“Hey, sorry to bother, but…”
“Don’t apologize. Do you need something?”
“I was in the garden, about to leave, when I noticed the light was on.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “You know, everyone’s gone into town to see the fireworks. You don’t want to come along?”
“Yeah, Lucas is going to come pick me up when his shift ends.”
“That’ll take hours! Why don’t you come with me? We’ll go to the restaurant, see everyone else there, and have a drink.”
“Sure,” I agreed, beaming, and told him, “I j-just need a moment.”
I hurried off to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. I sprayed on a little perfume and tried to find my sandals in the bedroom. I looked all over for them before remembering I’d taken them off in Lucas’s room. When I crossed the living room on my way there, I found Giulio looking around curiously.
“Sorry,” I told him, “just a sec.”
“No rush.”
I stepped into my sandals, which were lined up by Lucas’s bed, and stumbled out to find Giulio standing there grinning.
“What?”
“Nothing!” He shrugged.
When I saw the mischief in his eyes, I chuckled and said, “Yeah, it’s exactly what it looks like.”
“I know. I’ve known for a while now.”
“How?”
“I pay attention to details,” he said.
“What do you think, then?” I don’t know why I asked him that. It wasn’t anybody’s business, and I didn’t know why he should care.
“You and Lucas being together? Why would I get in the middle of it?”
“Sure.” I grabbed my purse and dropped the keys inside. “Ready,” I told him.
The restaurant patio was so packed that it took us several minutes to get inside. Giulio went looking for Dante and I stayed by the door. I noticed Lucas long before he noticed me. He was walking back and forth behind the bar, pouring drinks, opening bottles, clearing glasses. He had the same smile as ever on his face. I wanted to rush over and kiss it.
A girl walked up to ask him for something, he bent down to hear her better, and in that instant, our eyes met. Seeing him smile at me, I thought I would explode inside.
Lucas got his coworker to assist the girl, walked out from behind the bar, and approached me.
“Hey, sorry,” I said. “Giulio stopped by and convinced me to…”
I couldn’t say more, because his lips pressed into mine, silencing me. I felt our tongues touch, and the entire world vanished. My feelings for him crested like a high wave on the sea, trapping me, swallowing me, dragging me off in their current. As I caught my breath,he took my hand and muttered into my ear, “Come on, I’ll take you to where everyone is.”
I followed him onto a porch where a table had been placed. Everyone from the building, even Julia’s nephews, was there. Catalina waved at me and motioned for me to sit beside her.
“Are you hungry?” Lucas asked. I nodded. My stomach growled at the smell of food in the air. He told me he’d bring me something. As we talked and joked, time flew by. Giulio soon joined us with a tray of pastries in his hand, and Lucas came and sat next to me, draping his arm around me and pulling me in for a kiss on the lips. That was the first time we’d done anything like that in front of everyone else. Revealing that we were more than roommates, more than friends. I could feel everyone looking at us and hear their giggling, and I noticed Roy nudging Julia in the ribs.
“I told you,” he said proudly.
I understood better than ever then what Lucas had said to me that first day:The people who live in this villa are like a big family. When they say hi because they run into you on the landing, it’s not just good manners. We truly live together here, and we share our days with each other.
I felt so thankful to have them in my life.
Not long before midnight, Dante walked out and sat next to Giulio, and I observed them: the way they looked at each other, the way they smiled, the way they seemed to become one person when they touched. It was nice to see them together, to see what real, lasting love was like.
