One Step to You

by Federico Moccia

  Babi stood up. She hadn’t noticed a thing. She quickly glanced back to check on him. Fine. He hadn’t turned around.

  In reality, though, Step was watching her, unseen. She was a reflection in his side mirror now. She was wearing a bra of translucent lace and had goose bumps all up and down both arms. Step smiled. “Could you step it up? How much longer will this take?”

  “I’m almost done. Just don’t you turn around!”

  “I told you I wouldn’t. Come on, quit dragging this out.”

  Babi undid her jeans. Then, slowly, doing her best to keep from getting it all over her, she bent forward, lowering her pants to her feet, bare by now on those dusty cold rocks. Step tilted the side mirror downward, following her with his eyes. The jeans descended slowly, revealing her smooth, pale legs in that faint nocturnal light. Step sang “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” imitating the voice of Joe Cocker.

  “Forget about Nine and a Half Weeks…”

  Babi whipped around. Her eyes, illuminated by the faint red taillight, met Step’s amused glance as he smiled mischievously in the side mirror.

  “I didn’t turn around, did I?”

  Babi quickly got rid of her jeans and hopped up behind him on the motorcycle, in her bra and panties.

  “You miserable sneak, you’re a bastard!” She pounded him with her fists on his shoulders, neck, back, and head.

  Step curled forward, doing his best to find whatever shelter he could. “Hey, that’s enough! What did I ever do to you? I just peeked a little, but I kept my word…Ouch, keep this up and I won’t give you the jacket.”

  “What? You won’t give it to me? I’ll go get my jeans and rub them all over your face. You want to test me?”

  Babi started tugging on his jacket, pulling on the sleeves.

  “All right. All right. Enough’s enough,” Step said. “Calm down. Come on, stop it. Here, I’ll give it to you now.”

  Step let her pull his jacket off. Then he started the motorcycle.

  Babi hit him one last time. “You filthy pig!” Then she put on the jacket, covering herself up as much as she could. The results weren’t much to look at. Both her legs were exposed, right up to the edge of her panties.

  “Hey, you know that you aren’t bad? You just ought to try to wash yourself more often…But you really have a nice ass…I’m not kidding.”

  She tried to hit him on the head. Step ducked, laughing. He put the bike into first gear and took off. Then he pretended to sniff at the air. “Hey, do you smell this odd odor too?”

  “Idiot! Just drive!” Babi yelled.

  “It smells like manure…”

  Just then, from a bush on the right a short distance ahead, a German shepherd emerged. It came running at them, barking. Step went straight at him with the motorcycle. The dog stood still for a second, blinded by the light. Its red eyes glittered angrily in the night. Its teeth appeared, snarling, sharp, and white.

  That fleeting instant’s delay was sufficient. Step upshifted. He twisted the throttle and veered the motorcycle wide. The dog took off immediately. It barely missed the motorcycle, leaping sideways, jaws wide open.

  Babi screamed. She pulled up her bare legs and grabbed tight to Step’s shoulders.

  The dog fell just a hair short.

  The motorcycle accelerated. First gear. Second, third. Off they went, with the throttle open wide. The bike roared off into the night.

  The dog ran after them, snarling furiously. Then it slowly started to lose ground. It went on running for a little while longer. At last, it stopped. It vented its rage by continuing to bark from afar. Then it was slowly swallowed up by a cloud of dust and shadows, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

  The motorcycle continued its journey through the chilly damp of the green countryside. Babi still had her legs wrapped around Step’s waist. Little by little, the motorcycle slowed down.

  Step reached up and caressed her right leg. “That was close, wasn’t it? It would have meant a sad end to those lovely thighs of yours! So your story about the dog was true after all…”

  Babi took his hand off her leg and let it drop to one side. She scooted back on the seat, putting her feet back on the pegs, and zipped up the jacket. “Don’t touch me.”

  Step put his hand back on her leg.

  Babi took it off again. “I told you not to touch me with that hand!”

  Step smiled and changed hands. He put his left hand on the other leg. Babi took that hand off too.

  “I can’t even touch you with that hand?”

  Babi snapped, “I don’t know which is worse, the dog that was chasing me or the pig who’s sitting in front of me on this motorcycle!”

  Step shook his head and accelerated. Babi zipped up the jacket. How cold it was! What a night! What a mess! Darn that Pallina.

  They flew through the night. Step tore along like a lunatic. Babi held on tight, arms wrapped around him and trying to cover herself up as best she could.

  At last, they arrived safe and sound at her apartment building. Step stopped in front of the gate arm. Babi turned to look at Fiore. She waved to him. The doorman recognized her and raised the gate arm. The motorcycle raced through as soon as was possible, without waiting for the gate arm to finish rising to the top of its arc. Fiore couldn’t resist taking a peek at Babi’s fine legs, which were sticking out, chilled and bare, from under the jacket. The things he saw on this job. In his day, no young woman went out wearing a miniskirt like that.

  The motorcycle ran the circuit of the courtyard. Babi saw that the garage’s roller gate was lowered. Her folks had come home. One less danger. She wondered what she could possibly have said if they’d caught her at that very moment, riding behind Step on his motorcycle. In panties and bra. She preferred not to think about it; she wasn’t really that fanciful.

  She got off the motorcycle. As she stood up, she tried to cover herself up as much as was possible with the jacket. But it was no good. It barely reached down below the hem of her panties.

  “Well, thanks for everything. Listen, I’ll toss the jacket out the window.”

  Step looked at her legs. Babi squatted down. The jacket hung a little lower, but it still wasn’t covering up much.

  Step smiled.

  “Maybe we could see each other again sometime. I see that you have some very interesting topics to discuss.”

  “I already told you that you’re a pig, right?”

  “Yes, I seem to remember something of the sort. So, I’ll come pick you up tomorrow evening.”

  “I don’t think so. I doubt I could survive another night out like this one.”

  “Why? Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”

  “I had a great time! I always let the police chase me for a while, then I hop off the motorcycle while it’s still moving in the middle of the godforsaken countryside, I let a rabid dog chase me, and just to polish things off, I take a nose dive into a patch of manure. I wallow in it for a while, and then I come home in just my bra and panties.”

  “And with my jacket covering you.”

  “Oh, right…I almost forgot.”

  “And one thing above all else…”

  “What?”

  “You did all this with me.”

  Babi looked at him. What a character. He had a beautiful smile. Too bad about his personality. But she had no complaints about his body. Quite the opposite.

  She decided to smile at him. It didn’t take much of an effort. “Yes, you’re right. Well, good night.”

  Babi turned to leave but Step took her hand. This time, gently. Babi put up a bit of resistance, but then she let herself go.

  Step pulled her toward him, drawing her closer to the motorcycle. He looked at her. Her hair was long and messy, blown back by the night wind. Her skin was white and chilled. Her eyes were blue and intense and kind. She was beautiful.

  Step let a hand slide under the jacket. Babi opened her eyes, slightly frightened, deeply moved. She felt his hand rise inside the jacket, along her ba
ck, higher and higher. His hand stopped when it reached the hook to her bra. Babi quickly put her hand behind her. She put it on his hand and stopped him.

  Step smiled at her. “So it’s true that you’re not afraid of me. Are you going to report me to the police?”

  Babi nodded. “Yes.” She practically whispered it.

  “Seriously?”

  Babi nodded her head.

  Step kissed her on the neck, once, twice, three times, delicately. “Do you swear it?”

  Babi nodded again and then shut her eyes.

  Step continued kissing her. His kisses climbed her face, brushing over her cool cheeks, her chilly ears. A warm, provocative gust of breath gave her a shiver farther down. Step approached the pinkish corner of her lips. Babi sighed tremblingly. Then she opened her mouth, ready to welcome his kiss.

  At that moment, Step pulled away. Babi stood there for an instant like that, mouth open, eyes shut, dreaming. Then she suddenly opened them.

  Step was standing in front of her, arms crossed. He was smiling. He shook his head. “Babi, Babi. This isn’t right. I’m a pig, a wild animal, a filthy beast, a violent thug. That’s what you say, you never tire of repeating it, but then, in the end, you give in…You’re willing to let me kiss you. You see the way you are? You’re full of contradictions!”

  Babi went beet red with rage. “You really are an asshole!” She started pounding him with a hail of punches.

  Step did his best to ward off her fists as he laughed. “You know what you reminded me of, earlier? A goldfish I had when I was little. You were just standing there with your mouth open, gasping. Just like the goldfish whenever I changed the water and he fell out into the sink. Ouch, that’s enough.”

  Babi had hit him dead center with her fist.

  Step touched his cheek, amused. “You know that’s wrong, don’t you? Nothing good ever came of violence. You’re always telling me that! It’s not as if I’m going to kiss you if you beat me. I might, if you promise you’re not going to report me to the police…”

  “Oh, but I am going to report you to the police. And how! You’ll see. You’ll wind up behind bars, I can swear to that.”

  “I already told you that you should never swear to anything. You never know what’s going to happen in life…”

  Babi hurried away. The jacket rode up as she went, revealing an attractive derriere covered by a skimpy pair of light-colored panties. She tried to cover herself as she inserted the wrong key in the front door.

  “Hey, I want my jacket back now.”

  Babi glared at him furiously. She took off the jacket and threw it on the ground. She stood there in bra and panties, in the cold, with tears in her eyes. Step looked at her appreciatively. She had a nice little body. He picked up the jacket and put it on.

  Babi cursed those keys. Where was the one to the front door?

  Step lit a cigarette. Maybe he’d made a mistake when he decided not to kiss her. Oh well, it would be for some other time.

  At last, Babi found the key, opened the door, and went through.

  Step walked toward her. “Well, little fish, aren’t you going to give me a kiss good night?”

  Babi practically slammed the door in his face. Through the glass, Step couldn’t hear what she was saying but had no trouble reading her lips. She was advising him or, really, ordering him to go straight to a place far underground. He watched her stomp away. Then he started his motorcycle and rode away.

  Babi slowly opened the door to the apartment, slipped inside, and shut it behind her without making a sound. She tiptoed down the hallway. From the living room came the unmistakable colorful glow of the television set. Her father was sitting there. He was watching a fat man with a mustache discussing interesting topics with a number of unfamiliar characters. He was the same man who appeared in a commercial for a brand of shirts, wishing everyone could have one. She wondered if the people talking to him knew that. How can you take someone seriously who goes on TV and says, “Happy new shirt to you all”? Her father took the guy seriously. He seemed to be fascinated by him. Maybe he’d even bought one of those shirts.

  Babi silently walked around behind his back. The guy on television, dabbing at a spot of sweat, pointed at her father and said, “And now a message from our sponsors.” Maybe tomorrow Claudio would buy something else.

  Babi opened the door to her room and slipped inside. Safe and sound!

  Pallina turned on the little lamp on the nightstand. “Babi, it’s you! What a relief, I was so worried! What are you doing tricked out like that? Did Step take your clothes off?”

  Babi looked in her dresser drawer for her nightgown. “I wound up falling in manure!”

  Pallina sniffed the air. “You’re right, I can smell it. You can’t imagine how scared I was when I saw the police come!”

  Babi silenced her with a frosty glare. “Pallina, I don’t ever want to hear another word about Pollo, races, or anything else like it. You hear me? And for right now, you’d probably better just keep your mouth shut, or I’ll kick you out of my bed and make you sleep on the floor or, actually, I’ll just kick you out on the street!”

  “You’d never do it!”

  “You want to test me?”

  Pallina looked at her. She decided she’d better not try and find out. Babi walked away, heading for the bathroom.

  “Babi.”

  “What is it?”

  “Tell the truth though. You had the time of your life with Step, didn’t you?”

  Chapter 7

  A persistent noise. The alarm clock.

  Pallina turned it off. She slipped out of bed without making a sound and got dressed. She looked down at Babi. She’d barely moved and was still fast asleep, belly-up.

  Pallina walked over to the little wooden bookcase on the wall full of cassette tapes. Boy George, Supertramp, Elton John, Michael Jackson, New Kids on the Block, U2, and Duran Duran. It needed to be something really special.

  There it was. She slid the tape out of the bookcase. She pushed the STOP-EJECT button. A slowly grinding electric motor opened the gaping mouth of a rectangular Aiwa tape deck nearby. Pallina slid the cassette tape into the slot and shut it again.

  She checked the volume and, guessing at it, turned it down a little. Then she lightly touched the PLAY button. Tears for Fears started singing softly. The volume was perfect. Babi opened her eyes. She turned on her pillow and lay belly-down now.

  Pallina smiled at her. “Ciao.”

  Babi turned away from her. Her voice came out, slightly muffled: “What time is it?”

  “Five to seven.”

  Pallina leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Truce?”

  “At the very least, you’d need to bring me a chocolate pastry from Lazzareschi.”

  “There’s no time. My mother will be here any minute, I have to get my blood drawn.”

  “In that case, no truce.”

  “You were incredible yesterday.”

  Babi turned to look at Pallina. “I told you I never wanted to hear about any of that again.”

  Pallina threw both arms wide. “Okay, whatever works for you. Hey, what should I say to your mother if I run into her on the way out?”

  “Try ‘Good morning, Signora Gervasi.’” Babi smiled at her and pulled the blanket up under her chin.

  Pallina took the bag with her books and threw it over her shoulder. She was happy they’d made peace. Pallina softly shut the door behind her, quickly tiptoed down the hallway, and made it to the apartment door. It was still locked. She twisted the dead bolt, and just as she was easing through, she heard a voice behind her, “Pallina!”

  It was Raffaella in a pink dressing gown with her face stripped of makeup, slightly faded but, most of all, astonished. Pallina decided to follow Babi’s advice and, with a bright “Good morning, Signora Gervasi,” she fled down the stairs.

  * * *

  Babi walked into the bathroom. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror. It wasn’t her best look,
she had to admit. She turned on the cold tap, let it run for a bit, and then put both hands under the stream and vigorously scrubbed her face.

  Daniela appeared behind her.

  “Tell me all about it! How did it go? How was the Greenhouse? Is it really as much fun as people say it is? Did you meet any girlfriends of mine?”

  Babi opened the toothpaste tube and started pressing on it from the bottom, doing her best to make Daniela’s thumbprint disappear from where her younger sister had squeezed it, right at dead center.

  “It’s a completely stupid activity. A group of lunkheads risk their lives for no good reason, and every so often one of them manages to lose their life doing it.”

  “Yes, okay, but were there lots of people there? What do they do? Where do they go afterward? Did you see the chamomiles, and weren’t they awesome? Weren’t they courageous? I’d never be good enough to be a chamomile!”

  “Oh, it’s really nothing special, I can assure you, and now I’ve got to get ready.”

  “There, that’s what you always do! There’s just no satisfaction with you. What good is it to even have a big sister if she won’t tell you a thing that happens? Anyway, Marcello and I have already decided that next week we’ll go too! And if I feel like it, I’ll be a chamomile!”

  Daniela left the bathroom snorting with anger. Babi smiled to herself, finished brushing her teeth, rinsed her mouth, and after drying off, picked up the hairbrush.

  Daniela reappeared from behind the door.

  “What did you do with the pair of Superga gym shoes I loaned you last night?”

  Babi set the hairbrush down on the edge of the sink. “I threw them away.”

  “What do you mean, you threw them away? My brand-new Supergas…?”

  “You heard me, I threw them away. They wound up deep in manure, and so they were so messed up I had to throw them away. Also because, if I hadn’t, Step would have refused to take me home.”

  “You wound up in manure, and then Step took you home?” Daniela followed Babi into her bedroom. “So, Babi, are you or aren’t you going to tell me what happened?”

  “Listen, Dani, I promise to tell you every last detail later, okay?”