Runaway Love

by Nicole W. Lee

  “You may not be scared of me,” Genie said, waggling her broom again, “but you'd better watch out for this.”

  Their response was to bare their fangs and growl menacingly.

  “Your teeth don't frighten me, you two ugly mugs,” she said and, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. She thrust the bristle end at one of the wolves, barely catching him on his nose. He backtracked rapidly, mouth slightly open and sneezing several times in quick succession.

  “Didn't I warn you?” Genie swung the broom in circles over her head.

  It distracted their attention sufficiently to give Genie the opening she needed. She lurched forward, swung the rotating broom down and hit one of the wolves on his back. He yelped loudly and collapsed against his partner.

  She used the momentum to swing again and made contact with the other, sweeping his feet from underneath him.

  The pair began to get Genie's message and slowly began to back away. She pursued, swinging the broom and aiming it at them intermittently.

  Nevertheless, even though they showed some initial confusion over the unfolding events, the wolves soon appeared to figure out Genie's tactics. Instead of watching her, they kept their eyes on the broom and succeeded in dodging her efforts to make contact. However, their evasive tactics took them increasingly closer to the fence.

  Lending his support, Domino inched forward in unison with Genie protectively. His threatening growls were occasionally punctuated with a throaty woof.

  Finally, when the Domino’s vocal threats momentarily distracted the wolves, Genie managed to score one more hit. She brought the head of the broom directly down on the top of the head of one of them. It appeared to rattle his brain because he staggered around like a drunk for a few moments, violently shaking his head. Apparently, this hit was the last straw. With a flicker of a snarl, he turned and ran towards the fence with his mate close on his heels.

  Domino growled and started after them.

  “Wait, Dom,” Genie called. “Don't go near them.”

  At first, he ignored her but, when the wolves reached the fence, they turned and snarled.

  That gave Domino cause for pause. Only after his attackers had scuttled through the hole under the fence they must have dug, did he make his feeling felt with a round of serious sounding woofs.

  “Genie,” Lorenzo called from behind her, “what's going on?”

  “We've had a couple of visitors,” she said and ran over to Domino and wrapped her arms around his neck in case he wanted to follow. On closer inspection, however, she decided that he'd never get through that hole. It was barely large enough for slim, athletic wolves. Well-fed Domino could barely pass through a hole the size of the Channel Tunnel.

  “Were those wolves?” Lorenzo arrived beside her.

  “In the flesh.” She began to scoop snow, dirt and rocks into the hole with the broom and her feet.

  Domino sat down and watched.

  “Great,” she said to him. “Now you're making me do all the work? After I just saved your neck, and all.” She brushed vigorously at the ground but it was still too hard from the icy conditions to deliver up much loose earth. “Heaven knows how those two managed to dig through this lot. It's like concrete.”

  “You're not going to do it like that,” Lorenzo said. “Just wait a minute.”

  He returned from the barn with a heavy plank of wood and laid it across the hole. “This will do for a start. I’ll fill it in properly tomorrow.” A few seconds later, he dropped two large stone blocks on the plank. “Only a precaution. They probably won’t be back.”

  “If they do, they'll have to deal with Domino and me.”

  Although Genie's tone was matter-of-fact, her heart was beating at a rate that suggested it didn't believe in her show of bravado. Indeed, it sparked off a number of other triggers to bring home reality now the danger was over.

  Her knees received the first message and began to dissolve.

  She dropped the broom from her nerveless fingers and prepared herself to buckle earthward.

  Lorenzo grabbed her and pulled her in tight to his chest. “Are you all right?”

  “I'm...fine,” she lied.

  Her Lorenzo-boosted heartbeat began to pump some strength back into her knees. His warmth began to dispel the cold and fright. Since she was shaking from residual adrenaline, she decided that snug in Lorenzo's arms was a good place to be.

  He pulled his head back to show her, in no uncertain terms, his serious expression. “That was a dangerous thing to do,” he said. “You don’t chase after wolves.”

  “I had my broom.”

  He shook his head in despair. “You frightened the life out of me.”

  “Me too.” She could feel his hot breath warming her face.

  Lorenzo’s dark eyes glinted in the ambient light reflected from the snow, worry, cross-fading to relief, cross-fading to something else. “I care what happens to you, Genie.”

  Genie felt a serious thump in her chest. Could he mean that? Really mean it?

  His touch on her shoulders - even through the thickness of the coat - generated a delightful tingling sensation that ran down her arms and her body. Her heartbeat propelled into overdrive. She was certain that, at the pace her blood was racing through her arteries and veins, it would evaporate in a cloud of steam.

  Domino seemed to sense a special moment was about to occur. He ambled in closer to them and sat down in the snow to watch and wait.

  Someone pressed 'pause' on the world.

  Time, too, waited - and watched.

  Lorenzo pulled her in close. “You could have been hurt,” he whispered.

  She nodded her head gently against his chest. His embrace felt so good. Made her feel...complete. Immersing herself in the warmth of his body, she matched her breathing pattern to his comforting chest movements. The scent of his cologne forced its way through the cold air. She drew it in deeply.

  Careful Hamilton, said her little devil. You've been here before, remember?

  Not now. Let me have a little fun.

  He rested his chin on her head and they remained enfolded in the palpable silence.

  After a few moments, Genie felt his hands sliding up to her shoulders, one completing its journey at the back of her head. He eased his body slightly away from hers and engaged her with his eyes.

  Genie tried to gather information from his eyes and fancied many options. She dismissed all of them except one. Relegating caution to the back-burner, she silently messaged, “You can kiss me if you like, Lorenzo.”

  She could feel his heart pounding against her chest. Her breathing stopped as he lowered his head closer, his lips a mere millimetre from hers. Her expectation reached heights loftier than the loftiest of surrounding mountains.

  As seconds passed, that tiny millimetre took on the characteristics of the Grand Canyon. If he doesn't move soon, Genie thought, I'll cross that millimetre myself.

  Suddenly, as if he'd heard, his lips met hers - gently at first, then pressing, devouring. She felt is tongue easing apart her lips and snaking in to caress hers. She responded, dancing with his tongue - tasting him.

  Her pulse pounded in her temples, and her heart swelled in her chest as she gave herself to the passion of his kiss.

  But it was only a brief moment.

  Domino's encouraging 'woof' broke the spell.

  What was she doing?

  She recalled ‘caution’ from the back-burner. A cheap, convenient romance was a definite no, no. And, not in a million years could this snowed-in romance turn into a forever thing.

  That's right.

  That's right, said her little devil. And besides that, you don't know if he's really genuine? Remember that magazine?

  Okay. Okay. You've made your point. Now go away.

  With feelings as thoroughly mixed as the sauce she was stirring earlier, she eased herself away. “I think I'm all right now, Lorenzo.”

  He leaned back and stared at her with a quizzical expression in place
.

  “Domino's a bit jealous.” she quipped as lightly as she could. “And who knows what a jealous St. Bernard might do?”

  He unclasped his arms and allowed his hands to rest on her upper arms. “He never did know when to shut up,” he said, raising a limp smile.

  An awkward silence slipped in between them.

  Genie shrugged and pushed her way through the quiet. “Perhaps his interruption was just as well.”

  Lorenzo raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

  “You know what it's like when you go through a scary situation,” Genie said. “That's enough to get anybody into all sorts of emotional complications.”

  “True.” He dropped his hands away and stepped back a pace.

  “And then, we're sort of marooned here. It's like, you're here and I'm here and we might as well do it.”

  “Are you as confused as I am, Genie?”

  “Oh, you have no idea.” She made a cynical laugh.

  “If I've offended you, I'm sorry.”

  “Oh no. Nothing like that.” She placed the flat of her hand on his chest and massaged it briefly. “On the contrary - absolutely on the contrary.”

  “Then what--”

  “It's just me.” She transferred her hand to her own chest. “I'm all mixed up.”

  “I think I am as well.”

  “Just now... Lorenzo, it was lovely - and scary at the same time.” She tightened her mouth. “The trouble is, Lorenzo, feelings and me. I'm not sure if I dare trust them anymore. My feelings have got me in trouble so many times.”

  She fielded his intense gaze and held it.

  “Too many mistakes. Too much hurt.” She risked a warm smile. “I care for you, Lorenzo. I really do. But I’m unsure. And I want to be sure - about me and about...a man.”

  He studied her for several seconds. “Va bene,” he said finally. “I understand. We can call this a mad moment.”

  “That's it. A mad moment,” Genie said. Confused thoughts rattled through her mind. Was she relieved by his apparent acceptance, or wasn't she? Did she want him to press on and make love to her?

  Yes she did.

  No she didn't.

  Who could tell? She surely couldn't.

  All she did know was, she'd blown a magic moment.

  Lorenzo appeared to recover. “Come. I'm still hungry.”

  She laughed, relieved by the distraction. As his hand embraced hers in his strong, warm grip, she experienced a surge of delight. How silly she'd been. Childish, even. Whatever must he think?

  Too late now.

  Another time, perhaps?

  Next time, she told herself, bury your paranoia - and throw away your chastity belt.

  Now he wants to eat.

  That's a good start. The way to a man's heart and all that.

  “The trouble is, Lorenzo,” she said, half running to keep up with his strong stride, “thanks to the wolves, we're going to have to cook another batch of spaghetti.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  That kiss.

  The more Genie trundled the events of the previous evening around in her head, the more ridiculous she felt about her reaction. The episode with the wolves may have been a bit chancy, but what's wrong with kissing? This was the 21st Century, for heaven's sake. People kissed all the time. A peck on the cheek to a full-blown ravenous feast on the lips and tongue was acceptable behaviour these days.

  The memory of her mouth-to-mouth contact with Lorenzo sprang to life in Technicolor, generating a pleasant tingle in the back of her throat and on her lips. The rest of her turned to mush for a few seconds, congealing only when the movie in her head arrived at the point of her rejection.

  She clenched her fists in irritation. She'd been stupid.

  It was nice.

  It was exceptionally nice.

  “Next time - if there is a next time - I’ll let the kiss take its natural course - and lead us to wherever destiny takes us.” After all, a kiss isn’t an unbreakable contract. It doesn’t mean to say that we’re committed to each other forever.

  Therefore, in the days that followed, Genie prepared herself to receive any kisses that were going around.

  Unfortunately, in the days that followed, it looked increasingly like her preparations and expectations were not to be realized.

  Lorenzo had slipped back into his just-good-friends mode. He was friendly, warm and helpful as usual. Their shared responsibilities were as much fun as ever. As a result, Genie had no choice but to settle in to respond to Lorenzo in kind.

  There were times when their conversation occasionally lapsed into awkward silence, however, as Genie - and she sensed, Lorenzo - set aside one unspoken subject or another as too risky. Nevertheless, while Genie realized that the kiss added a sensitive edge to their conversation, it also served as a shared 'secret' that forged a more intimate link.

  Domino was the only 'being' around that Genie could talk to about the post-kiss situation. He paid her rapt attention every time, but, sadly, had no advice to offer.

  Then, nature delivered a change that caused Genie and Lorenzo to view each other in a yet different, even more sensitive light. The surprisingly warm weather had thawed the snow sufficiently to allow Lorenzo to call in help to clear the pass.

  Genie wondered why he wanted to clear away the snow so quickly. Couldn't he have allowed nature and the Italian sun to finish the job? Had her reaction to the kiss shaken him so much?

  “Getting ready to throw me out?” she ventured.

  “No. Of course not. I make these arrangements every year.”

  “So, I can...continue my journey without falling foul of avalanches?”

  “If that is what you want.” His eyes drooped the way sadness affect them.

  “Would it be all right if I choose when?” Genie responded softly, moved by his reaction.

  He brightened visibly. “You know the answer to that.”

  “Thank you, Lorenzo,” she said. “I'd like a little time to adjust to the idea of...choice, if that's okay with you.”

  His smile was marginally short of a beam. “Certo. There is no hurry. You can stay as long as you want.”

  Conversely, the cleared pass hung a cloud of uncertainty over their heads. At times, the tension was almost palpable. Each day, Genie felt she had to make a decision. And each day, she sensed Lorenzo had to exert considerable effort to avoid asking for the answer.

  Perhaps it was just as well he didn't ask because Genie didn't know the answer.

  Leaving was inevitable However Genie was hesitant to pin down a 'when'. She had to go sometime. That was certain. So why was she dragging her feet? The problem was, whenever she thought about leaving, she had to battle with a wild fluttering of her heart and a sickening knot in her stomach.

  Even when she told herself, “Not today,” the fluttering took a while to subside.

  The knot took longer.

  Even then, it continued to lay dormant. She could sense its presence all the time.

  Then, two days after the pass was cleared, she decided. “It's no good going on like this,” she told Domino. “I'm going to tell your Dad that I will go home tomorrow.”

  The fluttering in her heart was so wild, she thought she might have a cardiac arrest.

  At breakfast, while Genie worked at plucking up her courage to tell Lorenzo of her plan, he came up with a distraction.

  “I thought that when I have finished here, we can walk down to the San Rafaele. Have lunch there.”

  “That'd be great,” Genie said, relieved to be able to drop her decision into the 'Pending File' once again. “May I find something suitable to wear from Anna's wardrobe?”

  “Certo. Make sure the clothes are warm.”

  “Thank you. I have learned that lesson in spades since I've been here.”

  “We can also collect your valuables and your car - if you like.”

  “I'd like that. If my cameras are okay, I can take a few pictures. Memories.”

  “Something to
remember your snowed-in Alpine holiday.”

  Genie felt a serious thump in her chest. Holidays have the habit of coming to an end.

  Domino showed how much he enjoyed his new freedom as soon as they closed the gate behind them. He lumbered on ahead, woofing from time to time at nothing in particular. Then, after he'd run a few meters, he turned and raced back for praise and petting.

  Genie paused when they arrived at the spot where she had been buried and studied the barely exposed rocky projection that had saved her long enough for Domino to find and save her.

  Domino joined her and snuffled generally around the area.

  “I almost died here,” she said.

  Lorenzo placed his arm around her shoulders and gave them a brief squeeze. “Domino wouldn't have let you die.”

  “Nor did you.” She looked up at him and smiled. “I owe you so much.”

  “What for?”

  “Oh, I don't know - everything.” She leaned her head against his chest. “For pulling me out of my snow tomb, especially. For carrying me back home, especially. For bathing me...no, I think we'd better forget that part.”

  “You can forget it if you like.” He eased himself free and turned away to resume their walk. “It’s an experience I will remember forever.”

  “You'd better not,” Genie scolded and ran to catch up with him.

  “I might even paint it.”

  “You dare.”

  “I can paint things from memory, you know.”

  ”In that case, I order you to wipe it from your memory. If I find you remembering it - and I'll be able to tell by that lecherous look on your face - I shall never speak to you again.”

  It really wasn't funny but they both laughed just the same.

  The road wound through the snow-laden trees, rising on white slopes. To Genie, it was a living picture postcard. “This is really beautiful, Lorenzo,” Genie said. “I can see why you like to live up here.”

  As they progressed, the trees became sparser, and the village came into view. Faint music wafted towards her and the distant sound of excited voices rose above it in intermittent waves.

  The road transformed into a narrow street which, in turn led directly into the village square. It was fed by three other narrow streets entering more or less from each corner.