Especially if there was more to the tension between them than just carnal desires.
Fill - Take-home Credit 4/?
2
The phone number presented an interesting conundrum that Leonardo was still puzzling over the next day. Was it a home phone? If so, he ran the risk of getting someone other than Ezio and would then have to explain why he had phoned the house. He had never been good with lying and with the school year over, it seemed unlikely for a teacher to be calling. That meant it was probably a cell number but that did nothing to ease his nerves. Even though Ezio was not technically his student anymore, Leonardo was still hounded by the fear of being caught with an underage young man. There was no evidence of their one time together but certainly having his cell number would raise a few eyebrows.
“This is ridiculous,” he muttered aloud. “Clearly he wanted me to call or he wouldn't have given a number, and he wouldn't have given out one that just anyone would answer, right? Right.” He punched the digits into his phone and hit “send” before his resolve faltered.
By the third ring, he had completed a mental one-eighty and was convinced he'd dialed the main house. He was paralyzed by the thought that any minute Maria or Giovanni or perhaps even Claudia would pick up and ask who was calling. Hanging up hardly seemed an option either, when most phones these days had caller id. When the possibility of having to leave a message struck him, he nearly dropped the phone. Then the ringing abruptly ended as someone—or something—picked up and Leonardo braced himself.
“Hello?”
He released a silent sigh of relief at the familiar voice on the other end, although it came over the line as a low mumble and barely sounded coherent. Leonardo glanced at his clock, wondering if he'd picked a bad time, but saw it was nearly 10.
“Um, Ezio? It's...Leonardo.”
“Oh. Hey.” It was amazing how much his voice could change over just two words. He sounded surprised at first and then his voice dropped into a softer tone that made a stupid smile break out on Leonardo's face and something flutter in his chest.
“Hey,” the teacher echoed, instinctively adopting the same tone. “Did I wake you?” There was a rustling sound and Leonardo tried hard not to think of Ezio in bed, Ezio moving around under the sheets, Ezio probably wearing very little under the sheets...
“Yeah but I don't mind.” He was beginning to sound a little more awake now. “We had a ton of people come over last night; Federico wanted to throw one last party for me. I drank so much soda I don't think I stopped vibrating from the caffeine until close to 4.” He chuckled and Leonardo couldn't help shaking his head, even though he knew Ezio couldn't see it. “So...what's up?”
“I was calling about your birthday.”
“Yeah?” There was a slightly breathless quality to Ezio’s voice that made Leonardo's pulse leap.
“Yes.” Leonardo licked his lips nervously and struggled on. “I was thinking if you don’t have any plans—with your friends, I mean—I would like to take you out to dinner.” The words felt so awkward, they were nearly painful.
“Yeah, sure! I, uh, I was hoping you’d want to do something.” It was a little gratifying to hear Ezio also stumbling over his words, his blush practically audible through the phone. “And then after dinner…?”
“We’ll talk about that at dinner,” Leonardo said firmly. He'd given this whole situation plenty of thought and vowed that if they were going to do this, they would do it right, like adults. Especially if there was more to the tension between them than just carnal desires.