‘Samantha?’

It was like being struck by a bolt of lightning; I only got called by my full name when I was in deep trouble, which it seemed I now was. I followed Jodie’s eyes and realised that Johnny still had his hands at my hips, and Johnny and I had been seen giggling and swaying in a darkened Roman street like a pair of young lovers. I quickly pulled his hands away, putting distance between us, trying to choose between explaining that it wasn’t what it looked like or laughing it all off. Johnny turned to look at me, offended by my sudden repulsion; I was now caught by three sets of confused eyes.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ Jodie spoke as if her blood was boiling under her skin, her poor attempt at concealing her rage perhaps more frightening than the rage itself. But I really wasn’t concerned with answering as my gaze set on the cool, calm exterior of Marcello, who looked from me to Johnny and back again, as if he was silently putting two and two together. My heart dropped. There was no two and two, there was nothing going on. But then my eyes flicked from him to Jodie and my own sudden realisation settled.

‘I thought you weren’t coming out tonight?’ And what the hell was he doing with her?

Marcello’s brows furrowed as he glanced at Jodie and back at me, as if he was just as troubled by the assumption. Jodie, on the other hand, seemed oh so smug.

‘Marcello was just showing me the sights,’ she said, glancing at Johnny and then back at me, as if to say a silent ‘Fuck you’.

I didn’t know what was happening to me, maybe rage was a contagious thing, but seeing Jodie loop her arm through Marcello’s made me feel ill. To think of him walking and telling her stories of times gone by made me feel like a complete fool. Had I honestly thought that he had told me things, shown me things today that were special? I was so naive.

So. Stupid.

I smiled. ‘Yeah, he is really good at that,’ I said, before turning and heading into what I thought would be the last place I wanted to go, until I realised that place was out in the street with Marcello and Jodie. If I never see those brown eyes again it will be fine with me, I thought. I just wished that I really believed it. I wove my way back into the dark, narrow halls crammed with people laughing, drinking, fist-pumping, dry-humping: all the good stuff. Lucky them, I thought bitterly, turning a corner, relieved to see the friendly faces of Harper and Kylie in a spot where the music, while still loud, was a little duller and you didn’t have to yell for conversation. Unless, of course, you were just getting yelled at, like I was now. Harper placed herself protectively in front of Kylie, who looked upset.

‘What’s wrong? Kylie, are you okay?’

‘You have some nerve.’ Harper glared at me; it was a look I was getting accustomed to.

‘Sorry?’

‘You knew she liked Johnny, and yet there you were dry-humping him on the dance floor in front of everyone.’

‘I was not!’ I said, way too high-pitched. Was she for real?

‘Everyone is laughing at you, Sammi.’

Her words landed like a physical blow, a quick uppercut that robbed me of my breath. I didn’t know what to say; the thought of them all making fun of me made me feel like I was in high school all over again.

‘It’s funny, I really didn’t think you were the kind,’ said Harper, shaking her head and looking almost like she was sorry for me.

‘Oh, and what kind is that exactly?’

It was a question I wished I hadn’t asked, but the words had fallen out of my mouth anyway. Before Harper could answer, Kylie pushed herself up from the wall and looked at me dead on with bloodshot eyes.

‘A total snake in the grass,’ she bit out, before tugging Harper away and leaving me on my own, my mouth agape.

What the hell?

The only bridge I’d managed to build in this insane group had been set on fire. Now I was stuck in no-man’s-land; I didn’t want to go back to the street, where Marcello was probably pointing to the night sky and telling Jodie about old Roman legends—that, or he was wrestling with Johnny on the cobblestones to win the girl. Or I could go back to the table where apparently I was a laughing stock. Was it because of my dance moves, or was it because me landing someone like Johnny was so unlikely? They must have really split a stitch over the possibility of me and Marcello.

Ugh. I pushed myself forward, if not towards the group then towards the bar; there was still time left in the ‘Power Hour’ to down a good number of drinks. I slammed a shot down my gullet, eliciting a cheer from a group of locals, encouraging me to reach for another, slamming one drink down after another while Icona Pop’s ‘I Love It’ blasted in the background so hard I could feel the floor vibrate.

I toasted my newfound friends. ‘Salute!’

I came to Rome on my own, and I was going to leave here on my own.

Before too long my self-pity had morphed into something else entirely.

I LOVED Rome! And this snake was going to slide onto the dance floor and rip it up. What’s the saying—dance as if no one was watching? Well, that was me. A lone wolf, having the time of my life. I didn’t need anyone, not even to show me the sights. I had a map, a brain. Screw you, Marcello, whoever you are. And maybe I was seeing things, and Lord knew after several shots I was seeing double, but I felt a hand grab my arm, turning me around, and there he was.

‘Speak of the devil!’ I shouted.

‘What?’ he yelled over the music, confused.

Oh yeah, another internal thought again.

‘Having a lovely evening?’ I asked, still dancing from side to side, my words dripping with sarcasm.

‘Not as much as you, it would seem,’ he said, his eyes following me, watching my awesome dance moves as he stood stoically still.

‘Me? Oh, I am having a great time!’ I raised my hands to the sky as if summoning the dance gods.

Marcello was laughing at me, actually fucking laughing at me. Like all the rest of them, no doubt; well, screw them, screw him and this place, wherever the hell this place was. We had arrived by taxi and been unceremoniously dumped out the front, our wrists tagged and pushed inside like cattle. Now if I wanted to exit dramatically, marching off mid-conversation into the night, I really didn’t have a clue where to go. Ugh. Instead, I opted to skulk back to the bar until Marcello grabbed my hand.

‘I think that’s a bad idea.’

‘Well, not as bad an idea as getting snared in Jodie’s spider web.’

I nodded at the thought. If I was a snake and she was a spider, I could totally beat her in a fight.

‘Jodie came to me—she didn’t know where the nightclub was.’

‘Oh, howww convenient.’

Marcello ran his hands through his hair, almost as if he was praying for strength; it was the first time I had really seen him exasperated.

‘This is exactly why I don’t want to work with you,’ he said.

‘With me?’

‘Not you—them, this, the whole thing,’ he shouted.

I frowned; how much had I had to drink? Marcello wasn’t making any sense, and it had nothing to do with a language barrier.

‘I think you need a drink,’ I said.

He simply shook his head, looking at me like he didn’t know whether to strangle me or follow me to the bar.

‘Come on, it’s my shout,’ I said, pulling him towards the bar.

He scoffed. ‘It’s for free.’

I smiled. ‘Oh, and so it is.’

It didn’t take me long to figure out exactly what Marcello’s official role was in the group. He was the fun police, outlawing my happiness by ordering me water instead of booze and wedging himself firmly between me and the barman.

‘Really? I’m on holidays and you are cutting off the tap.’

‘You will thank me in the morning.’

I paused, thinking about what the morning meant exactly; ugh, a fully planned day of sightseeing. I could feel my skin screaming in protest at a day in the sun. I should have opted for an ice bath and slathering myself in after-sun gel. I took the water from Marcello without a word.

‘Well, I will just pace myself tomorrow,’ I said, taking a sip from my glass.

Marcello laughed. ‘Don’t bet on it. Maria runs a tight ship; if you’re late she will leave you behind, make no mistake. She acts like one of the gang but she will never mess with site operators; you are replaceable. Relationships formed in business will win every time.’

I glanced at the fun-loving Maria flirting with Nate and couldn’t imagine her leaving a man behind. She was like the mother of the group, and hopefully not one who would be in the bed under mine later on. I wouldn’t put it past any of them, bunch of deviants. My eyes locked on to a very solemn-looking Bookworm Gary on the edge of the dance floor, nursing a beer and looking utterly miserable. I followed his forlorn look across to the opposite side of the room, where Jodie and Johnny stood, clearly in a heated argument. It was like a love triangle from a seriously fucked-up YA novel.

‘Should I ask? No, actually, don’t worry—I’ve had my fill of teen angst for one night. Goodnight, Sammi.’

Marcello nodded before moving to step around me.

‘Oh, what, not going to escort me to bed tonight?’ The words came out before I could realise how incredibly suggestive they sounded. Marcello stopped and looked at me, a little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

‘I think Johnny can help you out.’ Marcello looked over my shoulder, causing me to turn and be met with Johnny, leaning against the bar next to me. I cringed, not wanting anything to do with Johnny and his psycho woman, who was thankfully nowhere to be seen.

I turned back to Marcello, tilting my head in mockery, but he simply flashed those dimples and leant into me, speaking into my ear. ‘Behave.’

And just like that he was gone.