Page 24 of Better Than Gelato
“I knew it. I knew you would be.” His smile is so big and…genuine. Like it really makes him happy that I’m enjoying this hot cocoa.
It’s dark when he walks me to the bus stop and the streetlamps cast shadows on the deserted cobblestone street. The city lights are too bright to see stars, but a bright moon shines, full and content.
“You’re humming,” Jake says.
“Am I?” I ask.
He nods. “I know that song. That’s Moondance.”
He sings the opening line and then softly takes my hand and pulls me in for a slow dance. I forget to breathe as his arm wraps around my lower back. My heart is hammering, and I’m sure he can feel it. I force myself to take a deep inhale and let it out slowly. His scent, cold lake in a pine forest, makes me lean closer, until I can feel the heat of his skin through his shirt. My body relaxes into his.
His voice is sweet and low, and his breath grazes my neck as he sings. Slow dancing in the middle of the street is not something I do back home. But everything feels different here. Jake sings until the very last line and then hums the last notes. When he lets me go, my body feels cold all the places it was touching his.
“Thanks for the dance,” he says softly.
“You’re welcome,” I say softly.
Behind him, the 27 tram pulls up to the curb.
“Buonanotte,Juliet,” Jake says. He leans in and gives me the softest kisses on both cheeks, sending tingles down my skin like the ripples on the lake.
I climb onto the bus and look at him out the window.Oh man. I am in trouble.
* * *
“Mags!” I practically yell into the phone. “It’s me! Your bestie!” I’m snuggled into my bed on Tuesday afternoon bursting with excitement to talk to Maggie.
“Juls?” There are some muffled shuffling sounds, then she comes back on the line louder.
“It’s me! What are you doing?” I ask.
“Well, it’s 1:30 a.m. So I was, you know, sleeping.”Oh yep, that is definitely her middle-of-the-night voice.
“Oh geez. I’m so sorry. On a scale of one to ten, how much do you need sleep right now?”
“Zero,” she says immediately. “I need zero sleep. Tell me how you’re doing.”
“I went on the most amazing date yesterday, and I need to tell you all about it,” I say.
“Yes! Fill me in. How is Paolo?”
“Oh. Um, it wasn’t a date with Paolo.” I climb out of bed, suddenly feeling too amped to lay there.
“Not with Paolo. Okay, fill me in a lot.”
“Paolo and I are just friends, remember?” I start hanging the pile of clean clothes that have been sitting on my bed for a day. “This date was with Jake.” Just saying his name makes me smile.
“Jake. Wait. Isn’t he the American one?”
“Yes, he is but?—”
“You turned down the sexy Italian, and you’re dating the American?” The incredulity in her voice comes across all the way from California.
“I’m not dating him,” I clarify. “This was our first date. And he is American, but also, he’s kind of great.”
“So is McDonald’s. But you don’t eat there when you’re in Rome.”
I make a growling noise I think she can’t hear, but she does because she says, “Alright, I’ll reserve judgment until I hear the whole story.”
