Tutti Italia: A Novel Page 13

  The message was from Erik. Wondering if she wanted to hang out tomorrow. Apparently, he wasn’t exactly happy with the fact that they hadn’t talked yesterday. He wanted to know if she was free Halloween weekend. He wanted to invite her to the ITT trip that was going to Romania for Dracula’s castle. Rachel was torn. She wanted to go on that trip very badly, but she didn’t really want to go with him. Now that she knew he was looking for another woman, she didn’t want to go anywhere with him. The other side of her called her stupid for not seeing what was going on here. Obviously, he kept calling her and inviting her to do things. Didn’t that mean that he liked her? Rachel wanted to believe that’s what it meant, but she knew it could also mean that he liked to travel and he just wanted to go with someone that he knew rather than by himself. It was a tough decision to make, but in the end, she decided to go. She wasn’t going to miss out on the amazing things the world had to offer just because she didn’t like the person that had invited her. That would be her getting in her own way. She had to sign up for it, and she could do it Monday after class was over. She really didn’t feel like leaving her room this weekend.

  It seemed like her roommate was never home on the weekends, so Rachel decided she would turn her music up loud, and have her own private dance party. She was singing at the top of her lungs and dancing around her room while she did a little spring cleaning. When she was finished with her room, she decided she may as well do the kitchen, too. It was just something to pass the time until bedtime. When it was finished, she was tired and sweaty, and smelled like four different kind of cleaner. There was no way she was going to bed that way, so she took her IPod and the speakers it could connect to, and set them on the lid of the toilet. The dance party was still on. When she finished, she finally turned her music down, and realized that it was only five in the afternoon. She could go to dinner at the food court, or she could risk messing up that beautifully clean kitchen. She decided to risk it. She threw on her sweat suit, then threw her long hair up in a ponytail. She wanted Taco Bell with a vengeance. She ordered her usual, then turned around to go back to her room. She came face to face with Erik. If she would have known he was going to be here, she never would have left her room. She tried to pretend that she hadn’t seen him, but it was too late.

  “Hey, Rachel. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you too much during the rafting trip. I wanted to make sure that you had a good time with us.” Rachel put her fake smile on.

  “Yeah! It was a great trip. I’ve never been rafting before. I’m really looking forward to the Halloween weekend.” Erik looked like he wanted to say something, but was too shy.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I was wondering if you’d want to go as a couple?” That shocked her down to her very core. That was what she’d wanted all along.

  “I thought I was supposed to keep my eyes peeled for a woman for you, too?” she teased. He laughed nervously.

  “Why would I want you to find me one, when you’re perfectly good enough?” Rachel smiled again, this time for real.

  “I would like that very much. I’m guessing we’ll be sharing a room?” Erik nodded.

  “I guarantee that you’ll be better evening conversation than Ryan is.” Rachel was beyond happy now.

  “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.” She winked at him, flirtatiously. “I, uh, I have to get back to finish my laundry, but text me if you want.”

  “Yeah, ok. Sounds good. I’m actually doing laundry here, too.” She looked at him with a quizzical expression.

  “I thought you lived off base?” Erik shrugged.

  “I do. It’s just cheaper for me to bring my laundry to the Laundromat.” That made sense. She waved at him as she walked away.

  “I’ll look forward to hearing from you, then.” He nodded.

  “I’ll text you.” Rachel waited until she was out of sight to let her grin and her laughter out. Maybe this would be her fairy tale ending.

  Chapter 23

  The weeks slipped by, and soon it was Halloween Friday. All of Rachel’s kids wore their costumes to school, and as part of that, they had to say why they chose what they did. Rachel had bought a costume for the first time in almost eight years. She didn’t wear it to school, however, because it was far from age appropriate. It was a half day, as well, which only made Rachel even happier. Halloween officially fell on Saturday this year, and that was why the trip was so special. They would be in Romania, spending the night in the newly renovated, hotel portion of the castle. She wanted to go home and pack, so she would be ready in the morning. This was going to be something to remember, she was sure, so she took her diary with her, so she could write down every detail. It didn’t take her long to pack at all, they would only be there for the one night. She quickly showered and fell into bed, dreaming of what it was going to be like. There would be a gourmet dinner for the travel group, plus a party in the castle’s courtyard. She was so excited it took her a few hours to fall asleep. She couldn’t turn off her mind at all.

  When Saturday morning came, Rachel leapt out of bed as if she’d been shot out of a cannon. Her bag was already by the door, and she gave it a quick once over to make sure that nothing was missing that should be there. She got herself ready, and actually put on just a touch of makeup. She wanted to look her best. Erik shouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with her, so she had to make sure that she made him proud. After all, it made her proud as well. She took her small suitcase downstairs, put it in the trunk of her car, and drove over to the same parking lot that she’d been in for the last trip. She had to smile. She appreciated a place where there was designated parking for the people that were going on the trips. She was one of the first to arrive, again, so she went over to the coffee shop and ordered a raspberry white hot chocolate. She’d discovered this concoction when she was visiting another country’s airport. The story behind it wasn’t very pleasant, however, she’d been traveling alone, and they’d had to have an emergency landing. The coffee shop was about the only thing open at the airport, so that’s where she went to wait.

  It was chilly out this morning, and she was glad that she’d brought her heaviest coat with her. She waited in her warm car until Erik pulled up next to her. She was very excited, and yet, very nervous, too. He didn’t act the way most guys did when they were in a relationship, and she didn’t exactly know how to handle that. She decided to just play it by ear and see how things progressed between the two of them.

  “Morning!” she offered brightly. He was shivering, and she could see that he’d decided to leave his coat at home, and simply throw a hoodie on over his t-shirt.

  “Hi. I wish I would have been as smart as you. My coat is lying on the back of my couch right now.” Rachel patted him sympathetically on the shoulder.

  “Do you want to come sit in my car and warm up until we leave?” He shook his head.

  “Nope, if I’m going to be stupid and not pack something, then I might as well suffer for it. Maybe it’ll teach me for the next time.” Rachel giggled. The tour guide came out of the ITT office, and clapped his hands loudly to get everyone’s attention.

  “There are only a few people going on this trip, and all of you are already here. We can leave a little earlier than we had planned. Everyone has their bags under the bus, yes? Ok, load up, and don’t forget to sit in your assigned seat!” The tiny group of people started to file onto the bus. As they went, Rachel counted the people. There were only ten people going, and it looked to her like they were all couples. She shrugged. At least that would make the rooming situation easy. She and Erik got on the bus, and they were astonished. This wasn’t a regular bus, not even the charter bus type with the comfortable seats. This was something altogether different. There were tables along the sides of the bus, with a group of four seats around them. The only part that still resembled a regular bus was that the last seats were in a row. She and Erik sat at a little table, and she pulled out her little backpack that had her entertainment in it.
He did the same. She’d thought that maybe they would talk for a little while, and get to know each other better, but apparently that was the last thing on his mind. He had his nose buried in a book. She applauded that, since she was usually the same, however, that was a little rude if the two of you were supposed to be on a date. Thinking nothing more on the matter, Rachel pulled out her diary and started to describe the trip, and her thoughts. When she finished, she pulled out her cross stitch and went to work on it. About a half an hour later, she looked over and saw that Erik had fallen asleep with the book in his hand. She carefully disentangled it, but his bookmark in it, and then set it on the table. She didn’t want to bother him. She kept on stitching until they reached the border with Romania. The tour guide was now standing in the front of the bus, giving little bits of history on the towns that they were driving through. Erik was still asleep, but Rachel listened intently so she could tell him about it later.

  By the time that they reached the castle, every person on the bus was awake. Rachel had known that Romania was a poor country, but the number of potholes in the road, and the general disarray of the pavement confirmed it for her. The bus had a terrible time navigating the roads unless they were on a major highway, or in the middle of a town. She was almost fogging up the glass, that’s how close she was to the window while she was trying to take in the scenery. She heard a deep chuckle coming from across the table, and she whirled around to face Erik.

  “And what, may I ask, is so damn funny over there?” She was pretending to be miffed, but that just made him chuckle harder.

  “You have your nose pressed to the glass, and every time you breathe in, your nose goes up and looks like a pig’s snout.” Rachel’s cheeks instantly grew red, and she covered her nose with her hands. Her eyes got wide and she looked completely mortified…which, in turn, made the chuckle turn into an all-out, belly laugh. Now Rachel was even more embarrassed, if that was possible. She didn’t really think that there was a stage of embarrassment that surpassed ‘mortified’ but she was there.

  “I’m so sorry! I had no idea.” She ducked her head until she almost had it on the table.

  “Don’t be sorry. It was entertaining. I guarantee you that I will do something just as bad if not worse, and then you’ll die laughing at me. Fair is fair.” He spread his hands out in a ‘you know I’m right’ gesture. She did know that he was right, but that didn’t mean that she had to admit it out loud.

  “Listen up, everybody! Please listen up! When the bus comes to a stop, we will be at the hotel portion of the castle. The room assignments will be given, and then you may wander about, do some shopping, explore the area, but make sure that you are back in the lobby by six o’clock sharp. Dinner will be served, and I have to take you to the dining hall. If you would like to wear your costumes to dinner, please go ahead. There will be alcohol and music, and you are encouraged to partake in both.” Rachel’s heart beat faster as he called out names and gave the couples the room keys. When he called Erik and Rachel, they went up together, and he gave Erik a little envelope with two key cards in it. They went to the map on the wall, and looked at it to figure out where their room was going to be. Rachel squealed with delight when she realized that their room was right by the pool. Erik was a little startled, but he hid it well.

  “Are you ok? Wow, I thought maybe that was a dog whistle or something.” It was a lame joke, but Rachel didn’t care right now.

  “Look! We’re right by the pool! Oooh, and there’s a Jacuzzi! Do you mind if we go there first?” His eyebrows rose in understanding, now that she’d told him what she was so excited about.

  “Um, I don’t usually swim. Not that I can’t, I just don’t usually swim. I think I’m going to go explore the area a little first.” Rachel’s face fell. It was alright though, she’d been swimming dozens of times by herself, and still been able to entertain herself.

  “Alright. If you find anything interesting, make sure that you let me know, ok? Don’t keep it all to yourself.” She winked at him, then put her suitcase on the bed and unzipped it. He dropped his bag next to hers, then went to use the bathroom. By the time she’d found her swimsuit, he was done, and already walking out of the room.

  “Hey, I’m leaving your room key here next to your suitcase ok?” Rachel couldn’t hear all the words, but she was sure she knew what he meant so she called an acknowledgement through the bathroom door. It didn’t take her long to change, and there were some very fluffy bathrobes hanging behind the door. She slipped into one, took the slippers that were set out for the guests, and put them on. Then, she grabbed a towel and her room key and left. The pool was the perfect temperature, and she dove in immediately. She did a few languid laps, just stretching out her muscles from the last time that she’d swam. She paused to think back to exactly how far back that was, and she couldn’t come up with a date. That was terrible. She loved to swim. She was going to make up for it right now.

  About a half an hour later, she was completely worn out from swimming laps as quickly as she could. She’d lost count of how many she’d done, and she didn’t time them, but she knew that she was doing pretty well for someone who hadn’t swam for a competition in ten years. She walked across the tiny little area of tiles that led to the hot tub, and gratefully sank into it. The hot water soothed her muscle aches away, and after a few minutes, she could stretch without any tightness at all. She sat in the hot tub for maybe another half an hour, before splashing alerted her to someone else coming into the water. Her eyes flew open and her heart started racing.

  “I couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could I?” It was Erik. He’d come down to spend some time with her. She smiled at him.

  “Nope, I guess not. What do you think? Isn’t this hotel just wonderful?” She might have been over exaggerating a little, but Erik seemed to agree with her.

  Chapter 24

  Rachel was excited, being in a hot tub with a handsome man was something that she’d always wanted, and now it was happening. He came up to her, and put his arms around her, pulling her into his lap and kissing her. Wow. Rachel forgot everything that she’d had in her head. He was a damn good kisser. She stayed in his lap, hugging him and kissing him every now and then. Then they went into the pool and swam some laps together. They didn’t have much more time, since they had to get themselves ready for the dinner. Regretfully, Rachel got out of the water, and Erik slapped her butt playfully, since she was getting out first. She led him to their room, and he unpacked his clothes for the evening while she took a shower. When she was finished, they switched, and she dug out her costume. She put it on, and was in the process of doing her makeup when Erik came out. He already had his costume on, but he was going as a zombie, so he had some makeup to do, too. They finally finished, and walked out to the lobby. Rachel was happy to see an older couple dressed up as vampires with faces full of makeup, too. They were the only ones in the lobby so far, so they decided to strike up a conversation. Twenty minutes later, more people had showed up, and the four of them were fast friends.

  “If everyone could pay attention for a minute.” The tour guide was making an announcement. He was dressed up as well, but the costume looked comical on him. “We’re going over to the dining lodge. From there you can stay in the lodge for the dancing and music that will be there or you can hike up to the castle and enjoy the party that is going on over there.” The four new friends looked at each other, and as one said, ‘Castle!’ Their names were Van and Angela. It seemed that they would be spending time together for the rest of the trip. The group followed the tour guide, trying not to laugh at his ridiculous costume. They walked along an indoor hallway that was about twenty feet in the air. It was all glass, and the stars and lights from the castle were glowing beautifully. When they came in to the lodge, it looked like an old fashioned hunting lodge that would have been used around the time that Vlad Dracul was living in the castle. The two floors were very different. The top floor was set up for the dinner party, whereas the bott
om floor was the dance floor with very few tables, set aside for the locals, and a bar. This was going to be a wonderful trip, Rachel just knew it. The four of them sat together at a table that overlooked the dance floor. While the food was being served, the locals that had been drinking already started the dancing. There were different wines served with the dinner, and Rachel knew that wine made her inhibitions melt away. She and Angela were discussing that, and it turned out that both women had the same flaw. They decided after three glasses each, they wanted to get down to the dance floor and have a good time. The guys didn’t want to join them, and that was ok, too. They were going to go regardless. The dj was spinning, and they were watching the Romanians dance. It didn’t take long for them start feeling the music and swaying along.

  “Man, I am sooo glad that Van talked me into going on this trip. I was a little reserved about going, but, in the end, he won and here I am.” Angela laughed. Rachel grinned at her. She knew how it felt to not want to go somewhere because you weren’t sure how things stood between you and the person that invited you. Angela regaled her with a long story as they danced, about the on again, off again relationship she had with Van. He kept asking her to marry him, but she was afraid, and she always told him no. They didn’t get much of a chance to discuss that story, however, because Erik came down to tell them the dessert was coming. He didn’t have to tell the women twice, they ran up the stairs, leaving him staring after them. They politely waited for him to join them at the table before they dug in to the cake and chocolate delicacies that were set down in front of them.