Love & Gelato

by Jenna Evans Welch

  “Do you dance?” Thomas asked me.

  “Not really.”

  “Me neither. We could just hang out. We could go walk around by the Arno or something. I know this cool place that—”

  “No way!” Ren grabbed my hand. “Thomas, you can’t rob her of this experience. She’s at Space. She wants to get her dance on.”

  “I don’t have that much dance to get on,” I protested.

  “Sure you do.” He lowered his voice. “And come on. This is where it all started, right?”

  I nodded, then looked at Thomas. “I’d better stay. I would hate to miss the chance to embarrass myself.”

  “Worst case you just bust out your Dirty Dancing moves. Nobody puts baby in the corner, right?”

  “I’m telling you, you know way too much about that movie.”

  “Ragazzi!” Elena yelled. “I mean it, let’s go!”

  We followed her through a narrow doorway, Thomas resting his hand on the small of my back and causing all sorts of ecstatic feelings, and then we were all shoving our way up a ramp into a large room. For a second I couldn’t see anything solid—everything was flailing. Then a spotlight washed over us and OMG.

  We were in a gigantic room with a ceiling that was at least twenty-five feet high, and it was crawling with people, like an anthill, only with designer clothes. There were a bunch of platforms set up throughout the floor, so some people were standing like five feet above everyone else. And they were all dancing. And I don’t mean The Shopping Cart or The Sprinkler or any of the other moves that always seemed to dominate the proms back home. They were really dancing. Like having-sex-on-the-dance-floor dancing.

  Mom, what have you gotten me into?

  “Welcome to Space,” Ren yelled into my ear. “This is the most crowded I’ve ever seen it. Probably because it’s tourist season.”

  “Guys, follow me!” Marco put his arms in front of him like a diver, then started cutting through the crowd, all of us trailing behind.

  “Ciao, bella,” a man hissed in my ear. I yanked my head away. Everyone I brushed past was sweaty. This place was kind of gross.

  Finally we were in a little pocket of space somewhere in the middle of the floor and everyone started dancing. Immediately. I guess no one else needed a little warm-up period before they got their groove on?

  My palms started sweating. Time for some positive self-talk. Lina, you are a confident woman and you’ve totally got this. Why don’t you try out a sexy version of the Running Man? Or the Hokey Pokey? Just quit standing still. You look ridiculous. And then I made the fatal mistake of looking at Mimi, which made things about a million times worse. She had her arms up over her head and she looked awesome. Like cool-sexy-European awesome. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

  “You’ve got this,” Ren yelled, giving me a thumbs-up.

  I cringed. Okay, start moving. Maybe copy Elena? Sway back and forth. Move hips. Pretend not to feel like a total idiot. I glanced at Thomas. He was doing this awkward back-and-forth step that kind of made me want to melt into oblivion, because how cute was he? He couldn’t dance either. Maybe I could take him up on a walk through Florence later.

  And then something crazy happened. The music was so loud it was like it was pounding and rattling through my bones and teeth and everyone was having such a good time and suddenly I was dancing. Like actually dancing. And actually having fun. Well, maybe not as much fun as Ren, who was dirty dancing with Mimi, but still. The DJ pulled a microphone close to his mouth and shouted something in Italian and everyone cheered, raising their drinks over their heads.

  “He is my friend! È mio amico!” Elena shouted.

  “Lina, you’re doing great!” Ren shouted. Mimi was doing this crazy hip-rolling thing that looked like it required intense concentration, but when she heard Ren she looked up, sending me the polar vortex of all looks.

  I was getting the feeling she didn’t like me.

  Thomas nudged me with his shoulder. “Have you ever been someplace like this before?”

  “No.”

  “It’s weird, you’d have to be twenty-one to get into a club like this in the States.” We were so close I could see the tiny droplets of sweat in his hair. Even his sweat was sexy. I was officially disgusting.

  Ren disentangled from Mimi, then came up on my other side. “Having fun?” He was out of breath.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’ll be back in a few.” Mimi grabbed his hand and they disappeared into the crowd.

  Thomas made a face. “He’s kind of protective of you, isn’t he?”

  “It’s because of my dad. He keeps messing with him, so Ren’s afraid that something will happen to me and he’ll be the one to blame.”

  “Nothing will happen to you—you’re with me.”

  Sort of cheesy, but I grinned. Idiotically. Thomas pretty much obliterated any control I had over my facial muscles.

  He raised his chin, looking over the crowd. “There he is. Looks like he and Mimi are talking.”

  I stood on my tiptoes, taking the opportunity to rest my hand on his shoulder. Ren and Mimi were leaning against a wall and she had her arms crossed in front of her chest and looked pissed. But maybe that was just her regular face.

  “So they’re together, right?”

  “Yeah. He’s been into her for like two years. Guess persistence pays off, right?”

  I nodded. “Right.”

  “Hey, I have to go call my dad, and then I’m going to get a drink. You want one?”

  “Sure, thanks.”

  He flashed me one of his bone-melting smiles, then disappeared into the crowd.

  “Lina, dance with me!” Elena grabbed my hands and twirled me around. “What is happening with you and Thomas? Is it amore?”

  I laughed. “I don’t know. This is only the second time I’ve ever seen him.”

  “Yeah, but he likes you. I can tell. He is never interested in anyone, and last night after you left he asked me if I’d gotten your number.”

  “Ooh la la!” Marco said. “New girl and Thomas.”

  Elena rolled her eyes at him. “You sound like a child.”

  “Oh, yeah? Could a child do this?” He bent his arms at the elbows and started doing the robot.

  “Marco, basta! You are awful at that.”

  “Want me to do the worm?”

  “No!”

  The song faded into a faster-paced one, and soon the three of us were holding hands and jumping up and down like little kids. No wonder my mom had liked it here. It was pretty fun. Except for the fact that the temperature kept rising. Didn’t this place have AC?

  “Where’s Thomas?” Elena asked. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead with sweat.

  “He went to get a drink.”

  “He’s been gone for a long time.” She fanned herself. “Fa troppo caldo. I am sweating like a pig.”

  Suddenly the room tilted from under me and I stumbled.

  Elena grabbed me by the arm. “You okay?”

  “I just got dizzy. It’s too hot.”

  “What?”

  “I’m too hot.”

  “Me too!” Marco yelled. “I’m so hot!”

  “I need to sit down for a minute.”

  “Lina, there are couches. There.” She pointed to where Ren and Mimi had been standing. “Want me to come with you?”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  “I will tell Thomas where you are.”

  “Thanks.” I made my way over to the side of the room. The couches looked like breeding grounds for some kind of infectious disease, but I was desperate. I suddenly felt like I might pass out.

  The first couch was mostly taken up by a scrawny guy sprawled out on his back. He was wearing gold chains and an enormous pair of sunglasses and every few seconds he’d twitch, like a fly had landed on him or something. An older-looking man sat smoking at the other end and when he saw me he smiled and said something in Italian.

  “Sorry, I don’t understand.” I pushed my way
past. My head was pounding along with the music. Hopefully there was an open seat somewhere. Otherwise I was going to have to buddy up with the passed-out wannabe rapper.

  There’s one! I rushed for an open spot, but just as I got there I stopped, because there was a pair of hands on my butt. And not in an accidental way. I whirled around. It was the older guy from the couch. His hair was long and greasy and he smelled, amongst other things, like a dead muskrat pickled in vodka. Or at least, that’s what I’d imagine one would smell like.

  “Dove vai, bella?”

  “Leave me alone.”

  He reached out and ran his fingers along my bare shoulder and I sprang away. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Perche? Non ti piaccio?” One of his front teeth was gray. And he was way older than I’d originally thought. Like ten years older than anyone here.

  Forget the couch. I turned to run, but he lunged at me and then grabbed me by the arm. Hard. “Stop it!” I yanked my arm back, but he just tightened his grip. “Elena! Marco!” I couldn’t even see them anymore. Where was Ren?

  I tried to pull away again, but the man grabbed me by the waist and pulled me in to him until my pelvis was smashed up against his. “Let. Go.” Head butt? Knee him in the crotch? What were you supposed to do when you got attacked? He grinned, sidestepping every desperate move I made.

  How was I going to get out of this? There were people everywhere, but absolutely no one was paying attention. “Help me!”

  Suddenly someone grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me back, and the man loosened his grip long enough for me to wrench my body away. It was Mimi. Looking like some kind of beautiful, pissed-off warrior.

  “Vai via, fai schifo,” she yelled at the man. “Vai.”

  He put both hands in the air, then grinned and walked away.

  “Lina, why didn’t you just tell him to go away?”

  “I tried. He wouldn’t let go of me.”

  “Try harder next time. Just call them a stronzo, then push them off you. I have to do it all of the time.”

  “Stronzo?” I was shaking all over. It felt like I’d just been dragged through a Dumpster—that had been revolting.

  She crossed her arms. “What is happening between you and Ren?”

  I tried to focus my brain. “I’m sorry, what?” I rubbed at my arms, trying to get the feel of Gray Tooth’s skin off of me.

  “What’s going on between you and Lo-ren-zo?” She spoke slowly, exaggerating her words like she thought I couldn’t understand her.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Where was he?

  She looked at me for a moment. “You know Ren and I are together, right? He’s only hanging out with you because he feels bad for you because your mom died.”

  Maybe it was leftover adrenaline from my run-in with Creepy McCreeperson, but suddenly I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Is that why he was ignoring your calls last night?”

  Her eyes widened and she stepped toward me murderously. “He was home with his little sister.”

  “No, he was at Ponte Vecchio with me.” Please let me have pronounced that right.

  “There you are!” Thomas stepped between us, holding a soda in each hand. He took one look at Mimi and wilted. “Whoa. What did I miss?”

  “Shut up, Thomas.” She turned and flounced away.

  “What just happened?” Thomas asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  “Lina!” Ren was shoving his way toward me. “There you are. Do you want to leave? It’s like a thousand degrees in here. I think the AC might be broken.”

  Relief flooded through me and suddenly I was holding back a boiling lake of tears. “Where have you been?”

  “Looking for you.” He leaned in. “Are you okay?”

  “I want to leave. Now.”

  “I need to leave too,” Thomas said. “I’ll walk out with you guys.”

  It took us what felt like an hour to get out of there, and when we finally burst out onto the sidewalk we all gulped in the cool air like we’d just emerged from the depths of the ocean.

  “Freedom!” Thomas said. “That was like being slowly smothered.”

  I leaned back against the wall and shut my eyes. I was never going there again. Ever.

  Ren touched my arm. “Lina, are you okay?”

  I did a half shake, half nod. Okay? I could still smell pickled muskrat.

  “So, what did you think of Space? Perfect place for a relationship to start?”

  “What relationship?” Thomas asked. “Mine and Lina’s?” He gave me a meaningful look, but I barely noticed.

  “He means my parents.” I took a deep breath. “This old guy attacked me. He grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.”

  “What do you mean? In Space?” Ren whirled around like he thought he could see through the walls. “When?”

  “Right before you found me. Mimi rescued me.”

  “That’s what was going on,” Thomas said. “Are you okay? What a creep.”

  “Are you hurt?” Ren asked.

  “No. It was just awful.”

  Ren looked furious. “Why didn’t you yell for me? I would have destroyed him.”

  “I had no idea where you were.”

  Thomas’s phone started ringing and he looked down at it and groaned. “My dad keeps calling. We have family in town and I told him I wouldn’t stay out long.” He looked up at me. “But I’m not leaving without getting your number.”

  “Oh. Sure.” I’d practiced for this, but when I went to tell him my new number, I forgot and had to look at the paper I’d written it on.

  “Great. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He gave me a big hug, then clapped Ren on the shoulder. “See you around.”

  “Later.” Ren turned to watch Thomas walk away and I used the opportunity to wipe my eyes. My mascara was everywhere.

  “His shirt was really stupid, don’t you think?”

  “What?”

  “ ‘Banned from Amsterdam.’ No one gets banned from Amsterdam. That’s the point.”

  “I wouldn’t know.”

  “I’m really sorry about what happened in there. I shouldn’t have left you alone.” He looked at me closer. “Wait a second. Are you crying?”

  “No.” A giant tear rolled down my face. And then another.

  “Oh, no.” He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “I’m so sorry. We’ll never go there again.”

  “I’m sorry. I feel really stupid. That guy was just so disgusting.” But that was only half the reason I was crying. I took a deep breath. “Ren, why did you tell Mimi my mom died?”

  His eyes widened. “I don’t know. It just came up. She was asking why you moved here and I just told her. Why? Did she say something?”

  “You know, you don’t have to feel sorry for me. It’s not like I need you to read the journal and drive me around everywhere. I can figure this out on my own. I get that you have a life.”

  “Whoa, what? I don’t feel sorry for you. I mean, it’s sad that you lost your mom and everything, but I hang out with you because I like to. You’re . . . different.”

  “Different?”

  “You know, like we talked about last night. We’re alike, you know?”

  I ran my arm across my face. Because that was totally going to help the mascara situation. “Promise?”

  “Yeah, I promise. What brought that on?”

  “Mimi—” I stopped. Did it matter? She was just a jealous girl. And every time Ren saw her he acted like he’d just won the lottery.

  “Mimi what?”

  “Never mind. Can we go to Piazza Signoria? I want to see that statue.”

  Chapter 15

  WE WERE QUIET ON THE drive to the piazza. It was after eleven and the city felt different. Sort of emptied out. Like me, after an embarrassing postclubbing cry fest. Ren pulled his scooter up to a curb and we both got off.

  “This is it?”

  “This is it. Piazza Signoria.” He was looking at me
like I was a box of highly fragile dishes, but I was still covered in snot, so I guess he was justified.

  I walked out into the piazza. One side was lined by a large fortress-looking building with a clock tower, and in front of that was a fountain with a statue of a man surrounded by smaller figures. A handful of people were milling around, but for the most part it was empty.

  “What’s that building?” I asked.

  “Palazzo Vecchio.”

  “Old something . . . Old palace?”

  “Esattamente. You’re getting good.”

  “I know. I recognized the word ‘old.’ I’m practically fluent.”

  We smiled at each other. My eyes felt like water balloons, but at least I wasn’t sniveling anymore. Sheesh. I was lucky Ren hadn’t abandoned me at the nearest taxi stand.

  “So what happened here again?” Ren asked.

  “This is the first place he told her he loved her. They were looking at a statue. Something with ‘rape’ in its name.”

  “Oh, right. The Rape of the Sabine Women. I think it’s under that roofed area.”

  We made our way across the piazza, passing a bunch of other statues along the way, then walked under an arched entryway into what was basically a large patio filled with sculptures.

  I recognized it right away. “There it is.”

  The Rape of the Sabine Women was made of white marble and sat high on a pedestal, the three figures intertwined in one tall column. I walked around it slowly. My mom was right. No one looked happy per se, but they were all connected and they definitely complemented each other. They were also all naked and their muscles and tendons were bulging out all over the place. Giambologna hadn’t been kidding around.

  Ren pointed. “Look how the woman is looking back at the other man. She definitely didn’t want to go. And that guy on the ground looks totally spooked.”

  “Yeah.” I folded my arms, looking up at the statue. “Is it just me, or is this a weird spot for Howard to tell my mom he loved her?”

  “Maybe it just kind of happened. He got caught up in the moonlight or whatever.”

  “But he was studying art history and he’d just told her the whole backstory. I’d be surprised if it didn’t have some kind of significance to him.”