16. Arianna
SIXTEEN
ARIANNA
“ I s Italy where you want to spend the rest of your life?” Xavier asked me, two hours later. We were in a coffee shop near the bus station, spending our last moments together.
I had already finished my espresso macchiato, and had just taken the last bite of my tramezzini. Xavier was on his fifth.
I thought about his question, though I didn’t really need to. I had answered this for myself a long time ago, but I had been too scared to say it aloud.
I shook my head. “No.”
He nodded. “Where are you headed? What’s your dream country?”
“Maybe Spain. I love Fuerteventura, though I’ve never been there. Just some bits I saw on the internet, and stories I’ve heard from my colleagues.”
“It’s a beautiful place. And it’s always warm.” He smiled, clearing the sandwich crumbs from his shirt with his hand.
“Yeah, but I still don’t know if it’s right to take Giulia away from the house she grew up in. It’s the last thing that ties us to her father.”
“True, but from my experience, she’s also too young to understand that. Are you comfortable there?”
I bit my lip. “Not really. It’s part of the reason why I love my job—I don’t have to be home that often.”
“So, why are you not moving out?” he asked, as if that were an easy thing to do.
“It’s not a decision I can make overnight.”
“But it is. If it makes you happy, it will make Giulia happier.”
My gaze softened. “You think so?”
“Yeah, I do.”
We settled into a comfortable silence, and Xavier’s words had wheels turning in my head. For the first time, I actually considered what it would be like to move out. To start over.
“I’ll go pay,” he announced before he pressed a kiss to my forehead and spun on his heel.
My cheeks warmed. Damn him for being so adorable, respectful, and affectionate.
When he came back, he threw a hand over my shoulder and guided me out of the coffee shop. I knew we were headed toward the bus station so he could catch his flight, and I didn’t like it.
I wanted more time with him.
“Thank you for coming here for me,” I told him.
His hand squeezed my shoulder. “Any time, fire girl.”
Neither of us said anything until we arrived at our destination. His bus would arrive in ten minutes, and for some reason, I felt like I was losing something. Was it the tiny bubble I had been in while he was here? I didn’t know, but I was aware of the fact that I didn’t want it to end.
But it was going to.
Xavier released me, and looked for something in his bag before handing it to me. I frowned when I realized what it was. My fingers curled around the blue material of his jersey, admiring his name and player number. As I played with the material in my hands, the smell of his aftershave wafted to my nostrils.
He smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Would you keep this for me until I get back?” he asked.
I bit my bottom lip. I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this, that I was doing this. But then, who could resist someone like Xavier? His looks and words were charming, he was respectful and caring, and underneath it all, he was a young man with a maturity beyond his years. He was different than I had imagined him at first. I had thought he was a spoiled player with only one goal in mind—getting a girl into his bed every night.
He wasn’t.
With a shaky smile, I accepted his jersey. “Sure.”
He stepped closer, considering his next words for only a moment before his eyes filled with certainty and determination. “Be my girlfriend,” Xavier blurted out.
I almost choked on my own saliva, and froze in place. Be his girlfriend? I was aware this was going to progress to something bigger, but the question took me by surprise. We—or at least I—had just gotten used to the idea of being affectionate with each other in a way I hadn’t been in years.
One part of me screamed in excitement at the idea, but another part begged me to explain what kind of commitment that would require of him. “Xavier, I have?—”
“A daughter,” he cut me off. “I know, and I don’t care. I mean, I do care, but I care in a very, very good way. I love kids, and I'm super good with them. I would fucking love to meet her.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me again.
“And don’t tell me I’m too young, and it’s not going to work, because we both know that’s bullshit.”
Well, I was left with no walls or arguments to hide behind. Those were the only reasons I could rationally argue that he and I wouldn’t work. But now that he’d addressed them? I had nothing to protest.
“So?” He gave me his cheeky grin again, then took a curl of my red hair and tucked it behind my ear. “Would you like to be my girlfriend, Arianna? Would you give us a chance?”
I felt like a giddy teenager, and since I couldn’t form any words, I just smiled.
He looked to the sky and threw his fists in the air, letting out a yell. Everyone turned their attention to us. Some of them were giving us ugly looks, but others smiled at him.
My cheeks were probably burning red, and as I swept my eyes to the ground, I noticed a lizard near my feet. Xavier was still spinning and shouting. When he moved to step closer to me, I placed a hand on his chest, stopping him before he could crush the poor thing.
“Watch out,” I warned him.
At that, he frowned, not understanding what I’d meant until he lowered his gaze. The sound that came out of his mouth next was something I had only heard in horror movies. He jumped behind me instinctually, letting out a scream as his fingers clutched my waist.
Tears sprang from my eyes as I let my laughter overtake me. Who knew someone as big as he was would be so scared of something so tiny?
I placed a hand on my stomach, feeling how his fingers had branded my skin from how hard he was squeezing me. I don’t know how long it took me to calm down, but by the time I had wiped my tears from my eyes, Xavier stood in front of me and cleared his throat.
He had his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but at me. Before I had the chance to say anything, he spoke first.
“As my official girlfriend, can you promise me that we will never speak about this ever again?”