Page 22 of Bella Rosa
I lean forward slightly, my meal forgotten. "A lioness. If you had one day left to live, how would you spend it?"
"Sailing. If you could be a fictional character, who would you be?"
I can't keep the smile from my face. "Elizabeth Bennet. If you could pick a superpower, what would you choose?"
"Water breathing. What is the craziest thing you've ever done?"
"Skinny dipping. What's your biggest fear?"
He leans forward even more and shakes his head. "Oh no. You're not getting away with that one. I need details."
I shake my head and laugh as I lean back in my chair. "Nope."
His smile is practically taking over his face. "Ah, come on! You can't tell me you skinny dipped, and not follow through with the story."
It's at that exact moment the waiter decides to return with our check. He rolls his eyes and walks away. I sink down in my chair and do my best to cover my bright red face with my hand.
Matteo laughs as he stands. He holds his hand out to me, "Come on. We better get going."
I stand and gather my things while Matteo pays the bill. Matteo has his hand on the small of my back as he guides me through the front door toward his Vespa.
He leans down and whispers in my ear, "I'll get that story out of you eventually, Rosa. No use in hiding it."
I look up at him and smile innocently, "You'll have to catch me first."
I take off running in the direction of the Vespa with every intention of being caught. He catches me quickly, pulling my back to his chest and lifting me so he can spin me around.
We're laughing so hard I almost missed the thunder in the distance and the rain that is starting to fall lightly around us. We both stop and turn in the direction of the very mean looking storm that's off in the distance.
"Shit," Matteo says, just as we hear another crack of thunder a little louder than the one before. We both turn to see the restaurant staff lock the doors and head to their cars. We are at least forty-five minutes outside of the city. We only passed residential buildings on the way here. This is more of a venue rather than a traditional restaurant, so there's not much around for miles.
Matteo grabs my hand and starts quickly walking to the Vespa. "We've got to hurry if we don't want to get caught in the middle of that storm." We rush to stow my camera away under the seat—at least that compartment is waterproof. We quickly put on our helmets and before I know it we are speeding down the road with loud booms of thunder directly overhead.
I tighten my hold around Matteo's stomach and bury my head as much as I can behind his back.
I jump as a bolt of lightning streaks the sky and lands so close the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There is no delay in the thunder. The storm is here, and I have no idea what we're going to do.
14
Claim Me
Matteo
Whatthehellarewe going to do? We can't stay on the road like this. We're sure to run into some flash flooding or crash because of horrible visibility. I can't believe I put Rosa in danger like this. I knew better. I should have listened to Alda, and not taken the chance with us being so far away from the city.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand as a large streak of lightning goes directly overhead. Rosalie jumps and I swear I'm about to lose my mind. Thankfully, the lightning gave me enough visibility to see a structure just up ahead. Hopefully someone is home and they’ll let us in so we can wait out this storm. I spot a dirt road leading there, but it doesn't look promising. We don't have a choice though. We've got to get off the road.
As I pull around a large tree I quickly realize this place is abandoned. Oh well. This is really our only option at this point. I stop as close to the structure as I can get without getting the Vespa in the weeds. Rosalie jumps off and runs for the building taking her helmet off as she goes. I quickly follow her after I secure the kickstand and place my helmet on the handle bars. It's already soaked, so it doesn't matter that it'll be left in the rain.
I can see Rosalie struggling with something up ahead. Did she drop something? She's going to have to wait until this storm passes to find it if that's the case. The visibility out here is shit. When I reach her I realize one of her heels has sunken down in the mud and she can't free herself. Her helmet is on the ground. She must have dropped it when her heel got stuck.
She doesn't hear me coming from the pounding of the rain so I startle her when I reach down and yank her heel off. I pick her up bridal style and start walking toward the abandoned structure. "We'll get it later. We've got to get inside." She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face under my chin. I feel so much better with her in my arms. Right where she belongs.
There's not a front door, just a hole where one once stood, so it's easy enough to make our way inside. There's debris laying all over the floor. I manage to find what looks to be a handmade bench and some camping chairs in the corner of the room. The bench is almost as big as a twin bed, and looks rather clean. I guess someone has been here more recently than I thought. There's also a few empty beer bottles. Hopefully this is just a hangout spot for some of the local kids.
I sit down on the bench and situate Rosa in my lap. Her legs are hanging on one side and her head is resting on my shoulder. She's shaking, which makes me want to punch something. I should never have put her in this situation. My selfishness could get her hurt. I lied to her earlier. My car has been at home for a few days now. I just didn't want to give up the opportunity to have her close. How could I be so thoughtless?
I pull her close to me to try and get her warm. Our clothes are soaked through. I mindlessly rub small circles on her back. "It'll be okay, Rosa. I won't let anything happen to us. We are safe here." I don't know if I'm trying to comfort her or myself. She shifts in my arms and inhales like she's about to say something. "What can I do to make it better?" I need her to tell me before I lose my mind.
