There’s a quiet, intense argument between them, about who I’d be leaving with while the piano continues to play.
“Enough,” I snap underneath my breath. “I am not a piece of property, and neither one of you get to decide who keeps me!” I fling the napkin I forgot was in my hand to the table, and then I walk out with my head held high.
In the hall, both men catch up to me. Tullio takes one side and Giordano takes the other. We stop. They are both looking at me like I have to make a decision. I cannot. I look into both of their eyes and cannot tell either of them no.
The attraction to both is sudden and fierce, and I do not know either one of them beyond that.
“This is not a good idea,” I say. “It was a pleasure to—”
“Date us both,” Giordano says, “before you choose.”
I look at Tullio. He nods.
“What happens after I choose? If I choose?”
“You marry the man you choose,” Tullio says.
I laugh a little. “You have only met me once.”
“Once is enough,” they both say at the same time. Then I catch the way their eyes lock into something that makes my heart race in a panicky way. It is a look that reminds me of the beginning of a war.
I tell them both no and bid them a goodnight, but the next morning, Tullio is waiting for me outside of the hotel. That night, Giordano is waiting for me after my shift is over. This goes on for a week, and by the end of it, tension is growing inside of me like the pressure from an oncoming storm.
Both men keep their distance from each other, but I know the idea of me choosing between them hasn’t been lost. And the fearful truth is…I’ve fallen in love with both of them.
* * *
At the endof that week, I am on my way to deliver towels to a room that needs fresh ones. It’s dark outside, except for the full moon over the Ligurian Sea. It’s so bright its light ripples over the water, giving life to a usual void when the moon hides.
My mind is in chaos, my heart is at war, and my stomach is in knots. I barely remember leaving the towels as I make my way down the hallway, going to the front of the hotel.
I stop short when two figures on opposite sides of the hall are waiting for me.
Tullio stands on one side and Giordano on the other.
Their eyes are bright, eager, almost hungry for an answer from me.
I know if I choose, I will lose them both.
One will kill the other, and I will resent the other for it.
They’re both in love with me. Both men told me so.
I told both men I loved them back but made no secret of my feelings for either. I love them the same, but in different ways, and together they own my entire heart. Without one man, I will be left with only half a heart.
I stand between them—always between them it seems—and shake my head. Before I can speak, they start to shout at each other. I stand in front of Tullio, stand on my toes, and press my mouth to his.
It’s the first time we’ve kissed.
I’m starting to lose myself in it when I sense Giordano lifting his arm. He has his gun out, pointed at us, but I force myself to break the kiss and turn to him. Tullio tries to stop me from facing his barrel, but I lift my hand, telling him to wait. The hurt in Giordano’s eyes almost makes me whimper, but when I move his gun and say, “he saw me first, it is only fair,”and I take his shirt, pulling his lips to mine, he gives me what I want.
His mouth.
Two men.
Two kisses.
And nothing has changed.
