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It was incredible. And it was all I could think about as we hiked. Will showed no indication that he was thinking about how I’d laid underneath him hours earlier as he fucked me into oblivion.
Every time I glanced at him, I pictured his naked body, thrusting over mine and an overwhelming heat filled my cheeks. Will promised me fun and nothing more. No strings. That was obvious.
And yet my heart fluttered when he’d glance back at me with a smile.
Will and I walked along the uneven path. Every so often I would look to my right and just stop to gaze at the endless deep blue water that shifted into a vivid turquoise when it approached the shore. Combined with the bright green grape vine-covered hills and the colorful houses, it all looked like a highly colored, vivid dream. We climbed high up the hill until our village was just a handful of brightly colored boxes, shining like a beacon. Green, luscious vegetation surrounded our path; endless rows of grapes wound around the hills, reminding me of California. On the way up, a man-sized hole was cut in a chain-link fence, revealing a tiny wooden stand and a man crouched underneath. A crude wooden sign said, “Fresh Limoncello and Lemonade!”
Tired hikers stopped to buy small cups of fresh lemonade from the exuberant salesman behind the hole in the fence. The sun beating down on our backs made a cup of fresh lemonade sound very appealing, but I tried the limoncello instead. Cinque Terre was known for its lemon liquor and I still hadn’t tried it.
“Do you want to have some?"
He shook his head. “I don't drink."
Nevertheless, William entered the queue to buy my drink, refusing my offer to pay. He returned with a small glass of acid-yellow liquid and a plastic cup of lemonade for himself. He smiled as I took a sip. It was sweet but refreshing. He laughed at me.
“What's so funny?"
“You will fall on your ass. That stuff is strong."
“I don't feel anything." I took another swig of thesickly sweet beverage.
“That's because you're standing still."
Sure enough, when I took a step and lurched upwards, I stumbled. My ears burned as William’s laughter rang out on the narrow path. My mind swimming, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
I yelped as I collided with Will’s stationary body and would have fallen down if he hadn’t grabbed my arm.
“Sorry,” I gasped as I righted myself.
“Lightweight,” he muttered. “Try not to kill us both, will you?”
I felt another wave of warm dizziness that had nothing to do with alcohol as he squeezed my arm. We continued up the trail and I drank the bottle of water to shake the warm sleepiness from my limbs. The buzz from the limoncello melted away, and we were rewarded with an incredible view of the next village, Vernazza. The pile of multicolored buildings sat on the beach below the green hills, wrapping around a tiny harbor where a half dozen boats rocked from the ocean waves.
We stood there for a while, taking pictures of the village and appreciating the view before we began the descent down.
The path became level. Ahead of us was a picnic table with a sign and a blue bucket hanging on a tree. A tabby cat sat on the table, licking himself. The sign was in Italian. William moved his lips as he read the sign and his face darkened.
“What does it say?"
“It says to feed the stray cats with the food in the bucket."
We stood in a small clearing in a forest area. Several yellow eyes blinked at me from hanging, low branches. A black cat watched us from the arm of a tree, another one scratched its claws on the bark of a tree, and yet another dashed from bush to bush. Another cat leapt on the table and meowed plaintively at us. Will outstretched his hand and the cat bumped its head against his knuckles.
“Poor bastards,” he sighed.
On closer inspection, we saw that many of the cats had filthy, mite-infested ears. Some were limping, and others had sores in their mouths.
“I wish I could help them.”
“Well, why can’t you? Just hire people to trap the cats and bring them to a vet in town. It’s a huge waste of time, but it’s obviously important to you. I can’t wait to see the headlines, ‘Foreign Billionaire Saves Cats of Cinque Terre.’”
Will looked at me like I had just sprouted an extra head. “You’re a genius.”
“What?”
“I’ll make a few calls later.”
You should fix your own problems, first.
