‘He wants to meet up. We both have a day off.’
‘Ah, perfect! But whatever you do, don’t jump straight into bed with him.’
‘Jules, I’m hardly going to shag him immediately.’
‘And tothinkI’ve only ever slept with Angus – it kills me!’
‘You’ve had way less drama that way, Jules. It’s better, trust me.’
‘Yeah, yeah. Now don’t be a slut.’
‘I won’t,’ Libby laughed.
‘And good luck. Text me later.’
‘OK.’
Libby hung up the phone. She felt a lot better having spoken to Jules. There was a reason why she had chosen to call Jules and not Angus; she knew exactly what he would say. He would be furious with her for pursuing yet another pointless romance that could lead nowhere. Anyway, Jules was right, you only lived once. What was the worst that could happen? She only had two months left – she might as well enjoy a summer of fun with Luca. It was unlikely that it would last much longer than that. Libby was not sold on the idea of a long-distance relationship, and she could hardly imagine either of them changing their plans and relocating for one another. No, it would probably just be a summer romance, that was all. If she ended up moving back home with a broken heart, then so be it. The old cliché ‘better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’ popped into her mind.
A shot of adrenaline rushed through her as she grabbed her phone and replied to Luca’s message. They agreed that he would pick her up and drive her to a small beach that he had told her about a while ago. Ten minutes later she was standing on the road with her small rucksack full of beach gear, her heart pounding nervously as Luca’s red Fiat pulled over. She jumped in.
‘Ciao bella,’ Luca bent over and kissed her on the cheek. Her heart flipped at the sight of him. He grinned at her with raised eyebrows and she laughed.
‘So?’ he asked.
‘So?’ she replied.
‘Do you accept my proposition?’
She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, saying, ‘Why not?’ She laughed as Luca tooted the horn enthusiastically, startling a pair of old grannies crossing the road outside the butcher’s as he revved his engine.
‘Mi amore, that makes me so happy. I promise, no funny business. You have my heart’s complete devotion.’
‘Let’s just see how it goes, Luca.’ Libby wanted to keep him on his toes. ‘I’m only here for two more months anyway. So you might get your way… you’ll probably be sick of the sight of me by then.’
‘Don’t talk about leaving. I can’t bear it. I will be heartbroken.’
‘We’ll see!’
‘But until then, we are together?’
‘We can see how it goes,’ she repeated.
‘Bellissima, you have made me a very happy man.’ Luca sang cheerfully along to the radio as he drove, turning his head regularly to beam at Libby, his hand resting on her knee.
As they neared their destination, Luca took a hairpin turn to the right then manoeuvred the car into a tiny parking space between a three-wheeler and a small van. He opened the door for Libby, pulling her close to him and kissing her briefly on the lips. She couldn’t wait for him to kiss her properly, and tingled at the thought with nervous anticipation.
Luca led the way down a hidden set of steps to a deserted beach. The small wooden sign saying ‘spiaggia’ was hanging from one nail, so faded it was hard to read. ‘Only locals know about this beach,’ explained Luca. ‘We all try very hard to keep it a secret.’ He was carrying a freezer bag that he had packed with cool drinks and lunch, because there was no beach bar or restaurant down below.
‘Once you have climbed down all these steps, you certainly don’t want to have to come back up until it is time to leave,’ he said. Libby could see why. Steep stone steps had been carved into the cliff. There must have been close to fifty of them, zigzagging down a sheer drop to the sea. The sight of the beach below was an enormous incentive to make it down in one piece. The golden arc of sand was framed by a riot of greenery and brightly coloured bougainvillaea. Large boulders appeared to have been thrown at various intervals across the beach and into the sea. As always the water was so crystal clear it almost seemed to magnify the detail of the seabed below.
Soon they were setting up camp on the beach: towels side by side, umbrella firmly embedded into the sand between the two of them. The sun was beating down and they were both desperate to get in the water. Libby ripped off her dress and ran into the sea, with Luca chasing close behind. They fell into the cool water, laughing as they splashed each other and shrieking as their skin adjusted to the plunging temperature. They swam out into the deep water and dived under. They were the only ones there, apart from one other sun-seeker at the far end. It was amazing, like having their own private beach. They swam closer to the shore so that they could stand. Luca pulled Libby closer to him and kissed her, properly this time. She could smell his aftershave again and taste the salty water on his lips. She could feel him pressing against her hips and could tell how much he wanted her. It felt so good to kiss him, to finally allow herself to cave in to all the desire she had been suppressing. She could have kissed him forever. He was certainly an expert; all the practice had definitely paid off.
‘Wow!’ she said as he pulled away several minutes later. His brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight and beads of water glistened on his mahogany skin. He looked devastatingly handsome.
‘Yes, wow!’ laughed Luca. She dived under the water and swept the hair away from her face before swimming back to shore. They lay on their towels and chatted, Luca frequently interrupting their conversation with kisses. ‘I’ve been wanting to kiss you for so long,’ he said as he kissed the tip of her nose. ‘You are so beautiful.’
When she had dried off he rubbed sun cream on her then they dozed in the sun. She lay her head on his lap, resting against the damp fabric of his swimming trunks.
