An Aria in Venice: A Musical Interlude Novel (26 page)

Adriana
shakes her head, her beautiful features twisted in pain, or maybe confusion,
and turns to walk out the door. I do not care that she is leaving me ... again.

Perhaps
if I keep telling myself that, then eventually I will start to believe the
words. I cannot let my jealousy eat away the last ounce of humanity I have left
inside me.

Adriana

In
 the
chaos theory, there’s this term that
my tutor, Pavlina, would always refer to. She called it the
 
butterfly
effect
,
the
 
sensitive dependency on initial
conditions
 
in
which a small change at one place in a deterministic
 
nonlinear
system
 
can
result in large differences in a later state.
 Phew! What a mindful. I’m pretty
sure even brainiacs struggle with that one.

The confusion whirling
inside my chest, the way Nikolai has rejected me over the past few years, and
then seeing him again after being away on a trip with a man I’ve had sex with
to win a bet makes me think of my old tutor’s proverb.

“One day, when you become
a grown woman, you’ll realize how unpredictable our lives, as women, will
always be. Then you will understand how the butterfly effect works. You will
see what happens when what seems like a small, insignificant decision becomes
the one thing that changes your life forever. Make no mistake, little one,
sometimes this change is a very big deal in such a way that recovering from the
whiplash you receive may take longer than you expect, if it even happens at
all.

I’m pretty sure I’m at
the point where I don’t know if I’m going to recover. I mean, my virginity
isn’t considered a small, insignificant thing. Still, because of what happened
between Luca and me, my whole world has flipped upside down, and briefly
started spinning backward. Pavlina’s theories were tough lots to swallow. In
reality, life is harder, so much more complicated than a theory.

I’ve
agreed to spend the next couple of weeks living at Erin Angelo’s apartment as a
favor to Alek. His crush on Luca’s top designer is worse than I thought, but
this is good. I had to make up a logical excuse for crashing at Erin’s place,
so I went with telling her I needed to get away from Mother’s all-seeing eye,
which is true. Plus, I really like Erin and spending time getting to know her
will help to keep my mind off Luca’s absences. He says he’s been traveling back
and forth between Venice and Milan, visiting Simona. His mother has decided to
spend her last days at the Baglioni, the place where she met her soul mate. I’m
trying not to think about her leaving us, but it hurts worse than any pain I’ve
ever felt before; except for the night we left my father behind.

Even
though Lis complained about being lonely at first, it wasn’t long before she
found a suitable replacement for me. Byron. He’s in town for a convention that
will take place over the next seven days, and then he’s using a week of his
vacation to steal some quality time with Lis. Since neither of us ever sees
Jojo much outside of practice these days, our third roommate’s probability of
crashing their party seems to be an unlikely event.

Tonight,
all four of us girls, including Erin, have decided we need a hang out moment.
It’s long overdue, and I know they’re dying to question me about what happened
back in Venice. The evening’s venture includes a trip to the Alcatraz, the club
where Jojo’s been performing with her rock group,
Cold Sistas
, which is
an interesting name considering all five of the instrumentalists are men and
Jojo’s the only female in the group.

“Alek
makes the word alpha sound juvenile,” Erin explains as she takes a sip of her
drink. We’re seated at a table situated along the sides of the main floor, a
spot where we can observe without being seen.

“He
doesn’t know any other way to be,” I add, grinning because I can see how much
Erin likes my brother. Plus, the drink she’s holding in her hands probably has
a lot to do with her confessions tonight. She’ll be mortified to find out we
had this conversation later on when we get around to talking about it.

“I
don’t think Alek needs to be any other way,” Erin says. “The alpha thing fits
him.”

“Is
that right? I think you know all about my brother’s ways,” I tease, recalling
the day I walked into her apartment and caught them huddled together while
working on a painting. Her face turns crimson; she blushes worse than I do.

“Isn’t
that your roommate?” She points toward the entrance, cleverly diverting our
conversation. Lis and Byron stroll over to our table and take a seat.

“Erin.
Wassup, girl? I didn’t think we’d see you here tonight.” Lis kisses both of
Erin’s cheeks. “Love those red and black Gothic Ballerina costumes you made.
Too sexy.”

“Ladies,”
Byron says in a baritone voice.

Lis
moves back to his side, snakes an arm through his, and introduces him to Erin
and me. “I must be the luckiest man in the world to have a table full of lovely
ladies at my side tonight. Lis has been talking nonstop about your new line,
Signorina Angelo. It’s definitely unique.”

“Thanks.
Luca wants nothing but the best for this show,” Erin says, smiling. I can understand
why my brother has chosen her. She’s the full package: beautiful, talented, and
kind ... just like Luca once you break through his surface armor.

“I
wonder why old Luca wants the best. Hmm, let me see.” Lis frowns and twists her
lips as she mocks being in deep thought, passing a knowing glance at me. I
narrow my eyes, holding back an urge to stick out my tongue, and turn around to
study our surroundings.

The
Alcatraz is packed tonight, and to know that so many people have come to see my
friend makes my chest swell with pride. Erin’s still talking about Alek and how
controlling he has become. Great. I really don’t need to be adding to my
brother and his secret girlfriend’s woes by telling her the reason I’ve
developed a sudden interest in becoming her temporary roommate is because I let
my brother unashamedly talk me into being his eyes and ears.

While
waiting for Jojo’s performance to begin, Lis and Byron talk about how he wants
to use the Kama Sutra—the digital version at that—to enhance their lovemaking.
My roomie and her boyfriend amaze me with how open they are about sexuality,
especially in their relationship. I’d break out in hives if I did something
like that. When we start talking about miniskirts and lipstick, Byron makes an
excuse to leave by offering to buy us all drinks, which we gratefully accept.

Now
the girl talk turns to me. Crap! Just what I was afraid of. Luca has made it
clear he doesn’t want Erin to know about us just yet. He also suspects she and
my brother have gotten much closer than they’re letting on, and judging by the
way Erin’s face turns crimson anytime she mentions Alek the alpha man, I’m
pretty sure he has a valid point. Plus, we now have the issue of a fuming,
jealous Nikolai to handle. His words, or maybe I should say his attempted
declaration of love, cut me to the core. I wasn’t prepared to hear the things
he said.

The
conversation among my friends turns to me, giving me the perfect opportunity to
redirect my thoughts. My friends are asking about my trip. Dread slams into my
chest, but excitement has a little spot in there, too. “I lost my virginity in
Venice!” I want to shout out. Umm ... that’s probably not a good idea with Erin
sitting here, but Lis already knows because she took one look at my big grin
when I returned last week and said, “Damn. I was really hoping to have my tutus
washed by hand.”

I
stick with the “safe” version of what Luca and I did. I also decide to leave
out the bit about Simona. The Martuccios are big on privacy. Luca hasn’t even
told Erin about his mother yet. Simona made me promise to live, to be happy,
even though I know I may never see her again. I’m trying. Tonight is a step in
the continuing-to-live direction.

“Well,
um, we danced, attended a big family reunion, and rode in a gondola.” My face
fires up as I think of the way Luca’s tongue made me feel the first time we
explored each other’s bodies. I glance up at Lis and she has the narrow-eyed
detective look going on again. I haven’t fooled my friend. She knows I’m
holding back.

“And
that was all you did? Rode in a boat?” Lis asks, smirking. Shrugging, I nod.
She knows that’s not all we did, but enjoys watching me squirm, I think. Of
course Erin escapes the female inquisition thing we have going on, choosing
instead to answer a phone call that takes her away from the table.

Apologizing
as she returns and gathers her purse, she gives me a knowing look. “Gotta run,
girls. I’ll see you when you get home,” she says, putting extra emphasis on her
words as I sit there squirming under her analytical gaze. She’s too damn smart.
No wonder Alek plays the crazy man role around her. “Tell Jojo I said good
luck.” She walks away and instantly disappears into the crowd.

Now
it’s just me and Lis left to hold down the gossip fort since Byron’s obviously
making our drinks by hand, because he still hasn’t returned to the table. “I
think I miss him,” I make the mistake of saying out loud.

“Which
him?” Lis asks. “Tall, blond, and mysteriously sexy? Or Italian, talented, and
insanely hot?” I shake my fist at her. “What? Just sayin’. I’m game for either
one. They’re both too hot to be for real.”

“Luca,”
I say while thinking of Nikolai at the same time thanks to Lis’s teasing.

“Hmph.
We can fix that.” Lis snatches my cell phone out of my bag before I get the
chance to protest. Fingers flying across the keypad, she has this wicked gleam
in her eyes as she finishes typing the message of my doom, I’m sure.

“What
did you do?” I ask, snatching my phone back and scrolling through the text
messages. I make a mental note to activate the screen lock feature.

“Not
a thing you won’t appreciate. Trust me, my girliefriend. Both you and your
designer cheeks will love me for doing this.”

I
find the message she sent. My face flames hot enough to burn something as I
read the text: You’re hot. I’m horny. I need you. Come now.

“Oh
my God. I know you didn’t really ...”

“Yep!
I did.”

“Don’t
get all pouty when he doesn’t show up,” I say, my words slurring a bit because
the alcohol in the two wine coolers I’ve gulped has already taken hold on my
system. I’m so weak when it comes to alcohol; a bird could probably drink me
under the table.

Up
on the stage, Jojo and Jeremy—my least favorite person in the world besides the
Tomczak sisters—perform an up-tempo cover of a song by Iron and Wine, one of
Jojo’s favorite groups. To support my friend, but mostly to forget about the
pain I saw in Nikolai’s eyes after I had confirmed my new level of friendliness
with Luca, I head to the dance floor and start doing my thing, no partner
necessary. About ten feet away from me, Lis and Byron start making their own
form of dirty dancing. They are a gorgeous couple. I only wish I could say the
same thing about Jojo and Jeremy. Either way, I’m still happy for my friends.

I
don’t know how much time passes. I do know that
Cold Sistas
makes it
through two more songs before I realize I’ve been dancing a one-woman show for
a while. Suddenly, a set of strong arms wraps around my waist. Ripped abs and
something else that feels hard grinds against my backside. The raw scent of
freshly washed skin and expensive cologne drifts into my nostrils. My heart
begins to flutter as Luca molds his body to mine and starts swaying with the
music. I’d almost forgotten how well he can move that body of his. I’m caught
up in an intoxicating mix of Luca scents, music, and wine coolers.

“Keep
dancing that way and somebody just might steal you away, beautiful woman,” he
whispers in my ear, his voice comforting me right away.

“You’re
back,” I say, turning to him and snaking my arms around his neck, holding on
tight and not caring one bit about who might see us. He’s wearing dark jeans
and a black hoodie that covers his golden locks, giving him a mysterious kind
of sexiness while hiding his identity no doubt. Luca draws attention to him
both on and off stage. We’d never get any peace if the women in here were to
discover my new dance partner.

“There
is no force in this world, concrete or ethereal, that can keep me away from
you.” His hands explore my body as his words fill my ear. I get wet at once. He
has this power over me, this grip on my body I can’t explain. He holds onto me
tightly, as though I’m his lifeline. I want to ask about Simona, but I’m too
scared of what I’ll hear him say. I’m a complete chicken. Swaying to Jojo’s
music, I temporarily forget all the stress surrounding us. Luca isn’t just
walking sex, he has the moves to back up his game. Suddenly, I find myself
wanting to play hooky from life so I can keep on rolling along with his rules
for a long time to come.