Counterpoints (Counterpoints #1) Page 21

  They called room service a few times, as they figured food would be a great way to stay up. When they had finished their meal, they took their conversation to bed.

  They laid down, face to face, their bodies tired – especially Christopher’s after the race- but their minds were too eager to know more about each other.

  “Where did you go to school?” she wondered at some point.

  Her eyes went from his to the curtain and saw that the sky was still dark.

  The clock on the wall said a quarter to five. She was supposed to be out of there at six. Isabella tried to imagine a little boy named Christopher, so used to a frenetic, gipsy style kind of life, being forced to sit all day at school.

  Now she understood why he hated to stand still, he was so used to travelling and exercising that he just couldn’t stop. Also, to stop meant more time to think and reflect, and something told her that Christopher hated to think things through too much. Understandably, after what happened to his family.

  “Well, at first we lived in Madrid, my mother’s city. My father would travel the world and me and my mom would go see him, when he was in Europe. Then, when I got a little older, we started travelling, race after race” his voice was very nostalgic then, as he spoke about the past and what it was like growing up in the racing environment. “So, I was homeschooled. I had a nanny who taught me everything” he laughed a little.

  “The truth was that my mom was jealous and couldn’t stand being apart from my dad” He grinned. “We drivers are surrounded by temptations.”

  Temptations you say, more like models and grid girls.

  “Really???” she said sarcastically. “Those girls holding the umbrella’s by the way are totally disgusting. So ugly. How do you put up with them…”

  “I like sarcasm on you, Bresciani. Have I ever told you that?” he got closer and smiled to the side.

  “No, you just told me you like white shorts on me” she smiled cheekily.

  “On you, off you…” he let his mind wonder.

  “Well, I am not sure that sarcasm thing was a compliment, but I’ll take it as such anyway” Isabella said, doing her best to hide her red cheeks.

  “It was a compliment” he confirmed. “Anyway, after my father died, when I was twelve, we went back to Madrid. I had already started racing on go-karts and I started winning from the very first races. So I began travelling across the country”

  “It must have been pretty cool to grow up, travelling around the world. You must have met a lot of people along the way, seen so many places…” she wondered out loud.

  “Yeah, I love my life. I loved watching my dad get ready for the race, I was there with him and didn’t dare disturb him. I admired his concentration. He always told me that I was too irrational, all instinct and didn’t spend enough time thinking. He taught me how to concentrate. It wasn’t easy for me at the beginning. I used to lose my focus easily, but thanks to my father’s words of advice, I know how to channel my energy now”

  There was a pause and his face went from melancholic to sad in the blink of an eye.

  “I was there when he died” he added and looked up to see Isabella’s reaction.

  Her attempt, to keep her face neutral, failed miserably when she met his deep green eyes.

  “I’m sorry” was the first thing that came into her mind “I can’t even begin to imagine…” and then she stopped, interrupted by his deep voice.

  “I didn’t know he was dying. I just thought he was going to be really upset because he had lost the race” he shook his head, then smiled a little “I was too young to understand.”

  She nodded and while she listened to his words, Isabella tried to imagine a little Christopher watching the screen, as the paramedics grabbed his unconscious father from the car and took him away, thinking his dad would be upset about losing the championship, when in reality he was losing his life, right there on the same track where he had set his fastest lap.

  She had watched those recordings, the whole world had seen them. A real tragedy that, unfortunately for Christopher, the world still hadn’t forgotten about.

  “What are your parents like?” he asked out of the blue. Isabella widened her eyes. What were they like?

  “My mother is very sweet and outgoing. She is an elementary school teacher in my town and absolutely loves her job and our family. Kids adore her. My father is the opposite, very cold and introvert. He worked for a big company in Rome all his life, he retired three years ago” That was all she felt like saying. What else could she have said? My mother is sweet and naïve and my father is the asshole, who took advantage of her trusting nature and cheated on her, with the same woman for fifteen years.

  Her mother still lived in denial, her father seemed to live his life, without a trace of guilt on his face. Nice family. And then images of her and her father playing football in their garden flashed before her eyes, but Isabella shoved them away.

  Yes, that was all Isabella felt like saying.

  “I bet you are your father’s little girl” he teased and hit a nerve without knowing it.

  “Not exactly” she looked down, feeling a little awkward.

  From her body language, Christopher sensed that Isabella didn’t want to talk about her father, so he didn’t push her. He for one knew exactly what if felt like, not wanting to talk about his father.

  He found a great way to change the subject.

  “You know how hard it is for me right now to lay here and behave?” he moved a little closer and Isabella’s heart missed a beat. Being on a bed with him was hard as it was, but now his hip was attached to hers and the closeness made her head spin.

  “You are not exactly behaving now” she murmured. He leaned over and kissed her shoulder, sending shivers down her spine.

  “This IS me behaving, baby” he kissed her lips gently and then her neck. Isabella tilted her head back a little, welcoming his warm touch.

  “Okay, I’m leaving. I’ll let you shower and get ready for breakfast” he stood up suddenly, feeling the urge to step away from her before he would do something that would upset her.

  It took Isabella a few instants to realize that he had left her side. She stood up too, a part of her wishing he hadn’t behaved at all. Touch me again, she wanted to say but her lips didn’t move.

  They walked to the door and before she opened it, they kissed, a long and intimate kiss. He breathed in her scent and Isabella wrapped her arms around his head.

  “I’ll miss these lips” he said to her.

  “What about my behind? It’s a little jealous for all the attention you are giving to my lips” she teased him and his hand went slowly down her back and brushed against her curves. Isabella smiled and closed her eyes, the pleasure of his touch was impossible to hide.

  “Thanks for inviting me” he said and she thanked him for keeping her company “I’ll call you” he added just before stepping out.

  He looked both ways in the corridor, making sure nobody was in sight. She nodded and they exchanged one more look before he left.

  Maria and Isabella were sitting at the counter, drinking a good glass of wine and hanging out, waiting for Marco- Isabella’s brother – to finish his shift at the local pub.

  After her grandmother’s birthday dinner, Isabella had decided to go out for a little while, trying to stay away as much as possible from her uncle and aunt.

  She was still daydreaming of the night spent with Christopher ,she didn’t want any party poopers to upset her. She had hugged her nan so tight in her arms and had wished her goodnight.

  Still a little jet lagged, Isabella had had a few embarrassing moments since her return home. Just the day before, she had taken a nap after lunch and had woken up abruptly, panicking a little, having no idea where she was nor what time it was.

  Even as she spoke to Maria in the pub, she had a weird fuzzy feeling in her stomach, like she wasn’t supposed to be drinking, like it was morning and it was all wrong. It is all wrong, you are in Eu
rope now, not Australia!

  “So, how are things going?” she asked Maria, after updating her on her last adventure down-under.

  The pub was packed. There weren’t any tables left, so people had started piling up near the counter, standing up with their drinks in hand. Isabella waved to a couple of people as they walked by.

  “They fired me” Maria told her, with a sad expression on her face.

  “Oh now. What happened?” Isabella’s eyes widened.

  She just couldn’t believe it. Maria had been working for the same nursery since she had graduated from high school, for over ten years.

  “They had to cut staff and I got the boot” Maria took another sip of her wine, like she really needed some to wash down the disappointment.

  Isabella shook her head.

  “Assholes”

  “I really thought I’d become an associate, that’s what they told me last year” she shook her head “Now I am unemployed and miserable”

  “You are not miserable, you are lovely” Isabella smiled reassuringly “You’ll find a better job”

  “I don’t want to look for another job. I am going to open my own nursery” she grinned, giving her friend the good news.

  “Wow, that’s huge. Do you know where already?” Isabella started asking Maria all the questions in the world. She was going to open the nursery in six months’ time, near the beach, so during the summer she could organize a summer campus, too.

  She was also going to be holding birthday parties. Maria was so enthused, Isabella listened to her every single word, letting her excitement take the upper hand.

  “This is great news. Congratulations”

  “I am expecting to see you at the grand opening” she winked.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. So, do you have an associate or is it just going to be you?” Isabella put down her glass.

  “Me and Giacomo are doing this together” Maria’s cheeks flushed as she said her boyfriend’s name.

  “Wow” Isabella said to her.

  For the next ten minutes or so, they discussed details of their project together, how this meant they were a serious couple and what it meant in their relationship. It was pure girl talk, during which Maria was at the center of the attention and Isabella didn’t even dare mention Christopher.

  It wasn’t the right time, her longtime friend was going solo, she was opening her own business. It was her moment and Isabella wanted to show her support.

  She was so focused on their conversation, that she hadn’t realized Salvo had walked in the pub, his jacket a little wet from the rain. He was scanning the room, hoping to see someone, someone in particular.

  When his eyes met Isabella’s, a look of surprise and worry at the same time appeared on his face. It was as if he had seen a ghost.

  Isabella gave him a little wave, not sure if approaching him was the right thing to do. He hadn’t been at her goodbye party, he had asked about her but they hadn’t had any contact whatsoever since the breakup, Isabella wasn’t sure of what to do. What do you do in a situation like this?

  Salvo waved back and walked in her direction, a hint of a smile on his lips. Okay, here it goes.

  “Ciao” he said at them both.

  Maria, who’s back had been at the door and hadn’t seen him coming, almost fell off the chair.

  “Oh, you scared me to death” she laughed it off. “Ciao”

  “Ciao” Isabella said smiling.

  It was good to see him, see that he was okay, that he hadn’t changed over the past six months. Salvo was as tanned as ever, even if spring had barely begun, with his natural amber complexion.

  His dark brown eyes rested on Isabella’s warm smile for a moment too long and then he turned his head elsewhere, scanning the room again.

  “Can we talk for a moment?” he asked Isabella.

  Maria looked at her friend, making sure she was okay with it, that she really wanted her to give them a moment together.

  “Sure” and Isabella nodded to her friend.

  “I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be back” and Maria vanished in the loud crowd.

  Salvo pushed his hair back and took a seat on Maria’s stool.

  He didn’t speak, while he took out the phone from his jacket and placed it on the counter. Once he had checked the screen for calls, he looked back at Isabella.

  “I am sorry I wasn’t at the party, before you left” he apologized.

  “That’s okay. I was sorry we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye properly, but I understand why you didn’t come” Isabella smiled but Salvo’s face remained very serious, worried actually.

  “You do?” he asked looking straight into her eyes.

  Isabella nodded and played with her glass a little. She did get it now. After asking herself why so many times over the past month, she started seeing it from Salvo’s point of view: his ex-girlfriend was leaving and maybe he hadn’t been ready to say goodbye then.

  “The important thing is that we are talking to each other now” she smiled at him reassuringly.

  What mattered the most to Isabella was to keep a good relationship with Salvo. She wanted to save their friendship, maybe with time things would be normal again between them. At least that was what her heart was hoping for.

  Isabella hadn’t forgotten all the good times spent together as friends, as a couple. The memories were still very vivid in her mind. Just because you are not in love with someone, doesn’t mean you don’t love him.

  “So, how are things going?” he asked, still a little tense.

  “Good, good. I am a little jet lagged but I am really getting the hang of it” she took a sip of her drink and then asked “What about you? How are things going?”

  For the next couple of minutes Salvo and Isabella spoke about what they had missed over the past few months, Isabella telling him how racing was a man’s world and sometimes it was hard to be taken seriously –no names were mentioned, but Mr. Jenkins had been on her mind- and Salvo told her how nothing had changed much from his side, he was mainly focusing on work.

  “I am seeing someone” he said out of the blue. He stared at Isabella, waiting to see her reaction “I thought you should know, because we have gone public a few days ago” he looked away again and scanned the room. Was he looking for someone? For her?

  “Thank you for telling me” Isabella said to him “I am happy for you, really” and she was, really was happy for him. Salvo was a good guy, he deserved to be happy with someone who seriously cared for him and wanted the same things he did.

  It felt a little weird though to be sitting in the pub with Salvo, talking about his new relationship, but it didn’t hurt. Isabella wasn’t upset and that was the proof she had made the right decision to pursue her career.

  “Have you met someone?” Salvo asked after closing his eyes for a moment, like he really didn’t want to know, but had to ask anyway.

  Isabella shrugged and said “I have, but I am concentrating on my job” Liar, you are so into Christopher. But she didn’t want Salvo to know, not now anyway when things were still a little awkward. The last thing Isabella wanted to do was upset him.

  “Is she good to you?” she asked with a smile to the side. Salvo turned to face her and smiled.

  “Yeah, she’s a nice girl”

  “Good. Do I know her?” Isabella wondered. In the distance she spotted Maria coming back from the toilettes and her brother Marco right behind her, with his jacket on. The shift was over, it was time to take him home.

  “Yes” he told her, his face looked worried again.

  Isabella tilted her head to the side. Who was she?

  “Hey, Salvo” Marco patted his sister’s ex-boyfriend on the shoulder and asked him how things were going.

  Then he turned to Isabella “Ready to take me home? I am exhausted”

  Isabella nodded and took her jacket. She would give Maria a lift home, too.

  “I have to go now, but let’s meet up again when I
am in town. Okay? We can go for a drink, if you want” she said to Salvo.

  “Sure” he said, but the tone of his voice said elsewise.

  Isabella kissed him on the cheek and wished him a goodnight.

  As she made her way to the main door, trying to squeeze through all the people standing with drinks- stopping to say hello every now and then- Isabella turned to look at Salvo once more, happy to have found his old friend again.

  Even though it would take sometime before they could hang out as friends again, Isabella didn’t want to give up on them. Time would help heal all wounds.

  Just as she was turning around again to head out of the door, she noticed a blond woman had walked over to Salvo and had sat on the stool where she had been sitting only a few moments before. Isabella’s eyes widened. They had started talking, her hand was on his knee. And it was Angela.

  Chapter 19

  Could time go by any slower? Isabella wondered. Every minute felt like an hour and every day felt like a week.

  She thought about him again, as she had done so for the past two days.

  His hands in her hair, his voice, his smile, the way he looked at her...

  Tiredness was only partially the reason why she had slept so well on the plane. It was mainly because of the fantastic night they had spent together.

  Isabella thought about Cristina and how shocked she had been, to hear that they hadn’t slept together.

  “Look at him, you ‘just talked’ all night with hottie here?” she had asked the day Isabella took her flight to London.

  They had been hanging out at the airport in Rome, waiting for Isabella’s flight to start boarding. Cristina had been going through a magazine and had shown her friend a picture of Christopher, as to prove she had been crazy not to sleep with him. Cristina was the only person who Isabella had revealed Christopher’s identity.

  “His name is Christopher and it WAS an incredible night, anyway” she made a face and then smiled at her friend’s stubbornness.