Page 78 of Better Than Gelato
The town of Monterosso is the biggest of the five towns and has the nicest beach. We find a public restroom and change out of our sweaty hiking clothes and into our swimsuits.
Even though Jake and I have been dating for seven months, we’ve never been swimming together. I look at my reflection in the scratched mirror of the beach restroom, and I’m very aware that Jake has never seen me in so little.
I’ve worn this turquoise bikini a dozen times, but it felt different in Southern California. I adjust the bottoms and the top, but it doesn’t help.
“Ragazze, can you help me?” Valentina calls from her stall. I go in and see her struggling with the ties around her neck.
“It keeps coming undone,” she says.
Probably because your boobs are so big.
That seems like the sort of thing you’re only allowed to tease about if you also have big boobs, which I don’t. So I keep my mouth shut. I tie a double knot at the nape of her neck and then we both look at her in the mirror. She’s wearing one of those vintage one-piece swimsuits with the boy cut legs and the sweetheart neckline. She looks like a 1950s pin-up model.
“Do I really have to go out there like this?” she asks.
“Valentina,” I say, “if I had a body like yours, I would only wear that swimsuit. To go to the beach, to run errands, to pick up Isa from school.”
She laughs. “Of course, you have gorgeous long legs.”
“Valentina, you are a total smokeshow. I can’t wait to see Paolo’s face when he sees you.”
Valentina smiles at this. “Yeah, I don’t think men are as critical as we are.”
“They aren’t,” I confirm.
“Are you guys ready?” Carmen asks, coming out of her stall. She’s wearing a coral one piece that’s ruched on both sides, with a colorful sarong wrapped around her waist.
“Si, siamo pronte,” Valentina says. We are ready.
We leave the shelter of the bathroom and walk the sandy path down to the beach. The boys are already there, and they’ve managed to commandeer a couple of lounge chairs and umbrellas. Diego and Jake are trying to make the umbrellas stay up in the sand, so they don’t see us right away. But Paolo, who studiously avoids manual labor, has noticed us and his reaction is priceless.
I wish I had my camera to capture the look on his face. Valentina pretends she doesn’t see him ogling her, but I can tell from her tiny smile that she really does. She walks over to him and says, “Ciao bello.”
And Paolo says nothing because he’s incapable of stringing words together at this moment. It’s hilarious. I wander away from the two of them and head to Jake and Diego. Jake is trying to twist the umbrella into the sand while Diego pounds on it from the top.
“Need some help?” I ask.
“Sure that’d be—whoa.” Jake looks up and sees me. I try to look less awkward than I feel, but I’m not sure I’m pulling it off. I swear I was not this awkward in California.
“You look…You’re wearing…I’ve never seen you…wow.”
“Thanks,” I say and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Nice job getting these umbrellas and chairs. Can I help you get them in?”
“Nope, that umbrella is dead to me now. Sorry Diego, you’re on your own.”
Then he scoops me up honeymoon style and carries me to the water’s edge. I think he’s going to toss me in, but he doesn’t. He wades in waist deep and then gently sets me in the water. It’s cold and my skin breaks out in goosebumps, but it feels good.
We’re only ten yards from the beach, but suddenly it feels like we’re alone. Jake pulls me closer to him, and his chest is warm from the sun. His arms wrap around my waist, and I lean into him. My hands are in his hair and then running across his shoulders, and it feels so good to touch his bare skin, that I don’t even notice when he’s scooped me up again and I’ve wrapped my legs around him like a koala. Suddenly we’re kissing in a way that is not appropriate for public consumption.
Italy has a way of making you feel like you’re in a private bubble, but it’s a trick. You are, in fact, making out at the beach where anyone can see. I muster all my self-discipline and common courtesy and untangle myself from Jake.
Jake lets out a shaky breath. “So that escalated quickly.” He’s slowly moving away from me.
I nod my head.
“So,” Jake says. He’s still breathing heavily.
“So,” I reply.
