Nicole
“Have you ever seen such beautiful eyes?” Allison’s got that dreamy, faraway look in her eyes, the one where she’s already having sex with the guy before he’s even asked her out on a date. I know it well. I’ve seen it before.
“I have,” I reply, knowing she’s not listening.
“You haven’t!” she scoffs, and I raise an eyebrow.
“Have, too. Ryan’s got nice eyes.”
Allison rolls her eyes so much they look like they might come out of her head.
“Nice. What does that even mean?” she’s waving her hairbrush around. “Most people have nice eyes. But Dante has gorgeous, heart-melting eyes.”
She sighs.
“You know how chocolate melts in your mouth and sends millions of explosive feel-good sensations through your body? That’s what his eyes are like.”
To my own horror, Dante’s face comes to mind with incredible ease and speed. Ryan’s face refuses to materialize.
No. No. No.
He doesn’t have heart-melting eyes. His eyes are no more special than Ryan’s.
“And did you see his butt? Those two cheeks…ohhh…I just want to squeeze them.”
“Careful, or you’ll start drooling,” I warn her and turn off the shower. She hands me a towel.
“I bet his arms were ever so strong, and his chest all muscle-y.”
“Newsflash, Ally, I’m about to be married. My husband-to-be is called Ryan. And no, I don’t find his best man attractive.” I inject as much force into my voice as I can muster.
“Blah, blah, blah. Repeat after me. Dante is nothing short of a sex god.”
Without thinking, I throw my towel at my best friend.
“I will not. I’ll tell you that I do agree he’s handsome. There. Will you give it a rest now?”
A mischievous grin spreads across her face as she throws the towel right back at me.
“Oh, so you agree he’s good looking?”
“Can we talk about something else?”
Allison follows me out of the bathroom into our over-sized bedroom. Here, I rummage around my suitcase and pull out a fresh outfit.
“What about the way he jumped into the water to rescue you? I mean, I can’t see Ryan ever doing anything like that for you.”
“Why?” I pull on fresh underwear. “Of course he’d rescue me.”
I know I don’t sound as convinced as I should be.
“And,” Allison continues. “He got you some whiskey and a blanket, and made sure you were alright. I mean, have you ever met a more thoughtful and considerate man?”
“Ryan.”
“The way his pants clung to his body was amazing. You have to agree, there’s no man who’s got as sexy a body as Dante.”
“Ryan.”
“Ryan’s not sexy. He even has a little pot belly from all that alcohol he consumes.” Allison protests.
“Ryan is great. Ryan is wonderful. Ryan looks after me, and Ryan is going to marry me. End of story. Full stop. Finito.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Coffee? Tea?” Allison asks from the kitchen area and I welcome her change of topic.
“Coffee, please,” I join her and admire all the condiments left for us.
“The way his hands rubbed your back, I swear, I would’ve turned to jelly. You did look.”
“Ryan. Ryan. Ryan,” I interrupt.
She giggles.
“You should start the Dante fan club,” I tell her and wander over to the couch. On the way, I grab my mobile phone.
Still no message from Ryan.
I stare out the window to try and compose something in my head.
But all I can think of is Dante. The way his arms grabbed me, pulled me through the water before lifting me effortlessly out of the canal.
Hey, Ryan.
We’re at the hotel, and it’s grand. Can’t wait for you to arrive.
I stare at the message and delete it again.
How many times do you send a message if the receiver doesn’t reply? I wish there was some text messaging etiquette book. Should I wait an hour or two, or more before I send another message?
I mean, I’ve already sent him four today…four in the space of a few hours. He’s sent none. Technically, he should be sending me a message or calling me to find out if I arrived safely.
I sigh.
“Here you go, gorgeous, your cup of coffee.”
Allison comes over to join me on the leather lounge. She sits beside me and curls her legs under her.
“Can you believe we’re finally here?”
I’m pleased to hear some excitement in her voice now as well. The entire trip, it’s been me who’s bursting with enthusiasm and Allison who’s played cool.
“I know. I wish Ryan was here.”
“Ryan. Honestly, remind me again what you see in that loser?” she holds out her left hand and brings her four fingers together and moves the thumb into a horizontal position to emphasize loser.
“Ally. You know he’s not a loser. He’s a…” I struggle to find the right words.
How do you describe a man like Ryan? I know he’s wealthy and important, but truth be told, I’ve got no idea what he actually does.
He seems to go away a lot. I think I’ve asked him what he does, but he’s replied with something vague like, no need to worry your pretty little head about such mundane matters. “He’s a loser,” repeats Allison, sipping on her hot coffee. “Dante, on the other hand, is an interesting, helpful and amazing man.”
“You say that because you’ve got the hots for him. Ryan is just as interesting and amazing. Anyway,” I decide to change my tactic. “How do you know he’s interesting and amazing?”
“Because he rescued you. Any man who jumps into a Venice canal to rescue a total stranger is amazing. He carried some brochures with him, one of which was information about art galleries in Venice. I would’ve thought you’d agree, anyone interested in art is interesting.”
I can feel her eyes on me.
My heart beats a little faster when I hear her mention art and Dante in the same breath.
How had she learned so much about the man in such a short amount of time?
“Ryan’s interested in art,” I start, then stop. I can’t recall what exactly Ryan is interested in. “Ryan’s interested in sports and cars.” I take a stab in the dark. Most men are into sports and cars.
“Blah, blah, blah. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the man’s got you under some spell or given you a love potion.”
I give her a little smack on the shoulder.
“Ryan lets me drive his sport car if I ask him. And he took me to that picnic in the park.”
“Nic, that’s peanuts for a guy like Ryan. He should be carrying you on a silver platter. What am I talking about? It should be a gold platter. Your wish should be his every command.”
At her words, I gnaw on my bottom lip.
“I’m not like that, Ally,” I protest.
“You should be.”
After this, we sit in silence for a while.
I sip my coffee, lost in thought. At the same time, I gaze around the room. I’m surrounded by so much history. I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure this isn’t all some dream I’m having.
Eventually, Allison pulls out her phone.
“What are you doing?”
She shoots me a sideways glance.
“I’m sending Dante a message asking if he wants to join us for drinks.”
“You what?” I shriek and feel my heartbeat quicken. I’m not sure I approve of Allison’s actions.
“He rescued you. We should ask him out for a thank you drink.”
Before I can protest further, she’s already sent her text.
It takes less than a minute for his reply.
Allison claps her hands together and leaps off the couch.
“Let me guess, he said no,” I say dryly.
“You wish. Anyway, if you’re not interested, you won’t mind if I make him mine.”
“Be my guest,” I reply a little too quickly.
“Well, let’s go and get ready. I said we’d be down in ten.”
“What’s the hurry?” I protest, but get up and follow my friend.
As we walk out the door, I decide to send Ryan one more text.
Hey, Ryan.
We’ve arrived and checked in. The Aman is gorgeous. I can’t wait for you to get here. Any idea when you’re arriving?
Love, N x
I press send and watch the screen again. As with every other time, the screen tells me it’s been delivered, but it does not change to the much anticipated read status.
And as much as I stare at the device and will it to deliver me a response, it stays silent.
With the silence, the doubt returns.
What was Ryan’s motto? No news is good news.
But that’s not always true, is it? No news might just mean the person is unable to contact you.
Was Ryan unable to contact me? And if so, why?
The morgue images come back to me a little too vividly.