7. Chapter 7
Iwould be more excited for Rome if I still weren’t pissed at Leo.
Every time I think about it, I’m heated all over again.
Was I a little dramatic? Yes, but that’s anxiety.
The smallest things seem so much bigger, and I hate it.
I hate the way it makes me feel, the way it makes me think, and how much it’s taken over my life.
The only thing I can do is fight back against it, but that’s not as easy as people make it sound.
The van finally pulls up to the excursion site right as I’m about to drift off for a quick nap.
I groan quietly as the door flies open and sunlight fills the dark, cool space.
A hand extends for mine, and I reluctantly take it to find Leo waiting on the other side.
He smiles down at me as I push his hand away and throw my sunglasses back into my hair.
Despite helping the other bridesmaids out of the van, his gaze lingers on me pleadingly.
I try to ignore him and focus on calming my nerves for the tour.
The Vespas are all lined up outside of a somewhat large building where a tall Italian man is waiting for us to gather, but of course, Melody and Elijah have that covered as they begin to hustle us forward. The smell of Leo’s cologne finds me before he does as he stands beside me.
“It’s beautiful out here,” he says as he looks between the stone buildings—admiring them.
“It is,” I confirm with a shrug, deciding to play nice for Melody’s sake and my nervous system. I follow his line of sight to a balcony where a few flower beds sit. A beautiful array of pink and yellow flowers brightened the space against the worn stone.
“You must be used to this.” He waves his hands around, gesturing to our surroundings. The architecture, the culture, the people, the smell of freshly cooked meat lingering in the breeze.
“Rome?” I question, raising an eyebrow and slightly delighted that there was something I had leverage on that Leo doesn’t. “You’re telling me you’ve never been?”
“Well, it might surprise you that my parents didn’t make nearly as much as yours at the time,” he laughs.
“Please, you grew up two houses down from us and had more vacation homes than we had cars.”
“True, but never in Rome, or Italy for that matter.”
I look up at him, only this time I catch the glint of mischief in his eye. I shake my head. “Must be an art historian’s playground.”
“You’re telling me.” Leo turns to me, but doesn’t make full eye contact with me.
“I know you don’t really want to talk to me and you’d rather I disappear, but I just want to apologise for yesterday again.
That was messed up, and I should have been more mindful of you and your time. Can we try to start over?”
I look up at him, weighing my options. I should say no and hold a grudge the way I always do, but I know my body will suffer in the process. “I guess that’s alright,” I mutter in agreement.
I stop him before he gets happy, stifling my own laughter at his giddiness to focus on Melody, who commands everyone’s attention to the tour guide as he explains what we can expect and guides us through a demonstration of how to use the vespas.
I can’t help but sneak glances over at Leo.
His excitement seems to vibrate through his entire body and grows stronger by the second.
It’s kind of cute. In fact, this has been the most pleasant interaction we’ve had since we were kids.
Not that his teasing was as relentless as Elijah’s, but I saw them as two peas in a pod—the same.
Seeing him like this, experiencing something new that makes him this excited, is refreshing.
We begin meeting up in our pairs, which somehow Carmin managed to petition that I be paired up with Justin for this excursion.
Giving mental thanks to her, Justin greets me with that flashy smile of his, and I meet his in return.
It almost calms my nerves, but honestly, nothing would.
Not until it was over with no hiccups or fuck ups on my end.
I just need to take my time, not say the wrong thing, and let things happen naturally. I got this.
“Ready for a ride?” Justin asks as he hops onto the Vespa before handing me a helmet and helping me onto the back.
My arms come around him, my hands grazing over the hard muscles of his abdomen that are well defined under his cotton button down.
Biting my lip, I inch closer so that my chest meets his back and I’m able to gently rest myself against him.
This is normal. You’re normal.
“Ready.”
The city whirls past us as we tour around the city.
It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful Rome is.
Every brick, every building, every person has a story.
Painting a picture of a time and place throughout history that breathes life into every part of Rome.
Whispering secrets that only it knows and whisking you away with it.
The perfect place to fall in love, or at least to test compatibility.
We make our final stop at the Trevi Fountain, where people are gathered to take photos and make wishes of their own as coins fly through the air and into the water.
While the fountain holds everyone else’s attention, mine is entrapped by the feel of Justin’s hand in mine as he helps me off the scooter and doesn’t let go as he guides us to the spot near the front.
I chew on the inside of my lip as my heart performs at a rate too fast for my liking, but impossible to slow down.
“Did you hear me?”
“Huh?” I say softly as Justin smiles down at me. “I’m sorry. I guess I was a little distracted.”
“It’s cool, I was only asking if you wanted me to take some photos of you in front of the fountain.”
My brows shoot up as I fluster a response. “Oh, yeah. For sure.”
As I hand my phone over to him, Carmin catches my eye as she gives me a thumbs up and an encouraging smile.
I nod in the hope that it will make her stop looking, but she simply glares on as if we’re the more interesting attraction of our surroundings.
Turning my focus back to Justin, I try my best practiced non-awkward poses that I wouldn’t be too embarrassed if they ever left my camera roll.
Still, the silence as he clicks away is almost unbearable as my words dance on the tip of my tongue.
I take a deep breath to speak, but can only muster up a sigh.
Quickly, I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again as a grain of courage finds root in me.
“Thank you for being my partner today,” I manage and tug at the ends of my hair.
“Of course, it was my pleasure,” he says, handing my phone back to me. “Rome is more beautiful than I remember. You seem to fit right into it too.”
“I do?” My curiosity piques as I move beside him again.
“Well, yeah. Where else would gorgeous women belong?”
If this interaction alone wasn’t going to give me a heart attack, those words did. Fuck my heart.
His eyes seem to linger on me as they move down the length of my body. Is this my imagination? I clutch lightly onto my shirt as I meet his gaze once again and try not to let the roaring sensation of hunger spill from me.
“You don’t have to say that,” I say, my chin nearly tucked into my chest.
He shrugs. “Why not? It’s the truth.”
Suppressing a smile, I return his shrug. “I don’t know what I’m saying. Thank you, though.”
“Trust me. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.” He winks before turning his attention back to the fountain and pulling a quarter out of his pocket and handing it to me. “Make a wish?”
I take it gingerly as our fingers touch, almost lingering before I pull away to stop the stirring in my stomach.
The only thing I can think to wish for is to finally get the guy.
To stop being so nervous and take a chance for once to actually get what I want.
I might need more than a quarter in the Trevi Fountain to make it happen, but I’m willing to try anything.
So I turn my back, holding the coin close to my chest as I focus all my intention on my one wish for this trip.
And I don’t know if it’s the air, the thought of my desire coming to fruition, or the splash the quarter makes as it flips through the air and into the water, but I believe it.
So much so that I surprise myself as I look to Justin and utter words I’d only say in my daydreams.
“Justin, there’s this nightclub on the ship that I hear is pretty cool. And I was wondering if… I wanted to know—if you’re okay with it—if you wanted to join me and some of the other girls there tonight?”
Holy shit. I just said that. I said that, and I didn’t explode. The sky isn’t falling, and I’m not having a heart attack. A small smile forms on my lips as I soak it in and wait for his answer.
“I’d never say no to a night out,” Justin says, and the little girl in me jumps for joy.
My hands clasp together in front of me. “That’s perfect. I was thinking around ten o’clock?”
“Sound even more perfect. I’ll see you there at ten. Do you mind if I bring the guys?”
And there it is, the other shoe. A success nonetheless, as I agree.
I can’t contain the little squeal that escapes me as he stalks off to where some of the rest of the group are.
I can’t believe I did that and it worked.
Although my heart is still beating like a soldier’s boots on the ground, that was liberating.
Had I known it could feel like this, I would have committed much sooner, but it’s better late than never, I suppose.
“Smooth moves, Bishop,” Leo says as he comes up to me with a sly grin.
“Do you ever know how to mind your business?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
He shakes his head, more amused than I’d like. “Never, but I am glad to see you coming out of your shell—blooming like a wildflower.”
“Ha, ha,” I respond dryly. “Well, are you gonna show up tonight?”
“Probably not.” Leo’s smile falters slightly. “I think I need some alone time.”
I search his face, waiting for something to clue me in to whatever weird shift just occurred, but he gives me nothing. “Hmm, well, I hope you come anyway. I have a good feeling about it.”
“I hope it’s everything you hope for.” Leo moves along toward some of the other guys, but something doesn’t sit right with his response. I want to know more, to ask, but our group starts moving again before I can.