Sand Castle : Chapter 3

My mobile phone rang and woke me up around noon. It was my mother. Before I came to Italy, I promised her I'd call home every day, but yesterday I broke my promise, and she got worried about why I didn't call her. She is still treating me like I'm five years old.

Yesterday with Tom, I forgot about the time, and I forgot that I have a family. Yesterday, I forgot about the entire world. I lied to my mother that last night I was at a concert with my friends from the course, and we stayed out very late. I also told her I'm fine, and she doesn't need to worry about me. At that moment, I was more than fine. Tom was lying next to me, still sleepy, looking at me with his beautiful blue eyes.

"Good morning," he said with a shy smile after I finished the conversation with my mother.

"Good morning!"

"Holly Molly, it's almost one PM. I should have said afternoon," he said when he saw the time on his watch.

"Sorry, it was my mum," I apologized.

"I don't know what you were talking about, but I figured out that it was your mother. It was about a time to wake up. How are you feeling this morning?" he asked me, and he kissed my shoulder.

"I'm okay."

"Even if it's lunchtime, I'll order breakfast. I'll have an omelet, bacon, orange juice, and coffee. What do you want, Nina?" Tom said, getting up from bed.

"I want the same."

While he was ordering breakfast over the phone, I was sitting in bed, wrapped in a sheet, thinking about the previous day.

"We have time to take a shower before breakfast arrives. You go first, Nina. Wait, I'll give you one of my clean T-shirts."

I went to the bathroom after Tom gave me a grey T-shirt. All I could think of as the warm water ran over my skin was the previous night, and how much I enjoyed every Tom's kiss, every touch, the way his long fingers ran through my hair... Breakfast was already on the table when I returned to the room.

"My T-shirt looks better on you," Tom said when he saw me coming out of the bathroom.

"That's not true. Your T-shirt is too big for me, and I feel like I'm wearing a little dress."

"It's my turn to take a shower. I'll be fast! If you're hungry, you can start without me."

I was hungry, but I decided to wait for Tom, and I wasn't waiting too long. As he said, he was fast. While we were eating, I thought about some serious matters. Am I going to see him again, or after breakfast, we'll say "Goodbye" to each other, and this will all end? I didn't want this to be over. More than anything, I wanted this to continue, at least until he leaves Rimini.

"I should go now," I said when I finished the meal, but I wanted to stay so bad.

"Nina, you can't leave now; it's too hot. You know, it's not smart to walk in the heat, and you're living on the other side of the city. Plus, I still own you a private concert. If you want, I can sing you all my songs right now."

Was I imagining his words? He sounded like he was desperately trying to stop me from going.

"If you want me to stay, then I'll stay," I said happily.

"Oh, sorry Nina, I forgot. You have your lessons."

"My lessons for today ended an hour ago."

"What? I'm so sorry, it's my entire fault."

"No, it's not your fault. Don't worry Tom, it's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is. It won't happen again. I promise. Tomorrow, I will personally take you to school."

"Compared to the time I had with you yesterday, my lessons are boring."

"Really?" he smiled, and he kissed my lips.

Yes, really. What could be more beautiful in this world than Tom's kisses, the way he's putting his hand on my knee, the way I'm drowning in his blue eyes... By how he was looking at me, and the way he was kissing my lips, I was sure that he was feeling something for me. I could swear that he was falling in love with me, as I was already in love with him.

"Are you ready to hear my songs?" Tom asked me, and he took his guitar.

"Yes!" I said excitedly.

"I'm not as good on a guitar as I am on a piano, and my voice is not yet ready to sing. No one can sing two hours after waking up," Tom said, and I could feel how nervous he was.

"Tom, I'm not a judge on a talent show. Just relax, and start when you're ready," I said, trying to encourage him.

He took his guitar and started to sing with his soulful voice. We forgot we were in a hotel room. We were acting as if we were on a deserted island, and no one was around for miles. The knocking on the door returned us to reality. It was the concierge. The other guests at the hotel complained that we were being too loud.

"I'm sorry, but I have to cancel the rest of my concert," Tom said, disappointed after the concierge left.

"Hey, I have an idea! We can go to my room. I'm living in a guest house, separated from my landladys' house, and she has an enormous garden. The neighbors are far enough. No one will complain if you sing me your songs there."

"Let's go!" he said instantly.

Earlier, Tom didn't let me go back to my room, saying it was too hot, but now when we were going together, as the weather became perfect, and as the distance between his hotel and my room became smaller.

"I like your room, Nina," Tom said when we arrived.

"It's not as fancy and big as yours."

"It's peaceful. When I chose to stay in a hotel, I made a mistake. I should have rented a room like yours, or a house. I need a place where I can write songs without disturbing anyone."

"You can come here any time you want or..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

"Or what?"

"We can ask my landlady, can you move in here with me?"

I wish I hadn't said these words aloud. Tom could be a serial killer or a rapist. Or what if he is a member of an organization dealing with human trafficking? Handsome boys like him are seducing young, naive girls like me, and they're selling them as prostitutes. I saw that in a movie. No, I'm exaggerating. Maybe Tom is just an ordinary boy on a vacation, and I did the right thing when I invited him to move in with me into my room. From the way he treated me last night, he is the nicest person in the entire world. But what do I know about the boys? Everything I know about love is from the books and movies.

When my girl friends were telling me about their first time, their experiences were not as perfect as mine. The most frequent words they used to describe the guys they had sex with for the first time were "selfish" and "rude". I am the one who waited the longest for it, but I am the happiest of them all.

I know it is insane to ask someone you know for forty-eight hours to move in with you, even if he looks as nice as Tom. Now he thinks I'm crazy, or a lunatic, because nobody normal would do what I just did, but if he agrees to move in with me, here in my room, we can sing, laugh, and do whatever we want, without troubling anyone.

"Are you serious?"

"Please forget what I've just said," I was feeling embarrassed.

"No, no, that is a great idea. Do you think your landlady will let me move in here with you?"

"You want to stay here with me?" I asked, without trying to hide my happiness.

"Yeah, why not? Since we've met, we're inseparable anyway."

"Then let's go ask her."

Straight away, with running, we went to ask my landlady if Tom could move in with me into the guest house. When she saw us on her doorstep, young and crazy, she couldn't say no.

Without wanting to lose any time, we returned to Tom's hotel. We packed his things quickly, and he checked out. Later, we returned to my room, and we'd spent the rest of the day unpacking his things.

"You brought all these clothes for just two weeks?" I asked him, surprised when I saw his two suitcases full of clothes for all seasons.

"I want to be prepared for everything."

"But I'm afraid you're not. You forgot to bring your winter coat and boots, because every summer in Italy it snows. Did you know that?" I teased him.

"Very funny!"

"You have more clothes than me."

"Nina, do you know that in all this fuss, we forgot to eat," he said.

"You're right. Sorry, I don't have a kitchen or room service. I have nothing to offer you. I'm not treating my guests as kindly as you do. Plus, you are my first guest."

"Really? But you're wrong; I'm not a guest. I live here."

Tom was right. He lives here now. This is not my room anymore. This became our room, and this was a perfect day, full of kisses, singing, laughing... We skipped our lunch, but we went for dinner, at the same pizza-restaurant near Tom's former hotel, where we were yesterday.

"I'm happy to see you together again," the waiter said when he saw us.

"We can't help it! We can't resist your delicious pizzas," Tom said.

The waiter escorted us to our table, where he recommended us pizza "Margarita", the specialty of the house, and a bottle of local red wine. We accepted his advice, and we don't regret it.

"We need to go back earlier, Nina. At what time do you have to be at school tomorrow?" Tom asked me.

"Oh Tom, how could you ruin this perfect evening with your stupid question."

"Why? What have I said?"

"You mentioned school. I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I'm having a wonderful time with you."

"With me, you won't learn a word of Italian."

"Yes, but with you, I'll work on my English."

"Your English is fine. Nina, what will you say to your parents when they ask you what you learned and saw in Italy? This is not fair to them, because they paid for your course, and I think you should continue with your Italian lessons."

"With you, I saw more of Rimini in one day than I saw in two weeks with my teacher."

"I promise I'll wait for you every day in front of your school to finish with your lessons, and after your classes, we'll continue to explore Rimini together. What do you say?"

"I have made up my mind, and please don't try to change my decision because I can be very stubborn. I'll be back in school next week."

"You're making me feel horrible. I don't want to distract you from anything."

"You're not distracting me, Tom. I'm old enough to make my own decisions. Are you done with dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Are we going, or not?"

"Yes, we're going."

"Okay, let me pay this time."

"No, I can't allow that. We live in the 21st century and I'm a modern guy, it's okay if a girl pays the bill, I don't have a problem with that, but I'm living in a room you paid for, and I feel obliged to pay for everything else."

"That's not fair."

"Yes, it is. Okay, maybe I'll let you buy me ice cream tomorrow," Tom said and took the wallet from his pocket.

Because I decided not to go to school the next day, we went for a walk with Tom after dinner. The streets of Rimini were full of couples like us. When we passed by the Arco d'Augusto, Tom took my hand, and for the rest of the evening, we walked hand in hand, like a proper couple.

We returned to our room before midnight. I kissed him the same moment we walked into the room because I couldn't wait any longer. I wanted Tom to hold me in his strong arms, and I wanted to touch his warm body, to feel his soft skin...

All night while he was sleeping, I was exploring his body as a treasure map. I've discovered every birthmark and every little scar he has. Tom doesn't look like the models or the movie stars in the magazines who spend hours and hours every day in the gym, but for me, his look of a regular guy is perfection.

I started to wonder, what if everything in life happens for a reason? Tom and I live in different parts of the world, but some forces joined us together, in the same place and at the same time. There had to be a good reason why I had to fall in love with him, and why he had to choose me. I wasn't ready for this beautiful surprise life gave me. I wasn't looking for love, but love found me when I least expected it.